"In the end, I have to continue to use you..."
Putting "Madness Ring" on her hand, Angel watched herself in the mirror quickly transform into a featureless black-haired, round-faced woman, and couldn't help but sigh.
The gathering of Mr. A was banned by the official Beyonder. No one on Tarot Club was interested in this Mystical Item, so she could not change the ring to Gold Pound for the time being., and tonight we have to capture Baelen at East Borough. Compared with the "Faceless" feature that simply changes faces, the "Madness Ring" feature that allows strangers to ignore their appearance is obviously more suitable.
It was already close to the agreed ten o'clock in the evening. Angel carried the combat items one by one and came to East Borough's "Oak Bar". He saw Xio Derecha who was also fully armed and wearing a hooded cloak. and Sherman, the latter participated in such a collective action for the first time, with a mixture of nervousness and excitement on their faces, but the short Bounty Hunter had a calm face and regarded tonight as a relaxing and enjoyable task.
Three hooded weirdos were sitting in the corner of the bar, attracting many people's attention. Fortunately, Xio's body shape was very recognizable, and she had made a name for herself in every bar in East Borough, so there were no blind drunkards looking for trouble.
"Let's go, it's almost time. All the nearby residents have gone to bed, and East Borough's patrol police won't be interested in going out for a walk until late at night. We have enough time."
After a few people chatted about the details of the operation, Xio glanced at Wall Clock on the wall and whispered.
The three of them left the side door of the tavern and walked for about 20 minutes along the street where many homeless people were wandering around and rummaging through garbage. Under the guidance of Bounty Hunter, who was familiar with the terrain, they arrived at a three-story building that did not look like East Borough.
Compared with the dilapidated apartments on both sides, the exterior paint of this small building is still intact, and the windows do not leak air. At this time, a faint light shines from a window on the second floor, which is extremely dazzling among the surrounding residents who are reluctant to turn on the gas lights.
"He's not asleep yet. Do you want to wait a little longer, or go in and deal with him directly?"
Xio asked his temporary employer Angel.
The latter pondered for a moment, untied the silver chain from his wrist, used a citrine pendant to do a simple divination, and judged that this operation was not dangerous, and then said:
"Since he is at home, let's do it directly."
She stretched out her hand and tapped her chest, then used her invisibility ability in front of the two of them. Her figure disappeared as if erased by an eraser, and then a deep voice came from the air:
"Hugh Miss, just knock on the door and attract him to come out. Although Baelen will be vigilant, he will definitely not escape directly. I will enter from the side, and the two of us will work together to ensure nothing goes wrong. After we succeed, take him to the attic for interrogation. Sherman, keep an eye on the alley opposite the door. If anyone else comes, try to make a noise to alert us."
Although judging by the bounty on Baelen's head, the opponent is at most Beyonder of Low Sequence, but just in case, Angel decided that everyone should take action together to avoid any accidents.
Xio stared blankly at the direction in which Angel disappeared. After a few seconds, he nodded, tightened his hood, and walked directly to the door of Baelen's residence. Sherman also got into the alley, his eyes fixed on Xio, who was about to knock on the door.
Watching the actions of the two people, Angel nodded with satisfaction, walked around to the side of the building, and when Xio knocked on the door, he created a thin layer of ice to open the bolt on the inside of the window, opened the window and climbed in.
Behind the window is the living room on the first floor, which is simply furnished. Angel stood by the door leading to the corridor and waited quietly.
"Who is it?"
There was a whisper, with an obvious accent of Backlund, but it was not asking Angel, but asking Xio who was knocking on the door.
The latter did not answer, but knocked on the door more frequently.
Light footsteps came from the corridor, and Baelen was obviously alert. Soon Angel saw a middle-aged man walking towards the stairs, holding a revolver in one hand and a short wooden stick in the other, slowly walking towards the door.
In her Dark Vision, the man's skin color is brown and red, and his facial features are unremarkable, which is consistent with the characteristics described by Hanged Man.
After determining the target, Angel gently waved his arms in the invisible state, quickly releasing invisible spider threads, and commanding them to be deployed in the section of the corridor near the door. When Baelen, who was staring at the door and ignoring the movement under his feet, stepped in, he tightened it suddenly.
The tall man's limbs were immediately locked together, and marks appeared on his clothes and skin. He also lost his balance and fell straight on the carpet at the door.
Hearing the movement behind the door, Xio Derecha outside slammed the door lock, directly knocking open the weak wooden door. Using the moonlight at the door, he quickly judged the situation and kicked Baelen in front of him on the back of the neck, causing him to faint as he was about to shout.
"Watson?" Seeing that she and Baelen were alone in the corridor, she asked tentatively, "According to the original plan?"
"Yes."
There was a reply from beside her, and Xio felt relieved. She picked up Baelen, who was two heads taller than her and weighed almost twice as much as her, and walked towards the attic. Beyonder's strength advantage was clearly revealed.
"Bang——"
After tying Baelen to the wooden chair in the attic, Xio kicked the opponent's calf bone without politeness. There was less muscle here, and no matter how strong a person was, Affliction would be vulnerable to being kicked. Sure enough, Baelen immediately woke up with a muffled groan, looking around with a hint of panic in his eyes, then immediately suppressed his emotions and looked coldly at Bounty Hunter in front of him who was only slightly taller than him sitting there.
"Who are you..."
Before he finished speaking, his other foot received the same kick.
"This is your attic. Even if the sound spreads out, I can kill you first and then escape. Don't even think about shouting or delaying time, Baelen."
Hearing the other party call out his name accurately, Baelen looked gloomy and stopped talking.
"Very good, now let me ask you, why did you come to Backlund? Do you have any accomplices?"
A strong pressure radiated from Xio's body, causing Baelen's legs to ache so much that his expression changed constantly, his mouth opened and closed, but after a moment, he persisted and gritted his teeth without speaking.
Among the teeth exposed at the side of the mouth, an inlaid gold tooth reflected a glimmer of light in the dim light of the attic.
"It seems that we need some special means to get you to open your heart..."
Seeing that Beyonder Ability was not effective, Xio was not discouraged. Instead, he pulled out a dagger from under his cloak. After hesitating for two seconds, he pointed it at Baelen's left hand.
At this moment, Baelen, who had just gritted his teeth and endured Intimidation, suddenly showed an expression of extreme panic, his eyes widened, as if he had seen something terrifying that only he could see. The sound of his suddenly accelerated beating heart could be heard from a meter away, like a dull drumbeat.
Xio was frightened by the other party's exaggerated performance. He took two steps back and looked behind him, but found nothing else that could cause panic. Then he turned his attention to Baelen. After the moment of panic, the latter had slumped on the wooden chair, breathing heavily, with cold sweat on his face, as if his strength had been exhausted by those few seconds of fear.
"Keep asking."
A clear female voice came from beside her.
Only then did she remember that there was a third person in the attic. It seemed that the anomaly in Baelen was caused by the power of this powerful and mysterious woman.
"Baelen, tell me, what is your purpose of coming to Backlund, and who are your other accomplices?"
Putting away the dagger, Xio approached the exhausted Baelen and continued to ask.
"I... I'm here to take over Capim's shift. That idiot was killed in his villa. I'm responsible for taking over his mess and continuing to send the kidnapped poor people out of Backlund to all parts of the country."
This time the other party was extremely cooperative, and the expression of insistence just now had disappeared without a trace.
"There were three other guys who transported them together. There was no communication with each other. Each one was only responsible for his own line. The person who contacted us wore Golden Mask. I don't know who he is and I didn't dare to ask."
Golden Mask...
Xio immediately thought of the person who sold her the "Sheriff" formula at Mr. A's rally. According to his and Fors's speculation, the other person probably belonged to the army and was developing himself into a peripheral member.
But how could the military be involved in human trafficking? Did they find a traitor, or did another group use the same cover-up method and happened to use Golden Mask?
And Baelen mentioned Capim. Sure enough, this guy behaves as rumored, he is a hateful human trafficker...
There were thousands of thoughts in his mind, but Xiu didn't stop talking and continued to ask according to the arrangements before the action:
"Where will those people be sold, and to whom?"
"I don't know," Baelen slowly shook his head, and then trembled under the Intimidation that Xiu burst out, "Really, we are only responsible for transporting people out Backlund. There are other people taking over, but I can see that most of them are at sea. The ones who got mixed up are probably Sailor. From this, I guess that these captured poor people will be transported overseas, such as the Rhoside Islands, or even Southern Continent. However, a small number of special ones were taken to a place not far from Backlund..."
This guy became so talkative after being threatened by an unknown force? After answering the question, he actually added his own guess...
Xio was a little confused. For the first time, she felt that her "Sheriff" power was not so easy to use.
But she still asked:
"Where near Backlund? Were they killed there?"
Baelen once again made that gnashing of teeth gesture, with a Affliction expression on his face. It seemed that this question was difficult to answer, and he squeezed out a few shapeless words between his lips:
"Backlund... right here..."
"Right here, and you will be the one killed!"
An angry voice came from behind Xio, and at the same time, the door was kicked open with a bang.
She suddenly looked back, and saw a middle-aged man wearing a black windbreaker, with slender cheeks and a stern face walking into the attic. He closed the door with his right hand, pushed forward with the palm of his left hand, and said with Ancient Hermes:
"Imprisonment!"
Dark golden light bloomed, and the attic was instantly enveloped by an invisible wall. No sound or Spirituality could be heard.