Mystery: Survival from the Secret Doll

Chapter 340 339 The Thief
Tingen, Red Rose Street.

Standing in the jewelry store, carefully selecting the accessories he needed for the evening, Lanius tilted his head slightly, looking at a building not far away.

The building was very quiet. In fact, it had been quiet ever since he arrived; no one came out or went in.

It was like an independent world shielded from the rest of the space; no matter which angle you looked at it from, it was pitch black, with no one and no movement.

Lanius knew that a terrible struggle was taking place inside.

"How interesting." He pinched the monocle on his left eye, then, as if he had thought of something even more interesting, the corners of his mouth curled up into a gentle yet slightly eerie smile.

The surrounding customers didn't notice what was hidden behind that smile, and Lanius quickly adjusted his expression.

After all, the matter wasn't finished yet, and he couldn't afford to give himself away here.

"Wrap this up."

"Okay, sir."

The waiter took away the necklace and ring that Lanius had chosen and packed them up.

Soon, Lanius emerged from the jewelry store carrying a beautifully decorated gift box.

The sky outside the store was still clean and spotless.

The air was filled with the aroma of bread, and people were coming and going on the streets. Everything was so simple, yet filled with a false sense of happiness.

He didn't look at the unremarkable building again, and left Red Rose Street to prepare for the evening.

"Things are getting more and more interesting. I hope that what's coming next won't disappoint me."

So first, we should contact those people in the Aurora Club and have that person descend upon us...

As he thought about what was about to happen and what he was about to gain, the smile on Lanius's lips grew wider and wider.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said softly, almost to himself.

As I passed a mirror, I noticed that the person in the mirror was wearing a black pointed soft hat and smiling as they looked at the bustling yet incredibly fake street.

"Me too."

-

The Sunwell Ore mine was resplendent in gold, and even with goggles on, Klein's eyes still stung when he stepped outside.

It's too dazzling. The ore inside is connected in one piece without being processed, and the light pollution it causes is almost equivalent to looking directly at the sun in the sky on a blazing day.

The Sunwell mining area consists of a continuous range of mines and a huge pit that seems to connect to the Earth's core.

In that area, apart from the workers wearing special protective suits, there was no trace of birds, beasts, insects, or ants.

It was so dazzling and so hot that even after only a short time inside, Klein felt his skin tone had darkened by one shade.

"Take a drop of this and it can effectively relieve the vision problems caused by Sunwell Ore. Although we are basically unharmed under the protection of ritual magic, the eye fatigue caused by looking directly at those things is still something to be aware of."

Olson reached into his pocket and took out a bottle of liquid in an opaque brown glass bottle and handed it to Klein. Klein thanked him, took the bottle, rubbed his eyes, and dripped the clear liquid from the small bottle into his eyes.

After these liquids were dripped into his eyes, Klein soon felt the stinging sensation in his eyes subside considerably.

"Indeed, the activity of Sunwell ore has increased recently."

Olson lowered his head in deep thought, considering whether there were other mystical factors at play.

Klein waited for the potion to take effect, while also waiting for the demigod Olson Abraham to offer his insights so he could return and report.

"However, this fluctuation is normal. The mystical nature of Sunwell ore itself has a certain 'living' characteristic, and it is not uncommon to see fluctuations in pollution levels detected in unprocessed mines."

"It seems like a perfectly normal phenomenon?" Klein said.

“Yes,” Olson said casually. “In previous years, the fluctuations of this thing were much stronger than they are now. Back then, even demigods dared not easily enter that area, because they would be severely polluted and might go crazy and lose control as soon as they came out.”

“This thing…” Klein paused to gather his thoughts, about to say something, when an idea suddenly flashed into his mind, and it was like a flash of inspiration:
As the clown who had fully absorbed the fortune teller's potion, Klein seized upon the flash of inspiration that his own spirituality had just given him:

"Mr. Abraham, may I ask when this activity—I mean the Sunwell Ore—began?"

“Let me think.” Olson pondered for a moment. “Well, Miskatonic noticed it about a month ago. I don’t know much about this area. After all, fluctuations in the activity of Sunwell ore are a fairly normal phenomenon. We didn’t notice it at the time.”

About a month ago?

He remembered that something else happened at that time.

Things about the Sunwell.

Although the matter was minor, so minor that both Miskatonic and the Night Watchers only mentioned it briefly, Klein still sensed something was amiss and unusual.

This might be related to the mysterious space above the gray fog, which allows him to gain unimaginable inspiration and divination abilities at certain times.

"Do you remember, well, there was a thief who was brought here and then fell into the Sunwell?"

"Thief?"

Olson paused for a moment, then quickly realized who Klein was talking about, "You mean that kid who was sent here to mine because of theft?"

The thief who tried to steal Tang's wallet at the gate of Tingen University a while ago has been confirmed to be a puppet in the hands of the Puppet Master after a series of events.

When Klein received the revelation and discovered that someone in Tingen had become a puppet and was trying to do something, he and several others were silenced and confirmed dead because of Klein's dream divination.

Although the sorcerer who manipulated the puppet, whose organization was unknown, has been dealt with by Miskatonic, no one knows exactly what he did.

"Yes, I heard from Tang that the thief later fell into the Sunwell mine and was contaminated and assimilated into the Sunwell ore?"

“If you put it that way… then yes, there is such a thing.” Olson pondered for a few seconds, his brows furrowing slightly. “You mean, that kid is also involved in this matter?”

"His fall into the Sunwell mine pit may not have been accidental."

What the puppet sent to Ramd Town did before it died remains unknown, especially after its body was assimilated by the Sunwell ore of this region and it lost its divination medium. Everything is developing and growing slowly and mysteriously, in a way that goes unnoticed.

Klein couldn't be sure of his guess, but as a diviner who was skilled in divination and drew inspiration from the spirit world, Klein had just had a flash of inspiration that connected this information with the abnormal increase in activity in the Sunwell Mine.

"Is it related to outsiders? What could they possibly do by throwing a marionette here... Hmm, it can't be that they're planning to use it to detonate the Sunwell ore in this area, can it?"

Olson's whimsical remark made Klein's expression freeze.

Imagine that scene, imagine the terrifying amount of solar well ore buried in this mining area...

This amount of energy could send the entire city of Tingen flying into the sky...

"Hehe, just kidding, that kind of thing is impossible." Seeing that Klein was quite frightened, Olson smiled. "Young man, don't be so easily amused."

"If the defense of Tingen City is impregnable, then the defense of this area is even stronger."

"After all, something extraordinary is buried beneath this area."

-

"It is indeed an extraordinary thing."

After resting for a night and seeing everyone off, Olson looked at the historical gaps he had created through his records, images belonging to the Tang Dynasty.

"So, it's already over?"

“Act One, please.” Tang sat on the stool, resting his chin on his hands, looking out the window at the mountains of Sunwell ore.

"After all, cultivating a qualified 'Lord of Mysteries' is no easy task, especially now, when the birth of a Lord of Mysteries will inevitably drive those who are eyeing us from the outside crazy."

“Tsk, I already know even if you don’t say it… but I’m really curious, Tang.” Olson asked curiously, “Why do you insist on having someone else become the Lord of Mysteries? Wouldn’t it be better if you did it yourself?”

As the pinnacle of the three mysterious paths, he has learned quite a bit about the angels and archangels of these three paths, and has experienced many things. He has also seen and understood many level "0" sealed objects of the same level, and knows the crazy things that those terrifying sealed objects, which are enough to destroy a country, can do when they are contaminated or in extremely special environments.

But honestly, Olson felt that no one embodied the meaning of the word "weird" better than Don.

This guy has remained as cunning as ever. Sometimes Olsson dreams of this guy saying things like, "Look at my puppet show! Isn't it realistic? It's all a lie to you."

Tang chuckled twice, his expression kind: "Little Olson, don't ask questions you shouldn't ask~"

If I tell you later, you'll get upset.

"If you don't tell me..."

"How did you know you'd be unhappy?"

Tang pursed his lips. "You'll find out what happens then."

"I hope you won't be too surprised, so surprised that your jaw will drop to the floor."

Olson: "...?"

He had a bad feeling about it. Hmm, he wasn't sure; he'd ask later.

"Oh, right, you told me there was another surprise for me, what was it?"

"Well, how should I put it?" Tang asked, resting his chin on his hand. "Olsson, would you like to meet your charming ancestor?"

Fascinating Ancestors?
Olson: "Huh...?"

-

When Klein returned to Tingen, it was Dunn who picked him up.

“You did the right thing,” Dunn said to Klein, rubbing his temples.
“We didn’t realize Leonard was suspicious until the investigators from Miskatonic arrived. If you had told me this beforehand, the entire Night Watch team could have been killed.”

In fact, if it were up to Dunn to make the decision, he would have reported the matter to Miskatonic.

After all, Miskatonic was the greatest power in the city, and neither reporting to the church in the Backlund diocese to request the aid of the demigods nor any other alternatives were as direct and effective as doing this.

"The infiltration of the Night Watch by outsiders has sounded an alarm for Tingen City. Tingen City has activated its emergency plan, and all official church organizations stationed in Tingen City need to conduct a series of investigations to prevent potential problems."

This... seems a bit too serious, doesn't it?
Klein asked with some concern, "What exactly happened? I only know that Leonard has shown some abnormalities, which are related to the Level 2 sealed artifact that you gave me before, Captain."

“Yes.” Dunn was clearly even more troubled when he heard Klein say this.

"This matter is related to the 'mistake' Mr. Tinggen, and it goes back to history a thousand years ago."

Klein had already heard Don mention this before. Mr. "Mistake" was not currently in Tingen City. Dunn had also confirmed this with Miskatonic. It seemed that there was a very important matter in another country that required Mr. "Mistake" to handle personally, and he probably wouldn't be back for a while.

And Klein also heard a new word from Dunn.

"The blasphemer Ammon?"

"Blasphemer"? An angel calls himself a blasphemer? Because those in high positions who steal are able to usurp divine authority?

Klein began a brainstorming session.

"You can check the Miskatonic library for specific information; they should have the relevant records. As for how you get into Miskatonic..."

Dunn paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, quite a few official Extraordinary individuals have part-time positions with Miskatonic, but..."

"Captain, but what?"

"very dangerous."

Dunn said, "It's extremely dangerous. The mortality rate of investigators in Miskatonic is the highest among all official Beyonder organizations. Even demigods of Sequence 4 and above cannot guarantee absolute safety. They often face not only those terrifying and bizarre sealed artifacts, but also many madmen who believe in evil gods, and even the gods themselves..."

"Think about it when you get back, Klein. There's no need to make a decision so quickly."

(End of this chapter)