Klein bent his arms and stretched them out, repeating the process over and over again. He watched Dunn half-turn sideways and push open the door of the guard room.
The captain's cautiousness, high vigilance and the absurd "protective action" made his mind extremely tense, just like the feeling he had when he was a child walking past a pile of graves at night.
"Level 2" sealed objects are dangerous and must be used with caution and restraint... Even the official members of the Nighthawks cannot understand the details... They don't know how dangerous it is... In the tense situation, Klein couldn't help but think a lot.
At this moment, his head suddenly felt numb, as if the processor had lost power.
In Klein's sight, everything slowed down, even the movement of bending his arms.
He saw Captain Dunn stop and move closer to him frame by frame in slow motion. He saw the other party slowly stretch out his hand and push his shoulder.
Suddenly, Klein's thoughts and vision returned to normal at the same time, as if it was just an illusion.
"What happened?" He asked in a low voice, confused and a little frightened.
Dunn shook his head at him and said in a deep voice:
"You pay close attention."
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and walked into the guard room. Klein followed closely behind him and saw four people sitting or standing inside.
One of them was Leonard, the "Midnight Poet". Klein had never seen the other three before, but they had one thing in common: they were all doing the "arm curling and stretching exercise" without any relaxation.
"Klein Moretti has a strange connection with the Antigonus family's notes." Dunn gave a brief introduction.
Then he pointed at the three strangers and said:
"These ladies and gentlemen are colleagues from the Backlund Parish, escorting the Sealed Artifact 2-049. This is Ms. Lolota, a Sequence 8 Gravedigger, and also a sharpshooter."
At this time, the black-haired lady who was about thirty years old nodded kindly to Klein.
She had a good-looking appearance, was not wearing a hat, and was wearing clothes similar to men's clothing, a black jacket, a white shirt, black tight trousers and leather boots of the same color, with the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.
After Klein greeted him, Dunn pointed to the man sitting behind the desk:
"Al Hassan, an old fellow like me."
Before he finished speaking, Klein saw that Mr. Al Hassan, who was wearing a gray front-opening windbreaker, had his "arm flexion and extension movements" become clumsy, as if there was a lack of lubrication between the gears, or the joints were covered with rust.
What’s going on… Klein was stunned when he saw Lolota push Al Hassan, and then the gentleman’s movements returned to normal.
I was in a similar state just now? Klein was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized:
This is a sign of the dangerous leakage of the sealed object "2-049"!
What would happen if you were not woken up in time?
Will he become a "living dead"?
With one question after another, Klein greeted Al Hassan, who had the charm of a middle-aged man.
"Borgia." Dunn pointed at the last Night Watcher.
He was a cold man with a knife scar on the side of his face. His brown-yellow eyes were as sharp as an eagle, constantly looking at everyone present.
"Let's go, everyone. Let's finish this as soon as possible and seal up '2-049' as soon as possible." Al Hassan, a handsome middle-aged gentleman with wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, stood up and said.
Well, what about "2-049"? Klein looked around curiously and found no trace of the seal. Of course, he couldn't see the place blocked by the table without "clairvoyance".
"Okay." Dunn turned his head to Leonard Mitchell and said, "You are responsible for driving. It's best not to let Cesar get involved in this kind of thing."
The César he mentioned was a civilian staff member in the Tingen City Night Squad who was responsible for the requisition and purchase of supplies. He also worked part-time as a coachman, and that was the one who drove when Klein went to Welch's residence to meet the "psychic" Daly.
"No problem." Leonard put away his frivolity and nodded seriously.
At this time, Klein saw Al Hassan bend down and pick up an iron-black box from the area hidden by the table.
The box was engraved with bright stars and a crimson full moon, and was surrounded by an invisible sense of sealing.
Is the sealed object inside? I wonder what "2-049" looks like... Klein looked at the box curiously.
Boom!
Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, there were violent knocking sounds coming from the iron-black box, causing its surface to bulge again and again.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It seemed as if something horrible inside the box had come to life and was banging on the door violently. Each bang hit the hearts of everyone in the duty room.
Alive? Just as Klein was thinking, he saw Captain Dunn's "arm flexion and extension" becoming sluggish, and his joints were so stiff that they seemed to be filled with glue.
Borgia, the Nighthawk from Backlund, pushed Dunn's shoulder, allowing him to move normally.
The state after being affected by "2-049" is very much like dancing a robot dance... If everyone is affected, wouldn't it be a dancing group... Fortunately, fortunately, "2-049" seems to be able to affect only one person at a time... Klein relieved the tension in his heart by complaining, and did not dare to slack off in bending and stretching his arms.
He followed Dunn's example, leaving his cane behind, and followed the five night watchmen through the corridor, up the stairs, and onto the second floor of the Blackthorn Security Company.
Because Leonard quickened their pace and notified them in advance, Roshan and the others temporarily hid on the third floor. For civilian staff like them, such things were not common, but they were definitely not unfamiliar. Another night watchman, Coenli, temporarily replaced Dunn to guard the Chanis Gate.
It wasn’t until he got on the carriage that Klein breathed a sigh of relief. He looked out the window in confusion and said,
"Won't '2-049' affect the average person on the street?"
Just on the way from underground to the vicinity of the carriage, the sealed object "2-049" caused six delay phenomena, two of which he experienced, and was awakened by Captain Dunn and Leonard Mitchell respectively. This frequency can be said to be quite astonishing!
"Don't worry. '2-049' will give priority to humanoid creatures within five meters. The closer you are, the more likely it is to be chosen. As long as we keep at least three people around it, people passing by outside the carriage will not be affected." The beautiful black-haired lady Lolota explained in a lazy tone.
Strange seal... Klein, bending his arms, once again expressed a similar sentiment.
On the way to Riel Bieber's house, Dunn and the others did not speak, but kept a close eye on each other's conditions. Only Lolota looked indifferent, sometimes admiring the not-so-clean roads in Tingen City, and sometimes praising Backlund's sewer system.
Not long after, the familiar building appeared in Klein's eyes. The six of them "monitored" each other and walked step by step to the third floor.
The door of Riel Bieber's house is posted with the Tingen City Police Department sign, indicating that no unauthorized persons are allowed to enter.
While doing arm curling and stretching exercises, Dunn took out the key and opened the new lock. Then he turned sideways and let Al Hassan, who was carrying the iron-black box, enter the house first.
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The seal inside the iron-black box began to smash once again, more violently than before. This caused Al Hassan's arms to swing uncontrollably from side to side, and Klein even suspected that the box would be directly pierced through.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Klein keenly noticed that Captain Dunn's arm bending movement became difficult. Just as he was about to wake him up, his head buzzed and suddenly became numb. The scene in his eyes instantly turned into slow motion.
Didn’t they say that it would only affect one person at a time? Klein’s thoughts raced and became dull.
At this time, Lorota and Borgia, who were well prepared, pushed the two men respectively.
His ability to think was restored and his vision returned to normal. Klein looked around fearfully and almost blurted out a question:
Doesn’t it say that “2-049” can only affect one person at a time?
Fortunately, I didn’t stop the arm flexion and stretching movement!
"The sealed object '2-049' has entered a violent state, and the number of people affected each time has risen to two. It can be confirmed that Riel Biber is a descendant of the Antigonus family." Al Hassan described it in a mechanical way.
Lolota chuckled and looked at Klein and said:
"Whenever '2-049' encounters a descendant of the Antigonus family, even if there is only a trace of their presence left, it will become very excited and its abilities will be significantly enhanced. I think you should be able to understand its feelings."
I don’t understand… Klein asked curiously:
"So, it's a living thing?"
Luo Luota smiled and did not answer directly:
"You'll know soon. As long as Riel Biber hasn't escaped from Tingen City, '2-049' will lead us to find him."
Klein had no choice but to put aside his other questions and followed the night watchmen around the room.
Amid the loud banging sounds, they locked the door, went down the stairs and returned to the carriage.
Al Hassan glanced out the window a few times, making sure there were no pedestrians within five meters. He then placed the iron-black box on the floor, turned the mechanical switch, and unlocked the spiritual shackles.
The fierce knocking suddenly stopped, and the entire carriage was silent. Even the sound of everyone's breathing could not be heard.
Klein held his breath and watched the iron-black box slowly open, making a creaking sound that made his ears ache.
Bang!
The box fell over and a thin tan arm stretched out, only the length of a child's fingers.
The two arms took turns pressing forward, and a brown object the size of a normal human's palm appeared in front of Klein and the others.
It had distinct elbows, knuckles, and knees, its body was wrapped in tan, oily strips of cloth, and its face was painted with red and yellow clown paint.
It's a weird looking puppet!
"2-049" raised his head and looked at Klein with his pure black pupils.
It slowly opened its stiff mouth corners, revealing a clown-like smile.