Chapter 85: Another One

Chapter Eighty-Five
Another One

Lying on the living room floor, Fors’s eyelashes trembled a few times. Her eyes slowly opened.

Outside the window, the bright moon hung high, like a round disc filled to the brim with crimson radiance. The usual thin, hazy veil of red had become a dense blood-colored glow.

I’m not dead. I didn’t lose control… What happened just now was not a dream… There truly is a mysterious and powerful Mr. Fool who saved me…

Fors rolled over and sat up, examining herself. Apart from her hair having grown a little longer and thicker, she discovered no other abnormalities.

“But compared with before, my life has already become completely different… I do not know whether that is good or bad…”

Amid soundless murmuring, Fors sat on the floor hugging her knees, staring blankly. At times she felt lost, at times anxious, at times bitter, at times bewildered.

…

Above the gray fog, Klein looked at the chair whose symbolic sign was a door layered upon door, and thoughtfully murmured, “I wonder what information those ravings truly contain…

“Once she reaches Sequence 7, or perhaps Sequence 6, she should be able to resist the negative influence and hear the content clearly.

“If she still has not grasped the acting method by then, I will have Miss Justice and the others teach her for me. I swore to the Goddess using a holy object as witness that I cannot mention similar matters before people who do not understand the acting method.

“…Once I advance to Sequence 5 and become a Marionettist, perhaps I can use the corresponding ritual and the special nature of this mysterious space to remotely control her, directly seeing the scenes she sees and hearing the sounds she hears.

“That way, I will be able to confirm whether it is Mr. Door…

“He is a gentleman who witnessed the history of the Fourth Epoch. He may very well be even older than Mr. Azik, who has lived life after life.

“I wonder what his strength and level are equivalent to. Sequence 2? Or even Sequence 1?”

After thinking for a while, Klein sensed the instability of his spirituality. He hurriedly dropped through the gray fog and returned to the real world.

This was a normal phenomenon not long after advancing. Because of that, Klein gave up on going out. He patiently stayed at home, meditated, and gathered his scattered spirituality.

…

At daybreak, Fors took the earliest steam metro back to Saint George Borough, then changed to a public carriage and returned to the two-bedroom apartment she and Xio were currently living in.

The moment she opened the door, she froze. Xio, who usually slept until very late, was actually there toasting bread.

“There was suddenly a Blood Moon last night, and I did not sleep very well because of it. I woke early,” Xio said, lifting her head with concern. “Fors, are you all right? Did those strange ravings become stronger?”

Fors’s vision abruptly blurred. She turned her head to the side, forced out a smile, and answered in her usual tone used to strike at the other party:

“Where is your brain? Did I not tell you before? During a Blood Moon, the ravings definitely become stronger!

“But they had no effect on me at all. Mm, no effect at all. Look at me. I am perfectly energetic!

“Eh, toast a piece of bread for me too.”

“Do you not dislike eating bread that way?”

Xio smoothed her short blond hair and muttered softly.

…

Having completed the preliminary stage of his revenge and obtained advancement, Klein slept until morning, then leisurely went out to buy a portion of Feysac noodles for breakfast, pairing it with a Dixi pie and a take-out cup of sweet iced tea.

After enjoying the food in satisfaction, he set down his knife and fork, picked up the newspapers, and began reading in a very relaxed mood.

His gaze swept across the page, and he discovered that the front-page headline of the Tussock Times read:

“On the Night of the Blood Moon, the Murder Fiend Appears Again!”

Again?

Klein hurriedly flipped through the front pages of other newspapers and saw many similar headlines:

“The Real Eleventh Case! Police Helpless!”

“Cold-Blooded Murderer Challenges Police Once More!”

“An Atmosphere of Panic Spreads Through Backlund!”

This… The Nighthawks and Mandated Punishers must all be having headaches right now.

Klein sighed sincerely inside his heart.

To be honest, he had a strong impulse to uncover the murderer.

Back on Earth, when he had no ability, he would often fantasize about upholding justice and punishing evil. Now that he was a Sequence 7 Beyonder, Klein felt it would almost be an insult to the past if he did not become a superhero.

Sigh. Unfortunately, this case is already under intense attention. If I get involved, would that not be waiting to expose my identity? A person should remain rational… Besides, according to Student Sun, the murderer is very likely in the stage of advancing from Sequence 6 to Sequence 5. Although I, who have obtained so many spells and spell-like abilities, would not fear him, I may not be able to catch him either. The risk is relatively high…

After thinking it over, Klein finally chose to follow the strongest desire in his heart:

to be an ordinary citizen.

He believed that with the strength of the major Churches, if the murderer continued killing, there was a considerable chance of catching him.

After finishing the related news, Klein glanced again at the Backlund Morning Post and discovered that the Ernst Firm goods-purchase advertisement had once more appeared on the fifth page.

“There will be a gathering at eight tomorrow night. Perfect. I can sell the pith crystals from the Elven Spring to the Apothecary…”

As Klein muttered, he memorized the first four digits of all the quoted prices.

More than half an hour later, he finished reading the thick stack of newspapers before him and seriously considered his future plans.

“The long-term plan is to advance to a high Sequence, become a powerhouse that is half-god and half-human, and plot revenge against Ince Zangwill.

“The mid-term plan is to find the method for acting as a Magician, gradually summarize the corresponding rules, and digest the potion bit by bit. During that process, I must gather the Human-skinned Shadow characteristic, deep-sea naga hair, the Thousand-faced Hunter’s mutated pituitary gland and blood, as well as a method for removing an evil god’s mental contamination from an item.

“Mm… Beyonder materials at the Sequence 6 level are around fifteen hundred pounds each. Truly expensive!

“In addition, I need to obtain a mystical item with an offensive or control focus. Although Magician is very strong, its Beyonder abilities are mostly concentrated in survival, escape, and adapting to environments. Its strongest attack is only comparable to a specially made revolver, though it has the advantage of being unexpected. It also lacks means for controlling enemies.

“Short-term plan. Short-term plan… Heh. Later, I need to cut paper into ‘people’ and prepare for the use of my abilities. In the afternoon, I should visit a circus. It can count as relaxation and entertainment, and by observing ordinary magicians’ performances, I might find inspiration for acting. Mm, newspapers say Backlund has several fixed circuses…”

After sorting out his thoughts, Klein immediately put away the dishes, washed the knife and fork, and threw himself into busy preparations.

Near noon, he put down the scissors, looked at the three rather crude paper figurines before him, and sighed. In a soft voice, he muttered:

“This is probably the first time in both my lives that I have done handicraft this seriously…

“Fortunately, I only need to cut paper figurines. I am not cutting decorative window paper or doing embroidery. As long as they have a human shape, it is enough!

“Sigh. If my hands had not become more dexterous, I probably would have failed today…”

Klein had already tried the ability using extra paper figurines earlier and confirmed that there was no problem.

Folding the paper figurines and hiding them inside a stack of notes, Klein put them away inside his pocket.

Just as he was preparing to go out to a better restaurant for fine food, then watch a performance at the nearest circus, the doorbell was suddenly pulled. Its clear ringing echoed pleasantly.

“A commission? The advertisement I placed should be about to expire…”

Wearing a shirt with a crisp collar and a thin yet warm sweater, Klein came to the door and grasped the handle.

At the same time, the visitor’s image naturally appeared inside his mind.

He was a man nearly forty years old, quite obese, standing there with visible effort.

His eyes were squeezed very small by the flesh on his face. His skin was rough yet very pale. In his hand was a gentleman’s cane, and on his head sat a very high, very large top hat.

Although Backlund in October could already be considered cold, sweat was visibly sliding down this man’s forehead.

Beside him were two attendants in bright red coats, supporting him from left and right.

I do not know him…

Klein muttered, then, with his intuition giving no reaction, opened the door.

“Good afternoon. This weather really is hot.”

The obese middle-aged gentleman took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

As he spoke, a cold wind blew past, making the two attendants beside him shiver several times.

“Good afternoon. May I ask what business you have?” Klein asked politely.

“You are Detective Sherlock Moriarty, yes? I have a matter I would like to entrust to you.”

The middle-aged gentleman forced a smile.

“I forgot to introduce myself. I am Logo Caroman, a jewelry merchant.”

“Please come in.”

Klein smiled and stepped aside.

Logo Caroman entered with heavy steps and sat down heavily on the sofa, causing the somewhat old piece of furniture to let out a groan of resistance.

“What is the specific matter?”

Klein took out a copper penny and skillfully made it flip and spin between his fingers.

Logo sighed.

“I would like to ask you to protect my child until tomorrow afternoon. He has offended some madmen.”

“Until tomorrow afternoon? You have already found a solution? Why not report it to the police?”

Klein asked at an unhurried pace.

Logo fell silent for two seconds.

“Adol made a few bad friends. They led him into doing some bad things. Mm, not too serious, but the kind that could still send him to prison. If there were any other way, I would not want to report it to the police.

“Recently, he fell out with those bad friends. Then his whole person suddenly collapsed. He kept shouting that those people were coming to kill him.

“I am very worried, so I hired six veteran security personnel from a security company to guard the perimeter. I also hired four private detectives to take turns staying with Adol. Even when he sleeps, someone watches from beside him.

“But one of the detectives suddenly had a family emergency and will only return tomorrow afternoon, so I had no choice but to hire another temporarily.

“My apologies. I can only employ you for one day.

“Mm… The pay is ten pounds. If danger occurs, I will add more. It will definitely satisfy you.”

So that is it… Ten pounds for one day. That is equivalent to more than a week’s salary for Mr. Sammer next door…

From the other party’s emotional colors, Klein preliminarily confirmed that he was not lying.

During the brief silence inside the living room, the copper penny that kept flipping between Klein’s fingers suddenly leapt up and landed in his palm with a clang.

Klein glanced at it, curled his five fingers, and smiled faintly.

“Deal.”