13. Blackthorn Security Company

Tingen City, North District, Zouteland Street.

A four-wheeled police carriage, emblazoned with the symbol of crossed swords surrounding a crown, slowly drove into the parking area beside the police station.

"Do you work at the police station in Tingen City?"

Angel, having put on her hood this time, disembarked from the carriage and looked around. The parking area, located next to the North District's police station, neatly housed five identical black four-wheeled carriages, with several vacant spots between them, indicating that the actual number of carriages was much higher than what was currently seen.

"Of course not. We're just borrowing the police's carriages. The police can't handle the cases of the Beyonder, so they often need us to respond," Dunn Smith jumped down from the driver's seat and replied. Seeing the carriage driver, who was watching the parking area, come over to take the horses, he forcefully changed the subject: "Our 'company' is at No. 34, right across in the three-story building."

The carriage driver seemed very familiar with Dunn and the others, greeted a few "Night Watchers" without giving Angel a second glance, and went straight to tend to the horses.

The four of them walked out of the parking area, with Dunn leading the way, followed by Daly who was holding a wine glass, and Angel, who was curiously looking around, with Leonard bringing up the rear.

The North District lived up to its reputation as the busiest part of Tingen, especially during the morning when the pedestrian traffic was at its peak. On Zouteland Street, carriages frequently shuttled back and forth. The group waited for a while before they found an opportunity to cross the street together.

The first floor of "No. 34 Zouteland Street" was a shop facing the street, but its doors were tightly closed, and there were no signs around, indicating it had not been opened for a long time. Dunn and the others led Angel up the stairs next to it, turned a corner, and arrived on the second floor.

A vertical sign hung on the wall: "Blackthorn Security Company."

This was the name Dunn had mentioned earlier. It appeared that this was the base of operations for the "Night Watchers," bearing a classical "mercenary group" style. Considering the long historical tradition of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, this name might have been used for many years.

Dunn Smith pushed open the front door, waited for the others to enter, then closed it again.

What appeared before Angel was a rather spacious reception room, which, compared to the simple sign outside, was quite luxuriously decorated. Directly facing the entrance was a reception desk with pens and paper for guest registration, scattered documents, newspapers, and a wooden-colored coffee table with a set of sofas and soft back chairs arranged around it. The large gas lamp overhead emitted a soft glow. Had it not been for the absence of anyone at the reception desk, she might have thought she had entered the lobby of a high-end hotel.

"Today is Sunday, otherwise there would be someone at the front desk," Dunn explained upon seeing Angel staring blankly at the reception room. "So, you'll have to make your own tea."

He then turned to Leonard, who was last in line, and said, "First, take the Sealed Artifact back downstairs, then go to Frye and Royale's houses to inform them that there's an operation tonight, and their leave is canceled."

The young Night Watcher nodded, taking the copper cup known as the "Sealed Artifact" from Daly's hands, then circled the hall and left through a door on the side.

"Daly, what are your plans? You don't need to participate in tonight's operation..."

"I'll stay here with you tonight, but I need to rest well during the day. I don't have the privilege of being a 'Sleepless' who doesn't need sleep." The "Spirit Medium" Daly, clad in a black robe, yawned after handing over the copper cup, her fatigue fully apparent.

Dunn nodded in agreement: "Then go rest in the duty room on the third floor for a while. I'll wake you up before the operation."

After Daly left through another door, only Angel and Dunn Smith remained in the hall.

"As for you," Dunn seemed to remember there was someone else with him, patted the police cap on his head, and said to Angel:

"Before we carry out the operation to capture Mrs. Sharon, it's best you don't leave this place. This will ensure your safety to the greatest extent. Even if Mrs. Sharon escapes capture, she wouldn't dare to cause trouble at the Night Watcher's station."

He pointed towards the center of the hall: "The room in the middle of the corridor over there is a lounge. There aren't many people there on Sundays; you can rest on the sofa bed there. Later, I'll have a female 'Night Watcher' accompany you. You can ask her if you need anything, but don't wander into other rooms at will. The other 'Night Watchers' do not recognize you, and if they mistake you as an intruder, they could cause you unnecessary harm."

Accompany me? More like watch over me, isn't it?

Angel muttered to herself but still nodded to show she understood.

Seeing that Dunn had no other matters, Angel prepared to leave the hall for the rest lounge he mentioned, to catch up on some sleep during the day.

"Wait, there's one more thing!" Just as Angel was walking to the door on the left, Dunn called out to her from behind.

"Almost forgot, tell me everything you learned from Cole Granger about Mrs. Sharon's Beyonder abilities, as much as you remember."

Dunn Smith pulled out a palm-sized notebook from his police uniform pocket and sat down on the sofa in the reception room.

"Not in dreams? You trust me that much?" Angel returned to the center of the reception room, sat opposite Dunn, leaning against the soft sofa, and relaxed her whole body.

Dunn's grey eyes stared at her, slowly saying, "I do trust you, and our interests are aligned. You wouldn't want Mrs. Sharon to escape punishment either."

Trust me, or trust the "Sealed Artifact" just now, I guess I'll remain in the dark…

Angel guessed from her recent interaction with Leonard and Daly in the carriage that the so-called "Sealed Artifact," a copper goblet, likely possessed a function similar to that of a lie detector, enabling its holder to determine whether the statements made by the person in front of them were true, at least to the extent that the holder believed them to be true.

However, she had no intention of lying at the moment. Dunn's judgment was correct; Mrs. Sharon indeed represented a common interest between them, but there was a slight divergence: for the "Night Watchers," capturing Mrs. Sharon alive was certainly the best outcome. Not only would it address her, a Beyonder individual beyond the reach of the law, but it could also extract information about the "Demoness Sect" from her, potentially leading to more collaborators behind her and disrupting all the "Demoness Sect's" schemes in Tingen.

For Angel, however, Mrs. Sharon being captured alive was not a good thing.

The worst outcome would be Mrs. Sharon escaping amidst the "Night Watchers'" siege—though with a Beyonder individual like Dunn Smith participating, this possibility was very low. Should this scenario occur, Angel would inevitably face endless retaliation from Mrs. Sharon and the forces behind her.

Next, if Mrs. Sharon was captured alive as the "Night Watchers" hoped, a simple interrogation would certainly reveal the fabricated identity of "Angel Granger," and Angel would then face an obscure and uncertain fate.

The best result would be Mrs. Sharon dying in the struggle against her capture.

This is quite common in conflicts between Beyonders. Once both sides cease to hold back and fully unleash their Beyonder abilities in combat, it usually ends with one party's death.

This was also why Angel tried to participate in the battle. With "Storm Convergence" bullets and the combat capabilities of an assassin, she might not be able to control the direction of the fight, but she could find an opportunity to kill Mrs. Sharon towards the end of the battle.

Unfortunately, the "Night Watchers" seemed not to want her involved in capturing Mrs. Sharon, perhaps to avoid injuring a "witness" or simply due to a lack of trust in outsiders.

At that point, the only alternative was to ensure Mrs. Sharon could not escape.

If she held back, causing the capture operation to fail, not only could the "Night Watchers," who fought against evil, potentially suffer casualties, but the subsequent covert retaliation would also be unbearable for Angel.

"I'm not sure if she's holding back some abilities, so what I've told you is only what Cole has seen before." Angel gave Dunn a precautionary warning to avoid him placing too much trust in the intelligence from her, preventing any surprises during the battle.

Dunn Smith nodded, his expression turning serious as he listened attentively.

"Firstly, she was promoted from 'Assassin' and possesses all the Beyonder abilities of an 'Assassin,' which were enhanced upon her promotion. These include dark vision, enhanced sight, agile limbs, a light body, and explosive power in close combat that allows her to kill in one strike. If your 'NightWatchers' do not have members who are equally skilled in close combat, it's best not to attempt hand-to-hand combat with her."

Dunn meticulously noted down on his notebook, occasionally raising questions about certain abilities for Angel to explain in detail.

"Next is the 'Instigator,' which does not provide additional combat capabilities but enhances the abilities inherited from 'Assassin.' However, 'Instigators' excel in charming and misleading others, using their eloquence to stir people's hearts, provoke the desires within, and create conflicts among them. If she is allowed to fully utilize these abilities, conflicts might arise among your team members. Hmm... You asked about countermeasures? You don't need to worry too much about that. It's not very significant in direct combat. Just keep her busy in the fight so she doesn't have a chance to speak. Aren't you able to enter people's dreams? Just trap Mrs. Sharon in a dream, let your other team members sneak into the room, and shoot her in the head ten or eight times. No instigation or misleading would work then."

During the conversation, Angel recalled several massacres triggered by Cole Granger's use of the 'Instigator's' abilities, his hatred for the deceased Cole and the still-living Mrs. Sharon deepened a bit, and he became somewhat emotional towards the end of his explanation of the 'Instigator's' abilities.

"Cough... The 'Nightmare's' abilities are not that powerful, but thank you for the suggestion, it has given me quite some inspiration," Dunn Smith said with a strange expression, seemingly recalling some unpleasant matters. He paused for a moment before continuing to write, "Please, continue."

"So your potion is really called 'Nightmare'... Is it Sequence 8 or Sequence 7 of the 'Sleepless'?"

After a moment of thought and urged by Dunn, Angel continued to introduce Mrs. Sharon's abilities.

During this time, young Night Watcher Leonard Mitchell returned to the reception room from next door, very interested in their conversation and attempted to eavesdrop but was sent by Dunn to gather the other team members. He was energetic and refreshed, not showing any signs of tiredness like Miss Daly, quite similar to Dunn. Angel guessed that he also belonged to the 'Sleepless' path, for whom working all night was just routine.

"Then there's the Sequence 7 'Witch,' a qualitative change for the 'Assassin' sequence. Just from the name of the potion, you can tell it provides various mystical offensive and defensive capabilities. Mrs. Sharon once demonstrated creating a spear of ice in her hand and throwing it with the 'Assassin's' enhanced physical abilities, showing remarkable power; then there's invisibility and 'Substitute.' The method of execution is unclear, only guessable by name; 'Witches' also excel in casting curses using someone's blood or hair, requiring props, which probably isn't very useful on the frontline..."

By Sequence 7, Angel, or Cole Granger, knew very little about Mrs. Sharon's capabilities, as Cole was only Mrs. Sharon's apprentice and bed partner, not an equal opponent. Mrs. Sharon seldom demonstrated her higher-level combat abilities in front of him.

Lastly, Angel concluded, "That's about it, but Mrs. Sharon was already a Sequence 7 Beyonder before Cole knew her. It's very likely that she has now approached or even advanced to Sequence 6. You better treat her as a Sequence 6 Beyonder, don't be complacent, it's very dangerous, bring more people..."

Dunn Smith "swooshed" as he finished writing the last few notes, closed his notebook, and smiled, "Thank you for the reminder, we will be cautious in combat. In fact, I had planned to deal with Mrs. Sharon as if she were Sequence 6 from the beginning. We will deploy four 'Night Watchers,' carrying the appropriate 'Sealed Artifacts,' to ensure her capture. Please rest assured and wait for the good news."

Saying this, why do I feel somewhat uneasy?

Angel hoped to hear "good news" tonight, like "Mrs. Sharon unfortunately died while resisting arrest," but such thoughts couldn't be openly expressed, so she could only respond with a bitter smile.