After exploring around and finding nothing else, Klein returned to the ancient palace supported by stone pillars.

He sat at the head of the long bronze table, half-closed his eyes, and examined the comparison between his own spiritual growth and the number of members he could recruit.

“Counting the ones that were not taken on before, we can probably recruit four new members, but we don’t have a target for now…” Klein shook his head and muttered to himself. He returned to the real world and prepared for a wonderful dinner.

He chopped the potatoes, blanched the beef, added the onions, and stir-fried them for a while. Then he sprinkled in sugar, pepper, and other seasonings. Then, he poured the prepared hot water into the stew pot, covered it with a lid, and turned down the flame.

I have to say, the Magician's ability to manipulate fire is a great helper in the kitchen... Ever since I got it, my cooking skills have improved significantly... If there were no out-of-control, no monsters, no searches, no evil gods, and everyone was committed to using their abilities in such a harmless way, the world would be peaceful and beautiful... Klein sighed, left the kitchen, and entered the living room.

The light from the gas wall lamp shone out. Klein, who had been planning to flip through a magazine and wait for the right moment to put in potatoes and carrots and add the right amount of salt, couldn't help but think about how to play the role of the "Faceless Man":

"I just woke up this morning and my spirit has completely stabilized. I found that although the 'Faceless Man' potion in my body showed no signs of digestion, it has become compatible with me to a certain extent. This is a phenomenon that has never occurred after taking the 'Fortune Teller', 'Clown', and 'Magician' potions before..."

Thinking of this, Klein looked up at the bay window. Because it was already dark outside, it became like a mirror, faithfully reflecting the image of Sherlock Moriarty, who had black hair, brown eyes, a beard, and gold-rimmed glasses.

Klein nodded thoughtfully:

"This may be because I have been playing Klein Moretti. Um... In a sense, Sherlock Moriarty is just Klein in disguise, not someone else.

“Although I have received many memory fragments and have some of my original emotions, in essence, I am still a visitor from another world, Zhou Mingrui, a keyboard expert on Earth.

"I've been through so many things in the past five months. Sometimes, I even thought I was Klein Moretti."

In silence, thoughts flashed through Klein's mind, giving him a lot of insights.

However, I am still Zhou Mingrui in Klein Moretti's guise... I have never given up the idea of ​​going back... He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the figure reflected in the bay window had changed:

He was a young man with dark brown eyes and short black hair. His facial features were unremarkable and he looked relatively gentle, but he had obvious bags under his eyes and his chin was showing signs of having a double chin.

This is Zhou Mingrui from Earth.

Long time no see... Klein sighed, raised his hands, and rubbed his face.

When he lowered his arms, he had transformed back into Sherlock Moriarty.

After such contemplation and adjustment, he inexplicably felt that the gap between spirituality and potion had been reduced, and there were signs of a slow fusion.

“No wonder the teacher of ‘Master of Secret Dolls’ Rosago, or maybe the teacher, said that you can pretend to be anyone, but you can only be yourself… This should be the core rule of the ‘Faceless Man’ role-playing method. Once you forget this, it is easy to lose yourself in the constant changes and eventually become a monster.” Klein recalled what he had gained from the previous spiritual communication and suddenly realized something.

He crossed his right leg, leaned back, and quickly made plans for the next period of time:

"Explore and summarize the specific rules for playing the 'Faceless Man'...

"In Backlund's Beyonder circle and at the Tarot Club, collect information about mermaids and prepare to go out to sea to complete the ritual...

"Directly or indirectly obtain the formula for the 'Sun Priest' potion, help Little 'Sun' advance to Sequence 7, and be eligible to obtain a method to remove the mental pollution of the out-of-control Beyonder characteristics.

"But we can't put all our hopes on the little 'sun', we have to try to collect it ourselves."

As his mood gradually calmed down, Klein snapped his fingers, dimming the fire in the kitchen. The aroma of beef began to spread.

Just at this moment, he heard the doorbell ringing.

The visitor is lawyer Jurgen.

Even though it was drizzling and the ground was wet, Jurgen was still dressed meticulously, even wearing a vertical collar.

"What's the matter?" Klein was already quite familiar with the other party, so he asked directly without any greetings.

Jurgen put away his black umbrella, patted the water droplets on his double-breasted frock coat and said:

"Sherlock, I will leave Backlund next Monday and go to the south for vacation with my grandma. The warm environment and clean air there are very suitable for her."

"That's a very good thing." Klein took the initiative to infer and asked with a smile, "Do you want me to adopt Brody temporarily?"

Jurgen shook his head seriously:

"My grandmother couldn't bear to be separated from Brody and insisted on taking him with her. I have inquired and learned that as long as he is put in a cage and a full ticket is purchased, he can also board the steam train, but care must be taken to clean the cage at all times and not pollute the air above."

In fact, the smell in the third-class carriage was enough to overwhelm the stench of cat feces... Klein chuckled.

"Brody should be very reluctant to go out, right?"

"But it misses my grandma even more," Jurgen responded.

He touched his hat and said:

"I'm here to inform you that if you need bail or to deal with legal disputes during this period, you can contact my colleague. This is his business card. I've already communicated with him, and he will not leave Backlund this year."

How professional! You even considered this issue specifically... But I don't need it for now. I'm an informant for the Mechanical Heart now, and I normally won't be taken to the police station... Klein smiled and thanked him, took the business card, and put it in his pocket.

Jurgen had no intention of chatting or entering the room, so he raised his hand and said:

"I have other clients to visit, Sherlock. See you tomorrow. No, see you next year."

“Then I must say in advance, Happy New Year to you and your family.” Klein smiled and waved.

After watching Attorney Jurgen leave with an umbrella, Klein closed the door and sat back in the living room.

At this moment, apart from the sizzling flames licking the bottom of the pot in the kitchen, there was no other sound in the room. It was so quiet that Klein could even hear the sound of a carriage moving in the distance.

He looked around slowly and saw the coffee table, the contract, the cupboard, the pen, the porcelain cup, the dining table, the chairs and the wall.

Retracting his gaze, Klein leaned back on the sofa, looking out the window at the dark night and the gas street lamps emitting hazy light in the dark night. In the deep coldness and silence, he sighed:

"New Year..."

…………

The lightning gradually subsided and darkness became the ruler of the earth.

After a journey that was neither long nor short and sporadic battles, the exploration team of the City of Silver finally arrived at their destination.

With the help of the light from the animal skin lantern that could not reach far, Derrick Berg saw the almost completely collapsed city walls and the dilapidated streets without even a single weed.

On both sides of the street, most of the houses collapsed, and only a few were still barely holding up, but their surfaces were all mottled and filled with the dust of time.

The white and blue coating, and the pointed roof structure that was different from the Silver City, had also turned gray, making it difficult to imagine what they originally looked like.

However, Derrick was able to get a glimpse of the city's past. It must have gone through a long time, had a considerable number of residents, and developed its own civilization in the dark ages.

The humans here take potions, repair buildings, defend city walls, and go out in teams of five, six or more to explore, hunt monsters, and search for resources necessary for survival.

They will celebrate in the brief period of stability, offer sacrifices to the gods, longing for a response, and give birth to the next generation so that hope can continue.

However, they eventually disappeared into the darkness, lost all sound, and only a ruin remained.

These ruins are like a huge tomb, burying a civilization that struggled to survive but disappeared sadly.

Demon Hunter Colin looked around, his face solemn, as if he had seen the future of Silver City.

He pointed ahead and said:

“Other places have been cleared.

"The temple is in the very center of the city."

The exploration team was slightly dispersed, but still maintained sufficient order and did not relax their vigilance around them.

Passing through ruins that had been destroyed for who knows how long, and walking through streets that were so quiet that they made people manic, Derrick finally saw a wide platform that was built entirely of man-made materials.

On the high platform, there is a half-collapsed building. It is very similar to the temple in Silver City, with stone pillars supporting the dome and arches forming the gate.

The style of the buildings here is completely different from that of the other buildings. It is indeed the "Fallen Creator" who converted later... Just as Derrick had this thought, the four lanterns in the team went out at the same time!

Suddenly, the entire exploration team fell into pure darkness. There was no lightning in the sky, no candlelight on the ground, and the breathing sounds of humans around them seemed to disappear all of a sudden.

Derrick's body tensed up instantly. He felt as if a monster in the darkness had stuck out its tongue and was tentatively licking his scalp, but his intuition told him that nothing real had appeared.

At this moment, a childish, helpless, frightened and dry voice sounded in his ears.

It was a child whispering:

“Save me…save me…”

Derrick was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to react, but in an instant, a little bit of gleaming dust appeared in front of his eyes.

The dust exploded one after another, igniting silver-white light and illuminating the surrounding area.

Colin stared at Derrick and said in a low voice:

"what's on your mind?"

Derrick suddenly came to his senses. He clasped his hands together in shame and put them in front of his mouth and nose, as if he was praying.

Bright rays of light immediately emanated from his body, causing the surrounding darkness to retreat silently.

The other team members hurried to relight the candles.

Because the "Monster Hunter" responded promptly, no team members were missing and no new members were added this time.

Colin withdrew his gaze from Derrick and looked at the half-collapsed temple on the platform, and said solemnly:

"From now on, there can be no negligence and the alert must be raised to the highest level."