Not long after Klein and the others finished lunch, the Detective who had taken leave returned to Green Park Street, which meant that his case had come to an end.
Because Adol's condition had improved significantly, Lago Calman was quite generous in settling his payment, adding a full fifty percent to the £1 base amount.
"As expected of a jeweler, he's incredibly generous. However, compared to others in the West Borough and Queens Borough, he's not exactly wealthy. Green Park Street is near the suburbs, not even far from the cemetery; I could get there in ten minutes if I ran at full speed... Uh, Miss Bodyguard, no, Miss Sharron, is most likely Sequence 5 powerhouse, charging 1,000 pounds for three days, while I, Sequence 7 Beyonder, only get 15 pounds a day. The difference is quite significant..."
"Of course, if I had missions like this every day, my annual income would exceed £54, placing me at the top of the middle class. Even the top manager at Bank of Backlund only earns £5 a year... Haha, that's just wishful thinking. For most Detective, it's truly a case of going a week without a job and then living off that job... And the extraordinary materials I need to advance to Sequence 6 add up to far more than £3. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. For ordinary people, that's a huge fortune, a fortune that can sustain a comfortable life for a lifetime!"
"The good news is, even if I master the Acting Method, it will take six months to three years to digest Sequence 7 Potion. Even if I can quickly summarize the rules of the ' Magician,' it will only be one or two months earlier than the minimum required. I still have enough time to save money and gather clues for materials..."
"Wait, Miss ' Justice ' seems to owe me, uh, my Blessed, 5 pounds..."
"However, her financial situation isn't great lately, and it'll be difficult for her to come up with such a large sum of money again in the next few months..."
Klein left the West Borough with the three five-pound notes in his hand, his thoughts wandering far away.
Upon returning to Minsk Street, he quickly burned the used paper figures and made two more.
In the evening, he took the Steam subway to the Backlund Bridge Area and, following the numbers provided in the newspaper, knocked on the door of the party house.
As before, he put on the iron mask that covered only the upper half of his face, donned a hooded black robe, and, led by a servant, entered the living room where only a single candle was burning quietly.
At a glance, Klein noticed that the number of Beyonder at this gathering was nearly half that of previous ones.
I always arrive right on time. Are the others late? This time, Klein didn't change his walking posture or habitual movements. He chose a corner seat and slowly sat down.
After a few minutes, the old man with the " Eye of Wisdom " cleared his throat and said:
"Let's start the party; the others probably won't be coming."
At this point, he briefly explained:
"Because the serial killer has never been found, most of the Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers, Machinery Hivemind, and Military Intelligence Section 9's Beyonder have been dispatched to conduct a large-scale investigation and search."
"In this situation, it's perfectly normal and understandable that those friends wouldn't want to go out or participate in gatherings."
"To be honest, there were more people here today than I expected."
Sure enough, the circle of Beyonder is not isolated; it is also affected by current events... Klein looked around and saw that the chubby Apothecary was not absent, which immediately put him at ease.
The Apothecary pushed up the iron mask on his face and shouted without much hope:
"Looking to purchase Elven Spring Medullary Crystal; price negotiable."
"I have it," Klein said without hesitation.
He worried that others would also find this extraordinary material, thus causing his goods to pile up.
Although extraordinary materials are scarce and duplicates are rare even within a single circle, it's better to be safe than sorry.
"Seeking to purchase Elven Spring Medullary Crystal..." The Apothecary seemed not to hear anyone responding.
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, abruptly turned to look at Klein, and blurted out with burning eyes:
"You have?"
"Yes." Klein couldn't quite bear the other person's intense gaze.
As he answered affirmatively, he rolled up his black robe and took out an iron cigarette case.
*Snap! Klein opened the cigarette pack, revealing the faded, egg-like crystals of the Elven Spring.
"If you're not comfortable with that, you can have the ' Eye of Wisdom ' do an appraisal," Klein added in a deep voice.
This is actually not very necessary, because it is obvious whether it is an extraordinary material or not, and it is also easy to find out whether it has been contaminated after you get your hands on it.
However, if one's knowledge of occultism is insufficient, even Beyonder can easily confuse similar materials, in which case authentication is necessary.
The Apothecary stared at the extraordinary material in Klein's hand with the same fascination he had shown for a long time, like someone admiring a beautiful woman he had coveted. After several seconds, he shook his head and said:
"No, that's not necessary!"
"That's it!"
"That's it!"
Klein slightly curled the corners of his mouth and announced the price:
"3 pounds, and a clue to the Apothecary's recipe."
"The clue to the Apothecary's formula... it's you!" The Apothecary paused for a moment, then finally realized who was opposite him.
It was the guy who made him make a wasted trip with the tranquilizers!
Immediately, overwhelmed with grief and regret, he exclaimed:
"You really are a Bravehearts!"
"Why didn't I choose that lucky path back then...?"
After all, I am the King of Yellow and Black who holds the key to good fortune... Klein muttered to himself.
The Apothecary sighed deeply for a while, then changed his sitting posture and said:
"That's too expensive, £2 plus a clue to the recipe."
"The recipe clue is just a side note, because I can't verify its authenticity. So, three pounds, not a penny less. I think there are other people who need it too," Klein said with a smile. "This price is actually quite fair. Someone else might have offered four or even five pounds, and you might have accepted that."
"I won't be that stupid, I can still wait..." the Apothecary muttered, "The clues can be examined by the Old Man, uh, ' Eye of Wisdom '."
"Only things that objectively exist and are detailed can I authenticate; mere clues don't qualify. Eye of Wisdom," the old man reminded him.
Divination can roughly determine whether a clue is valid, provided it doesn't involve power two or three levels higher than oneself... Klein muttered to himself silently.
However, he would not reveal his Divination skills at the gathering of Beyonder.
"Alright... £3 plus a clue, you've made a profit!" The Apothecary took a breath, rubbed his hands to take out a thick wad of cash, counted out the corresponding amount, then asked the waiter to bring paper and pen, and buried himself in writing.
With a few quick movements, he gathered the clues, crumpled the paper into a ball, and handed it to the waiter along with the cash and a few other items.
When the waiter came over, Klein glanced at him and suddenly froze.
In addition to the cash and clues, there were four thin glass tubes containing what appeared to be a pure liquid.
"What is this?" Klein asked, puzzled.
"Have you forgotten? The sedative you ordered, my specially made sedative, costs 1 Soli per vial, four vials for two pounds, so the cash is 29 pounds," the Apothecary replied. "If you're unsure about my sedative, you can request an appraisal."
I completely forgot... I did that all to gain Miss Sharron's trust, and now she's not here. Well, that's fine, having tranquilizers on hand might be useful in case of unexpected situations... Klein stopped talking, took out the Elven Spring Medullary Crystal, accepted the items, counted the cash in front of everyone, and checked its authenticity by the dim candlelight.
£29 in total... Yes... Seeing that his wallet couldn't hold any more cash, Klein had no choice but to roll up the banknotes and stuff them into his pocket.
After putting away the tranquilizer, he unfolded the note and glanced at the clues:
" Bridge South Borough, on Rose Street, at Harvest Church, find Bishop Utravsky. If you can help him complete one task, you might get the Apothecary's recipe."
The Harvest Church, one of the few churches in the kingdom belonging to the Church of the Earth Mother, and this church holds two Beyonder Pathway: " The Planter " and " The Apothecary "... The clues match up... Klein thoughtfully refolded the note.
As the gathering progressed, the female Beyonder with the " Artisan " behind her remained silent, whether due to absence or lack of new extraordinary weapons, leaving Klein's expectations disappointed. He now had 59 pounds in cash and could start thinking about equipment.
After many deals fell through, a man sitting on a high stool spoke in a low voice:
"A friend of mine was unfortunately discovered during this massive search and imprisoned beneath a Storm Church by his Mandated Punishers. I'd like to ask for some help to rescue him."
The old gentleman with the " Eye of Wisdom " immediately responded:
"' Wild Dog,' abandon this plan! A Mandated Punishers and Sealed Artifact of the Storm Church is enough to destroy all of us here."
"Your friend's fate is sealed; don't let yourself fall into the same predicament."
The " Wild Dog " looked around, and finding no one responding, couldn't help but slam its fist into its thigh and growl:
"But what exactly did he do wrong?"
"He was an excellent Doctor saved many patients and never harmed anyone! Just because he took Potion and became Beyonder, he's going to be imprisoned in a place where he'll never see the Sun again, and even used as a test subject by the Mandated Punishers?"
"Why?"
"Why..."
The " Wild Dog's " painful and desperate questions echoed in the room, and even the Apothecary, who usually couldn't control his tongue, remained silent.
Sigh... Klein, the former official Beyonder, could only sigh deeply in his heart.
Without revealing the " Acting Method," wild Beyonder are all ticking time bombs...
But if the " Acting Method " becomes widespread, the situation could become even more chaotic and bloody... after all, Beyonder Characteristic are immortal and conserved...
In this oppressive atmosphere, the party was drawing to a close, Klein, having gained nothing else, spoke again:
"Does anyone have pistol bullets with different supernatural effects attached?"
"For example, Purification effects, demon-hunting effects, and so on."
He didn't specify the caliber of the bullets because he didn't have a gun at the moment and could simply wait until he bought the bullets to have them made.
In the silence, a female Beyonder, also sitting in the corner, responded in a low voice:
"I can ask around for you, and I'll give you the answer at the next gathering."
It seems to be that lady with the " Artisan " behind her... Klein sighed and said:
"OK."
When the party ended, he didn't go straight back to Minsk Street. Instead, he went to the East Borough, changed his clothes, and headed to the area where the North Borough and Hillston Borough meet.
That was the place rented by Capote Reed, a man suspected of being a member of the Spirituality Religion.