Backlund Bridge Area, Bravehearts Bar.
Klein adjusted his baseball cap, carefully protecting the wallet in the inside pocket of his grey-blue work jacket, and walked past the patrons gathered around the boxing ring, heading straight for the bar.
Along the way, he looked around but did not spot the black market arms dealer, Kaspars Kanlinen.
He was either playing cards or pool... Klein nodded to himself, sat down at the bar, and said to the bartender:
"Half and half."
He had seen someone drink this alcoholic beverage before, and felt it should suit his taste quite well.
"At least it's better than plain malt beer..." Klein thought with a comparison.
The bartender looked up at him:
Which two types of liquor should be used? Different choices have different prices.
"Just the usual kind is fine." The last person Klein met used the lowest quality kind, and a whole "half and half" cup only cost two and a half pennies.
"Four and a half pennies." The bartender watched Klein line the brass-colored coins on the bar before turning back to mix drinks, casually remarking, "Looking for Kaspars again? He's not here anymore; someone stole his business."
"Huh?" Klein didn't expect this answer.
Before the bartender could answer, a man with a protruding mouth next to him laughed loudly:
"Yes, Kaspars has been driven away by us!"
"Ha, how could a lame Old Man like him possibly do this kind of business?"
"If you want anything, just come to us, come to our boss."
Gang fight? Klein had this thought on his mind and was about to reject the other party's proposal.
But then, another possibility came to mind:
"Could this be a deliberate scheme by the Rose School of Thought to have the mafia suppress Kaspars, thereby forcing out Maric and Miss Sharron behind him, and making them willingly walk into a trap?"
"Hmm, the probability isn't low. Kaspars has been a black market arms dealer here for a long time; he's not someone who can be easily driven away. Recently, due to the continuous serial murders, the atmosphere in Backlund has been quite tense. The Rose School of Thought, or other Concealment forces—in short, those looking for Maric and Miss Sharron —definitely wouldn't dare to rashly kill and Spirit Channeling to get answers—that would create many bloodshed cases. They clearly only have some suspects and can't yet confirm who has a way to contact Miss Sharron and Maric..." Klein swallowed his words and instead asked:
"Can I check the price first before deciding whether to buy?"
He planned to observe the ordinary people who had taken over the black market transactions at the Bravehearts Bar. If he found anything wrong, he could use that to his advantage to betray Kaspars, Sharron, and Maric.
In any case, Klein didn't want any conflict; he was just going to go through the normal process of reviewing the matter, so there was no risk involved.
"Okay, the only requirement is..." The man raised his hand and made a zipping motion in front of his protruding mouth.
"No problem." Klein had just finished answering when he saw the "half and half" placed in front of him, while the bartender took the penny.
In the spirit of not wasting anything, he picked up the glass and took several sips, his brows gradually furrowing.
It wasn't the taste I expected; the alcohol was too strong, and the grape flavor was too weak... Klein put down his glass and followed the man toward the number three billiard room where Kaspars used to hang out.
As he approached the door, he suddenly remembered something else:
"Even someone with limited information like myself can guess this is a trap. How could Miss Sharron and Maric, who have been hunted for who knows how long, not know? They certainly won't show themselves..."
"However, Kaspars knows more than one Beyonder; he's connected to several circles of Beyonder, and he might seek other help, which would complicate matters."
Just then, the man with the protruding mouth stopped at the entrance of the billiard room, and Klein, who was distracted, almost bumped into him.
He pointed inside and said:
"Don't talk nonsense later, our boss has a bad temper."
"Everyone in the entire Backlund Bridge Area of Eastern East Borough knows about it."
"Okay." Klein nodded slightly.
The man with the protruding mouth turned around with satisfaction and pushed open the door to the billiard room.
As the door swung open, Klein saw a figure suspended in mid-air, swaying gently.
It was a burly man with a full beard, and a rope was around his neck, a very tight rope.
His feet were off the ground, his tongue was sticking out, his face was bluish-purple, and his expression was extremely Distortion.
"Boss..." the man with the protruding mouth called out in disbelief.
The tense atmosphere in Backlund had barely dissipated when someone made a move... Klein glanced sideways at the other party's subordinates, then solemnly drew a triangular holy symbol on his chest:
May God grant him peace.
Hopefully, this will cure his temper.
The man with the protruding mouth didn't hear what he was saying at all, and suddenly shouted:
"Boss!"
"Murder!"
"The boss is dead!"
Klein was jolted back two steps by the loud and shrill sound. He then activated his Spirit Vision to observe the inside. There were no unusual signs, except for the billiard balls scattered haphazardly on the table.
Was this done by Beyonder from Kaspars's side? How would the forces that laid the trap react? If such a trap exists... Before the gangsters rushed over, Klein quietly changed positions and blended into the crowd.
He glanced at the kitchen of the Bravehearts Bar, then walked over thoughtfully and skillfully made his way to the back door.
As soon as Klein pushed open the not-so-heavy wooden door, he felt a blast of cold wind that made him shiver.
And in this cold wind, there was a faint smell of blood.
He listened intently, but heard nothing, so he took out a penny and flicked it upwards.
The sound of the bell was muffled by the wind. Klein looked down at the copper penny in his palm and confirmed that the king's head was facing up.
He put away the coin, then carefully took a step forward, slowly moving in the direction his Spirit Intuition had told him.
He walked until he reached a dark, gloomy corner, where the smell of blood suddenly intensified.
With the help of the faint Moonlight piercing through the clouds, Klein stared intently and almost gasped.
The ground was littered with bloody thighs, calves, feet in leather boots, ribs, hearts, arms, eyeballs, and other human "parts." On the wall hung a section of intestines that was reddish-white against a backdrop of large swaths of bright red interspersed with traces of milky white.
Seeing this scene, Klein felt as if he were looking at a slaughterhouse, a slaughterhouse specifically prepared for humans.
"They're afraid the Nighthawks and Mandated Punishers are too idle, so they've made it so exaggerated that the police department will definitely transfer the case immediately..." Klein muttered to himself, trying to combat the discomfort caused by the scene.
He bypassed the bloody area and approached the opposite wall, where he was shocked to find many deep scratches.
It looked like marks left by large, sharp claws dragging the object out!
The claws look quite similar to those of the giant Devil dog from before. Could there be another one? Is it still alive? No, no, no, I know what's going on... Klein suddenly realized:
The deceased was likely the Beyonder who killed the gang leader in the bar; he was dealt with by the forces that set the trap...
Based on Little " The Sun's" description, I have always suspected that the faction is the " Rose School of Thought " because they possess the " Prisoner " pathway, which is the " Mutant " pathway.
And one of the " Mutant " is the Werewolf!
This matches the traces found at the scene.
This indirectly proves that Miss Sharron and Maric were defectors from the " Rose School of Thought "...
Klein calmly stepped back, gradually leaving the scene.
During this process, he confirmed that there were no Beyonder Characteristic present at the scene; of course, it's also possible that they hadn't yet been extracted.
Then he turned and walked to another street, intending to find someone to call the police, lest such a scene frighten ordinary people and make them suspect that some ferocious beast had infiltrated Backlund.
Based on the principle of not getting into trouble because of greed, Klein did not wait for any Beyonder Characteristic to emerge.
Just as he reached the end of the alley, he suddenly saw a brown carriage slowly approaching in the night.
The carriage didn't drive straight past like the others of its kind; instead, it stopped right in front of Klein!
Klein narrowed his eyes, preparing for battle, but neither the " Spirituality intuition" of the " Seer " nor the " Clown's" battle premonition gave any warning of danger.
At that moment, the carriage window was opened, revealing a pale face with a hint of madness, and brown eyes that seemed to harbor deep malice.
Maric... Klein recognized him.
That's Maric, the one Living Corpse Manipulation, Miss Sharron's companion!
Wearing only a white shirt and black vest, seemingly unfazed by the cold, Maric pointed to the carriage, gesturing for Klein to get on.
Klein hesitated for a moment, wanting to take off his pendulum on the spot and do Divination.
Just then, a figure appeared behind Maric, dressed in an elaborate black court dress and wearing a small soft hat of the same color. It was Miss Sharron with light blonde hair Blue Eyes.
If she wanted to harm me, she could do it easily; she could just crawl out from behind the wall... Klein thought for a moment, then casually took two steps forward, opened the carriage door, and got in.
Once he was settled, the carriage slowly began to move, its destination unknown.
"Why did you come here?" Sharron asked simply.
Klein answered frankly:
"I'd like to contact you to ask if you have any books on occultism, preferably something in-depth, because you know I lack knowledge in this area."
Maric looked over with those eyes that always held malice, and said in a slightly hoarse and low voice:
"We do possess considerable knowledge of the occult, such as the Book of Secrets of Warlock King Calamity, but what can you offer in exchange?"
The Warlock King? Which path Sequence is this? A thought flashed through his mind, and Klein carefully chose his words:
"I can exchange it for gold pounds."
"Or do you need something else?"
Sharron, pale-faced but with exquisite features, looked at him and answered calmly and without a trace of emotion:
"Help."
"In exchange for a helping hand."
PS: Second update, please vote with monthly tickets and recommendations!