Inside the Ries Police Station, which is responsible for Minsk and the surrounding area.
Klein shook hands with the police officer who saw him out and said:
"This threatening letter incident is definitely related to the previous serial murder case. The organizer of that case, Detective Isengard Stanton, was attacked this afternoon!"
"Please take this very seriously."
The police officer withdrew his hand and said:
"Mr. Moriarty, rest assured, we will certainly not overlook the possibility you raised and will report it to our superiors immediately."
"Thank you so much." Klein put on his hat and walked out the door.
Upon seeing the two threatening letters and the provocation from the suspected owner of the Devil Dog, he didn't hesitate to take the evidence to the nearest police station to report the case, secretly hoping that the matter would be handed over to the Mandated Punishers or the Machinery Hivemind Squad as soon as possible, so that he could be placed under the protection of powerful officials.
Although he currently has no definite reason to retain his Detective identity and could easily abandon his residence at 15 Minsk Street, change locations, and adopt a different identity, he suspects that this might be the writer's purpose in writing the threatening letter.
Taking advantage of the fear that wild Beyonder dare not reveal themselves, they force themselves to move under cover of night, and then seize the opportunity to launch an attack during this process.
Actually, the time I was on my way to report the crime was also a good opportunity to strike... It was the same when I was at home before... That guy has ulterior motives... Klein returned to Minsk Street with a mixture of suspicion and caution.
As soon as he stepped off the carriage, he saw a figure loitering in front of his house, illuminated by the gas lamp that was slightly damp from the rain.
Klein was initially alarmed, but then relaxed, because he recognized the visitor.
That was Stuart, a private Detective with a thick beard and a medium to thin build, and his admirer.
We can't be careless... What if the " Devil's" successor has abilities similar to the " Faceless "? Klein gripped his cane, slowly approached, and then tentatively called out.
Detective Stuart turned around abruptly, and said with a mixture of nervousness and panic:
"Mr. Moriarty, I received a threatening letter that says, 'You will all die!'"
"You received it too?" Klein blurted out, somewhat surprised yet finding it perfectly reasonable.
The other party was one of the Detective recruited by Isengard Stanton during the serial murder case.
Stuart's eyes suddenly widened:
"You received it too?"
"Yes." Klein nodded solemnly.
And not just one... he added quietly.
"What should I do? I went to see Mr. Stanton first, but I heard he was attacked, so I rushed here to find you. Oh, thank God, I almost left early!" Stuart blurted out.
Klein pointed to the door:
"Let's go inside first and talk about it then."
Upon entering the living room, he excused himself to go to the bathroom and quickly performed two Divination above the Gray Fog. The first was to confirm whether Stuart was indeed the person in question, and the second was to 'ask' whether there would be any major danger that night. He received affirmative revelations from both.
In other words, Stuart is not an enemy in disguise, and there is considerable danger tonight.
Of course, the danger might not actually occur in front of Klein; it could be secretly thwarted by someone. This is the limitation of Divination: it can only provide certain insights, not all of them, and cannot yield precise answers.
The limitations of this mysterious realm cannot be overcome by techniques such as elimination or dichotomy.
Back in the real world, Klein pressed the mechanical button on the toilet, washed his hands amidst the rushing water, and opened the bedroom door.
" Stuart, would you like coffee or tea?" Klein asked, showing no sign of panic.
Stuart stood up and shook his head, saying:
"No, we should discuss the problem first. Although I've received many threatening letters before, none have compared to today. He must have written them in blood! My intuition tells me that he will definitely take action, and he has the ability to do so!"
"By the way, wasn't he the one who attacked Mr. Stanton?"
"I think so," Klein said calmly, then sat down. "It should be related to that previous serial murder case. The only thing you, I, and Mr. Stanton have in common is that case."
Stuart's reaction was a bit over the top... Was he frightened by Mr. Stanton's attack? Meanwhile, Klein was carefully observing the other party.
Influenced by his attitude, Stuart calmed down considerably, sat down again, and thoughtfully said:
"It seems that's really the case..."
Before he could finish speaking, a clanging sound suddenly echoed in the room.
Someone rang the doorbell.
Stuart shuddered instantly, like a frightened bird.
Klein frowned slightly, glanced at him, and got up to walk towards the door.
The moment he grasped the handle, the scene outside appeared in his mind.
The newcomers were Detective Kaslana, wearing a gray wool coat, her assistant Lydia, a red-haired girl, and several other men who looked rather familiar.
They were all the private Detective that Mr. Stanton had summoned... Sure enough... Klein recognized the visitors after a moment's thought.
He pulled open the door with force, taking two steps back at the same time.
Kaslana, with her thick eyebrows and slightly sagging cheeks, looked at Klein and Stuart behind him, and without exchanging pleasantries, said directly:
"We all received the same threatening letters, you probably did too, right?"
"Yes," Klein replied solemnly.
Kaslana exhaled a puff of white breath without any attempt to conceal it, and said:
"We were all summoned by Mr. Stanton to participate in the investigation of that serial murder case; that's the only thing we had in common."
"I think so too," Klein said, gesturing into the room. "Come in and we'll talk."
As the six private Detective entered one after another, Klein quickly analyzed the Devil Dog's owner's intentions:
Making such a big fuss will soon attract the attention of official extraordinary organizations. There might even be Demigod lying in wait nearby. How can he retaliate then?
He was simply provoking, forcing the military and the Beyonder of the three major churches to send people to protect so many private Detective, thus scattering their resources, exhausting themselves, and daring not to be negligent, as retaliation against the main target who had attacked at the time?
During this process, there might even be a chance to eliminate a few official Beyonder...
The operation against the private Detective will not begin for a long time, until defenses are relaxed...
Of course, if an opportunity arises from such a test, he certainly won't let it pass...
For Devil who can Danger Premonition, this is a method that is quite advantageous for leveraging their unique characteristics.
But with the three major churches, the military, and the royal family, there are numerous powerful individuals, a multitude of Sealed Artifact, and even Demigod among them, not to mention level 0 and level 1 Sealed Artifact. Can the Devil Dog's master be certain that he doesn't possess any ability or item capable of countering this particular characteristic?
No, he certainly wouldn't dare.
Official extraordinary forces, especially the Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, and the Machinery Hivemind, are organizations that have been fighting against Devil for countless years. In the Fourth Age, and even in the more ancient Third Age, there would be no shortage of similar deeds.
The owner of that Devil Dog was at most Sequence 5. If anything went wrong, or even if nothing went wrong, he could be torn apart by Demigod or a terrifying Sealed Artifact. Why would he dare to make such an attempt?
Or rather, he was simply toying with the official organization without taking any action, time and time again...
Well, there's another possibility: he used threatening letters to gather more than half of his targets together, leveraging the checks and balances, procedural and bureaucratic tendencies of formal organizations, and creating a time gap...
The matter of Mr. Isengard Stanton's attack has certainly been handed over to the Machinery Hivemind Hillston Borough, but since the Nighthawks who killed the Devil Dog last time, the two sides probably didn't exchange details on some aspects...
Well, it might also be based on Mr. Stanton's beliefs... I don't think I've ever known or figured out which deity he worships...
In short, with so many private Detective living in different districts and holding different beliefs, the division of jurisdiction is a headache, and joint operations are not so easy to achieve.
At this moment, the only groups of official Beyonder have taken over and are secretly protecting us are probably only two or three groups, at most up to the level of deacons. They haven't used any terrifying Sealed Artifact that are too powerful or too dangerous. And the High-Sequence individuals who are Demigod and half-humans aren't going to turn their attention to this side so quickly.
This would give the owner of the Devil Dog an opportunity.
Although three or four groups of official Beyonder could definitely surround and kill one, or even more than one, Sequence 5, as long as he seizes the opportunity, he still has a good chance of escaping successfully afterward.
In just twenty or thirty seconds, Klein had deduced two or three possibilities and given a preliminary judgment on each.
Considering the rather dangerous Divination results for tonight, Klein nodded thoughtfully, closed the door, entered the living room, and addressed the Detective, some sitting and some standing:
Did you call the police?
About half of the people from that discussion had gathered here... He looked around and silently said to himself.
Kaslana answered on behalf of the others:
"Some called the police, some tried to find Mr. Stanton or acquaintances, and that's how we ended up gathering together to discuss visiting you, the great Detective."
Klein nodded slightly and said deliberately:
"Don't be too nervous, everyone. The person who sent the threatening letter is probably seeking revenge for that Serial Killer, but he's alone, with maybe one or two accomplices at most. We, on the other hand, have eight Detective, all skilled in hand-to-hand combat and shooting. Why should we be afraid of him?"
"Besides, Mr. Stanton summoned far more than just us at the time; those who received the threatening letters were certainly the same, but they just didn't run into you, nor did they come to visit me."
Upon hearing his words, Kaslana and her assistant Lydia showed expressions of doubt, as if they were unsure about something.
The other Detective took a breath and said:
"Mr. Moriarty, perhaps as you said, we don't need to be afraid of him."
"But he's a treacherous snake in the dark; no one knows when he'll attack, there's no way to prepare, and he could even harm our families."
"Family?"
"Oh, my wife!"
"No, my little Angel!"
The Detective immediately experienced a violent emotional fluctuation, their reactions somewhat exaggerated.
Stuart, standing behind Klein, trembled with fear and anger.
"No, I don't want this..." he murmured, his emotions nearing a breakdown.
Just as Klein and Kaslana were trying to Placate them down, Stuart suddenly drew his gun and aimed it at the back of Klein's head!
His eyes were unfocused, and his emotions seemed to have completely exploded.
PS: Updates will be earlier, around midnight.