Rewind (First Update)

Early Thursday morning, after a restless night, Abner left home very early.

He had just reached the subway station when he suddenly heard a newsboy's clear voice carrying over from nearby:

"Extra! Extra! Another major case in Cherwood Borough! Blood flows like a river at Grant Clothing Store, and Sivellaus Yard is helpless!"

"Grant Clothing Store? No way?!" Abner's heart skipped a beat as an extremely bad premonition rose within him. He quickly stopped the newsboy and bought a copy of the Backlund Morning News.

He hurriedly opened the newspaper, and the words "Grant Clothing Store attacked by intruders, Mrs. Grant killed on the spot, while Mr. Grant and his daughter have gone missing and are suspected of having been kidnapped by the assailants" immediately came into Abner's view!

"Something really happened to Jane!" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down before continuing to read. Then he discovered that the time the Grant family had been attacked closely matched the time the Demigod-level power had erupted last night!

"The location roughly matches too... Damn it, what happened in her home? How did they provoke Demigod-level power?" The thought that the straightforward, lively girl might already have met with disaster made Abner's heart ache.

"Maybe Mr. Grant was discovered by the authorities? Or perhaps he brought some calamity back with him while collecting corpses?" After stroking his chin and speculating for a while, Abner finally realized that wild guesses without clues were meaningless. His mind was still in turmoil...

After using meditation to calm himself again, Abner decided to visit Jane's home. After all, in the Pure White Eye state, he could already be considered half a Keeper of Knowledge. And Keeper of Knowledge had another name: Detective!

"Besides, searching for clues and deducing the truth of a case are also necessary for Acting as a Detective, aren't they?"

Beneath Saint Wind Cathedral, the captain of the Mandated Punishers Squad, who had visibly grown much more haggard lately, asked, "Has it been confirmed that Grant Clothing Store was the battlefield between the Rose School's Temperance Faction and Indulgence Faction?"

"Yes, Captain. They fled in a hurry and had no time to clean up the traces of the battle. However, some places involve power of too high a level, so our Keeper of Knowledge cannot use Scene Replay on them." A member of the Mandated Punishers replied, then briefly described the replayed scenes.

"What parts couldn't be replayed?" the captain asked after listening carefully.

"After Mr. Grant summoned the descent of higher-level power, no further scenes could be replayed. So we don't know who that power belonged to, nor do we know how they escaped in the end."

The captain pondered for a moment before saying, "According to Your Excellency Snake, the Spellsinger of God, that power should have come from the God of Death... Don't overthink it. This probably refers to a High Sequence powerhouse of the Death Pathway." Seeing his subordinates nod, he continued, "You have three tasks now. First, find the Indulgence Faction of the Rose School. Based on what we saw in the replayed scenes, that Werewolf's condition should be unstable. He may lose control of his urge to commit crimes again, so search for clues from that angle. Second, find the Grant father and daughter. Especially Mr. Grant. He could not have become a Beyonder for no reason, much less possess several Beyonder items. Find out whom he had close contact with and investigate them one by one. Third, consult the Holy Cathedral's records and determine the exact effects of the Scarlet Lunar Corona, so we won't suffer a loss if we encounter it again."

"Yes, Captain."

By the time Abner arrived at Grant Clothing Store, it was nearly eight o'clock. The police had set up a cordon outside the shop. Many people had gathered beyond it: reporters, neighbors, people merely watching the excitement, and friends like Abner who had come because they were worried about Jane.

A freckled girl of average height in the crowd spotted Abner sharply and immediately waved at him. "Abner, you came too?!"

At her words, a man and a woman beside her turned around as well.

Seeing that Jane's other friends had also come and that he did not stand out at all, Abner secretly let out a breath before nodding. "Susan, Roman, Caster, long time no see! I read the newspaper this morning and learned something had happened to Jane, so I rushed over to see what was going on."

These three young people had also been on good terms with the original Abner. They were all classmates from the public school. The freckled girl, Susan, had even helped him scrape together money for rent back then. Later, after the transmigrated Abner sold a formula and obtained his first funds, he had repaid her when he returned to the public school to handle his graduation procedures.

"Us too! We heard Jane was kidnapped. I hope she's all right!" All three of them clearly showed worried expressions as they spoke.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with them, Abner quietly activated the Pure White Eye and carefully observed the damaged entrance of the shop, along with the details he could see inside. Scene Replay-type spell-like abilities did not reconstruct scenes out of thin air without any basis. The more details and clues there were, the more complete the replayed scene would be.

At that moment, while clearing rubble inside the store, a police officer quietly slipped a melted, deformed piece of copper into his pocket. The action was very discreet, but it did not escape Abner's notice with the Pure White Eye activated.

"That's... my Brass Charm?" Though the copper piece had already deformed, Abner's Spirituality immediately told him that it had come from his own hand! The remaining spiritual traces and marks on it also completed the necessary conditions for Scene Replay.

Without hesitation, Abner activated Scene Replay while in the Pure White Eye state. Immediately afterward, he saw Mr. Grant being sent flying into a clothes rack;

He saw him turn and rush toward the corridor, activating the Brass Charm;

He saw him and Jane chased to the entrance by a black-furred Monster;

He saw Mr. Grant blow a whistle with a complicated expression, summoning a vast expanse of black mist;

He saw Mr. Grant's death, and a female ghost with delicate features and a small black soft hat flash out through the shattered glass to rescue Jane;

Finally, he saw an elderly man with a black soft hat, dressed in black robes embroidered with Storm symbols, his silver eyes exceptionally solemn, descend from the sky and take away the whistle that had fallen to the ground.

The replay ended, and the Pure White Eye closed as well. Abner removed his glasses and rubbed his throbbing head. It took quite a while before he recovered.

"Abner, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" The freckled girl, Susan, noticed Abner's abnormal state and asked with concern.

"No, I'm just worried about Jane... Sigh, I'm still too useless. I can't help at all!" Abner's words were half true and half false. He now knew that Jane's family had most likely suffered an undeserved disaster, caught up in the conflict between the Rose School's Temperance Faction and Indulgence Faction. Jane had probably been rescued by Miss Sharron in the end, so Abner was not particularly worried about her safety. Yet the helplessness of being unable to aid a Friend still made him clearly realize how weak he was.

Even with the abilities of half a Keeper of Knowledge, even with Master-level combat skills, he still could not intervene in a battle between Mid-Sequence powerhouses...

If I had combat power like Klein in the novels, enough for Miss Sharron to think highly of me, then through Kaspars's connections, perhaps they would have asked me for help before raiding the Indulgence Faction... And if I had gotten involved, I might have been able to save Jane's family...

"Abner, this isn't your fault! We know you like Jane, but the most important thing now is to pray that nothing happened to her and pray that the police find her soon. Don't be so downhearted!" Susan, the freckled girl, kindly consoled him.

I do like Jane, but not in that kind of way between a man and a woman. I like the clean smile on her face and her bright, innocent personality. She was a lively girl who made people relax and feel at ease without realizing it... I just don't know whether I'll ever see that smile again...

Abner sighed. After comforting one another with his three friends for a few more moments, he turned to leave. But then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar carriage turning out from the street corner. After thinking for a moment, Abner remembered that it belonged to Mr. Brain, whom Mr. Grant greatly admired.

The carriage showed no intention of stopping. After circling once in front of Grant Clothing Store, it headed north.

After returning to his teacher's home, Detective Isengard looked at his student, who was clearly in poor spirits, and offered comfort. "Don't worry too much. Since she was kidnapped, that young girl should be fine for the time being."

"You knew too?" Abner asked in surprise. His teacher did not seem to have left the house today.

"I have my own sources of intelligence!" Detective Isengard took a puff of his cigarette and replied. The reason he had not gone out today was actually to avoid inspections by the Church of Storms' Beyonders. After the eruption of Demigod-level power last night, the inspections would certainly be intense.

Abner nodded first. Then he looked at his teacher, gritted his teeth, and made up his mind. "Teacher, I hope you can lend me 2-081. Just for a while each day... And only at home. I won't take it outside."

2-081 was the Sealed Artifact Detective Isengard Stanton relied on most. It looked like a brilliant ring, with a beautiful gemstone resembling a human eye at its center, surrounded by many diamonds. It came from the Reader Pathway's Sequence 6 Loss of Control! This Sealed Artifact allowed one to understand many things and know many things. Even when facing an enemy's Beyonder Ability, one could quickly identify its specifics, understand its strengths and flaws, and have a chance to imitate it to a certain extent.

Abner's purpose in borrowing it was also very clear: he wanted to use the Pure White Eye to analyze the Potion formulas for Sequence 7 and Sequence 6 of the Reader Pathway!

He had not been in such a hurry before. He had always planned to wait for a suitable opportunity before asking his teacher, but Jane's misfortune had made him understand that unexpected events would not refrain from happening merely because he was still weak. Take Mr. Grant, a Sequence 9, for example. He had actually performed beyond his limits in that night's battle, yet he had still only managed to "save" his daughter's life by desperately risking his own. And that so-called "saving" had only happened because of a stronger person's kindness and mercy...

Only by becoming stronger as soon as possible could he protect himself and safeguard his friends!

(End of Chapter)