Chapter 204: The Visitor

Chapter Two Hundred Four
The Visitor

Seeing that point, Klein and Leonard lifted their gazes from the letter at the same time and looked at each other.

Each muttered almost simultaneously:

“This man is probably insane, right?”

“Lanevus is a hidden madman?”

A genuine madman, one with delusions and antisocial tendencies…

As the thought turned in Klein’s mind, his heart tightened. He hurriedly lowered his gaze back to the letter.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my hint is this: I have planted a bomb in Tingen City—a bomb that will grow stronger as time passes.

“Go find it. Resolve it before it explodes on its own. If the game fails, then with a boom, all of Tingen City will become ruins. Believe me, on this matter, I have made no deception whatsoever.

“Lanevus, who most enjoys bringing surprises to his friends.”

“A bomb?”

Klein looked toward Leonard and muttered in confusion.

Leonard held the letter up against the sunlight, flipping it back and forth several times, but discovered no other clues.

“Bomb is probably just a metaphor. I have never heard of a bomb that continuously grows stronger.”

Klein frowned, thoughtful as he answered, “No. What I mean is, perhaps it is a bomb in the mystical sense. For example, some evil ritual that is continuously accumulating power…”

Leonard tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something. His expression suddenly became grave.

His green eyes narrowed as he nodded.

“Perhaps your guess is correct. Was there not a descriptive passage at the beginning of the letter? Child laborers who keep dying young, factory workers who can barely live past ten years because of their environment and exhaustion, female workers who risk serious illness yet receive only meager wages, factories shrouded in countless grievances. Perhaps those are the source of power that lets Lanevus’s ‘bomb’ continuously grow stronger.”

“Yes… Very possible!”

Klein’s emotions instantly pulled taut.

“We must report this to the Captain immediately!”

Leonard smiled.

“Do not be so nervous. You should know very clearly that Lanevus is a Swindler. His statement that he ‘is not lying’ might itself be a lie.

“Of course, regardless, we must return to Zouteland Street and tell the Captain. Ideally, we should apply to the Sanctuary and have them send a mysticism expert. Through the abnormal gathering of those grievances, they might be able to locate the altar.”

He looks rather experienced…

But why would a similar altar, a similar arrangement, require Hood Eugen’s help? What role can a Psychiatrist play in something like this?

Klein did not object. Together with Leonard, he left 62 Howes Block, rented a carriage, and hurried back to Zouteland Street.

The moment they entered Blackthorn Security Company, Klein saw two familiar people—one plump, one thin. They were Councilman Maynard’s wife and younger sister.

They still wore black dresses and black hats, using fine black veils to conceal their appearances.

The two ladies were just about to speak with Rozanne when they saw Klein return. They turned and came forward.

“You truly are the finest professionals in this industry,” Madam Maynard said with a slight nod, her voice low. “I am very satisfied with the result, and I very much admire your way of doing things. This is the compensation you deserve.”

The thin lady handed a light-brown paper bag to Klein. Inside was a thick stack of cash: ten-pound notes, five-pound notes, one-pound notes, as well as five-soli and one-soli bills.

“Two hundred thirty pounds in total,” the thin lady said simply.

At that moment, Klein had no attention to spare for money. He immediately tossed the paper bag to Rozanne.

“Give this to Madam Orianna. I believe the two honorable ladies would not have miscounted.”

Just then, from the corner of his eye, he saw the copy of the Tingen Honest People in Madam Maynard’s hand. On the most prominent spot of the front page were two headlines:

“Widow of Old Baron Dies After Being Implicated in Councilman Maynard Murder Case”

“Mayor Dennis Resigns, Expressing Apology for the Deterioration of Tingen’s Public Security Over the Past Three Months”

The Madam Sharon case finally reached a public explanation? I have not even had time to read the newspaper today…

Klein nodded once to the two ladies and followed Leonard through the partition, heading toward the Captain’s office.

“How is it? Did you find a clue?”

Dunn Smith closed the file before him, raised his head, and looked at Klein and Leonard with deep gray eyes.

“We found a letter left by Lanevus.”

Leonard did not overexplain. He directly handed the letter, filled with madness and provocation, to the Captain.

Dunn unfolded the paper and swiftly read through it. At the end, he rubbed the corner of his forehead.

“What a madman.”

“And he is only Sequence 8. At most, Sequence 7.”

Klein sincerely agreed.

“Lanevus is a dangerous person capable of severely damaging social stability. Even if his strength is weak, we cannot underestimate him.”

Then he described, word for word, his and Leonard’s conjectures.

Dunn touched his receding hairline and said, “That is also my thought. I will send a telegram to the Sanctuary immediately and request that they dispatch a mysticism expert to assist us.

“No one knows exactly how dangerous Lanevus’s so-called ‘bomb’ is. We must be cautious enough.

“Once the Sanctuary replies, I will arrange follow-up action.”

Klein and Leonard looked at each other and nodded at the same time.

“All right.”

Taking advantage of the Captain going to telegraph the Sanctuary, Klein returned to the reception hall and took a copy of the Tingen Honest People from Rozanne.

Standing near the partition, he focused on reading the two earlier reports.

“…The widow of the old Baron Hoy, Madam Sharon, was suspected of involvement in Councilman Maynard’s sudden death… After receiving a tip, the police department moved at night and discovered Madam Sharon and her accomplices had rendered servants and attendants unconscious, and were conducting demon-worship activities in her bedroom. They refused to surrender and attempted resistance, resulting in the death of one heroic officer.

“In the end, Madam Sharon and her accomplices paid the price for their sinful cause with their lives.”

…

“…Mayor Dennis has resigned because of the worsening public security situation in Tingen City and announced that he will not participate in next year’s election. For the coming months, Deputy Mayor Harry will serve as acting mayor.”

…

One heroic officer… Is that the public description of Kernli?

Klein sighed. He knew this was the best way to handle it.

According to the Nighthawks’ internal regulations, to prevent evil forces from retaliating against members’ families, even if they sacrificed themselves, their names could not be publicly sung among ordinary citizens.

Silently folding the newspaper and returning it to the reception desk, Klein suddenly saw another visitor enter through the door.

She was also a lady, but not very old—at most in her early twenties. She wore a lotus-leaf hat and a loose dress. She had a smooth forehead, long golden hair, emerald-green eyes, and a melancholy, tranquil air. She was quite beautiful.

Yet what stood out most was her high, swollen belly. She seemed to be more than seven months pregnant.

Klein froze for a moment, feeling that he had seen this young pregnant woman somewhere before.

Suddenly, he heard Leonard blurt in astonishment:

“Miss Megose?”

Megose… Yes. The young lady deceived by Lanevus in both body and heart!

She is carrying Lanevus’s child. Her mind has even developed problems because of it. She said her child could hum and whistle while still in her womb…

Klein instantly understood. He was not surprised that Leonard recognized Megose.

When they had reinvestigated people and objects connected to the Lanevus case, every Nighthawk had seen this young lady’s photograph.

As for Klein, he had known her even earlier. Back then, her aunt, Madam Christina, who had been cheated by Lanevus out of all her savings, had brought her to the Divination Club for help, even asking whether the baby in her belly counted as a related object.

At this moment, hearing Leonard’s voice, Megose looked at the two of them with slightly vacant eyes and greeted them politely.

“Hello.”

“Miss Megose, what brings you to our Blackthorn Security Company? Is there something you would like to commission?” Klein asked after taking two steps forward.

Her sudden visit filled him with confusion. He felt this was very, very, very coincidental.

They had just discovered the letter Lanevus left behind, and Megose had come straight to them?

Megose stroked her belly and smiled faintly.

“I do not know why, but I suddenly wanted to come to Zouteland Street. I suddenly wanted to come upstairs and take a look.”

Her mental condition is worsening…

Klein remembered that last time he had not had time to activate spirit vision, and had failed to confirm Megose’s condition. He lifted his teeth slightly, about to tap the left side.

Just then, he abruptly froze. Inside his mind, thought after thought flashed with increasing intensity.

“Do not look!”

“Do not look! Do not look!”

“You will die!”

“If you see it, you will die!”

“If you see it, you will die!”

…

Klein stood in place like a statue. Dense cold sweat seeped across his forehead.

It was as though he had undergone the deepest, heaviest nightmare and had nearly been unable to wake from it.

Suddenly, he understood one thing: last time, it was not that he had failed to activate spirit vision in time. Rather, his spirituality had sensed unimaginable danger, causing him subconsciously to become sluggish, miss the opportunity, and forget the aftermath.

At that time, Klein had not yet fully digested the Seer potion and had not advanced to Sequence 8. His spirituality’s obstruction had been subtle, hard to notice, like an instinctive habitual movement that he himself would naturally not care about too much. But now, based on the Clown’s premonition, the warning from his spirituality was so clear, so obvious!

After more than ten seconds, Klein finally broke free of that state of constant cold sweat. He turned his head toward Leonard and saw that this Midnight Poet likewise had sweat across his face and terror filling his eyes.

All at once, Klein understood what Lanevus’s so-called “bomb” was.

It was the baby inside Megose’s belly.

It was the baby Lanevus had left behind.

Klein instantly connected the letter’s description with Hood Eugen’s answer. Then he abruptly remembered a passage from Roselle’s diary:

“The Industrial Revolution I began with my own hands, the Age of Steam and Machinery I forged with my own hands—will it become the hotbed for the descent of evil gods?”

Klein’s pupils contracted. He thought of a possibility, yet instinctively refused to acknowledge it.

No! That cannot be right!

The baby inside Megose’s belly cannot be the offspring of an evil god, or an evil god attempting to descend!

No! How could Hood Eugen have done something so foolish? Although his Psychiatrist ability indeed could have helped Lanevus deceive Megose, making her, in a half-conscious state, become a vessel for gestation.

No! The accumulated grievances of dead child laborers, deceased female workers, and factory workers who cannot live beyond ten years cannot be helping this evil god’s offspring grow rapidly!

No!

No—one must not look directly at a god…