Chapter 94: The Forgotten Thought

Chapter 94: The Forgotten Thought

Monday night, 160 Böklund Street.

After setting up the ritual, Klein summoned himself, preparing to investigate the hidden secret in the sewers.

When responding above the gray fog, he hesitated over whether to bring the Black Emperor card or the Tyrant card, as though choosing clothes before going out.

Considering that Backlund was a region where the Church of Storms held very strong influence, and fearing that he might attract some hot-tempered high-Sequence fellow, Klein ultimately chose to accommodate the Black Emperor card. He wore a crown upon his head, black armor over his body, and a cape over his back.

Aside from this Card of Blasphemy, he also carried Creeping Hunger, Azik’s copper whistle, Senor’s gold coin, the Marauder pathway mystical item Broken Finger that Admiral of Stars Cattleya had provided three hours earlier, and ordinary explosives.

Of course, Klein did not bring the entire crate of explosives. For a spirit body, that was simply too heavy. He only took five sticks and handed them to the Wraith Senor to contain.

As for the Death Knell revolver, he left it in the room. This was to restrain his own impulse to join battle. His goal was very clear: the moment he discovered a problem, he would immediately move away and not linger, avoiding danger. A sharp weapon always made one bolder, tempting one to explore deeper and resolve problems personally.

This is Backlund. It is best not to create too large a disturbance… And as for what is hidden in the sewers, I cannot foresee it. I can only divine that there is danger…

Klein glanced at the clock in the room and confirmed that there was still at least an hour and a half before Hazel’s habitual time of action.

His figure abruptly vanished. Passing through the balcony glass, he flew onto the street and entered the sewers.

In the dirty, damp environment, Klein took out a Loen gold coin, allowing the Wraith Senor, dressed in a dark red coat and an old tricorn hat, to appear ahead of him.

Then he handed his marionette the tweezers that seemed formed from two polished and fitted finger bones.

In just that brief span of carrying them with him, he had nearly failed to restrain the impulse to steal the sewer manhole cover.

Senor held Broken Finger and walked ahead. Klein, in the appearance of the Black Emperor, hid his figure and followed behind, staying at least fifty meters from the marionette.

With this layer of separation, the kleptomania could no longer affect him. As for Senor, who was essentially already one of the dead, he likewise had no thought of stealing anything.

He had no thoughts at all!

Turning into the corresponding side path and passing through the concealed secret door, the Wraith Senor, holding the gray-white tweezers, appeared inside the half-natural, half-artificial cave.

Unlike the last time he had come, the oilcloth-wrapped tools such as the iron shovel had changed position, and the hidden passage slanting downward to the right had grown deeper.

From this alone, it was obvious where Hazel’s current focus lay.

Immediately afterward, Klein, who had not entered the side path, leaned virtually against the sewer wall with his back to the target area, controlling his marionette to step into the hidden passage on the right.

Very quickly, the Wraith Senor reached the end.

Just then, Klein suddenly felt the gray-white tweezers in the marionette’s hand tremble slightly and inexplicably, as though attracted by some unknown object not far away.

That unknown thing was deep and profound, like a calm sea, making it difficult to peer into its exact state.

It has a living characteristic, closer to a spirit…

This was all Klein could judge. He immediately had Senor use Mirror Jump to return to the half-natural, half-artificial cave, to the surface of the iron shovel that had not yet been corroded. He no longer attempted to pass through the passage and enter deeper into the earth.

Then Senor, wearing his dark red coat, manifested again and placed the five sticks of ordinary explosive he contained within his body in different locations.

Every Wraith was a demolition expert!

After finishing this, Senor’s figure flashed and appeared on the surface of the gold coin in Klein’s hand.

As Klein stuffed the coin into his body, he lifted his right hand, preparing to snap his fingers and directly detonate those five sticks of explosives.

His idea was very simple: use an explosion of appropriate scale to destroy Hazel’s efforts and traces, guide the Nighthawks over, and thoroughly resolve the problem.

In that way, no matter what was hidden deep within the secret passage, it would no longer bring him danger!

In Backlund, knowing how to cleverly “call the police” is far more effective and much safer than recklessly attacking by myself—especially when I cannot confirm whether this matter involves a demigod!

I truly am a good citizen!

As Klein mocked himself, he was just about to ignite the explosives with a snap.

Suddenly, his head swayed left and right. Then he lowered his arm as if nothing had happened.

Putting caution first, Klein immediately ended the summoning, returned above the gray fog, then went back to the real world and entered his physical body.

Just as he busied himself with bringing Creeping Hunger, Senor’s gold coin, and other items out of that mysterious space above the gray fog, his brows gradually furrowed.

After seriously reviewing the entire process of tonight’s exploration, Klein was astonished to discover that he seemed to have lost a small fragment of memory.

He did not remember whether he had detonated the five sticks of ordinary explosive!

Turning his head to sense his surroundings and confirming that the entire street was quiet, Klein began to believe he had not snapped his fingers.

“Is this the Dream Stealer’s Beyonder ability? It seems quite a bit stronger than Mobet’s… If not for the gray fog as a transfer point, and if not for my habit of reviewing experiences afterward, perhaps I would not even have discovered that the thought of detonating the explosives had been stolen away… The other party may also have snapped his fingers, but without the ability to manipulate fire as support, nothing happened…”

Klein’s expression was grave as he prepared to try again.

Just as before, to avoid being traced, he still used the ritual of summoning himself and responding to himself.

Carrying the Black Emperor card, Klein left 160 Böklund Street from another side and deliberately circled two streets before arriving at the sewer entrance.

This time, he did not approach that side path. While still not far from the entrance, relying on his enhanced range of flame manipulation, he sensed the explosives and raised his right hand.

Raised, then lowered.

Klein swiftly ended the summoning and returned above the gray fog, lest he be attacked by some unknown existence.

He did not rush back to the real world. He sat in the Fool’s chair and reviewed the process just now.

I once again forgot whether I detonated the explosives… If I had not forced myself to recall it, I would not even have considered the question… This really is rather impressive. The one guiding Hazel to dig in the sewers is probably a demigod… Why does he not directly parasitize Hazel? Could it be that, for some reason, he is sealed somewhere beneath the sewers and can only let a little power seep out, using dreams to drive Hazel to help? Was he also the one who caused Broken Finger to react abnormally because of the law of Beyonder characteristic convergence? Is he no longer able to control the signs in this regard?

Klein thoughtfully tapped the edge of the mottled long table.

Having roughly formed a guess, he discovered that the plan he had originally set seemed impossible to carry out.

Because the moment he entered a range where he could manipulate flames and detonate the explosives, the corresponding thought would inevitably be stolen from him. Even if he recalled it afterward, there would be no way to forcefully make up for it.

Considering that Hazel could be affected by dreams even inside her home, Klein suspected that the other party’s ability range might extend beyond the sewer entrance. If that existence discovered that the chivalrous thief Black Emperor had some connection to Dawn Dantes, then even if Klein was asleep in his bedroom, he might lose the corresponding thought and memory.

However, he cannot pierce through the gray fog and lock onto me… Heh. Does he think it will be this easy to stop me from “calling the police”?

After some thought, Klein cautiously beckoned over a paper figurine, pried loose a little power from the mysterious space above the gray fog, and, using the ritual that had yet to be interrupted, manifested an angel to forcibly interfere.

After finishing this, he again carried the Black Emperor card and returned to his bedroom through the Door of Summoning.

Klein’s current plan was to go to another street, randomly find a household, borrow paper and pen, and write words along the lines of:

At the end of the sixth left-turning branch inside the sewers beneath Böklund Street, there is a secret passage. It is suspected to hide a demigod of the Marauder pathway.

Then, in the image of the Black Emperor, he would paste the paper onto the entrance of Saint Samuel Cathedral and announce it to the world!

Of course, he would politely knock first, letting the bishops inside the cathedral notice, so that ordinary people would not see it first.

Sometimes, the most primitive method is the most effective!

Klein was just about to leave 160 Böklund Street from another side when he suddenly felt the earth tremble. A low rumble then spread up from the depths.

It detonated? The explosives detonated? Who detonated them?

Klein stopped in astonishment.

It certainly had not been him, because such a long delay was impossible. Previously, there had been no one else in the sewers. Even if there had been someone, if they tried to detonate the explosives, the thought would certainly have been stolen away.

“Unless a demigod just happened to arrive—but how could it be that coincidental?

“There is one more possibility: the Marauder pathway demigod did it himself… When he repeatedly stole my thoughts earlier and stopped me from manipulating the flames, he was buying time, leaving himself a gap to transfer away. Now that he has finally succeeded, he detonated the explosives to destroy evidence.

“This is more logical, because he should be very clear that if someone whose origins cannot be traced is determined to ‘call the police,’ there is no way to stop him. The best method is still to cut off the tail and escape, like a lizard…

“But if he can transfer away, why guide Hazel to dig a secret passage? Does this kind of transfer cause him enormous damage?”

Klein thought of several possibilities but had no way to verify them. Certain that the underground explosion must already have attracted attention, he immediately left behind Creeping Hunger and the other items, ended the summoning, and returned above the gray fog.

Returning to the real world, he ended the ritual, tidied up the altar, dealt with the corresponding traces, and lay down on the bed.

…

No. 39 Böklund Street, Councilman Macht’s home.

Hazel, who had not been asleep at all, was startled by the tremor from beneath the earth and the low rumbling. She walked to the balcony, pulled open the curtains, and gazed toward the sewer entrance. She did not discover any obvious abnormality.

After observing for quite a while, uncertain and alarmed, she decided to cancel tonight’s operation and sleep peacefully.

Just then, she suddenly heard a squeaking sound and hurriedly turned her head toward one corner of the balcony.

At some point, a gray rat drenched in dirty water had appeared there.