Klein unfolded the letter with anticipation and trepidation, and read Azik's reply:

"...The scene you described made me think of some possibilities, including vampires and alien species."

"Natural vampires were close to extinction before dragons and giants left the stage of history. They can only be found occasionally afterwards. The vampires we usually discuss in folk legends are closer to Beyonders. I remember that the name of a certain sequence of potions in one path was 'Vampire'."

"If your boss is already in a semi-crazy state, then he may have taken this potion by mistake. The mixture of potions from two different pathways will inevitably lead to semi-craziness. Well, I vaguely remember that the 'Night' pathway, which is the 'Sleepless' pathway you mentioned, can be interchanged with the 'Death' pathway and the 'Giant' pathway at a high sequence, but this does not include the 'Vampire' pathway."

"Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that your superior will consciously accept it. After all, 'vampires' can have a long life, excellent physique, and outstanding appearance. Compared with these advantages, a semi-crazy state is not unacceptable."

Klein was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Mr. Azik to provide such useful information.

The "Death God" path refers to the "Corpse Collector" path, which can be exchanged with the "Sleeping Man" path at a high sequence. This is a secret I learned from Roselle's diary before, but I didn't expect that they can also be exchanged with the "Giant" path at Sequence 4 and above... The "Giant" path is the one controlled by the City of Silver, which is now the "God of War" path... I have always suspected that the Giant King Olmir is the ancient god of war...

Well, Emperor Roselle’s diary described that the Church of the Goddess of Evernight and the Church of the God of War were incompatible... Could it be that it was because their sequences were interchangeable at a high level?

Based on this speculation, the mutual hatred among the three oldest churches, the Church of the Lord of Storms, the Church of the Eternal Sun, and the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, can be explained to a certain extent, because the "Sailor", "Singer" and "Reader" pathways they respectively master can be exchanged at a high sequence!

Well, in the "Pale Age" at the end of the last era, the main driving force behind the fall of the God of Death was probably the Goddess of Night and the God of War...

The captain is usually in a normal state. Apart from his poor memory, he doesn't show any crazy behavior. We can rule out the possibility that he has taken a 'vampire' potion!

Mr. Azik has been recalling a lot of things recently... Could it be that the "creeping hunger" really stimulated him?

Klein nodded slightly and continued reading:

"'Alien' is not the name of a race, but a description of many similar creatures. They are no different from humans when they are normal, but they always have instinctive, twisted, and repressed desires hidden in their hearts. Once they encounter certain scenes or stimulation from certain things, they will erupt and turn into monsters, and will wantonly satisfy their desires for bloodlust and killing."

"When everything calms down, they will return to normal, and with each outburst, they will become a little more cruel and ruthless, and eventually their minds will be completely twisted."

"The most common and the only example I can recall is werewolves. They are usually the same as humans and cannot be identified with most extraordinary abilities. However, during a full moon, the twisted desires in their hearts will intensify, and their bodies will also undergo certain changes."

"Your boss may be a hidden 'alien', and the death of his teammates has aroused his true nature."

"The above are all my personal guesses. Since my memory is incomplete, I cannot assure you that there are no other possibilities. Perhaps the signs of loss of control that you guessed can also explain it."

"Whether they have taken vampire potions or are actually aliens, they cannot be saved. Of course, some people have speculated that aliens were originally normal humans, but were contaminated by strange curses or evil gods and demons, so they turned into different monsters under certain circumstances."

"Also, I don't know if it's possible to treat a loss of control that only shows the precursors. I suggest you report this directly to your boss's boss. I hope it's not too late."

Putting down the letter, Klein looked at the desk with a serious expression and thought for a long time.

He had to admit that the possibility of "alien species" existed, but the factor of precursor to loss of control could not be ruled out.

"I can only wait for Ms. Daly's feedback... She should have received the letter I sent the night before yesterday morning. If she had replied in time, I would have seen it last night or this morning... It's almost noon now... That little messenger doesn't dare to approach Chanis Gate? Or was Ms. Daly delayed by other things?" Klein shook his head. He still felt very tired, so he relied on meditation to force himself to fall asleep again.

In the hazy world, he suddenly woke up and realized he was dreaming.

Then, he saw Dunn Smith appear in front of him wearing a thin black windbreaker.

Following a normal dreaming reaction, Klein slowly called out:

"Good morning...Captain..."

Dunn nodded slightly and said:

"Leonard found a clue while investigating the Lanevus case and needs your help."

"The secret peeper sent by the Holy Temple will not arrive until tomorrow morning because of a steam train failure."

“Okay…” Klein replied in an erratic tone.

Dunn thought for a moment and added:

"You don't have to go back to Zouteland Street. Go directly to No. 62, Halls Block. Leonard will be waiting for you there."

"Thanks a lot."

As soon as he finished speaking, Klein's dream shattered into pieces, and his eyes opened subconsciously.

Halls Block... Isn't this the block where the Divination Club, my classmate Welch, and the Aurora Club member from before live? There have been so many things happening recently, one after another, as if something is brewing... Klein slowly stood up thoughtfully, went to the bathroom to clean himself up, then changed into a white shirt, brown vest, and thin black windbreaker for going out, took a half-high silk hat, and went downstairs to the living room.

It was not yet 11 o'clock, and Benson and Melissa had not returned yet. Klein told the maid Bella not to worry about her lunch.

Then he took a horse-drawn tram to the Howes neighborhood and saw the "midnight poet" Leonard Mitchell with messy hair in front of house number 62.

In the cold September, Leonard was still wearing only a thin white shirt and beige trousers. He glanced with his green eyes and said:

"This is most likely the house that Lanevus rented under an alias."

"How did you find out?" Klein asked curiously.

Leonard pointed to his head:

"Since you got a clue from Hood Eugen and suspected that Lanevus might be related to the member of the Aurora Society, um, the cloth merchant Sirius Arepis, since my normal investigation yielded no results, I had to change my mindset and start looking through the Aurora Society."

"Previous reports showed that many residents of the Sirius and Howls blocks had contact. I checked them one by one and found some problems here."

“What’s the problem?” Klein nodded slightly.

Leonard raised his eyebrows. "It's an obvious problem. The tenant here rarely appears. After the death of Hainas Vincent, he claimed that he was going to the southern continent to do business and never came back. His information is very real, and the police didn't find anything."

“This can only be called a coincidence.” Klein frowned.

"Of course, it's just a coincidence. But when I asked the residents around with Lanevus's photo, an old man felt that he looked very similar to the tenant of No. 62, except for the glasses." Leonard took out a black-and-white photo from his trouser pocket.

Why didn't you tell me earlier... Klein muttered to himself and followed Leonard into No. 62 Howers Block. As he requested, he began to divine whether there was a hidden compartment or secret room.

And the result is, there is!

"A secret compartment or secret room in this house."

Klein wrote down a new divination statement, sat on the sofa, and closed his eyes while reciting it silently.

After repeating it seven times, he entered a dream and everything in front of him became blurry.

In the gray world, Klein saw the oak bookshelf and rows of books. He saw one of the books being taken away, and saw the wooden surface next to it suddenly open, revealing a secret compartment.

The image quickly disappeared. Klein opened his eyes and said to Leonard:

"In the study."

He wrapped the topaz pendant and followed Leonard into the study, where he saw the oak bookshelf he had just dreamed of.

"Take out that book. There is a secret compartment where it is covered." Klein pointed to the book closest to the edge.

“Here it is… I searched the entire house but found nothing, so I had to go back to Zouteland Street to ask for help.” Leonard muttered as he walked over and pulled out the book that Klein pointed to.

He fumbled for a while and finally found the mechanism, then opened the secret compartment with a click.

There was a letter quietly placed in the secret compartment.

Letter? Lanevus hid a letter here? Klein was very surprised.

He divined whether there were any dangerous items hidden in the letter, and after getting a negative answer, Leonard reached out and grabbed the letter, opening the envelope that had no address or recipient written on it.

Pulling out the letter, Leonard shook it and unfolded it.

Klein moved closer and read carefully. He saw the first few paragraphs of the letter read:

"Hahaha, congratulations to you, congratulations on finally finding the letter!"

"This shows that you are not too stupid or slow to participate in this game of life and death that I designed."

"Child laborers who keep dying, factory workers who rarely live more than ten years due to the environment and hard work, female workers who risk serious illness but can only get meager wages. I see countless grievances shrouding every factory, making the surroundings depressing and dim. This is the worst era, but also the best era. Our game will begin in this context."

"Get ready, idiots! I'm going to give you a hint!"

PS: I am asking for monthly votes for the second update! Also, I am recommending a friend’s book, “Nine-fold Godhead”, which has a lot of words. He promised to treat me to a meal.