Chapter 197: Action

Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Seven
Action

There is danger. Not high, and not low…

That means Madam Sharon is still inside the house. She has not fled…

Klein froze for a moment, then quickly understood the reason.

He had used the method of “summoning” himself to transform into a rather special Spirit Body and search the safe and its hidden compartment. He had not forced open the lock, nor had he triggered any concealed mechanical device or other object. Therefore, it was very normal that Madam Sharon had not realized her secret had already been discovered. She would merely think a thief had broken in, or perhaps that a private detective had accepted a commission and infiltrated to investigate, only to find nothing.

In that situation, for her to remain insufficiently alert and continue staying at home accorded with reason and logic.

The Madam Sharon Klein knew was not someone who, upon encountering a minor abnormality, would lose composure and overreact. She was a socialite who could calmly pretend to be afraid and pitiful. She was a member of the Demoness Sect who had hidden her Beyonder identity for years.

If telephones had already been invented, Madam Sharon would definitely call one of her lovers, act coquettish, complain about Tingen City’s public security, and hint at Madam Maynard…

Klein let his imagination stage that little drama, then told Dunn and Kernli the result of his divination and his guess.

“That is the inference closest to reality.”

Dunn pressed down his half-top silk hat. His deep gray eyes looked toward Madam Sharon’s two-story house.

“We will not hurry inside.”

“Why?”

Kernli, who held Sealed Artifact 3-0217, instinctively asked.

He was filled with fear toward the Spirit Medium’s Mirror in his hands, always afraid something unexpected might happen with that Sealed Artifact.

Dunn put on black gloves and looked at Klein.

“Do you remember the matter of surrounding and capturing Instigator Tris?”

“I do.”

After a few seconds of thought, Klein said, “She seemed to sense our approach in advance, responded in time, and successfully escaped.”

I also remember answering the Captain’s question afterward and suggesting fire coverage. That was the most stable and safest method, but it cannot be used this time. Madam Sharon’s house contains quite a few innocent servants. If we notify them early and evacuate them in time, we will definitely alert Madam Sharon. And according to Leonard, Tris could become invisible, so we have to assume Madam Sharon has mastered a similar Beyonder ability…

In an instant, Klein connected many points together.

Dunn looked up at the crimson moon in the sky.

“Very good. Your answer is very good. Your intuition in this sort of situation is quite sharp.

“We cannot rashly approach and alert Madam Sharon. I will try to pull her into a dream from a distance. If I succeed, you and Kernli will go inside and subdue her. Mm… You may decide for yourselves whether to kill her. If she cannot be controlled, then eliminate her. Your own safety is the most important thing.”

Captain, whenever the critical moment arrives, your thinking is always so clear! That is exactly what I was waiting for!

Klein silently praised him.

Over the two months they had spent together, through casual conversations with Dunn, Leonard, Frye, and the others, Klein had more or less grasped the characteristics of their respective Beyonder abilities. Among them, as a Nightmare, Dunn Smith could, from his home or from Blackthorn Security Company, freely enter and exit the dreams of every sleeping person in Tingen City’s urban district.

As for the exact method, that involved the secrets of each Sequence, so Klein had not asked in detail.

The direct pulling of a person into dreams had a range limit and often appeared only in face-to-face confrontations.

However, Klein had heard the Captain mention that the ability did not necessarily have to be attempted face to face. Within a hundred meters, it could still have some effect, but it required time and process. It could not be completed all at once; it was more like coaxing a child to sleep.

At this moment, Dunn intended to “remotely” pull Madam Sharon bit by bit into a dream, completing the preliminary control and creating the best possible situation for Klein and Kernli.

“All right.”

Kernli also very much approved of the Captain’s plan.

Without further words, Dunn found a corner of the wall and leaned against it. He closed his eyes, clasped his hands tightly, and lowered his head. His knee-length black windbreaker and half-top silk hat seemed to blend into the night itself.

…

Inside the luxurious, ornate bedroom.

Madam Sharon lay in a comfortable rocking chair. She wore nothing at all, completely exposing her fair, outstanding figure to the air.

From time to time, she turned her head and glanced at the full-length mirror, admiring her own enchanting reflection.

As she watched, the color of peach blossoms rose upon her cheeks. Her eyes seemed wet enough to drip water, while a strange tenderness appeared within her dazed, entranced expression.

On the table beside her stood the white-bone statue. Beneath the warm light and pinkish atmosphere, even that hair, thick as venomous snakes, seemed to soften.

Gradually, Madam Sharon looked toward the full-length mirror less and less. Her head nodded bit by bit, and her eyelids drooped uncontrollably.

…

Time passed second by second. Klein suddenly thought of something: after the Captain pulled Madam Sharon into a dream, how would he inform him and Kernli in time?

If he left his Nightmare state, Madam Sharon would wake and realize something was wrong… I wonder whether the Captain can dream while gesturing to us…

Klein looked toward Kernli, who was pacing back and forth, unable to remain calm, and intended to discuss the matter with him to draw away his attention.

Just then, his spirit suddenly went hazy. He saw an enormous crimson moon. Beneath the moon, he saw Captain Dunn Smith in a knee-length black windbreaker. He saw the short Kernli standing there in a daze.

Klein suddenly and clearly realized that he was dreaming.

I was pulled into the dream by the Captain… So this can be used to notify us…

He very much wanted to cover his face, but could only maintain a dazed, sleepwalking state and stupidly say, “Captain?”

Dunn nodded slightly.

“Madam Sharon has entered a dream. You may act.”

After saying that, he emphasized again, “Remember, you must be careful enough. Do not be rash… It is better to miss the opportunity than to take risks.”

The moment his words faded, what Klein saw before him shattered inch by inch. Reflected in his sight once again was Dunn Smith leaning in the corner, head lowered and fists clenched.

On the other side, Kernli, who had stopped pacing without Klein knowing when, also opened his eyes.

The two exchanged a glance, nodded to one another, and simultaneously entered mission-execution mode.

Although this was Kernli’s first time encountering a relatively dangerous mission, compared to Klein, he was still more experienced and had participated in many formal operations. At this time, he swiftly adjusted himself, becoming calm and keen.

Of course, this was also partly because the night granted an enhancement to Sleepless. This was one of the reasons Dunn had brought Kernli instead of Frye.

“Let’s go.”

As a Sequence 8, Klein took on the leading role and signaled for his teammate to follow.

Kernli did not object. He gripped the mirror tightly wrapped in thick black cloth, lightened his steps, and began following.

Klein led him to the spot where they had climbed the wall before. Reaching out with both hands, he gripped seams and protrusions, then climbed to the top of the wall in only a few movements.

Maintaining an exaggerated balance, he turned, bent backward at the waist, extended his hand, and steadily caught the Spirit Medium’s Mirror that Kernli threw up.

The instant Klein touched it, his inspiration suddenly tightened, as though what the black cloth wrapped around was not a mirror, but a door leading into some dangerous, uncanny world.

As expected, every mystical item that needs to be sealed has its own sinister side…

Klein sighed inwardly as he watched Kernli climb up using both hands and feet.

For ease of movement, Kernli had left his cane beside Dunn, and Klein no longer dwelled on that point.

After passing through the garden and reaching the side of the house, he climbed, as before, along the water pipe. In a few swift movements, he reached the second-floor balcony.

Then, almost instinctively, he hooked both feet in place, hung his body upside down, and once again received Sealed Artifact 3-0217.

Kernli looked at him with slight astonishment, then seemed to understand and nodded.

At that moment, even Klein himself was startled. He exerted strength through his waist and back, braced with his left hand, and easily flipped back up.

“What happened just now? Why could I make a movement like that? It felt almost instinctive… Is this part of the Clown’s ability?”

Remembering it, he felt that in practical use, he had displayed the traits of Clown more effectively.

After Kernli likewise climbed up with ease, Klein returned the Spirit Medium’s Mirror to him and pulled open the balcony door whose latch had not been locked.

Kernli carefully untied the black cloth wrapped around Sealed Artifact 3-0217, letting the mirror face downward toward the floor tiles.

Never pointing it at oneself or a teammate was one of the rules for using the Spirit Medium’s Mirror.

After tucking away the black cloth and drawing his revolver, Kernli followed behind Klein, stepping very lightly across the corridor until they reached Madam Sharon’s bedroom door.

Klein held his revolver with the cylinder already adjusted. While activating spirit vision, he extended his left palm toward the door handle.

He remembered that the previous divination result had been danger, so he did not dare be the slightest bit careless.

The reason he did not perform another quick divination on the spot was because he knew the evil statue of the Primordial Demoness was inside the room. At such a close distance, he would definitely be interfered with. Without the gray fog’s isolation, it would be impossible to obtain a correct and clear answer. And with Kernli right beside him, he could not enter that mysterious space.

The door turned without a sound and opened. What entered Klein and Kernli’s eyes was the warm glow of gas lamps.

Then they saw Madam Sharon in the position of the rocking chair. They saw her body, filled with allure.

Madam Sharon was not asleep. She lounged there, the corners of her lips curved in a faint smile as she watched the two uninvited guests.

Instinctively, Kernli turned his palm over and aimed the Spirit Medium’s Mirror at Madam Sharon.

Klein first froze, then blurted out, “Don’t!”

He remembered very clearly that on the other side of the rocking chair, there should have been a full-length mirror. But now, he did not see it.

In only the time it took for a second hand to tick once, the Spirit Medium’s Mirror had already locked onto Madam Sharon.

However, that Madam Sharon suddenly blurred and became a full-length mirror.

Kernli saw himself inside the mirror. He also saw Sealed Artifact 3-0217 reflected in the mirror, saw that it was shining upon him.

Inside the Spirit Medium’s Mirror, a figure instantly emerged.

It was Kernli himself—expressionless, icy, and silent.

And at the same time, Klein’s hands and feet tightened. It was as though he had been bound by countless invisible threads.

Graceful contours were outlined inch by inch beside the full-length mirror, and Madam Sharon, draped in a sleeping robe, appeared there.

She cast the two of them a sidelong glance and laughed softly.

“If that divine statue had not happened to be beside me, I suppose I would now be sleeping and waiting for you to kiss me awake.”

Just then, Klein suddenly spoke in a low voice, uttering a word in ancient Hermes:

“Crimson!”

At some unknown moment, his left hand had slipped into his pocket. His fingers moved with nimble precision, lightly flicking out the Slumber Charm.