Chapter 71: Chain Reaction

Chapter 71: Chain Reaction

At that moment, Wendel felt his calves trembling lightly, as though they could no longer support the weight of his body.

After leaving Utopia, he had imagined what the worst possible result might be: one day, he would suddenly die without reason.

Yet he had never expected that he would again encounter someone from Utopia—here, in Backlund, this real metropolis.

More importantly, the visitor had even invited him to go to Utopia again.

To Wendel, this was an extremely terrifying nightmare. The fact that he did not collapse on the spot was already proof that his mental fortitude was quite good.

Maintaining basic calm, Wendel forced out a troubled expression and said,

“I have a great many things to do recently…”

The policeman named Byers immediately said,

“The court date is in two weeks. These are the relevant documents.”

As he spoke, he handed the documents in his hand to Wendel.

Frankly speaking, Wendel did not want to take them at all, but he had no choice but to accept.

Byers then took a step back.

“This concerns a lady’s future. I sincerely hope you can appear in court as a witness.”

“I’ll see…” Wendel neither wanted to agree nor dared to refuse.

Byers said nothing more. He gave a salute.

“I will wait for you in Utopia. I hope we have the chance to meet again.”

With that, he turned around, left the house, and entered the street.

Throughout the entire process, Wendel was like someone frozen by ice, like a statue. He stood in place the entire time without blinking once.

Only after more than ten seconds did he seem to finally wake from the nightmare. His body went somewhat weak, and he tilted to the side, supporting himself against the door with his right hand.

Just now, he had been so afraid—afraid that Byers would forcibly take him back to that Utopia that did not exist at all.

If that happened, Wendel did not know whether he would still have the chance to leave. Perhaps he would simply vanish forever.

Compared to sudden death, that unknowable yet obviously terrible ending frightened him even more.

“Quickly, quickly report this matter! Capture that policeman from Utopia, clarify the true situation of that bizarre town, and find an appropriate way to resolve the problem completely!” After coming back to himself, Wendel forced his spirits up and prepared to notify the MI9 personnel secretly monitoring him.

At that moment, he finally realized that his response just now had been full of problems. He had failed to seize the opportunity to use the agreed hand gesture and inform the colleagues hidden in the dark that there was a problem with the visiting policeman. He had also failed to try delaying for time until the monitors noticed something was wrong on their own. Nor had he used the strengths he had possessed as an intelligence operative, unobtrusively asking which hotel Byers was staying in while in Backlund, and which date and train he had booked.

He had been far too terrified. All he could do was instinctively adopt the safest response that would not cause an accident.

Thinking this, Wendel stepped out of his house and gazed in the direction Byers had left, but he could no longer even see the other party’s back.

That policeman from Utopia had already merged into the passing carriages and pedestrians.

Retracting his gaze, Wendel lowered his head and looked at the documents in his hand. A sudden unease rose inside him.

“In two weeks, if I don’t go to Utopia to testify, what will happen?”

The more Wendel thought, the more afraid he became. His calves weakened again. He hurriedly made a gesture, informing the colleagues hidden nearby of the abnormality around him.

…

West Borough, 9 Bellotto Street.

After learning that a resident of Utopia had come to Backlund, Xio was both shocked and bewildered.

According to her previous observations, Utopia should have been hidden somewhere concealed, or between reality and illusion, allowing outsiders to enter and leave through random entrances.

As for why it allowed outsiders to enter and leave, that should have been a requirement of the ritual.

Therefore, in Xio’s understanding, the residents of Utopia should not leave their hometown and run around everywhere.

Is this also a requirement of the ritual? What are these residents’ true identities—believers of Mr. Fool, companions of The World Gehrman Sparrow? After Xio asked about the general appearance of the visitor from Utopia, and because she lacked further information, she could only return to MI9 headquarters first and hesitate over whether she should send her subordinates to conduct a large-scale search.

She was not sure whether Mr. World would be willing to see such behavior, and she also worried it might affect the ritual.

After pacing back and forth inside her office for a few steps, Xio prepared to pray to Mr. Fool and ask Him to relay her doubts to The World Gehrman Sparrow.

As she walked toward her chair, her gaze swept over the report lying on the desk.

It was the investigative report completed by two of her subordinates. On one hand, it confirmed that the passengers who successfully reached Backlund had no problems. On the other hand, it pointed out that one passenger had remained behind in Utopia.

A passenger… Xio’s gaze narrowed slightly. Relying on her own intuition, she formed a conjecture:

That resident of Utopia had come to Backlund with a purpose of his own. He was not running around randomly, and his purpose was very likely connected to a certain passenger who had previously left Utopia.

This… Xio’s heart trembled. She quickly sat down and attempted to pray.

Just then, someone knocked on her office door.

“…Come in,” Xio said after hesitating for a moment.

As the door opened, Xio saw Locke, who had a small goatee, and Wendel, who had personally experienced the Utopia incident.

“Colonel, Wendel met someone from Utopia. He came straight to his door!” Locke said, his word order somewhat jumbled.

This development had likewise exceeded his expectations.

As expected… Not only was Xio unsurprised, she secretly breathed out in relief.

She looked toward Wendel and asked,

“Why did he visit you?”

“He invited me to go to Utopia and testify in court for the Tracy murder case I mentioned in my report.” Compared to earlier, Wendel had clearly calmed down quite a bit.

He then added,

“He is a policeman named Byers. I didn’t dare ask where he is staying, when he plans to leave, or which steam train he intends to take.”

To show her seriousness, Xio stood up, thought for a moment, and said,

“Locke, immediately gather the members of your team. Find the rental carriage drivers who often wait for passengers near Wendel’s residence, as well as the public carriage drivers who pass through the nearby area. Ask whether they have seen Byers. If they have, ask where they took him. Also, send people to the steam train station to wait at the entrance and observe the passengers coming and going…”

After instructing her subordinate, Xio turned to Wendel.

“You will cooperate with them and draw Byers’s appearance.”

“Yes, Colonel.” Locke and Wendel answered simultaneously.

After they went out and closed the office door, Xio sat back down and began praying.

Very soon, she received Mr. Fool’s response and saw The World Gehrman Sparrow praying amid the gray fog.

Gehrman Sparrow told her,

“You may investigate normally.”

“When necessary, you may raise the conjecture that it is a ritual, but it must be included among several possible options.”

Xio immediately relaxed and patiently waited for her subordinates to report the results of their investigation.

When night fell, Locke returned to Bellotto Street and reported to Xio:

“We found the rental carriage driver who transported that Utopia resident!”

“Mm?” Xio showed her concern.

Locke explained briefly,

“That Utopian named Byers originally had the driver go to the Docklands, but as soon as the carriage entered the corresponding district, he requested to get off, saying that he had arrived.

“To the driver, that street was extremely unfamiliar and gave him the feeling of being lost.

“After he left that street, he discovered that the surroundings had become familiar again.

“Our people accompanied him back there, but no matter what, he could not find that street again.”

Xio nodded slightly and said in a grave tone,

“It preliminarily matches the descriptions of entering and leaving Utopia in the previous cases.”

“Colonel, do you mean one can enter or leave Utopia from any street in any city?” Locke still found it a little difficult to believe.

Xio deliberated for a moment.

“At present, it seems that way. But I keep feeling there is some problem. Mm… How does Utopia connect with different places? What does it use to locate them…”

After her voice gradually lowered, Xio said to Locke,

“Go tell Wendel that for the next two weeks, he will spend his time here until that document expires.”

“Yes, Colonel.” Locke immediately turned and left Xio’s office.

Wendel had no objection at all to Colonel Derecha’s arrangements. One could even say that only at MI9 headquarters could he find a sense of safety.

His temporary residence was a slightly modified night-duty room. Through the window, he could see the lawn, gardens, and trees outside.

Sweeping a glance across the view, Wendel saw a completely black crow. It stood on a branch, quietly watching in this direction.

…

The night in Bansy was extraordinarily gloomy. From time to time, the cries of crows or other seabirds echoed through the air.

Verdu stood by the window, gazing at the ruined pier and the dead, silent city that had already become rubble as they drew closer and closer. The pressure in his heart grew stronger.

After several days of sea travel, the ship he had taken was about to reach Bansy Harbor.

During the day, the captain had already told Verdu that they would wait for only two hours. If he exceeded that time, Verdu would have no choice but to remain on this uninhabited island and wait for the next ship that might arrive no one knew when.

Drawing in a breath, Verdu withdrew his gaze and removed his coat.

Then he opened his suitcase, took out a black robe with a strongly classical quality, and draped it over himself.

The robe’s surface was embroidered with golden and silver threads and inlaid with many rice-sized gemstones. It was a Sealed Artifact belonging to the Abraham family.

After making his preparations, Verdu left the pirate ship and entered Bansy Harbor.

Along the way, the classical robe tightened from time to time, choking him until his face turned purplish, close to fainting.

As he walked, Verdu used the map he had purchased and found the original Bansy Telegraph Office. In the open space amid the collapsed building, he saw two blood-red stains that remained vividly bright, as though they had been left behind after two people had been crushed into meat paste.

Beside those two shadows, on a broken wall, a carving depicted an octopus-headed monster wearing armor, stepping on waves, and holding a trident.

Verdu raised the lantern in his hand, intending to examine it carefully, when he suddenly felt a drop of cold liquid fall onto his neck.

His heart jolted. Almost by instinct, he reached out and touched it, finding it sticky, unlike rainwater. It had no color either, so it was not blood.

A little like… saliva… Verdu’s temples twitched. Slowly, he raised his head and looked toward the possible place where that drop of liquid had fallen from.

There was only a stretch of deep blackness, a night sky with no moon and no stars.