The drizzling rain, the faint mist, the rows of gas street lamps that tried hard to show their hazy light, and the horse-drawn carriages passing through the streets from time to time together constituted the most common night scene in Backlund.

In addition to these, Klein, who was standing behind the window, noticed some gratifying changes.

Ding-a-ling!

Amid the crisp sound, a strange machine with only two wheels quickly ran along the edge of the road and drove to the other end of the street. Its overall frame was black, but some parts were gray and white like steel, and under the light of the gas street lamps that penetrated the rain, it shone with the beauty of metal.

Sitting on top of the machine was a man in postal worker's uniform. He was pedaling with his legs constantly, looking very hardworking. A green-painted wooden box was tied behind him.

"The promotion is going very well..." Klein, who was wearing a white shirt and a black vest and had a mature temperament, sighed silently as he watched the scene.

Within just a few hours of his return to Backlund, he encountered several similar strange machines on the way. These were the bicycles he invested in and promoted!

From the newspapers, Klein learned that the Backlund Bicycle Company had done a lot of advertising and held bicycle races in the Cherwood District and the Backlund Bridge area to attract the attention of the people there. In addition to these methods, they also actively promoted it to the government postal and police departments, and the results were said to be quite good.

Their pricing strategy followed Klein's original advice, avoiding the middle and upper classes who often used horse-drawn carriages, and targeting skilled workers with a weekly salary of more than 1 pound 10 soli, students from well-off families, and civil servants who needed to travel frequently. Therefore, a bicycle cost 3 to 5 pounds, which made it affordable for people in this class, while at the same time allowing them to show off to people with lower incomes.

"The problem now is that it rains frequently in Backlund, and cyclists can't use umbrellas... The next step is raincoats." Klein retracted his gaze, shook his head, and laughed softly.

He currently lives in a high-end hotel in the Hillston District, which costs 10 soli a night. It is so expensive that Klein feels a little distressed, but in order to fit in with his character, he can only grit his teeth and endure it.

According to his thinking, Dwayne Dantès was supposed to be a mysterious wealthy man from the Disi Bay who believed in the Goddess of Night. He sold his original land and mines and was ready to come to Backlund to seek new opportunities. He was interested in donating to obtain a title, but he did not have such strong financial resources. He could only consider expanding his network and making financial investments.

The advantage of such an identity is that it is different from all the roles Klein has played before, and there is a clear distinction. Moreover, he can naturally come into contact with some middle and upper class figures, especially the people in the Officers Club and the bishops of the Church of the Goddess of Night in Backlund. This makes it convenient for Klein to continue investigating the truth of the Backlund smog incident while collecting intelligence and formulating a detailed plan to steal the Antigonus family notes.

There are advantages, but of course there are disadvantages. Such a wealthy man with a mysterious origin will definitely be noticed by the "Night Watchers" and "Managed Punishers" and will be subject to a certain degree of background investigation.

According to Klein's experience, similar investigations, provided they do not involve important incidents, may be conducted by official extraordinary organizations themselves or handed over to the police department, but they will not be taken too seriously and are considered routine matters.

Therefore, Klein, who was considered an expert in disguise, designed and prepared a second identity for Dwayne Dantès to deal with the background check.

In his second identity, Dwayne Dantès was a guy who went on an adventure to East and West Balam in the southern continent for some reason. He used an alias and spent more than ten years in that dangerous and opportunity-filled place to accumulate a fortune.

Because the origin of this wealth was not so bright, he secretly returned to Desi Bay, forged a new identity, prepared to start a new life in Backlund, and gradually legalized the wealth.

Similar people are not uncommon in Loen, and their stories are acceptable and imaginable to investigators. For this reason, Klein left some inconspicuous clues in Conant City to indirectly help uncover the "truth" as soon as possible.

These clues include but are not limited to the ticket stubs of the black ship from East Balam to Conant City, the habits developed from living in the southern continent for a long time, and the wealth of unknown origin.

Klein believed that as long as "Dwayne Dantes" was not directly involved in any serious extraordinary incidents, such preparations would be enough to conceal the routine background check.

And if he encounters a very serious official Beyonder who wants to investigate all the way and is even willing to ask colleagues from the Southern Continent for help, then Dwayne Dantès has a third identity, that is, a fraudster who has mastered certain anti-divination skills. He disguises himself as a mysterious rich man and invests lavishly for the final scam.

This identity was enough to lead to Dwayne Dantès's arrest, but it would not be taken too seriously, which gave Klein the opportunity to exit calmly and disappear from the center of the stage.

“Compared to my first time in Backlund, I have really grown a lot now that I can design a three-layer identity…” Klein slowly walked back to the center of the room and cast his eyes towards the full-length mirror in the corner.

The man in the mirror had some gray in his black hair, and his eyes were deep but revealed the vicissitudes of having experienced too many things. He was a middle-aged man with a mature temperament and a very attractive appearance.

Designing the identity of "Dwayne Dantes" was not difficult for Klein at the moment, but stealing the Antigonus family notes from behind the Chanis Gate of Saint Samuel Church was an impossible task for any external Beyonder. Even the King of Angels could not guarantee that he could do it.

Of course, unlike other extraordinary people, Klein had two advantages in this matter. One was that he had worked as a "Night Watcher" before, and had enough understanding of the internal processes. He knew where he could take advantage and where there were no opportunities. Therefore, his first method of elimination was to become a "Night Watcher", blend in, and find a chance to pass through the Chanis Gate.

The problem with this method is that the "Nighthawks" cannot enter the Chanis Gate at will, even the captains and deacons. An event must occur before they can obtain the corresponding authority. In addition, there are internal guards behind the Chanis Gate. Walking around and taking things without permission will attract attacks and lead to fighting. Klein does not want his theft to cause casualties in the Goddess Church.

After careful consideration, he set his sights on the internal guard.

These old men are all retired "Night Watchmen". After volunteering to enter Chanis Gate, they are responsible for guarding the sealed objects. They and the Night Watchmen belong to two different departments. They enter and exit through the underground passages of the church. They do not interfere with the work of the Night Watchmen, nor will they be interfered with by them.

Perhaps because they had been behind the Chanis Gate for a long time, these internal guards all had certain peculiarities. They had cold auras, lacked expression, and had pale skin. They were like monsters in the depths of darkness, between a state of life and death. Klein believed that if he encountered them, it would not be difficult to identify their targets.

His initial plan was to rent a house in the North District near St. Samuel's Church, hire a butler, a manservant, a maid, a gardener, a cook and a coachman, and act like a rich man. Then he would go to the church regularly to pray sincerely, attend mass, donate money, and become familiar with the bishop and priests little by little.

During this process, he would try to find people who were suspected to be internal guards, select two or three targets, observe their living conditions, and when the time was right, imprison one of them, change into his appearance, or directly possess him, pass through the Chanis Gate, and wait for an opportunity to look through or take away the Antigonus family notes.

This is a very rough plan, more like an idea, and it depends on Klein's continuous improvement based on the various intelligence he collects.

In this matter, Klein's second advantage is that he has the Tarot Club, the Church of the Evernight Goddess, and the unexpected helpers of the "Night Watchers". He can also consider developing a "Night Watcher" or Watcher from the Backlund Diocese to enter the party and use an insider to complete the theft, just like Zaratul who used Emperor Roselle to get the Antigonus family notes.

“I still have to go to church regularly. Only in this way can I find my goal…” Klein faced the mirror and nodded silently.

It has to be said that he was feeling a bit conflicted. If there really was a Night Watcher or a Watcher willing to betray the Church and serve Mr. Fool, his first thought would be to bring down divine punishment and get rid of this disgusting traitor!

After letting out a breath and laughing at himself, Klein put on his double-breasted frock coat, put on his hat, walked out of the room, and came to the street.

Holding an umbrella, he walked around to another street, and taking advantage of the distant street lights and the hazy drizzle, he suddenly changed back into Sherlock Moriarty.

After taking a look at his wrinkled trouser legs, Klein reached out to stop a carriage and prepared to head to Isengard Stanton's home in the Hillston District.

More than half an hour later, the slightly old and dim building appeared in Klein's eyes.

He paid the 2 soli fare, walked steadily around the puddles in the drizzle that reflected the dim light, and arrived at the door of the great detective.

After putting away his umbrella and reaching out to ring the doorbell, Klein waited for a moment before seeing a broad-faced young man open the door.

The man had wheat-colored hair, gray-blue eyes, and high cheekbones, very typical of the area around Lundberg and Massi.

Mr. Isengard Stanton's new assistant? Someone from the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom? Klein took off his hat and said with a smile:

"Good evening. Is Mr. Isengard Stanton here?"

"Yes, he came back from a busy day and just finished his dinner." The young man with brown hair responded politely, "Excuse me, who are you?"

Klein laughed and said:

"Tell the detective that a friend of his is back from vacation."

The young man was stunned for a moment and blurted out:

"Mr. Sherlock Moriarty?"

PS: I recommend an interesting new book "I Possessed the Demon Emperor", which has a good entry point.