Chapter 434 The Humble Receiver
Of course he knew...his bounty had been increased again.
Danitz recalled the reason his bounty had increased from 1,200 pounds to 3,000 pounds. At that time, he had been promoted to Sequence 7 and had killed a pirate in the streets of Tiana Harbor who had attacked the sailors on vacation aboard the Golden Dream. As a result, he was featured in the local newspapers, and the church and the military increased their bounty. The latter was closely related to the Blood Admiral.
This time was no different. To seek revenge and to warn his captain, "Blood Admiral" Senior, that he was targeting her, Danitz, with the help of the two men before him, eliminated "Steel" Maivet and his many men, and reported the incident to major newspapers in Bayam.
Of course, in order to maintain regional stability, these details were not reported in the newspapers. However, within a week, the reward on his wanted list, which was slightly lower than that of pirates of the same level, jumped up significantly, and he became a "rich man" ranked high on the "Golden Dream". This was obviously the result of the colonial government and church reassessing his strength.
As for the man and woman before him, even if they could kill "Iron" Maiviti in just a few minutes, they probably wouldn't even let the residents downstairs hear them... Danitz mentally assessed the difference in combat power between the two sides and quickly followed his inner thoughts, stopping his struggle.
"Well, you'll all understand the horror of this radio receiver soon. I'll memorize every word it utters and tell everyone I know..."
He thought bitterly.
Passing by Danitz, who was hanging by a silk thread with a strange expression on his face, Angel slowly approached the radio that looked a little strange under the crimson moonlight and read the information on the paper that was spit out from below it.
"Arrodes," he must answer the question... Could this be the magic mirror sealed within Backlund's "Mechanical Heart"? I remember the butler named Ikanser was a bit afraid of it, but its questions were always friendly. Why is it so malicious now?
"Are you the 'Arrodes' we once knew?"
Angel asked cautiously, and made up his mind that if the other party asked any strange questions, he would use the silk thread to catapult it into the sea not far away.
"Yes! Thank you for holding a place in your heart for me, your humble servant Arrodes!"
Amidst the sound of tapping, a line of cursive Loenese text was spat out by the radio receiver. The exclamation mark at the end of the sentence was accompanied by a long ink mark, which seemed to be the embodiment of the other party's excited mood.
"Did you and that gentleman enjoy your vacation in Bayam?"
As another line of text was spit out, Angel confirmed that the "soul" hidden in this radio receiver was indeed the sealed object of Backlund's eccentric personality.
"Not bad."
"Perfect answer! You may ask your next question."
Danitz, who was hanging by a thread with his feet off the ground, had a completely gloomy expression on his face. He simply couldn't believe that "Arrodes", who had just asked a shameful question that hit him so hard, was now acting like a humble subordinate trying to please his boss, flattering him to the point of not caring about his face!
This was simply a dream, a nightmare of mine… He shook his stiff neck and looked around, trying to recognize the unreality of this dream, but he found that German Sparrow was also walking towards him at the door, and a trace of hope appeared in his heart.
Da da da.
Before the sullen-faced, crazy adventurer could get close, the receiver "Arrodes" typed out a new line of text, also in Loenese. The font was even enlarged a few sizes for Klein, who was farther away:
"Your loyal servant Arrodes is at your service."
No, no... Where's that evil Arrodes? Ask them questions, what they were doing in their rooms on New Year's Eve! Ask this guy why he had to go to the bathroom twice in an hour!
Danitz cried out in despair in his heart. If the silk threads on his body hadn't been gradually tightening, and if German's twitching mouth hadn't indicated danger, he would have even wanted to ask those questions on behalf of the receiver.
But in the end, the fire in his heart was extinguished, he gave up struggling, his limbs drooped, like a salted fish hanging from the ceiling, and he became quiet.
After carefully reading the three questions, Klein almost couldn't keep the deliberately serious expression on his face. He glanced at Danitz beside him and was relieved to find that the latter's neck was drooping and he didn't look at him. Only then did the corners of his mouth curl up slightly.
"I do have a question for you."
He spoke slowly, watching the receiver emit a continuous typing sound and spit out a line of text.
"Please, my master. May I address you as such? I sense a familiar presence."
A familiar...smell?
Klein's first reaction was that this Arrodes was continuing Backlund's behavior, using the means of currying favor with him and Angel to escape the control of the "Mechanical Heart" and gain freedom. Therefore, he tracked him to the sea and got into this radio.
But he immediately remembered that in a strange dream, he had witnessed the attack of the "Mechanical Heart" on the Tomb of Amon through Arrodes, and was honored by the other party as "the great existence above the spiritual world." From this, he was sure that the abnormality of the radio today must have originated from the mysterious gray mist on his body.
After all, after I got the radio receiver from Miss Magician, I forgot it in the gray fog. I only remembered it a few days later. Perhaps it was contaminated with the relevant aura and was discovered by Arrodes... Hmm, this reminds me to be careful about objects that have been left in the gray fog for a long time. When they return to reality, they may attract the attention of certain powerful beings...
He thought about it, nodded, and continued:
"Where can I find a living mermaid?"
He was afraid that the other party would reveal the location of the undead mermaid like Mr. Azik, so he limited the scope.
This time, the illusory white paper spitted out by the radio was particularly long and densely packed with content, but it was thoughtfully divided into several areas and even had simple map markings.
From the answers, Klein learned about the mermaid settlement that worshipped the Goddess of Night near the waterway east of the Gargas Islands, clues about wild mermaids in the illusory sea area of the "War of the Gods Ruins" further east, and the locations of mermaids raised in the church headquarters, the Cathedral, and the Church of Sleep on Dainos Island.
Most of them are under the control of the Church of the Evernight Goddess... Why does the church that controls the path of the "Sleeping Ones" go to such great lengths to control the mermaids? Is it to prevent the "Faceless Men" from continuing to advance, or do these creatures have other important uses?
Klein assessed the risks and concluded that even with the Faceless Man's ability to change his appearance, it would be too dangerous to approach the mermaids disguised as a Nighthawk or Bishop. Since the Church was capable of raising them, it must have made sufficient preparations. Recklessly approaching them would be a trap... At the very least, they would have to be reclaimed. The compensation already given to Melissa and Benson...
He was hesitating about which place to take the risk, but he found that the ticker continued to spit out white paper:
"According to the code, I have a simple question for you." The words were distorted, revealing the humility hidden within. "Did you know that the Church of Evernight has always been on guard against the 'Faceless Man'?"
This is... really thoughtful. It helps me eliminate the wrong answers.
Klein rubbed his face to prevent his expression from collapsing, and then slowly replied:
"Now I know."
“Exquisite!”
The speed at which he spit out the paper was so fast that it almost made the illusory white paper fly into the air. At the end of the paper, there was a new sentence: "The energy on the receiver is about to dissipate. I can only answer one more question."
Energy? It's talking about the aura of gray fog, right? He said that because Angel and Danitz were beside him... Klein pondered for a moment and handed the right to ask the question to Angel.
"I want to know where the 'Gazing One' is."
Angel's questions were also related to potions. She originally wanted to throw Danitz out the door and ask him later, but then she thought that if he heard about this clueless matter, it would be equivalent to being known by the knowledgeable "Iceberg Vice Admiral" Edwina, which might produce new clues. Therefore, she did not hide it.
"These creatures can travel between the spirit world and reality. Most have been confined to a spiritual realm that doesn't belong to the real world. Due to their inherent anti-divination properties, I can't determine their exact location. A few 'Gazers' are still located on a small island near the real 'Mid-Range Island'. While equally dangerous, it's safer than exploring the spirit world."
The receiver controlled by Arrodes quickly gave an answer.
Medium Range Island...where is this?
Angel recalled the map in his mind, but quickly gave up and decided to ask the pirate and adventurer "Flame" Danitz later.
Then she calmed herself down and prepared to deal with the other party's "questions".
Ta-da, ta-da.
The firing pin inside the machine began to lose its breath, slowly spitting out white paper:
"Now it's my turn to ask, my dear lady, will there be a chance for us to meet again?"
What kind of problem is this... Is it Danitz's fault, or Klein and I? Or is it that Arrodes has already thrown everything into escaping the "Mechanical Heart"?
Angel chuckled and replied:
"I think this opportunity depends on you."
"That's a correct answer! As long as you stay with my master, we will meet again~"
Arrodes used up his last bit of strength to utter these words, and then the radio receiver stopped all movement, and the illusory white paper stacked below it also disappeared. Everything that happened in the room seemed to be just an illusion shared by the three of them.
No, some of this isn't an illusion... Danitz is still bound by silk threads...
Angel waved his fingers, disappearing the invisible silk thread, and let the struggling salted fish down, making him fall to the ground in a kneeling position.
"You continue to monitor Admiral Blood's signal, or you can try to tell Vice Admiral Iceberg all this."
Klein took a deep breath to shake off Danitz's dejected expression, which seemed to indicate he had lost the meaning of life. He tried his best to maintain a cold tone as he gave the order, and then he and Angel left the suite that did not belong to them one after the other.
"Tell the Captain... Is he advising me, or threatening me with sarcasm?"
Danitz's dulled mind gradually returned to normal. He looked at the normal-looking radio receiver under the moonlight and felt like he had lost interest in everything.
After sitting on the floor for a long time, he slowly stood up, holding the simple machine, walked into the bedroom and locked the door.
A moment later, the room was filled with the incessant humming of the generator handle, as if the power was being charged to destroy the cutting-edge device, thereby leaving Hermann speechless after he threatened to use his bounty to buy another one.
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