A living person and a dozen dead bodies played poker for half the night in a dimly lit room. This scene made people more and more horrified the more they thought about it, and their scalps became numb.
Klein suppressed his instinctive fear and looked at the pale-faced man in front of him. His brown eyes were filled with malice and he looked a bit crazy. He pretended to be intimidated by the man's aura and took a step back. Caspers left the card room and closed the door.
The man asked in a low voice:
"You're looking for a bodyguard?"
“…Yes.” Klein swallowed deliberately.
The other party's weirdness both frightened him and gave him a certain sense of security.
The stronger and more powerful the bodyguard is, the safer he will naturally be!
The pale-faced man in the black vest raised his chin and said:
"Why do you want a bodyguard? How much are you willing to pay for it?"
Klein didn't answer immediately. He thought for several seconds before saying:
"I will first tell you the details of the mission. After you evaluate it, give me a price. If I can pay it or have items of equivalent value, then the deal will be done. If not, I will have to give up and look for someone else."
The man with malicious eyes did not speak. He nodded slightly, indicating Klein to tell the story.
Klein deliberately glanced at the zombies, treating them as normal card players, and asked with his eyes, "Before you answer, do you want to kick those guys out of the room?"
"No need." The pale man said in a deep voice.
Klein considered it for a moment and described it truthfully:
"I have offended a big shot, and there may be a big shot behind me who is supported by the country."
There was suddenly no movement in the card room, completely silent. The man with malicious eyes and a slightly crazy look froze in place, as if he had turned into a plaster statue.
After nearly a minute, he slowly opened his mouth and said:
“This mission is priceless.”
"You can get out now."
Huh? Klein didn't react at first. It wasn't until the other party turned around and walked towards the card table that he realized that the deal had failed.
You dragged a bunch of zombies into the room to play cards, appearing to be of high status and strong, but you were scared off like this? You were obviously a little crazy... Klein didn't know whether to cry or laugh, and added:
"That big shot isn't so free in Backlund."
The man in the black vest ignored him and sat down again. The zombies began to deal cards, look at the cards and throw chips again.
Klein exhaled and left the room. He saw Kaspars Kalinin, a fifty-year-old man with a rosacea and hideous wounds, waiting outside.
“We failed to reach a deal.” Klein spread his hands and said.
Caspers showed no surprise. He paused for a few seconds and said:
"Is his price too high?"
"No, he felt the mission was too difficult." Klein did not hide it.
Caspers frowned slightly and said:
"Marichi is the scariest person I know. He's not even afraid of bullets. Since he thinks the mission is difficult, I don't think I can help you contact other powerful guys."
“What a pity.” Klein sighed.
Caspers clenched his right fist, hit his left chest and said:
“May the storm be with you.”
Then I will die... Klein smiled bitterly:
"Thanks."
"You can try to help me ask some powerful guys in other places. I will pay you a certain amount of money. Um... I will come again tomorrow night."
After getting a positive answer, he left the Brave Bar somewhat melancholy, not even interested in playing a game of billiards.
Am I too honest? If I had described the commission in a simpler way, Maric would have agreed... I just don't know how much he would ask for... Sigh, asking others to help me face danger while being kept in the dark is not my style... As an Beyonder, if I always go against my true inner thoughts and my own principles, I'm afraid I'm not far from losing control... Klein half sighed and half relieved as he changed carriages and returned to Minsk Street.
…………
After washing up, Klein didn't waste the charcoal. He went straight into the bedroom and drew the curtains to isolate the room from the outside world.
On the way back, he thought carefully for a while and found that the possible dangers were not impossible to resolve.
For the unknown ambassador, his main and fundamental goal was to find Ian Wright. He sent people to deal with me because he wanted to get clues about Ian. After failing to get answers directly, he considered killing people to communicate with the spirit world... If he knew that I couldn't find Ian either, and that there might be surveillance by the special military department, he wouldn't have to take risks for a thug...
Of course, my presence and my strength beyond his expectations caused their actions to be exposed, causing them to suffer a serious setback. If I were that ambassador, I would definitely think of revenge, but definitely not now, not when the situation is tense and turbulent... Well, the prerequisite is that the ambassador has brains and is not a fool who relies purely on connections and only knows how to sulk... The fact that he can preside over such an important matter shows that he should be relatively reliable...
In other words, the crux of the problem lies in the whereabouts of Ian Wright!
Hmm... there is still a hidden danger. After the ambassador's failure, will he deliberately reveal to the special military department that Meursault is a Beyonder, letting them know that my strength is questionable and using them to retaliate against me... This is just a matter of course, and it's not difficult at all. We must be on guard...
Klein analyzed his own situation clearly, and suddenly had the urge to hire someone to kill the unknown ambassador.
But when he thought about the powerful sequencers that might exist around the other party, he felt depressed again.
“I wonder if the messenger can accept my assignment without Mr. Azik’s consent... It shouldn’t be possible... Keep a close eye on this matter and find an opportunity to silence him? Since he sent someone to kill me, I won’t feel any psychological burden in killing him... Oh, by the way, we can consider issuing this task at the Tarot Club to see if Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man can come up with a solution... Maybe, we can spend a lot of money to invite Mr. A or a strong man of the same sequence..." Klein suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of the "Tarot Club."
With an idea in mind, he felt more at ease. He found a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down the divination statement:
"The whereabouts of Ian Wright."
After confirming that there were no Beyonders hiding in the room, Klein glanced at the curtains that blocked out outside prying eyes. He recalled Ian's appearance and dress, silently recited the divination phrase, and leaned back in his chair.
He soon fell into a dream, and in that hazy world he saw a dark, small, dirty room with bunk beds and beds on the floor, where four people slept.
Ian was lying on the top of the bunk bed, curled up with the old shoulder bag on his back, sleeping soundly.
The dream was broken, Klein opened his eyes, and interpreted the revelation:
"Such accommodation only exists in the East District and the Backlund Bridge area, but that is an extremely large place. Even if all the police in Backlund are dispatched, they cannot really check it all..."
"Ian is very careful. He didn't leave anything here with me. Otherwise, I would be able to find him with the divination stick..."
After thinking for a few minutes, Klein picked up the pen and added a paragraph before and after the divination statement, turning it into a defense-like statement:
"I don't know the whereabouts of Ian Wright. I haven't seen him since Zreal's body was found."
The paper was placed on the desk with a pen pressed on its edge.
After doing all this, Klein stood up and returned to the bed. He used a not-so-obvious way of flicking a coin to quickly confirm whether anyone was observing his every move.
After receiving a negative answer, he quickly took four steps backwards, silently chanted a spell, and entered the gray fog.
In the ancient and majestic palace, Klein did not bother to examine the surrounding situation and repeated the divination just now.
Seeing that the answer remained negative, he was no longer so nervous. He looked up and to the side and found that the core of the newly added group of deep red stars was stained with a little golden color like the sun.
"Is this the source of the warmth I felt?" Klein extended his spiritual power and carefully touched the past in a way of recalling and praying.
The light and shadow changed, and a blurry scene quickly appeared before his eyes.
The petite girl and a lady with curly brown hair whom he tried to pull into the gray fog were standing in front of the "altar". A man wearing a white hard-shell mask was chanting the corresponding name of the Eternal Sun in a low voice, creating a warm and pure light.
Are you looking for someone to exorcise evil spirits? Klein almost laughed.
At this time, he finally understood the reason for the previous situation. It was not that someone had penetrated the gray fog and locked onto him. It was similar to "Justice" and others chanting the honorific name and praying. After the gray fog received the information, it would naturally and instinctively feedback to him. However, because it was not a prayer, the illusory layered sound turned into a warm current.
“This is a hint, not harm or influence…” Klein made a clear judgment.
At the same time, he was roughly certain of one thing, that is, the way this mysterious space above the gray fog established a connection with Miss Justice and others was not absolutely weird, and it was not within the rules of this world. It would still be subject to certain constraints and would be affected to some extent in specific ways.
Klein continued to look at the scene in front of him and listen to the voices. He was shocked to find that this lasted longer than any other time before.
Before this, he was unable to actively spy on the target corresponding to the Crimson Star. Unless the other party prayed, he could receive the corresponding scene.
In another case, when he gave feedback, he could see the live images and hear the synchronized sounds, but once the response was over, he could no longer obtain additional information.
But now, he felt like he was watching a video, a reality show video that lasted for a long time and was full of mosaics.
He saw the petite lady talking to a man wearing a golden mask in the study, heard her companion calling her Xiu, and realized that she was looking for the extraordinary materials for the "Sheriff" potion...
The "video" ended only when the two ladies returned home and Klein regretted that he could not see their house numbers clearly.
Looking at the gradually fading golden sunlight, he nodded thoughtfully, vaguely understanding why this abnormality occurred.
“In other words, the power of purification helped me maintain the corresponding channel? Xio’s 30 pounds was well spent... I wonder when I can maintain it myself..." Klein shook his head and smiled. He materialized a pen and paper, intending to continue divination of Ian Wright’s whereabouts above the gray fog.