Meursault's body lay there, his eyes wide open, and there seemed to be a murderous look in them.
The wound that cut half of the throat was originally only a thin line, but with the concentration of the Beyonder Characteristics just now, it has become much larger and more blurred.
At the same time, the incontinence after death caused a foul odor to emanate from his lower body.
Klein held the crimson jelly-like object, feeling awkward about what to do next.
Generally speaking, he had three options: one was to clean up the scene, treat his wounds, and go to the streets to call the police in the name of self-defense; the second was to wait until night, throw the body into a sewer, and pretend that nothing had happened; the third was to immediately give up his current identity, escape to another district, and change his name again.
The problem with the first option was that Klein was still an illegal immigrant with a secret that he couldn't reveal. If he called the police, it would be easy for him to be investigated. The second option not only made him worry about the body being discovered and the police coming to his door, but also contained other dangers:
After the ambassador behind Meursault confirms that his men are missing or dead, he will definitely send people to 15 Minsk Street again. By then, Klein might encounter an enemy of Sequence 7 or even Sequence 6. The force facing him might be backed by a country, a powerful country.
The third option seemed to be the wisest and safest, avoiding all risks, but it also had its disadvantages. That was that Klein's portrait would likely be on a wanted list, and it would be how he was seen by Mrs. Summer next door, Lawyer Jurgen next door, and others. Once the corresponding newspaper was published without disguise, even if it was limited to the Greater Backlund area, Klein would likely be recognized by Night Watchers like Daly, and that would become a big and troublesome problem.
Since he was involved with Ince Zangwill and the Sealed Artifact "0-08", he would most likely be hunted down by a powerful person at the level of a senior deacon.
Of course, there is another branch of the third option, which is to hide the body, throw the evidence into the sewer, and then escape. However, this also carries the risk of being wanted, because if the ambassador cannot find the person, he is likely to instruct the members of the Zmanger Party to call the police and use Backlund's official forces to search - if he can lock on Klein's whereabouts, the development of the matter will be equivalent to the second option.
After thinking it over, Klein quickly made a decision:
Divination...
Of course, he already had a preference in his mind, which was to choose the lesser of two evils. The first option was relatively less risky, and he could take the initiative to a certain extent. He could also expose the incident and attract the attention of official forces, so that the ambassador's subsequent actions would be restrained and not be too crazy.
After taking out the paper and writing the divination statement, Klein untied the pendulum from his left wrist cuff and let the topaz pendant fall naturally, almost touching the surface.
"I should call the police."
"I should call the police."
…
After he finished reciting silently, he saw the pendulum rotating clockwise with a large amplitude and a fast speed.
This indicates a considerable degree of affirmation!
After he divined the other two options and received negative answers for both, Klein stopped hesitating and began to deal with the situation.
He put on black gloves and searched Meursault's body, finding a sharp dagger, a small amount of cash, a box of cigarettes, a lighter, and some sundries.
Klein put everything else back in place, took off his gloves, grabbed the dagger directly, and stabbed it into the wound on Meursault's throat, destroying its original shape.
Then he put on his gloves and let Meursault grab the dagger.
After doing all this, Klein collected Meursault's extraordinary characteristics, homemade spells, tarot cards, blood-stained contracts, paper with divination sentences, and various materials from his body and home, and put them into a paper bag.
Then, he performed a ritual to "summon" himself and became a special spirit.
After carrying the Azik Copper Whistle to make himself stronger and more powerful, Klein picked up the paper bag, ended the summons, and returned to the gray fog.
He temporarily placed those real objects behind the Fool's high-back chair and left behind the Azik copper whistle. He then simulated the feeling of falling downwards with ease and re-entered his own body.
The reason why Klein did not burn the blood-stained standard contract and the paper with the divination statement was because he was worried that after calling the police, the matter would be transferred to a special department and a powerful extraordinary person would come to perform targeted divination.
Once the gray fog blocked the way, even if the Eternal Sun came in person, he would not be able to get an effective answer.
This is also the reason why, after he was promoted to Sequence 8 and his spirituality was greatly improved, Klein focused his weekly review and summary on the gray fog.
He can't withstand greater suspicion and in-depth investigation now!
After removing the spiritual wall and letting the sudden wind blow away the remaining smell of the ritual materials, the only items related to the extraordinary and mysterious realms on Klein's body and in the entire room were the candle burning quietly in front of him.
But this time, he chose an ordinary candle. After all, he was praying to himself and summoning himself, so there was no need to be so particular.
In a family, having candles is a very reasonable, normal and contemporary thing, even if there is only one bachelor in the family.
After extinguishing the candle and putting it back in place, Klein took out his golden pocket watch, clicked it open and took a look. He estimated how many minutes ago Meursault died and added the minimum time it would take for the police department to send someone to investigate and report to higher authorities.
He wanted to ensure that even if there were any Beyonders coming to investigate later, an hour would have passed since Meursault's death.
In mysticism and in the field of spiritualism, this is an important time node. Beyond this time point, the information that can be obtained is quite limited and very vague. For example, one can know through spiritualism that the person who killed Meursault is "Sherlock Moriarty", but cannot obtain the specific details of the death.
As for the potential danger of the other party's divination involving supernatural factors, Klein was not worried at all, because the main supernatural factor involved (the blood-stained standard contract) was above the gray fog...
The effects of his own premonition and fighting ability would also be confused because of this - the opponent's divination would definitely point to the mysterious space above the gray fog, and would definitely be disturbed.
Luckily, I'm also a professional... I really feel like Moriarty... Klein re-examined the scene, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong, he began to stare at the ticking of the pocket watch.
After exceeding the estimated limit, he put on his gold-rimmed glasses and waited for a few more minutes before opening the door and walking out.
At this time, the sky over Backlund was already dark, and the gas lamps on the street illuminated the rainy environment.
Minsk Street is a middle-class neighborhood where police often patrol. After waiting for a while, Klein spotted his target and immediately went to meet him.
They were two low-level police officers with only a V on their shoulder straps. They were carrying guns, short sticks, and umbrellas, and were looking around.
“Officer! A gangster is attacking me!” Klein shouted skillfully.
His miserable appearance made the two policemen dare not neglect him. They each drew out their short sticks and looked to the side warily.
"Where is the criminal?" asked a round-faced, brown-eyed policeman in a deep voice.
Klein pointed at his house and said:
"He broke into my home and tried to kill me!"
"During the fight, I accidentally stabbed him to death!"
Stabbed to death... The two police officers looked at each other, then looked at Klein in an interrogative manner and said:
"Take us there."
"Okay!" Klein pretended to have survived a disaster and led the two police officers to No. 15 Minsk Street. He took out his key and opened the door.
The two police officers first saw the messy scene, then noticed the body lying on the ground, the hideous wound on the throat, and a bloody dagger.
"You protect the scene, I will go back to the police station to report to the commander." Another police officer said to his round-faced, brown-eyed companion.
“Okay.” The round-faced, brown-eyed police officer turned his gaze toward Klein. His facial expression and body language revealed his alertness and caution.
After a while, a sheriff wearing a black and white checkered uniform with three Vs on his shoulder straps arrived with the previous police officer and two other subordinates.
While the police officers were checking the scene and collecting clues, the sheriff with a short brown beard took Klein aside and asked him some preliminary questions:
"Name."
“Sherlock Moriarty, here is my rent bill for half a year.” Klein took out something he had prepared long ago.
The sheriff took a casual look and continued to ask:
"What's your profession?"
“Private detective.” Klein answered calmly.
The sheriff frowned and asked, "Do you know the deceased? Do you know why he attacked you?"
"I know him. His name is Meursault, the executioner of the Zmanger Party." Klein said without waiting for the other party to ask again, "I accepted a commission from Ian Wright before. He asked me to investigate his previous employer, Detective Zreal Victor Lee. This matter happens to be related to the Zmanger Party and Meursault."
"I followed him and found that he was secretly meeting with a very prestigious gentleman. He addressed him as Mr. Ambassador." After saying this, Klein saw the sheriff's face change a few times as expected.
"Ambassador... do you know his name?" the sheriff muttered to himself and asked in a deep voice.
"I'm not sure, but if I saw his photo, I would definitely recognize him." Klein spoke the truth. "This morning, Meursault came to visit me and asked me to find Ian Wright. Based on the professional ethics of a private detective, I refused him. As a result, in the evening, I just returned home and was attacked. I was almost killed by him. Fortunately, my fighting skills are pretty good and my reaction is also quick enough."
The sheriff pondered for a moment and asked about the specific process of the fight. Klein described it almost verbatim, at most changing his premonition to reaction and the standard contract thrown at the end to a dagger dropped by the opponent.
"Well...come back to the police station with us first and wait for the results of the autopsy, the conclusion of the on-site investigation and the questioning of relevant people." The sheriff's mind seemed to no longer be on this matter and he seemed a little perfunctory.
He now had only one thought:
This is an important case involving a foreign ambassador!
Must report immediately!
In a trance, he suddenly thought of a question and quickly added:
“What is your faith?”
"The God of Steam and Machinery." Klein answered without hesitation.
The Holy Wind Church, the Backlund headquarters of the Church of the Storm, is located in the Cherwood District, so any extraordinary cases here are often handed over to them. However, there is one exception, that is, the people involved have a unified faith and are not the Lord of the Storm.
In order to avoid encountering the Nighthawks, Klein had no choice but to apologize to the goddess.
PS: One chapter will be updated in advance at midnight.