Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the dark city walls.

Derrick Berg, carrying a leather bag on his back and holding the Hurricane Axe, stood outside the doorway with nearly ten teammates.

Looking up, he saw that the black soil between the cracks in the city wall was dry and hard, but there were clumps of tenacious weeds growing out of it. They were fine and dense, like human hair.

Just at this moment, he heard light footsteps and quickly looked away, heading towards the city gate.

Amid the alternation of lightning and darkness, a tall figure slowly walked over, carrying two restrained straight swords crossed behind his back.

Soon after, his pale and messy hair, weathered and deep eyes, twisted and deep old scars, and his unchanging brown coat and linen shirt all caught the eyes of Derrick and the others.

The visitor was none other than the chief of the "Six-Man Council" of Silver City, Colin Iliad, a powerful "Demon Hunter".

After Derrick greeted him, he subconsciously cast his eyes towards the chief's waist, where there was a leather belt divided into many compartments, each of which contained a different small metal bottle.

This is a powerful and experienced characterization of a "demon hunter".

Derrick had heard from his parents before that "demon hunters" are good at discovering the weaknesses of different monsters and identifying the uses of various materials. They can also use the latter to prepare corresponding magical potions, holy ointments, essential oils and special marks for the former under a unique meditation mode, and then achieve the effect of restraining the target by taking, applying and using these items.

In a sense, "demon hunters" who are experienced, knowledgeable, well-prepared and responsive are the nemesis of most monsters. The number and types of metal bottles on their waists represent their "experience".

Of course, these are only some of the extraordinary abilities possessed by "Demon Hunters". They cannot be called "demigods" or "saints" based on these alone.

Colin looked around and confirmed that all the team members were present, then he spoke in a low voice:

"Light the lamps and set off."

The two team members immediately lit the candle in the lantern, allowing the dim light to shine dimly through the extremely thin leather.

During the "daytime" when lightning strikes more frequently, there is no need to use candles in the Silver City, because there is "light" every two or three seconds, and the surrounding monsters have been eliminated over and over again. However, once you leave the Silver City and enter the depths of darkness, you must always keep candlelight. Otherwise, as long as the lightning fails to keep up at a certain stage, causing a lightless environment of more than five seconds, the team will most likely be attacked by certain monsters.

The fierce battle wasn't the most horrific development, what Derrick remembered most vividly was a story his parents told him.

Once, when they were exploring the depths of darkness, they failed to replace the candles in time due to the previous battle with the tide of corrosive zombies, so they had to endure eight seconds of deep darkness. When the lightning came again and the candlelight reappeared, they were shocked to see that only five of the original eight teammates were left, and the other three disappeared silently and unnoticed, never to be seen again.

Derrick took a deep breath, tightly grasped the Hurricane Axe, walked in the middle of the team, and followed the chief in the designated direction.

A flash of lightning suddenly appeared, making the plain fields covered with long black grass appear like a gloomy oil painting.

The exploration team, consisting of 10 extraordinary people, walked on the road full of rugged gravel and went deep into the black grass.

The lightning subsided, and the thick darkness suddenly returned, almost swallowing them completely.

The dim candlelight shone through the leather, faintly and shakily holding on to the surrounding area.

…………

In a greasy, cheap cafe in the East End.

As agreed, Klein found Old Kohler, who was spreading margarine on toast.

He glanced at the crumpled cigarette on the table and laughed.

"New?"

"No, I haven't smoked the old ones since. But I always carry them with me and take them out to sniff occasionally. Haha, it reminds me of that wandering life. At that time, I really felt that I might die at any time." Old Kohler's tone was slightly fearful.

Klein took out the 20 soli coins he had changed in advance and pushed them to the other party as he sat down:

"I am very satisfied with the last intelligence."

Without waiting for Old Kohler to be humble, he turned his head and looked at the counter:

"A loaf of oatmeal bread, two slices of toast, a pat of butter, a portion of beef stew with potatoes, and a penny of tea."

"Mr. Moriarty, didn't you have dinner yesterday?" Old Kohler was stunned for a moment holding the banknote.

Klein shook his head and smiled:

"I'm going to be very busy and may not have time for lunch."

He had to pretend to be very active and serious, after all, he had received 100 pounds of funding from Prince Edessak.

Old Kohler didn't ask any more questions. He looked around cautiously and stuffed the money into his pocket.

"The matter you asked me to find out last time has come to fruition. The bounty on Azik Eggers came from several gang leaders and some information dealers. Well, I don't know who commissioned them, and it's difficult to contact them."

MI9... Klein nodded:

"That's enough. No need to go any deeper. It's too dangerous."

Old Kohler breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"A few days ago, someone saw a guy who looked like Azik Eggers in a cheap hotel on Golden Cloak Street. It was said that he was basically the same as the photo on the wanted list."

…Klein’s heart trembled, but he laughed instead of being surprised:

"And then what? Is it that just when I was about to fight for this reward, the matter was over?"

"And then? With the clues, many bounty hunters rushed over quickly, but found nothing. Uh, they said there were signs of a fight in that room." Old Kohler tried hard to recall the information he had collected.

The intelligence will definitely be given to MI9 first... Is this a secret contest between Mr. Azik and them? I wonder what the result will be... Klein glanced at the boss who came over with a plate of food, and said to Old Kohler in a thoughtful tone:

"Take me to Gold Cloak Street later. Maybe I can find some clues."

It was past breakfast time in the East District, and the cheap cafes were sparsely populated.

"Okay." Old Kohler agreed without hesitation.

"Sixteen and a half pennies in total." The boss put Klein's breakfast on the table. There was not much beef in the potatoes, but it was stewed very well. It was obviously prepared in advance. The strong aroma made Old Kohler swallow his saliva involuntarily.

After paying, Klein picked up the fork and spoon and said to Old Kohler:

"continue."

"No one is looking for the Fool's followers anymore, except for a few stubborn bounty hunters... Many unemployed female textile workers, including some male workers, have left the East District..." Old Kohler said one by one.

“What?” Klein swallowed the beef and raised his head. “Left the East District?”

"He must have found another job. I can't find out where he went exactly." Old Kohler answered truthfully.

"Their families don't know?" Klein asked.

"Some left with their unemployed family members, and some had no family of their own and came to Backlund from other places to find work." Old Kohler had already done some research.

Judging from the choice of target, there is something wrong with this matter... Klein took note and continued to listen to Old Kohler's account of what happened in the East District during this period while eating.

After agreeing on the next time to meet, he put down his cutlery, wiped his mouth, picked up his hat and said:

"To Gold Cloak Street."

…………

Inside the only cheap hotel on Golden Cape Street.

After the boss collected the two-pence fee, he led Klein and Old Kohler to the room where the person suspected to be Azik Eggers had lived.

"A lot of bounty hunters have come here recently. Hehe, I made a lot of money, so everything is kept the same as it was." The boss opened the door with the key and pointed inside.

Klein took a quick look and saw fallen chairs and scattered pieces of cloth. Other than that, there were no other signs of a fight.

With considerable inspiration, Klein turned his gaze to the bottom of the bed.

After staring for two seconds, he walked over, bent down and patted the bed.

Puff, some dust flew up, and a light black mouse jumped out from under the bed.

It looked normal and there was nothing wrong with it, but in Klein's spiritual vision, the color of its aura was only black and green.

The rat turned a corner and climbed up the wall, exposing its abdomen to Klein.

The flesh in that soft area was green and oozing with pus, and one could directly see the rotten internal organs inside.

Klein looked away thoughtfully and said to Old Kohler, who hadn’t noticed the mouse at all:

"Has the bounty on Azik Eggers been reclaimed?"

"No." Old Kohler shook his head affirmatively.

Klein reviewed it again and walked out.

"Let's go, there are no valuable clues."

…………

15 Minsk Street.

After being "busy" all day outside, Klein lay down in bed early and entered the dream world.

Fragments that were sometimes continuous and sometimes fragmented floated by, and Klein suddenly woke up and realized that he was dreaming.

A force has invaded my dream... Klein remained in his dazed state and looked around casually.

He found himself in the countryside, surrounded by fertile fields.

A river rushed from afar and made a bend beside the cliff in front.

One side of the cliff is bare, revealing pure white rock. From a distance, it has an unusually holy beauty.

At the river bend, nearly ten men and women carrying various tools and wearing black coats or dark jackets gathered around a hidden underground entrance. Among them was Klein's acquaintance, Ikonser Bernard.

White Cliff Town... Stratford Bay... Mechanical Heart... Are they exploring the tomb of the Amon family? But why did this scene appear in my dream? Klein was puzzled.

At this moment, he saw the water on the river surface floating, and quickly outlined a line of white words:

"Your loyal servant Arrodes reports to you on the progress of the exploration."

…Klein opened his mouth slightly, but was unable to utter a word for a moment. A voice in his mind responded:

Why are you being so mean with a mirror?

PS: It’s the penultimate day of October, it would be a waste if you don’t vote for the monthly ticket~