Fors, who was lying on the floor of the living room, fluttered her eyelashes a few times, and slowly opened her eyes. She saw the bright moon hanging high in the sky outside the window, like a round disk filled with red light. The thin and hazy scarlet veil of the past had completely turned into a rich blood light.
I’m not dead, I’m not out of control… I wasn’t dreaming just now… There really is a mysterious and powerful Mr. Fool who saved me… Fors turned over and sat up, examining herself, and found that except for her hair, which had grown longer and thicker, there was no other abnormality in the rest of her body.
“But compared to before, my life is completely different… I don’t know whether this is good or bad…” Fors muttered to herself silently, sitting on the ground with her knees hugged, lost in thought, sometimes hesitant, sometimes anxious, sometimes sad, and sometimes bewildered.
…………
Above the gray fog, Klein looked at the chair with the symbol of "Layered Doors" behind him and whispered thoughtfully:
"I wonder what information the whispers contain..."
"Once she reaches Sequence 7 or Sequence 6, she should be able to counteract the negative influence and hear the whispers clearly."
"If she hasn't mastered the 'Acting Method' yet, let Miss Justice and the others help me teach her. I have sworn to the goddess on the holy object that I will not mention such things in front of someone who doesn't understand the 'Acting Method'."
"...When I advance to Sequence 5 and become a 'Master of Secret Puppetry', I may be able to use the corresponding rituals and the special features of this mysterious space to remotely control her, and directly see the scenes she sees and hear the sounds she hears."
"Then we can confirm whether it is Mr. Door..."
"This is a man who witnessed the history of the Fourth Epoch. He is probably older than Mr. Azik, who has lived through many lifetimes."
"I don't know what his strength and level are equivalent to. 2? Or even 1?"
After thinking for a while, he felt his spiritual instability and quickly fell into the gray fog and returned to the real world.
This was a normal phenomenon not long after being promoted, so Klein gave up his plan to go out and patiently meditated at home to gather his scattered spirituality.
…………
Early in the morning, Fors took the first steam subway back to St. George's, then took a public carriage to the two-bedroom apartment where she and Hugh now lived.
As soon as she opened the door and entered, she was surprised to find that Xio, who usually slept late, was toasting bread there.
"There was a sudden blood moon last night, which made me not sleep well and woke up very early. Fors, are you okay? Has the strange mumbling become stronger?" Xio raised his head and asked with concern.
Fors's vision suddenly blurred. She turned her head to look to the side, forced a smile, and said in her usual tone of attack:
"Where's your brain? Didn't I tell you? During a blood moon, the whispers will definitely get stronger!"
"But it has no effect on me. Yes, no effect at all. Look at me. I am so energetic now!"
"Hey, bake me a piece of bread too!"
"Don't you like eating this way?" Xio adjusted her short golden hair and muttered softly.
…………
After completing his initial revenge and getting promoted, Klein slept until dawn, then leisurely went out to buy a bowl of Feynaport noodles for breakfast, a Dicey pie, and a cup of sweet iced tea.
After enjoying the meal with satisfaction, he put down his knife and fork, picked up the newspaper, and began to read in a very relaxed mood.
At a glance, he found the front-page headline of the Tussock Gazette read:
"On the night of the blood moon, the killer appears again!"
Coming again? Klein quickly flipped through the front pages of other newspapers and saw a lot of similar headlines:
"The real 11th case! The police are helpless!"
"The cold-blooded murderer has once again challenged the police!"
"An atmosphere of panic is spreading in Backlund!"
This... must be a headache for the Nighthawks and the Mandated Punishers, right? Klein sighed sincerely in his heart.
To be honest, he had the urge to catch the murderer.
When he was on Earth, he had no abilities, but he would often fantasize about upholding justice and punishing evil. But now, as a Sequence 7 Beyonder, Klein felt that it would be a shame not to be a superhero.
Alas, it's a pity that this case has already received a lot of attention. If I get involved, won't I be exposed? We should be rational... Moreover, according to classmate "Sun", the murderer is likely in the stage of Sequence 6 to Sequence 5. Although I am not afraid of him after obtaining so many spells and spell-like abilities, I may not be able to catch him. The risk is relatively high... After thinking it over, Klein decided to follow the strongest thought in his heart and be an ordinary citizen.
He believed that with the strength of several major churches, if the murderer continued to commit crimes, there was a high chance that he would be caught!
After reading the relevant news, Klein glanced at the Backlund Morning Post again and found that the advertisement for Ernst Company's purchase of goods appeared again on the fifth page.
"There's a party at 8 o'clock tomorrow night. It's just perfect. I can sell the medullary crystals of the Elven Spring to the pharmacist..." Klein muttered as he memorized the first four digits of all the quotes.
After more than half an hour, he finished reading the thick stack of newspapers in front of him and seriously thought about his future plans:
"The long-term plan is to advance to a high-sequence, become a powerful demigod, and plot revenge against Ince Zangwill."
"The mid-term plan is to find a way to act as a 'magician', gradually summarize the corresponding rules, and digest the potion bit by bit. In this process, collect the human skin shadow characteristics needed by the 'faceless man', the deep sea naga hair, the mutated pituitary gland and blood of the Thousand Faces Hunter's brain, and how to remove the evil god's spiritual pollution in the items."
"Hmm... Sequence 6 Beyonder Materials cost around 1,500 pounds each. That's really expensive!"
"Also, get a magical item that is biased towards attack or control. Although the Magician is very strong, his extraordinary abilities are more focused on saving lives, escaping, and adapting to the environment. His strongest attack is equivalent to a specially made revolver, which only wins by catching the enemy by surprise, and he also lacks the means to control the enemy."
"Short-term plan, short-term plan... Haha, I have to cut paper 'people' later to prepare for the use of my abilities. I'll go to the circus in the afternoon to relax and have fun, and to find inspiration for my performance by watching ordinary magicians. Well, I read in the newspaper that Backlund has several regular circuses..."
After sorting out his thoughts, Klein immediately cleared the plates, cleaned the knives and forks, and began busy preparations.
Near noon, he put down his scissors, looked at the three crude paper figures in front of him, sighed, and muttered softly:
"This is probably the first time in my two lifetimes that I have done handicrafts so seriously..."
"It's OK, it's just paper-cutting, not paper-cutting or embroidery. Just a human figure is enough!"
"Ah, if my hands hadn't become more dexterous, I would have failed today..."
——Klein had just tested the ability with an extra paper man and confirmed it was correct.
After folding the paper figure and hiding it in a stack of notes, Klein put them away and put them in his pocket.
Just as he was about to go out to a better restaurant to enjoy a meal and then go to the nearest circus to watch a performance, the doorbell suddenly rang, and the jingle-dong sound echoed pleasantly.
“Commission? The ad I posted should be taken down soon…” Klein, wearing a shirt with a straight collar and a thin but warm sweater, walked to the door and grasped the handle.
At the same time, the image of the visitor naturally emerged in his mind:
He was a man in his forties, quite fat, and seemed to have difficulty standing there.
His eyes were squeezed small by the flesh on his face, his skin was rough but very white, he held a gentleman's cane in his hand, and wore a very tall and very large top hat on his head.
Although Backlund in October was already considered cold, sweat was clearly dripping down the man's forehead.
Beside him were two attendants in bright red coats, supporting him on his left and right.
I don’t know him… Klein muttered, and opened the door without his own inspiration responding.
"Good afternoon. It's so hot." The fat middle-aged man took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
As he spoke, a gust of cold wind blew, causing the two waiters beside him to shiver a few times.
"Good afternoon. May I ask what may I do for you?" Klein asked politely.
"You are Detective Sherlock Moriarty, right? I have something to ask you." The middle-aged man forced a smile and said, "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Logo Carloman, a jeweler."
“Please come in.” Klein smiled and made way.
Logo Carloman walked in with heavy steps and sat down on the sofa, making the old furniture groan in resistance.
"What exactly is it?" Klein took out a copper penny and skillfully rolled and spun it between his fingertips.
Loge sighed and said:
"I'd like you to protect my child until tomorrow afternoon. He's got in trouble with some crazy people."
"Until tomorrow afternoon? Have you found a solution? Why didn't you call the police?" Klein asked at a moderate pace.
Luo Ge was silent for two seconds and said:
"Atlu met some bad friends and was led by them to do some bad things. Well, they're not too serious, but they can still land you in jail. I don't want to call the police unless I have no other options."
"He had a falling out with those bad friends recently, and he suddenly broke down, and kept shouting that those people were going to kill him."
"I was very worried, so I hired six experienced security guards from a security company to guard the perimeter, and then hired four private detectives to take turns following Atlus, even watching over him while he was sleeping."
"But one of the detectives had an emergency at home and will not be back until tomorrow afternoon, so I had to hire another one temporarily."
"I'm sorry, I can only hire you for one day."
"Well... the reward is 10 pounds. If you encounter any danger, I will give you extra. I will definitely make you satisfied."
I see... 10 pounds a day is equivalent to more than a week's salary for Mr. Summer next door... Klein initially confirmed from the other party's emotional color that he was not lying.
During the brief silence in the living room, the copper penny that he had been turning between his fingers suddenly jumped up and fell into his palm with a clang.
Klein took a look, raised his five fingers, and smiled slightly:
"make a deal."