West Borough, 9 Hope Street, Prime Minister's Official Residence.
Agusid Negan stood behind the large table, gazing solemnly at the Earl Hall across from him:
"Your Excellency, my secretary should have already informed you of what has happened. You are the first nobleman I think of at this moment."
This Conservative Party heavyweight, the current Prime Minister, looked several years older. His tall, thin frame seemed unable to bear the bad news, and he leaned forward slightly, so much so that he had to support himself on the table with both hands.
But his eyes remained sharp, and his demeanor remained calm.
Earl Hall, sporting a handsome little mustache, sighed deeply:
"It's very regrettable to hear this news. I'm extremely shocked. I was planning to visit His Excellency the Duke in the next few days to discuss the proposals we are all concerned about, but who knew he would be attacked..."
His youthful handsomeness, marred by deep nasolabial folds and a fuller figure, was first expressed his condolences, grief, and empathy. He then composed himself and said:
"His Excellency the Duke is dead. Rather than weeping and rage, we need caution and composure. Only in this way can we handle the aftermath properly and prevent the kingdom's heavy Steam train from derailing."
"That's why I came to you first. The other nobles just cried out to the gods, trembling with fear, and expressed their inability to accept it, demanding immediate and severe punishment for the murderer and the mastermind behind it all. In their view, if even a heavily protected duke could be assassinated, what chance do they have?" Prime Minister Agusid said in a deep voice. "This is a normal and understandable reaction, but it's not the reaction we need."
Earl Hall nodded, then asked:
Who is the murderer? What was their motive?
"A Devil who has been posing as a banker for over a decade, a real Devil, by the way, your Bavant Bank just acquired his assets," Agusid stated in a completely unchanged tone.
" Patrick Jason?" Earl Hall immediately remembered the man's name.
He was the one who approved this acquisition involving the bank.
Prime Minister Agusid did not accuse the other party, but pondered and said:
"He had Sequence 5, yet he suddenly sold off his assets, abandoned the identity he had built up over a decade ago, and risked everything to assassinate my brother. Based on this, we can make a strong guess that he was acting under the orders of someone or some force. Unfortunately, he was killed on his escape, and even his spirit was taken away. According to the Nighthawks, it was done by that chivalrous thief, ' Black Emperor.'"
"It involves an extremely Concealment organization, and we can't figure it out in a short time?" Earl Hall asked rhetorically.
"Yes, that so-called chivalrous thief left no trace. We can only start with those who contacted Jason in the past few months, which will take a lot of time and may not even yield results," Agusid gave a definite answer.
Earl Hall paced back and forth, saying:
What is His Majesty's attitude?
"Sad, but without any concrete ideas," Agusid replied.
Earl Hall frowned and thought for a moment before saying:
"In that case, the important thing is no longer who is behind this, but what we want to achieve through this matter. If we want war, if we want to Restart the struggle for colonies, then tell the people that it was the Feynapotter Empire that instructed Patrick Jason, and give them a detailed account, present some seemingly plausible evidence. For the past hundreds or thousands of years, our northern neighbor has always played a similar role. I think everyone should be used to it and won't question it. It's very, very, very normal for Barbarian to do such things."
"And the people fear them." Prime Minister Agusid gave a curt, unsatisfying smile. "However, we are undertaking a series of reforms, and it won't be stable until the second half of next year at the earliest, giving us the capability to wage war."
Earl Hall pondered for a moment and said:
"Then let's find someone that everyone can accept. The thief ' Black Emperor ' is too mysterious, and the Concealment organization behind him is even more so. If we just reveal it like this, it will definitely cause great panic. People are always afraid of the unknown and things they don't understand."
"Hmm, how about the ' Aurora Order '? They just assassinated that pervert Intis a few months ago, so it wouldn't be surprising if they did something else."
"Their reputation is bad enough. Their story has been told repeatedly in newspapers and magazines. They have even become horror elements and classic villains in many novels. Moreover, this can effectively dispel other people's suspicions about us. There are always people who think that the previous assassination was done by the ' Aurora Order ' on our behalf."
"Also, take advantage of the opportunity to crack down on terrorist and illegal organizations to clean up Backlund; there are too many dangerous individuals hiding there."
Agusid grunted in agreement.
"' The Aurora Order ' is a good option..."
"Target them first. Next year, when we are ready, we will release the investigation results, accusing the Feynapotter Empire of driving the ' Aurora Order.' I don't think anyone will care about the explanations of terrorist organizations and northern Barbarian."
Earl Hall paused for a moment and said:
This goes a step further than I initially thought.
Agusid said no more, straightened up and said:
"I am going to see His Majesty the King now."
At this point, he glanced at the Earl Hall:
"You need to be careful too. We still haven't figured out their motives for assassinating my brother. Hmph, the Church of Storms has agreed to replace the Archbishop of Backlund. Snake is always late at crucial moments! The followers of Storm are always so irritable, easily angered, stubborn, arrogant, and easily manipulated!"
"Don't be prejudiced; for example, Leodero is very Wisdom." Earl Hall chuckled softly, then tapped his chest four times. "Thank you, the goddess will protect me."
" The Hermits of Fate... Sounds pretty cool..." Klein, back in the real world, got up and pressed the mechanical button on the toilet.
Amidst the rushing water, he stepped out of the washroom, pondering the information he had just obtained through " Spirit Channeling."
He suspected that the " Hermits of Fate " was the same ancient organization that Emperor Roselle had joined, which possessed the second Blasphemy Slate.
Choosing to assassinate Duke Negan for the sake of so-called historical progress sounds a bit absurd, yet it also seems to make some sense... Their goal is to resurrect or awaken the Original Creator? This is somewhat similar to the philosophy of City of Silver. The Little the Sun never believed that the Lord Who Created Everything had passed away, only accepting the claim that He had abandoned that region, and have always tried to get a response... Klein paced back and forth, his thoughts wandering.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly heard a knocking sound at the door.
It wasn't a waiter or maid from the Cragg Club outside, but Carlson, a member of " Machinery Hivemind " whom Klein had met before, wearing thick glasses.
"How did you get in?" Klein blurted out deliberately.
Carlson, seeing that he was indeed in the room, visibly relaxed. Seeing that no one was around, he smiled and said:
"As an Beyonder, there are always various methods."
He received a message from Ikanser Icons, learning of the " Apostle of Desire's" death, and then came to check on my situation. My performance was quite successful; the "disappearing act" wasn't exposed, and I successfully concealed my past... Klein's heart stirred slightly.
Your expression tells me there's good news?
"Yes, Patrick Jason Beria has been killed. You are safe and no longer need our protection," Carlson said truthfully.
Based on this feedback, Klein felt that the Potion in his body seemed to be digesting faster.
He asked in surprise and delight:
"Sure?"
"OK," Carlson replied affirmatively.
"That's wonderful!" Klein exclaimed happily.
Carlson glanced at him and sincerely praised him:
"Your Detective instincts and logical thinking were of utmost help to us. The deacon said in the letter that he would Concealment give you a reward of about 1,000 pounds afterward."
£1000... not bad, quite generous! But even if all the banknotes under Jason's suitcase were in £5 and £1 denominations, and even if his jewelry wasn't particularly valuable, it would still amount to roughly £50,000... Even if Mrs. Mary of the Atmospheric Pollution Investigation Commission, including the value of her Coim Company shares, had a net worth of at most that...
Well, Jason's accomplice who disguised himself as a human to distract the " Songster of God " probably took some of it. The rest is probably around 20,000 to 30,000 pounds, but that's still nothing compared to 1,000 pounds. It's really a pity... But we can't think like that. Maybe Jason's accomplice took all the valuables beforehand... Klein felt a mix of disappointment and joy.
The bounty awarded by " Machinery Hivemind " further proves the success of his performance during this period, making him feel that he is only one step away from completely digesting the " Magician's " Potion.
"It's what I should do, after all, I'm the one who's being threatened," Klein said with a forced smile.
He wasn't worried about Jason's accomplices retaliating later, because this retaliation was just a pretext. More importantly, by then Jason would definitely be Sequence 6.
Carlson adjusted his glasses and said carefully:
" Sherlock, you are also a believer in God. We hope to establish a good relationship with you. If you encounter any problems or gather any intelligence in the future, please feel free to inform us."
This is the informant who helped me develop " Machinery Hivemind "... I have another reimbursement channel now... Klein solemnly drew a triangular emblem on his chest:
"No problem."
No longer protected by the " Machinery Hivemind," Klein stayed at the Cragg Club until dinner before taking a carriage and slowly returning to 15 Minsk Street.
He habitually opened the mailbox and saw a new letter, a letter without a stamp.
This letter was left by the great Detective Isengard Stanton after his unsuccessful visit that afternoon. He wrote the following:
"... I heard about your advice from the Machinery Hivemind. Your insight and rigor are astonishing. If you hadn't already become Beyonder, I would even think that ' the Reader ' would be the most suitable path for you."
"You're the most skilled deductive young person I've ever met!"
Klein stood in the living room and read the letter left by Isengard by the light of the gas lamp.
This performance was nothing new, just routine and a repetition of what I'd done before, and it didn't even have much of an effect... But the advantage was that there were enough Spectator Spectator, and they were all around me, so I got direct feedback... Klein held the letter and suddenly felt something.
He half-closed his eyes, feeling something rapidly crumbling and dissipating within his body, and seeing numerous illusory stars appear around him, their brilliance subtly attracting each other.
In the last month of 1349, his " Magician's " Potion was finally digested.
PS: Requesting recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Monday!