"I have a letter here..."
Wayne pulled the crumpled, blood-stained letter from his ruined clothes.
Tess didn't reach out to take it. Instead, she looked at Wayne suspiciously. "Boss, you're not trying to trick me, are you? We agreed not to pry into each other's secrets."
Wayne looked at the letter in his hand; there wasn't a single word written on the envelope. "Two lives were lost over this. I'm not joking with you. If your contact..."
Tess frowned, looking conflicted. "You might not believe this, but even I don't know who my contact is. Master Shaw only told me the method to reach them."
Wayne wiped some of the blood off the letter and spoke to Tess solemnly. "You don't need to tell me how you contact them. Just pass this letter on. I have a feeling that if the information inside isn't delivered quickly, more people will die."
Tess scratched her head. "Actually, you could just go to Stormwind and see him yourself. Ask that Archmage in the cafe to open a portal for you, and—whoosh—you'll be there in an instant."
Wayne thought about his hour-long excursion today. He had fought Defias rebels and witnessed a massacre. Now, his face was known to the Defias, and he held a letter that had already triggered a bloodbath. For all he knew, the Defias might gather more men and return.
He wasn't leaving the net cafe for anything. This was the only place where he was truly safe.
"No, no. It's bad luck. I'm not going anywhere."
The two returned to the net cafe. Wayne spent the entire afternoon acting as a consultant. Movie-goers wanted spoilers, and gamers asked for walkthroughs. He worked until closing time at 8:00 PM, but Tyrosus, still wanting more, pulled him aside outside for a private chat.
The leader of the Argent Dawn had played all day and reached level 4. Although the boost was minuscule for a peak Expert-level Paladin like himself, he could still feel his combat prowess improving through the game.
His subordinate, Pureheart, felt the same way.
And then, of course, there was the ice-cold Coke that made one crave another bottle immediately.
But most importantly, the heroes, units, and spells of the Necropolis were exactly as McBride had described—well worth the study of Argent Dawn officers.
He immediately asked Wayne if it was possible to open a branch of the net cafe in the Plaguelands.
Wayne almost fainted. He thought to himself that he was out to make money, not to lose his life. Opening a shop in a place crawling with high-level skeletons, zombies, abominations, and liches, with Naxxramas floating in the sky... he'd likely lose his life before making a single copper.
Tyrosus saw the twitching muscles on Wayne's face and knew his suggestion had been rejected.
However, he still explained his reasoning.
Within the Argent Dawn, in addition to members from the various Alliance nations, there were also many members of the Horde.
There were Orc Shamans from the Earthen Ring, Tauren Druids from Thunder Bluff, and even Troll Hunters and Undead Priests. Whatever their original motives, once they joined the Argent Dawn, they transcended their opposing races, identities, and factions. They became neutral members of the Argent Dawn, dedicated solely to fighting the Scourge.
While their actions received recognition and support from the Alliance and the Horde, it didn't mean their members were fully accepted by both sides in every sense. The Argent Dawn couldn't exactly send an Orc Shaman strolling into Stormwind as a liaison officer, nor could they station a human Paladin in Orgrimmar as an ambassador.
Goldshire was simply too close to Stormwind. If Wayne could open a net cafe in a relatively neutral location or somewhere far from Stormwind, it would be much more convenient for Argent Dawn members to come for training.
As for money, he told Wayne not to worry. While the Alliance had explicitly stated they would not send troops to coordinate with the Argent Dawn's actions in the Plaguelands, they had still provided some financial aid. This money might be insufficient for large-scale military operations, but it was more than enough to send people to a net cafe for training.
He told Wayne to think it over. If necessary, he was willing to persuade the other leaders of the Argent Dawn to invest in his net cafe.
But before that, they would use teleportation to send some elite members to Goldshire in rotations to begin their "advanced studies."
Finally, he offered a thought. Although he hadn't played Monster Hunter today, he had heard the Northshire group describe it. He felt it would be even better if there were a game with the combat mode of Monster Hunter but the theme of fighting the undead like in Heroes of Might and Magic.
After saying his piece, he and Pureheart activated their Hearthstones and teleported away.
Wayne was still thinking about the game Tyrosus mentioned when he walked back into the cafe. He found that Tess wasn't inside, but the Steelly siblings were moving in the custom safe he had ordered.
Wayne guessed that Tess had probably gone into stealth to secretly contact her handler, so he didn't think much of it. With that girl's skills, she might not be able to bully everyone else, but she was generally safe from being bullied by others.
After an eventful day, he finally sat down in his gaming chair, put on his glasses, and entered the login interface. To his surprise, he saw a prompt from the vending machine:
[Detected that 8 users have finished watching all current films.]
[Unlocking Saint Seiya: Galactic Wars Arc and Pope's Assassins Arc.]
Wayne felt today's events were simply too stimulating. From dreaming of the Lich King to witnessing a murder, and now unlocking Saint Seiya at night—he began to wonder if he was still dreaming.
He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, took a sip of Coke, and took two deep breaths. When he put the glasses back on, the content hadn't changed.
After he clicked confirm, a "Saint Seiya" option appeared below "Harry Potter" in the "Movies & TV" section of the selection interface.
If the dragons and beasts in Monster Hunter, the magic in Harry Potter, and the races and settings in Heroes of Might and Magic all shared some similarities with the world of Warcraft he had traveled to, the style of the Saint Seiya world was quite different.
Currently, the net cafe followed a general trend: melee physical classes liked Monster Hunter, old-school spellcasters liked Harry Potter, and trendy mages and Paladins fighting the undead liked Heroes of Might and Magic.
He wasn't sure who the audience for Saint Seiya would be.
While he was lost in thought, the door was gently pushed open and then softly closed. Tess emerged from stealth and told Wayne that she had already sent the signal to her contact.