Looking into Klein's eyes, Dunn took a breath, leaned back, and slowly exhaled:
Are you sure?
His expression changed very little, as if he had been prepared for the special request for some time, but hadn't expected it to come so quickly.
Captain, you seem relieved and at ease... Klein didn't hide his smile as he said:
"I'm sure, Captain, when you've completely mastered Potion, you'll have a special, wonderful feeling, an unquestionable certainty that you've truly mastered Potion."
"A special, wonderful feeling..." Dunn murmured, slowly furrowing his brow.
"Huh, the captain's two previous promotions were both done before he had fully digested the Potion? That makes sense. Without understanding the ' Acting Method,' it's hard to fully digest it... He can only rely on long periods of practice and some subconscious Acting to reduce the risk of losing control... Poor captain..." Klein quietly looked at Dunn Smith, without speaking or adding anything, letting the other party think carefully.
Nearly a minute later, Dunn's deep gray eyes reflected Klein's figure again, and he carefully chose his words:
"Perhaps waiting another year would be a better choice."
The captain meant that if we waited another year, I wouldn't stand out so much. With Ms. Daly as a role model, the higher-ups wouldn't pay too much attention to me; at most, they'd put me on a list for further observation? Klein thought for a moment and answered frankly:
"I originally planned to submit my special application next year, since there's still so much I need to learn; for example, I've only just begun to understand combat."
"But Captain, don't you think we've encountered too many coincidences in the past month or two? We were chasing the kidnapper, and then we found the Antigonus Family's notes in the room across the street; the Sealed Artifact '2-049' was delayed, and as a result Riel Bieber didn't escape Tingen and started trying to digest the power right at the docks; I went to a birthday party, which led to the incident with Hynas Vincent; I went to the library to investigate, and I immediately ran into that member of the Aurora Order..."
"I don't know what these coincidences mean, but I always feel uneasy, so I want to improve myself as much as possible."
Seizing the opportunity, Klein touched on the matter of the mastermind, which was something he had originally planned to include in his schedule—to remind the Nighthawks team to find more clues from other sources without revealing his own special abilities. His words just now could only be interpreted by others as demonstrating keen intuition and a talent for analysis.
After Klein uttered the word "but," Dunn's body gradually leaned forward, until finally he covered his mouth with his crossed hands.
His gaze was deep and he remained silent for a long time, seemingly pondering the words he had just spoken.
A few dozen seconds later, Dunn raised his head and said in a mellow and deep voice:
"Very perceptive... Perhaps, something truly is lurking in the depths of darkness."
Before Klein could speak, he turned and gave the order:
"You can go and write a special application now."
"Okay," Klein replied with a smile.
He stood up with a smile and walked towards the door, where, unsurprisingly, he heard the familiar addition again.
"Wait a minute," Dunn called out to the guy who was about to Door Opening, carefully choosing his words, "Watch your language."
"Don't worry, Captain, I care about this issue even more than you do!" Klein nodded in agreement with a broad smile.
He had initially thought Dunn would propose another plan: to advance to Sequence 8 privately without going through the Holy Cathedral, and then follow the normal procedure three years later. However, after careful consideration, he realized that this was impossible. Whether it was a special application or a normal application, the applicant had to pass the examination conducted by personnel sent by the Holy Cathedral, though one was very complicated and the other was quite simple.
By then, the secret of being Sequence 8 will be impossible to keep from anyone, and it will implicate the entire Tingen Market Nightwalker Squad.
Having finished all his occult courses, Klein left the captain's office and didn't rush to change shifts underground. Instead, he slowly walked into the adjacent office for civilian staff.
At this moment, a man and a woman were sitting in the office. The man was in his early thirties and the woman was in her early twenties. They were the two new members.
When they saw Klein enter, they were taken aback at first, then broke into smiles, nodded and greeted him, showing both curiosity and awe towards the Beyonder.
Klein didn't chat with them; instead, he found an empty table and began writing a draft of his "special application."
Because he had already planned ahead, he completed the preliminary work in just ten minutes.
After reading it several times and making numerous revisions, he finally sat down at the Axon Model 1346 mechanical typewriter and turned the draft into the final version.
Amidst the clatter of keyboards, the two new office workers exchanged a glance, then simultaneously rose, left the office, and went to the reception hall to chat with Rozanne, leaving the room to Klein alone.
Very reserved, and very secretive... Klein glanced at their backs and secretly admired them.
He looked away and continued typing.
Just as he was about to finish his special application, Leonard Mitchell emerged from the lounge, looking around as he buttoned his shirt, his disheveled hair possessing a rebellious beauty.
"What report are you writing?" Leonard glanced at the clerical office, leaned against the door, tapped his right toe on the ground, and asked with his hands in his pockets.
His emerald green eyes scrutinized Klein with great interest.
Klein typed the last word and the last punctuation mark, then turned his head and smiled:
"Special application."
"Special application?" Leonard asked, full of doubt.
Klein picked up the paper, quickly glanced through it, and casually explained:
"Special application for promotion to Sequence 8."
Cough! Cough cough! Leonard suddenly coughed violently, and it took him a long time to calm down before he blurted out:
"You've already digested the Potion?"
Digestion? Dude, you know a lot... Klein, holding the "Special Application," walked up to Leonard, raised an eyebrow, and said:
"Yes."
Then, staring into the other person's eyes, he lowered his voice and added with a chuckle:
"I remember someone once told me that there are always some special people in this world who can do things that others can't."
For example, me.
"For example, you."
Leonard was speechless for a moment, and could only change his standing posture, taking his hands out of his pockets and crossing them in front of his chest.
He opened his mouth, finally organizing his thoughts, and asked in a deep voice, "Don't you think this is too risky?"
Since he understands digestion, he must know that my promotion involves no risk... Hmm, does he mean the watchful eyes of the church's higher-ups? Klein explained thoughtfully:
" Leonard, do you remember our first mission together? It was just about tracking down a kidnapper, but we ended up discovering clues to the Antigonus Family Notebook hidden in the room across the street..."
He then described exactly what he had just told Dunn.
Leonard's expression gradually hardened, and he nodded almost imperceptibly in agreement.
He muttered to himself, "Perhaps I should speed things up..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly looked at Klein and smiled brightly, saying:
"Aren't you going to share your experience with us? Your experience in quickly mastering Potion and minimizing the risk of losing control!"
This guy changes his tune really fast... Klein chuckled.
"I'd love to share."
He was planning to take this opportunity to give the Nighthawks team members some pointers to reduce the risk of them getting out of control.
Of course, for his own safety, he couldn't be as explicit as he was with Dunn Smith; at most, he would describe the initial setup, information that could be shared with higher-ups and their subordinates.
"Now then!" Leonard eagerly pulled Klein toward the Nighthawks' Recreation Room.
At this moment, apart from Loyao, who was on duty at the Chanis Gate, the rest of the group —Frye, Kenley, and Siga Tron— were all playing cards very leisurely.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Leonard knocked on the half-open door and began in a reciting tone, "Let me formally introduce this gentleman beside me, Mr. Klein Moretti, who has completely mastered Potion in just a month and a half!"
... This guy is so flamboyant... Klein suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
"What?" Miss Siga Tron, Author who was neither famous nor a bestselling writer, tilted her head, as if testing her hearing.
" Leonard, stop joking around. Your performances are always so exaggerated." Kenley sighed and covered up his cards.
Frye held the cards, glanced at Klein, and remained silent for a few seconds before saying:
"Are you sure you've completely mastered the Potion?"
"Yes," Klein nodded affirmatively, sensing the other's concern. "There are clear signs."
"What? Really?" Kenley shouted belatedly, jumping to his feet.
Leonard chuckled and pointed to the paper in Klein's hand:
"This is his special application, a special application to be promoted to Sequence 8!"
"... How did you do that?" Siga Tron thought about it a lot, but after taking a breath, he only asked the question that concerned him the most.
Even the usually calm and elegant woman could hardly contain the burning intensity in her gaze.
Klein found a chair and sat down, answering in a low voice:
"I was Spirit Intuition by the ' Mystery Pryer's' motto."
"Do whatever you want, but don't hurt anyone?" Leonard dutifully replied.
"Yes, our internal data shows that ' Mystery Pryer ' who adhere to this maxim have a lower probability of going out of control than normal," Klein said, recounting what he had learned from Old Neil. "Afterwards, I had further insights from Ms. Daly's case."
"' The Spirit Medium ' Daly?" Kenley asked back, as if seeking confirmation.
"Yes, Ms. Daly also submitted a special application. She went from a ' Corpse Collector ' to a ' Spirit Medium ' in just two years. She once told Old Neil that she wanted to be a real Spirit Medium," Klein explained in detail. "Adding to that, some of my experiences at the Divination Club and the feedback I received, I gradually summarized the ' Seer Code ' and strictly followed it, trying to become a real Seer... When I actually did that, I found that my progress in mastering Potion became very fast, extremely fast, it couldn't even be called mastering..."
After listening to Klein's account, Frye, Siga, and the others fell into deep thought, while Leonard pretended to think as well.
"I've gone to submit a 'special application'," Klein said, waving the papers in his hand. "If you have any questions, you can ask me privately."
"Okay." Frye nodded in response, his tone seemingly cold.
After leaving the recreation room, Klein knocked on the captain's office door once again.
He sat down across from Dunn at his desk, picked up a pen and inkpad, signed his name, and then pressed his fingerprint on the paper.
"Captain, my 'special application'." After doing all this, he held the paper in both hands and handed it to Dunn.
Dunn read it carefully, put down the application, and said:
"I will deliver it to the Holy Cathedral as soon as possible. Be prepared to be examined, perhaps next week, perhaps the week after."
"Okay." Klein took a breath and nodded solemnly.
He stood up, walked out of the captain's office, and casually closed the bedroom door behind him.
During this process, he glanced back at his application, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind:
I don't know what kind of assessment I will be given...
P. S.: There will be extra chapters tomorrow and the day after, please vote with your monthly tickets! The specific times are 12:30 pm, 7 pm and early morning tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow as well.