Jenkins examined the object carefully one night. It was a black metal block, the surface was divided by silver lines, forming 54 small grids on six surfaces. If it weren't for the inability to turn, Jenkins might have thought it was a Rubik's Cube.
He was disappointed to find that he had no idea what a standard cube of metal could do. It is hard to imagine that in this era, such a standard cube can be seen. Jenkins even feels that it is not an exaggeration to say that this is a standard laboratory aid.
He could only hide the cube, [Mr. Hunter's Fruit Bowl] and the unknown blue feather under his bed, hoping to find clues from the church's materials in the future.
As for the remaining two [Small Explosion Talismans], they were still carefully carried by him.
"Goddess bless, these shoddy props must not explode by themselves!"
No one found a single thing missing from the scorched earth, and the fire and explosion destroyed many clues, including the traces left by Jenkins in his haste.
He still doesn't know what the contested statue was for, but three days later, Dad informed that the seized harmonica had found its name in the data, B-05-3-0123, [the last of the suicide chant]. And the large library underground in the church can be partially opened to him, and once he is promoted to the first level of granter, he can immediately choose a divine ability that is exclusive to the church. This gave Jenkins a vague idea of the statue's value, but the thing that caused the disaster had nothing to do with him anymore.
Life calmed down again. As a secret non-combat order semi-civilian under the church, he has nothing to do with cult members, illegal associations, etc. He and his father are only the initiators of this incident, and the subsequent events have nothing to do with them.
The matter off the coast of Nolan has not been resolved, and the fighters of the Orthodox Church in this city have not yet returned; the evil spirits of Nolan Fifth Public Hospital are temporarily trapped, and the support from the capital is still on the way; The big octopus has caused panic among the citizens. Although they don't know the truth, it is obvious that the rate of missing persons in Nolan City at night has risen rapidly.
Jenkins has been plagued by the fact that the weather has not cleared up lately, so the party has been out of the question. So he was completely at ease. On the one hand, he experienced a certain indescribable strange feeling while copying the tadpole text, which made the process of accumulating his spirit smoother; Both of these are complex studies.
It has been a week since the fire broke out in the slums of the pier. This incident did not cause much disturbance in the city. The death of dozens of poor ghosts was not enough to shock the city.
On this day, Jenkins came to Dad's antique shop in a carriage as usual, and Dad brought him two good news.
First of all, following the clues found in the incident a week ago, the church completely destroyed the [Light Chaser Club] local stronghold, and the man shot dead by Jenkins was also identified, so he received another 100 pounds bounty —The body of that person was burned like a matchstick before, and no one knew who it was.
On the other hand, the bookseller contacted by Dad finally had results.
Although the identities of the two cannot be revealed, the neighbors around Oliver in the antique shop know that he is a follower of the [Sage of Inheritance], so even if he finds the bookseller with his good relationship, there will be no doubts.
"This is Mr. Blow of [Mockingbird Press]."
The old man introduced to Jenkins, and the well-dressed publisher extended his hand politely, and then the two went to the lounge on the second floor of the store to discuss specific details.
"Mr. Williams, I have great admiration for talented young people like you."
Mr. Blow was the first to start, his white teeth more dazzling than his polished hair.
Because there was a guarantee from the church, the discussion between the two did not last long. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they went directly to the topic.
Mr. Bro said bluntly that he thought Jenkins' fairy tales were "very interesting" and was willing to print 300 copies in advance and distribute them in Nolan. As a publisher, he not only owns his own printing house, but also has relationships with bookstores in the city. Even a newcomer writer like Jenkins gets some referrals.
Jenkins also knew that he was a newcomer writer, and it would be a good thing to be published, so after bargaining, he was willing to pay 30 pounds as an initial investment for publishing, but the first printing would increase to 500 copies, and at the same time, the book must have illustrations.
This point is unreasonable to Mr. Burlow. The cost of making an illustrated engraving block may be higher than the cost of movable type printing plates. It's not unhealthy reading under Jenkins' bed, the kind that prints four figures at a time, so it makes for a well-made stereotype, but Jenkins is a small number.
Due to the need to print illustrations, Jenkins also has high requirements for the quality of the paper, so the final price of the published book will not be very cheap. In this way, the readers who may buy storybooks are only middle-class and above groups with spare money and children at home. No one knows whether Jenkins' book will be loved by them.
But in Jenkins' view, a fairy tale book without pictures is a no-go. Anyway, now that he has money again, he finally proposed to pay for the engraving by himself, but the copyright fee should be paid in the form of books.
"Okay, okay, so I take a lot less risk."
Mr. Bro nodded helplessly.
He quickly contacted several professional painters, and Jenkins asked his father for half a day off to meet them. One of them was actually a young man who came to sell rings on Jenkins' first day at work.
"He's really a student of the Art Academy. Dad guessed wrong."
Jenkins thought, but didn't choose him. Because his painting style tends to be abstract and novelty-seeking, it belongs to the kind that normal people would have to undergo a mental test after watching for a long time, and the asking price is also a bit high, which does not meet Jenkins' requirements in any aspect. If one day Jenkins is not afraid of being hunted down by the church and wants to write a Cthulhu-style storybook, he will consider this.
The one who finally reached a cooperation with him was an old painter Grant. He himself was the painting teacher of the noble lady. Because the unsatisfactory child was deeply trapped in the casino, he came out to earn some extra money to subsidize his family.
He likes Jenkins' fairy tales very much, and he can easily understand Jenkins' requirements of "warmth, innocence, childishness, and no bias towards realism". The most important thing is that the asking price is also very reasonable.
It took several days for the two to finally decide on a painting for each story. This is crazy behavior in the eyes of Mr. Brow, but who asked Jenkins to pay for it himself