"As you can see, I don't have tea or coffee here, but there are quite a few chairs."
Angel invited this "Provoker" who seemed to have been awake all day and night, and watched him sit in the nearest chair, his whole body slumped down.
"I'm sorry, but I didn't want to come to visit you unless I had no other choice." Dominic lost his usual vigor and said dejectedly, "I found your residence when you were renting a safe house before. This time, in order to wait for you, I stayed by and followed you to the new safe house. If I hadn't been worried about being easily recognized during the day, I would have knocked on the door."
"Rather than following you, I'm more curious about why you are still Backlund. Wasn't it time for you to take a boat out to sea last week, take Sonia to the Rhoside Islands that you miss so much, and settle in Bayam?"
Angel also pulled up a chair and sat across from him. This place had just been rented and there was no tea, coffee or hot water. Moreover, even if there was, she had no intention of serving this uninvited guest.
"I originally planned to leave as soon as I got the 600 pounds, although the money is less than I expected..." Dominic paused, looked at Angel, and continued, "... it's enough to go to Bayam lives. But Sonia said that before she left, she wanted to see her uncle, the relative who had committed a crime and was imprisoned. He had taken care of her for a while when Sonia was young."
"Yesterday we went to West Borough to visit him. After returning to East Borough's residence, Sonia packed up his things and I went to Steam Train Station to buy a ticket to Pritz Harbor."
"Damn it, it was just for a while, less than two hours!"
Dominic suddenly became irritable and reached out to grab his black hair, as if he wanted to pull them all off.
"When I came back, the place was in a mess. There were slight traces of fighting on the floor and furniture. The room was turned into a mess, but there was no blood and no items were missing. Except for Sonia, she was missing."
"Nothing was lost. It shouldn't be a common home invasion robbery by East Borough, so it should be a kidnapping with a purpose," Angel analyzed. "Where are your traps? And your Sequence 9 is Hunter, right? I didn't notice them even after tracking them behind me. Why don't you use Beyonder Ability to track them?"
"The trap was triggered, but it didn't hurt the other party. I also tried to track it, but they handled it very professionally and all the traces that could leave clues were cleaned up. Either the other party also has 'Hunter', or they are well-trained players."
Dominic replied frustratedly. It seemed that Sonia was taken away when he relaxed his vigilance, which was a huge blow to him.
"I first thought of reporting the case and letting the authorities investigate, but this is East Borough. Several or dozens of people disappear every day and no one cares, let alone..."
He hesitated for a moment and continued.
"... What's more, the official may be involved in this matter."
"Do you mean the police, or the official Beyonder?"
Unexpectedly, the disappearance of that little Seer was actually very involved. Angel leaned forward and asked.
"No, it's 'MI9', a special department of the Loen Kingdom. They are responsible for the intelligence work of the military and fighting against the infiltration of foreign Beyonder. I used to be a member there, a peripheral member..."
Am I really allowed to hear this kind of state secret?
Angel raised his eyebrows, but did not interrupt the frustrated man's narration.
"My 'Hunter' Potion was obtained from MI9. As a peripheral member, they were not stingy in allocating Potion, but the management was as strict as that of a full member. I failed in a mission and was punished too harshly. I applied to quit in anger and left there."
"After living in Enmat Harbor, I met Sonia. She was only 15 years old at that time. She was a little girl. She asked me if I was Beyonder. Haha..." The corners of Dominic's mouth turned up, as if she was trapped. Entering the memory, he paused for a while before continuing, "Since then, I have never left Enmat Harbor. It was not until Mr. Hansen Claude died in the hands of the Demoness Sect that I brought her to Backlund."
You are not in love with Sonia, are you? Gosh, she doesn't even look like an adult... Angel was a little shocked, but she knew that the focus was not on that, so she interrupted Dominic's memories and asked:
"You've told me this before, but why do you think the official was involved in this kidnapping case? Is there any evidence?"
"Evidence? My analysis is evidence!" The Provoker became excited again, as if he was the one who was provoked. "Even her uncle doesn't know the whereabouts of Sonia and I. Only the guy who helped us come to Backlund to avoid Demoness Sect and gave us false identities knows that he is also from MI9. This guy must have leaked the secret."
"Their goal must be that manuscript, the design drawing of Third Generation Difference Engine! I should have guessed earlier that Intis wants it, Feysac wants it, and Loen doesn't want it?"
Taking a deep breath, the scowl on Dominic's face faded, and a look of pleading appeared instead, which surprised even Angel who was used to hearing this man's harsh words.
"It's been less than 12 hours since she disappeared. For the Difference Engine manuscript, these people probably haven't done anything to her yet, but that won't necessarily happen as time goes by."
"I came to you to ask for your help. Use divination to find the location of Sonia and help me rescue her. Don't worry, I will give you a satisfactory reward."
Seeing the vulnerability and helplessness in the other person's eyes, Angel fell into deep thought.
She instinctively wanted to refuse this troublesome matter. Although Dominic had cooperated with her, and even this manuscript that attracted much attention was sold to Mr. A by them, in essence, it was just a relationship of interest. After the two had divided the spoils and parted ways, there would be no relationship in the future.
But Sonia is just a little girl who has not yet reached adulthood. Whether she is captured by those foreign spies who infiltrated Backlund, or as Dominic said, with the involvement of official personnel, if she is not rescued in time, it is easy to imagine what will happen next.
Think of it as a favor to future Seer...
Angel closed his eyes and nodded.
"My Magic Mirror is damaged. Although it can be used for divination with an ordinary mirror, the effect is not as good as it. You go back to your previous residence and wait. I will go home and rush over when I am ready."
After taking a long detour and making sure there were no pursuers behind her, Angel returned home. She used the ointment she had saved before and made with her own blood to make a new Magic Mirror. The preparation of the substitute wand used last night required more time and specialized materials, and there was no time to replenish it today.
Holding the freshly baked Magic Mirror, she first tried to divine the movements of Dominic, firstly to confirm the sincerity of the other party and to ensure that he was not following her; secondly, to determine whether there was any high-level extraordinary power involved in this matter.
Magic Mirror Divination quickly came to the conclusion that he was preparing his own equipment in East Borough's apartment, including a short knife, a revolver, and a set of ammunition on the table, like an arms display.
And the divination went very smoothly without any interference.
This shows that there is no high-level Beyonder going on Anti-Divination... or is the level too high that you can't even feel it?
After hesitating for a moment, Angel packed up his equipment and left home, heading for East Borough.
It was already evening, and workers working in factories in the suburbs of East Borough were returning to their homes in batches. The already noisy and crowded streets were now even more chaotic. Angel walked through the most congested streets, avoiding pedestrians who were interested in pickpocketing, and arrived at the four-story apartment building with an arch-like appearance.
"I didn't expect you to really come..."
When Door Opening was playing, the expression on Dominic's face was very strange.
"Have you never seen Demoness who keeps his promise so well?"
Angel teased and entered the two-bedroom apartment. This time her Magic Mirror did not issue a warning.
"Bring an item or clothing that Sonia frequently uses, and I will use it for divination."
Taking out Magic Mirror and placing it on the table, Angel ordered.
Dominic quickly brought an item, the kitten mask that had been used by Angel.
Taking the mask, Angel caressed Magic Mirror, sent in Spirituality, and silently recited the divination word.
"Magic Mirror Magic Mirror Tell me, where is the owner of this item currently?"
Magic Mirror Familiar water patterns flashed through, quickly turning dark, and then the black faded, returning to a state that reflected the scene in the room.
Divination failed?
Angel was stunned, looking at the kitten mask in his hand, and then moved his eyes to "Hidden Holy Emblem" on his wrist.
Could it be that because I have used this mask, the Anti-Divination effect interfered with Magic Mirror's divination?
Putting down this item, Angel entered Sonia's neatly decorated and warm room, and took a dress from the closet.
I cast Magic Mirror Divination again, this time it went very smoothly, and an active picture quickly appeared in the mirror.
The little girl with disheveled brown hair was lying halfway between the wooden box and the iron cabinet, her hands were tied with ropes, her eyes were closed, and she seemed to have fallen asleep.
The screen turned, leaving this warehouse-like room and going outside. The red brick floor had cracked in many places, and the low and dilapidated houses on both sides were connected into a piece, leading to the Tussock River in the distance.
The screen disappeared, and Magic Mirror regained its smooth surface. Angel told Dominic what he had just seen. The latter frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly realized and gritted his teeth and said:
"That's Red Brick Lane of East Borough, which is the warehouse of Zimang Party!"