Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 70 "2-049" Arrival

Tap, tap, tap.

As the horses' hooves began to move and the wheels rolled, Klein, who had activated his "spiritual vision" and turned to look around, failed to see the gentle and sweet young lady he had hoped for. His eyes were filled with the scene of the brown carriage moving forward.

By this time, all the passengers who were waiting to board the public carriage at this station had boarded, the carriage doors were tightly closed, and they were gradually moving away.

Inside the carriage, the twenty or thirty people were so close together that their auras overlapped and obscured each other, making them appear to Klein as a dazzling array of colors, so difficult to distinguish.

He shook his head silently, raised his hand and lightly tapped his brow, deactivating "Spiritual Vision".

For him, it was a simple sentiment of helping if he could since he had encountered the situation. But if he had already missed the opportunity and the situation was not particularly clear, then there was no need to keep thinking about it and delay his own affairs.

Bathed in the crimson moonlight, Klein strolled back home along the still bustling Daffodil Street and saw Melissa sitting at the dining table, working on the exercises assigned by the school under the bright glow of the gas lamp.

She gently bit the barrel of her fountain pen, her brows furrowed slightly as she pondered deeply.

"Where's Benson?" Klein asked casually.

"Ah..." Melissa looked up, and after a few seconds of blankness, she said, "He said he went to several districts today and was so tired and sweaty that he needed to take a good bath to relax."

"Okay." Klein chuckled, then suddenly noticed that Melissa was wearing a long dress he had never seen before.

It is off-white in color, with fashionable leg-of-mutton sleeves, and the collar and hem are trimmed with tulle ruffles. Apart from that, there is no overly complicated design, making it a light and casual style that perfectly highlights the youthful vibe of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.

"A new dress?" Klein asked with a smile.

This expense was agreed upon only after he and Benson strongly insisted on it.

Melissa hummed in agreement.

"I just got it from Mrs. Rocher. I figured I'd have to wash it soon, so I thought I'd give it a try first."

Klein listened with considerable confusion and asked:

"Mrs. Rocher?"

Isn't this my old neighbor?

Melissa nodded and explained earnestly:

"Mrs. Rocher was actually a seamstress, but she was unlucky and had to mend clothes at home. Life was, well, a bit tough. I knew she was good at it, and her prices were cheaper than buying from a women's clothing store, plus they fit perfectly. So I ordered a new dress from her for only 9 sous and 5 pence, and it only took a few days. The same dress would have cost a whole pound and a half at Harrods!"

"So thrifty and good at managing a household... Sister, I know, at least half of your reason is out of sympathy for Mrs. Rocher..." Klein didn't criticize Melissa for her presumptuousness, but instead smiled and said:

When was the last time you went to Harrods?

That area in Halles, near the fortune-telling club, is a place that at least the middle class can afford.

"..." Melissa was speechless for a moment before finally saying, "It's Selena and Elizabeth who insisted that I go with them. Actually, well, I actually prefer gears, I prefer places with steam and machinery, well."

"It's good for girls to go shopping at department stores occasionally," Klein said with a smile, reassuring his sister.

After chatting for a few minutes, eager to wash away the smell of the bar, he quickly went upstairs to the second floor.

Just as he was about to go back to his bedroom to get a change of clothes, he suddenly heard noises coming from the bathroom near the small balcony.

Just a few seconds later, Benson opened the door and went out, wiping his receding hair.

"How is it? Did you compliment Melissa's new dress?" He glanced at Klein and asked with a smile.

"I think I forgot, I only asked where it was done..." Klein thought for a moment and said.

Benson immediately chuckled and shook his head:

"What an irresponsible brother! Melissa couldn't bear to put down that long dress as soon as she got it. After finally finishing cooking and washing the dishes, she couldn't wait to put it on and hasn't taken it off yet."

"...Didn't she want to wait until after her shower to change? And wash and hang it up to dry while she was at it..." Klein subconsciously countered with Melissa's explanation.

"Tsk." Benson sighed. "It's been quite hot these past few days, and she's been busy in the kitchen for so long. I think it will be much more comfortable for her to do her homework after taking a shower."

That's right... Klein suddenly realized, and he and his brother Benson looked at each other and smiled.

So this is the real Melissa... What's wrong with girls loving beauty? There's no need to make excuses to embellish it... He smiled, shook his head slightly, and walked into his bedroom.

Later, while taking a shower, Klein vaguely heard knocking on the downstairs door, and a sense of unease immediately arose in his mind:

Doesn't the staff who collect coins from the gas meter only come once every two weeks?

Could it be Mrs. Shaw next door? No, this lady is said to strictly adhere to middle-class etiquette and would not visit at inappropriate times.

Puzzled, Klein dried himself off, put on his old but comfortable shirt and trousers, and ran downstairs.

He looked around but didn't see any strangers, so he asked:

"Was someone knocking on the door just now?"

Benson, leisurely reading the newspaper, smiled:

"It's Beach Mountbatten, one of the cops on Iron Cross Street. He asked if we'd seen a chubby-faced boy of about eighteen or nineteen today. Ha, he even gave us a sketch to identify him. Too bad, Melissa and I haven't seen him, otherwise we could have gotten the bounty. What about you, Klein?"

"No." Klein roughly understood what was going on.

The "instigator," Tris, successfully escaped from the area around the Dragon Bar in the dock district and fled to the vicinity of Iron Cross Street and Narcissus Street, whereupon the police came to question him.

This also means that the operation to arrest the "instigator" is close to failure!

Klein didn't think about it anymore, because he hadn't started combat training yet, and his shooting skills were only at a beginner level. At this point, considering how to deal with a natural "assassin" was simply playing with his life.

That night, he slept very restlessly, constantly worried that the "instigator" would sneak into his house and hide, causing another bloodshed.

Fortunately, Narcissus Street remained peaceful throughout the night, and the morning sunlight dispelled all the gloom.

Relaxed, Klein changed into a suit, put on a top hat, picked up his cane, and walked to Zotland Street, where he greeted Rosanne in the reception hall.

"Good morning, Klein," Rosanne replied cheerfully, then lowered her voice, "I heard last night's big operation failed?"

"An operation to capture 'the instigator' Tris?" Klein asked curiously.

"Mmm!" Rosanne nodded emphatically, glancing at the partition, "It seems that the informant from the Punisher team discovered the 'Instigator' in the dock area... Their original plan was to wait for the other Extraordinary Ones and a special operations team from the police department to arrive before taking action, hoping to resolve the situation quickly without disturbing ordinary people. Unfortunately, the 'Instigator' was very perceptive, discovered the problem in time, broke through ahead of schedule, and successfully escaped."

"At times like these, they need an extraordinary individual with tracking abilities, like me," Klein joked.

"There was no shortage of followers at the time," Dunn Smith's voice suddenly rang out.

Rosanne turned her head sharply and saw the captain, wearing a black trench coat, leaning against the partition door frame, staring at her with his deep gray eyes.

She quickly raised her hands to cover her mouth, then shook her head repeatedly to indicate that she hadn't said anything.

Dunn shifted his gaze to Klein, pondered for a moment, and said:

"The Punisher, the Mechanical Heart, and our Night Watchers—more than six extraordinary individuals in total—tracked the injured Tris down to the lower street of Iron Cross Street and found his temporary residence. However, the trail went cold there. Neither supernatural methods nor normal investigations worked. He vanished completely, as if he had suddenly evaporated."

"Do you need my help with divination?" Klein asked tentatively.

Dunn shook his head slightly:

"The Mechanical Heart has a 'Secret Seeker,' a senior Beyonder who is not much worse than Old Neil. I even suspect that he is already at Sequence 8, but I don't know what the corresponding potion is called."

"The Gnostic Society has survived to this day, there must be something special about them," Klein casually reassured the captain.

For the rest of the morning, he continued his mystical studies, his reading of historical materials and documents, and his practice of certain techniques, just as before.

With lunchtime fast approaching, Klein gradually became distracted.

A few minutes later, he simply packed up his documents and listened to his stomach rumbling.

Just then, Dunn Smith entered the civilian staff office and said in a deep, mellow voice:

"Klein, come with me to Charis Gate. The sealed artifact '2-049' has been escorted here. The next steps may require your ability to sense that notebook."

"...Okay," Klein replied, standing up.

His mind began to race, wondering what the sealed artifact looked like and whether this mission would be dangerous.

In this slightly tense silence, he followed Dunn down the stairs and into the passageway.

After walking straight through the intersection, Dunn suddenly stopped, turned his head, and said seriously:

"Follow me and do this movement continuously, without stopping. Remember, you absolutely cannot stop; it's a matter of your safety!"

As he spoke, Dunn bent his arm, then stretched it out, stretched it out, then bent it again, repeating this cycle without interruption.

Klein stared blankly at the captain's demonstration, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said:

"Because of the special nature of that sealed artifact?"

"Yes." Dunn nodded with unusual seriousness. "This action will allow us to detect that something is wrong with you immediately, and timely rescue will prevent your life from being in danger."

"Okay." Klein didn't hesitate any longer and followed along with the "arm bend and stretch" exercise.

"If this arm gets tired, switch to the other one," Dunn added.

"2-049" The sealed artifact is really strange... What could be the meaning of such an action? It looks extremely dangerous... Klein's thoughts flashed, and he looked at the captain cautiously, saying:

"OK."

He had too many questions in his mind, but with Chanisgate in sight, he had no choice but to suppress them.

Besides, given my level of secrecy, I probably won't know the details. I can only do as I'm told... Klein sighed and followed Captain Dunn to the guard room outside Charnis's door.

(End of this chapter)