Fors, lying on the living room floor, trembled a few times with her eyelashes, then slowly opened her eyes. She saw the bright moon hanging high outside the window, like a disc filled with crimson light, while the once thin and hazy crimson veil had turned into a thick, bloody glow.
I didn't die, I didn't lose control... I wasn't dreaming... A mysterious and powerful " The Fool " really did save me... Fors sat up, examined himself, and found that apart from his hair being longer and thicker, there were no other abnormalities.
"But compared to before, my life is completely different... I don't know if this is good or bad..." Silently muttering to herself, Fors sat on the ground with her knees drawn up, lost in thought, sometimes hesitant, sometimes anxious, sometimes heartbroken, sometimes bewildered.
Above the Gray Fog, Klein gazed thoughtfully at the chair behind him, symbolized by "layers of doors," and murmured:
"I wonder what message those murmurs contained..."
"Once she reaches Sequence 7 or Sequence 6, she should be able to counteract the negative effects and clearly understand the content of her delirium."
"If she hasn't mastered the ' Acting Method ' yet, I'll have Miss ' Justice ' and the others teach her. I swore an oath to the goddess, using a sacred object as my guarantee, that I would never mention anything like this in front of someone who doesn't understand the ' Acting Method '."
"... Once I advance to Sequence 5 and become a ' Marionettist,' perhaps I can use the corresponding rituals and the special nature of this mysterious space to remotely Manipulation her, directly see what she sees, and hear what she hears."
"That way we can confirm if it's Mr. 'Door'..."
"This is a gentleman who witnessed the history of the Quaternary Period, and he is likely older than Mr. Azik has lived lifetime after lifetime."
"I wonder what his strength and level are Sequence, perhaps 2? Or even 1?"
After thinking for a while, he sensed the instability of his Spirituality and quickly plunged into the Gray Fog, returning to the real world.
This is a normal phenomenon after being promoted not long ago, so Klein gave up his plan to go out and patiently Cogitation at home to gather his scattered Spirituality.
Early in the morning, Fors took the first Steam subway train back to St. George Borough's, then transferred to a horse-drawn carriage to arrive at the two-bedroom room where she and Hugh now lived.
As soon as she opened the Door Opening, she was surprised to find Hugh, who usually slept in late, toasting bread there.
"There was a sudden Blood Moon last night, which kept me from sleeping well. I woke up very early. Fors, are you alright? Has that strange babbling gotten stronger?" Hugh raised his head and asked with concern.
Fors's vision suddenly blurred. She turned to the side, forced a smile, and said in her usual sarcastic tone:
"What's wrong with your brain? Didn't I tell you? During the Blood Moon, the Whisperer will definitely become stronger!"
"But this doesn't affect me at all, no, it doesn't affect me at all. Look at me, how energetic I am now!"
"Hey, toast me a slice of bread too!"
"Didn't you dislike this way of eating?" Hugh smoothed his short blond hair and muttered under his breath.
Having completed his initial revenge and received a promotion, Klein slept until dawn, leisurely went out and bought a bowl of Feynapotter noodles for breakfast, along with a Desi pie and a cup of sweet iced tea.
After thoroughly enjoying his meal, he put down his knife and fork, picked up the newspaper, and began to read in a very relaxed mood.
A quick glance revealed that the front page headline of the Tussock Times read:
"On the night of the Blood Moon, the serial killer reappears!"
Here we go again? Klein quickly flipped through the front pages of other newspapers and saw many similar headlines:
"The real 11th case! Police are at a loss!"
"A cold-blooded killer has once again provoked the police!"
Panic is gripping Backlund!
"This... the Nighthawks and those Mandated Punishers must be having a real headache," Klein thought to himself.
To be honest, he had a strong urge to catch the murderer.
Back on Earth, when he was powerless, he would often fantasize about upholding Justice and punishing evil. Now, as Sequence 7 Beyonder, Klein felt that not being a superhero would be a disservice to his past.
Alas, this case has already garnered significant attention. If I get involved further, wouldn't I just be risking exposing my identity? One must remain rational... Moreover, according to " The Sun," the murderer is likely currently in the process of Sequence 6 to Sequence 5. While I wouldn't be afraid of him given my vast array of spells and spell-like abilities, I might not be able to catch him. The risk is quite high... After much deliberation, Klein decided to follow his deepest desire and remain an ordinary citizen.
He believed that given the power of the major churches, the chances of the murderer being caught were not small if he continued to commit crimes!
After flipping through the relevant news articles, Klein glanced at the Backlund Morning Post and found that Ernst Firm's advertisement for purchasing goods had reappeared on page five.
"There's a gathering tomorrow night at eight, perfect, I can sell the Elven Spring Medullary Crystal to the Apothecary..." Klein muttered to himself, memorizing the first four digits of all the offers.
More than half an hour later, he finished reading the thick stack of newspapers in front of him and began to seriously consider his future plans:
"The long-term plan is to advance to the High-Sequence, become a powerful Demigod, and plot revenge against Ince Zangwill."
"The medium-term plan is to find a way to Acting the ' Magician,' gradually summarize the corresponding rules, and digest the Potion bit by bit. In this process, we will collect the Human-skinned Shadow properties needed by the ' Faceless,' Deep-sea Naga hair, the mutated pituitary gland and blood of the Thousand-faced Hunter, and a way to remove the evil god's mental pollution from the items."
"Hmm... Extraordinary materials at Sequence 6, each piece costs around 1500 pounds, that's really expensive!"
"In addition, by acquiring a magical item that leans towards attack or control, the ' Magician, ' while very strong, has extraordinary abilities concentrated more on survival, escape, and adapting to the environment. Their strongest attack is equivalent to a specially made revolver, which only excels in surprise and lacks the means to control enemies."
"Short-term plans, short-term plans... Ah, I need to go cut out paper cutouts of 'people' later to prepare for showcasing my abilities. This afternoon I'll go to the circus, both for relaxation and entertainment, and to find Spirit Intuition for my Acting by watching ordinary Magician perform. Hmm, I read in the newspaper that there are several regular circuses in Backlund..."
After clarifying his thoughts, Klein immediately cleared away the plates, washed the cutlery, and threw himself into the busy preparations.
As noon approached, he put down his scissors, looked at the three rather crude paper figures in front of him, sighed, and muttered to himself:
"This is probably the first time in both my past and present lives that I've taken crafting so seriously..."
"It's alright, it's just paper-cutting, not window decorations or embroidery. As long as it has a human shape, that's fine!"
"Sigh, if my hands hadn't become so dexterous, I probably would have failed today..."
Klein has already tested the ability with the extra paper dolls and confirmed it's working correctly.
After folding the paper figures and hiding them inside a stack of sticky notes, Klein put them away in his pocket.
Just as he was about to head out to a nice restaurant for a meal and then to the nearest circus to watch a show, the doorbell suddenly rang, its melodious tinkling echoing around him.
"A commission? My ad should be taken down soon..." Klein, wearing a crisp shirt and a thin, warm sweater, walked to the door and grasped the handle.
At the same time, the image of the visitor naturally came to mind:
He was a man nearing forty, quite obese, and seemed to have difficulty standing there.
His eyes were squeezed small by the flesh of his face, his skin was rough but very white, he was holding a gentleman's cane, and he was wearing a very tall and very large top hat.
Although it was already quite cold in Backlund in October, sweat was clearly dripping from the man's forehead.
Two attendants in bright red coats were supporting him on either side.
"Don't recognize him..." Klein muttered to himself, opening the door before his Spirit Intuition could even register.
"Good afternoon, it's so hot today." The obese middle-aged man took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
As he spoke, a gust of cold wind blew by, causing the two waiters beside him to shiver a few times.
"Good afternoon, may I ask how I can help you?" Klein asked politely.
"You must be Sherlock Moriarty, Detective? I have a favor to ask." The middle-aged man forced a smile. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Lago Calman, a jeweler."
"Please come in." Klein smiled and stepped aside.
Lago Calman entered with heavy steps and plopped down on the sofa, causing the somewhat old furniture to groan in protest.
"What exactly is it?" Klein took out a copper penny and skillfully twirled and spun it between his fingers.
Lago sighed and said:
"I need your help to protect my child until tomorrow afternoon; he's gotten into trouble with some Lunatic."
"Until tomorrow afternoon? You've found a solution? Why didn't you call the police?" Klein asked, his tone neither fast nor slow.
Lago paused for two seconds and then said:
" Adol has met some bad friends and they've led him to do some bad things. Well, not too serious, but the kind that could land him in jail. I don't want to call the police unless I have absolutely no other choice."
"He recently had a falling out with those bad friends, and he suddenly broke down, constantly yelling that they were going to kill him."
"I was very worried, so I hired six experienced security personnel from a security company to guard the perimeter, and then I hired four private Detective to take turns following Adol, even watching over him while he slept."
"But one of the Detective had a sudden family emergency and wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon, so I had to ask for another one at the last minute."
I'm sorry, I can only hire you for one day.
"Hmm... the reward is 10 pounds, and I'll add more if there's any danger. You'll definitely be satisfied."
I see... £10 a day, that's more than a week's salary for Mr. Summer next door... Klein initially confirmed from the other man's expression that he wasn't lying.
In the brief silence in the living room, the copper penny that he had been tossing between his fingers suddenly leaped up and landed in his palm with a clink.
Klein glanced at it, curled his fingers, and smiled slightly:
"Make a deal."