After examining the marks printed on the paper, Pacheco turned to Barton beside him and said:
"What follows will be quite complicated, and I will seek help from the police."
"And you can return to the Foundation and await further questioning."
Upon hearing this, Barton, who was staring at the paper, was not disappointed but rather relieved, and quickly nodded:
"OK."
After reading the traces of writing left by Furnar, Barton's intuition told him that things were going to be very dangerous.
For an ordinary person, avoiding danger is an instinctive choice.
Of course, this was also because Furnar was only an ordinary friend of his, and not worth the great risk he would take to get involved in the matter.
After responding, Barton immediately turned around, walked between the hotel owner and the waiters, and went out onto the street.
This time, he didn't choose public transportation, but instead boarded a horse-drawn carriage.
Barton's trip was for special and urgent business, and he was accompanied by the deputy head of the " Compliance Department," so these expenses can be reimbursed.
Spending Foundation's money and using your own salary are two completely different experiences.
Along the way, Barton gazed at the scenery outside the window and couldn't help but ponder Furnar's current state:
Is he still alive?
"The room reeked of blood..."
I hope he is still alive. May God protect him.
If he were still alive, where would he be now?
"Where...
Could it be?
"This!"
In a flash of thought, Barton suddenly realized a possibility and hurriedly instructed the driver to change the route and head to his neighborhood.
Not long after, he returned home.
"What happened?" Barton's wife came up to him, looking surprised.
There was still quite a bit of time before lunch, let alone getting off work.
Barton didn't remove his hat or coat, nor did he answer any questions; he went straight to the point and asked:
Has Furnar been here?
"He came to visit you a quarter of an hour ago. I had him wait in the study and sent Vils to the Foundation to find you," Barton's wife replied truthfully.
Vils was their family's valet, and clearly, fifteen minutes was not enough time for him to reach the " Loen Antiquities Collection and Preservation Foundation."
This was what surprised Barton's wife the most.
"Hmm." Barton nodded emphatically, hurried through the living room, went upstairs to the second floor, and entered the study.
The study was empty, the windows wide open, the curtains swaying gently.
" Furnar?" Barton called out, but there was no response.
He jumped out the window and left... Barton frowned, looked around carefully, and noticed that the order of several books on his bookshelf was out of order.
It was a series of history books, divided into three volumes.
Barton's convention was to arrange them from right to left, but now they are arranged from left to right.
He took a silent breath, strode over, and pulled out the three books.
After a careful inspection, Barton discovered that a page in the middle volume had been folded.
He quickly turned to that page and unfolded the folded corner.
The text above was written in pencil, with words written in a messy hand:
"The remnants of the Quaternary period worshiped evil gods."
Hiss... Barton was both panicked and terrified, and he shoved the book back into his hands.
Without much thought, he rushed out of the study and headed for the stairs, intending to find Pacheco, the deputy head of the " Compliance Department," to tell him his findings, and to ask him to call the police to protect his family.
Once outside his house, Barton slowed his pace and began to consider a rather important question:
Where can I find Pacheco?
The Clauf Hotel, the Stoën Police Headquarters, or the Foundation?
After a brief moment of consideration, Barton decided to return to the Foundation and find another " Compliance Department " employee.
Just then, a horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of his house, Pacheco Dawn got out.
"We discovered that Furnar has come to your house again," the deputy head of the " Compliance Department " explained quickly.
Barton breathed a sigh of relief and answered without hesitation:
Yes, but he's already gone.
"However, he left some clues."
After saying this, Barton led Pacheco into his house, to the study, and handed him the book.
Pacheco glanced at it twice, then lightly ran his finger across the surface of the text.
Immediately afterwards, he took out the pencil he had used earlier and wrote on the side of Furnar's message:
"Call the police!"
After doing all this, Pacheco put the book back in its original place.
However, he did not push the books in completely.
This creates an outward bulge in the entire row of books.
"Alright, back to the Foundation, lunch, and then, wait for good news from the police," Pacheco said, clapping his hands.
Barton didn't quite understand why the senior Lawyer was doing this, but he didn't ask.
He really didn't want to get involved in this; he felt he couldn't handle it at all.
Barton quickly fabricated a reason to explain to his wife, then followed Pacheco back to the Foundation to begin his daily work.
Just as he finished appraising an ancient book during afternoon tea time, he heard a knock on the door.
"We've got a lead, we need to come to your house," Pacheco said, standing by the door with a gray scarf wrapped around his neck.
"A clue?" Barton stood up in surprise.
Pacheco didn't give a direct answer, but instead spread his hands in an inviting gesture.
Barton couldn't refuse and went home with the other person.
" Furnar is here again!" His wife, clearly sensing something was wrong, went to greet him at the door with considerable alarm.
"It's nothing, just a minor issue," Barton reassured his wife, maintaining his masculine demeanor.
Upon arriving at the study, he and Pacheco discovered that Furnar had already escaped again.
"Damn it, couldn't he just wait a minute?" Barton couldn't help but complain.
"It's alright." Pacheco walked to the bookshelf and took out the book.
Clearly, Furnar had followed his advice, as the book was completely crammed into the shelf.
"I think I know where Furnar is," Pacheco said with a smile, his eyes half-closed.
Barton was stunned:
How did you know?
Pacheco opened his eyes, smiled, and replied:
He accepted my Bribe —no, gift, and not quite that; the most accurate description would be advice.
"Of course, he might not accept it."
After saying this, the deputy head of the " Compliance Department " walked past Barton and left the study.
Barton instinctively followed behind him, leaving their neighborhood and turning into a nearby street.
At the end of that street stood a house that had collapsed due to a fire.
"They haven't even started rebuilding yet," Barton muttered.
Pacheco put on his white gloves again, and his expression became slightly more serious.
He entered the half-collapsed hall through the still relatively intact main entrance.
Charred logs hung to the ground, obscuring the lower half of a figure.
The figure, wearing a brown jacket and with a bright red nose, looked quite robust; it was none other than the Archaeologist, Furnar.
Barton secretly breathed a sigh of relief and asked urgently:
Why didn't you call the police?
"They're monitoring the police station," Furnar replied, his expression unchanged.
Barton blurted out another question:
Why not leave Stoën and go to another city to report the crime?
"They're monitoring the Steam train station," Furnar replied in the same tone.
Barton thought for a moment, then frowned:
"You have many ways to leave Stoën; they can't lock down a city."
Upon hearing this question, Furnar's expression gradually became more lively, and he said in a slightly evasive tone:
"I sensed the will of that great being..."