"It sounds like a clichéd story. Since the discovery of the new route, similar legends of people getting rich overnight due to their courage to take risks have never ceased." Soest commented on the content of the telegram and looked at a certain "Red Glove" thoughtfully. "I remember that we investigated Dwayne Dantès before and communicated with him in his dream."
"Yes." The Red Glove who was in charge of this matter last time nodded in response. "I haven't asked about this matter directly, but I can see that Dwayne Dantès is very familiar with the Southern Continent and has a lot of experience there."
Haha, that might be what Dwayne Dantes revealed to you... Leonard didn't quite believe the content of the telegram just now. He suspected that this was another disguise of the undead monster that survived the Fourth Epoch.
However, he did not put forward his own speculation because he could not tell his teammates his basis.
Soest did not take this matter seriously and said:
"What questions do you have about Gehrman Sparrow's clue?"
"Since this crazy adventurer has appeared at sea in recent weeks, when did he come to Backlund?" Cindy, who is Nightmare, repeated her previous doubts. "I am not concerned about the exact time, but whether he can make it to Backlund in time. The distance between here and the sea is quite far."
Soest nodded slightly and said:
"In the meeting just now, a deacon also raised this question. Based on the time and place where Gehrman Sparrow was last seen, he normally would not have been able to reach Backlund last night and complete the infiltration.
“Of course, I’m talking about normal.
"The missing servant told us that he was sweeping the square outside when he suddenly lost control of his body and froze in place, unable to call for help. Then he saw colorful abstract paintings and felt his body floating upwards.
“After that, he lost consciousness and was in a room in the East End when he regained consciousness.
"The former fits the description of the internal watcher's 'ghost' being possessed, and the latter is suspected to be the 'teleportation' of the 'traveler'.
"If it is really a 'teleportation', then Gehrman Sparrow could appear in Backlund at any time."
As the elites of the Nighthawks, the Red Gloves have a far greater understanding of Extraordinary Paths than their colleagues at the same level, and are familiar with Wrathful Spirits and Travelers.
After listening to the captain's explanation, another "Red Glove" added thoughtfully:
"It is rumored that the 'Blood Admiral' who was hunted by Gehrman Sparrow is a 'Wrathful Spirit'."
The details are initially consistent!
The speculation that Gehrman Sparrow acquired the ability to "transform into a vengeful spirit" is not too difficult to accept. The simplest way is to find a "craftsman" and use the prey to make magical items.
Cindy used this opportunity to recall more information:
"It is said that Gehrman Sparrow can change his appearance... and the intruder disguised himself as the internal guard."
Another detail matched!
"That's a great association." Soest raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. "Based on these details, we can preliminarily determine that the intruder is Gehrman Sparrow. In this way, some of our previous speculations and the investigation list we compiled based on them may be wrong. Gehrman Sparrow does not need his companions to come to the church to pray frequently and help collect intelligence. He can change his appearance every day, enter here, and find out the situation. This is less noticeable than relying on companions."
——As the largest and most sacred church of the Church of Evernight in Backlund, countless believers come to Saint Samuel to pray or make pilgrimage every day. No bishop can remember unfamiliar faces that he has only seen once.
"In other words, the screening list we have in our hands may be meaningless?" Leonard raised his hand to prop up his brows, his tone slightly exaggerated.
"Obviously, our current focus should be on Gehrman Sparrow. We should put other targets aside for now and just do the most basic monitoring." Having said this, Soest clapped his hands and said, "Okay, let's get busy."
Leonard had no objection to this. He was just about to go to the "Mechanical Heart", "The Mandated Punisher" and MI9 to retrieve some information.
…………
On Tuesday morning, Klein slept until he woke up naturally. He felt relaxed and calm, and a sense of joy was slowly growing.
The extraordinary ability of the Psychologist is still very useful... This goes very well with Miss Justice's infectious optimism... Klein suddenly turned over and got up, pulling open the curtains.
He leisurely admired the scenery outside and the golden sun, regained motivation, and made plans for the next few months or even a year:
“First, look for a new secret doll;
"Secondly, using Dwayne Dantès's identity and his control over the puppets, he staged a series of dramas to speed up the digestion of the potion.
"Third, in this process, slowly collect the materials needed for the 'Trickster' potion. The Trickster can ask the little 'Sun' to see if there are any clues, and the Spirit World Plunderer can seek the help of Mr. Azik. After all, the Underworld itself is part of the Spirit World.
"Fourth, continue investigating the Backlund smog incident and find the real culprit behind the scenes. This includes Ince Zangwill and the demigod who killed the 'Mad Captain'. There is no one more suitable than them to be the target of the promotion ceremony. However, you must be careful of '0-08' and always pay attention to whether there are any overly deliberate coincidences... Well, I will mainly provide normal contact and assistance, and leave the dangerous direct investigation to the witch Triss."
Klein's thoughts gradually became clearer. Although he still felt worried and afraid, these no longer affected his mental state and ability to act.
Withdrawing his gaze from the balcony, Klein walked into the bathroom and took care of his personal hygiene.
Soon, he opened the door refreshed and saw that in addition to his valet Richardson, the butler Walter was also waiting outside.
The gentleman, wearing white gloves, bowed respectfully and said:
"Good morning, sir. You have only one schedule today, which is to go to the East Balam Veterans Club with Congressman Macht at 3 p.m. to participate in an event.
"He is a member of the New Party. Accepting his invitation means that you have initially indicated your political inclination. You still have the opportunity to hesitate."
Klein thought for a moment and said:
"No, this is my choice."
He paused and said in a consulting tone:
"This is my first visit to the East Balam Veterans Club. What should I be aware of?"
"Praise them for their achievements in East Balam and make a donation. It doesn't have to be too much, but not too little. 500 pounds is a more appropriate amount." Butler Walter offered his opinion.
500 pounds... Really, no matter which circle you want to enter, you have to spend a lot of money... Hey, this is also because Dwayne Dantès has no family background and can only rely on money to pave the way... Klein nodded slightly, agreeing with the butler's suggestion.
At the same time, he quickly calculated his current assets in his mind:
The "craftsman" has not yet completed the production of the "Ocean Singer", but the money exchanged for the "Chaos Mentor" and "Druid" extraordinary characteristics has "arrived", a total of 16,000 pounds...
"Add the original cash, minus the 13,000 pounds spent on purchasing 3% of Coim's shares, as well as the daily expenses of the wealthy family and church donations, there are still 23,985 pounds and 5 gold coins left...
"In addition, I repaid the messenger lady a sum of money, and I still owe her 3,413 gold coins...
"500 pounds is more than 2% of all my cash..."
Klein didn't say much. He walked out of the bedroom, went down to the second floor, entered the dining room, and enjoyed breakfast.
…………
In the basement of St. Samuel's Cathedral, Leonard Mitchell returned to the office earlier than his other teammates.
He had obtained the relevant information and learned an insignificant thing:
Prince Edessak, who died in the Backlund Great Smog Incident, once commissioned a private detective to investigate the cause of death of equestrian teacher Talim Dumont.
The private investigator's name is:
Sherlock Moriarty!
Sure enough! His figure also appeared at the edge of the Backlund smog incident! Leonard raised his hand and stroked his hair with joy and excitement.
Then he punched the documents on the table, ready to look for more clues.
However, he suddenly stopped for seven or eight seconds, then he picked up the cup awkwardly, took a sip of coffee, and muttered in his heart:
"What exactly did I want to do just now? I forgot it after hitting it..."
After careful recollection, Leonard finally remembered, opened the drawer, and took out a deck of tarot cards.
Then, he found the "Fool" card, placed it on a piece of white paper, and wrote three names below:
"Sherlock Moriarty, Gehrman Sparrow, Dwayne Dantès."
After hesitating for a while, Leonard drew a line from each of the three names and connected them to the "Fool" card, indicating that they were most likely members of the secret organization that believed in "The Fool".
He was not sure about Gehrman Sparrow's identity, so he put a question mark next to it.
Afterwards, Leonard drew the "Emperor" card and stuck it next to the name "Sherlock Moriarty", marking it as "suspected".
"German Sparrow and Dwayne Dantès also correspond to a tarot card each?" Leonard muttered to himself, taking the crazy adventurer's information and reading it carefully.
Suddenly, he felt a date was very familiar:
Early January!
Gehrman Sparrow first appeared in early January!
Hiss… Leonard took a breath and flipped open another document, which ended with the following:
"At the end of December, Sherlock Moriarty left Backlund and went to the south for vacation. He never returned."
Late December... early January... Backlund... Pritz Harbor... Gehrman Sparrow will change... no way? Leonard muttered to himself as he drew a dotted equal sign between "Sherlock Moriarty" and "Gehrman Sparrow".
This great detective is the key... Leonard took out Sherlock Moriarty's ceremonial portrait again and looked at it carefully.
Taking into account the element of "changing appearance", he created different disguises for the great detective in his mind.
As he made more changes, Leonard's gaze gradually hardened, and his brows furrowed uncontrollably.