【Lunk】Evil God in the start-up period, but part-time Red Gloves (1-8)

【伦克】创业期邪神，但兼职红手套

https://ruoguqi.lofter.com/post/4b8f692c_2be98ac51

1.

  #DefectionLunxRedGloves, two-level reversal

  #This is a product that satisfies my own bad taste. It is impossible to verify the facts. The timeline is also very confusing. I have no idea.

  0.

  The moment Pales sensed the movement from Sephira Castle, his mind instantly became active.

  Leonard was still unconscious, but it didn't matter. No, it was no longer within his consideration - Sefirah Castle. All the spirituality emanating from the Time Worm anchored Tingen's little fortune teller at this moment, eyeing his fate eagerly, waiting for a little consideration before taking action.

  Sequence Eight... This is still too weak. Too weak, too weak.

  But, what does that matter?

   He had been pursued by Amon for so many years, and it would not matter if he continued for a few more years, just like a butcher would always fatten up the captives by force-feeding them before cutting them.

  He was not impatient. On the contrary, if he could wait for a few years to get a Sefirah Castle with demigod characteristics, he would laugh out loud in his dreams. Pales' greed jumped in the links of the Time Worm, and he did not act rashly - he knew very well that he was changing the fate of two people.

  Leonard is a good kid, not a bad person by nature. Although he is a bit arrogant and people are always wary of him, he is still a good kid. As for his colleague——

  Pales almost laughed out loud.

  Carrying the fate of Sefirah Castle, how bright can this child's future be? Even if he is kind by nature and has an unusually strong insistence on the bottom line, how long can he persist in the tug-of-war between humanity and divinity?

  Greed whispered in his heart: thieves are good at exploiting loopholes. If the timing is right, he can steal the Source Castle instead of relying on fate.

  Even, once He fully recovers, He can let the child live.

  "He" obtained Sefirah Castle and then left. It was that simple.

  In order to protect themselves, to increase their strength, and to better avoid or fight against Amon.

  However, if he wanted to do this, Leonard could not stay in the Church of Night. Palece was not sure whether the Goddess of Night had confirmed Her existence, but whether or not, Leonard was a hidden danger. After dealing with fortune tellers for so many years, Palece had the strength and means to "send" Leonard out from under the eyes of Night without causing any harm to him.

  But that's not the point.

  The point is, this is a turning point in a person's life.

  After a long while, Paulis silently whispered an apology to Leonard.

  He gathered all his strength, leaving only one clone on Leonard, and then turned to the little fortune teller who was fighting fiercely with Megose without any reluctance.

  At least......

  He can help Leonard protect the teammates he cares about.

  1.

  Klein Moretti watched helplessly as Ince Zangwill took away Saint Selina's ashes. He and Dunn Smith were exhausted and had no spirituality or strength to resist the escaped archbishop.

  In addition, there was another piece of bad news that came without any warning.

  ——Leonard Mitchell went to the Dark Heaven today.

  The departure of another teammate struck Klein as if he were struck by lightning. He and Leonard were still shouting "Dunne" in the partition. How could someone who had been with him day and night believe that this guy had turned into a lifeless corpse ten minutes later?

  Ince Zangwill.

  Ince Zangwill!!

  Anger and grief almost penetrated Klein's chest. He covered his face and gasped heavily, but his mind was still blank. The dead man lay on the ground with his eyes closed, so peaceful that he seemed to have fallen into an eternal sleep. No one could push his shoulder to wake up the smiling poet.

  Klein moved his lips and whispered, "Leonard Mitchell."

  Why can't your secret protect you?

  Klein stretched out his hand after a long while and buttoned up the shirt stained with blood and dust. Then he stood up and glanced at the almost ruined Blackthorn Security Company. He heard the violent heartbeat in his chest and Dunn's still weak voice outside the ruins.

  ——Finally he was the only one left.

  Kress moved his lips, his voice so hoarse that it was almost inaudible: "Who are you?"

  "..."

  "I know you're here."

  An old, long sigh sounded in his mind. The old voice that came from nowhere and landed on him slowly replied: "Me? Just an old and weak man. I used to live with your colleague, but now I have no choice but to change my partner."

  Klein paused. He opened his mouth, but a low laugh escaped from his throat.

  "No wonder......"

  No wonder, no wonder.

  It turns out that the secret of the poet is alive. No wonder he thinks he is the protagonist of the times, and no wonder he failed to protect himself here in the end. So that's how it is.

  It was clearly such a painful moment, but Klein covered his face and laughed. Tears flowed from between his fingers, spreading across his face, covered with dust and dirt. He stood there, his laughter gradually died down, and finally there was no sound at all, no movement, like a marble sculpture displayed in a glass cabinet.

  His spirituality became more lively.

  Klein knew that his "Joker" potion had been digested a little.

  ...

  Leonard had no family, so there was no need to inform anyone of the bad news. When he heard the news, Klein was actually a little surprised. He didn't expect that the goddess's welfare home could raise someone with Leonard's personality, and he didn't expect that this person who looked so sloppy and unreliable all day long would grow up to this age and rely entirely on self-reliance.

  He looked like he had hardly suffered much and had a kind heart.

  But no matter how rare it is, this person must be buried.

  Four people picked up the coffin, and Klein was one of them. After covering the grave with soil and finishing the prayer, Klein finally reacted. Under Melissa's urging gaze, he placed the white chrysanthemum in front of the newly built grave. He subconsciously raised his hand to brush away the dirt on the tombstone photo, and suddenly met the gray but lively eyes of the person in the photo, with a hint of smile.

  Those emerald green eyes seemed to be looking at him again.

  Klein stared into those eyes and lowered his head again.

  As if he was subconsciously avoiding something, he said, "May you find peace in the goddess' kingdom."

  May you find peace in the grace of the Goddess, Leonard.

  If you have a chance...next time, don't go to the extraordinary world again.

  Klein was still a little unsteady when he stood up, but fortunately Dunn helped him up. He nodded to the captain of the Nighthawks, and in return the captain gave him a slight bitter smile. Dunn looked even worse, and he looked very haggard. When he turned his head to look at Leonard's newly built tombstone, his deep gray eyes were moist and turbid.

  Klein pursed his lips, but he didn't say anything. He and Melissa rushed back home in silence. He had too many considerations, so many that he was panicked for a moment.

  Ince Zangwill and 0-08, Lanevus and the Aurora Society, if Melissa and Benson got involved, it would be enough to ruin ordinary people. The old man that Gray Fog and Leonard coexisted with was still unknown, and when the origins of these things were a mystery, he didn't dare to gamble with Melissa and Benson.

  The power of the extraordinary world is enough to crush them into dust.

  Klein was torn between his conscience and his desires. He clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and let his brain race, searching for a solution.

  In just a moment, a noun flashed through his mind——

  Red gloves.

  The goddess's hound, the elite of the elite, tracks the danger and madness flowing in the extraordinary world.

  Revenge. Stay away from the Moretti family. Seek a chance to quickly advance.

  There was no better channel than this, unless he betrayed the Nighthawks. He had made some judgments about the strength of the Goddess's church, and after three months of getting along, he already had a sense of belonging to the identity of the Nighthawks. He had no reason or logic to betray the Goddess's church.

  The only obstacle is the progress of digestion of the "Joker" potion.

  After making up his mind, Klein opened his eyes and found his sister Melissa looking at him worriedly. Klein smiled at her, but in his mind he had already started to make up the reasons for leaving home and the subsequent arrangements.

  They can write to each other later... Klein thought with some guilt and smiled.

  2.

  Leonard felt like a demon when he rose from his grave.

  He shook off the dirt on his body, and after calling out to that voice in vain, he suddenly realized his current situation: he died inexplicably, was resurrected inexplicably, lost his uniqueness inexplicably, and fell to this point inexplicably.

  Leonard's first reaction was: Find the organization when encountering difficulties!

  Leonard subconsciously took a few steps in the patrol direction, and only then did he react. If he went there like this, it would be like an evil spirit running wild in the Goddess Church. The time it would take for his colleagues to kill him or lock Chanis up would depend on whether he surrendered with a good attitude or struggled and resisted.

  So why didn't I die?

  Leonard looked down at the lines on his palm in confusion.

  What evil private entity is taking advantage of me? He clenched his fists nervously. Is the target the church or the goddess?

  Coming back from the dead is not something that ordinary people can do, not to mention that I, who have been entangled by that voice, may not be so innocent!

  If that voice left something on him, and he showed any sign of knowing the voice's existence, then even eight mouths would be useless.

  Maybe if he gives the order tonight, the "Sword of the Goddess" will be on its way to Tingen tomorrow.

  Leonard was startled.

  Goddess above, he would rather live than be purified on the spot by his colleagues or superiors...

  Leonard silently changed direction and walked around the Raphael Cemetery. He was relieved to find that apart from his own cemetery and that of Cohenli, there were no new residents in the cemetery.

  This probably means that the captain and Klein survived that battle... That's good.

  He breathed a sigh of relief, then thought of his situation and rummaged through his pockets with some embarrassment. After thinking for a moment, he left the cemetery and decided to go home to see if he could dig out some of his previous savings.

  Goddess... No, he decided not to pray to the goddess. He was really afraid that the goddess would send him directly to the underworld. Leonard unbuttoned two buttons on his chest and scratched his hair. The hair that had finally become neat and smooth was sticking up here and there again, sticking up in a messy way.

  The unemployed vagrant who officially became the former night watchman climbed over the wall and pried open the lock to enter the house without any hindrance. He was so skilled in his job that he could move freely in the house.

  He was lucky that the bearer deposit slip hidden under the mattress was not found during the property check. It contained all of Leonard's savings from his three years of work.

  Although he never treated himself badly in terms of food, accommodation, and transportation, as an insomniac who mainly relied on physical attacks and poetry control, the biggest expense on his equipment was the cost of making talismans. His financial situation was much better than that of the peepers and fortune tellers, after all, he could get pistol bullets from the church.

  What's more, he lives alone and is an extraordinary person. His most extravagant hobby is to fight evil.

  There was five hundred pounds on the deposit slip, eighty of which came from the mission he had done with Klein. Leonard stuffed the slip into his pocket and began looking for food and medicine.

  When he crawled out of the grave, he felt hungry, weak and injured. If it weren't for the sleepless path that enhanced his physical fitness, it would be unknown whether he could crawl back.

  Leonard took out one pound, ten soli and fifteen pence in change and put them in his pocket. Finally, he found a loaf of rye bread that he had stuffed in a corner of the cupboard. It was dry and hard.

  He almost suspected that this thing could not be broken open by breaking it, and he had to find a hand saw or a hand axe to split it open. Unfortunately, there were no such tools in the house he rented.

  Leonard boiled a kettle of water and tentatively threw the rye bread in. He watched in despair as the bread floated on the surface of the hot water like a dry wood chip.

  He gave up on rescuing the patient completely, and went into the bathroom, taking off his vest and shirt one by one. He turned his body sideways to look at himself in the mirror, and saw that his back was covered with bruises, some of which were almost purple. He almost shrank back in pain when he pressed on it.

  Without ritual magic, I can only rely on buying some medicine to apply...Leonard grinned.

  He casually put on his shirt and vest, buttoned them as he walked out the door, and looked out the window at the deep night. The red moon was still shining, so bright that he had no mood to eat.

  The crimson moonlight shone through the window. The midnight poet stood by the window with a basin of hot water behind him, on which a loaf of dried rye bread floated quietly.

  After dealing with the current dilemma in a hurry, Leonard turned to consider more important issues.

  Who planned this disaster? What does the mastermind want?

  ——Is it just that madman Lanevus who is taking revenge on society by diverting the evil to others? If he wanted to cause a bigger disaster, he could just wait for the evil god's offspring to be born. Why is he so anxious to give out clues? Why is the timing of Megose's appearance so coincidental?

  Something seems wrong... Leonard frowned, but he had no clue.

  He scratched his chin in annoyance and confusion, gave himself a break for the time being, and set himself a short-term goal.

  ——Revenge on Lanevus.

  Anyway, I almost died!

  Leonard narrowed his eyes, and a hint of bright color flashed across his green eyes, making his eyes look dark green, like a ferocious beast lurking in the darkness.

  The next thing to consider is, on the one hand, improving one's own strength, and on the other hand, finding the trace of Lanevus.

  Tingen was determined not to serve any longer. The people and things he was familiar with were all in Tingen, and it would only take a minute for them to be exposed. Now that he had money in his hands, he could think about this matter carefully.

  According to common sense, it is easier to find a circle of wild Beyonders in a metropolis, and the most famous metropolis in Loen is the Land of Hope, the Capital of All Cities - Backlund!

  Emperor Roselle once said that danger always coexists with opportunity. Backlund is also a place where the church's forces are entrenched, and the control is also very strict, but as long as we avoid former colleagues from the Church of Evernight as much as possible, there shouldn't be too many problems... Well, it should be.

  What's more, what he needs to do now is to bide his time and improve his strength, not to make trouble.

  The only problem that gave him a headache was the issue of faith in the fake identity.

  Leonard first excluded the Storm Church, which produced people like Luermi who were prejudiced against women. The Mother Earth Goddess was not a mainstream belief in Loen, and the remaining gods could not even be found in churches. The ideas promoted by the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery were relatively acceptable to him, but the doctrine was not what Leonard was entangled with.

  His faith was not very devout, but he had been a Night Watcher for so long after all. He had witnessed how the Goddess of Night always responded to the Night Watchers' rituals and was one of the beneficiaries. Suddenly, he was asked to pretend to believe in another true God, and Leonard reflexively felt a little uncomfortable.

  But in order to avoid being purified, Leonard had no choice but to apologize to the goddess.

  I'll leave for Backlund early tomorrow morning, then get a set of identification, rent a house, and... maybe I'll need to buy a revolver and a few boxes of bullets.

  He planned silently and couldn't help but look in the direction of Zouteland Street.

  The night is quiet.

  3.

  Two months later, at 36 Zouteland Street, inside the newly renovated Blackthorn Security Company.

  Facing Dunn's questioning gaze, Klein pursed his lips and said, "I'm just a little bit away from completely digesting the potion. Captain, I want to join the Red Gloves."

  Dunn's eyes suddenly darkened and he frowned slightly. He said, "Give me a reason."

  "I want..." Klein took a deep breath, "I want revenge."

  The air in the office seemed to suddenly freeze.

  Dunn's expression did not change. He stared at him without blinking. His gray eyes were calm, yet dark and unclear. "Who do you want to take revenge on, Klein? Do you know what your life will be like after joining the Red Gloves? You still have a family."

  "It's because I have a family, Captain." Klein skipped the first two questions that they knew were obvious to him. "I can't let them get involved. I know this is my sincere wish. But I can't and won't confess it to them."

  Dunn listened to him but did not comment on his choice. He only said, "Ince Zangwill is very likely to have reached Sequence 4 and entered the ranks of Demigods."

  Klein nodded: "I know."

  "Lanevers' whereabouts are unknown. You may not run into him."

  "I know," Klein said. "I know everything, Captain."

  He looked out the window at the bright sunshine, and after a long while he said, "I just...can't accept this ending. I don't know what Ince Zangwill did, nor do I know what power 0-08 has. I only know that Leonard is a good senior, and he did nothing wrong. Everyone did nothing wrong either."

  "I'm just a little dissatisfied."

  He turned back and smiled at Dunn.

  "I just don't understand why we are doing everything right but still losing people around us."

  Dunn fell silent.

  Klein knew that Dunn could not give an answer to this question. This rigid Loen man in front of him valued feelings more than he did, and was even more reluctant to let go of his teammates' departure. Therefore, although there was some truth in his words, there was also a part of Klein playing the emotional card with Dunn.

  However, saying more would seem deliberate, so Klein stopped there and repeated his request: "Captain, I want to join the Red Gloves. I want to join the Red Gloves."

  Dunn was silent for a long time, and finally sighed and said, "Go and write an application report. If the Holy Church approves it, the next step is to review you."

  Klein controlled his expression, lowered his eyes, and bowed solemnly to Dunn.

  Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he heard Dunn's deep, mellow voice behind him, a little dry and disappointed: "I'm sorry, I never realized that you and Leonard had such a deep relationship."

  Klein almost slipped and flew out, but he managed to stay steady thanks to the Joker's strong balance. His upper eyelids were throbbing, and he thought to himself that it was right that you didn't know him, so he shouldn't get to know him first next time. The straight man from the southwest tried his best to regain his composure, turned around and looked at Dunn deeply, totally confused as to why he and Leonard had such a deep relationship.

  Dunn, however, seemed completely unaware of his own mental journey as he held his cup of coffee and fell into a daze. For a moment, his gray eyes were extremely empty, as if he was thinking of another person based on the desolate autumn scenery outside.

  Klein glanced at him and left silently.

  He didn't know who the captain was thinking of, but he knew that if he was thinking of another person, he would look like that. Whether the weather outside was full of life and the spring breeze was long, or lonely and frosty. It didn't matter. You just suddenly thought of that person because the weather was good or bad, and you were caught in tangled memories, and your eyes would be extremely empty.

  A book once said that the most cruel love is not the one that carries a passion that wants to consume both people, but rather one day when you look at the scenery outside the window, you suddenly realize: the wind, rain, sunshine and snow outside the window are you; the willows in the smoke and the painted bridge are you; summer, autumn and winter are you; the seasons change and you are still you; it seems that no matter what I see, I will think of you in the end.

  So, what about Leonard? The time traveler thought suddenly as he stopped in a leak of sunlight.

  Is there anyone who loves him so cruelly and misses him all the time?

  Klein searched through his memories carefully. His brown eyes were blank for a moment, and then he smiled slowly. He even laughed at his own abrupt thoughts. He shook his head to get them out of his mind, walked to the office of the clerical staff, and found the typewriter he needed there.

  The traces a person leaves in this world are not visible to others. Klein believes that there are still people outside of this place who are mourning his death, thinking about the absence of this carefree young man in the rest of their lives, and are so sad about it that they cannot express the feelings in their hearts.

  But that person won't be you.

  He would remember him, and think of him, and he would try to avenge him for the three months of companionship. But he would not, the only thing he would not, love him so deeply.

  Because they have only known each other for three months.

  4.

  Leonard knocked on the bar. "Half and half, Southwell red wine and Southwell beer."

  The bartender glanced at him and said, "Sixpence...it's you again."

  Leonard took out six coins, raised his head and snorted, "Have I seen you before?"

  "There aren't many people like you in the East District, and even fewer come to the pub during the day." The bartender calmed down after hearing his words, took the bottle and started pouring wine, "When you came a few days ago, we were still talking about when you would come again - I was not on duty that day, drinking there and preparing for my shift change, so it's normal that you didn't notice me."

  Leonard raised his eyebrows, put the coin on the table, and smiled: "Does this look very conspicuous to me?"

  The bartender looked at him stupidly for a while. "It's mainly because not many people from other districts come here, and you don't look like someone from the East District. You look like someone from the North District."

  Leonard almost twitched his eyebrows. He paused and smiled, "North District? No, not North District."

  There is a Goddess Church in the North District, how could he dare to live there.

  The bartender took the money, pushed the glass to him, picked up the bottle and put it aside, and wiped the table with a dusty cloth with skillful movements: "The respectable people are outside the East District."

  Leonard took a sip and tapped the table thoughtfully: "I saw the wanted poster outside. There are a lot of people looking at it. Are they all bounty hunters?"

  When the bartender mentioned this, he looked at him for a second longer. "Yes, but not entirely. If you want to offer a reward, I have a more reliable guy to recommend to you. There might be a few desperate people among the group of people outside, especially a gentleman like you who is well-dressed."

  Lun Pseude smiled and said, "A real bounty hunter?"

  "And professional," the bartender added.

  "It's a very tempting description." Leonard thought for a while, "I do... have something that is not convenient for me to deal with. How can I contact that person?"

  The bartender put on a smile and said, "This is something you guys should talk about - Hush! Hush!"

  Leonard was startled, and soon realized that the bartender was calling the bounty hunter's name. He understood and didn't reject it. He smiled and looked over, and saw a short lady with short blond hair walking through the crowd to the bar. She had a convincing temperament, which made people feel reliable on a spiritual level.

  Leonard narrowed his eyes, thinking uncertainly.

  ——Extraordinary?

  The bounty hunter named Xio raised his head and saw Leonard. After a second of hesitation, he took out two copper coins and placed them on the bar. He nodded to him and said, "Do you want to change the environment, or do you want to talk here?"

  Originally, Leonard had no good feelings towards wild extraordinary people. After all, his last job was to fight against wild extraordinary people or wild extraordinary people who joined secret organizations. But considering that he is also a wild extraordinary person now, he did not show any subtle rejection and put himself in the right position in front of the lady in time.

  "Outside, but maybe you'll have to wait a while?" Leonard raised the cup in his hand and asked with a smile, "Would you like to sit down and have a drink? We can talk about something else."

  Xio's brows furrowed, and he looked at the green-eyed man with a casual smile: "No, sir, in fact, too much alcohol is not helpful for your health or financial situation. I don't drink, and I sincerely advise you to drink in small amounts. The money you save may help you run a warm and beautiful family."

  Leonard was confused: "..."

  He chewed over the main idea of these words, his brows twitched involuntarily, and he subconsciously looked at the bartender, and then found that Mr. Bao had a calm and even numb face. He was indifferent to Xiu's behavior of persuading people to quit smoking in the bar, and it seemed that he was very used to it.

  "Are you a follower of the Goddess of Night?" Leonard changed the subject. "Family is the value that women... the Church of Night promotes."

  Xio sat down beside him and nodded, "Yes. The goddess teaches her followers to value their families and love their families."

  Leonard nodded and said simply, "Shad Joe, you can just call me Shad."

  "Just call me Xiu." The bounty hunter lady also introduced herself.

  "Ms. Xiu," Leonard said, "I hope to get your long-term contact information. I know you have your own way of contacting me. I am not in a good position to show up in front of some people recently, so I may need to trouble you for a while. Of course, I haven't done anything to offend anyone, I just need to stay out of the spotlight for a while."

  Xio looked at him, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

  Leonard made a "please" gesture: "If you have something to say, just speak up, ma'am."

  "Mr. Shade," Hugh said with difficulty, "I understand your thoughts, but do you have any misunderstandings about your appearance and face? I'm afraid that when you walked down the street today, at least one-third or even two-thirds of the people would be impressed by you."

  Leonard fell into a sudden silence and took a few sips of wine.

  After a long pause, he smiled and said, "Sorry, I don't have much experience."

  After saying that, he drank the wine in the glass in a few gulps, pushed the glass back to the bartender, and stood up from the bar. His tall and sturdy figure and extraordinary height were clearly visible, making Xio want to cover his face and sigh.

  How can such a person say that he came to the East District for the limelight! Aren't they afraid of being kidnapped and sold to some strange place? !

  Miss Hugh, who was thirty centimeters shorter than Leonard, followed in silence.

  The street in front of the bar skirted the Tussock River. At this moment, the dockworkers were standing by the river, shouting their own names, or the names of their supervisors, waving their hands to grab jobs. Leonard stood aside and watched for a while, his chin tucked into the collar of his recently purchased windbreaker, his eyes dark and emotionless.

  Xio had no idea what was wrong with his employer, and was about to ask him when he heard Mr. Shade laugh. His laugh was very light, so he didn't sound very happy, but he finally turned his head back and said, "This is our first cooperation, I'll take 70% and you'll take 30%, next time I'll take 80% and you'll take 20%, and it won't change after that."

  Xio was stunned for a moment: "What's the matter?"

  "Nothing." The man touched the tip of his nose and smiled at her. "I just caught someone who looks a bit like the one on the wanted list."

  stop:"......"

  smoothly?

  She was stunned for two seconds, and Mr. Shade was still adding fuel to the fire.

  "I don't remember his name," Joe said, "but he has a distinctive look. When I passed by, I took a closer look at the photo on the reward. The reward seemed to be two hundred pounds?"

  Xio was completely stunned.

  Her first reaction was that this person was here to challenge her, but then she suddenly realized that Mr. Shade must have really offended someone, so he came to the East District to be a bounty hunter and was looking for someone to claim the bounty. As everyone knows, every successful bounty hunter has his own connections, but he brought people here and delivered the bounty to her door.

  There are two reasons for this.

  First, he had just arrived and if he took someone's business he would offend that person, and he couldn't afford to offend anyone.

  Second, make some connections and friends. And making friends is also an art. If a man who looks quite capable comes and hits you on the head with 60 pounds without saying a word, anyone would be dizzy.

  Xio didn't rush to faint, but stared at him for a long time: "Whose limelight are you avoiding?"

  Leonard was stunned for a moment, and said helplessly: "The Church of Night."

  Xio said "hmm", raised his head and nodded, and asked, "Where are the people?"

  Leonard looked at her for a while, his tone still without any sense of seriousness: "Miss Xiu, it seems that you haven't answered the question I asked in the tavern."

  But his eyes and tone were different.

  The words are not cold yet, but the look in his eyes is already cold. So cold.

  Obviously, there was no big change, but it seemed that all the humanity and warmth had been lost. Half of his face was still buried in the collar of his windbreaker. He spoke with a smile and calmly, but the only thing that was smiling was his voice. The spiritual intuition alarm sounded in Xio's mind for a moment, but it was only a moment, and Shad Joe returned from a somewhat indifferent wolfhound to a gentle and casual gentleman.

  Based on this skill of changing faces, Xiu believed his judgment 80%.

  She pulled up her cap and gave an address of a safe house she had set up in the East District: "Write to this address, I'll come and see it later."

  Leonard said, "Oh." "Are you in a hurry? Looking for that bartender?"

  "Well." Xio glanced at him, "How can I give you the reward?"

  Leonard touched his chin and smiled, "Give it to the bartender too, so I can find some more. As for how to find someone...Miss Xiu, are you willing to walk a few more steps? It's not that far from here."

  Hugh agreed.

  Five minutes later, Xio and a bunch of wanted criminals were looking at each other.

  The gentleman who had arrested the man put the key back into his pocket, smiled and greeted the person inside, and then made a "please" gesture: "If you need any help, please let me know."

  Xio and the half a dozen people in the room looked at each other and uttered a voice from the depths of their souls: "Handy?"

  Xia De fiddled with the keychain in his pocket, opened his eyes and lied, "It happened a few times."

  stop:"......"

  Who are you treating as a fool? !

  5.

  Wintershire, Tranquil Church.

  Klein Moretti, who had been promoted to Sequence 7, climbed up the stairs and ran into a woman with black hair and black eyes, wearing a bark belt and a linen robe.

  He was stunned for a moment, then lowered his eyes and drew a red moon on his chest. After he finished, he bowed to the lady and said, "Your Highness Arianna."

  Arianna also nodded her chest four times and said in a peaceful tone: "I am an ascetic monk. You can call me Madam."

  Klein paused and did not insist: "Ms. Arianna."

  Arianna nodded to him and suddenly said, "The goddess is watching the wolves, Mr. Moretti. Whether in the past, present, or future, please always believe that the goddess has never looked away. She knows that she is watching."

  Klein was startled and stopped where he was.

  --What's the meaning?

  He almost subconsciously raised his head to look up into the infinite height, then paused and lowered his head even lower. There was an unknown difficulty in his low voice: "Praise the goddess."

  The ball of light that he imagined in his mind, representing the parasite, was curled up tightly, shrinking itself to its smallest size without making a sound, and still flickering constantly, like some kind of sign.

  Arianna devoutly drew the red moon: "Praise the goddess."

  She put her hand down and continued, "The goddess is watching you too, Mr. Moretti."

  Arianna's face, which was always calm and peaceful, showed a little smile. She said to Clayne, "After joining the Red Gloves, you will be transferred to Backlund at your request. You will not have much time to rest or move freely. If necessary, use your Dark Night Divine Vision and show it to your captain. Your whereabouts are under the protection of the goddess, and no one will ask too much."

  Klein was stunned for a moment.

  His lips moved, somewhat unsure of what this meant.

  ——I, the start-up evil god, have become a goddess's favorite? ? ?

  Klein was not surprised for long, and he quickly accepted the fact: "I understand, Ms. Arianna."

  Arianna raised her hand to draw a red moon and said calmly, "The goddess will surely watch you."

  "Praise the goddess."

  "Praise the goddess."

  The next moment, Arianna's figure disappeared into the church as if erased by someone. When Klein reacted, in the huge church, the stars made of gemstones reflected different brilliances under the red moonlight, and the half red moon was like a crescent eye, staring at Klein silently and quietly.

   Klein pulled his red gloves and walked out of the church.

  Suddenly, he said, "As far as I know, the paths of the Diviner, Apprentice, and Thief are interchangeable at the demigod level. Is this correct, sir?"

  "Yes." Pales was silent for a moment, then said, "You are not as ignorant as you appear, right? Is it because I am not a real threat to you for the time being, or is it because you are a follower of the night?"

  I just found out about the latter part... Klein held his forehead.

  "Since it means darkness here, I won't attack you." Bales said straightforwardly, "But, Klein, your future may be much harder than you think. You and I are on the same road, and sooner or later my threat will become your threat - or I will threaten you. But at least for now, the latter possibility can be ignored. I am an old and weak man, and I don't want to get involved in this kind of thing at all."

  "Um."

  Klein didn't ask any unnecessary questions.

  Pales was also happy to maintain a close but not too distant relationship with him. "What a coincidence, the promotion ceremony to Sequence 4 of the Fortune Teller Path is to murder a demigod. If you can kill Ince Zangwill, you can take the opportunity to be promoted."

  Klein looked up and suddenly stopped. He stood in the cold wind for a long time and suddenly said, "Sir, I have a question."

  "What's up?"

  "Do you think that the fact that Ince Zangwill chose Tingen's Sealed Artifact... was a coincidence?"

  Palece didn't speak for a long time. After a long while, he chuckled and said, "What do you think? You must have suspected someone in your mind when you asked me this. The 0-08 arrangement is certainly part of the reason, but you are looking for a deeper connection."

  Klein lowered his eyes, and a streak of green seemed to pass by the corners of his eyes, belonging to the young man with long hair. He nodded calmly: "I still can't believe it... sir."

  "Well," Pales explained, "this influence also comes from fate."

  Destiny...?

  Klein thought thoughtfully.

  "Even for beings at a higher level, fate is still mysterious." There was some sighing and lamentation in Pales's old voice. "Although life is long, fate is always entangled. Higher levels are always attracted to each other, connecting lives together through unexpected ways."

  "Perhaps, Ince Gwill is just an opportunity for you to meet another one."

  "Who?" Klein asked.

  "Destiny didn't tell me either," Pales said.

  Klein then realized that his question was a bit pedantic, as if Pales and the Undead were definitely in cahoots. He paused and nodded: "Is that so... I think I can understand a little bit now. Thank you for your answer."

  Is it that gray fog...?

  It seems that it is of a high level.

  Pales snorted in his head: "That's all, I'm going to bed. Also, today is the day you should write a letter to your family, don't forget."

  Klein was stunned for a moment, then laughed:

  "Yes, I won't forget it, sir."

  ——

  Haven't seen this, make some yourself.

  Come on, let's have some live comments and play with me... There were so few people watching the weirdness around me that I had to pinch my nose and open the sandwich ring...

  Why doesn't anyone write about this!!! Why!!!

2.

  #DefectionLunxRedGloves, two-level reversal

  #This is a product to satisfy my own bad taste. There is no way to verify it. The timeline is also very confusing. I have no idea.

  ——

  I didn't finish writing it before and sent it by mistake QwQ

  ——

  6.

  After realizing that the person in front of him was Azik Eggers, the man on the wanted list, Leonard's first reaction was to turn around and run.

  The opponent's response proved that his subconscious behavior was correct. A skull with pale flames burning in its eye sockets emerged from the ground. Leonard could see it even without using his psychic vision.

  The undead creature's punch was sharp and clean, and it grazed Leonard's elbow, making him feel as if he had jumped into an ice bucket. His movements trembled, and he almost wanted to shrink, but he forced himself to hold it back.

  Just as he was struggling with his trembling self, he saw Azik click his hat and asked in a deep voice:

  "——Night?"

  "I am not from the church." Leonard took a breath, and the coolness of early winter relieved the coldness in his body. He pulled the corners of his mouth, "--at least not now."

  Maybe his smile was too bitter, Azik paused and hesitated: "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

  Leonard: "...Huh?" 

  It can't be such a coincidence, right?

  Leonard blinked in confusion and asked subconsciously, "Where have you seen me before? Did you remember it wrongly?"

  As soon as he closed his eyes, Azik remembered.

  ——Come to think of it, that was the first time he saw his student with that kind of expression.

  In his impression, Klein was not a person who showed his emotions too much. When he met him at Hoy University, this young man was always silent and dull, and only occasionally revealed his love and obsession with history. Later, when he entered the extraordinary world, he became less silent, but always polite - Azik couldn't tell, after all, they were not that familiar with each other before.

  That day, he went through some twists and turns. When he rushed from the spirit world to the ruined security company, Klein was standing next to a male corpse, covering his face, almost in a state of trance.

  Azik glanced at the ground.

  He was a very young and handsome man, with his eyes closed and his face pale, so white that it seemed like it would disappear at any moment.

  The next second, Klein raised his head and saw him. He wiped his face fiercely and greeted him in a hoarse voice, "Mr. Azik."

  Azik was silent for a while, then said, "Sorry, if I could have arrived earlier—"

  Klein smiled at him and said, "This is not your fault."

  He smiled very reluctantly, too reluctantly, his lips were pursed flat and straight, the corners of his lips were raised against the will of his facial muscles, his brown eyes were slightly curved, with a numb emptiness inside...

  Like the look his father gave him when he stood in front of Welch's grave at his funeral.

  Exactly the same.

  Azik released his hand that was pressing down on his hat and was silent for a moment: "Are you Klein Moretti's colleague?"

  Leonard suddenly choked up, the words "how do you know" stuck in his throat, his face flushed. He was speechless for a while, his mind tense, and after clearly realizing that he was in a vulnerable situation, he chose to tell the truth, took a deep breath and said: "--Former colleague."

  Azik nodded without saying anything more. He skipped the topic, and the murderous aura around him weakened a lot. The skeleton also stopped attacking, but was still ready to go: "Did you notice me from the bounty?"

  "Yes." Leonard let out a long breath and pulled himself together, "But I didn't deliberately track you down."

  "I can probably guess a little bit." Azik looked at him for a while and sighed, "There are indeed few sleepless people who don't belong to the night. This is something I have never been prepared for."

  Seeing the man in front of him showing some shame, Azik smiled, and his skeleton disintegrated and returned to the underworld. His tone became much softer: "So, you are avoiding the people of the night now?"

  Leonard said "hmm" in a depressed tone, then realized something: "You know Klein - is he okay? Are his colleagues okay?"

  Azik met those green eyes filled with anxiety and concern, and suddenly lost his voice.

  Because the emotion in those eyes is too pure, without any other information. When you look at such a pair of beautiful green glasses, you will almost forget your current situation for a short time, as if everything around you is just that touch of green.

  Azik paused and smiled, "He's fine. He's joined the Red Gloves. You and his colleagues are fine too."

  So, Klein is now Sequence 7?

  Leonard was relieved at first, but then he was stunned by the speed of his promotion and felt a sense of urgency:

  It's only been a few months and this guy has already made it to the Sequence!

  Azik saw him pursing his lips, and he was a little surprised: "You don't seem that happy."

  Leonard scratched his hair, feeling a little annoyed. "I used to be Klein's senior, but his Sequence is higher than mine now—" He realized that his words sounded a bit like a complaint, so he stopped talking in time, but his messed-up hair was still sticking up randomly. "No, I mean, he joined the Red Gloves? Isn't that too hard for him?"

  Azik's smile deepened: "This is his choice."

  Leonard nodded heavily: "Yes, may the goddess——"

  Leonard paused, then froze, unable to pray.

  Azik laughed and changed the subject with understanding: "Regarding the extraordinary properties of Nightmare, I have something here from a secret organization called the Spiritual Cult - at the same time, I have something I want to entrust you with."

  ......

  When Leonard arrived at the place where he had agreed to meet with Hugh, he looked at the bounty hunter who had been waiting for a long time and felt a little dazed.

  Xio noticed something was wrong with him and asked with concern, "What's wrong with you?"

  Leonard opened his mouth, then closed it again, clutching the formula and the paper with the Messenger Summoning Ceremony in his pocket. The detailed version of the Beyonder characteristic Immortality Law he had just obtained was still spinning in his mind, but what came out of his mouth was something else:

  "—I found some money."

  stop:"?"

  Leonard: "It's a lot of money."

  stop:"???"

  Leonard continued to lie: "Well, the owner later said that the money was a gift to me."

  stop:"......"

  She cried out in her heart:

  What? She wants to pick it up too!

  7.

  Backlund, North District, Saint Samuel's Church.

  Klein followed a group of red gloves out of the church. As soon as he stepped onto the tiles of the square outside the church, he sensed spiritual fluctuations. He turned on his spiritual vision and saw the skeleton messenger drill out from the ground. After handing him the letter, it turned into an inverted fountain and disappeared. Klein unfolded the letter and read it silently, while his teammates ignored him.

  A messenger with strength close to Sequence Five or Six is certainly impressive, but it is not so impressive if you see it often.

  At first, when Klein handed over three copies of the Diviner's Path formula to the church, the "Eye of the Goddess" Ilia, who was handling the matter, looked at him with a strange look, but still credited him with merit and promoted him to "Magician."

  Later, when the Skeleton Messenger was delivering a letter to him, he was seen by his teammates. The teammates, who were gathering to fight against evil, shut up in amazement and then reported him.

  The archbishop of the cathedral was frightened and asked the goddess for an oracle that day.

  The goddess instructed: Let it develop.

  ——Can the identity of a person favored by God explain everything?

  In the Church of Night, no.

  Because there was no need for Klein to explain.

  The Red Gloves who had not yet graduated were sighing in the lounge: Where did the "corpse collector" come from? Their little fortune teller had exposed the demigod, and he was so kind to Klein and answered every question. Was it the arrangement of the goddess? Praise the goddess.

  Klein held the coffee cup and stared at the crack in the floor, wishing he could get in right away.

  Mr. Azik's letter this time involved a serial murder case that had the people of Backlund in a state of panic: women who had once worked as streetwalkers had their internal organs ripped out and died, the death toll had reached ten, and the suspect was suspected to be a demonic blood sacrifice performed by the Blood Cult, which happened to be the case their team was responsible for.

  "I'm glad to know that you've come to Backlund. I wonder how you've adapted to the job of Red Gloves. Perhaps after we're done with our busy schedule, we can reunite in a restaurant in Backlund to celebrate your promotion.

  "......

  "I have commissioned someone else to investigate, and based on what he told me last time, these victims strangely overlap with the victims of another incident he was responsible for.

  "Normally, Backlund has a large population. Even if the same group of people are killed, it is impossible for more than three families to overlap, and this generally points to the case of missing girls. If there is some necessary connection between these missing girls, then it should be related to human trafficking.

  "Interestingly, there are a few cases that I'm currently investigating. They seem to be related to the activities of Ince Zangwill.

  "It seems Backlund is not as calm as everyone thought, right?

  "......

  "Finally, I wish you an unforgettable and pleasant memory in Backlund.

  "Your friend,

  "Azik Eggers."

  Klein took a breath, folded the letter carefully, and put it in his pocket. This was the first time he had heard about Ince Zangwill since the disaster in Tingen, and his emotions were a little turbulent.

  The man standing next to him, Red Gloves, who was older than him, saw his mood swings, patted his shoulder, and naturally started talking about something else: "I heard that you have the habit of writing letters to your family in the church. If you still want to keep it up now, you may have to spend some effort."

  Klein perked up: "You mean the address where the letter was received?"

  "Yes." The man with the red gloves smiled. "We will be transferred very frequently and the work intensity will be relatively higher. If you hope not to miss letters from your family, it is best to choose a place to receive them. Most people will choose a church."

  Klein nodded: "Thank you for your reminder."

  Seeing that he had calmed down, the man with red gloves withdrew his hand, nodded in greeting, and then turned his attention back to the road ahead.

  This time, their mission is to search for the suspect.

  As for why the person in charge of this matter was the Nighthawks - the representative of Backlund's security force, the Severus Field was unable to accurately assign the case to any party based on their beliefs. In the end, the jurisdiction determined that the matter would be taken over by the Nighthawks and handed over to the Red Gloves for handling.

  Klein tried his best to learn and only completed the training in two months. He seemed relatively inexperienced and was responsible for investigations with relatively low risk factors.

  He was not from the "Insomniac" path, and studying this matter had occupied most of his energy. With Pales' occasional reminders and combined with the knowledge of the path he had learned, he barely figured out what this sacrificial ritual was -

  This was not a sacrifice to a high-ranking demon, but a promotion ceremony to Sequence Five of the Criminal Path!

  The moment Klein realized it, six big words flashed through his mind:

  Sorry to bother you!

  Pales was silent in his mind for a moment, then laughed out loud. The angel of the thief's path knew at a glance what kind of idea he could steal from Klein, and was amused.

  Here, Klein used his still-powerful keyboard skills to convince the team members, and everyone readily agreed to go back and re-form a team to clear this dungeon again - this decision was exactly what Klein wanted.

  It is clear what to do next:

  Find that sequence five, and then clean it up.

  However, the powerful "1" level seal against the demons was on its way to Backlund, and the Red Gloves had made a lot of progress in their investigation today, so they were granted an extra three hours of vacation by the captain. Since it was daytime, the possibility of demons committing crimes was lower, and the Red Gloves, who were mostly sleepless, were also in poor condition. Otherwise, they would not have thought of such a good thing.

  But this was enough for Klein.

  His target was the "Rossel Exhibition" held by the Steam Church next door. Through the Tarot Club's Roselle Diary, he already knew what good things this fellow had stuffed into his bookshelf, and was preparing to see if there was a chance to get the Blasphemous Cards made by Roselle.

  He believed that since the goddess didn't mind making things convenient for him, she naturally wouldn't mind him making some extra money without anyone noticing.

  After Klein tried to persuade Pales to help steal the cards and used this theory, Pales was silent for a while, then he cursed, "Are you really the Red Glove of the Night Family? Do you know how blasphemous your idea is? You should have a basic respect for the gods!"

  Klein touched the tip of his nose and took the scolding obediently. He thought to himself that he had called other true gods quite a few times in the gray fog and was an experienced suicidal person.

  Pales was extremely angry at his attitude, but he still agreed to give it a try. He would steal the cards when there weren't too many restrictions, and give up when there were too many restrictions, letting Klein figure it out on his own.

  ——In the end, Klein had to find a way out on his own.

  The solution Klein came up with was to use Sefirah Castle—the name came from Pales, and Klein thought it sounded much better than gray fog, so he used it—to transform into a special spirit and steal the Blasphemous Card. During the time when his spirit was away, Mr. Pales would temporarily take care of his body.

  After going through the process of inspecting, picking up and delivering goods, Mr. Fool's assets increased and decreased, reaching a satisfactory level.

  Klein returned to his body from the gray fog, went to the front desk to check out, and then returned to his room. He used "Flame Jump" to escape this unrestful night. He left the small hotel he had rented for the night for convenience, and walked on the street for less than half a minute when he heard a voice that sounded familiar.

  The voice was reciting poetry.

  There is a strong sense of tranquility in the poem.

  Stronger than "Midnight Poet"... Is it "Nightmare"? Is it the leader of the Nighthawks, or one of the Red Gloves teammates?

  Klein used meditation to fight against the force that made his eyelids heavy. He took out the red gloves from his pocket and put them on. With the idea of "saving lives is like putting out a fire", he went straight to the scene of the crime.

  He had just walked out of the flames when he saw a figure in a white shirt suddenly jump out of the fence. He was as agile as a wolf in the forest and ran away without looking back.

  Klein didn't have time to react before his spirit prompted him to look towards the house where the white figure had escaped from.

  A dog was lying by the window, its eyes reflecting the red moonlight, almost bloodthirsty.

  Its body swelled up to the size of a bison, with fleshy wings on its back, two black curved horns on its head, and thick tusks stained with blood and minced meat.

  The Magician's sensitive five senses allowed Klein to smell the scent of sulfur and fireworks, as well as the suffocating smell of blood coming from the house.

  His eyes froze.

  The dog looked at him with extremely malicious eyes and uttered extremely depraved and filthy words:

  "die!"

  Klein felt as if his heart was being grasped by a large hand. It suddenly jumped, and even his breathing was stagnant. The next second, his entire body lost its thickness, became thinner and narrower, and turned into a paper figure stained with dark red stains like rust. His figure protruded from the side, and was instantly engulfed by the flames that ignited on the ground.

  Klein also ran away without looking back.

  8.

  Leonard irritably opened his collar, took a deep breath, pulled out a chair and sat down, took the fountain pen and blank paper on the table, and wrote:

  "Dear Mr. Azik:

  "Regarding the missing girl case you entrusted me to investigate, the investigation encountered some problems during the process. The single mother of the victim was killed by a demon dog of unknown origin while talking to me. I escaped by chance without being hurt.

  "The girl is innocent by nature and is well protected by her mother. The two have a good relationship. I learned that on the day of the incident, the girl went to school as usual. She was working hard to get into a technical school in Backlund. There was almost no similarity between her and the laundry worker's daughter.

  "I suspect that the victims are mainly innocent and pure girls...

  "......

  "Regarding the whereabouts of Lanevus that you asked about, I suspect it is related to a secret organization called the Aurora Society. It is rumored that they serve a being called the True Creator. If you are interested in this, you may consider investigating this aspect. I will also keep an eye on the East District.

  "Besides that, my bounty hunter friend expressed her sincere gratitude for your answer. She said that your erudition is admirable to them and if there is a chance, she hopes to reward you for your answer.

  "Finally, what are your tips for disguise? I've always had some issues with my identity. Another friend of mine tried to teach me how to put on makeup, but I wasn't good enough - or so the lady who taught me told me.

  "Well, the truth is, I doubt this will help relieve my anxiety.

  "I wish you all the best.

  "Your friend,

  "Shad Joe."

  As the last stroke was magnificently put away, Leonard's pen tip paused. He looked up into the night, and the increasingly active thoughts and spirit of the sleepless man ebbed and flowed in his mind, accompanied by some resentment, some self-mockery, a little self-abandonment and a little desperate madness.

  Azik Eggers didn't mention it, but he knew that this mysterious and powerful Beyonder had some kind of connection with Klein.

  Otherwise, the best solution for Azik after meeting him should be to make this "Shad Joe" disappear from this world, rather than giving him a commission with dazzling conditions, which can be said to be gently pulling him to the periphery of the operation.

  Leonard didn't know whether it was unreasonable or unexpected, but he really didn't expect that Klein's secrets were so colorful that he could attract a demigod of the "corpse collector" path.

  The person most associated with the "Corpse Collector" path is the Grim Reaper who once caused the "Pale Disaster".

  However, unfortunately, the Church of Evernight is not so friendly to people and things related to the God of Death, and vice versa.

  Leonard admitted that he was a little overly concerned.

  Perhaps, from the kindness shown by the demigod, he already had enough evidence to speculate that the other party might not be so averse to the church, but was more of a conscious vigilance based on identity.

  How could Klein be a bad guy?

  He once fought for the city of Tingen, risking his life.

  Leonard took a breath, wiped his face, and turned to think about the reason for his anxiety - the direct reason: following the connection between Klein and Azik, he naturally couldn't help but wonder if the other party was tracking the shadow that escaped from the disaster in Tingen, and even suspected more deeply whether the commission he accepted was also part of the operation.

  This was a wild idea, but he had even thought about being the protagonist of the era, so why couldn't he think about it? It would not be a loss for him, it would just make his life a little more tiring.

  Based on this premise, he is now very, very annoyed as the clues have been abruptly smoothed over.

  It was as if the enemy was right in front of him, and the revolver he raised was fully loaded, but all six bullets were jammed.

  If Leonard knew what they were tracking, perhaps he would not be so upset, but the lack of key information made him extremely concerned about this failure - for Azik, a failed attempt might be the moment when he was closest to the mastermind behind the scenes.

  Leonard is not someone who would disregard life and death, but facing the threat from such a person, he is really not afraid of death.

  He is alone, with only one life, and he is free to come and go as he pleases.

  If something needed to be sacrificed, he would not be afraid of the fate that would arrange his end like this. He did not have a deep blood feud with Lanevus and the others, but blood feuds were not the only ones that required taking risks to redeem due justice. Didn't the people who had ruined the first twenty years of his life and created those unfair blood and tears owe him an answer?

  Why?

  Why did they leave their loved ones even though they did nothing wrong?

  Leonard met too many good people in his carefree, now-vanished past.

  Old Neil, who said he was as heartless as Roshan but let him mess with the coffee powder; Cornley, who would tell stories to comfort crying children during missions; Luo Yao, who appeared cold but actually cared about the degree of danger of his colleagues' work; Xijia, who was always teased but never angry; Frye, who was taciturn and seemed difficult to get along with but had a soft heart; Klein, who was stingy during missions but was willing to splurge on his family; and Dunn, the silent and reliable captain who had led him all the way since he became a Nighthawk.

  He believed that if there had been even the slightest accident that day, the chain reaction of deaths that would have caused would have been unforgettable for him for the rest of his life.

  ——Those who die will be the good people he meets.

  Therefore, Lanevus and the others all deserved to die!

  Even if he has to risk his life, he will not be afraid.

  What Leonard was afraid of was that he wouldn't even have a chance to fight.

  When he first arrived in Backlund, he was completely in the dark and encountered setbacks everywhere, which almost wore him out, and gradually extinguished the remaining embers of his frivolous and arrogant delusions.

  Leonard learned to be steady, to calculate, and to be patient in his turbulent life.

  He is enduring now.

  Be patient and endure the emotions that are about to burst out.

  In any case, that demon dog had completely pissed him off!

  Leonard gritted his teeth, grabbed his coat, and rushed out of the safe house in Cherwood District like a whirlwind.

  ——

  I met with my former colleague, but I didn't see him in person ()

  Dad raises wolves, hello Dad!

  The old man kept silent, the old man was bad!

  Woohoo thanks everyone for the comments!

  So many comments, so happy! (Spinning and throwing flowers)

3.

  #DefectionLunxRedGloves, two-level reversal

  #This is a product that satisfies my own bad taste. It is impossible to verify the facts. The timeline is also very confusing. I have no idea.

  ——

  9.

  The demon dog has offended someone it shouldn't have.

  Klein walked towards the church with a grim expression. Before Captain Holm could frown, he spoke first: "Captain, I encountered the demon who was being promoted. It took some time to escape."

  The wolfhounds of the church perked up at the same time, and all turned their heads to look at the magician who had just joined the team less than a month ago. They were surprised and a little confused: Is this right? A Sequence 5 who is being promoted just happened to meet their newly promoted Sequence 7?

  "Are you injured?" The captain frowned.

  "No." Klein took a breath, his expression serious and heavy, "A new victim has appeared."

  The atmosphere in the lounge became tense.

  Captain Red Gloves stood up expressionlessly. He said to Klein, "Can you tell me the whereabouts of the criminal?"

  "I tried it." Klein nodded, "Before it could interfere with the divination. Captain, the divination results show that it may appear on a street in the Cherwood District. The position of the red moon shows that the time will be midnight tomorrow, but I'm not sure if there are other arrangements that may interfere..."

  Captain Red Gloves paced back and forth for a few steps, then turned to a team member and said, "Prince, you, Gain, and Klein, go to the Mechanical Heart to borrow the Sealed Artifact 2-111. Make sure the divination results are not misleading. Klein, you are the most proficient in divination among all the people, so you have to go again."

  The captain's tone was a bit helpless... Yes, although the sleepless ones have talent in divination, they are not many, and they are not as professional and reliable as the fortune tellers...

  Klein nodded tiredly.

  But when he arrived at the headquarters of the Mechanical Heart, which was disguised as a company, his tiredness disappeared completely.

  When he took over the Sealed Artifact "2-111", Klein clearly saw the following words flash across the surface of this simple and exquisite silver mirror:

  "Great master, your loyal and humble servant Arrodes is at your service."

  Klein couldn't help but be stunned for a second: "..."

  What is going on?

  The text disappeared very quickly, so quickly that it seemed like an illusion on Klein's part. Otherwise, Klein would have used the excuse of not being in good condition to pass it to his teammates without changing his expression.

  He looked at the silver mirror with doubt, but heard the old voice in his mind again, "Huh?" It said, full of surprise and astonishment. But it was only one voice, and it disappeared again. Klein couldn't call the old man in front of so many people, so he could only suppress his doubts and asked casually, "How do I use it?"

  "Touch the back three—" The words of the Mechanical Heart member died in his throat before he could finish.

  Because he was horrified to find that the indifferent mirror took the initiative to talk to him.

  "Hello, good evening, do you have any questions for me?"

  Shiny silver-white text appeared, followed by a smiling little round face.

  The members of the Mechanical Heart almost gasped.

  In the sudden silence, Klein frowned, then relaxed his brows and said, "Yes."

  "Please go ahead."

  "I wonder when the demon responsible for the recent serial murders of eviscerating women will show up again?"

  The mirror began to fluctuate.

  The first thing that appeared was a red moon hanging high in the sky. The demon dog that Klein had seen was running fast on a street, its muscles knotted and swollen. There were many houses along the street, and in front of one of the houses stood a road sign with the name of the street written on it:

  "White Coat Street."

  It's exactly the same as the divination I did on the gray fog... There's something special about this mirror...

  Klein nodded and asked, "What are the negative effects of this mirror?"

  Members of the Mechanical Heart: "..."

  The team member who had seen what happened to his butler because of this seal pinched his nose and said to the red gloves with mixed feelings: "You can just assume that it has no negative effects..."

  Red Gloves: "?"

  "It follows a set of Q&A rules." The team member explained, "The Q&A just now followed the rules, so there was no negative impact."

  So convenient? Gain and Prince couldn't help but take another look at the silver mirror in Klein's hand.

  Klein calmly returned it to the members of the Mechanical Heart.

  ——When something is abnormal, there must be something wrong. Does he look easy to fool?

  After leaving the base of the Mechanical Heart and returning to St. Samuel's Church, the Red Gloves began to discuss. Gain turned to Klein: "So the demon is a dog, and you have seen it... I was wondering why you kept calling the demon 'it'! I never thought that a dog could reach Sequence 5!"

  Klein thought of Miss Justice's dog, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

  No, it's actually just poverty that limits our imagination... he responded half-jokingly in his heart.

  With the endorsement of "2-111", the hunt for the demon dogs began quickly. After catching up on his sleep, Klein went to the scene again to learn the operation process and accumulate experience. In a trance, he felt that the procedures he had run and the nights he had endured were still chasing him.

  Red Gloves is truly the worst of the worst. Klein smiled bitterly in his heart.

  Targeted seals isolated the battlefield and suppressed the demons, and the battle was quickly over.

  But Klein also gained something different.

  When Mr. Magician opened his spiritual vision, he discovered that there was an unlucky person on the public carriage who had accidentally entered the scene of justice execution. However, Klein did not speak out to report him. Instead, he stood aside and observed the astral body of the Beyonder. He watched a drama full of colorful changes and couldn't help but sigh that the inner drama of modern humans is so exciting...

  If you live long enough, you can see everything.

  Klein adjusted his red gloves and trotted over to meet Captain Holm at his call. He had a plan for the battle in mind, shook his head secretly, and curled the corners of his mouth into a relaxed smile.

  10.

  Leonard looked at the tools on the table with a deep hatred, which were a little too scary for him. His handsome face, which had been muttered by Klein countless times, was almost wrinkled. His pupils trembled slightly as he watched the writer in front of him who was talking happily, and then took out a box of hair dye.

  Leonard's heart finally settled down.

  He closed his eyes and groaned in refusal: "No, Miss Wall, I think this is a bit too much. I don't want to turn my hair indigo purple..."

  Fors suddenly realized and asked considerately, "What about green, red, gold, and blue?"

  Leonard: "..."

  Why green? The things that Emperor Roselle used to describe were not wonderful, right?

  He silently shrank a little further into his chair and looked at Xio for help.

  Xio was staring at the hair dye that Fors had placed on the table, studying it carefully. The Beyonder's spirituality reminded her that someone was watching her, so Xio looked up and her eyes ran straight into Leonard's green eyes. She was stunned for a second and then raised a box of golden hair dye: "I think this color is more suitable."

  Leonard lowered his head and took a sip of coffee, then another sip.

  ...This isn't a matter of color at all, right?!

  After Leonard helped Audrey several times, the two ladies soon realized that Mr. Shad Joe, under the skin of a sophisticated Extraordinary, was a minor in terms of psychology and sophistication. He acted casually and freely. He could handle straightforward women like Hugh, but he was completely defeated when it came to Fors.

  Fors's conscience pricked for a second, and then she continued to tease the handsome guy: "Actually, you can also choose a fake beard or something like that."

  Leonard couldn't hold it together, and his expression cracked a little: "I'm not used to having things on my face."

  Fors said seriously, "The murderer has not been found yet, and the atmosphere in Backlund is still tense. Joe, you can't just not disguise yourself at all, right? Although you are not wanted by the Church of Evernight, offending someone will eventually make your identity more sensitive."

  Leonard wrinkled his nose and remained silent in the aroma of coffee, with a conflicting feeling in his heart.

  Goddess. He murmured in his heart, why do I have to make such a decision?

  "The demon has been found." He was struggling, but he also added, "It was a demon dog. The Nighthawks have already dealt with it. I saw it on the way here."

  ...and Klein.

  He had also arrived in Backlund... Leonard had seen how terrible fortune tellers were at finding people.

  Leonard gritted his teeth and took the box of golden hair dye with a fearless attitude. In front of Fors's stunned look and Xio's affirmative gaze, he announced, "Let's go with this color."

  Fors: "...Ah?"

  Are you really dyed?!

  Before she could persuade him, she saw Leonard's eyes drifting towards the opened makeup bag, and he became even more dazed. Then, Miss Writer heard the bounty hunter say in a tone that was so firm that he could immediately go to the major churches to become an ascetic: "If I also want to get such a set of tools, how many gold lists would I need? How long would it take to practice?"

  Forsi thought about Leonard's amazing skills and closed his eyes silently.

  She wants to run.

  "Hmm..." Fors said slowly, "For quick transformation, we recommend hair dye and fake beard."

  Xiu thought for a moment, and said to Leonard sincerely: "The traces of makeup will be heavier and smelly, and in the East District, you rarely see people going out with makeup - men and women are the same."

  Leonard thought to himself, I clearly live in the Hilton area!

  But he didn't say it.

  Firstly, revealing his address was a bit too much for his current situation; secondly, his sense of smell had been further enhanced since his promotion to "Nightmare", so sniffing cosmetics was tantamount to torture, and the number of times he had to hold back a sneeze had increased sharply from when he had a cold as a child.

  "But I'm really not used to fake beards." Leonard argued, "How can anyone tolerate having something with hair and airtightness on their face?"

  Xio glanced at Fors and could actually empathize with her.

  Fors coughed lightly after being looked at, and made the final decision: "Then, dye your hair first."

  Twenty minutes later, the two ladies looked at Leonard with golden hair and fell silent at the same time.

  After a long while, Xio said, "Uh... I remembered someone."

  Fors followed closely behind: "Me too."

  They looked at each other and exchanged glances, confirming that they were thinking of the same person.

  —Audrey Hall.

  After Leonard's black hair was dyed blonde, his whole tone was brighter, and it was a bit unfair when paired with his bright green eyes. Such a lethal combination was only seen on that elegant and decent noble lady - although Leonard was much rougher than Audrey, who was luxurious, refined, elegant and ladylike.

  The temperament has indeed changed a lot, but...

  Xio's expression cracked.

  Why does the bounty hunter who looked normal before now look like a lady's lover? In addition, Lund's facial features look much clearer than before, and he looks more eye-catching!

  Fors took a breath and said, "I should have brought a sketchbook."

  Her tone was filled with regret for not being able to record the handsome guy's handsome face.

  Leonard asked confusedly, "What?"

  "Nothing." Xio said, "Maybe it's her old occupational disease that's acting up."

  "What occupational disease?"

  "Surgeon."

  Leonard was so frightened that his head went blank. He couldn't imagine that Fors was actually thinking about how to cut open his head. He leaned back unconsciously, not realizing that what he imagined was not professionally matched with Fors. Fors knew what he was thinking at a glance, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but didn't explain much.

  Okay, you are worthy of being Xio's friend.

  11.

  Klein put the red gloves in his pocket. He felt that he was not far from sudden death as he was an extraordinary cop at work and ran extraordinary circles after get off work. He couldn't help but shed a few bitter tears for himself.

  After sighing, he pulled his baseball cap again, touched the fake beard on his face, and walked into the Brave Bar.

  He discovered this bar while developing his side business and it seemed to be a base for extraordinary people.

  "——There are good things in this bar." This is what Pales said, but before he discovered the Beyonder gathering, Klein would never believe that the so-called good things were a group of living Beyonders.

  After obtaining the "Pharmacist" formula from the Harvest Church and increasing his savings by another 230 pounds, Klein touched his private money and finally decided to come to the party to chop off his hands.

  Since he doesn't have to worry about the recipes and materials himself, he now has quite a lot of money on hand.

  Based on the magician's lack of effective means to subdue the undead, he went directly to the old man "Eye of Wisdom" to get the "Sun Brooch". This action caused him to be targeted by the other two extraordinary people.

  ——The Temperance Faction of the Rose School.

  One Sequence 6 and one Sequence 5 seemed very confident when they approached him for cooperation. After all, this configuration could be considered a luxury for the Red Gloves team. Klein was not surprised by their attitude.

  This was a great role-playing opportunity, and Clay didn't want to miss it. He also planned to take the opportunity to learn more about mysticism: this would help him perform more impressive operations using Sefirah Castle.

  I just wonder what expressions these two will have when they see him put on the red gloves he had hidden in his arms.

  Klein speculated with great malice and dragged his tired body back to his rental place.

  After receiving this week's salary, Klein took out most of it and deposited the remaining money into his registered account at Backlund Bank. This was also the opportunity for him to communicate with Benson and Melissa every month.

  Klein didn't put too much money in it because he didn't want to scare the Morettis who were far away in Tingen.

  Within half a year, his weekly salary had directly increased to more than ten pounds. Klein couldn't find a reasonable reason to explain it. He couldn't tell Moretti and others that he had dedicated his life to the goddess, worked for the church, and became an insider, right? What kind of thing would a consultant for a security company encounter to undergo such a transformation?

  Benson might not be that perceptive, because Melissa would be perceptive for him. Just thinking about his sister's endless questions made Klein's scalp tingle.

  It's terrible, so terrible.

  What if there's some "girl's sixth sense" bonus, will he still be alive?

  Until he went to bed, Klein was still thinking about how Melissa would rather send a telegram than get everything clear, which made him feel pain in silence for a long time.

  These days his schedule after get off work is always so packed that falling asleep is effortless for him.

  Not only was it effortless, he also scrambled to have a dream.

  In a daze, Klein saw a figure casually wearing a black coat. It seemed to be a tall black-haired man, running wildly on a path leading to a dense forest.

  The glow of the red moon fell through the gaps in the leaves, landing on the mottled ground like a soft red veil, obscuring everything. The man stumbled and ran in the light of the red moon, diving into the depths of the dense forest where no light could be seen.

  Before he completely disappeared into the darkness, the man turned his head sharply.

  A pair of bright green eyes caught his sight, instantly waking Klein up from his dream!

  He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling for a long time, then frowned.

  ——Leonard Mitchell?

  Klein raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. He turned over in confusion and thought uncertainly.

  Why did his dream indicate that Leonard was in trouble?

  Isn't Leonard dead?

  Is someone harming his soul?

  Klein thought for a while in vain. Under the temptation of the quilt, his consciousness wavered and became blurry again, making his thoughts a little confused.

  Goddess... Klein thought in confusion, why would someone summon Leonard's soul for no reason? Aren't you afraid that the goddess will be unhappy and kill the entire criminal gang? This is too disrespectful to the dead. If the goddess takes action, he can go and help kill the criminals.

  The image of Leonard diving into the dense forest vaguely emerged again.

  Klein rolled over and muttered.

  Leonard, where are you going?

  There was no light at all.

  12.

  Taking the letter from the skeleton messenger, Leonard nodded to thank the undead creature, then lowered his head and unfolded the letter.

  The Skeleton Messenger disintegrated and disappeared.

  In the glow of the red moon, Leonard could clearly see the words written on the paper.

  "To Shad Joe:

  "I've encountered some problems with my recent operations, be careful MI9.

  "Be careful of coincidences.

  "Azik Eggers."

  coincide?

  Leonard frowned at the word, not understanding where this note came from. He stood by the window and pondered for a long time, looking at the note-like letter again and again, but he couldn't see more words from the handwriting. He could only rub the paper with his spiritual power and light it.

  The bright orange light reflected on Leonard's dark eyelashes, and his always alert green eyes were slightly absent-minded at this moment.

  His worries always overflowed from Azik to Klein.

  Will this implicate Klein? Will it affect his normal work? Will the Red Gloves lock him up in the Chanis Gate? Will Klein receive a reminder from Mr. Azik? How will he respond?

  Besides... MI9?

  Leonard certainly knew that the bounty on Azik Eggers came from MI9, but Azik never mentioned it to him, so he assumed that he could easily deal with the military, after all, he was a demigod. He and Azik communicated through messengers, which was already very secretive. How could MI9 know that he and Azik had any dealings?

  The only omission... the "Nightmare" Beyonder characteristic? Only the whereabouts of this one would involve him.

  Leonard felt a little upset for a moment.

  He believed that his former colleagues would definitely pay special attention to the extraordinary characteristics of the "Sleepless" pathway. Moreover, this already involved the mid-sequence, and the potion was almost monopolized. Every piece of the characteristic that flowed outside could mean that the church's extraordinary people were being hunted. This alone was enough for the Red Gloves to hunt them down to the ends of the earth.

  If Mr. Azik hadn't said that this characteristic came from the Spirit Cult, Leonard wouldn't have been able to use it to make potions.

  If MI9 intends to leak information about the Church of Night, he will pack up and run away!

  If not...

  If not.

  Leonard was thoughtful.

  What is the royal family hiding from the church?

  After thinking for a while, he frowned again and resisted the urge to look up at the night sky of Backlund, because he felt that there might be countless two-way eyes lurking there, searching everywhere.

   Why is the matter Mr. Azik is investigating related to the royal family? Strange... Be careful of coincidences? This is also a coincidence? What kind of coincidence could make Mr. Azik offend the people of MI9 to the point of being offered a bounty? Did Mr. Azik discover some secret that cannot be known to the church?

  Leonard considered it for a moment and crossed out the last question.

  If the Church of Darkness does not take any action, this sentence should be changed into an affirmative sentence.

  Mr. Azik must have discovered a secret that the church must not know.

  By "coincidence".

  Coincidence after coincidence? How can one guard against coincidence? Why does coincidence bring disaster to people?

  Unless the "coincidence" is artificial.

  Leonard's scalp tingled slightly. He tried to think calmly, but it was difficult to concentrate his thoughts. These simple facts alone were enough to show how high the level of these things was. Moreover, Azik himself was already a demigod. Even if he offended an official organization and was offered a bounty, the forces that could really cause him trouble would not be too many, and they were at least at the same demigod level.

  Among all the forces involved in this matter, even Azik, who seemed to be the weakest, was enough to crush Leonard countless times by simply releasing his undead creatures.

  Demigod... Was it a demigod who caused the disaster in Tingen?

  Leonard suppressed his divergent thoughts and used meditation techniques to quickly calm himself down. He was originally half-leaning on the table, with his back against the edge of the table, but he suddenly stood up, grabbed the felt hat on the side, buttoned his newly dyed blond hair, gritted his teeth, lowered his head and hurried out.

  Night is when the sleepless ones are at their best. The deeper the night, the stronger they are.

  It's not that he doesn't have his own support, but it's too much of a stretch to fight against an official organization just like this. Leonard can't be promoted to a demigod overnight and have the strength to deal with matters of this level.

  So, the best option is to lurk.

  Lurking, looking for the Requiem Master's formula and potion, looking for an opportunity to advance.

  Leonard rushed back to his residence, counted all his assets, and made preparations to flee at any time. He even decided which city he would go to for development.

  Before he could run away, at dawn he received another letter from Azik and a small package attached to the letter.

  The kind man first apologized to him that he had written the letter in a hurry and the details in the letter were not complete enough. He was worried that it would cause Leonard's concerns, so he wrote this more detailed letter.

  "I was entangled by some people for a while, but it was not a big problem. As I said, MI9's attitude towards this matter was very strange. If I stopped pursuing it, they seemed very happy to see this happen and were willing to pretend that nothing had happened. Once I came into contact with the relevant people and things, they reacted very strongly.

  "I could tell they were trying to drive me away.

  "But I think you can tell that I don't give up that easily.

  "That's why I want you to be careful of MI9. In the final analysis, it's not you who will be pursued, but the characteristics you take. The Church of Night has always been strict in this regard, and I think MI9 will definitely be happy to divert the conflict.

  "Regarding the coincidence, this is related to a man who once served as the Archbishop of the Church of Darkness. I think you are not too unfamiliar with this.

  "Speaking of which, regarding those who are hiding from the Church of Night, you can take a look at this item. It's from a collection I collected a long time ago, and I obviously have no use for it now, but I thought it might be useful to you.

  "Its name is 'Face of the Void', and it is a mask that looks like human skin. Of course, you can also choose to turn it into a silver mask or a half-mask with colorful patterns, but the scope of the change seems to be limited to the mask itself. I don't know what kind of craftsmanship is used.

  "After putting it on, you will gain the ability to precisely control your body, a certain ability to divine and counter-divine, and the ability to change your appearance. You will have a certain sense of danger and be able to control fire, use fire to perform actions similar to teleportation, and use paper figures as substitutes to resist attacks - paper figures need to be made separately. Once you put on the Face of the Void and use it, it will merge with your face and help you change your appearance until you express your willingness to take it off.

  "Its negative effect is that once you become addicted to the wonder of this mask, it will replace your face, alienate your spirit, and make you gradually become cold and self-centered, lose the ability to be interested in the surrounding environment, and even become a puppet of this mask.

  "It has certain living properties and has been sealed to a certain extent, so there will be no other negative effects when carrying it.

  "I'm sorry to have brought you under MI9's scrutiny, perhaps this can be considered my apology.

  "Your friend,

  "Azik Eggers."

  After reading it, Leonard was stunned for a long time before he reached out to open the package, staring blankly as he opened it.

  He had never expected that there was such a comprehensive way to disguise.

  He was very clear about the origins of magical items, or seals. They were a combination of extraordinary properties and items, or commissioned to be made by craftsmen with extraordinary properties. The former had random effects and great negative effects, while the latter had a certain degree of controllability. Such a useful seal was obviously made by a craftsman.

  Perhaps for those in high positions, the special path of death of the Beyonder is more useful than words...

  Leonard came back to his senses with a start, looking at the soft and cold human skin mask in his hand. After hesitating for a while, he put on the thin human skin mask, spreading his spirituality and connecting with the mask, and he immediately understood how to use it.

  Leonard gave an idea, felt his facial muscles wriggling and reshaping, and turned to the bathroom.

  Leonard opened the door, stood by the mirror, and looked up.

  What caught my eye was a pair of warm brown eyes.

  Klein Moretti, who looked bookish, stood in the mirror and smiled at him.

  ——

  This chapter persecutes the little wolf. Little wolf, little wolf, how did you become a golden-haired man? ()

  Watch me cook extreme reasoning in the next chapter.

  Want to comment...

4.

  #DefectionLunxRedGloves, two-level reversal

  #This is a product that satisfies my own bad taste. It is impossible to verify the facts. The timeline is also very confusing. I have no idea.

  13.

  When Klein woke up, it was already dawn.

  The dream from the night came back to his mind again, making him stunned for a few seconds.

  ......wrong.

  Given my own alertness, would I have probably gone to sleep after receiving the revelation in my dream, instead of immediately crawling into Sefirah Castle to divine what had happened?

  Of course, he is not alone now...

  He had a dream about Leonard last night. The old man who had lived with Leonard was living in his body, so he immediately acted completely opposite to usual behavior. This was obviously not a good sign.

  Klein moved his fingertips and whispered, "...Old man."

  "--What is it?" the old gentleman asked. "You ask more questions than Leonard does."

  Klein took a breath and said, "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

  The old man said without thinking: "Be careful, Amon."

  "...What else?"

  Palleston paused, then he chuckled, "It seems like you gained something from your dream... Let me think, what did the mirror tell you? It shouldn't be about me, otherwise you wouldn't ask me directly. So - it's something about Leonard."

  Is this what it feels like to have a worm living in your stomach... Klein raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  But... a mirror? Is the status of that mirror so high?

  Yes, for no reason, why did my spirit suddenly warn me to pay attention to Leonard? Klein suddenly felt a chill.

  He stood up instantly, took four steps backwards, passed through the madness and muttering, and arrived at Sefirah Castle.

  Klein materialized the parchment and pen and wrote down the divination statement without thinking:

  Someone is threatening Leonard Mitchell's life.

  Klein had his own considerations for this expression: the reason why he used the words "life safety" instead of "safety" implies a fact - if Leonard was in a spirit or undead state, there would be no such thing as "life safety". What he was going to divine next was "Leonard's state is very special."

  A citrine pendulum hangs suspended above the paper.

  After silently reciting the sentence seven times, Klein opened his eyes.

  The citrine pendulum is rotating clockwise at a relatively fast speed but with a small amplitude.

  "..."

  Klein stared at the pendulum for a long time, put it away, and wrote down another divination sentence: I met Leonard Mitchell in Backlund.

  ——Clockwise.

  Leonard Mitchell had ill will towards me.

  ——Counterclockwise.

  Leonard Mitchell is not dead.

  ——Clockwise.

  ...clockwise.

  Since the poet is still alive and well, the words of the mysterious old gentleman about being "forced to change his symbiotic partner" are all lies. This alone is enough to show how much malice the old gentleman had towards him in the beginning!

  Leonard should also be considered a victim to some extent...

  Klein took a breath and drafted a different divination statement:

  The source of the stimulus for my spiritual alert last night.

  He repeated this sentence seven times silently, leaned back, and used meditation to fall asleep quickly.

  His consciousness quickly fell and rose, and finally stopped at a scene on a street in the daytime. The Red Gloves were carrying the Sealed Object and fighting a demon dog, and he stood aside and observed the scene honestly. Suddenly, he felt others watching him in his dream, opened his spiritual vision, and turned his head to look at the public carriage.

  This time, he saw more than just the star spirit body with turbulent color changes.

  Leonard Mitchell stood there in a daze, looking at him.

  Those green eyes were as bright as ever.

  Klein instantly came out of the dream and stayed there for a moment. He put his index and middle fingers together and pressed them against his temple. He smiled bitterly, "He and I almost met... On the day of the demon dog hunt?"

  This is really...

  In this case, Leonard should know that he has arrived in Backlund. But why did the poet go to Backlund for no apparent reason? Even if he wanted revenge, he couldn't find out the whereabouts of Lanevus or Ince Zangwill without knowing divination. Was he just here to "drift"? Or was it the law of Beyonder characteristic aggregation that was at work?

  And he didn't go back to church?

  Klein thought about it and felt that it was understandable.

  The poet may not know what is happening to him, and the thought of him crawling out of a grave is too terrifying. The possibility of him being killed or arrested when he returns to the church is much greater than everyone opening champagne to celebrate the survival of all members.

  If it were him, he wouldn't go back either.

  Klein was silent for a moment, then he laughed and nodded his chest four times sincerely: "May the goddess bless him."

  The parchment and pen disappeared as Klein's will changed. The feeling of falling enveloped him, and Klein returned to his body.

  Parves smiled calmly and said, "How many times have you done divination?"

  Klein said nothing.

  At this point, even he didn't know what to say.

  This old gentleman had helped him countless times since they had been living together. Klein claimed that he was not a heartless person, but he also knew that with his own sequence, he probably did not have the qualifications to quarrel with this old gentleman.

  Although the whole incident did not cause any substantial harm to anyone, Klein couldn't help but think about the future Leonard should have had.

  He could have been on the same path as Leonard.

  "Do you think I'm cold-blooded and heartless?" Pales sneered in his mind. "You're not a child anymore, Klein. You don't expect everyone you meet to trust and care for you like your Death Archon teacher, do you?"

  "To embark on an extraordinary path is to touch chaos and madness. It is extremely difficult for normal people to eliminate the evil thoughts of human nature, let alone demigods whose humanity is always being worn out. Your teacher is an exception among exceptions." Pales sighed, "Of course, I don't deny that I was controlled by greed and I made mistakes."

  "It's not shameful to make mistakes, and I'm not ashamed of my mistakes." Pas said calmly, "I have nothing to defend. Greed is reality, mistakes are reality, and failure is also reality."

  "I accept this reality." Palles paused, "I just feel a little sorry for Leonard. That guy... is a good kid."

  Klein was stunned for a moment.

  He had never heard the old man talk so much in one breath.

  Perhaps age really does make even demigods dull, and the old man was not in good condition, always sleeping longer than when awake, and rarely actively communicating with Clay. Most of the time, he was more like a bystander, just watching everything that happened with a cold eye until the disaster spread.

  This also made Klein realize that this old man was contradictory and alive.

  There is a human part in him that has warmth.

  Klein blinked and said, "Well... I think Leonard needs to know this more."

  The old man snorted.

  Klein smiled.

  He pulled at the collar of his pajamas and said as he walked: "I was really confused just now, but now I can let it go - I won't worry about the future that has no chance of happening, sir, I won't."

  14.

  The first thing Leonard did after replying to Mr. Azik was to wash the paint off his head.

  He was used to fiddling with his hair, and he almost turned his hair, which had just been dyed less than a day ago, into a pudding-like mess - the quality of the hair dye was not good, and the color faded. Not only did it get Leonard's hands dirty, but it also had a very pungent smell.

  Leonard wanted to surrender a long time ago, but he couldn't say it directly because this was the result of the two ladies' hard work for half a day. Now there was a mystical alternative that was much better than hair dye, and he wanted to cheer three times to express his joy.

  After putting on the "Face of the Void", Leonard felt it blending into his flesh and blood. He put a box of matches in his arms, and after thinking it over, he still did not take the magical item he brought back from the Beyonder gathering.

  The item is called "Baron's Medal". Its negative effect is that it will make the wearer immersed in an inexplicable sense of superiority and vanity, making it easy to make mistakes. He will always lose his mind at critical moments and do stupid things that are completely contrary to his original intention.

  With these two items together, the only way left is to be alienated by the mask, which is a promising future.

  After careful consideration for a while, Leonard decided to change his facial features and hair color, put on a gun bag, put on a coat, and went out with the same hair color as after dyeing it. This can ensure that he has obtained a new magical item without being discovered by others, and keep the trump card to the greatest extent, although it will look a bit strange.

  He looked weird anyway.

  Leonard sighed silently and walked out.

  He still has a bounty to deal with today.

  His employer asked him to provide protection for the entire day today in Cherwood. His employer had many connections in the political world, but he also had many enemies, and he was afraid that someone would sneak into the party today and kill him. Leonard had no problem with this paranoia, after all, this was his job.

  It is said that this political elite's paranoia has become so serious that he would be anxious and unable to sleep or eat if he did not live near Sivella Square or the home of a private detective who has close cooperation with the authorities. Perhaps the next step will be "what if the police/that detective is a political enemy?"

  Leonard heard about this because of a reminder from his colleagues. He didn't know if this was a secret attack by the gentleman's political enemies. Anyway, an ordinary protection mission should not be difficult for a Sequence 7 Beyonder.

  What big thing could possibly happen?

  Leonard couldn't imagine it.

  He knocked on the door of his employer's house, received a polite reception from the housekeeper and was told to "try not to show up" in front of others. He then successfully met two other colleagues who were also responsible for the same job, a man and a woman. The man's name was Alphard and the woman's name was Daftil, and they looked like a couple.

  Leonard tactfully left them some space to be alone.

  If that were all, it would be a pleasant day.

  The accident happened in the afternoon when the insomniacs were the most sleepy. Lund was tilting his head back to fight the drowsiness from not sleeping for nearly two days, but "Nightmare"'s hearing caught a noisy sound after the dance music, as if something had fallen to the ground with a "bang".

  A strong sense of crisis swept over Leonard, instantly making him feel less sleepy.

  This sense of crisis told him that there were malicious people around him.

  He subconsciously turned his head to look at the source of the crisis, but only saw the wall.

  Behind that wall is the neighbor's living room.

  ——Separated by a wall.

  That is the residence of the great detective Stanton Isengard.

  Leonard drew his gun almost subconsciously, turned his head to look at the ordinary people singing and dancing in the room, said to the bounty hunter couple, "I'm going to go out for a while", and walked away from the place full of whispers, giggles and dancing.

  He walked to the door of the next room with a calm expression and knocked on it.

   "——Knock, knock, knock."

  "..."

  Leonard put the gun on his waist, took a breath, stretched his shoulders, and then punched the door lock.

  With a loud bang, the door opened. Along with the door breaking, the invisible enclosed space also blew away the strong smell of blood trapped inside. Leonard lowered his eyebrows, raised his hand to remove the broken door lock, picked up a hole, reached out his hand, and pulled down the door chain.

  The half-open wooden door finally opened completely.

  Leonard stood at the door and saw fresh body parts scattered all over the floor.

  He pulled out his revolver expressionlessly and prepared to shoot. His eyes swept across the living room and then fell on the half-open study door.

  The "nightmare" ability instantly swept across the study, and Leonard saw two stellar bodies, one black and one white - they were both awake and not asleep.

  In less than a second, the experienced former night watchman made a judgment, left two matches outside the door, and strode forward.

  "——Crash!"

  The sound of breaking glass suddenly rang out.

  Leonard put his foot on the study door and instantly turned the muzzle of his revolver to an empty corner.

  The study was empty.

  Leonard glanced at the broken glass window, and after a moment of silence, he said, "You can show yourself now. Perhaps you don't know that the ability of the Hermit cannot hide your astral body."

  After a pause, he continued, "Mr. Detective."

  A figure slowly emerged from the corner where Leonard was looking. He looked a little embarrassed, with blood on his shoulder and cold sweat slightly soaking his collar. It was the great detective Stanton Isengard.

  The old guardian smiled at Leonard and said, "A man of the night?"

  Leonard didn't respond and asked, "What is that?"

  "A demon." Isengard stood up with the help of the wall. Leonard noticed that the emerald ring on his hand suddenly glowed. The detective's face improved a lot and his tone became much softer. "How did you notice that there was something wrong here?"

  Leonard smiled and said, "Have I been here before?"

  The detective was caught off guard by this turn of events. He was stunned for a long time before nodding with amusement: "You haven't been here today. However, the demon may not be targeting you. You may need some protection."

  "It sounds like I shouldn't refuse." Leonard finally lowered the muzzle of his gun, pointing it at the ground. "However, unfortunately, I still have some work to do, and the demon who fled in a hurry obviously didn't see my face."

  Isengard nodded. After a pause, he said, "If you encounter any trouble, you can come to me. This is the address."

  "I hope that day won't come."

  As he spoke, Leonard took out a coin, tossed it up, caught it, and took a look at it.

  The next moment, he snapped his fingers, and flames rose from under his feet. When the warm orange-red light dissipated, there was no one left.

  At the same time, Daftil went to the bathroom and saw someone walking out of the bathroom door.

  The bounty hunter who had just hurried out nodded to her and left without changing his expression.

  Daftil was a little dazed.

  This guy... where did he come from? Didn't he say he was going out?

  15.

  Klein has been very busy this month.

  After cleaning up the Rose School and the Hentai Group on the side, he went to investigate the missing girl case. Then he turned around and found that the owner of the devil dog had reappeared. He was so tired that he had to look up at the sky every day just to fight against his eyelids that were stuck together. However, his colleagues were all full of energy and could fight for another three days and three nights.

  Klein slumped on the sofa in the lounge, lying in a puddle with lifeless eyes.

  ...I'm so sleepy.

  He lowered his head and yawned, his eyes narrowed.

  Unlike the listless magician who was exhausted by work, the nightmares gave up the sofa and gathered around the wooden table to fight evil. Even though their voices were lowered considerately, it was clear that they were full of energy.

  The goddess's magic wolves were chattering in low voices, discussing the tragic case of why the King of Workaholics didn't drink the Insomniac potion.

  The workaholic has fallen asleep on the sofa.

  He slept until three in the afternoon and didn't even have lunch. When he woke up, his mind was still fuzzy. He glanced around and found that there was no one in the lounge, so he walked out with his feet dizzy and bumped into a young female teammate.

  Klein greeted her, "Camelia—where are the captain and the others?"

  Camelia covered her mouth and smiled, then stuffed a bag of white bread into his hand. "They are praying in groups. Today is Sunday. Have you forgotten even this, Klein? Rest and sleep are gifts from the goddess. Don't be so nervous all the time."

  Klein was stunned for a moment, nodded hesitantly, and then looked down at the white bread in his hand: "What is this?"

  "Your lunch." Camelia waved her hand. "The captain asked me to bring it to you. He thinks highly of you now. If it were me, he should give you less work... You are the only one in our team who can tell fortunes!"

  Klein didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Thank you... I went to pray too."

  Camelia waved at him.

  Klein glanced at the paper bag, took off his gloves, picked up a piece of white bread, and strode forward while calculating his merits.

  He had already digested a lot of the "Magician" potion, and the progress was much faster than he thought. He only had one finishing touch left before he could consider being promoted to "Faceless Man".

  After he was promoted to "Magician" last time, his merits could be exchanged for a magical item or mid-sequence material. Klein chose to save it and didn't exchange it. He could just complete a few tasks normally and he would have enough. He would even have some extra after completing a more difficult task. He could definitely catch up with the progress, but he didn't know if the church had the corresponding materials.

  If not, he would probably consider getting promoted privately.

  Klein chewed the bread without any taste. Before he reached the ground, Holm and his team came down in a mighty manner.

  Klein noticed that the captain was heading straight towards him. He was stunned for a moment and stopped walking consciously.

  As expected, Holm greeted him and stopped. "Our informant received news that the Witch Cult seems to be planning something. Witches appeared near a royal manor. The Mandated Punishers have intervened. They are asking us for some relevant files for connection. Klein, come with me."

  Klein almost choked.

  He has some psychological trauma towards witches, and he gets furious when he hears about them.

  Klein nodded his head while holding the bread in his mouth, temporarily clearing his mind of the pain of losing his teammates.

  "By the way, remember to make up for today's prayers when you come back," Holm said. "It will take some time to count the files, and we also need a professional to handle the files. I remember you are a history graduate from Khoyi University?"

  Klein: "......?"

  Wait, this conversation is going in the wrong direction, isn't it?

  Gain couldn't stand it anymore and whispered to Holm, "Captain, you should let Klein finish his lunch first."

  Holm was stunned.

  Oh, yes, their magician hasn't eaten yet, come and see.

  He gave Camelia the bread.

  Prince covered his face in the back.

  This damn "nightmare" memory spell can also infect Sequence 6? Is the sleepless path so painful? Goddess, please bless their captain!

  After Klein finished eating two pieces of white bread, Holm signaled him to go and prepare in case of any accidents along the way.

  Klein naturally didn't dare to be careless with the witches who had brought him such a shadow. He took the time to go to the gray fog to get some things down. After careful consideration, he brought two things:

  Azik copper whistle and master key.

  The negative effects of the Sun Brooch were too obvious, and the paper crane that the old man had brought back by stealing the day looked too fragile to be used in the mission. The revolvers and bullets allocated by the church, plus his and the captain's extraordinary abilities, should be enough.

  Klein had made a good calculation, but he missed one thing:

  The negative effects of getting lost due to the master key were much greater than he thought.

  For example, he accidentally lost the captain. Another example is that he accidentally ran into Triss Chick. Another example is that when Mr. Azik took him through the spirit world, he accidentally ran into Ince Zangwill and his friends.

  Klein almost became depressed.

  Red Gloves ran all the way through the unknown underground ruins, opened doors randomly, and finally broke into the most dangerous part of the entire ruins:

  Mr. A presides over the altar where the "True Creator" descends.

  Very good, this is in line with the characteristics of a master key.

  After letting the altar and the key that brought him so much bad luck go to hell, the furious Mr. A chased him into the river, but was eliminated on the spot by an unknown, mysterious and powerful Beyonder.

  Klein recovered from the mysterious smile and trembled as he walked ashore.

  He was just about to light a fire to warm himself when he heard an uncertain voice behind him:

  "...Klein?"

  ——

  Due to space reasons, I still haven't finished writing the Backlund line. Help me, I just want to see the Red Gloves arrest the former Night Watchman on the spot. After finishing this plot, Xiaolang can become a non-staff member of the church, and can also stick with Mao Mao...

  (The kitten holds its head and screams.avi)

  Want to comment!!!

5.

  #DefectionLunxRedGloves, two-level reversal

  #This is a product that satisfies my own bad taste. It is impossible to verify the facts. The timeline is also very confusing. I have no idea.

  ——

  16.

  Klein's scalp suddenly tightened.

  The tense magus took a breath and snapped his fingers in the air, ready to go.

  If he wasn't soaked all over, he would have run away in a few leaps of fire!

  Then, the magician who was turning slowly heard the sound of snapping fingers.

  A cluster of orange flames came into Klein's sight. When he raised his eyes slightly, he could see a pair of hesitant green eyes, which reflected the warm firelight and a face whose red gloves were wet by the river and turned pale due to the cold.

  They were not too far apart. The riverbank was open and lacked shelter. The sunlight from the outskirts of Backlund was pale and weak, forming a white sky above their heads. The sound of the rolling river and the dancing flames was clear, yet very distant. On this cold early winter riverbank, Klein suddenly recalled an autumn day in Tingen.

  He stood in the golden sunlight, with an undying longing engraved in his mind.

  The facial features of the person in front of me are clear and familiar, but his temperament is completely different from the person in my memory.

  The whitish light was painted on the golden hair, blending out a light color almost like egg liquid. Under the soft forehead hair, the emerald green eyes were clearer than ever before, setting off his facial features with distinct contours, which mixed with the complex emotions in his eyes, producing a wonderful chemical reaction.

  The fortune teller's spiritual power told him that you were not wrong.

  It's him.

  ——Leonard.

  Klein couldn't help but frown. He looked at the poet suspiciously for several times, and used his "clown" ability to ensure that his facial muscles did not twist due to holding back laughter.

  Take another look, no, it still looks weird.

  Why did the poet turn yellow-haired?

  But in this situation, Leonard would not associate Klein's frown with his hair color. He was silent for a moment and whispered, "I'm not an evil spirit, Klein."

  Klein took a breath and suppressed the weird and funny feeling of repeating it over and over again: "Yeah, I know."

  He couldn't reveal the existence of the gray fog, so he didn't mention anything he already knew.

  He just said vaguely but surely: "I know everything."

  Leonard was obviously relieved. He glanced at Klein and smiled subconsciously: "You're not going to send me to Chanis Gate, are you?"

  Klein blinked: "Maybe."

  He pulled the red gloves that indicated his identity meaningfully.

  Leonard was both angry and amused: "You weren't like this before..."

  "That's because you don't know me well enough." Klein sniffed, took off his wet coat, held it in his hand, and replied rudely, "You scared me just now... And, what's wrong with your hair? Why is it so... shiny?"

  Leonard said "Oh" and scratched his blond hair that had been color-corrected by mysticism: "Dyed."

  This is also considered as dyeing. He was sure in his heart.

  Klein couldn't agree with this aesthetic.

  Although the poet has a good-looking face, which does not look bad with blonde hair, his original poetic temperament is more obvious compared to black hair, and his casual and undisciplined style is magnified a lot. Even though he has straightened his face and looked relaxed, he still looks ostentatious and eye-catching.

  The new generation of young people who prefer the traditional style unfairly criticize the dress of their former colleagues and draw conclusions:

  Looks good, but doesn't feel as good as the original leather.

  Of course, he also knew that it was unrealistic for Leonard to maintain his original appearance while he was active in Backlund.

  It is said that cutting hair is like changing one's face. Now it seems that this method is not applicable to fortune-tellers...

  Klein nodded and asked, "Why are you here?"

  Leonard was stunned for a moment: "Me?"

  "Hmm." Klein frowned again. "Here again..."

  "I'll explain it later." Leonard raised the fire core in his hand a little higher, "Let's leave now--"

  The fortune teller's spirituality suddenly jumped in Klein's mind, and Klein blurted out: "Wait a minute!"

  Leonard was stunned for a moment.

  In a flash, Klein saw a figure wearing a black windbreaker and red gloves behind Leonard's golden head. The captain, who had traveled through the spirit world and relied on markers to locate the target, took a quick look and without thinking, darkened his pupils before closing his eyes.

  Klein: "..."

  He turned his gaze back and saw the unfortunate Leonard standing there, bending his body, and suddenly began to flex and stretch his arms, swimming freestyle in the air. He didn't know what he encountered in his dream.

  Klein closed his eyes, said sorry in his heart, stepped forward and grabbed Leonard, who had no intention of resisting, and pressed him to the ground.

  At this moment, Azik Eggers walked out of the spirit world and stood beside Klein. He was about to speak, but when he lowered his eyes, he saw the captured Shad Joe.

  The atmosphere suddenly became special.

  The dead leaves on the ground are especially dry. The white clouds in the sky are especially white.

  Azik was silent for a while, then gave a particularly gentle smile.

  He lowered his head, raised his hand to hold his hat, and asked his student: "Do you need help?"

  17.

  The appearance of the big boss blocked Leonard's last chance of escaping successfully. After Klein said goodbye to Mr. Azik, he numbly sent Leonard into the Chanis Gate. He seemed to hear his merits madly making "-1", "-1" sounds.

  But when he searched him, he found a few paper figures and a box of matches. Looking at this familiar configuration, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Seeing that he didn't move, Leonard gave up and took out the last wallet and a few pennies in his pocket: "Do you want this too?"

  Klein paused, then nodded in accordance with professional ethics: "There are also magical items."

  Leonard's face suddenly squirmed and twisted, frightening Klein so much that he almost took a step back. A silver carved mask separated from it and covered Leonard's entire face. His blond hair quickly lost its color and turned into a soft black under Klein's stunned gaze.

  Leonard took off the mask and handed it to him: "It has been processed, don't worry about the negative impact."

  Before walking into the darkness behind Chanis's door, he heard Klein mutter uncertainly:

  "——Faceless man?"

  Before he could think of anything else, the iron-black door closed behind him.

  Klein held the mask and a bunch of other things, and suddenly said to Captain Holm, who had been silent the entire time, "I don't know what he was thinking, and I'm not speaking well of Leonard... But, Captain, if he had these things, he could at least try to run once."

  "He is very kind to us, but that doesn't mean he has no problems." Holm said, "Klein, I understand what you mean. The church has not sentenced him to death. We just need to get some facts, and this happens to take some time. The goddess taught us to love our brothers and sisters, we just have to be cautious."

  "...I understand." Klein whispered, "May the goddess forgive him."

  Klein stared at the door for a while. After Holm patted him on the shoulder, he turned around with the captain and walked towards the church lounge. He sneezed violently.

  Holm recalled the fortune teller's weak physique in time, and before Klein sneezed again, he pointed out the area in the church designated for the Red Gloves to rest, and reminded the team's only assistant to remember to get the potion.

  Is this what you call a sustainable worker?

  Klein thought with a smile.

  After taking a shower, changing clothes, and taking medicine, by the time Klein walked out of the rest area, the red moon had already risen.

  He walked past the window decorated with a red moon in the lounge, and caught up with the red gloves sitting together to taste the black tea brought by Camelia, and was very conveniently given a cup. The milk jug and sugar bowl were neatly arranged on the table, but were ignored by the flower-growing children.

  He turned to look at Camelia: "Are there any lemon slices?"

  Camelia was stunned for a moment, and actually took one out of her bag.

  A whole lemon.

  The magician thought about the possibility of cutting it with paper, but was defeated by the bacteria on the paper. He gave up with regret, and then saw Camelia's curious look.

  "Don't you like sweet things?" Camelia pointed to the sugar jar, "I specially restocked it."

  "I try a little bit of everything." The all-flavor party puffed out his chest.

  Gain and Prince exchanged a look.

  The assistant's thoughts are hard to understand.

  Camelia propped her chin up and nodded, sighing, "There is tea, sugar, and the moon. It would be even better if there were poetry - in that case, this can be considered a simplified version of a literary salon."

  Klein was stunned for a moment, then he lowered his eyes and smiled.

  He had heard this from someone before.

  It was an afternoon. After finishing a 7p lunch, Roshan brought a tin can mysteriously and said she wanted to invite him and Leonard to have tea.

  At that time, Klein was not happy with the poet classmate who was a little cocky and alert. He nodded with the attitude of "If you don't drink, I won't drink, so who will drink Roshan's good tea?" and thought to himself that he should just relax.

  Later he found out that the teapot belonged to Captain Dunn.

  The three of them sat around, each holding a teacup. Roshan looked at Leonard and said, "Black tea, good friends, and sunlight. Do you know what the next word is?"

  Leonard casually said, "Incense?"

  "No, it's poetry." The girl raised her chin. "If there is poetry, this would be a literary exchange meeting."

  The midnight poet smiled.

  Klein glanced at him, then turned to Roxanne: "What kind of poem?"

  "Love poems?" Luo Shan began to think, "Like Emperor Roselle's—"

  The fortune teller also smiled.

  He and Leonard laughed harder than each other, but the girl was reciting Russell's complete collection of poems in the sunlight.

  There were also some childish voices that covered Tingen's summer like a stream flowing over pebbles, but the poets and the most educated university students sat upright and listened, not daring to step over the unwritten rules.

  Later, Roxanne had one more thing to tease Leonard about.

  Now, the midnight poet of Tingen is in confinement behind the Chanis Gate.

  Klein lowered his head and took a sip of the red tea. The slightly sour liquid swirled in his mouth and was swallowed along with the comment in his mind.

  ——It's quite pitiful.

  After drinking tea, Klein received a letter from Mr. Azik, which added some things that were not easy to talk about because no one else was around. Noticing that the messenger had been replaced, Klein leaned back on the sofa guiltily and prepared to spend the night in the church.

  Before falling asleep, he suddenly thought.

  What would have happened if he hadn't called out to Leonard?

  18.

  When Leonard came out from behind Chanis's door, he found that his dear former colleague had already been promoted to Sequence 6.

  Leonard, who had almost digested the potion, said: "..."

  Is this the speed at which a human can be promoted?

  He recovered from the shock of the news with a depressed look, followed Kress out, and decided to blackmail him: "Please treat me to a meal - you are already Sequence 6, you can't be unable to afford a meal, right? When are you free? Chat with me when you are free -"

  Klein didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "That's not the case?"

  His weekly salary increased again after that, and the money he kept in his pocket was several times more than the amount in his bank account. After several jumps and increases, minus the expenses of replenishing the daily church rations when they were really tight, the remaining amount was still considerable, and he had no problem renting a townhouse for more than ten years.

  "I asked the captain for leave," Klein said. "He said the church hasn't figured out how to arrange you yet, but the general idea should be good. He also agreed that I can take you around and rest for a while. At least I'll be free in the afternoon... There shouldn't be any seats in the restaurant now. Let's go in the evening. Any restaurant recommendations?"

  "There's an Intisley in the Hilton area that's very famous."

  Klein instantly became interested: "What's the price?"

  "The average cost is about 3 pounds?" Leonard recalled carefully for a while, "When the wine is opened."

  You sound very experienced...

  Klein muttered, and thought that today was a good day for this guy to see the light of day again, so he didn't refute: "Then let's go there tonight... You said you wanted to talk to me? What?"

  "Captain, are you okay?"

  Leonard asked almost without thinking.

  "Where are the people guarding the Chanis? Where is Frye? He went to the cemetery that day - was he affected? Did you join the Red Gloves just to track down Lanevus? I heard that he escaped to the sea..."

  Klein was stunned for a moment.

  Leonard was still asking questions, but none of his questions had anything to do with himself.

  What the old friend said are all old things.

  "Wait a minute, wait a minute, Leonard." The red-gloved hand raised up helplessly, then pressed down, repeating this twice. "I don't have five mouths to answer your questions at the same time. We can answer them one by one. There is plenty of time. Don't worry. The captain and the others were only slightly injured. No one was in any accident."

  Like a reassurance, the former night watchman calmed down, staring at him with his green eyes without blinking.

  Klein took a breath and said, "First of all, I joined the Red Gloves to track down Lanevus. The church also knows that he seems to be roaming the sea. But I am not just tracking this down. Do you remember the wanted poster you saw in Tingen? The most recent one."

  Leonard paused.

  After a long pause, he uttered a name: "Ince Zangwill? The traitor?"

  Klein nodded silently: "There are traces of a Level 0 seal in this matter. I can't tell you too much. The more you know, the more likely this situation will occur."

  "0" Sealed Item... Leonard took a breath: "I met a demigod named Eggers in the East District. He seems to know you. Are you two together? I mean, do you have the same goal?"

  Klein nodded: "He taught me a lot of useful knowledge."

  Speaking of this, Klein recalled the scene where Mr. Azik asked him if he wanted help, and couldn't help but joke in his heart: It seems that the relationship between Mr. Poet and Mr. Azik is not that good? He fully believes that Mr. Azik has the energy to take someone with him, but Mr. Poet doesn't seem to have the honor...

  Leonard exhaled, "That's good. By the way, how are you doing in the Red Gloves?"

  Klein subconsciously said, "It's fine. Everyone is taking good care of me..."

  After a long pause, he asked, "What about you?"

  "Me?" Leonard was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Not bad? I'm a bounty hunter, doing a little bit of everything. I've already found a regular partner. She's the one who contacts the official people, and I help her with anything she needs. That's about it."

  Klein also smiled: "It sounds good."

  The two guys who only reported good news and not bad news faced each other and smiled silently for a while.

  "So, who gave you that Sealed Artifact? How did you think of using it to change your hair color?" Klein asked the question he had wanted to know since early on, "You can totally change your face."

  Leonard groaned, and touched the tip of his nose awkwardly. "Mr. Azik gave it to me. My partner and her roommate suggested that I dye my hair. She originally wanted to change her hairstyle, but then she changed her mind for some reason. The smell of dyed hair was too strong, so I used a mask to adjust it."

  Klein: "..."

  Which genius suggested that the poet dye his hair blonde?

  Klein took a breath and tried not to associate the blond Leonard with the yellow-haired man who loved to kidnap little girls. He took the initiative to discard this idea and asked, "Any other questions?"

  "The last one, it's okay if you don't answer." Leonard finished this sentence quickly, then hesitated and spoke slower, "You joined the Red Gloves... What about your family?"

  "..."

  Klein uttered a "hmm."

  How come the question is exactly the same as the captain's? The tradition of the Nighthawks? Could it be that these soldiers were molded from the mold of the goddess's excellent followers?

  Klein briefly explained his considerations, and then took Leonard around the church. When he met his colleagues, he briefly greeted them.

  "As expected of Backlund." Leonard sighed, "There are so many Beyonders."

  "There are many on the sea as well." Klein recalled the knowledge he had heard from The Hanged Man and simply replied, "Mainly there are a lot of pirates."

  "Hmm...will you go hunting pirates on the sea in the future?"

  "Not necessarily. It depends on the church's arrangements." Klein smiled. "If there's a chance, I will."

  After chatting for a while, Leonard and Klein, who had nothing else to do, returned to the lounge and joined the Red Gloves in the fight against evil.

  Klein glanced at Leonard, who looked like he fit in well among his teammates, and felt a little dazed.

  Coming and going so many times, so many days and nights.

  Finally, it seemed like we were back to square one.

  Nothing has changed.

  19.

  After having eaten and drunk their fill and talking for more than thirty minutes, the two of them drank together in the brightly lit restaurant.

  Klein was looking for a topic to talk about: "Have you ever planned what to do in the future?"

  Leonard was stunned: "Uh - go to the sea to find an opportunity for revenge?"

  "Not this." Klein took a breath, "In the future."

  Leonard looked like he was thinking, "What do you mean I haven't thought about the future?" "I haven't thought about it. After all, this goal seems to be very far-reaching... Maybe I should stay in the church? I'll do whatever you ask me to do, just like before."

  "Hmm...have you ever considered adding another person, or finding a helper or something like that?"

  "Oh, no."

  Klein's eyelids twitched three times.

  He put down his glass and intertwined his fingers: "Then I'll tell you something, don't be afraid."

  Leonard was puzzled: "What's the matter?"

  "Your grandfather is here."

  Leonard almost jumped up from his chair, and his knee hit the table leg - this restaurant used solid wood, with a slight "thump".

  Leonard gasped, rubbed his knees, and was speechless. He stared at Klein in a daze and subconsciously lowered his voice:

  "ah?!"

  Klein remained motionless: "Her Highness Arianna said that the goddess is watching."

  Leonard couldn't even breathe.

  He didn't react, as if he had lost his soul, and was stunned.

  "I think the goddess should have noticed something was wrong with you a long time ago, but she couldn't guess what was wrong." Crane nodded at him, "This has something to do with you - I think you should know."

  Klein added silently, but the goddess should have guessed it by now.

  Perhaps being watched by a goddess was too exciting for a mid-sequence. Leonard wiped his face three times before he recovered and took a deep breath: "I know."

  "Have you ever considered letting him go back?" Klein asked.

  Leonard thought about it and shook his head: "Switching back and forth is too much of a drain on the old man, forget it."

  After a pause, he continued, "That's it, that's it. He can help you, right? I remember you have always been very interested in occult knowledge... He should know a lot?"

  "......a lot of."

  "That's good." Leonard nodded, "Then I feel relieved."

  Klein was so overwhelmed by this "reassurance" that he didn't know what to say.

  "Being a Red Glove is very dangerous." Leonard smiled at him and raised his glass. "In Backlund, you are the only friend I can confide in. With him... you will surely live a good life."

  Klein stared at him for a long time.

  Then he picked up his glass and clinked it with Leonard.

  He did not respond, but only said, "After I finish this glass of wine, I have to go back to church."

  Leonard said, "Ah," "I'm with you."

  Klein paused and said, "I thought you would rest for a few days first."

  "I have this plan." Leonard smiled at him. "I have just been through so many things, it is indeed a bit tiring. Anyway, Backlund is so big that it can accommodate me for a few days of rest. I am going back now because when I left the church, Archbishop Anthony found me and told me to go to him when I came back. He has something to tell me."

  Klein was silent for a moment. He had a vague premonition. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either.

  He nodded to Leonard: "Okay."

  "Then, let's go back together."

  ——

  Pure enjoyment version for young couples!

  Woohoo, the Backlund line is still not concluded, and there are at least two more chapters to go, including the departure of the little wolf, the collection of the foreshadowing, and the escape of the cat... I want to go to the sea!!!

  (The kitten holds its head and screams.avi)

  Please comment!!

6.

  #DefectionLunxRedGloves, two-level reversal

  #This is a product that satisfies my own bad taste. It is impossible to verify the facts. The timeline is also very confusing. I have no idea.

  20.

  No one knows for sure what the future will look like.

  Just like before hearing the news, Klein's plans were just "Poet classmate resumes his original position", "Poet classmate returns to Tingen", and "Poet classmate says goodbye to me".

  He never thought that after a young man who was forced to leave home and the world he grew up in, he would never be able to return to the place where he started. The young man was moving, the world was moving, and he was also moving. All three things were so hurried, time was gone, and what we were used to became untouchable.

  This is always hard to believe for someone who is nostalgic.

  When teammates in the locker room chattered about the whereabouts of his friend, the person closest to Leonard in Backlund was the last to know.

  When Prince asked, "Why didn't you see him off?", Klein came back to his senses and asked the group of calm wolves: "--Leonard is leaving? He didn't tell me."

  The air in the lounge suddenly became quiet.

  Holm smiled as he held a cup of tea and said, "He booked the last train ticket in the morning, so it's not too late to go now. If you need it, I can approve your leave."

  Klein shook his head without hesitation: "Maybe he doesn't want me to go."

  Since his poet classmate didn't invite him, there was no need for him to make himself unhappy.

  Camelia asked sharply, "Did you have a fight?"

  "No..." Klein said a little bewilderedly, "Why do you ask?"

  The only female on the team pursed her lips and looked at him for a moment, hesitant to speak. She couldn't help but ask, "Klein, do you really not know why your green-eyed friend booked the last train ticket in the morning? You should be the person who knows him best in Backlund."

  "Archbishop Anthony advised him to set out in the morning. He said that here last night after you returned." She asked almost explicitly, "Why did he say that here? Why did he choose such a time, Klein? Do you really, really, really not know?"

  ——He wants you to come to him, he wants you to see him off.

  Do I really know nothing about this?

  He thought of Leonard's eyes smiling under the light. They were obviously dark and bright, but they concealed many unknown emotions. Tingen's midnight poet was not good at lying, and Backlund's nightmare disguise was still poor.

  Camelia was almost puzzled, her eyes asked:

  What has blinded your spirituality, fortune teller?

  The fortune teller was stunned for a while, and repeated: "I should be the person who knows Baekeland best..."

  Then, Klein closed his mouth.

  Zhou Mingrui saved the phone numbers of several college classmates with whom he had a good relationship, many of whom had moved to big cities. Children away from home were always lonely, and life gave them a heavy burden. They occasionally communicated with each other, but apart from greetings, they mostly had meaningless conversations to relieve anxiety, laughing and scolding, but at very rare moments, they also revealed a little bit of boredom.

  Like them, Klein had gotten used to writing letters to his brother and sister that included some amusing stories that seemed to be true, talking about his colleagues' dedication to their jobs. He was also used to not mentioning the twisted madness of the extraordinary world, and the daily life that leaked out was soaked with warm tones like the sun.

  ......

  This way and so many other things.

  Klein couldn't imagine it.

  How could the poet of Tingen be the same as him? He should be somewhat ignorant, carefree, and at ease. Except for the pain caused by the nightmare of escaping Tingen, he should not have made any mistakes outside the extraordinary realm.

  How did he learn to hide this?

  The long wind blew through the church window, and Klein shuddered.

  But he suddenly put down his coffee cup, said "I'll take two hours off", turned around and walked into the colder wind.

  The magic wolves sitting together watched the magician leave and were silent for a moment.

  Holm lowered his head to drink his sweetened tea and heard Camelia mumbling, "What's wrong with Klein? Since he didn't quarrel with that guy and they finally reunited, he should at least go and see him off, right? Is this some new way of being in a relationship?"

  Gain was startled: "Is that friend of Klein the 'midnight poet' he mentioned?"

  Prince gave him a strange look: "Isn't this obvious?"

  Camelia propped up her head and shook her head. "No matter what, Klein joined the Red Gloves because of that guy. I don't want to see things getting better, but Klein is not getting better."

  "Of course he'll get better." Holm laughed at the worried discussion.

  "Klein is more powerful than you think."

  The protagonist of this topic walked around the streets of Backlund, his steps a little unsteady, until he pulled himself out of that strange impulse, stopped a car, jumped in, and then returned to his usual best state.

  The wind broke off several branches in the park. Klein watched as the broken branches disappeared from his sight and heard Pales ask in his mind:

  "Klein, are you sympathizing with him?"

  Klein shook his head. He lowered his voice to answer the sender's question calmly, "No, sir. No. I'm not going there to sympathize with him. He doesn't need this."

  "I went to question him about his breach of trust."

  #DefectionLunxRedGloves, two-level reversal

  #This is a product that satisfies my own bad taste. It is impossible to verify the facts. The timeline is also very confusing. I have no idea.

  ——

  It's not a mistake, because after the revision, it's the same as rewriting it, and I don't want to let everyone's comments go, so I decided to post it again, adding the prequel of Xiao Ke's escape (what

  ——

  twenty one.

  Leonard stood there with his suitcase.

  Crowds of people gathered in the steam train station. The prosperous Wandu City was always full of people coming and going. After the fog, the traumatized Backlund needed more fresh blood. The generous conditions that the factory owners were forced to offer attracted all of Loen to pump vitality into the heart of the kingdom.

  He raised his eyes slightly and saw people of all kinds walking out with longing on their faces. He suddenly realized that there was no shortage of people coming and going in Backlund. Parting and reunion were equally common here, and it seemed that they were no big deal.

  The destination set for him by the Church of Night was the Silence Church in the southern continent, from where he could obtain an extraordinary characteristic of a "requiem master" in advance - this was the harvest from a certain cleanup of the pagans in the southern continent, and contained the spiritual pollution from the pagans' gods. He could find a way to remove it himself, or the church could remove it.

  This is the protection that the church has prepared for him.

  A guarantee for wandering at sea.

  The former was fraught with difficulties, while the latter required the accumulation of merits. Although the church generously stated that it could be advanced, Leonard decided to look for it himself - it had nothing to do with other things. It was really uneasy to pay off the church, even if he was grateful for the goddess's gift and was willing to drift on the sea for a long time.

  However, he had nothing to complain about, and Leonard knew it well.

  This was his own choice.

  On the day he returned to the church with Klein, Saint Anthony presented the choice to the man who was watched over by the night: he could wait for the file to be restored or re-registered, or leave Backlund and secretly become the goddess's guard on the five seas, stabbing towards the spear of danger and madness.

  Considering Lanevus's destination, he chose the latter without much hesitation.

  Witnessed by the Night Watchman, Leonard swore an oath to the Holy One of Night, established a secret connection with the existence at an infinite height, and then began training that was no simpler than the Red Gloves course. The difficulty was that the choice he made meant that he could not stay in the church for long, and the identity of "Shad Joe" required an operator.

  Anthony thoughtfully made arrangements: the already short training would be divided into three phases, with the first phase in Backlund and the remaining two phases in the Church of Silence. He would cross the Raging Sea, be promoted in the Southern Continent, and begin his next journey there.

  Before he left, Leonard asked the Archbishop of the Church of Darkness, "If I choose to stay, where will the church send me? Will I have a chance to return to Tingen?"

  "Your sequence is sufficient to lead a team of Nighthawks." Saint Anthony lowered his eyes, "If the Tingen team suffers casualties or is transferred, the church will consider your wishes."

  Hearing this, Leonard smiled.

  He shook his head: "No, no."

  "...I have no other questions, Saint Anthony." Leonard said, raising his hand to draw a red moon, half closing his eyes, with a calm and peaceful expression, "The will of the goddess is my path."

  For a person who has hatred in his heart, perhaps embarking on the road of pursuit is the best choice.

  Those who have already set out cannot turn back.

  Today, the training was over, and he arranged to say goodbye to many people. As a bounty hunter, Hugh and her apprentice roommate, the East District informant, and the old man who rented a house to him in the Hilton District...

  Leonard said goodbye to these people one by one, but he was timid when facing Klein.

  He didn't know what was going on. After thinking it over, he finally found a reason for himself:

  Leonard lied to Crane.

  When hatred drives a person forward, even the most tired body can be abandoned. He will not stop moving forward, just like Klein who is trying every possible way to digest the potion and accumulate merits. Leonard can't find a reason to rest.

  He was afraid to go see him because he lied.

  I feel guilty, Leonard told himself.

  I just feel guilty.

  Nightmare repeated the same thought over and over again until the whistle of the departing station woke him up from his trance and his eyes went straight to the empty platform. Leonard stood there for a while, carrying the suitcase and walked deeper into the platform. He changed direction lightly and avoided a child's hand that reached into his coat pocket.

  The yellow-green mist had not yet dissipated, swirling thinly around.

  Amid the whispers of the people waiting for the bus, Leonard was distracted for no reason.

  He wondered abruptly, did I tell this to Klein's teammates?

  Why is this happening? Why am I like this?

  After a second of hesitation, Leonard's spirit guided him to look back. His eyes, green as leaves washed after rain, reflected a figure, standing upright in place, looking straight at him.

  The light, shadow and time were all in a trance and disorder at this moment. The suitcase in his hand turned into a raised fire core, the stiff and ironed coat fabric turned into a thin jacket stained with mud and grass dew, the roof of the station turned into the sky, his black hair turned into blonde hair, the whispering crowd turned into a gurgling river, the high walls surrounding the hall turned into a forest, and the face was filled with moisture.

  What remains unchanged is the man's face and the pair of brown eyes that look at him.

  — Klein Moretti.

  It seems like fate, as if this person will always find his trace, even if he is wandering around.

  He still got me. He still got me.

  Leonard heard a voice in his chest, deep but clear.

  Plop. Plop. Plop.

  That was his heart beating.

  The red gloves walked towards him through the crowd. The faceless man was still not thick enough, and the thin figure squeezed through many pedestrians, his coat swaying between his cane and his skirt, but his eyes were still so clear in the crowd of shadows, determined and unyielding, like a handful of jumping, fresh fire.

  A fire that almost burned the nightmare.

  Leonard subconsciously took a step back, then stopped abruptly when he realized what he was doing.

  Why are you afraid? That is a Red Glove, a Red Glove who knows your identity, and now you don't have to hide, you work together in the church. He will not hurt you, will not arrest you, he just comes to see you.

  Why are you timid?

  Because Leonard lied to Klein? Because he made up a story about leaving without saying goodbye?

  Then you should be ashamed, Leonard Mitchell.

  But now? What do you want to do?

  Leonard's Adam's apple moved.

  He called out in his mind, Klein.

  ——But I just want to call his name.

  twenty two.

  "Why didn't you tell me?" Klein asked, "Or do you prefer traveling alone?"

  "...Not really." Leonard glanced at him carefully. "It was arranged too suddenly. I was in a hurry and my schedule was very tight. I didn't have time to... say goodbye."

  What a mouth you have for confusing right and wrong, fellow poet.

  Klein's eyebrows twitched slightly, looking a little puzzled.

  You clearly had a whole training period to say goodbye to me, but you had to use such a roundabout way to tell me that you wanted me to see you off? Isn't this a bit too awkward?

  He stared at Leonard for a long time, and Leonard felt uncomfortable everywhere. He almost wanted to raise his hand to button up his shirt collar.

  Klein was amused by his appearance. He looked away and sighed, shaking his head: "—Forget it."

  "Considering that you haven't had a good time these past few months..." Klein said slowly, "I hope you haven't forgotten to say goodbye to your other friends."

  "..."

  Leonard looked away guiltily.

  Backlund had a nice day today. He pretended to be calm and made excuses in his heart.

  After a brief silence, Klein glanced at him and said, "There's something I can't figure out."

  "What?" Leonard tried to look as natural as possible.

  "It's fine that I went to the Royal Manor with the captain." Klein narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Azik was tracking down the seal and Ince Zangwill. Why were you there?"

  The inspiration from the nightmare told him that this place was protected by illusion, and Leonard spoke: "I have been staying with Mr. Azik before, and I also learned some things from him, but..."

  But more importantly, during that time, Leonard was entangled by a Sequence 6.

  Criminal Pathway 6, Demon.

  For a "nightmare", it was a very tough opponent. What's more, Leonard lacked powerful offensive magical items or effective purification methods to deal with the filthy field, so he was almost stretched to the limit in terms of what he could offer.

  He didn't dare to wear the "Baron's Medal" for a long time. The negative effect of getting hot-headed at the critical moment was too scary. Sometimes, as soon as he put on the medal, the negative effect made him unconsciously begin to despise this magical item, and he firmly believed that he would never be swayed by this negative effect.

  A minute later, he took off the medal and put it on the table, then turned around and washed his face to wake himself up.

  In addition to enhancing Nightmare's head-on combat ability, the rest of the skills of "Faces of Nothingness" are almost all focused on escape and survival, and it also lacks offensive means.

  But "Devil" is different.

  In addition to the physical and mental enhancements brought by the first three sequences, they possessed the ability to demonize the body, greatly improving physical resistance, which directly made Leonard's fighting ability almost useless and extremely difficult to cause direct damage.

  In addition, "Filthy Words" and "Flaming Greatsword" are also headaches. Unless he can seize the initiative, the effect of Sequence 7's dream-entering ability on Sequence 6 is limited. "Demons" are rarely swayed by emotions and are difficult to deceive. If he hadn't had the "Face of Nothingness" in his hand, he would have died long ago.

  So, again, why was Leonard entangled by a "demon"?

  That was thanks to Stanton Isengard. The great detective's words came true. The "Apostle of Desire" he provoked took revenge on him, and through unknown means, he instigated the Sequence 6 to pursue him relentlessly.

  After being caught off guard by the encounter, Leonard had no choice but to keep a low profile.

  But even so, he still experienced two attacks in three days.

  At that time, he was in a safe house, leaning against a table with his legs half bent, thinking about the origin of the "devil" that was entangled with him. Before he could string together the clues, his inspiration reminded him that danger was coming. Leonard rolled to the side without thinking, and the next second, a black liquid as thick as the evil thoughts of human nature oozed out from where he had just stood.

  The black liquid was stretched into a human shape, and the man uttered, "Slow down!"

  Leonard's movements froze, and his entire body seemed to be pulled by an invisible force. The flaming sword ignited one after another, and swept towards Leonard along with the dry sulfur smell, and it seemed that it was about to succeed in one strike!

  The next second, Leonard's body suddenly became thinner and charred, turning into flying ashes.

  His figure stood out not far away, and Nightmare looked up at the demon, and this uninvited guest chose to bring a few fireballs as a gift to the host. Leonard snapped his fingers, and his figure jumped and crisscrossed in the room where sparks flew, and the hem of his clothes was scorched by the flames.

  The crimson moonlight flowed into the safe house like water, illuminating the two extraordinary people who were dealing with each other.

  After dodging this wave of fireballs, Leonard finally pulled out his hand and fired his gun. The purification bullets engraved with the mysterious symbols of the sun realm were fired out, forcing the demon back a step.

  The "Baron's Medal" was sealed by placing it in a velvet box and placed high up, and considering that he was wearing a mask, he never took it out with him!

  If I could twist this guy's intentions...

  "Fallen!"

  Fire and shouts rose up in the house at the same time. The next moment, Leonard, who had not been able to escape, took a step back and raised his hand to cover his face. There, a silver-white patterned mask was twisting and slowly protruding.

  The Face of Nothingness has fallen!

  The blond hair that had been dyed by mysticism quickly faded back to its original color. Leonard raised his eyes coldly, fired the last four bullets in the magazine in just a moment, and turned to rush to the window sill.

  Behind that window is the bank of the Tussock River.

  He wasn't naive enough to think that four occult bullets could kill a Sequence 6 that had the upper hand!

  Go! We must go! If we don't go, who knows what will happen!

  The sound of flames tearing in the wind was rapidly approaching, and Leonard knew that this was the result of the "devil" choosing to transform his body into a demon in order to hunt him down.

  "——Crash!"

  The glass shattered into pieces and flew everywhere.

  Leonard had just jumped out of the window, but before he could change direction, a hand grabbed his shoulder. The demon laughed viciously, and the pain of his flesh being torn by the claws instantly distorted Leonard's expression.

  Blood soaked the cloth on his shoulders.

  He turned his head with difficulty to look at his enemy, but found that he was several meters away from the demon in an instant. The demon looked at him in astonishment, as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

  how......

  The sound of the flowing water of the Tussock River drowned his thoughts. The wounded Nightmare had no time to think and endured the pain as he twisted away underwater.

  The demon was afraid of the mysterious power that saved his life and did not chase after him immediately.

  After swimming ashore, Leonard returned to the house in the Hilton District covered in water and blood. He cleaned and bandaged his wounds, then leaned back on the sofa, silently thinking about the strangest part of the whole thing.

  Not long after, he took out a pen and paper, and wrote a letter with shaking hands while laughing:

  "Okay, old man, so you didn't leave?"

  In response, the parasite snorted coldly.

  Since then, he has been helping Mr. Azik, and learned that this gentleman is not only interested in royal affairs, but also has a strong interest in the relics of the Fourth Epoch - he is trying to regain his memory in this way.

  That day, they were investigating near the manor, but Mr. Azik received a note with two messengers left, and walked into the spirit world without saying hello.

  Klein was stunned for a moment: "The old man is also parasitizing you?"

  "Hmm... maybe he can parasitize many people at the same time?" Leonard said, revealing a look of reminiscence. "Anyway, when you said he was in you, I was really shocked - but it's good this way."

  To be honest, Klein's first reaction when he learned this was relief.

  Although he didn't know the old man's level, it was better for him to watch Leonard than for Leonard to go alone. It would be best if the two people who chased out of Tingen could return in one piece.

  As for the rest, Klein hadn't considered it carefully yet.

  The secret of my time travel, no matter how I look at it, can only be understood at the level of a demigod. It is too early to plan now. I will wait until I reach Sequence 4 and learn about Sefirah Castle thoroughly, and then see what else I can do...

  He was distracted for a moment and suddenly smiled.

  So, we have to say goodbye eventually, right?

  The long whistle of the steam train pulled the pensive Klein and the silent Leonard out of different worlds. Nightmare heard the faceless man laugh briskly: "So, it's your train's turn this time, right?"

  "Let's go, Leonard, to the platform." He said in a forced and cheerful tone, as if he had not been tainted by the sadness of parting. "I'll watch you get on the train."

  Leonard was stunned and turned to look at him.

  He had never experienced such a scene.

  In the Tingen Night Squad, even if he registered to go on vacation, he still packed his own luggage. When he left Tingen that time, he fled in a hurry and didn't dare to show up again.

  This was the first time someone told him, I'll watch you go.

  The subtle emotions that arise make one's heart ache.

  Leonard said "hmm", paused, and suddenly asked hurriedly: "Um, can I write to you?"

  Klein blinked and smiled.

  "If it's convenient for you, of course, remember to send it to the church."

  twenty three,

  Klein's words made the poet classmate, who hated mathematics, count the stamp money along the way.

  He took a pencil and used the margins of the newspaper to list the countries and cities the letter would pass through before arriving in Backlund. He calculated until his head was swelling. He painstakingly studied the ratio between the gold content of a currency and the distance the letter would travel. He even found a place to list the currency exchange rates.

  Perhaps because he didn't want the young man to cause trouble for him, Pales said in a dignified voice: "Why don't you post a few more?"

  Leonard's mind was so empty from the torture of numbers that he uttered a voice that sounded like his soul was leaving his body: "Hmm."

  If Klein saw this scene, he would definitely laugh like someone who had gone through nine years of compulsory education, and then give the same opinion as Pales, wondering when these postal services were interconnected.

  However, what occupied Klein's mind now was not the development of public services, but the pursuit mission of the Red Gloves.

  Backlund's sky was clear and the fortune teller's penny fell from the sky, revealing the king's head.

  Camelia took a look and said, "Klein, what did you predict?"

  Compared to the curious young Nightmare, the other members of the team seemed much calmer. Holm glanced at Klein, and the Faceless Man spoke, "Where are they going?"

  They were a group of smugglers who came to Backlund with the Reaper's relics, and they were most likely Beyonders.

  Holm speculated that this group of people was most likely a team of lower-level Beyonders serving the Spirit Cult. After all, apart from these guys who were extremely fanatical about things related to the God of Death, under normal circumstances, no mid- or low-sequence Beyonders would be so reckless as to pick up the God of Death's relics, let alone send them to Backlund - that would be equivalent to running directly into the muzzle of the Church of Evernight's gun.

  According to this logic, their course of action appears quite suspicious.

  Klein took a breath and said, "Captain, they are still in Backlund."

  Everyone in the team fell silent and looked at each other with seriousness in their eyes.

  This is not good news.

  A group of mice with ulterior motives brought their belongings and settled down in Backlund. What could they be planning? A party?

  The penny flew up and down nimbly between Klein's fingers, occasionally reflecting a few strands of bright yellow light.

  He stood there with his eyes half-closed, and in his mind he could hear Pales sighing, "It looks like something big is going to happen in Backlund."

  The penny stopped between Crane's index and middle fingers.

  Big deal. He wondered, how big a deal would this old gentleman call a big deal?

  Klein raised his brown eyes slightly, scanned the faces of his teammates, turned his head and asked Holm: "Captain, could this be related to the Spiritual Cult's artificial death god plan? If so, do we need to report it to the church?"

  Holm asked: "Why do you say that? Is it the spiritual intuition of the fortune teller?"

  "That's not the case." Klein paused. "I just feel that if something goes wrong during the ceremony, it's Backlund that's in trouble, not their base camp. Captain, you said they hate the Goddess Church."

  The team members were so shocked by his sinister idea that no one spoke for a long time.

  Holm frowned and nodded at him: "Then investigate for a while longer."

  After a pause, the Requiem Master sighed and said, "Klein, it's great that you can shift your perspective to the members of those secret organizations. It has helped us discover many problems that we had not noticed before. But you should change your mindset occasionally and don't let yourself get too deeply involved in this matter."

  Faced with the captain's concern, Klein suddenly felt guilty and ashamed.

  I, I am also a member of a private organization that has done a lot of things, and I am also the evil leader of it... He nodded, frankly and sincerely: "Captain, I understand."

  Holm patted his shoulder, looked over the many doors of the ruins, and turned back to say, "Gain, you come with me. The rest of you should form teams of two and search nearby. Don't go too far. There must be things here that they can't take away."

  "——Yes, Captain!"

  Camelia consciously moved a little closer to Klein and muttered, "Strange."

  Klein was about to do a dream divination to copy the answer, but he suddenly heard a sentence and paused. Then he asked, "What's strange?"

  "Two things are strange." Camelia said, "First, your train of thought is strange, and second, the result of the divination is strange. For a batch of death god relics like that, either their status is so high that they cannot be divined, or they must have done enough anti-divination."

  Klein laughed. "Because I wasn't predicting the whereabouts of that batch of items..."

  He paused.

  If the "Artificial Death God" project is really being carried out in Backlund, then what level will the person in charge of this be? Not a Sequence 4, but at least a Sequence 5 like Cecima, who at least controls a powerful seal.

  How could it be possible for someone who was one level higher than him and might even have attained divinity to let them discover the problem so easily?

  His divinations were all incredibly successful.

  A chill silently crept up the fortune teller's calves.

  The Spirit Cult hates the Goddess Church.

  This thought flashed through Klein's mind.

  No. No. That's not right.

  The Spiritual Cult is unreasonable. They have no reason to expose themselves because of this—

  The Spirit Cult hates the Church of Night.

  In addition, there is another word, "darkness under the lamp".

  Throw out an insignificant bait, and naturally countless fish will peck at it. Then, the fisherman can take action.

  Camelia noticed that he paused and took the initiative to show concern: "Klein? What's wrong? You look so bad."

  "—Captain." Klein suddenly said, "Where did the captain go just now?"

  Just now, Holm gave the order and the entire Red Gloves team dispersed very efficiently. After they said a few words, they were the only ones standing there in the entire ruins.

  Klein didn't wait for Camelia's answer. He caught a glimpse of a flash of cold light out of the corner of his eye.

  He subconsciously pushed his teammate away, but heard Pales hurriedly say, "Behind you!"

  What--

  Phew.

  Klein's heart suddenly felt cold.

  He blinked a little too slowly and saw himself reflected in Camelia's wide eyes.

  A long, narrow knife with a cold aura pierced through the heart.

  ——

  Finished... I've finished practicing the combat part I wanted to write the most...

  It's so torturous, I don't know if it's weird, it's so torturous. When will your official account finish writing all the skills of the twenty-two paths? It's so torturous.

  A lot of changes have been made...

  The next chapter will go straight to the sea. It's finally time for me to drive the innate cop holy body to become a pirate...

  When you enter the Tarot Club, you will be like:

  Jia Jia: Why does this person look so much like someone from the same industry?

  Okay, please comment as usual!

7.

  #DefectionLunxRedGloves, two-level reversal

  #This is a product that satisfies my own bad taste. It is impossible to verify the facts. The timeline is also very confusing. I have no idea.

  ——

  twenty three.

  Rumors often demonize a person.

  By the time Leonard realized how high-profile his first appearance on Five Seas was, it was already too late.

  "That guy has a pair of wolf-like eyes!" The pirate, who had already drunk three cups of Lilangqi, yelled with a big tongue, stuttered, and almost bit his tongue, but he didn't care. He lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "A whole ship of people, a whole ship of people! From the first mate to the boatswain, no one found that their captain was hanged on the mast. 'Black Wolf' just stood on the deck, standing in the dark, coldly watching the corpse swaying in the wind..."

  Leonard asked with interest: "No one noticed? Is Black Wolf so powerful?"

  "I heard that he has strength close to that of a pirate general!" The pirates gathered together and screamed.

  "Yes, yes!"

  "I heard that 'Black Wolf' is that kind of assassin! That's the kind!"

  "Nonsense! Black Wolf has an inseparable relationship with Admiral Hell! Black Wolf told me so himself when I was drinking with him! He is a psychic, a very powerful one!"

  The pirates around all gasped in unison.

  Leonard thought for a moment and laughed, "But who is 'Black Wolf'? I've never heard you call him by his name."

  "It's that guy, it's that guy!"

  Leonard raised his beer glass, took a sip, and casually planned his journey.

  The "Nightmare" potion can be digested by doing a few more normal roles, but most of the pirates he intimidated are not very obedient, especially the first mate. To be honest, he has hated that look for a long time. Maybe he can kill him and give him to the church in exchange for the bounty? No, giving it to the church is too conspicuous. It would be better to go to MI9 or the Storm Church...

  "That's the one—Shad Joe!"

  Leonard swallowed the beer in one gulp and narrowly avoided choking himself.

  He was stunned for three seconds, lowered his head, and drank the rest of the wine in silence, thinking, how come I didn't know about this?

  Who is the assassin? Who has a close relationship with Admiral Hell? Who drank with that guy just now? Who?

  Me?

  Leonard couldn't help but wonder, is there another Shad Joe above the Five Seas?

  While the parties were doubting their lives, the boastful pirates had already started a new round of nonsense.

  Leonard had no interest in what these followers of the Lord of Storms said about the dancer's hot dance. He lowered his eyelids with the most primitive respect, stood up to return the empty cup, and chose to turn a deaf ear to the sentences full of vulgar jokes.

  The pirates, who were in high spirits, were clamoring for the dancer to take off more clothes, so no one cared about his departure.

  Arriving at the bar, he pushed the glass back to the bartender.

  At this moment, someone pushed the door open.

  Leonard felt the man glance around the bar, so he raised his eyelids and glanced at him.

  He was a guy who was a little too respectable.

  This was Leonard's first impression.

  He was wearing a tweed coat, a tall silk hat, and a double-breasted black coat that reached down to his knees. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. His thin, hard-lined face looked unapproachable due to its lack of expression. The depths of his dark brown irises were as calm as an ancient well, yet seemed to harbor a ferocious beast. After being softened by the lenses, they revealed a cold, dangerous elegance.

  The contrast between this decent dress habit and coming to this kind of bar made Leonard raise his eyebrows.

  Normal gentlemen rarely come here to enjoy themselves. After all, this kind of bar is aimed at pirates who come here to indulge themselves, not the Loen gentlemen with clear ethnic characteristics. The way of indulgence in a pirate gathering place does not quite fit the Loen people's characteristic of being reserved and face-saving.

  That's another reason.

  This person came here to gather information. The only people who came here to gather information were adventurers and pirates.

  As for the latter... Leonard was pretty sure he hadn't seen the bounty on this person.

  He curled his eyes unconsciously, and on his face that seemed ordinary after the change, a rare interest flashed in his emerald eyes.

  ——An adventurer who doesn't look like an adventurer.

  Maybe he came to try his luck at sea? Leonard thought, then looked away.

  But how can an adventurer who comes from the land and does not intend to be a normal adventurer have good luck?

  Interesting. Leonard chuckled and walked out of the bar before the adventurer's eyes locked on him. He passed the man in the noisy crowd, and his green eyes cast a casual gaze towards the door of the bar.

  Hope you don't sink before the sun rises.

  He thought briskly in his mind.

  In that case, maybe we'll meet again in the future.

  "Squeak—"

  The door opened and closed again. Klein, who had transformed into German Sparrow, looked thoughtful and then frowned.

  The faceless man certainly didn't miss that inexplicable chuckle, but Klein was very confident in his disguise and didn't believe that this man could tell his origins with his naked eyes.

  In this case, it is probably because we can see his identity and purpose as an adventurer.

  This is harmless. Klein believes that although there is an unwritten tradition in the Five Seas that adventurers do not provoke pirates, the last thing the world lacks is profit-seeking guys, not to mention a group of adventurers who are famous for breaking their oaths and greed for money.

  It's always good to know more. Who would turn down an easy bounty? Not even pirates themselves.

  Klein pushed his gold-rimmed glasses and walked to the bar without changing his expression.

  "—a glass of Southwell beer," he said.

  While drinking beer, Klein used the Faceless Man's developed five senses to listen to the whispers from all sides, while lamenting the shocking experiences of the past few days.

  After being stabbed, Klein quickly lost consciousness. But perhaps because the wound was not fatal but not serious, he woke up faster than when he first crossed over. However, there was a residual cold feeling in his heart that was gnawing at his internal organs, which was very uncomfortable.

  As soon as he recalled what had happened, Klein knew that something was wrong.

  Nothing else matters, what matters is that Camelia witnessed his death.

  After taking a quick look around and seeing no one around, Klein didn't dare to take any chances, so he used a paper figure to do a reverse divination and turned around and ran away.

  He didn't even dare to go back to the rented house. He changed his face and clothes in accordance with his inner will, confirmed that the private money and magical items on the gray fog were all there, and got a fake identity certificate from Miss Sharon. He boarded the ship and fled on the same day he got it.

  While waiting for the certificate, he also used the Black Emperor Card and the Sun Brooch to purify the remaining cold aura in his body and confirmed that it was the work of the Spiritual Cult.

  What he couldn't be sure of was whether Ince Zangwill had done anything wrong.

  When it comes to revenge on the Church, the Spiritual Cult and Ince Zangwill are probably on the same page.

  What was more terrifying than being arranged by Ince Zangwill with "0-08" without knowing it was that this was not an arrangement by "0-08", but the first joint action that Ince Zangwill had reached with the Spiritual Cult.

  If this is true, Klein simply cannot imagine what the Goddess Church will face next.

  He did a divination to confirm that his teammates were all okay, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

  No, it's not completely alright. Camelia must have been frightened. Klein couldn't help but laugh.

  Then, he lowered his eyes dejectedly and sighed.

  What a pity... I won't receive Leonard's letter now, right? Fortunately, he asked him before leaving... And Melissa and Benson, they clearly agreed to come to Backlund to start a new life...

  The faceless man was blank for a while and then gave a bitter smile.

  I wonder... who would hand over the church's pension to them?

  When he returned to reality from Sefirah Castle, he was greeted by Pales again.

  Pales suspected that he was a trick, but Pales didn't say it.

  By the time they were on the ship, Pales was truly convinced that this man had not changed his mind and was still the same kind and upright fortune teller who didn't seem like a fortune teller. Before he fell asleep, he squeaked at Klein.

  Klein guessed that he had interfered with something, but he had no way of being sure. He could only keep a stern face like Hermann to show that he knew.

  And then—he boarded the White Onyx.

  Klein took a sip of wine.

  "——So who can explain this kind of black-on-black thing clearly?"

  he heard a pirate say excitedly.

  "A man as fierce and decisive as 'Black Wolf', who has the strength to intimidate a medium-sized pirate team, do you think he would kill 'White Glove' for no reason? If you ask me, his name is not good - it must be revenge!"

  The lenses of the gold-rimmed glasses reflected a beam of light in the slightly dim bar and briefly returned to their original state, as if the adventurer's slight tilt of his head just now was just an illusion.

  The pirate's voice suddenly lowered and he laughed hoarsely, his words still smelled of alcohol:

  "I told him long ago that he would suffer retribution, and now it has come—"

  "The people under the command of 'Black Wolf' are not very peaceful right now."

  The slightly brown liquor swirled in the glass. German Sparrow raised his glass, put it close to his lips, tilted his face slightly, and his Adam's apple moved.

  "——Gurgle."

  twenty four.

  Three days later, Bayam.

  Leonard changed into a round-neck sweater, brown jacket and wide-leg pants that were very local in style. Two buttons of the collar were unbuttoned crookedly. He stepped on the stairs in short leather boots and lazily raised one hand to block the not-so-warm but extremely dazzling winter sunlight. He looked lazy and casual.

  A shadow fell between his brows, and his green eyes, illuminated by a ray of sunlight, shone like gemstones. His blond hair was not taken care of, so it stood up freely after half an afternoon of tossing and turning, making people want to help him flatten it manually.

  Today he is Shad Joe, the "Black Wolf".

  After completing the training, he did not rush for promotion. This time it was not a problem of digesting the progress.

  Bayam has been exceptionally brilliant these past few days.

  First, the Church of Storms offered the head of "Iron" Maiviti, then the bounty of "Flame" Danitz was increased to 4,200 pounds, and then the rumor that a powerful person was accompanying "Flame" spread like wildfire.

  This is very interesting.

  The Church of Storm killed "Steel", who was under Admiral Blood, not "Flower Tie", who was under Vice Admiral Iceberg. Why would they raise the bounty of "Flame" when they have nothing better to do? If these two situations can occur at the same time, it means one thing: the Church of Storm believes that "Flame" killed "Steel" and picked up "Steel's" body after their battle.

  Let's not talk about how this perception was formed. The last rumor and everything that the Storm Church experienced showed that the ability of "Flame" to kill "Steel" was related to that strong man, and most of it was because of that strong man. But when the "Golden Dream" was thousands of miles away, where did the mid-sequence strong man come from to help "Flame" do this kind of black-eating-black work?

  The one who could kill Steel and his helpers must be at least a Sequence 6 or a Sequence 7 with a powerful solar path magical item, and the latter usually don't live long. Since he wasn't killed by another Sequence 6 and his items were taken away, it's more likely that this strong man is a Sequence 6 or a Sequence 5.

  Leonard's green eyes curved, but there was no smile in them.

  On the five seas, a Sequence 5 could become a pirate general, and a Sequence 6 would definitely not be able to be unknown.

  So, why does no one know who that mid-sequence expert is?

  A newly emerged mid-sequence warrior, this gimmick doesn't sound very fun.

  However, it would be very interesting if this Sequence 6 or Sequence 5 dared to kill Admiral Blood's second mate as soon as he showed up.

  Whose opinion does he represent by acting so arrogantly?

  The Storm Church is naturally nervous about this matter, after all, the Church of Knowledge is behind Vice Admiral Iceberg.

  But this does not mean that the Church of Night should turn a deaf ear.

  Leonard planned to check it out and accumulate some merits.

  This is simple, but also difficult - all you need to know is who "Flame" has been with recently.

  The simple reason was that the Red Gloves of the Silence Church had already explained to him how poorly the Fourth Boatswain was at disguising himself. The difficulty was that the experienced Mid-Sequence expert would not go out on the street without makeup.

  Leonard reached out and took out a gold coin, and tossed it up naturally and smoothly.

  "Ding-dong."

  Gold coins fell to the ground.

  This means that the divination has failed.

  Leonard raised his eyebrows slightly and picked up the gold coin thoughtfully. He looked at the gold coin and thought for a while, revealing a regretful expression, and probably understood the current situation:

  Insufficient information meant that even vague divination was fruitless.

  He casually stuffed the gold coins into his pocket, and his fingertips immediately touched another object, and his expression softened.

  It was an envelope, which did not look very pretty because it was covered with various stamps.

  Leonard's regrets were swept away, and his half-closed eyelids moved and blinked, instantly changing from a fierce pirate with a bounty of a thousand pounds to a clumsy young man. He smiled a little nervously from the corner of his lips, but felt that this seemed a little silly, and couldn't help rubbing his face.

  Would Klein think this envelope was ugly?

  Leonard touched the tip of his nose and thought it was likely. The Klein he knew was a person who insisted on his appearance. For example, he insisted on wearing a set of formal clothes in Tingen and later changed into a black windbreaker. At least in terms of the details of his clothing, he maintained a completely different pace from Leonard.

  However, with Klein's considerate nature, he should be able to understand, right?

  Nightmare was convinced by this possibility and decided to change his face on the way back and send the letter.

  He also wanted to ask about the Captain and Frye's situation. He wondered how the Captain had digested the potion after a few months. If the timing was right, he might be able to catch up with the Captain communicating with Klein.

  Unfortunately, if the mission hadn't required his identity to be kept secret, Klein wouldn't have known why he left Backlund, and the fact that he wasn't dead wouldn't have been a difficult secret to find out.

  Mr. "Black Wolf" scratched his hair, took a step forward, and decided to start the investigation from the area near Xiangshu Avenue.

  There were people coming and going on Lemon Street, and the blond and blue-eyed man was quickly lost in the crowd.

  About twenty meters away from here, there is a hotel called "Blue Wind".

  A man wearing a half-high silk hat and a double-breasted woolen coat stepped out of the hotel onto the cobblestones of the street. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, had a thin face and a pair of dark brown, sharp eyes, and had a gloomy and gentle temperament.

  A penny leaped up from between his fingers and landed back into his palm.

  The king's head is facing upwards.

  Clayne took a look at it and put it away.

  In the past few days, he had heard many interesting rumors. Apart from the story of Mr. Flame's appreciation that he and Danitz had worked out, the most common one was the rumor about Black Wolf.

  According to Klein's point of view, a pirate who did something like robbing other pirates was not at the level of a pirate general, so there wouldn't be rumors flying around. To that extent, it would be unreasonable for him not to be particularly hated or to have offended some important person.

  Later he found out.

  Black Wolf once worked with a hunter from the Misty Sea. The two of them killed dozens of pirates in a week, and the bounty was around a thousand pounds. They became a team that pirates avoided. Based on this premise, when everyone thought that Black Wolf was going to be a treasure hunter or adventurer, he turned around and recruited a pirate group.

  It would be strange if this didn't make people explode.

  Maybe some people with personality would like this kind of action. Anyway, Klein couldn't understand what Black Wolf wanted to do.

  After hearing the rumors, he was confused for a moment, even deeply bewildered.

  The only explanation is that the cooperation with the treasure hunters in the Misty Sea was just a stepping stone for "Black Wolf" to build his own reputation. What he really wanted to do was to use this reputation to make the pirates who were intimidated by him succumb to his power and work for him.

  But what's the difference between this and using coastal defense artillery to shoot mosquitoes?

  Even the most boastful pirate would not kill a dozen outstanding colleagues who might have powerful backing or be Extraordinary people just to protect his dignity as a man.

  What is dignity? For most pirates, it is nothing compared to life.

  Not to mention that after this incident, some official forces immediately put him on a bounty order, offering a price of 2,700 pounds. Although this was significantly lower than Danitz, "Flame" was after all a subordinate of Lieutenant General Iceberg, and beating a dog depends on its owner. Excluding the bonus from various forces, this price was really not low.

  Klein judged that Black Wolf was most likely a relatively powerful Sequence 7. If he reached Sequence 6, his bounty would definitely not be at this level.

  ——You can kill.

  If Black Wolf did something evil one day, Klein would not want to expose him.

  It's easy to get rid of harm for the people.

  What Klein had just divined was about the power behind the Black Wolf.

  Since the information was not sufficient, he only vaguely divined whether there was any force supporting the "Black Wolf".

  The answer is yes.

  Is the sea always so wonderful? Klein sighed without knowing why.

  The Rose School, the Church of Knowledge, the Church of Storms, the Spirit Cult, the Witch Cult, and even the secret organization behind Qilingos... it was truly a gathering of heroes, with all parties holding a meeting.

  Well, maybe I can add Tarot Club to the mix later.

  Klein smiled inwardly.

  He adjusted his hat and looked for an opportunity to perform as planned.

  25.

  To be honest, Leonard never thought that one day he would meet Anderson Hood, who claimed to be the strongest hunter below the demigod of the Misty Sea.

  First, this man was so bad-mouthed that he doubted that even if Klein came, he would not be able to control his mouth; second, although the Pirates' business and Anderson's business overlapped to a large extent, they were each in their own corner and there was really no chance for them to meet.

  This unexpected meeting taught Leonard not to jump to conclusions.

  He was leaning against the wooden table in the captain's cabin, examining his visitor, while his guest was sprawled unrestrainedly on the sofa.

  "I didn't expect you to enjoy life." The Reaper smiled and pointed at the wine cabinet behind him. "Although you don't look like a tyrant's believer... We are old friends meeting, so why don't you open a bottle of good wine to treat me?"

  Leonard glanced at him subtly and asked casually, "Who is the tyrant?"

  "Ah... the Church of Knowledge's nickname for the Lord of Storms." Anderson stretched out his limbs and crossed his long legs. "I want Sonia Blood Wine, thank you."

  "There are only Lelanzi and Hedland in this cabinet," Leonard wrinkled his nose without even looking at the wine cabinet, "You shouldn't have any unrealistic expectations of a pirate captain with no real power."

  "Okay." Anderson still smiled, "I thought you weren't the captain of a pirate ship."

  There was a sudden silence between the two of them.

  Leonard closed his eyes and took a breath to calm himself down: "What do you want?"

  "There is one thing, but can't I have a drink first?" Anderson ignored Leonard's impatient look, spread his hands slightly, and said with a smile, "Have you heard of the illusory sea area in the easternmost part of the Sonia Sea?"

  Leonard narrowed his eyes.

  "Exploration?" he asked briefly.

  "Of course." Anderson sat up and held up a finger. The ease between his brows made him look like he was in control of the situation. He drew a circle on the table in front of the sofa with his index finger. "Well... an adventurer friend found me and claimed that he had found a way to safely enter that sea area. Now they are recruiting crew members."

  "The Misty Sea isn't that close to Bayam." Leonard showed no interest. "Would you come to me specifically for this?"

  "Why not? Have some confidence in yourself." Anderson laughed. "Okay, I admit that this little trick is not very clever, so why don't you consider it? Bring your crew and find a chance to let them know who is their boss."

  Leonard looked at him quietly.

  "Although your bounty is not small, I'm not that poor." Anderson sighed, "After all, we've worked together before. Is my reputation in your eyes so bad?"

  "...No, it's just a little habit." Leonard exhaled softly, "I'm used to not believing everything a 'hunter' says."

  "It's a terrible habit," Anderson said sincerely.

  "If you change the subject again, I'll consider throwing you out of here," Leonard said mercilessly, "You keep avoiding the questions I asked."

  Anderson looked him in the eyes but said nothing.

  Leonard frowned slightly, subconsciously feeling that something was wrong.

  Anderson was right. They did have a very pleasant experience working together, and he was not so wary of this nice hunter, at least when Anderson did not consciously or unconsciously provoke him.

  Anderson is not the kind of person who would beat around the bush and force him to guess.

  Leonard was about to stand up straight to counterattack the other party, but after thinking for a while, he did not choose his original plan and just changed the subject again: "The illusory waters in the eastern part of the Sonia Sea, you plan to organize a fleet to explore...what else?"

  After a pause, he said, "Speak something I can understand."

  Anderson laughed instantly: "Smart people wouldn't say it so directly."

  "So?" Leonard didn't respond.

  "I heard that 'Admiral Hell' Ludwell is also interested in that place. I mean, we might encounter some unexpected threats when we go there." Anderson gestured, "Of course, I'm not saying that the sea area is not dangerous."

  "Admiral of Hell"?

  What could a pirate general do to Anderson? Was there something special about this hunter besides his love of painting?

  "...What's the plan?"

  "I'm not going to follow those treasure hunters. I'm going to follow you." Anderson spread his hands and smiled. "How about it? Surprise?"

  Leonard: "..."

  He should have thrown this guy into the sea earlier.

  ——

  The sea route will be opened first. The plot has been changed beyond recognition by me (*covering face). It should revolve around the uniqueness of the animated Grim Reaper. Ms. Daly will come to make a cameo appearance.

  In the next chapter, Xiao Ke and Xiao Lun successfully become enemies with the active promotion of Mr. Hood, and a strange plot begins in which he runs away while he chases him and he can't escape even if he has wings...

  Gram: ╰(‵□′)╯

  Lun: (๑⁼̴̀д⁼̴́๑)

  An: *.. (๑･∀･๑)*..

  Anderson seems like that kind of smart but pretentious German Shepherd. Hmm, not sure. Let me take another look.

  Daily comments please!!!

  Also, well, here's the joke:

8.

   #DefectionLunxRedGloves, two-level reversal

  #This is a product that satisfies my own bad taste. It is impossible to verify the facts. The timeline is also very confusing. I have no idea.

  ——

  26.

  ——The strongest hunter in the Misty Sea?

  When he heard this title, Klein was a little curious. However, for the sake of his character, he said without even raising his eyelids, "You don't need to worry."

  Danitz certainly didn't think that this seemingly polite but actually crazy adventurer was bragging about his own strength. He used his perceptive brain to ask tentatively, "Because he doesn't dare to offend the captain?"

  The corners of Klein's mouth slowly stretched into a smile.

  Danitz shuddered, and completely understood. He swallowed a curse word and stepped back a little with an embarrassed smile.

  What this guy meant was that there was no need for the strongest hunter in the Misty Sea, Hermann could take him down by himself and then exchange him for a bounty!

  Danitz thought sadly.

  He shouldn't have any expectation that this guy would have any normal views! Bullshit!

  In fact, what he said was pretty much what Klein was thinking.

  According to Danitz, the captain of the "Golden Dream", Vice Admiral Iceberg, is a pirate general who spends his daily life chasing treasures at sea. Apart from occasionally beating up his peers to get some supplies, it sounds like he has never done anything harmful to the world. Klein has no ill feelings towards this fleet.

  But this is a pirate general after all.

  The fact that there is a certain consensus on "not offending pirates" is enough to show how unreasonable pirates as a group are, not to mention the pirates among pirates, the generals among pirates.

  Regardless of other things, the complex and entangled interests are enough to bind several teams of vicious criminals together. Touching one of them often means offending several other teams at the same time.

  Klein did not react to Danitz's retreat. What he needed most now was to understand the ritual of Sequence 5 of the "Fortune Teller" pathway. He was keeping an eye on Danitz only out of a normal person's sense of responsibility and the professional ethics of a former Red Glove. After all, Danitz was a well-known pirate.

  Mr. Azik had given him a trait from an Intis man from Backlund.

  "Master of Secret Dolls" - this was the name of that characteristic, which he had derived from divination above the gray fog.

  He escaped in a hurry, and the old man in his body remained silent, so Klein had no idea of the direction of his promotion. When he was in the church, his curiosity was focused on the name of Sequence 5, and he also thought about how he should play the role. The rest of his concern was how to quickly accumulate merits.

  After all, Klein never thought that one day he would be out of the church's organization.

  "Well... I'd better stay in my room." Danitz pretended to be calm and laughed dryly, "There's nothing to do anyway..."

  Klein nodded and stood there, staring at him.

  Danitz's hair was about to explode under the gaze of those dark brown eyes. He gritted his teeth and asked tremblingly, "Anything else?"

  "Tell me about that hunter." Klein sat down on the sofa opposite Danitz, took off his hat and placed it on the table. He leaned his back slightly against the sofa and stared at Danitz without blinking.

  Danitz's first reaction was: This guy is fucking crazy, he even kills treasure hunters!!!

  Then he realized: Oh, it seems that Hermann is really a madman.

  Danitz took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Actually, I don't know much. After all, that guy usually stays in the Misty Sea and rarely goes anywhere else...except when he's on an expedition, of course."

  "Tell me what you know." Hermann, who was sitting on the sofa, remained unmoved.

  Anderson Hood, the strongest hunter in the Sea of Fog.

  The identity of "treasure hunter" and the title of "the strongest" have explained some things to some extent. It is certainly impossible to get to this point by just being lucky or having strong strength. This treasure hunter must be a smart man.

  From Danitz's occasionally divergent descriptions, Klein gradually sketched out the image of a sophisticated and cunning hunter, and was surprised to hear that the partner of "Black Wolf" was Anderson.

  Recalling Black Wolf's high profile and arrogance, he revised his perception and couldn't help but suspect that Anderson might get along very well with Black Wolf to some extent. Klein slightly changed his sitting posture, and his eyes under his gold-rimmed glasses fell into a dark color that represented contemplation, causing Danitz to sit up straighter unconsciously.

  At that time, Klein didn't know how deeply he would hate this strongest hunter in the future.

  That happened in an attack that came without warning.

  ——It's a bad year and misfortunes never come alone.

  With the characteristics of "Creeping Hunger" and "Master of Secret Dolls" in hand, Klein was actually very confident that he could kill the "ghost" who came to take revenge and looked like a member of the Rose School.

  But he couldn't guard against the "werewolf" and "zombies" who came to kill him halfway, and the unlucky guys who were chased by the "werewolf" and "zombies".

  The trait of the "Master of Secret Puppetry" was a pair of eyeball-like things, which Klein held roughly in his palm when using it. He was later forced back by the frost of the "Wrathful Spirit" and did not have time to put the trait back into the cigarette box.

  "Creeping Hunger" switched to "Priest of Light", and the pure light from the sun fell, which was like a knife washing the face of the Beyonder who was in the "Ghost" state. The "Ghost" opened its mouth and let out a painful scream with Beyonder power.

  Klein was hurt and took a step back.

  That unlucky guy appeared at this time.

  The unlucky guy swiftly jumped into the alley, and after discovering that a battle was taking place here, he almost rushed into the battle without any pause, seemingly wanting to muddy the waters here. If he hadn't been chased by the "werewolf" and the "zombie", Klein would have suspected that he was someone sent by the Rose School to join forces with the "wraith" to trap him.

  The war situation suddenly became critical, the number of people in the Rose School increased, and the friend who directly brought trouble to him was obviously not a good person.

  Hard, the fist is hard.

  Klein glanced at the unfortunate fellow with the cold and ruthless eyes of an adventurer, but he saw that the other party winked at him and flicked the medal on his chest with his finger.

  At this moment, the shadows controlled by the "ghost" suddenly pounced in different directions and scattered into pieces.

  ——The effects of magical items?

  Klein had a rough guess in his mind. Before the "werewolf" pounced on him, he switched the soul from shepherding to "interrogator". His gloves turned golden, and two rays of light flashed in his eyes like lightning. He used the extraordinary ability of "mental piercing".

  "ah!"

  Screams broke the silence of the alley, and the fire crows, as white as miniature suns, did not give the opponent any chance to breathe, and attacked fiercely with high temperature!

  Klein fired a few more air bombs, then found the time to turn his head and look at the unlucky guy. The other person's face was calm and collected, and he only smiled friendly and flamboyantly the moment he realized that he was looking at him.

  The "vengeful soul" dodged and passed through the fire crows, approaching this side at an extremely fast speed. The power of frost surged along with the "vengeful soul" as it glided rapidly at low altitude, heading straight for the two men's faces.

  A blazing white flaming spear condensed in the unlucky man's hands.

  Klein made a gesture of embracing the sun, and the "holy light" descended from the sky and hit the "Wrathful Soul". The "Wrathful Soul" suddenly stopped its forward movement as if it was about to encounter a transparent wall, allowing the beam of light to hit the ground.

  Klein continued to move. He stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers. Flames rose from the soles of his feet, and he disappeared on the spot after the flames dispersed.

  At the same time, at the entrance of the alley, a cluster of flames leaped out from an inconspicuous burnt match on the ground, and suddenly pulled upwards and expanded, like a gorgeous firework falling down.

  The adventurer with crazy eyes and flames all over his body stepped into the battle.

  "--call out!"

  The sound of flames pulling through the air pierced the regular footsteps of the "zombies" rushing to the rescue.

  At this moment, the unlucky guy threw the flaming spear in his hand.

  Klein observed his attack method and calmly made a judgment in his mind: a mid-sequence expert of the Hunter Path, higher than Danitz Sequence.

  Klein was about to reach out and fire an air bullet to block the zombie's attack, but he suddenly froze for a moment, and his expression became very strange. At this moment, the zombie's cold fist wind was already whistling towards him, with a momentum that could smash a human skull.

  The "werewolf" also recovered from the pain caused by the "mental piercing" and turned his bloodshot eyes to the grim adventurer.

  The moment the blazing white flames severely damaged the "ghost", Klein's body suddenly lost thickness, became thinner and narrower, and was stained with frost under the attack of the "zombie". He was smashed into pieces by a punch.

  After his figure reappeared, Klein heard the sound of dense footsteps coming from the alley behind him.

  Spiritual intuition alarm bells sound at this moment.

  --Walk!

  Klein acted decisively, swept his gaze across the ground, and froze for a moment. His expression twisted, and he disappeared again in the rising flames.

  Mr. Unlucky was stunned for a moment, and then he saw the remaining three Beyonders all facing the angry faces of the Mandated Punishers. He frowned, wanting to laugh but unable to, and his eyes turned to the ground, and he saw something at his feet.

  It was a black and white spherical object.

  He picked it up, turned around and left, leaving a dashing back view for the Punishers, and disappeared in the winding streets.

  27.

  "...Are you trying to tell me that you experienced a pursuit and retaliation from the Rose School in Bayam, and that you managed to escape by attracting the attention of the Mandated Punishers, and that you also picked up something as payment for borrowing the medal?"

  Leonard was speechless, frowning for a while and said, "The way you Hunters grow up seems to be different from what I imagined."

  Anderson gestured with his hand. "Of course, this is not acting, I have to make it clear. Everyone encounters some interesting things during the promotion process, right?"

  "For example, offending the Rose School?"

  This time, the treasure hunter just laughed dryly.

  Leonard ignored his embarrassment and frowned as he picked up the eyeball-like thing on the table. Countless black lines suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. His eyebrows twitched, and he felt something strange. He asked, "What is this?"

  "Didn't I tell you?" Anderson looked at her with a look of "Are you stupid?" He pointed his finger at the door of the captain's room and said, "I picked up some good stuff."

  Leonard once again had the idea of "throwing Anderson into the sea to feed the fish."

  He leaned back, half sitting on the table, legs crossed at the ankles, and gave me a soulless smile: "You mean, you're giving me this thing you found and I don't know what it is?"

  What a great hatred and resentment.

  Leonard asked sincerely: "Have I ever offended you?"

  Anderson said, "I've been running with it all the way. Do you think I'm dead?"

  Leonard pondered for a moment: "...I can't say for sure."

  What if this guy dies someday?

  Anderson choked up noticeably. He waved his hand at the new pirate who held the empty title of captain, and said with a bit of depression and a bit of amusement, "When that Beyonder used it, he touched it directly like you did, without any protection. This shows that its negative effects are not too serious and are still within the tolerable range."

  "If you're really worried," Anderson said matter-of-factly, "leave it to your organization. There must be a few people who are good at divination, right?"

  A pair of red gloves suddenly flashed through his mind, and Leonard's mood unconsciously became a little worse. After thinking for a moment, he felt that this guy was not wrong, at least on this point.

  ——Look for an organization when you encounter difficulties!

  He turned the strange object around and put it back on the table. He heard Anderson ask in a casual way, "Your second mate seems to be in a good mood today?"

  Leonard glanced at him and said, "Hmm," "Maybe he thinks he's been lucky lately."

  Anderson laughed.

  "Sometimes, I really don't understand what you're thinking." He tapped his temple, looking relaxed. "A team that is so disorganized that it's hard to gain much even if we go on an expedition."

  "You may have misunderstood something." Leonard glanced at Anderson, "I wouldn't use most of the people here."

  After a pause, Leonard smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes: "Things like this - I mean, someone suddenly gets lucky one day, and it will continue to happen."

  Anderson blinked, leaned back a little calmly, and sighed, "I seem to have overestimated how much you value life."

  The riddle-like conversation ended here. Anderson stood up, stretched his waist, and sighed, "What about light beer? There must be light beer, right? How can a man who doesn't drink survive on the sea? Like in the fairy tales, living on dew?"

  Leonard didn't even raise his eyelids this time: "Go find the guy who's in a good mood... You've obviously thought about it, and you ask me again, is it interesting?"

  Anderson spread his hands: "After all, you are the captain."

  He waved his hand and strolled out as if he was going shopping, and he also graciously closed the door for Leonard.

  Leonard pressed his brows in a bad mood.

  Yesterday morning, he took the initiative to call out to the parasite in his body, but received no response.

  If it were just this, his mood wouldn't be so bad that he would shrink into the captain's room and feel bored alone.

  He went to gather news yesterday afternoon, as the old man seemed to have fallen asleep again, and on his way back he met a man who was being followed by local pagans.

  It was a Red Glove, whom he had seen in Backlund.

  Leonard almost didn't think twice before he stepped forward and patted the shoulder of the Red Glove who was not wearing a uniform. The trained Red Glove judged that the person coming was a living person, so he turned around and punched him.

  Leonard had anticipated this and dodged the attack. Under the gaze of the stalker, he wrestled with Red Gloves, which attracted a crowd of onlookers. The stalker was squeezed outside the crowd and could not see Red Gloves' shocked eyes, nor could he hear Leonard's lip movements when he pinned him to the ground.

  "—Go to 5 Sour Lemon Street. You are being followed."

  After this sudden fight, Leonard changed his face and went to No. 5 Sour Lemon Street, where he found Red Gloves waiting at the bar and took him directly to the church.

  He learned the man's name in the basement of the church, as well as another piece of devastating news for him:

  ——Klein disappeared, as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth.

  However, before he disappeared, one of the members of the Red Gloves team saw with his own eyes that he was pierced through the heart by a bayonet with extraordinary effects, and he was bleeding heavily.

  Leonard didn't know how he walked out of the church.

  He wandered around a bar, changed back into the face of "Black Wolf", and then returned to the boat with empty eyes.

  It took a long time for Leonard to regain his consciousness.

  Among all the information rushing to him, only one thing was particularly clear: he was now a pirate, a captain of a pirate ship with the empty title of captain, who could be killed by rebellious crew members at any time.

  So he couldn't show anything wrong.

  There is a boat full of jackals, tigers and leopards here, and if he shows any sign of wrongdoing, he may be torn to pieces by them.

  However, grief is not something that can be controlled by oneself.

  He stood in the captain's room for a long time without moving, like a marble sculpture, his face looking extremely ugly.

  Danxia slowly seeped in from the horizon, and the fiery red color smeared across the young man's face. It was also like an endless bloody rainstorm, pouring down and soaking Leonard's entire body.

  Leonard suddenly bent down and took a deep breath.

  He clenched his teeth tightly and made no sound.

  What does "heavy bleeding" mean?

  What does "disappearing as if evaporated from the face of the earth" mean?

  There were so many hidden hints in their words, how could he understand them one by one? Klein even survived the battle in Tingen, how could he die like this?

  Isn't this really just an absurd dream?

  Leonard's hands were tightly gripping the edge of the table. The fragile wooden table was faintly cracked. His finger joints were a sickly white color due to excessive force and were stiff to the point of pain.

  He was in a bad mood from yesterday until today, when Anderson pushed open the door and walked in, and Leonard was still in a bad mood.

  He turned his head and looked at the sky outside the window.

  The setting sun was as red as blood, and dark clouds dotted the corners of the sky like fiery, half-burned charcoal.

  Leonard took a deep breath, and his boots made a rhythmic sound on the floor. With this sound, he walked all the way to the deck, letting the sea breeze mess up his hair.

  The "Dark Forest" was exceptionally quiet today. Even Anderson, who was good at livening up the atmosphere, could not save the dead silence.

  Everyone on the ship was doing what they were supposed to do, or hiding in the cabin to rest, and few people were willing to wander around on the deck. Even those who were walking around on the deck would look up at the mast from time to time with lingering fear.

  There was a man hanging there.

  ——That was the first mate of the "Dark Forest".

  The captain who hung him up with his own hands leaned against the wooden wall, watching the corpse swaying in the wind, his eyes dark and unclear.

  28.

  Klein, who had just finished divination in the gray fog, wanted to curse.

  Only half of the "Master of Secret Puppetry" characteristics were left in his hand, and the other eyeball was left on the battlefield - if the Punisher had not arrived too quickly, he would have had a chance to pick it up!

  So, here comes the question.

  How did the Mandated Punisher get there?!

  The Mandated Punishers are not fools who go out on patrol for no reason, and the Rose School is not a fool who is willing to fall into a trap. There is only one possibility left - the mid-sequence strongman of the "Hunter" path!

  What made him even more infuriating was that after a quick divination, Klein discovered that the one who had taken away his characteristics was the mid-sequence expert from the Hunter Path!

  If the characteristics were picked up by the Punishers, he would have nothing to say and could only consider himself unlucky. He would then see if he could hunt or buy the materials himself.

  result......!

  Klein was choked with anger for a moment in the gray fog.

  He began to doubt his life: Was this mid-sequence expert who seemed to be hunted by the Rose School really not someone sent by the Rose School to set up the trap? Why did he take away his hope of promotion in one fell swoop?

  He didn't even lose his characteristics that time when he killed the pursuer with Miss Sharon!

  Klein took a deep breath and tried to be optimistic.

  It's okay. At least it wasn't picked up by the Punishers. There's still a chance to get it back. Just go negotiate with that guy.

  Wait till he figures out who that guy is...!

  Klein returned to his body from the gray fog and used ritual magic to draw a portrait of the Beyonder. He pushed the door open with a cold face, held up the portrait to the startled Danitz and asked, "Do you know this person?"

  Danitz was stunned for a long moment, with a strange expression on his face: "This is Anderson...how do you have his portrait?"

  The upper half of Hermann's face was submerged in the shadows of the room. Only his dark eyes reflected a little light, like a hunter hiding in the shadows, or some kind of ferocious beast.

  After a long while, Danitz saw Germann reveal a murderous smile and couldn't help but shudder. Just when Danitz decided to find an excuse to leave temporarily, he heard the crazy adventurer speak and whispered, "Very good."

  Very good? What is very good?

  Danitz looked at him blankly.

  But Hermann was clearly not someone who would explain things to him.

  Klein, who had just returned from outside, walked to the coat rack, put on his hat again, and pushed the door open.

  Danitz was a little stunned.

  Didn't this guy just come back... He's going out again? Did he receive some order?

  ——

  Okay, now it's cat chasing dog (*rubbing hands)

  God knows how painful it was for me to write this chapter... I had to write about the battle, the cat losing something, Anderson passing by, what the little wolf was planning, and the little wolf being sad...

  Oh my god, how did this article become like this...

  OK, we finally see that the pirates at the beginning of the sea line were not actually spreading rumors ()

  I just like to see the little wolf show off! (*Shock)

  Okay, please comment as usual!

  Also, here's the gag: