Doubts

Fors was a languid-looking girl, about 1.65 meters tall, wearing a beige high-collared dress with ruffles. Hearing Xio's words, she scratched her slightly curly brown hair and said helplessly, "What is it? Can't you handle it yourself? I can give you some advice."

"No, I need to search for evidence of a gang leader's crimes. I need your Door Opening ability!" Xio paused, stared at Fors's still-unseemly sprawled posture on the sofa, then continued, "Besides, Fors, you haven't left the house for almost half a week..."

"I knew this was what you wanted..." As she spoke, Fors saw Xio frown and had no choice but to raise her hands. "All right, all right, I'll help you! But you have to tell me exactly what this is about."

Xio nodded and recounted Mr. Lian, the repair technician's, request. Only then did she say, "So I need some dirt on that gang leader to improve my chances of persuading him!"

"Are you sure you're trying to persuade him rather than provoke him?" Fors grumbled inwardly, but outwardly remained calm. "That's only Lian's side of the story, isn't it? Shouldn't you investigate everything thoroughly before acting? For example, does that gang leader have some other motive?"

"Yes, I'm about to investigate. I came back to get some money and equipment," Xio replied.

"Not just that. You also need to find out whether that gang leader is a Beyonder, or whether he has Beyonders under him... If you don't get all that straight, not only could I be in danger when I use Door Opening to get the dirt, you might not even come back from trying to persuade him." Fors patiently reasoned with her.

"Mm... You're right, Fors. I overlooked that." After thinking it over, Xio felt that Fors had a point.

"So come find me after you've finished investigating!" That way, I can put this off for a few more days. Fors thought smugly.

"All right..." After saying that, Xio took a small pouch from her room and tied it around her waist. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly turned back toward the sofa and said, "Fors, although what you said makes sense, I still feel like you're brushing me off."

"How could I be... See, I'm getting up!" Fors stood up guiltily, walked to the door, and smiled as she saw Xio out.

Xio frowned. She had originally wanted to tell Fors about the strange person she had seen at the restaurant, but after some thought, she gave up. That person had felt very oppressive, but not dangerous. Telling Fors might only cause needless worry.

Leaving Xio and Fors aside, let's return to Abner. His chance encounter with Miss Xio had not delayed his planned itinerary. Based on the original owner's memories, he traveled all over Cherwood Borough, the North Borough, and the Bridge Borough, buying various plant powders, silver sheets, and other items from herb shops, flower shops, jewelry stores, and accessory shops.

These were all essential materials for conducting the ritual. Since they were not spiritual items, most could be purchased in ordinary stores, though they were scattered around and required visits to many shops to gather. However, despite not being spiritual materials, they were not cheap. They had cost him a total of 1 pound and 12 soli, making the cash-strapped Abner ache inwardly for quite some time.

Abner was preparing the ritual in order to create a Wall of Spirituality, giving himself a clean and safe spiritual environment in which to test his Pure White Eye. Well, and to analyze the Reader formula while he was at it. As for how he knew this ritual? Naturally, in Lord of Mysteries, Old Neil had practically taught Klein step by step how to set up a Wall of Spirituality and recite its incantation. When Abner activated the Pure White Eye earlier, he had recalled every detail of that passage from the novel.

At four in the afternoon, Abner dragged his exhausted body back to the one-room house he rented. He first lay down and slept for an hour and a half. After getting up, he hurriedly ate some dry provisions he had bought outside during the day. Then, at precisely six, after adjusting himself to his best condition, he mixed Dreamless Flower, Dragon Blood Grass, Crimson Sandalwood, mint, and other herbal powders into "Holy Night Powder," the materials used to create a Wall of Spirituality.

Although Abner knew the method, it was his first time carrying it out in practice, so he was inevitably nervous. Fortunately, he had already fused with part of a Beyonder Characteristic, and his concentration surpassed that of ordinary people. He soon succeeded.

After sprinkling Holy Night Powder around himself in a particular order, he pinched out another handful of powder and scattered it in a circle around himself.

As a strange, pungent smell rose and spread, an invisible force formed around Abner, separating him from the environment inside the room.

After finishing this, Abner took a deep breath and removed the gemstone representing the Sequence 8 Detective Beyonder Characteristic from an iron cigarette case. He focused all his attention on it and silently recited, "Activate," giving himself a Suggestion. Through last night's accident and the incident that morning, when the Pure White Eye had almost activated on its own as he looked at Miss Xio, he had roughly mastered the method for turning his cheat ability on and off.

The result was exactly as Abner had expected. Following his Suggestion, the pupils in his eyes instantly vanished, turning both eyes pure white, while streams of rapidly flashing data appeared in his mind again. His thoughts were pulled along by the data streams, involuntarily recalling, summarizing, analyzing, and parsing things at high speed...

Five seconds later, as his complexion worsened and had even visibly darkened, Abner used tremendous willpower to Suggest that he close the Pure White Eye. Then he forced out a smile and muttered weakly, "It seems that, at my current best, five seconds is the limit..."

Before his words had even faded, he collapsed to the floor and lost consciousness.

At night, on Dharavi Street in the East Borough, there was a cramped yet bustling tavern.

Xio Dilcha covered her nose and mouth as she squeezed inside. To her, the place was not only filled with the smell of alcohol and sweat, but also packed with people far taller than her, forcing her to face their armpits directly. The concentrated odor there was enough to knock an ordinary person unconscious.

After great effort, even using her Arbiter abilities, Xio finally squeezed her way to the bar and saw the person she was looking for.

He was a middle-aged man with a kindly appearance, a friendly smile always hanging on his round face. But Xio knew that this man was a cruel and vicious scoundrel. He had once stomped on and broken the hand of a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old Thief simply because the boy had hidden some of his loot.

If it had not been necessary, Xio would not even have wanted to see him. But there was no one more suitable than this person for asking about a gang leader's intelligence, because not only was he a gang leader himself, he also had a grudge against the other man.

"Darkholm, I need to talk to you." Xio heavily rapped the wooden bar counter.

This rude action immediately drew numerous angry glares, but they quickly retreated in silence under the Arbiter's stern gaze.

"Oh, Xio, it's been many days since I saw you. You seem stronger than before!" Darkholm said, half drunk and half surprised.

Of course. Before, I only had some Arbiter abilities because of my father's inheritance, but now I'm a true Arbiter!

Xio replied proudly inwardly, but said sternly on the surface, "I want all the information you have on Rosen!"

"Oh? 'Two-Faced Man' Rosen? Haha, Xio, you've set your sights on that bastard this time?! Good! As long as you deal with him, I'll tell you everything I know!" Darkholm was initially stunned, then said gleefully.

"'Two-Faced Man'?" Xio raised an eyebrow, feeling that the nickname was not simple.

"That's right. That bastard Rosen usually disguises himself as a humble, courteous gentleman, always preaching about helping those in need through hard times. But he's really just a loan shark, and his interest rates are outrageously high! I don't know what trick he uses, but every time he can tamper with the contracts and fool people completely. Most people who borrow money from him end up with their families ruined! That bastard is far worse than I am. Xio, you have to teach him a lesson!" Darkholm gritted his teeth in hatred as he spoke about Rosen. Who knew what deep grudge lay between them? He kept urging Xio to take Rosen out, citing many examples of families ruined by Rosen.

However, Xio's frown only deepened as she listened. Interrupting Darkholm's endless chatter, she asked, "He can tamper with the contracts every time, and the borrowers only discover something is wrong afterward?"

"That's right. That's why I said I don't know what new method that bastard discovered. After all, it's impossible for every borrower to be that stupid. That bastard's lending business wasn't this smooth before," Darkholm nodded.

"Before? Since when did things start going so smoothly for him?" Xio sharply noticed the key issue.

"Seven months ago. I remember it clearly, because that was when I became enemies with him. Hah, after that, his business went so smoothly and the money in his hands multiplied several times over, so I didn't dare retaliate against him." Darkholm said through gritted teeth.

"Seven months ago... Why did you become enemies with him?" Xio asked after considering it.

"Well..." Darkholm had not wanted to say, but when he looked up and saw Xio's majestic gaze, he shuddered unconsciously and hurriedly confessed honestly. "Back then, one of my best men stole Rosen's suitcase. Inside were things he had just looted from the home of a debtor. Rosen found out quickly, then sent his men to beat up my best man and take back the suitcase... It would have been nothing if things had ended there, but not long afterward, that bastard secretly had a group of people killed, including my best man. That was practically a slap in my face!"

"What was in the suitcase?" Xio asked.

"Hmph, you suspect there was something sensitive inside, so Rosen silenced them? I thought of that too, but after I found that unlucky debtor and questioned him, I learned there were only various badges he had collected. It was his hobby. Those things weren't worth much to anyone else, unless Rosen could find another badge collector to sell them to. So I think he was deliberately targeting me. There was no other reason." Darkholm snorted.

"What was that debtor's name? Where is he now?" Xio did not change her line of thought because of Darkholm's words.

"That man died long ago. All his property was used to repay his debts, and his family was sold off. In the end, he jumped into a river and killed himself." Darkholm said indifferently.

Xio nodded. Feeling that she had learned enough, she pulled a banknote from her pocket and gave it to Darkholm as payment for the information, then turned and left the tavern.

Badges... Could they be magical items? I need to investigate this carefully. Xio thought to herself.

At midnight, Abner opened his eyes. He rubbed his temple, silently set up and reinforced the Wall of Spirituality, which was already close to failing, then picked up the Beyonder Characteristic that had fallen to the floor and activated the Pure White Eye once more.

"Tonight, I have to completely analyze the Sequence 9 Reader formula!"

(End of Chapter)