Chapter 49: Summary Report

Chapter 49: Summary Report

Jasmine felt that she ought to be afraid, but facing the female police officer before her, she found it difficult to produce overly intense emotional fluctuations. It was as though, after crying for a very long time, both body and mind had settled down on their own.

“All right. What do you want to ask?” She glanced at her parents’ complicated expressions, then asked with some hesitation.

The woman wearing a superintendent’s badge pointed toward the room door and said,

“Inside.”

She did not ask Jasmine’s parents to leave. She merely ordered two of the policemen who had followed her to stand guard outside.

After casually closing the door, she pulled over a crudely made round stool and sat down without the least politeness, looking quite relaxed.

This immediately made Jasmine and her parents feel less tense.

“You may call me Ms. Gray.” The police officer introduced herself, pointed at the other chairs and the bed in the outer room, and said, “Sit.”

After everyone in the room found a place and sat down, Gray smiled at Jasmine.

“I received a report saying that some hard-to-understand things happened around you. For example, men’s desire to violate you was clearly above the normal level. This does not mean that there are no villains or criminals among them, but rather that the proportion was too high—high enough to make one find it strange.”

At this point, Gray’s gaze swept across Jasmine’s face.

“As far as I know, you suffered serious injuries in a previous fire, resulting in irreparable disfigurement. Yet now, I cannot see any sign of that at all. Do you have anything to say about this?”

Jasmine’s heart rose into her throat again. Not daring to conceal anything, she said in a slightly panicked tone,

“Tonight, I went out to the municipal square for the carnival. When I passed a street, I met a wandering magician who called himself Merlin Hermes. He said he had invented a machine called the Fully Automatic Wish Machine. As long as you inserted a one-penny coin, quietly spoke your wish, and turned the lever, it could make your wish come true.

“He said I was the first experiencer and could try it once for free. Then—then I changed back into my original appearance. All my injuries were healed.

“Officer, that is exactly what happened. You have to believe me.”

After saying that, she glanced at Ms. Gray and her assistant, then at her parents, trying to obtain approval from them.

But the expressions on her parents’ faces clearly said:

“How could that be possible?

“How could there be a machine that automatically fulfills other people’s wishes?

“How could such a good thing exist, where one penny is enough to fulfill a wish?

“And the first experiencer is completely free!”

Gray and her assistant, however, did not show any obvious change in expression, leaving Jasmine unable to tell whether they believed her.

“Continue.” Seeing her pause, Gray nodded encouragingly.

Jasmine hurriedly recounted everything in full: how she had gone home to get coins, how she had wished for her parents to recover their health, and how she had wished to become beautiful. At the end, she said,

“I really did become extremely beautiful. Even I couldn’t look away from myself. It let me feel a great deal of goodwill. But later, the men around me gradually made me afraid…

“And because Dad and Mom couldn’t recognize me and drove me out of the house, I was scared—very scared. So I went back there and made the third wish. Mm, Mr. Merlin Hermes said the first one was a free wish and did not count among the three. In short, I changed back into my original appearance again, and then I met you.”

Hearing this, Jasmine’s parents instantly thought of the beautiful “thief” from earlier.

Then they discovered that their bodies were indeed much healthier than before. Their eyesight had recovered, their arms were strong enough, and everything seemed different.

They began to believe Jasmine’s description. Yet this made them feel even more frightened, because it was like encountering a devil, just like the stories in many folk legends.

Gray nodded gently.

“I have seen many things beyond your imagination, but this is my first time hearing of something like a Fully Automatic Wish Machine.

“Compared with the wishing lamps and wishing wells of folk legends, this is truly far too modernized.”

After a pause, Gray’s expression grew serious.

“As a fairly experienced law enforcer, I will give you three suggestions.

“First, never believe in similar matters again. In most situations, wishes being easily fulfilled are accompanied by tremendous disasters. Calling it a devil’s temptation would not be wrong at all.”

Jasmine nodded heavily, indicating that she would never dare again—the last part of her experience still left her frightened even now.

“Second, go to church as soon as possible, confess this matter to the bishop, and ask him to purify you.” Gray looked around the room. “Your entire family must go.”

Seeing Jasmine and her parents all indicate that this was exactly what they had been thinking, Gray then looked back at Jasmine.

“My department is still short of some clerical staff. You can consider joining us. That way, I can monitor your condition at any time and handle abnormalities in time. As for salary, believe me, it is about the same as that of a government employee.”

A salary about the same as a government employee… and protection… There is actually such a good thing? Jasmine asked, unable quite to believe it,

“What department is it?”

Gray smiled.

“I will give you an address. Come to my office tomorrow and find me. Then you can learn the specific situation.”

“…All right.” Jasmine was still in an anxious, frightened state. Even if what appeared before her was only a single straw, she would reach out to grab it.

…

One week later, Jasmine officially joined Limon City’s Nighthawks team as a clerical worker.

“Captain, that wired telegraph has broken down.” She knocked on the door to Gray’s room and spoke cautiously.

Gray put down the documents in her hand and rubbed her forehead.

“Report it to the police station and have them handle it.

“Honestly. In the past, we could directly ask people from the Machinery Hivemind for help. They repaired things quickly and well. Now, sigh…”

After Jasmine left, Gray picked up those documents again and carefully began reading them.

These were pieces of intelligence regarding the Fully Automatic Wish Machine that the Nighthawks had collected over the past week.

After Jasmine, similar incidents had happened more than once!

After reading through the materials, Gray spread out a sheet of paper, picked up her fountain pen, and began writing the formal report to be submitted to the archbishop of Constant and the Holy Cathedral:

“Over the past week, multiple Beyonder incidents have occurred in this city involving a strange machine called the Fully Automatic Wish Machine. Current intelligence indicates that it was created by a wandering magician who calls himself Merlin Hermes, but other possibilities cannot be ruled out. At least, I believe Merlin Hermes may merely be an illusion created by this machine for external display in order to induce people to use the machine to make wishes…

“This machine is brass-colored all over and embedded with opaque glass. Its surface exposes gears, bearings, rivets, metal pipes, and other components. It appears to be a product of modern industry…

“Case 1: A young girl disfigured by fire encountered the Fully Automatic Wish Machine on Fields Street near the municipal square… Her first wish was to return to her original appearance, and this was fulfilled normally… Her second wish was for her parents to recover their health, and this was also fulfilled normally… Her third wish was to become very, very, very beautiful. Afterward, she no longer resembled herself and carried an effect similar to charm, rendering nearby men unable to resist under normal conditions…

“She claimed to be the first person to use the Fully Automatic Wish Machine, so she had a free quota. Relying on that point, she canceled her third wish…

“Case 2: A retired soldier who participated in Limon’s defense and was left with severe psychological trauma encountered the Fully Automatic Wish Machine by the river… His first wish was for his mental condition to return to its prewar state, and this was fulfilled normally… His second wish was to become a little more handsome, reaching the standard of the men on the covers of many magazines, and this was also fulfilled normally… His third wish was to obtain 100,000 gold pounds and become a wealthy man. Then he was fancied by the owner of Limon City United Steel Company, who wished to marry him. This lady’s fortune is nearly 200,000 gold pounds…

“This retired soldier was unwilling to accept a middle-aged lady who weighed more than 200 pounds, was shorter than normal, and had a violent temperament. He is preparing to leave Limon and head south. If one day he no longer wishes to work hard, he will easily be able to obtain nominal ownership of 100,000 gold pounds in wealth… In a certain sense, his wish was fulfilled. He simply did not wish to receive it…

“Case 3…

“Case 4…

“Case 5: A public school teacher encountered the Fully Automatic Wish Machine in Corner Alley near the Church of Storms… Her first wish was to look a little better and no longer be disliked by students or isolated by colleagues because of her appearance. This was fulfilled normally… Her second wish was to obtain a better position. This was also fulfilled—because her teaching ability was sufficiently high, once no longer limited by her looks, she quickly became the students’ favorite teacher and began serving as vice principal of teaching…

“Her third wish was to have a husband whose looks, family background, personality, and ability had no flaws. In the end, she obtained a puppet. This puppet can speak, move, possess a certain degree of intelligence, and has the characteristic of being alive. It is extremely handsome and was made by a top master. Whatever personality one wants, that is the personality it possesses. Its abilities in every respect are very strong. Aside from not being human, it truly has no shortcomings…

“Case 6…

“…

“Combining these cases, several preliminary conjectures can be formed:

“The Fully Automatic Wish Machine can appear anywhere in Limon. Its randomness is very strong, and no pattern has been discovered for now…

“Most wishes made to it can be fulfilled normally, but a small portion undergo distortion. The latter are basically concentrated on the third wish. Of course, this may also be because, by the third wish, the wishers become more indulgent and begin making overly greedy requests…

“The wishes it fulfills are mostly related to changing appearance, but the range involved is very broad, almost approaching omnipotence…

“The frequency with which it appears likewise shows no pattern…

“This is a typical mystical item requiring sealing, and it clearly exceeds the level of a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact. I hope the archbishop and senior deacons can personally come to handle it, or provide an effective method of sealing…”

…

On a steam train leaving Limon, Klein examined the digestion of his Miracle Invoker potion.