Mystery: Survival from the Secret Doll

Chapter 358, Manuscript 357
After some deliberation, Klein finally decided to go to Backlund.

First, as Nikolai said, there are environmental factors in development.

It's difficult to accumulate enough achievements for advancement in Tingen.

Although Klein now understands that Mr. "Mistake" is from his hometown, he realizes that he might need some kind of opportunity to return to his world, or perhaps he simply won't be able to...

But these secrets can only be known after one has reached a high position. What exactly is the secret of time travel? Can they still go back?

To know all this, one must first be strong.

Tingen is a city directly managed by Mr. "Mistake". It is extremely difficult to make achievements in this city and obtain the potion recipes and main and auxiliary materials of "Faceless Man", "Master of Puppets" and even "Trickster".

Therefore, going to Backlund is a good option.

The second point is because of Laneus.

Klein knew that after witnessing Old Neil's madness and loss of control, the captain had given his life to control Old Neil and the pregnant woman who had severely injured the Miskatonic parasite.

“The true creator’s son has vanished, and Ince Zangwill and Amon, who were hiding behind the scenes, have disappeared without a trace. Lanius must die.”

This person, supposedly a member of the Aurora Society, arrived in Tingen City carrying Amon's malice and the expectations of the true Creator, indirectly causing Dunn Smith's death...

He will never let this go!

After saying goodbye to Benson and Melissa, Klein went to St. Peter's Hospital to see his mother.

Mr. "Mistake" arranged surgery for the original owner's mother, and her weak body will be reversed with the addition of mystical power.

The original owner's father... Klein recalled returning to Tingen City not long ago and seeing his lover and child safe and sound, the man cried uncontrollably. Afterwards, he resolutely boarded the train to Backlund.

“I will be stationed in Tingen. He will accompany you on this operation in Backlund.”

Mr. "Mistake" gave him this instruction.

So, when Klein arrived at Tingen station with his ticket, walked to the corresponding platform, and saw the people sitting there...

Klein looked at Tang, who was sitting in front of him sipping what looked like a sugary drink, and silently met the gaze of his friend, who was said to have been promoted to a master of puppetry.

"What's wrong, our 'magician'?" Tang put down his cup. "Are you unhappy to see me?"

“No.” Klein shook his head. “I’m just a little surprised that you’re the one I’m collaborating with this time.”

"After all, we're on the same level. As your senior, I should be expected to teach you properly, Mr. Moretti."

Klein's expression turned strange for a moment, then he quickly returned to normal.

Forget it, let's not dwell on the issue of seniority at this point.

"How is Mr. Azik?" he asked Don.

"Father is doing well. The protection mechanisms at the University of Tingen have always been good. Father is probably still researching those messy Quaternary ancient literatures..."

"After all, some interesting things were indeed unearthed from some of the tombs that were salvaged and developed in the South Continent. You know, even Miskatonic would find it difficult to snatch things from the natives in a completely isolated place like the South Continent."

Tang sighed, "We finally managed to dig some out, and then the natives there were ready to fight us to the death."

If you dig up someone's ancestral grave, won't they fight you to the death?!
Seemingly noticing Klein's gaze, Tang blinked. "How could that be? The royal family of the Byron Empire died more than a thousand years ago. As far as I know, the bloodline of the Byron Empire's royal family at that time had nothing to do with these natives."

"It's just normal primitive worship of death. Besides, we have the appropriate permits and notices for excavating that thing."

How can you call it digging up someone else's ancestral grave? Isn't digging up your own grave to collect things for research a tradition?
"My father keeps telling us to go to bed early and get up early, but he doesn't sleep at all last night, it's really..."

That's really easy to learn.

Klein looked out the window.

The sky outside the window was bright and clear. Klein looked at Tingen City, which was gradually receding from them, and still had a sense of disorientation.

Once the steam train had left the area where Tingen was visible, Tang finally focused on the purpose of their trip to Backlund.

Their trip to Backlund this time wasn't just for themselves and that bastard, Lanius.

“Our mission this time,” Tang said, pointing to the liquid in his glass and drawing a symbol on the table.

The symbol emitted a faint white light under the influence of the spirit, and the surrounding sounds suddenly receded from them, creating an environment where external sounds could not penetrate and internal sounds could not escape.

In this way, their conversation wouldn't be overheard by a third person.

"The first one is what you already know, Klein: to go to Backlund to find information about Lanius, who caused the true creator god to descend."

“Our investigators saw Lanluus in Backlund not long ago, and the extraordinary diviners have also confirmed that Lanluus is indeed near Backlund. However, the divination results are vague, and we must capture him before he leaves Backlund.”

"Otherwise things will get a bit more complicated... just a little, of course."

After all, Lanius's death was brought about by "destiny," a predetermined future.

You'll die even if you escape to outer space; it's just a matter of where you die.

“Yes, I know.” Klein nodded, indicating that he knew these things. Now he was more curious about the fact that what Tang said was only the first point.

What is the second point?
"Secondly, we need to go to Backlund to find something."

"what?"

"The manuscript of the third-generation difference engine."

"The manuscript of the third-generation difference engine?"

“Yes.” Tang then revealed the information that Mr. “Error” had not disclosed, “The manuscript for the third-generation difference engine has been lost. Now the Rune military, Intis’s spy network in Rune, and the Machine Heart are all frantically searching for it. As a fourth party, although we certainly have no right or need to get involved in this conflict…”

“However, there are always exceptions.” Tang smiled. “This is related to the Craftsmen’s Church. Intis will take action, and with the military and the Craftsmen’s God Church in Rune, we have to do this in secret during this chaotic battle.”

"It sounds like Mr. Error has a very bad relationship with the Church of the God of Craftsmen."

Klein sensed something amiss, which was corroborated by the fact that while Tingen City clearly had night watchmen and substitutes, it lacked a mechanical heart.

“Normal,” Tang said. “Although I don’t know the specific reason, Mr. ‘Error’ or one of the angels under Mr. ‘Error’ is on an adjacent path to the ‘General Knowledge’ controlled by the Church of the God of Craftsmen.”

"Adjacent paths are somewhat mutually exclusive. There's a saying, oh right, once you choose the path of the gods, your enemies and your friends are already determined."

"Your enemies and your friends..."

Klein pondered this sentence, and suddenly something occurred to him: "Since we need to hide our identities, it seems that we'll need to adopt a code name after arriving in Backlund?"

Because of Miskatonic, Klein and Don boarded the steam train in Tingen without buying tickets.

But in Backlund, Klein and Don would need to obtain new identification to separate themselves from Tingen.

After all, if it were discovered that Klein and Don were from Tingen City, it would be quite easy to suspect that Mr. "Wrong" intended to interfere in the obviously heated battle for the manuscript of the third generation difference engine in Backlund.

This contradicts Mr. "Mistake's" original intention of needing to act secretly.

"That's true, but what to call it... well, I'll call it whatever you want, you can choose one for me." Tang shrugged indifferently.

He has never been very good at naming things.

Klein thought for a moment, then a thought struck him, and he said, "If that's the case, then I'll... Charlotte Moriarty."

"As for you, what about John Watson?"

At least for now, the Emperor hasn't brought Sherlock Holmes over yet.

Or perhaps he moved it, but it just didn't leak out?
Klein thought to himself with a grumble.

Sherlock Holmes, the great detective, and his assistant Watson.

Who would have thought that Holmes's assistant was the most capable fighter?

Klein has already begun to conceive of the identity he will need once he arrives in Backlund.

"sure."

Don was surprised by Klein's idea, but he still nodded in agreement.

"So my new identity is John Watson, from Midsea County, how about that?"

Tang began automatically updating his identity information: "The new identity document will be delivered along with the steam train to Backlund."

The efficiency is indeed fast.

Klein thought.

Then, one of them took out a book borrowed from the Miskatonic Library, and the other held a can of Coke, and they waited together for the steam train to take them to Backlund.

-

Deep within the raging sea, in an upside-down mausoleum.

Tang sat high up, his eyes closed, his thoughts completely immersed in the enormous, illusory, transparent mass beneath the feathered serpent, manipulated by countless threads of spirit, a river that seemed to contain all colors.

The mausoleum was unusually quiet, everything was eerily silent, without a sound, as if no living beings existed here.

After an unknown amount of time, Tang slowly opened his eyes.

Long thoughts, having been submerged at the bottom of the River of Eternal Darkness for quite some time, appeared somewhat chaotic and sluggish.

He first glanced around and, finding nothing amiss, breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his shoulders.

"How about it?"

Irving asked from the side.

"No problems, everything went smoothly, but I still need to take care of some other things next."

It will be even more tiring than it is now.

This is really not something an elderly person of his age should do.

Tang, a true old man over a thousand years old, thought of this.

If he hadn't already reached the level of the Angel King, and hadn't been blessed by Euclid's space and the "future," he would have been an idiot for a while, if not a fool, after being submerged at the bottom of the River of Eternal Darkness for so long.

After using the authority of the "Observer" to boost his own status, Tang's rusty brain finally recovered. He looked at the giant feathered serpent and explained lightly:

"Mr. Door is about to collapse. He is being corrupted by the fallen Mother Goddess and is being eroded more and more severely. His delirious cries of 'Don't save me' are also weakening. Perhaps before long, all he will be saying is 'Save me.'"

The simplest way to determine how much Mr. Door has been corrupted is to listen to His ramblings. As long as the corruption is isolated and Mr. Door's true voice is heard, it is actually quite easy to confirm the state of this former King of Angels.

"This method of confirmation is a bit brain-taxing, it feels a bit like being raped by a fallen mother goddess... Ouch!"

Owen, his face darkening, slapped Tang on the head. "Don't talk so disgustingly."

Tang: ...Okay.

"In short, we need to make a move before Mr. 'Door' is completely contaminated. Hmm, I've been calculating the days, and the full moon is in a couple of days."

Rubbing his head, Tang looked at the giant feathered serpent at his feet. The dual isolation of the Spirit Threads and Euclidean Space had completely separated this giant feathered serpent, which combined the uniqueness of the Death Path and half of Azik Eggers' soul, into a mystical form.

The matter here is nearing its end.

"Over in Backlund..."

Tang tilted his head, listening to the words of his own historical images through the gaps in his memory.

After a while, he nodded: "Everything went smoothly, no problems, now we just need to wait."

"What about that big problem you mentioned in Trier?"

“Nikolai has taken care of it; it’s too early to say there’s a big problem.”

Tang rested his chin on his hand. "After all, that little guy is much easier to deal with than Klein."

Klein is, after all, a mentally sound adult, whose resilience, ability to withstand setbacks, and mindset far surpass that of that little guy in Trier.

If such a young child is given targeted treatment from such a young age... ah, I wonder what kind of shape they will become.

Will it be distorted into his likeness?

Thinking of this, Tang smiled.

Irving shuddered.

He asked bluntly, "Who are you planning to scam next?"

"How can the affairs of scholars be called a trap?"

Tang rolled his eyes at Owen and said emphatically, "How can something that's consensual be called a trap?"

His "lie" was clearly "well-intentioned"!

System: 'Oh~'

'A white lie~'

Is it because of his own host that he is benevolent?
A machine voice can even be clipped... Tang's lips twitched, and he subconsciously rubbed his temples again.

"Alright, Irving, don't pry. I'll handle this."

Stubborn guys should stay out of the business of the Gui San family, or they'll get played to death, you know?

(End of this chapter)