Klein listened carefully and asked back:

"So, you suspect that the Zreal those detectives saw was someone else in disguise?"

Ian held up his brown bowler hat and answered as if he had thought about it:

"It is a possibility, but I think it is too difficult, so difficult that it requires taking great risks. The party is at night, and the lights are not bright. However, most of the participants are detectives with keen observation skills. It is difficult to deceive their eyes with wigs, beards, makeup, etc."

Perhaps some extraordinary ability can do it... just like "Creeping Hunger" has... Klein's question just now had a small trap. He wanted to judge from the big boy Ian's answer, facial expression, and body language whether he had ever come into contact with extraordinary people and whether he had a certain understanding of the mysterious field.

The preliminary answer is no.

Ian saw Detective Moriarty nod slightly, agreeing with his reasoning, so he continued:

"I believe that the person those detectives saw was Mr. Zreal, but he was not free. He was under the strict control of others and could not send a message for help. The reason why he did not respond to my contact was to alert me and let me find someone to help rescue him."

“A reasonable explanation.” Klein loosened his clasped hands and sat back a little, making himself look more relaxed and confident.

Ian was silent for more than ten seconds, then spoke solemnly:

"I would like to ask you to investigate Mr. Zreal and confirm his current condition. Just need to confirm."

Considering that the other party was a semi-professional who collected intelligence and news for the detective, Klein wanted to make friends with him, so he smiled and said:

"How much do you plan to pay? You should know that this matter may be very dangerous."

Ian looked down at the pocket of his old coat and said carefully:

"There are two ways. One is that I will directly give you enough compensation to satisfy you. No matter whether the mission is easy or difficult, the amount will be the same, unless you are seriously injured."

"Second, I will pay you 5 pounds in advance, and then I will pay you additional fees depending on the difficulty of the matter after you complete the commission. However, this may easily lead to disputes, even if there is a contractual agreement."

Klein pretended to think, and after nearly thirty seconds he said in a low voice:

"Maybe it's okay? You pay me 5 pounds in advance, and after the mission is over, you can help me do three things. Don't worry, they won't be difficult. They are all within your ability and won't make you feel too embarrassed. This can be agreed upon in the contract."

Ian frowned, then stood up, leaned forward, stretched out his right hand and said:

"OK!"

Klein shook his hand briefly, then pulled out a standard contract he had prepared long ago from the coffee table. He picked up a round fountain pen, added all the details they had just discussed, and pressed his fingerprints to confirm.

After signing the contract, he handed the older boy Ian a stack of white paper and watched him write information about Detective Zreal.

After a while, he flipped through the information and asked casually:

"If there is an emergency, or if Zreal's condition is confirmed, how can I contact you?"

Ian pursed his lips and didn't speak for a long time. It was not until Klein looked up that he replied stiffly:

"No need to contact me, I'll show up when the time is right."

Without saying anything more, he took out a thick stack of banknotes from the pocket of his old coat. They seemed to be stacked in strict order from large to small denominations, very neatly.

Ian first pulled out three one-pound notes from the bottom, then counted out six five-solier notes, and finally ten one-solier notes.

Seeing that the other party had arranged the banknotes neatly, even the portraits of the kings had to be facing up, without any mistakes, Klein suddenly felt a little annoyed.

This is the late stage of obsessive-compulsive disorder... He exhaled silently and took the reward pushed to him by the other party.

According to his estimation, Ian would have no more than 3 pounds in cash left.

I guess he brought all his savings with him... If I had asked for more money, would he have run away in the end? He doesn't look like that kind of person, but you can't judge a person by appearance... Klein folded the bills casually and stuffed them into his pocket, not caring whether they were neat or not. So he successfully saw that Ian's expression was slightly distorted.

“I will try to complete the investigation as quickly as possible.” Klein stood up and extended his hand, as if to see the guest off.

"Thank you for your help." Ian thanked him sincerely, because the other party was obviously offering a "discount price".

After watching the boy, who looked much more mature than his actual age, leave, Klein stroked his chin and muttered to himself thoughtfully:

"This matter is very complicated."

"Ian never mentioned what Detective Zreal was investigating recently, or what kind of intelligence he was asked to collect..."

"Forget it. No matter how much money you charge, I just need to confirm Zreal's current condition."

He turned around, walked back to the living room, and casually took out a quarter penny copper coin from his trouser pocket.

when!

The copper coins rolled upwards, and Klein's eyes darkened as he silently wondered whether there was any extraordinary factor involved in this matter.

Then he stretched out his right hand and tried to catch the falling penny.

Ding! The coin slipped from his fingertips, fell to the ground, and rolled a long way.

This result means that the divination fails.

“It seems that Ian is hiding more than I thought… The information is so lacking that I can’t even get a vague divination result…” Klein tightened his lower lip, took a few steps forward, bent down and picked up the copper coin.

…………

That night, in the early hours of the morning, at 138 Rose Street in the Backlund Bridge area.

Klein changed into a cheap light blue workman's outfit. His mouth, chin, and cheeks were covered with black beard. At first glance, he looked rough and barbaric.

He wore a dark cap with the brim pulled down so low that it almost covered his eyes.

This kind of hat originally belonged to hunters in the Republic of Intis. It was somewhat different from the traditional deerstalker hat of the Kingdom of Loen, but it had recently become popular among the lower and middle classes in Backlund.

Hiding in the shadow of the Intis sycamore tree beside the road, Klein looked at the house opposite with the help of the elegant gas street lamp.

That was Zreal's home.

This detective was from South Wales, where his parents, relatives, and friends were all. He broke into Backlund alone and gradually became famous.

He was still a bachelor and only hired two temporary maids, the kind who came to clean the house every three days and did not have to provide him with food and lodging.

At this time, there was no light in the townhouse he rented, and it was completely dark.

Klein untied the silver chain from his left wrist cuff and let the topaz pendant fall naturally.

"There's danger inside."

"There's danger inside."

…

After repeating this seven times, he opened his eyes and saw the pendulum rotating clockwise, but very slowly and with very small amplitude.

“There is danger, but it’s not serious.” Klein whispered and checked the tarot cards, homemade talismans, and holy night powder he was carrying.

After doing all this, he looked around and, taking advantage of the dead of night, swiftly moved to the other side.

Zreal's home had no porch, no garden, no lawn, and was directly adjacent to the curb next to the road. Klein went around to the side and followed the water pipe, easily climbing to the small balcony on the second floor where clothes were hung out to dry.

Then he took out a tarot card, stuffed it into the gap, and opened the door to the corridor.

Following the house layout Ian had drawn, Klein walked almost silently to the outside of Zreal's bedroom.

He tapped his left tooth lightly, activated his spiritual vision, and looked inside through the wooden door.

Clairvoyance can penetrate non-spiritual barriers and see the color of the aura, but this is closely related to one's own level. Klein can currently observe through a wooden door, but cannot overcome a stone wall, and the scene he sees will not be very clear.

In his sight, in the bedroom behind the door, there were three human-shaped auras, with hazy colors, located in different positions.

There were three people lying in ambush all the time... To catch Ian, or someone else? The bedroom was not big... Klein stood in the darkness, calmly thinking about what he had observed.

At this moment, he suddenly retreated towards the balcony, his steps still very light.

Returning to the balcony, Klein took out a thin silver piece from his pocket.

This is the "Sleeping Charm" he tried to make in the afternoon.

He did not pray to the Goddess of Night, but instead performed a ritual with himself, the "Fool who does not belong to this era", as the object, and then entered the gray fog to respond.

Since this method made it difficult to mobilize the power of the mysterious space above the gray fog, Klein could only "respond" with his own spirituality. The talisman he ultimately made was worse than a normal one, but better than the one made with the "I in my own name" method, and was barely sufficient.

Looking around again, Klein covered his mouth and whispered an ancient Hermes word:

"Scarlet."

After feeling the spell's chill, he quickly but silently moved to Zreal's bedroom door again, gripping the handle while infusing his spirituality into the silver sheet.

Creak! Klein carefully turned the handle and quietly pushed the door open a crack.

Then he threw the "Sleeping Spell" in his hand into it.

After a brief pause, Klein closed the door again and began counting silently.

"3"

“2”

"1"

He pushed the door open and rolled on the ground.

Since he didn't sense any movement from the three people, Klein stood up and began to look at the scene in the room in the crimson moonlight shining in from the window.

This is a normally laid out bedroom with a bed, a row of wardrobes, a desk, a set of small sofas, and a coat rack.

On the other side of the bed, a man in a black coat was lying there, snoring soundly.

In addition, there was another person next to the small sofa and in front of the wardrobe, and they were both in deep sleep.

After confirming the conditions of the three people, Klein moved lightly, walked to the head of the bed, bent down, and found a few short brown hairs.

According to what Ian wrote, Detective Zreal is a man with short brown hair.

That should be it... Klein whispered, holding the fallen hair, and walked to the small sofa. He slowly sat down in the dim light stained with a hint of crimson, intending to use dream divination to find Zreal.

Leaning back on the sofa, he raised the corners of his mouth and said to himself in silence:

"That's the reasoning..."