Chapter 50: A Strange City

Chapter 50: A Strange City

With a little more accumulation, it won’t be long before I can respond to Moon City’s prayers, heal their deformities, and create a fairly substantial miracle… Also, I have preliminarily summarized the acting principles of a Miracle Invoker. If things proceed step by step like this, digestion is only a matter of time. Perhaps I’ll succeed before the end of this year… Klein withdrew his gaze from outside the window, raised his left arm, and manipulated the monster hand puppet worn on his hand to amuse the child sitting opposite him.

This made him look even more like a wandering magician.

If he wished, he could even use the Staff of Life or his Grafting ability to bestow a certain living characteristic upon the hand puppet.

While amusing the child, Klein’s thoughts spread, and he began considering where he should “build” the marionette city required for his advancement ritual.

“For a marionette city to give birth to a corresponding region in the spirit world, it needs sufficient interaction. This means that placing it in the Forsaken Land of the Gods will not work. Leaving aside the fact that the place is sealed and cannot directly connect to the spirit world, only borrowing a tiny bit of special connection—even if there were no such problem, in the absence of intelligent life, it would be difficult to produce enough interaction…

“If I place it on the Northern or Southern Continent or in an overseas colony, I have to be cautious enough. Before the ritual approaches success, it absolutely must not be exposed as a marionette city. Otherwise, Zaratul, Amon, and other enemies will definitely interfere, destroy it, or even attack…

“Mm, there must be a sufficient reason for the marionette city to appear, and when interacting with passing merchants, travelers, and surrounding humans, there cannot be the slightest abnormality. Every marionette must be a living person. Each must have a past, present, and future of their own, and must follow the trajectory of their own fate…

“This means the marionette city will be extremely complicated, requiring the division of many, many Spirit Worms to handle. This hides the risk of losing control…

“Those who are married must act like married people. Those with alternative tastes must display their preferences. Perverts must be despised by others… In that case, perhaps when outsiders stay in the marionette city, they might hear shameful sounds…

“I’m still just a child…

“This is a large-scale reality show. Or rather, an advanced version of ‘playing house,’ one that has to fool its audience…”

As Klein lampooned inwardly, he silently calculated whether he had enough marionettes.

He had previously gone back and forth to the Forsaken Land of the Gods several times, converting large numbers of various monsters, whether they possessed Beyonder characteristics or not. In normal times, he had also consciously controlled many rats, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and flies in batches, striving to make the other side of the marionette city realistic enough.

My current accumulation can barely support a small city. After I make a few more trips to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, it should be enough… Just as this thought flashed through Klein’s mind, a scene suddenly appeared before his eyes:

Atop the Giant King’s Court, bathed in the glow of dusk, the opened door closed slowly and heavily.

It was like a pair of invisible hands shutting the entrance to the Forsaken Land of the Gods.

This… Klein’s gaze darkened slightly. He vaguely guessed that this scene meant the True Creator would soon seal the Forsaken Land of the Gods again.

This was the prophetic ability brought by his angel-level spiritual intuition and danger premonition:

In a few minutes, or perhaps a few seconds, such a thing would happen.

Has the True Creator caught Amon? Or has He already given up? Is He sealing the Forsaken Land of the Gods again because He doesn’t want others to go in anymore? Isn’t that a little too stingy? Klein muttered inwardly for a while, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Of course, his marionettes were barely enough. Even if he still lacked some, he could make up the difference at sea.

…

Backlund, Queen’s Borough.

Audrey had just changed clothes, dismissed her numerous maids, and was preparing to go out when she saw the golden retriever Susie walk in.

“Is something wrong? You should be out for a walk at this time.” As an experienced Spectator, Audrey immediately detected that something was wrong.

During this period, she had been constantly busy using the foundations over which she could exert influence to help workers, farmers, and disabled retired soldiers who had difficulties making ends meet, allowing them to hold out until new work opportunities appeared or the next season’s crops were harvested. Because of that, she had communicated with Susie much less than usual.

At the same time, Audrey was also secretly guiding certain people who already wished to do so into reorganizing Backlund’s various workers’ associations, attempting to gather the power of the lower-level workers together.

Her previous experiences had made her understand that placing hope in the kindness of upper-class people was unreliable and could not last. Meanwhile, single individuals were extremely insignificant before the government, nobles, and major businessmen, completely lacking the ability to resist. Only by awakening a greater number of people and uniting everyone could some form of balance be established.

—The Loen Kingdom had long possessed workers’ associations in different industries, but the upper levels of these associations were extremely easy to bribe. As a result, they had instead become effective weapons used against ordinary workers.

Susie glanced at Audrey. Her expression looked quite normal, but her mouth seemed to move beyond her control, vibrating the air and producing a deep male voice:

“Miss Audrey, I am the president of the Psychology Alchemists, Eric Drake. I hope to meet you and discuss your becoming a member of the Psychology Alchemists’ council. I am in the nearby park.”

After speaking those words, Susie let out a long breath and returned to her original voice.

“Audrey, a strange fellow came looking for you. I—I cannot remember what he looked like. He directly placed the words he wanted to say into my mind island!”

Audrey’s pupils widened slightly, then immediately returned to normal. She nodded, outwardly calm.

“Where in the park is he?”

As she spoke, Audrey quietly virtualized a personality and, through the sea of collective subconsciousness, entered Susie’s mind island, checking whether any external consciousness or cognitive distortion remained hidden there.

“I—I don’t remember… I was walking at the time.” Susie recalled as she spoke.

Then she wagged her tail slightly and said,

“I think you shouldn’t go. It’s very dangerous.”

After confirming through the virtual personality that Susie had no other hidden dangers, Audrey exhaled almost imperceptibly.

“If I do not go, I will be suspected even more. Then danger will likewise be unavoidable, and it may even involve the other people in this house.

“Besides, this is also an opportunity, just as Mr. Hanged Man said. Since the apocalypse will eventually arrive, all efforts and attempts that do not bring disaster are meaningful…” Audrey added inwardly before saying,

“I will protect myself.

“Susie, did you experience anything else just now?”

Susie barked once.

“No.

“Audrey, are you really going?”

“Mm.” Audrey gave a definite answer.

“Then can you take me with you? Just like before. In their eyes, I am only a dog.” Susie mustered her courage and spoke.

“No, there is no need. I will return very quickly. Trust me, I will receive divine protection.” Audrey responded with a gentle smile.

After comforting Susie, she used Psychological Invisibility and, just like a normal outing, left the luxurious villa step by step.

After she had gone far away, in a corner of the first floor, a servant who was cleaning suddenly lowered his head and whispered one word after another in a language he had never learned:

“The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era…”

…

Above the gray fog, inside the ancient palace.

The figure seated in The Fool’s position naturally examined the newly formed prayer light and discovered that this “believer” was quite unfamiliar.

“The environment is consistent with Miss Justice’s home… Suspected guidance by a virtual personality that invaded a mind island… Miss Justice is using this method to avoid monitoring and pray for protection…” The figure quickly reached a judgment, then transferred the corresponding situation to the main body.

A few seconds later, Klein entered Sefirah Castle and let the Spirit Worms left here burrow back into his body.

“Miss Justice is increasingly displaying the style of a high-Sequence Spectator…” Klein inwardly praised her, then turned his gaze toward the crimson star representing Justice.

…

Inside the park with a lake.

Audrey had just entered when she saw a large carriage drive over. The coachman was an ordinary middle-aged man wearing an old top hat and a dark jacket.

However, in Audrey’s eyes, this coachman did not exist at all, because he had no corresponding mind island or conscious activity.

In other words, the coachman was only an illusion, a fake person. The one controlling the carriage was the horse itself.

A few seconds later, the large carriage stopped before Audrey, and the carriage door creaked open.

“Please come in.” A deep male voice came from inside.

Audrey slightly lifted the hem of her dress and boarded the carriage. She saw a gentleman seated in a black wheelchair.

His pale-yellow eyebrows were very long. His hair was neatly combed backward. His forehead bore a few wrinkles, and his face displayed an abnormal pallor.

“Mr. Delrau? Didn’t you already pass away?” Audrey recognized the gentleman before her and appropriately displayed her astonishment.

“For a Spectator, death only represents the end of one identity. In other dramas, I remain alive.” The old-fashioned gentleman seated in the black wheelchair smiled in response. “Aside from the identity of former royal medical consultant and former president of Backlund Medical College, I am also Barrows Hopkins, the ‘Black Throne King’ of the seas; the famous hermit Eric Drake; and so on, and so on.”

“Then how should I address you?” Audrey asked with excellent upbringing while watching, out of the corner of her eye, as the carriage door closed by itself.

The old-fashioned gentleman stroked the wheels on both sides of his seat and said,

“You may call me Mr. President, or you may continue calling me Mr. Delrau.”

He then pointed toward the row of seats on the left side of the carriage.

“Sit. We will go somewhere first, then discuss your becoming a member of the Psychology Alchemists’ council.”

Audrey nodded gently and sat down calmly.

Without hiding it in the slightest, she cast her gaze out the window and was rather astonished to discover that, in the blink of an eye, the park had become a strange city—a city shrouded in night.

Within the city stood gorgeous buildings filled with mysterious and dark qualities. Gentlemen in top hats and trench coats walked about, as did women in complicated, gloomy dresses.

As Audrey swept her gaze around, she saw that beside the carriage, a gentleman’s face had grown short black fur, and sharp canine teeth protruded from his mouth.

He was a werewolf.