Chapter 193: Sheriff Reed: Our Child is Still Alive

Chapter 193: Sheriff Reed: Our Child is Still Alive

West District, Williams Street, Night Watcher Squad Headquarters.

"Yes, Captain, I will complete this task."

In the captain's office, Klein accepted his first real mission since arriving in Backlund.

He was to investigate an incident at a nearby nursing home, which might involve extraordinary elements.

The specific task: A couple living in the nursing home suddenly went blind a few days ago, and other residents also experienced varying degrees of eye abnormalities.

The provided information did not detail the specific abnormalities.

It was suspected that extraordinary factors were involved, requiring his assistance in the investigation.

Klein immediately retrieved detailed information about the couple from the database.

Sheriff Reed and his wife.

Sheriff Reed was a former sheriff of the West District Police Department. Over a month ago, a gas pipeline explosion caused a major fire at their home, resulting in the death of their only son. The couple was subsequently sent to the nursing home due to mental instability.

This was the official explanation. As a Night Watcher, Klein had access to additional information.

Sheriff Reed's newborn son was a descendant of an evil god. Before a major disaster could occur, the Church of the Storms, the Church of the everNight, and the Church of Steam and Machinery jointly dealt with the evil god's offspring to prevent widespread harm.

The incident caused disasters throughout Backlund, resulting in hundreds of deaths and turning the area around Sheriff Reed's home into ruins.

Their son, the evil god's offspring, naturally perished in the incident.

Sheriff Reed and his wife did not completely lose their sanity but were deeply grieved by their son's death.

Considering their prolonged exposure to the evil god's offspring, the church decided to send them to the nursing home for observation.

This should have been the best choice, but a few days ago, Sheriff Reed and his wife both went blind, and others in the nursing home were also affected.

This led to the task being issued, with the church sending extraordinary individuals to investigate.

Klein was one of the two chosen by the Church of the everNight, the other being Leonard.

The Church of the Storms and the Church of Steam and Machinery each sent an extraordinary individual to participate in the investigation.

Klein understood why he and Leonard were chosen and why he was appointed as the task leader.

They had previously encountered an evil god's offspring together in Tingen, making them suitable for this mission.

For safety, Klein reviewed Sheriff Reed's life and the events surrounding the evil god's offspring incident.

Around 3 PM, Klein arrived at the nursing home. After waiting for about half an hour, Leonard and the other two extraordinary individuals arrived.

Klein greeted them and familiarized himself with them.

"Leonard, have you not been resting well lately?"

"Huh?"

Leonard was momentarily stunned by Klein's sudden question.

Even though Klein's gaze held no other meaning, Leonard's cheeks flushed, and he instinctively wanted to avoid it.

Embarrassment was his strongest feeling at that moment.

Fortunately, Klein did not know about his recent romantic involvement with Seraphina, a witch, sparing him from complete social death.

"Have you been troubled by something recently?" Klein continued to ask.

"Just intense training and poor sleep," Leonard made an excuse and urged Klein and the others to investigate Sheriff Reed and his wife.

Klein did not act rashly. Instead, he first obtained a file from the nursing home director and had Leonard and the others question other residents before confronting Sheriff Reed and his wife.

The file detailed the couple's daily life in the nursing home.

Initially, they often cried silently, mourning their young son.

Pain and silence characterized that period.

But seven days ago, the couple began to mutter to themselves intermittently.

At first, the staff thought it was due to their grief-induced hallucinations.

But four days ago, the couple went blind, and other residents also experienced eye abnormalities.

The staff then noticed the couple's near-mad self-talk.

"Our child won't die; he's still alive."

"Yes, I see our child grown up, speaking grandly about conquering the sea."

"Yes, our child has grown up. We will see him again and hold him like we did when he was little."

"When will our child return?"

"He will return when the time is right."

...

"What should we name our child?"

"Baron Hastur Campbell promised to give our child a fitting name. I've been looking forward to this day."

"He's so kind."

"Yes, he's always been kind and caring. Without his help, our child wouldn't have been born."

"Has he seen our child?"

"He missed it, but we'll have a chance to show him our child in the future."

"He will love him as much as we do."

...

Klein read through the couple's mad self-talk.

If extraordinary factors were involved, these mad words might hide important clues.

Klein was always cautious in this regard.

After reading the file, the other two extraordinary individuals returned, but Leonard was absent, giving Klein the impression that he was deliberately avoiding him.

"We've confirmed that the other affected individuals experienced eye abnormalities after Sheriff Reed and his wife."

"Their eyes were clearly influenced by some mysterious power."

"Is it an infection?"

"Possibly."

The two extraordinary individuals described the eye abnormalities.

Some had vertical pupils, claiming to see the future and predicting our arrival, saying there were five of us.

Some had slit eyes, claiming to see distant scenes and describing the seaside.

Many had eyes of different colors, with various strange eyes: red, white, green, blue, purple...

It was truly colorful and dazzling.

Some had animal eyes, with their behavior and temperament gradually resembling the animals.

"We can't confirm that Sheriff Reed and his wife are the source of the infection. Besides blindness and self-talk, they show no special behavior and seem mentally stable."

Klein listened silently, feeling that the extraordinary incident had a significant impact.

With so many abnormalities, who knew what strange events might occur in the future?

"Let's meet Sheriff Reed and his wife."

Klein decided and led the two extraordinary individuals to the couple's secluded courtyard.

After the abnormalities, the nursing home staff had separated the couple from others.

Near a flower bed, Sheriff Reed and his wife, eyes closed, supported each other, whispering.

Klein did not disturb them, instead lowering his footsteps and slowly approaching to listen.

"Someone's coming. What do they want?"

"Don't know. We're just blind. Our world is dark; the outside world doesn't matter to us."

"Is our child also living in darkness?"

"Don't know. I can only see him if he wants me to."

"It's okay. He's still young. He won't be stubborn forever."

"Yes, let's look in the mirror. I like examining myself in the mirror more and more."

"But we're blind."

"Yes, blind people should look in the mirror."

Klein listened to the chaotic yet logical conversation, understanding their mental state.

Madness might not be madness. Losing their sight might have allowed them to see something.

The extraordinary world had many such examples.

If Sheriff Reed and his wife were the source of the nursing home incident, deep interaction was unavoidable.

Klein slowly approached and politely said, "Sheriff Reed, I have some questions. Do you have time?"

"What do you want to ask?"

Sheriff Reed stopped, his closed eyes preventing any insight into his thoughts.

"I want to know what your child looks like now."

Klein pondered and decided to start with the child.

From the information he had read, the child was the couple's weakest point.

If they were influenced by extraordinary power, it must be due to this emotional gap.

(End of Chapter)