Chapter 188

This kind of stuff is not easy to obtain; it's considered a controlled chemical reagent. Although Kronos is confident that it can be formulated, the raw materials are also difficult to come by.

The Research Center originally had a dedicated Chemical Center, but because Portland failed to attract any authoritative figures to set up there, it is currently essentially idle and lacks the raw materials needed by Kronos.

Although they couldn't find anything suitable in chemistry, Kronos had other avenues besides chemistry, such as occultism.

The reagents used in the field of mysticism can be far more powerful than those used in chemistry. Fortunately, he knew Ernes, otherwise he would have been at a loss.

After glancing at the corpse in the Secret Room, Kronos closed Secret Room Gate.

After washing up and getting ready, Kronos went out with Jason's Face on.

The first stop was the Kain Club.

The Butler of Marquis Argel's butler has been staying at the Kain Club recently.

Although both Kain Bank and Kain Club are named Kain, their ownership is actually quite different. Kain Bank has some shareholders, but Kain Club is wholly owned by the Argel Family. That's why the Butler chose to live here, because it's 100% his own territory.

Upon arriving at the Kain Club, Kronos said to the waiter at the door, "Please ask your superior, my name is Patrick Jason, and I would like to see Mr. Kain."

Kronos was dressed in a suit and tie, clearly not an ordinary person, so the waiter didn't refuse. Instead, he politely bowed and said, "Yes, sir, please wait a moment."

Not long after, the Butler himself came to the door to greet him.

The Butler was also puzzled. These shareholders had just held a meeting yesterday, preparing to join forces against the share buyback, so why were people coming to their door today?

After the two shook hands, the Butler spoke up, "Mr. Patrick, may I ask what brings you here?"

Kronos chuckled and then said, "Mr. Kain, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to talk here?"

"I'm sorry, I was too hasty. Mr. Patrick, please come with me."

Kronos followed the Butler to his office, an office Kronos was familiar with, as he had been there before.

After the two were seated, the assistant brought them two cups of black tea, then closed the door and left.

"Mr. Patrick, please try this. It's very good; I brought it especially to entertain our distinguished guest."

Kronos picked it up, tasted it, and then said, "The person in front of you isn't Patrick, it's me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kronos deactivated the Vampire Mask's power, Jason's Face reverted to Kronos's own.

The Butler was startled, not because he was shocked that someone could change their appearance—as the Marquis of Marquis Argel's Confidant Butler, how could such a thing shock him? The main reason was that he hadn't expected the shareholder he wanted to deal with to suddenly become his own young master.

"Who are you? Why are you impersonating Mr. Patrick?" The Butler was unsure of the man's identity, so he only asked tentatively.

Kronos was both amused and exasperated, not expecting that the Butler wouldn't believe him.

"Butler, it's me. Stop testing me. I've been having you keep me informed about the Kain Bank's shareholders because of Patrick Jason."

The Butler was somewhat convinced by what Kronos said, since only the two of them knew about the synchronized intelligence.

"So what do you want?" the Butler asked.

Now that everything was done, Kronos, trusting his father, didn't hide anything. "Patrick has always been my target. I've taken care of him, and now I can legitimately impersonate him for a while."

"So I thought I could help with the shareholding issue, that's why I came to you."

"What do you mean by 'solution'?" the Butler continued to ask.

He knew perfectly well what those two words usually meant, but he couldn't quite believe it.

The young master, whom I watched grow up, is only in his early twenties, yet he speaks so naturally about taking care of someone.

Kronos chuckled and said, "It means exactly what you think. Basically, there won't be any problems later, but I can't impersonate him for too long, so you should do whatever you need to do as quickly as possible."

Even if he couldn't believe it, Kronos had already said so, so the Butler couldn't possibly be deceiving himself.

Moreover, we're discussing important matters now, and we can't afford to be distracted.

The Butler quickly got to work. "I've already spoken with one of the shareholders; he's willing to sell his shares to us at a 10% Premium, a price we can accept."

"But the other shareholders were very uncooperative. Some even offered a 100% Premium for the acquisition. Patrick wasn't the Greed, but he was the one who absolutely refused to negotiate. He demanded a 70% Premium, not a penny less."

"Now that we have shares from two shareholders, I'm confident I can drive the price down to below a 10% Premium."

Kronos sighed inwardly. No wonder the Butler could even find out the time and place of a shareholder meeting; it turned out he had already won over one shareholder.

The fact that the Butler was able to negotiate a lower price when everyone else was asking for Lion speaks volumes about his competence.

"I don't understand any of these things. I'll just cooperate with whatever you need me to do." Kronos clearly defined his role: a mere tool.

The Butler thought for a moment, then said, "Why don't you put on a show for them?"

Kronos looked at him with suspicion, waiting for him to continue.

The Butler continued, "Let's sign the contract now, at fifty percent of the original price. Then you don't need to come to the next shareholders' meeting; I'll announce Message there."

"After the meeting, they'll probably contact you immediately. Then you'll need to put on a good show, a performance that demonstrates your fear of us."

At this point, Kronos understood; this was meant to let the shareholders fill in the blanks.

So Kronos said, "Actually, we can confirm it. Mr. Todd is at the Manor; I can just invite him over."

The Butler quickly waved his hand. "That won't do. The Marquis has repeatedly emphasized that we are normal businessmen and cannot use this method."

Kronos asked doubtfully, "Doesn't scaring people like that count?"

The Butler blushed slightly and said, "Isn't this a special case? Besides, I didn't do anything."

"Alright, if you say so, then it's fine."

After discussing the matter with the Butler, Kronos left; Kronos had other things to do.

After leaving the Kain Club, Kronos went to Ernes's house.

The highly corrosive Potions posed no challenge to this Scarlet Scholar. After learning that Kronos was trying to dispose of the corpse, Ernes personally recommended a Potions.

This is Corrosive Potion specially made by the Sanguine. It has little effect on corroding other Western Capital, but it is very effective on things like flesh and bones. Basically, a corpse can be completely corroded into pus within a minute.

If Kronos hadn't chosen to burn the body first a few days ago, Ernes could have used this Potions to deal with it, which wasted a whole night of his time.

After learning about the effects of this Potions, Kronos happily bought up all of Ernes's stock. This was an essential item for disposing of corpses and evidence, so stocking up wouldn't hurt.

Ernes also specifically instructed that one must remember to wear Gloves every time it is used, as it would be difficult to handle if it dripped onto one's hands.

After parting ways with Ernes, Kronos went off to his next meeting, which was with the "Eye of Wisdom".

Upon arriving at Isengard's house, Kronos knocked on the door, and someone opened it.

Coincidentally, it was Isengard who Door Opening. He naturally didn't recognize Kronos, assuming he was just a new customer, and warmly invited him in.

After settling down, Kronos's face changed from Jason's to the previously set "Klein," startling Isengard once again, but he quickly recovered.

"What's the matter? And why did you disguise yourself to find me?"

Kronos didn't care about his attitude and asked directly, "What are the results of the investigation I asked you to do last time?"

Isengard glanced at him, then turned and went upstairs, leaving behind the words, "Wait."

Not long after, Isengard came downstairs with a few sheets of paper. "I don't know why you want to investigate this little boy. There's nothing special about him. Don't tell me you have some disgusting thoughts."

Kronos pursed his lips, said nothing, and simply accepted Isengard's investigation results.

Isengard's profile looks quite comprehensive; he seems like an ordinary little boy. But will Will be an ordinary little boy?

It makes sense, really. Asking a Sequence 7 Keeper of Knowledge to investigate a Sequence One Snake of Mercury would be a miracle if they could get any results. Isengard was only spared by Will Unsettin's good temper.

However, with this set of normal information, Kronos can still analyze some of Will Unsettin's behavioral preferences, and perhaps with this information, he can improve his relationship with him a little.

After putting away the documents, Kronos said to Isengard, "I have another commission here, I wonder if you'd be willing to take it."

"I've paid enough, what kind of mission can't I take?" Isengard said bluntly.

Although Isengard said so, Kronos didn't explicitly state the mission objective. If the target were too obvious, it might cause Isengard to develop hostility towards the Devil Dog, which would then be sensed.

So this is what Kronos said, "I discovered a Paranormal Creature in Backlund, Sequence 6 Devil of the Criminal Pathway. With your Pathway, you should know what it is."

"I failed to catch it, so I wanted to find someone to help me search for it. I'm not suited to be exposed under the watchful eyes of the True God Churches, so I came to you to see if you have the confidence to help."

Isengard asked tentatively, "You mean it has Malice Perception?"

"That's right, so I wanted to ask for your opinion first. If you agree, then I'll tell you the specific Information."

Isengard gave a wry smile, "You really think highly of me. I'm only Sequence 7, and you want me to deal with Sequence 6, and such a powerful and Coldblood Sequence 6 at that."

Kronos said, "I don't need you to deal with it. Just help me find it. I can handle dealing with it myself."

"Aren't you going to consider reporting it?" Isengard had a pretty good relationship with the Police, and he was quite adept at using the reporting tactic.

Kronos shook his head. "Not now. It would involve the identity I'm currently using. Let's talk about it again if we still can't find it after a while."

Isengard hesitated. He was still very interested in the quest to find a Devil creature, but the danger was something he needed to consider.

After much deliberation, Isengard gritted his teeth and said, "I'll take it. Give me the Information."

Kronos smiled; he knew Isengard enjoyed this kind of challenge and would definitely accept.

Kronos pulled out a document he had prepared beforehand and handed it to Isengard. It contained Information about the Devil Dog that Kronos had compiled himself, as well as a portrait of the Devil Dog that he had drawn from his memory.

"That dog is really fierce!" Isengard exclaimed, looking at the portrait.

Perhaps it's just his habit, but he always mutters something after reading each piece of Information.

"Patrick Jason's dog, who's that? That name sounds familiar."

"The Sewers, those are hard to find, really difficult!"

"If he has a penchant for killing, then homeless people might go missing."

Kronos was quite satisfied with Isengard's intermittent speech, because he had grasped the key points well; he truly lived up to his reputation as a renowned Great Detective.

After Isengard finished reading, he looked up at Kronos and said, "There's a pretty high chance this dog will escape Backlund. It probably won't be back for a while, but it'll likely choose to kill someone before it leaves."

"I'll personally go and investigate some of the homeless areas in the Sewers later. If any familiar faces go missing, then maybe I was right."

"Isn't it possible that he chose to avenge his master?" Kronos asked.

Isengard scoffed. "Even someone who has killed their own Parents, I would believe would still have some lingering emotions. But this Pathway, whether human or animal, those without emotions cannot be bound by anything."

"So this dog will never avenge its owner, because it won't do it any good. If you encounter it again one day, and it has become stronger than you, it will kill you, not to avenge its owner, but because you scared it."

Kronos's understanding of this Pathway was limited to the settings he saw in the original work, and the Argel Family had never come into contact with Beyonder using this Pathway, so they knew very little about it.

But Isengard was different; his knowledge likely came from the Church of Knowledge, so the authenticity of this Information was very high.

Herabergen, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, is Subordinate Deity of the Imagination Dragon Ankewelt, and can be considered a contemporary of the Demon Monarch Farbauti.

During the Fourth Epoch Period, Farbauti operated as the Dark Side of the Universe, while Herabergen was already a True God. It is believed that they had many direct interactions.

Therefore, what Isengard said is likely to be largely true.

"So I don't have much of a chance to kill that Devil Dog?" Kronos asked.

"That depends on the situation. I'll investigate today first, and if I get any Message, I'll come to Jason's House to find you. What do you think?"

Kronos didn't mention that he had replaced Jason, but Isengard probably already guessed it, so Kronos didn't refuse.

After finishing his instructions to Isengard, Kronos returned to Jason's House.

There are still quite a few bodies in this house that need to be dealt with; the day was spent finishing up those matters.

The task of exhuming the corpse could not be entrusted to others, so Kronos had to take up his hoe and shovel and use his Eye of Time to search bit by bit.

Fortunately, the Eye of Time isn't limited to viewing only one meter at a time; otherwise, it would take until dark to see everything.

As Twilight fell, Kronos found about a dozen corpses in the yard. He didn't know what Jason was thinking, killing people and then using his own yard as a dumping ground. This was truly an eye-opener.

It was already getting dark, and no one would notice, so Kronos piled the bodies in a corner of the courtyard and then went to bring out the bodies from the Secret Room.

Kronos is going to have Jason's own corpse "lead" the bodies of those he killed to be destroyed today.