Standing behind the door was a shirtless man with a ferocious blue-green sea serpent tattooed on his arm, and short red stripes painted on his cheeks, chest, and abdomen, in groups of three.
"It's really exotic... But aren't you afraid of being too conspicuous and getting stopped by the police as soon as you step out? You're Concealment resistance fighter!" Klein was about to look away when he was almost made to frown by the other person's thick, messy eyebrows and cold-blooded, animal-like eyes.
Having killed many people... Klein made a rough judgment based on his Spirituality intuition.
To be honest, because of his identity and understanding in his previous life, he the Original felt great sympathy for the rebels against colonial rule and had no sense of self-awareness Loen. However, after hearing that the other party's followers almost overlapped with those of the " Sea God " Kavithua, he felt more wary and resistant.
This is not to say that there is discrimination against local beliefs, but as far as he knows, the traditional beliefs of all the colonized islands are still at the stage of primitive sacrifice, worshiping blood offerings and live sacrifices, and are in a rather ignorant state.
Furthermore, based on the Emperor's experience and my own, the extraordinary nature of this world contains elements of madness and Distortion. "Gods" who are still in the primitive sacrificial stage are basically unable to resist this tendency, and their style is predictable... Klein did not speak and followed Danitz into the room.
" Edmonton, who's here?" A mellow voice came from the window.
The tattooed man said as he closed the door:
"They disguised themselves."
By this time, Klein had taken in the entire situation inside the room and had a preliminary understanding of it.
The living room here is small; it already feels cramped with just a cabinet, a table, and a few chairs.
There were two doors on the right leading to what appeared to be a bedroom, and on the left was a "kitchen" partitioned off by cabinets. As for a washroom, there was none, as Klein noticed when he went upstairs. There was a public washroom at the corner of each staircase, and the smell of something that hadn't been cleaned in a long time wafted out, urging passersby to hurry upstairs and into the house.
There was a window directly in front, with two bamboo poles sticking out and clothes hanging out to dry.
Four or five men were standing or sitting at the door of the "bedroom" and in the living room. They were all locals with dark skin and slightly curly black hair. They wore dark blue taraban shirts and had varying amounts of red paint on their exposed skin. As for the sea snake tattoos, they were covered by their clothing, so Klein couldn't tell if they had them.
Some of them had revolvers tucked into their belts, some carried brown-red shotguns with stock, and some even had gray-white steel backpacks on their backs, holding long, thick high-pressure Steam rifles, forming a semi-encirclement around Danitz and Klein who were entering.
The person who asked the question was a man in his forties sitting in an iron wheelchair, with a blanket on his knees and wearing a jacket.
He had a shaved head, with bluish beard on both sides of his face, and his deep brown eyes were reserved and seemingly unmoved.
He glanced at the visitor and slowly smiled.
" Blazing."
Danitz paused for a moment, then forced a smile:
" Kalat, you have a good eye."
"Bullshit! Is my makeup and makeover skills really that bad?" he roared inwardly, unwilling to accept it.
Kalat ignored " Blazing's " insincere praise and instead chuckled:
"I heard you killed 'Steel' and ' Blood Brambles '?"
"Otherwise, how could they have died?" Danitz retorted without hesitation.
Kalat narrowed his eyes, his gaze slowly shifting to Klein, whose face had no distinguishing features.
He knew very well that " Blazing " Danitz alone would have a hard time killing "Iron" Maviti, let alone " Blood Brambles " Huntley. Rumor had it that the other party had succeeded because he had the help of a powerful adventurer and experienced bounty Hunter.
Is this the person next to him? Kalat stared into Klein's eyes, but found no tension, worry, or wariness; those eyes were like a deep ocean.
It's very likely... at least stronger than " Blazing "! He winked at Edmonton and the others, secretly raising their guard.
"What are you doing here?" Kalat didn't dwell on the previous topic.
Danitz glanced at Klein subconsciously, and after seeing an affirmative nod, replied:
"Let's see what good stuff you have."
Kalat pointed to the table and said:
"They're all up there."
There were many strangely shaped items displayed there, including whistles made of bone, simple and crude bagpipes, iron-black blades, and stones stained with blood...
Before Klein and Danitz could examine it, Kalat clapped his hands and said:
I have a task.
"If you can complete it, you are free to choose one item from here without paying any price."
He chuckled and added:
"By your outsider definition, they aren't magical items, but they do possess some supernatural power, only it will slowly, well, not too slowly, weaken until it disappears."
"What mission?" Klein asked calmly, making no attempt to hide the fact that Danitz was merely a follower.
Kalat reached into the blanket on his knees and pulled out a stack of white papers:
"Find their whereabouts."
"If you can capture it directly, you will gain even more."
He raised his arms and began to display a series of lifelike portraits, including one of a woman with grayish-blue eyes wearing a man's shirt.
Latiz Dorella... Klein recognized at a glance who the rebels were looking for.
That was the female Archaeologist and adventurer he met last night and who was on the same ship this morning; she was suspected to be a member of the " Moss Ascetic Order " or the " Element Dawn."
Danitz looked at it carefully for two seconds, and it vaguely seemed familiar.
Suddenly, he remembered where he had seen it before:
He had seen Gehrman Sparrow, who was standing next to him, in his dream!
He had only questioned the captain in the afternoon, and then encountered related incidents that evening... His intelligence-gathering ability was too powerful! Danitz suppressed his impulse and didn't look at the mad adventurer next to him, afraid that Kalat and Edmonton would notice something amiss.
He is quite experienced in this area.
The rebels, who worship the " Sea God," are searching for Latiz... The worship of the " Sea God " is widespread throughout the Rorsted Archipelago, including Simim... A snake appeared last night... The " Sea God " is depicted as a giant sea serpent... Klein connected the two events and quickly formed a preliminary judgment:
Archaeologist Latiz and others found an important item related to the " Sea God " in a forgotten temple in the primeval jungle of Simim Island, which led to last night's probing and the rebels' search!
Klein thought for a moment and gave a perfunctory reply:
I'll keep an eye on it.
I won't get involved in things related to evil spirits. Of course, if necessary, I will report it... He silently added these two sentences in his mind.
Kalat and said:
"Take a look and see if there's anything you want."
Klein walked over, about to select items and ask questions, when he suddenly sensed something and subconsciously looked to the right of the pile of items.
There was a slender bone dagger, slightly longer than a forearm, milky white in color, with several dark red markings.
It sparked my Spirit Intuition... Klein reached out his right hand, trying to pick up the bone sword with its sharp tip and examine it closely.
The moment his fingers touched the bone sword, desperate and painful screams suddenly echoed in his mind, a thick, pungent stench of blood seemed to rise to his nose, and he seemed to see Distortion, rotting, illusory figures covered in slime before his eyes.
Klein felt a sharp pain in his forehead, like being pricked by a needle, and instinctively withdrew his finger.
Something's a bit eerie... This isn't just any ordinary object... Klein had experienced something even more intense, showed only a subtle change in expression.
He resisted the urge to activate his " Spirit Vision," afraid of seeing things he shouldn't.
Noticing this, Kalat and Edmonton exchanged a glance and said with a smile:
"This bone sword can drain the blood of its enemies, not bad. Want it?"
"A bit too forward..." Klein frowned slightly, then relaxed, and said in a deep voice:
"No, this isn't what I want."
If Kalat hadn't asked, he had planned to buy the bone sword and take it to the Gray Fog for research, but the other party's proactive sales pitch made him wary, so he rationally abandoned his original plan.
Kalat clasped his hands together and said:
It's not expensive.
"Or should we look at some others?"
"No need." Klein's pupils contracted sharply, and he turned around and walked towards the door.
Danitz hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed.
Edmonton, who had a sea serpent tattoo on his arm, watched silently, seemingly ready to reach out and stop him at any moment, but ultimately took no action.
That was the powerful adventurer who took down "Iron" Maviti, " Blood Brambles " Huntley, and others!
Once outside the room, Klein left without a word and strode downstairs. Danitz quickly followed, a sense of unease creeping over him.
He assessed the situation, asked no questions, and simply followed.
The two quickly returned to the square, and the crowd that had gathered again, some kneeling and some prostrating, dispersed and hid once more.
But unlike before, one man remained kneeling in place, without moving.
Klein walked straight past without glancing to the side, without stopping at all.
Danitz glanced at him subconsciously and found that the man's face was as dry as a long-weathered rock.
Snap!
A piece of flesh suddenly detached from the man's cheek, revealing a patch of bearded skin, which fell to the ground, its color grayish.
He seemed to have lost all his moisture.
Danitz was startled and dared not look around anymore, realizing that things had somehow become strange and dangerous.
The two walked through the streets and alleys, left the city, and boarded a horse-drawn carriage.
The driver was clearly a local native, in his forties, with a cheerful and endearing demeanor.
But he didn't say a word along the way, his silence making Danitz's heart pound.
Klein pursed his lips and remained silent.
The carriage soon arrived at the Dock Borough, and because he wanted to change his attire, Danitz stopped it away from Lime Street.
After getting off the carriage, Klein didn't pay the fare, didn't linger, and strode away, leaving Danitz stunned.
He tossed two Soli to the coachman and hurriedly chased after Gehrman Sparrow.
After chasing for a few steps, he unconsciously glanced back and saw the coachman kneeling down with a face full of fanaticism and piety, prostrating himself on the ground, kissing the spot where Klein had just stepped while weeping.