Chapter 108: Deep Into The Night

Despite not being dawn yet, the well-ventilated but quiet and dark

underground was illuminated by gas lamps. The dim yellow light emitted

from the gas lamps were protected by glass, allowing them to steadily

shine throughout the empty and quiet tunnel.

Klein sat in the duty room and casually flipped through the newspapers,

magazines, and books piled before him. He directed some of his attention

outside, to prevent anyone from charging inside the Chanis Gate.

His trench coat and top hat were hung on the clothes rack near the

entrance while his cane was leaning against the wall where it could be

easily retrieved.

The rich aroma of coffee filled the air, and Klein couldn't help but

take a whiff. He massaged his temples to fight against the heavy head

feeling he was experiencing and the weariness of his body.

As a college student back on Earth, he often slept at five in the

morning and woke up at noon. In the past two to three years of his

working life, he often stayed up all night, to the point of being able

to attend work energetically the next day. However, it was all thanks to

the games that were too exhilarating, novels that were too interesting,

television shows and movies that were too entertaining.

This world obviously didn't possess any of the necessities needed for

staying up all night.

"Seriously, Emperor Roselle. If you want to posture, do it properly.

Pour your limited life into an unlimited enterprise. Lead the people of

this world into the information age!" Klein muttered silently. He could

only console himself that there were at least newspapers, magazines, and

increasingly interesting novels.

At first, he wanted to focus on his studies to restrain his sleepiness.

However, practically speaking, it conflicted with his duty. Once he

entered that state, he would easily overlook any movements outside and

any changes to the situation at the Chanis Gate.

Phew. Klein picked up his coffee cup and carefully blew at it.

He took a sip and let the fragrant taste swish around his mouth before

letting the liquid slowly flow down his throat.

"Fermo Coffee from the Paz Valley, very bitter but very refreshing,"

Klein gave a compliment and put down his coffee cup.

The Paz Valley was located in the Southern Continent, a region that

produced high-quality coffee beans. It was currently being fought over

by the Intis Republic and the Loen Kingdom. They both built colonist

settlements on the left and right banks of the Paz Valley, and had

destroyed the original Paz Kingdom.

In the eerie silence, Klein casually picked up a magazine and realized

that it was Ladies Aesthetic, which talked about fashion and dating.

"This must be from Rozanne..." he murmured in amusement as he flipped

through it with his interest piqued.

Maybe it was due to the sudden advancement of camera technology in the

past decade or so, not only did the magazine use a lot of illustrations,

it even used monochrome pictures as their content---just like the

newspapers.

They fashionably invited the famous play and musical actors to model the

charms and the magical pairing of the clothing. In a short span of seven

years, the new regional Backlund magazine became a mainstream magazine

that spread across the nation.

"The dress looks nice, she's pretty too..." Klein flipped through it

casually and didn't hide his aesthetic inclinations.

He was a man that had matured normally both in body and mind. He had

always appreciated beautiful ladies, but he had long set his goal---to

find a way home. Hence, he tried his best to keep his distance from the

opposite sex, so that he didn't waste the other person's time or leave

behind any emotional baggage.

As for streetwalkers, he was quite a germaphobe in that aspect.

Benson and Melissa were already shackles that couldn't be removed. He

could only find the means to make it up to them in the future... Klein

suddenly felt his heart heavy and he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

The further he strayed away from home, the more he felt melancholic

during quiet late nights.

He suddenly lost his interest in looking at beautiful women and put down

the magazine in his hands. He picked up a novel instead.

"Stormwind Mountain Villa, author, Fors Wall," Klein read the content on

the cover.

The tranquil night, dim yellow light, and the leatherbound book reminded

him of his younger days when he rented books. Hence, he continued to

read simply because of nostalgia.

Stormwind Mountain Villa was a novel about Lady Sissi, who was 1.65

meters tall and weighed ninety-eight pounds. It was a story of her

embarking as a home tutor in the Fruys Mountain Villa.

"One pound is about half a kilogram... Is this Jane Eyre of an alternate

world?" Klein caressed his fingers against the smooth paper as he began

making guesses of the subsequent content.

However, just as he thought it was a romance novel, an evil spirit

emerged in the story. When he believed that it was a ghost story, Lady

Sissi revealed herself as a detective and made a marvelous deduction.

Just as Klein felt that it was definitely a detective novel, the main

male character took a heavy blow to the head and lost his memory. Then,

it became a heart-rending drama.

"...In the end, it's still a romance book." Klein closed the book and

drank a mouthful of coffee.

Thump!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A ferocious knocking was suddenly heard as it reverberated in the dim

and quiet empty corridor.

Klein jumped in shock as he immediately turned tense.

He instinctively drew his revolver from his underarm holster, adjusted

the cylinder and hammer. Then, he slowly walked to the door and looked

for the source of the sound.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The thumping became more and more intense. Klein looked in the direction

of the sound and saw the black outward-swinging gates that were engraved

with seven Sacred Emblems.

"Sounds from beyond the Chanis Gate?" He squinted his eyes and his heart

was beating like a drum.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Klein saw Chanis Gate shake gently, and he sensed the massive impact it

was withstanding.

"It can't be, right... I'm encountering something on my first day on

duty? Did I get an unlucky constitution after I transmigrated?" Klein's

right hand broke into cold sweat as it held the revolver.

Very soon, he recalled the Captain's instruction: do not open Chanis

Gate no matter what you hear, unless it is opened from the inside.

Uh, could this be a normal phenomenon? Klein suddenly calmed

down.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Thump! Thump! Thump! The commotion beyond

the Chanis Gate grew in intensity, but the heavy black metal gates only

shook. Otherwise, it didn't show any unusual signs.

"This is normal. I nearly died from the shock..." Klein muttered, before

he prepared to return to the duty room.

Just then, he heard a sharp grinding noise. He looked at the heavy

Chanis Gate bulging outwards as a crack appeared on in its surface!

Zing!

In the jarring noise, Klein's almost fixed eyes saw a figure. Its height

was about the length of a man's arm, and it was wearing a classic,

black, miniaturized regal gown. There was an obvious stain on the gown.

It had a not-so-exquisite face, black eyes, and tightly sealed lips.

It was a cloth puppet, a toy cloth puppet!

At that moment, when Klein was about to subconsciously raised his gun to

take aim, the cloth puppet leaned heavily into the crack in Chanis Gate

and unfurled the paper it was holding.

There were many symbols that represented concealment on the paper, some

that Klein knew and some that he had yet to learn. Together, they formed

a vertical eye!

Klein had yet to understand the situation when the regal-gowned puppet

was suddenly dragged back by a shapeless force to the back of Chanis

Gate!

Creak!

Chanis Gate closed once again, with no more knocking or pounding sounds.

The basement regained its tranquility and silence as though nothing had

happened.

"I have to inform Captain that Chanis Gate was opened from the inside...

But it closed itself..." At that moment, Klein's mental facilities

returned to him as he felt alarm, fear, and doubt.

A few seconds later, he recalled what the cloth puppet was. Since he was

an official member of the Nighthawks, he was given the clearance to know

about the Grade 3 Sealed Artifact sealed behind Chanis Gate.

"Number: 0625.

"Name: Misfortune Cloth Puppet.

"Danger Grade: 3. Considerably dangerous. It has to be used carefully.

It can only be requested for operations that require three or more

people.

"Security classification: Official Nighthawk member or above.

"Sealing method: Only needs to be separated from humans.

"Description: The cloth puppet is wearing a regal gown which was popular

in around the year 1300. The gown has a stain that is almost impossible

to remove. It is uncertain if the stain was present from the very

beginning.

"In a few tragic cases of individual family financial crises recorded in

Tingen, the police noticed the existence of the puppet. It was always

placed in the children's bedroom, on the side table next to the bed.

"A few Nighthawks accepted the request and started an investigation on

the puppet.

"The initial evaluation determined that it brought misfortune, causing

people around it to be unlucky and find themselves in danger. Finally,

they would die one after another. It only took two weeks for the tester

to reach the brink of bankruptcy.

"The puppet doesn't have any living traits. It doesn't have any

inclinations of escaping the seal.

"Through extended periods of experimentation, we discovered that as long

as one does not come within ten meters of it for more than half an hour

a day, one wouldn't be tainted with misfortune. If misfortune has

befallen someone, the person will immediately have his situation turn

for the better as long as the misfortune is transferred to another

person.

"Appendix: The puppet first appeared in the house of an old lady, Tess,

who lived in the Lower Street of Iron Cross Street. She was a toymaker.

Due to old age and her husband's severe illness, with both her children

passing on early, she had no choice but to move to the Iron Cross

Street's Lower Street.

"This was the last toy she sold. She exchanged the puppet for some

poison hemlock and ended her and her husband's lives, having starved for

more than three days."

As Klein recalled the information of Sealed Artifact 3-0625, he felt

even more doubtful and horrified.

*Didn't it say the puppet doesn't have living traits? Didn't it say that

it doesn't have any inclinations of escaping the seal?*

What did I see just now!?

What dragged it back in the end?

*The symbol that was drawn on the paper that it unfurled, what does it

mean?*

That scene earlier was like how a psychotic murderer deals with his

victim as the victim slams on the gates heavily and cries for help

desperately, only to be dragged back...

While these thoughts flooded him, Klein decided not to make any decision

on his own.

He returned to the duty room and pulled a rope.

The rope tightened, the gear spun, and there was suddenly a hurried

ringtone that rang on the second floor of the Blackthorn Security

Company.

Leonard Mitchell and the other Sleepless who were playing cards in the

recreation room immediately put down their poker cards and ran to the

basement.