Chapter 205: Emergency Arrangements

Chapter Two Hundred Five
Emergency Arrangements

Almost by instinct, Klein thrust both hands into his coat pockets. One hand pinched the Sunflame Charm. The other gripped Azik’s copper whistle.

He keenly sensed that the latter’s cold yet gentle extraordinary touch had vanished, as though suppressed by an invisible force. The former, however, remained warm, bringing reassurance.

Borrowing that reassurance, Klein entered a half-meditative state, expelling panic from his emotions and no longer entertaining even the slightest fluke.

He turned his head and gave Leonard Mitchell a look, then motioned subtly toward Megose with his mouth.

After that, relying on the Clown’s ability, he controlled his expression and smiled at Megose.

“Would you like coffee, black tea, or nothing at all?”

Megose stroked her belly, as though listening to something, and said, “A cup of warm water. I suddenly very much want to talk to you about Lanevus. I feel that you know many things.”

“Who told you that?” Leonard had completely lost his usual romantic, carefree bearing. His smile was extremely stiff.

Megose suddenly giggled.

“My child told me. He knows many things. He is very smart!”

…

Klein barely suppressed the urge to curse aloud. He turned and walked toward the partition, signaling for Leonard to keep Megose steady.

Leonard forced up the corners of his mouth and pointed toward the sofa area.

“That happens to be exactly what I wanted to say. We also hope to talk with you about Lanevus.”

At the reception desk, Rozanne watched all of this with a blank and confused expression. Suddenly, she discovered that there seemed to be nothing for her to do.

Klein quickly passed through the partition, went straight to Dunn Smith’s office door, opened it, entered, and shut it with a bang.

Looking at Dunn, who first appeared surprised and then grave, Klein spoke in a deep voice.

“Captain, something major has happened!

“I know what Lanevus meant by ‘bomb’!”

Dunn shot to his feet and pointed outside.

“Megose?”

He had clearly heard Leonard’s startled cry, but he could not see the cold sweat and terror covering the faces of his two team members.

Klein nodded and explained as quickly as he could.

“I tried to activate spirit vision and observe Megose, to confirm her mental state. But my spirituality stopped me. It kept ‘telling’ me: do not look, do not look. If you look, you will die!

“That made me think of one phrase: one must not look directly at a god. Even if the baby inside Megose’s belly is not an evil god attempting to descend, or an evil god’s offspring, it must at least be a mythical creature.

“Captain, combined with the dark altar in Hood Eugen’s memories, combined with his Psychiatrist ability, and combined with the miserable world Lanevus described in his letter, I believe my conjecture is probably close to the truth: Lanevus obtained ritual magic related to the True Creator from the Aurora Order. With Hood Eugen’s help, he turned Megose into a vessel for gestating some kind of power. That power is rapidly growing by absorbing the grievances, oppression, and gloom gathered around the factories. Or perhaps the ritual itself requires those grievances, oppression, and gloom in order to succeed.”

Dunn thought seriously for more than ten seconds, then nodded gravely.

“I will immediately request help from the Sanctuary. I hope the baby in Megose’s belly can still wait.

“Of course, we cannot simply do nothing. Tell Leonard to keep Megose here. Try not to let her leave the company. Then notify Madam Orianna, Rozanne, and the others. Have all noncombat personnel evacuate!

“After I finish sending the telegram, I will go behind Chanis Gate. We must prepare for the worst possibility: the Sanctuary’s assistance has not yet arrived, but the baby in Megose’s belly is about to be born.

“As captain of Tingen City’s Nighthawks, I have the authority to use Saint Selena’s ashes in a critical moment!”

Saint Selena’s ashes… the ashes of a high-Sequence powerhouse… the sealing core behind Chanis Gate…

Klein calmed slightly, thoughts racing.

“Captain, we can also request help from the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind. They should have similar sacred relics!”

At this point, a sudden flash of inspiration crossed Klein’s mind, and he murmured, “The Lanevus case previously belonged to the Mandated Punishers… And during exactly that period, one of their veteran members lost control. Old Neil and I helped handle it…”

As he whispered, his voice abruptly grew louder.

“Captain, ask the Mandated Punishers one more thing. Ask whether the teammate who lost control had tracked or monitored Megose before!”

“You suspect his loss of control was due to contamination from the baby in Megose’s belly? During the renewed investigation, Megose was also under their responsibility…”

Dunn answered solemnly. “We cannot delay any longer. Go find Madam Orianna and the others. I will seize the time to send telegrams. First to the Sanctuary for help, then to the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind. Mm, also one to the police department. Have them find a method, an excuse, to evacuate the nearby residents.”

“All right.”

Klein took a few steps toward the door, then suddenly thought of something else: Megose’s “visit” was too sudden, too coincidental.

In his mind, the red-chimney house abruptly flashed.

He hurriedly turned back and said to Dunn, “Captain, there is one more thing. Do you remember the coincidences I mentioned? The kidnapping case’s opposite house contained clues to the Antigonus family notebook. Ray Bieber failed to escape Tingen in time. Hynas Vincent was exposed because of an accident. Another Aurora Order member just happened to run into me and died directly… and so on.

“Those coincidences were all relatively hidden and difficult to detect. But today, after we found Lanevus’s letter, Megose suddenly came to us. This is too obvious. Too direct. This coincidence is already naked and undisguised! I believe the person behind all of this may be about to step onto the stage.

“And why did Madam Sharon take the risk of killing Councilman Maynard? Could that also be considered one of the ‘coincidences’?”

Dunn thought for a moment and replied seriously, “I will add that to the telegram.”

Klein wasted no more time. He pulled the door open and went directly into the accounting room opposite.

Madam Orianna was working on the budget for the last three months of the year, hoping to finish it ahead of time so that the Captain would not forget and fail to submit it on schedule. Seeing Klein enter, she smiled in greeting.

“Little Moretti, what are you here to reimburse this time?”

Klein exhaled.

“Madam Orianna, the office is closed today. Go home immediately.”

Orianna froze, staring blankly at the grave expression on his face.

A few seconds later, she stood in panic.

“All right.”

Klein hurriedly added, “Go to the civilian staff office and the armory and tell the others. I will notify Rozanne.”

“Mm!”

Madam Orianna barely tidied anything. Grabbing her handbag, she jogged in small, hurried steps toward the door.

After entering the corridor, she turned back and looked deeply at Klein. Then she drew a crimson moon over her chest.

“You will receive the Goddess’s protection!”

Thank you…

Klein answered soundlessly. Passing through the partition, he returned to the reception hall and saw Leonard stiffly chatting with Megose about various matters related to Lanevus.

Klein approached Rozanne. As he took out a cup and lifted the hot-water bottle, he lowered his voice.

“Go home. It is very dangerous here. Come back tomorrow.”

Rozanne opened her mouth in astonishment, but under Klein’s solemn expression, she slowly closed it again.

She lowered her head and packed for a dozen seconds, picked up her handbag, and left the reception desk.

As she brushed past Klein, she bit her lip and whispered, “Actually… however much I hate people becoming Beyonders, that is how much I admire the Nighthawks…”

…

After watching all civilian personnel leave Blackthorn Security Company, Klein carried the warm water to Megose and bent down to place it before her.

“I still have something to handle. I will come back shortly.”

When he straightened, he leaned by Leonard’s ear and forced the words out from his throat.

“Keep her steady.”

Leonard bared his teeth and pulled at his lips. Then he continued the stiff conversation. He discovered that Megose was gradually becoming somewhat irritable, her attention sometimes focused, sometimes drifting.

Klein returned to the Captain’s office and found that Dunn had already gone underground. On the desk lay a translated telegram reply from the Mandated Punishers’ team:

“Yes. We are coming immediately.”

Yes…

That Mandated Punisher really did lose control because of Megose…

Unable to calm himself, Klein paced to the corridor, not knowing whether he was waiting for the Captain to come out holding the sacred ashes, or waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

Sigh. I wonder whether high-level powerhouses all know how to teleport… probably not…

He paced back and forth several times, then suddenly felt both body and mind become tranquil. He discovered that the gas lamps on both sides were all dyed eerie blue.

Within the dimness and depth, Dunn walked out from the underground staircase, holding a palm-sized square cinerary casket in one hand.

The box looked as though it were made from pure silver, yet it also gave off the feeling of bone. Its surface was carved all over with mysterious patterns. The closer it came, the more Klein felt coldness, as though chill were swiftly seeping into his blood.

Dunn’s face was tinted by the ice-blue light.

He said to Klein, “Go behind Chanis Gate and retrieve a Sealed Artifact with strong offensive power. Which one you choose should depend on your own situation. I have already instructed Siga and the internal guards. Pay attention to avoiding the hidden dangers. Among them, there are three Grade 2 Sealed Artifacts. They are respectively…

“Mm. Since I have taken Saint Selena’s ashes away, Siga and the internal guards are even less able to leave their posts.”

At this moment, Frye and Royale, who was on rotational rest, were both at Kernli’s home helping prepare the funeral. As for the bishop of Saint Selena Cathedral, he had gone to the countryside to preach.

“All right.”

Klein did not hesitate. He turned and walked toward the underground.

When he was about to reach the crossroads, he abruptly stopped.

He knew that most of the Sealed Artifacts behind Tingen’s Chanis Gate belonged to Grade 3. It would be very difficult for them to affect the baby inside Megose’s belly. That was, at the very least, a mythical creature.

“The Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem should work, but the time required is too long. It cannot come into play at all… There are only three Grade 2 Sealed Artifacts in Tingen. All of them are very dangerous and can easily kill their user. Their power is probably about the same as my Sunflame Charm. Mm, I cannot worry about anything later. If I need to use the Sunflame Charm, I must use it without hesitation! It should be stronger than a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact, because it contains the power of divine blood…”

As Klein’s thoughts turned, he nodded almost imperceptibly.

He reached into his pocket again and touched the Sunflame Charm and Azik’s copper whistle, then was delighted to discover that the latter’s touch had returned.

Whether useful or not, Klein immediately took out the paper and fountain pen he used for divination, swiftly writing a short letter:

“The person who made my fate disharmonious and took away your child’s skull has appeared. He has ‘arranged’ for Megose to enter Blackthorn Security Company at 36 Zouteland Street. Megose is very likely carrying the offspring of an evil god.

“The situation is urgent.”

After putting away his fountain pen and folding the letter, Klein directly took out the copper whistle at the crossroads and blew once. He saw the enormous white-bone messenger appear before him.