chapter 7
Chapter 26 Instigator
Dozens of humanoid auras shining in different colors are overlapping and connected, and there are many figures with abnormal light spots among them.
Klein wiped his aching eyes, tilted his head slightly to the left, and said with barely moving lips:
"A low-sequence Beyonder with obvious spiritual dissipation. A newly promoted person?"
Leonard, who was walking next to him, lowered his eyes and squinted.
"no."
He was not as cautious as Klein. Instead, he leisurely walked to a stall and pretended to adjust semi-finished spells made of various metal materials.
"Wild Beyonders, most people may not even know what the potion system is, let alone learn how to control spirituality and curb spread and concentration."
"That spirit body looks normal, but what's going on with the white mist?" Klein pointed to the empty space between several stalls. A young man wearing a shabby linen shirt and workman's trousers was huddled on the ground. , staring in one direction dreamily.
Leonard glanced at the pale young man and frowned.
"Admissor?"
"Do you know him?" Klein was curious.
"The older official Beyonders in Tingen basically know him." Leonard threw the charm in his hand back to the stall, his green eyes were hidden behind his brown glasses, and he bit his lip, "He is an extraordinary victim. , was an orphan, and probably had a father from the School of Destiny, who died before he was born, leaving him with only a high level of inspiration that could easily get him hurt, and a half-monster identity."
"He is not within the scope of our supervision and is under the care of the church." Leonard lowered his head a little, his voice a little muffled.
I remember when I was chatting with Frye and Roxanne before, Roxanne seemed to have mentioned that Leonard was from a church orphanage... Klein held down his top hat, glanced across the stall, and turned away Topic:
"Do you often buy things here?"
"It's a secret, but the things here are indeed relatively complete..." Leonard, who was rubbing a ruby, smiled mysteriously and returned the ruby to the stall owner, "Sir, your price is too high. Let's go to other stalls."
After putting it back, Leonard coughed slightly and tilted his head to one side, as if he was listening to something.
Gradually, the corners of his habitually raised mouth were smoothed down with seriousness. Klein, who was still looking at the spell, suddenly raised his head and stood up, turning sharply to look to his right rear.
The two of them turned their heads almost at the same time and looked in the direction of Admissor's shrinking body again.
The pale "monster" had already climbed up and was sitting on his knees on the ground. His eyes were no longer obsessed, but filled with astonishment, fear and yearning for the unknown.
His eyes glowed with spiritual light, and he carefully used his spiritual vision to look at the existence that attracted him again.
"Disaster, curse...Beauty, so beautiful..."
"Admissor!"
Leonard yelled the name of "monster" and rushed out one step ahead of Klein.
"Wait, Leonard!" Klein followed closely, subconsciously scanning the direction that attracted Admissor with his spiritual vision, and happened to catch a shadow entangled in black energy. The shadow was as light as a feather. , several people dodged and squeezed out of the crowd, rushing towards the door at high speed.
"ah!"
But before he could look any further, a shrill scream drew Klein's attention, and he saw Leonard pressing Admissor to the ground and whispering soothing poetry.
Even though the young man's wrists were twisted, his legs were still kicking wildly. His head with messy long hair banged against the ground, and his entire face was covered with bright red blood.
Klein noticed that on his skin that was not covered by his shirt and trousers, soft, pure white scales were emerging from underneath his skin.
"Klein, chase first. Leave Admissor to Leonard." A gust of dark wind quickly passed by Klein, leaving only one sentence behind.
With the help of the spirit body, Frye walked quickly and without much effort, he cleared the crowd in front of him. He stared at the slightly short figure hidden in the black air. Make a pull-down motion.
On the escape route of the figure, a translucent rotten arm suddenly grew out, its slender fingers stretched to the limit, and grabbed the figure's ankle, causing the figure to stumble, his body tilted to the side, his shoulders A bloody flower exploded.
Mellow and deep voices sounded from different directions, and the tranquility of the night quickly covered the entire venue after a burst of crimson.
The man ignored the pain and recited a word quickly, and black flames instantly ignited on his ankles. The spirit body raised by the "Gravedigger" didn't even last a second before it turned into fuel for the spread of the black flames, causing the black flames to spread. After burning the ground, a black snake with jagged fireworks followed the traces of the spirit body and burned Frye in the opposite direction.
The people hiding under the black energy knew that the "Nighthawk" who controlled the spirit body could not be burned to death with just one blow, so they did not hesitate to fight and ran decisively in the other direction.
As a place hosting an underground market, there must be more than one exit.
It's just that someone is one step ahead of him.
The orange-red flame ignited the blanket and recklessly ignited the spiritual materials displayed by the vendors. Pillars of fire rose from all directions. The black shadow was forced to stop by the flames and could only linger in place.
He saw a dark figure wearing a half-top hat flickering in these pillars of fire, irregularly and extremely fast, but all making the same movement.
The gentleman wearing a top hat slowly raised his hand, pointed his index finger outward, and tapped it a few times.
"boom!"
The dream was shattered by bullets, and in just a blink of an eye for the escapee, his body had five more single holes, scattered in the limbs and waist and abdomen. The blood could not stop flowing out, and the black energy entangled on the body surface also disappeared. Dispelled by a burst of warmth, his true appearance was revealed.
The big boy with a round face had red eyes and tears in his eyes, looking pitiful.
"No one told me you Nighthawks and Magicians."
Dunn patted Leonard, who was holding Admissor, and nodded to Luo Yao, who was using 3-0782.
The lady with smooth long hair nodded coldly, took out another dream charm, and put it on the big boy's head.
"I think you arrested the wrong person," the big boy, whose eyes began to blur uncontrollably again, bit his tongue and said hurriedly, "I don't know who you want to arrest, but I didn't do anything, I just Come and buy something!"
He didn't look at Frye, who had burn marks on his hands, or Luo Yao, who was staring at his head. He glanced at Klein and Leonard in a hurry, and finally turned to Dunn and said:
"You can go through my pockets, I only bought spiritual materials."
The big boy exposed his neck and rubbed his body with the bullet-pierced limbs. More blood overflowed from the wound and dyed his clothes red.
Dunn and Frye looked at each other, and the latter summoned a spirit, got into the older boy's pocket, and pulled out a shiny object with blood on the surface.
"Mirror?"
Dunn's gray eyes flashed, and he instantly opened his arms, trying to drag the big boy into dreamland again.
But he seemed to be a step too late. On the fragment of the mirror pulled out by the spirit body, there was a slim figure, and a charming blue eye blinked. The indulging desire in the eyes was almost real, and the naked seduction was given to him. Everyone who is drawn to that eye.
The black flames as tall as a person exploded without warning, evaporating the remaining spiritual traces in all the spaces captured and occupied by the flames. All the extraordinary people present saw seductive hallucinations almost at the same time, like birds wrapped in spider silk. The trapped ant, stuck in the spider web and unable to move, is about to be burned by the fire.
Leonard, who was holding Admissor, hurriedly covered Admissor with his upper body and faintly heard a sigh in his panic.
The ball of light floating in his mind expanded and took over Leonard's body. He turned his left wrist in the direction of Luo Yao and grabbed something conceptual into his palm, which suddenly sank.
3-0872, which continuously and slowly released sunlight and heat, suddenly lost the time limit. The heat generated and the power that could penetrate the shell increased geometrically, and burst out together, cutting off the source of the black inflammation.
The glass, which was originally a fragment, could no longer withstand the power of the demigod, and cracked into traces. The black flame released with the help of the medium lost its vitality as the connection was cut off. It began to disintegrate before it reached its limit. The remaining black flame was Under the sunlight when the sealed object exploded, it was purified completely after only a few symbolic struggles, and soon lost its physical form.
The somewhat hot Holy Emblem of the Sun gradually dimmed, and Luo Yao looked like he was seeing a sealed object for the first time, with his cold face and mouth wide open.
It is impossible for her who is responsible for using 3-0872 not to notice the abnormality of the sealed object just now!
But as Leonard's gaze swept across, Luo Yao, who couldn't close his mouth, lost this memory.
"Was she a high-ranking witch just now?" Leonard patted his chest with some fear, glanced at Admissor, who was still in a coma, and gently wiped the blood on his face.
"Perhaps," Dunn was unsure and looked around him, "Are there any casualties?"
"All the nearby spirits were burned to death by the black flames just now." Frye used his other uninjured hand to pull out a few potions from the inside of his coat and distributed them to his companions. "I'm afraid the flames just now have the ability to annihilate spirits. ."
Luo Yao pinned the Holy Emblem of the Sun to his collar and pointed at the ground with the thin end of the medicine bottle.
"The existence of a suspected high-ranking witch took the boy away. Aren't we searching for people from the Southern Continent?"
"The news I got is indeed that people from the Southern Continent are at the Evil Dragon Bar," Klein felt the eyes of his teammates and spread his hands to explain, "And before I came here, I divined the accuracy of this news. I just said it again on the way. I divined it once, and you also saw it."
"but..."
"It's not about Klein's intelligence." Leonard drank his potion into Admissor and gritted his teeth. "It's because we found the wrong person."
"Admissor's inspiration is very high. He probably saw the aura of a high-ranking witch on the 'instigator'. This is all an accident. I'm afraid the rat from the Secret Order has escaped."
"'Instigator'?" Klein repeated.
"Sequence 8 of the 'Assassin' path," Dunn replied thoughtfully, "Go back to the company first and bring Admissor with you. He needs ritual magic to purify the pollution on his body and heal his injuries."
At the underground entrance of the bar, the former captain of the "Punisher" was arriving with a group of people dressed as sailors.
Dunn's eyes became more thoughtful and he changed his mind.
"Fry, Klein, and Leonard will take Admissor and 3-0782 back to the company first. Luo Yao, I, and the 'Punisher' will hand over."
...
The honey-colored candlestick lit up a flame, attracting the attention of Mrs. Sharon, who was leaning on the easy chair to admire the painting.
She put down the paintbrush in her hand, pulled over the clothes scattered on the floor and on the armrest of the easy chair, and hurriedly covered her private parts. Then she knelt in front of the candlestick, her watery brown eyes full of anticipation and fascination.
Under her gaze, this cluster of flames was filled with strange black color from the inside out, blooming like a flower, and opened wider and wider, allowing the heatless flames to occupy almost the entire room.
They rippled like water waves, brushing against the full-length mirror standing next to the painting, and then all sank into it.
Catalina, who was wearing a simple and holy white robe, grabbed the big boy by the collar and walked out of the mirror. She skillfully tossed her black hair behind her. She blinked her blue eyes and said with satisfaction:
"You're pretty safe here, at least you're not being targeted."
Her black flames can flexibly distinguish between ourselves and the enemy and burn away traces of spirituality. She just circled around and found nothing.
"It looks like our little Triss has been discovered, right?"
The most famous and beautiful widow in Tingen City, Mrs. Sharon, was like a pure deer, looking infatuatedly at the mentor who led her on this path, and the hand protecting her chest intentionally relaxed a little.
"The name is good. UU read www.uukanshu.net" Catalina obviously had no intention of playing along with Mrs. Sharon, but her speech and behavior were still full of provocation.
"The 'Nighthawk' was probably looking for the whereabouts of the Secret Order and the Aurora Society, and discovered him by accident. This identity can no longer be used."
"Can't..." Tris, who was paralyzed on the ground, didn't dare to look at the two women who exuded great charm. He grabbed his hair in panic, "What does it mean that my identity can no longer be used?"
His intuition told him that what this sect leader meant was definitely not as simple as asking him to change his identity card.
"Haven't you finished digesting the 'Instigator'?" Catalina's white thighs pushed open the lower end of the high-slit robe, her toes touched Tris' chin, and she raised her eyes little by little to meet his eyes. Accurate yourself.
"Don't you always want to be promoted?" Her words did not have any extraordinary ability, but they were very tempting.
Tris' nervous expression gradually softened, her round face and blurred smile looked very cute, and only Catalina's figure remained in her eyes.
"The 'Nighthawk' has discovered you, you must change your identity."
"Go for promotion. Your next sequence is called 'Witch'. You will get the same beauty as me, and you will get a brand new identity. The 'Nighthawks' will never be able to find you again. You can take the name Trischi." Take this new name and live freely."
Be free... Tris murmured softly.
"My new name is Trischik..."
"Yes, Trischik," Catalina held his round cheeks lovingly and kissed him gently, "What a beautiful child, you will be worthy of this name."
"You will be closer to 'original'."
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Chapter 27 Cops and Bandits
"There are results. The 'instigator' is named Tris, a member of the Gnosis Society."
Frye gently pushed open the door to the lounge, holding the file in his hand, and glanced at Klein as if unintentionally.
"I remember that some time ago, Red Gloves destroyed a stronghold of the Gnosis Society based on information from unknown sources, and the clues pointed to the Witch Sect."
Leonard took off his gloves and threw the blood-stained red gloves into the water tank. He soon fainted.
"It is basically certain that the Gnosis is part of the Witch Sect. I have just sent a telegram to the church." Fry affirmed.
Witch... Leonard stood up and walked around, holding his hair with both hands, squeezing his brain, desperately trying to recall what happened before the unknown high-ranking witch lowered his power.
The moment before the black flame exploded, the old man took over his body and used some means to activate 3-0782, causing a third-level sealed object to burst out with power that could rival a demigod - these were all things he learned from Fleck and He couldn't remember anything from what Ryan heard.
Admissor noticed something was wrong before all of us. He was not attracted to Tris, but to the high-ranking witch... Leonard let go of his hand and exhaled slowly.
"Does the captain know?"
"This is what the captain sent. Luo Yao is now going to replace Ms. Dai Li on duty at Chanis Gate." Frye was a little worried about Leonard's condition. He patted him on the shoulder, helped him sit back in the chair, and then sat down himself. Got to the vacant seat.
He hesitated.
"Tris's information was provided by the 'Punisher'."
"Have they tried channeling?" Klein was surprised. After all, according to the information shared among the three major churches in Loen, the "punishers" of the Church of Storms are basically all "sailors", with only a small number of "readers" as Auxiliary work, but the abilities of "readers" mostly rely on ritual magic and are not as flexible and convenient as "divineers" and "psychics".
"There was no soul left at the scene," Frye simply explained. "The 'Punisher' found Tris in conjunction with other cases."
He opened the copy of the file that was sealed with a thin line, flipped through it, and pulled out a report.
Leonard took the initiative to take the report, glanced at Klein, and summarized the contents as concisely as possible.
"The Alfalfa is a passenger ship that sails from Port Caesar. In addition to carrying passengers, it also has cargo business. Because of the cargo on it, it was targeted by the 'King of the Five Seas' Nast."
"'King of the Five Seas'?" Klein looked back and forth, slightly shocked, "That famous pirate?"
"To be precise, the 'King of the Five Seas' is one of the so-called Four Kings of the sea. Along with them, there are seven self-proclaimed pirate generals who are often mentioned." Frye nodded and motioned for Leonard to continue. Go on.
"'King of the Five Seas' Nast claimed to be a descendant of the Solomon Empire and abided by the virtue of not killing prisoners, so the Alfalfa was only robbed of property, and Nast even left them enough supplies to cover all their losses. The people held on until they arrived at the next port." Leonard's eyes suddenly froze, his brows furrowed, and his fingers tightened uncontrollably, "But Tris was on that ship, he instigated the sailors on the ship, killed the captain, and then let him The puppet that was pushed out fought with the passengers who were unwilling to commit crimes, and finally he came forward as the savior, killed the leader, and used his ability to capture the trust of others."
"Because of the testimonies of all the crew and passengers of the Alfalfa, the police did not discover his crime immediately. It was only when the Church of Storms intervened because of Nast that the 'Readers' found clues from the memories of the passengers. , he has run away."
"Then he arrived at Tingen and brought a high-ranking witch with him..." Frye sighed slowly.
Leonard silently poured out all the remaining materials in the document bag and spread them out on the table. The mission report of the Alfalfa incident was placed at the top.
"What did the captain say?"
Klein nodded in agreement and cast a searching look at Frye.
"The captain said to notify the Holy Church first," Frye said in a low mood. "But the Holy Church did not reply immediately, so before the Holy Church sends people to support, we must cooperate with the 'Punisher' and find a way to find Tris."
Thinking of something to do... Leonard's hand picking out the documents shook violently, he stared at Fry in disbelief, and opened his mouth without a smile.
"The highest among all the official Extraordinaries in Tingen is Sequence Seven. The members of the Aurora Society and the Secret Order have not been found yet. Now we are looking for an 'instigator' who is protected by a high-ranking witch?"
He desperately wanted to find the answer he wanted on his companion's face, but unfortunately, just like he failed to protect Admissor and keep Tris today, Frye also didn't give him the answer he wanted to hear. .
"This is our duty." Frye, who was somewhat stubborn and inhumane, told another bad news with a straight face, "Klein, the only auxiliary member of the 'Punisher' team died in the last operation. There is also one of their old members, and the captain of the 'Punisher' wants you to help them when they join forces."
Fry paused and added:
"And the old member they sacrificed was the only Sequence Seven member of the 'Punisher'."
...
"Moody Brando, 'Navigator'." Klein turned over the note in his hand, moved his fingers dexterously, and snapped his fingers.
He watched as every bit of the information he had obtained from Fry was burned, leaning on the carriage and swaying back and forth.
The "Faceless Man" used a sealed object of the "Sleepless Man" path to control Modi Brando, but he did not enter the dream at all at that time. This was different from the "Nightmare" ability that the captain told me about. What's special about sealed objects?
So he didn't lose consciousness at all at that time, but deliberately let me think that there was a chance and let me escape?
Klein did not use his "Joker" ability to force himself to control his expression. Instead, he tried his best to indulge his emotions while he was alone in the carriage, thinking about the answer to the question.
If I was deliberately released by the followers of the "Secret" in the Southern Continent, then maybe they were still staying in Tingen, not to kidnap me again... For a moment, Klein felt He was back to the night he was imprisoned in the solitary cell, and his future was dark.
He recalled Mr. Brenton's divination not long ago.
"Mountains and tsunamis..." Combined with the fact that Miss "Magician" accidentally revealed "The Fool" to the angel at the Tarot meeting, Klein suddenly realized the changes in the symbol of "Tower" that existed in divination. It seems to be coming.
The fishing company of the "Punisher" team was getting closer and closer outside the carriage window. The struggle and entanglement on Klein's face slowly fell away, and he murmured in a low voice.
"So the people in the Southern Continent stay here not entirely because of me. They may not know that I am the 'Fool', but they definitely know that I have a connection with the gray fog, so they sent me away and asked me to face the Holy Church. , rule out suspicion..."
But they would definitely not give up taking away the only survivor of the ceremony... The carriage was parked on the side of the road, and Brett, the driver of the "Nighthawk", knocked on the wall panel of the carriage. Seeing that there was no movement from behind, he simply walked away from the carriage. The driver's seat jumped out.
"Thank you, Brett," Klein said with a smile, "I was a little sleepy just now."
The "Punisher's" station is a two-story red brick building, very close to the house where the Moretti family originally rented, between Lower Street and the market.
There are fishing tools piled in front of this red brick building. Judging from the information posted on the wall, their main business is not selling aquatic products, but more like a fishing equipment store.
Just as deserted as our security company... Klein showed his ID to a man dressed as a sailor who was smoking behind the front desk, irresponsibly blaming the reason for the deserted company on the "Punisher" Their bad tempers.
"Cline Moretti?" Like "The Hanged Man", he had long dark blue hair. The man of medium build had an obviously cold attitude after seeing Klein's ID. A heavy lock was hung on the door.
"Your captain and boss are waiting for you below." The "Punisher" waved his hand, motioning for Klein to follow.
They walked through a partition similar to that of the Blackthorn Security Company and entered a cold storage without ice.
The thick iron door of the cold storage made a squeaking noise. The light source squeezed in along the cracks of the door, illuminating the black stone slabs on the ground and the stairs behind the black stone slabs.
It seems that the three major churches have similar designs for the official Beyonder team base. They all adopted an underground construction plan. Before coming here, Klein had thought about whether the underground of the Steam Church was based on the gossip that Old Neil released during the chat. With huge steam furnaces and crude brass machinery, the Church of Storms is directly connected to the underground river to ensure that the Lord of Storms cares for the mainland far away from the ocean.
But it turns out that the underground of the Church of Storms is as dry as the Chanis Gate where the Nighthawks are stationed. At least in the area that Klein can see, there is no trace of water.
"Captain, the fortune teller of the Nighthawks is here." The "Punisher" responsible for leading the way politely used his fists to hammer his chest, habitually praising the Lord of Storms.
Under the dim gaslight, Klein saw Dunn, dressed in black, standing upright in the light. He was just talking to another man with gray hair wearing a navy uniform.
Burnett, the captain of the "Punisher", straightened his navy jacket with its epaulettes removed. A pair of sharp iron-colored eyes glanced at Klein, making no attempt to conceal his hostility.
"The survivor of the Aurora Society divine descending incident directly swallowed Klein Moretti, whose 'Magician' trait has not gone out of control?"
"Yes." Klein first took the hint from Dunn, and then bowed slightly.
"What a blessing."
Burnett muttered at a volume that everyone could hear, and then continued to turn his head to discuss the details of the follow-up investigation with Dunn.
Klein was left hanging in the corridor. Seeing that he had nothing to do with him, the "punisher" who brought him simply returned the same way without saying a word to Klein. Even Dunn was kept being pulled by Burnett to talk. Even the eyes can't convey it.
It wasn't until the fifty-sixth time the gas lamp flickered and the two captains finally determined the general directions that Burnett took the time to deal with it:
"Did you hear everything just now?"
"Yes," Klein recalled for a moment, then repeated, "Contact the 'Machine Heart', notify the police to cooperate, investigate the most famous socialites in Tingen, and then let the bishop come forward to clean up the backlog of domestic garbage in the lower streets and monitor There's a cemetery and a hospital."
He thought for a moment, turned his head, and asked Dunn his question.
"Aren't we trying to search for Tris' whereabouts? Why are we monitoring the cemetery and hospital? What's going on with the garbage on the streets?"
Dunn nodded approvingly and took a step forward to stand between Klein and Burnett.
His gray eyes were deep and deep, answering Klein's doubts one by one.
"The next sequence of 'Instigator' is called 'Witch'. This is something that can only be known at the captain level. This is why we need to thoroughly investigate all the famous courtesans in Tingen."
"And the main ability of 'witches' is to curse. Even some powerful witches can create plagues. This is why we clean up the garbage in the streets and monitor the cemeteries. If a high-ranking witch wants to create a plague, we will certainly not be able to stop it. But at least some of the vectors of the plague can be eliminated first, as well as the hospital because the hospital's blood bank stores a lot of fresh blood, which may be used by the witch."
"To put it simply, the blood bank is like an unguarded bank warehouse for witches. They can take as much as they want. Every time they take out a piece of blood, it means they have saved an extra life." It seems that Dunn said it inappropriately. Too slow, Burnett added rapidly.
After saying that, he stared at Klein, who had empty eyes. UU Reading www.uukanshu.net subconsciously extended his hand to Klein's face, but he quickly realized that Dunn was next to him and took it back.
"what's on your mind?"
"I was thinking about 'witch'... No, I..." Klein's face turned red, and with his well-controlled facial expression, he looked a little funny, "I mean, but Tris is a man!"
"Yes, it's a boy," Burnett said with a malicious smile, "Maybe he will become a girl tomorrow."
"The 'Assassin' path will change a person's gender in Sequence Seven. This is why the church sealed up the information related to the Witch's path in Sequence Seven, even at the expense of destroying important chains." Dunn's eyes flashed with worry.
Even if they can act as quickly as possible to control these areas that are easily infiltrated and affected by witches, if they want to completely eradicate the danger, the only way for the church to take action is to expel or capture and kill the high-ranking witch behind Tris.
"Has the church received a telegram back?" he asked suddenly.
"No," Klein shook his head, "At least not before I left."
Dunn, whose eyes were even more worried, immediately looked at Burnett.
"Archbishop Molson, who was previously in charge of affairs in Ahowa County, may return to the Kingdom of God soon. The church has not yet appointed a new archbishop."
Archbishop Molson?
Isn't this the person "The Hanged Man" mentioned, like Deacon Manuel of the Church of Storms, who may be colluding with Qilingos?
It turns out that Archbishop Molson was in charge of affairs in Ajova County. The diocese he was responsible for was inland, and he would soon reach the limit of his lifespan... so he was removed from his post and stayed in Manuel, Pasu Island. He was the more important one. Someone who might be able to help Zillinges?
Klein glanced at Burnett covertly and remained silent.
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Chapter 28 Going down the street
To the west of Tingen, the dusk is deep.
The bell tower with a strong steam church architectural style has just struck the five o'clock evening bell. Many workers working in nearby garment factories have returned to Iron Cross Street one after another. Both sides of the road have become crowded, with skinny and hemp-like children mixed in. In the crowd, people watched all this indifferently, their cloudy eyes shrewdly distinguishing the comings and goings, watching all the pockets.
Here, Klein doesn't have many memories of his own. There may be some memories of the past that are gradually fading away in his mind, but they are all blurry and out of shape. Besides, Moretti rarely cooks and passes by libraries rather than markets. .
"Have you seen that yellow-haired kid? The one with hair harder than wheat stubble?" Burnett pointed at the thin figure squatting at the Iron Cross Street interface and tilted his head in the direction of Klein. "He just stole five dollars." The third wallet after clicking is just genius."
"The 'punisher' should also have the status of an independent investigation team in the police station. Don't you want to take care of it?"
Klein, who was wearing a black formal suit, was very conspicuous in the crowded lower street. However, the pistol deliberately exposed on his waist saved him from the trouble of being disturbed by thieves. Even the pedestrians passing by knew the situation and stepped aside from both sides, in the sea of people. Mark out a piece of blue and black reef.
He looked at the "Punisher" captain who had specially changed into a dark blue factory uniform with two holes in his pants, and seemed a little dissatisfied.
"Care?" Burnett was stunned, "Why should you care?"
"Am I wearing a police uniform now, or am I a sheriff wearing a black and white checkered coat?"
He casually lit a cigarette for himself and blew out into Klein's shoulder.
"Why don't you mind your own business? Why don't you change the clothes you're wearing and put away the gun? What you're wearing doesn't look like the people here. No one will look at you twice."
Most of the passers-by here are dressed in old and tattered clothes, and there are very few bright and beautiful people. They regard people who are different from themselves as aliens. They show vigilance without covering up their obvious greed. If it weren't for the revolver on Klein's waist, there would be no one in the crowd. Anyone can commit robbery at any time.
"I will change into police uniform next time I come here," Klein calmly took two steps back, "But should we investigate Tris' whereabouts first?"
He looked around at the street with almost no houses over three floors and wondered:
"Don't you mean that witches like to use their abilities to charm and instigate businessmen and parliamentarians to provide themselves with shelter and seek benefits?"
"If we don't go to the east of the city, what are we doing here on the street?"
After a brief exchange, the extraordinary team captains of the three major churches adjusted their personnel plans according to the current situation. For example, the "Nighthawks" who can enter dreams without alerting others are responsible for targeting congressmen who may be harboring witches, while the "Mechanics" who have a large number of sealed objects to do auxiliary work. "Heart" is responsible for guarding hospitals and crowded places. The job of "Punisher" is relatively simple and crude - taking all suspects into custody underground in the Church of Storms.
And Klein, who was half-forced and half-borrowed by the "Punisher" to help, according to Burnett, was the dog used for smelling.
"Before you found Tris, we had another case on our hands," Burnett said slurredly, holding a half-smoked cigarette in his mouth. "On Monday, two people died on the street, both of them. It was a freak death, and the police forensics found no clues, so it was passed directly to us."
"The witch's curse?" Klein guessed.
But hasn't Tris been promoted yet?
"Witch sects have the habit of allowing members to adapt to the abilities of 'witches' starting from Sequence Nine. Curses using spells and rituals are not so easy to clean up." Burnett saw his doubts and nodded, "Monday. We were sure it was a curse, but it was difficult to continue the investigation. There was no support staff in the team, and it was difficult to make any progress relying solely on ritual magic."
"I borrowed you here just to find some clues from the victim's family before he gets promoted."
Under the leadership of Burnett, the two cut through the crowd. The children hiding in the crowd waiting for the opportunity were basically frightened by the revolver on Klein's waist and quickly hid on the side of the road. Examining, curious, and frightened eyes were cast from all directions. .
"The victim's family lives above, and the two houses are next to each other." Burnett pointed to the square building with the blue and black chimneys standing upright, and sighed, "Sigh...after Howard died, many cases It's all been put on hold and there's no way to start."
As the two entered the square building, various mixed gases suddenly hit their faces. Klein couldn't bear the physical stimulation and covered his mouth and nose with his sleeves, but he could still vaguely smell the smell of urine and hair. The musty smell of dampness.
The stairs were stepped on step by step, and Burnett, who was breathing heavily as if nothing was wrong, suddenly waved his hand, and saw a fat figure running over from the balcony corridor on the second floor, breathing heavily.
The police chief in charge of the nearby neighborhood, Beach Mountbatten, did not bother to wipe his sweat. He bent over and smiled obsequiously, and reported in his unique, slightly high-pitched voice:
"Sir Burnett, I've been here since I received the news. Lame Hawk is at home now. I listened to you and didn't let him go anywhere."
Burnett, who had a pair of iron-colored eyes, nodded coldly, without any intention of introducing Klein. He gave an overbearing order to Beech Mountbatten to confirm his identity as inspector, then go to the corridor and wait.
The lame Hawk squatted in his own room, which was less than twenty square meters. Next to him was a bunk bed that looked like it was about to fall apart, as well as countless pieces of scrap metal piled on the table, and wooden boards that were not affected by moisture. As for the same tatters, The cupboard against the wall was empty, with only the simplest tableware neatly placed on one floor, and nothing else.
"I want to complain to you." He said weakly, his eyes that had lost their luster didn't even raise, as if he just wanted to say this and didn't necessarily have someone to listen to him.
Klein scanned the room and noticed that there were traces of another person's life on the bunk bed to the left, with a bulging quilt piled on top.
"I just heard that the police chief of your neighborhood blocked you at home?" Klein looked at the ground covered with various debris and did not move.
"I came here early this morning." Hawke hummed weakly.
It came in the morning, which means that the "Punishing Agents" have been investigating this case since Monday and have almost never stopped. Moreover, the "Assassins" who have not been promoted to Sequence Seven all rely on spells and rituals to commit crimes. The "Punishing Agents" Realizing this, I was able to get to the Dragon Bar so quickly at noon...
This is no coincidence.
Klein opened his mouth, confused.
The Witch Cult arranged for members to spread the curse starting from Sequence Nine, and they resorted to the power of spells and rituals to execute it without any effort. It is difficult to say whether the higher-ups of the Witch Cult consciously asked the previous members of the "Witch" to act in advance and digest the magic potion in order to quickly Promotion ensures that the entire sect is female and no impurities are mixed in - the Alfalfa case also proves this.
From this point of conjecture, Tris, who used the role-playing method to digest, can be said to be an excellent "assassin". He couldn't understand that it is taboo for assassins to reveal their whereabouts, so why would he rush to buy spiritual materials with such arrogance?
Because he has the protection of a high-ranking witch, he thinks that no extraordinary person in Tingen can threaten him?
"What do you want to ask?" Burnett looked at Klein standing in a daze and glanced up and down.
"Inspector Burnett, were you monitoring the Dragon Bar today?"
Burnett nodded generously and admitted:
"A total of two places have been arranged today. Here, there is also the Evil Dragon Bar, but our people over there are hiding in a nearby building and did not directly block the door."
"Sir, you locked me up at home so Shia can't be buried." The lame Hawk, who was squatting on the ground, snorted again.
Burial... Klein swallowed the question that came to his lips. He stood on tiptoes and looked around the room again, only to find that under the quilt on the second floor of the bunk bed, there seemed to be the outline of a person. Just unusually thin compared to adults.
Klein suddenly looked at Burnett and saw the "Punisher" captain silently nodding.
"We need to investigate the cause of Shia's death. This is an expert transferred from another team. After he has seen it, you can take your daughter for burial."
Hearing this, Hawke's eyes finally lit up.
He pushed himself up with both hands, bent one leg, and pressed the other against the ground. He limped toward the bunk bed, refused Klein's help, climbed up alone, and climbed up holding his daughter's body. down.
It was a little girl with dry hair and short ear-length hair. She had a thin face and her mouth was not closed due to the long time since her death. If you look closely, you can still see her teeth and mouth.
"I originally planned to wrap her in a quilt and bury her today." Hawke murmured in explanation.
In this regard, Burnett remained silent, without apologizing or sternly reprimanding. He just raised his chin, told Klein to start working, and stood in front of Hawke.
"We need to do an autopsy, and you don't want to see the process." He counted a few coins from his pocket and stuffed them into Hawke's hand. "This is your lost wages for today."
Hawke stared blankly at the three sulu in his hand, turned around slowly, and slowly opened the door.
Before walking out, he muttered a few final words in his own inarticulate voice.
"I don't have a job anymore."
...
"As you may think, they all died of lung infection due to exposure to ritual media that were deliberately placed in the factory."
Downstairs of the Cube Building, Klein was striding forward, wanting to run away from the pedestrians.
"You said you got the evidence, but there was no exact address in the picture, and you didn't even see Tris's face." Burnett caught up with the thin "magician" in three or two steps. He pinned him down and said, "What kind of evidence is this?"
Being pulled unable to move, Klein hesitated to speak. He could only use actions to express that this was not the place to talk about the extraordinary, and half-pushed Burnett back to the car.
"It is true that the cause of death of the deceased was a lung infection, but one was a simple pneumonia and the other was a fungal infection..."
"Two different curse media were used," Burnett followed Klein's train of thought. "I haven't been promoted to a 'witch' yet. I rely entirely on rituals and spells, so the form of the curse is relatively changeable."
He nodded in agreement, "Then."
"Then, didn't I tell you that I used dream divination and saw a villa with a glass greenhouse, where Tris performed rituals and made spells."
"As long as we find a house like this secretly, we might be able to find Tris." Klein didn't understand such a simple question. Why didn't the captain of the "Punisher" understand it?
According to his idea, as long as they lock a house with such characteristics, they don't need to come to investigate. They can avoid the pressure of the powerful and start directly from the dream, find Tris and the accomplices of the Witch Sect behind him, and catch them all.
"Finding a house like this, do you know how many houses there are with glass greenhouses east of Tingen, and who are the owners of those houses?"
"If you can't conduct a normal search, how do you deal with the witch hiding inside? Do you want your captain to die?" Burnett knew what direction Klein wanted to start with just one glance.
"However, the captain of the "Heart of Machinery" did not directly pray to the Archbishop of the suburbs of Ahowa County through a ritual and confirmed that the high-ranking witch had left Tingen..."
As soon as the intelligence was shared, the captains of the three extraordinary teams sent telegrams to the church and the diocese headquarters. Except for the Church of Storms, which had a vacancy in the position of archbishop of the diocese, there was no reply. Dunn's telegrams to the diocese and the church also came to nothing. , only the "Mechanical Heart" used unique methods within the church to get a response from the archbishop. UU read www.uukanshu.net
At first, the "Nighthawk" suspected that the witch had destroyed the telegram in advance. Dai Li, who had a messenger, used occult methods to contact the church, but there was still no reply. The telegraph office checked the wires and said there was no problem. It seemed to be just pure bad luck. .
Burnett did not answer Klein's question immediately, but knocked on the car door. After receiving the order, the carriage drove slowly and embarked on the journey back to the police station.
"I heard that a 'monster' almost died in the Dragon Bar. Did you use ritual magic to save him in a hurry?"
Klein was stunned when he asked such a confusing question, and nodded blankly.
"Looking directly at the aura of evil beings in high places, the extraordinary power in the body went out of control," Burnett stared out the window intently, with subtle sadness in his tone, "This is how Howard died."
"These are the cultists who should be filled into the 'Abyss of Storms' to receive the Lord's divine punishment. They like to carry the evil aura of a high level on their bodies. Dunn is separated by a layer of dreams and can be treated in time. Maybe he will not die. But the next two months will be inseparable from the purification ceremony."
"The Witch Sect, like many evil sects, likes the master-disciple inheritance system. Tris is likely to be promoted to Sequence Seven in these two days, which means that his accomplices are probably Sequence Five or Six, and may also have the help of high-ranking witches," Burnett sighed deeply, "Even if Dunn is willing to do it, we can't keep him if we find him."
"But the things you divined are still useful. We can check the houses with glass greenhouses and narrow the scope for surveillance. The witches will not give up their loot. It will take up to three days to find out who has the problem."
Burnett sneered.
"A courtesan and a glass flower house, isn't the clue already obvious?"
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Chapter 29 The case begins
Due to the relationship between high-ranking witches, three official Beyonder teams occupied the Tingen City Police Station. The angry police chief, who was the second son of the Backlund noble family, clamored to report to MI9 and accuse the three major churches of their arrogant evil deeds.
However, starting from the year when Roselle died, the royal family and government of the Kingdom of Loen have learned from the lessons of the Sauron Dynasty and proactively gave part of their power to their natural allies, allowing the three major churches to requisition them during special times. The director of Tingen was even less aware of the power of government agency personnel. After scolding him for a while, he could only use the excuse of protest to approve his leave application and hid back to Backlund with his family.
Leonard, the director in charge of "Gifts", stood under the notice board on the platform. The black windbreaker that comes standard with "Nighthawks" fluttered in the evening wind, just like his hair that had been blown away and had hung down to his ears. Messy long hair.
He squinted his emerald eyes and watched with boredom as the police chief's butler directed his servants to block the doors that should have been closed and carry the luggage necessary for travel onto the train, even though many of the luggage were completely unnecessary in his opinion. of.
Leonard yawned out of boredom, and temporarily looked away from the director's family who were loafing around, and looked at a group of people in another carriage who were also moving things in and out.
The colorful tents were tied into a bunch and carried one by one by two men wearing the bell-bottoms popular in the maritime colonies. There were also iron cages for monkeys and wooden boxes for storing props. It was a complete circus. Soon all the belongings were piled on the platform, and the funny costumes of the group attracted many passengers to stop and wonder.
Leonard also stood on tiptoes and looked around, trying to send his gaze to the other side of the haze.
Woohoo!
A huge amount of steam gushes out from the black iron-colored chimney, with billowing echoes, waking up every passenger attracted by the circus on the platform. The whistle like thunder indicates that the train is about to start, driving a group of people. The passengers quickened their pace and ran towards the exit of the station.
Milky white steam rushed towards his face and occupied the entire platform. Leonard, whose vision was completely blocked, shrugged helplessly and turned to follow the only clearly visible outline in the milky white mist.
"Boy, don't you think it's strange?"
Leonard stepped on the footprints of the passengers in front of him, and suddenly heard the aging voice of his "housemate" lingering in his mind, and asked a question without a clue.
He looked around and felt that no one could see anything in such a thick fog, so he simply said carelessly:
"What's the meaning?"
"Do you remember the last time you saw this traveling circus act?"
"I remember," Leonard recalled, "last fall, about a month from today, I was dragged by Roxanne to ask for leave to watch, and I also met the captain who was also dragged to watch the performance."
The old "cohabitant" remained silent. He thought about his words carefully and said doubtfully:
"You mean the circus came too early this year?"
The "cohabitant" still didn't say anything, but Leonard couldn't help but imagine an old man whose face couldn't be seen, silently slapping his face.
He said sarcastically: "What does that mean?"
Pales Zoroastrian, who had lived in Leonard's spirit body for two thousand years, suddenly doubted his own vision of choosing a parasite.
But no matter how you say it, you choose your own parasite. It is a fact that you are not in a good condition and can hardly find another parasite. I can only say bluntly:
"There's a fortune teller in that circus."
Leonard turned around in shock, facing the thick milky white fog, the voice in his head was still talking.
"I can't see the specific sequence, but it must be from the 'Soothsayer' route."
Of course, Pales carefully kept a secret, fearing that his parasitic target would not be able to accept the cruel reality.
For example, there are actually three "soothsayers" in the circus, one "clown" and one "magician", and the monkey that is locked in a cage, wearing poor-quality formal clothes like a human, sleeping and lazy, is actually a monkey. A "stealer" who is only one rank below Leonard.
Upon hearing the news, Leonard could no longer stand still and continued to stroll leisurely.
He expertly turned on his spiritual vision, and within the field of vision occupied by the milky white mist, dozens of distinct or vague colorful figures suddenly appeared. The "Midnight Poet" nimbly shuttled through the crowd and rushed out of the train station.
"You want to report this news to your captain?"
"Otherwise?" Leonard shouted into the air in surprise, causing passers-by to turn their heads.
As soon as he asked this question, his running legs slowly slowed down until they stopped completely.
Yes, the three major churches are now investigating the high-ranking witch and Tris. If the news about the circus is reported at this time, it will only distract the official attention and expose more weaknesses that may be exploited.
Anyway, this is not the first time that the circus has come to Tingen. What if the "divineer" in the circus just accidentally came into contact with the extraordinary, or is acting in this way?
Leonard tried to convince himself, walked around in circles twice anxiously, and finally decided to return to the train station.
The circus brought a lot of things, and they wouldn't be able to move them all at once. Even if they contacted the freight company in advance, the freight carriage would arrive a little late due to the traffic rush after get off work after six o'clock.
At least determine which person is the "divineer" first... Leonard quickly ran back to the train station entrance with the help of his spiritual vision just like when he came.
He searched back and forth for traces of the circus, but all he saw were ordinary tourists one after another.
Just when he was about to give up, a figure with multiple brilliant colors in the spirit body was sneaking away from the edge of the train station exit.
Leonard saw the man's appearance clearly and stopped before he even took a step forward.
He stood there in a daze, his green eyes full of incomprehension, his lips trembling, and his mind was filled with excuses over and over again.
He didn't want to think about the reason.
Old Neil, who has no wife or children, and has never heard of any relatives, what is he doing at the train station alone at this time?
...
In the Tingen Police Station, the captain of the "Mechanical Heart" in the temporarily requisitioned lounge was holding a bunch of precision instruments and a mirror link that seemed incompatible with technology. According to him, it was a church The simple model designed according to the manuscript left by Emperor Roselle is a mixture of pure machinery and extraordinary rituals, so it can be installed on a large scale in various local teams.
"Nighthawk" captain Dunn didn't understand these things, so he sat in the corner of the lounge and sorted out the files he had just taken out from the warehouse.
Before determining which Mr. Congressman or Mr. Businessman is protecting Tris and his companions, he will have to continue these boring and boring tasks, even most of the other "Nighthawks" members.
Suddenly, Dunn saw two shadows covering the first half of the text in the file. He leaned back on his chair, raised his head and asked:
"Did you find anything?"
Burnett, who had changed back into his navy coat, occupied the last chair in the room. Klein, who could only stand, wanted to get one from the captain of the "Mechanical Heart" and his team members, but did not want to disturb them. The technicians who were competing with the machinery said with a wry smile:
"Captain Burnett and I have confirmed that Tris is hiding in the east of Tingen City, and his hiding place has obvious features such as a glass greenhouse. It is probably the residence of a certain congressman."
Dunn, who started flipping through the files when he was halfway through listening, took out a few pieces of information that had been sorted and placed them, and said in a mellow voice:
"Combined with the Witch's usual criminal style, we only need to investigate Baron Hoy, Representative Cullen, Representative Smith, and Representative Maynard."
"Four." He looked at the information in his hand, his gray eyes silently staring at several pieces of information, as if hesitating.
They are all important members of Tingen's political circles, which is in line with the witch's habit of controlling politics and achieving her goals by corrupting the upper class. But they were jumped out by the captain. I really didn't expect that these people have such a close relationship with the courtesan... ..Klein was determined to break the silence and provided another idea.
"Captain, why don't we directly investigate the most likely courtesans in Tingen? We can even just investigate a few that are related to known clues first."
This way, we don't need to direct trouble to those councilors and nobles, but we can also further narrow the scope and directly find out Tris' whereabouts.
Dunn's expression did not change. He thought patiently for a while. Seeing that Burnett had no intention of expressing his opinion, he took the initiative to explain:
"That might only catch Tris's accomplices, which would be detrimental to subsequent actions."
"The church responded to the previous telegram, and the answer was the same as the one received by the 'Machine Heart'. The high-ranking witch in Tris has left Tingen and is most likely still hiding in Ahova County. This requires the church's senior leaders and The 'Red Gloves' continue their pursuit and investigation, so the Witch of Tingen is left to our own devices."
"In other words, it's easy to kill Tris and his accomplices, but not easy to cause trouble without expanding the influence." Burnett moved his neck and added quickly, "Even if the high-ranking witch leaves and stays in Tingen The cultists may still possess spells that preserve high-sequence power, which is why the three of us did not disband on the spot, but stayed in the police station busy."
"Not only the witches, but also the cultists in the Southern Continent," Dunn followed Burnett's words, with a seriousness in his eyes that Klein had never seen before. "The cultists of the Secret Order and the Aurora Society are good at changing their appearance. , replacing identities, inducing innocent believers to fall..."
He didn't finish the rest of the words, but Klein probably understood.
Just like today's Intis pinches his nose and recognizes the Secret Order that became the national intelligence agency during the Russell period. Even if it is reorganized, the Secret Order accounts for part of the new intelligence agency. Other countries in the Northern Continent cannot effectively prevent it. Infiltration of "faceless men".
If the suspicion cannot be accurately pinned on a certain person and rashly attacks the suspected gentlemen and ladies, it is likely to bite the Southern Continent cultists who are already lurking in Tingen and plotting the next conspiracy.
The Aurora Society and the Secret Order are not as easy to bully as the Witch Cult!
Klein, who was deeply aware of this, sighed helplessly.
"But we plan to secretly monitor these suspects," Dunn encouraged when he saw that Klein was a little disappointed. "These tasks can only be left to the auxiliary personnel. Both you and Old Neil need to participate."
Secret surveillance, which means you can operate within a certain range?
He thought of Shia, who might have just been taken to the cemetery for burial, and of Hawke, who was lame and lost his job. As his thoughts swirled, he answered seriously:
"I see."
...
The solid dusk gradually melts, ushering in the curtain of night.
The change of time was extremely obvious on the glass. Karen stood on the second floor of the villa, watching the glass greenhouse standing in the center of the garden no longer reflecting the gorgeous orange-red, leaving only the occasional flash of silver, and sighed deeply.
The old congressman with bad legs and feet refused the help of the valet, found an excuse to be dizzy, skipped dinner with his family, returned to the room alone, and entered the underground through another secret passage behind the bookcase.
He held a kerosene lamp and staggered to identify the direction with his hands, his dim eyes narrowed into slits in the darkness.
"what happens?"
A ray of gentle and non-dazzling sunlight suddenly rose, illuminating the ground in an instant. Mr. A, who was dressed in blood, looked at the old congressman with trembling legs. He put his fingers on the long hair hanging on his chest and pulled a few strands of hair away. Gently push away from the cross.
"Your Majesty the Envoy of God..."
After all, he was a member of the parliament. It only took Karen a minute to compile the information he heard from an inspector at the police station and give it to Mr. A. He also added a final sentence after careful consideration.
"Your Majesty the Messenger of God, I have also been targeted by the church. Do I need..."
Mr. A glanced contemptuously at this old man who was addicted to various desires and could not extricate himself. UU read a book www. uukanshu.net However, no matter how much he looked down on the old man's soul, he still had to value the power represented by this old body. He could only "comfort":
"No matter how cunning heretics and rebellions are, they cannot compare with the favor of the Creator."
"You can participate in social activities normally, but you must be under our surveillance. As long as you stay away from the witches who are neither men nor women, and wait for the results of rebellion and heresy, you will be safe."
"Your Excellency, God Envoy, what do you mean by a witch who is neither male nor female?" Representative Karen, who is only obsessed with finance and factories and knows nothing about the extraordinary, has his eyes wide open and his hands are trembling slightly.
He even forgot to find a reason to refuse surveillance from Mr. A.
"Literally," Mr. A smiled ferociously, which, coupled with his face that was more beautiful than any woman's, gave people a creepy sense of disobedience, "I have checked your surroundings, don't worry, you are safe."
Mr. A stepped forward, and the shadow on the ground caused a wave, swallowing up the distance between the two. His long black hair fluttered slightly, his facial features were lost, and his flesh and blood melted like wax stretched out his synapses.
Councilor Karen witnessed this strange scene in horror. He subconsciously wanted to shout, but he couldn't squeeze out any sound from his throat.
All the bones and flesh in his body betrayed his thoughts, and he could only watch helplessly as the shadow under his feet stretched out two tentacles and opened his mouth...
Outside Senator Cullen's bedroom, the valet who had been waiting by the door heard the bell ringing from inside. He immediately opened the door halfway and walked in.
I saw that the old congressman was no longer like before, he was much more energetic, and the blood under his skin was darker.
"Prepare another dinner, I want to eat beef."
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