Chapter 233: A Man Cannot Be Judged By His Looks

The more he thought about how a living person was playing cards with

more than ten corpses in a dimly lit room into the night, the more his

scalp tingled.

Klein suppressed his instinctive fear and looked at the pale face, the

malicious brown eyes, and the man who was about twenty-eight years old

that suffused madness. He pretended to be intimidated by the man's

dominance and took a step back. During this time, Kaspars left the room

and closed the door.

The man asked in a deep voice, "You're the one looking for a bodyguard?"

"...Yes." Klein gulped deliberately.

The man's strangeness made him feel fear, but it also brought him peace

of mind.

The stronger the bodyguard, the safer he would be!

The pale-faced man in the black vest lifted his chin and asked, "Why are

you looking for a bodyguard? How much are you willing to pay for this?"

Klein didn't answer straight away. He thought for nearly twenty seconds

before saying, "I'll tell you the details of the mission first. Give me

a price after you assess it. If I can pay for it, or if I have an item

of equivalent value, we would have ourselves a deal. Otherwise, I can

only give up and look for someone else."

The fierce-looking man didn't say a word. Instead, he nodded as a

gesture for Klein to recount his story.

Klein deliberately looked at the zombies, treating them as normal card

players. Then, he gave the man an inquisitive look saying: "Before I

answer, do you want to kick these guys out of the room?"

"There's no need for that," the pale-faced man said in a deep voice.

Klein hesitated for a moment, then honestly said, "I offended a big shot

who might have a country supporting him."

The room suddenly turned still and silent. The man, who had a hint of

madness and malice in his eyes, froze on the spot as if he had turned

into a plaster statue.

After nearly a minute, he slowly said, "This mission is priceless.

"Get out."

Ah? Klein didn't manage to react until the man turned and

walked back to the card table. Only then did he realize that there was

no deal.

*You played cards with a bunch of zombies in the room and presented

yourself as a person of high standing and strength. Yet, you were scared

off just like that? You're clearly a little crazy...* Klein

didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he added, "The big shot doesn't

have that much freedom in Backlund."

The man in the black vest ignored him and sat down again. The zombies

began to hand out cards, look at their cards, and throw out chips.

Klein exhaled and backed out of the room only to see Kaspars Kalinin. He

had been waiting outside with his brandy nose and hideous wound.

"We didn't come to an arrangement." Klein threw up his hands.

Kaspars didn't show a look of surprise as he pondered for a few seconds

before saying, "Did he request too high a price?"

"No, he finds the mission too difficult." Klein didn't hide the reason.

Kaspars frowned.

"Maric is the scariest person I know. He isn't even afraid of bullets,

and since he thinks the mission is difficult, I don't think I can help

you get in touch with other powerful people."

"What a pity." Klein sighed.

Kaspars clenched his right fist and struck his left chest.

"May the Storm be with you."

Then I'm dead... Klein said with a smile as he made the best

out of it, "Thank you.

"You can try asking around for me. I'll pay you a fee. Yeah... I'll come

again tomorrow night."

After receiving a positive answer, he left the Bravehearts Bar feeling

slightly melancholic. He didn't even have the interest to play a game of

billiards.

*Was I being too honest? If I described the mission in a way that

sounded simpler, Maric would've agreed... I just wonder how much money

he would ask for... Sigh, it's not my style to let someone else face the

danger for me through deceit... As a Beyonder, if I constantly go

against my heart's true thoughts and my own principles, then I probably

won't be far from losing control...* Feeling mixed emotions,

Klein changed carriages and returned to Minsk Street.

After washing up, Klein didn't waste any charcoal. He directly went to

the bedroom and pulled the curtain to isolate the room from the outside

world.

On the way back, he carefully thought for a while and discovered that

the possible danger wasn't something that couldn't be resolved.

*To the unknown ambassador, his primary and fundamental purpose is to

find Ian Wright. The reason he sent people to deal with me was because

he wished to obtain clues to finding Ian from me. If direct

interrogation doesn't work, killing me and channeling my spirit could be

considered... If I let him know that I can't find Ian either, he

wouldn't take the risk to deal with a hired detective when the

military's special department might be monitoring the

situation.*

*Of course, my appearance and strength far exceeded his expectations,

causing their operation to be exposed and causing them to suffer heavy

setbacks. If I were the ambassador, I would definitely think about

revenge and vent my anger, but it definitely wouldn't be now, not when

the situation is so tense and turbulent... Yes, this is building on the

premise that the ambassador has brains, and he isn't a good-for-nothing

who got to his position through connections and only knows to act

rashly... For him to be handling such an important matter, it must mean

that he's still rather reliable...*

*In other words, the crux of the problem is Ian Wright's

whereabouts!*

*Hmm... There's still some latent danger. Would the ambassador reveal to

the military's special department that Meursault is a Beyonder after his

failure? That would make them find my strength questionable, and use

them to retaliate against me... This can be done easily with an offhand

remark with no difficulty involved. I have to be on my guard...*

Klein analyzed his situation and suddenly had the urge to kill the

unknown ambassador.

However, just the thought of powerful Beyonders around him left him

depressed.

*I wonder if the messenger can accept my delegations without Mr. Azik's

permission... Probably not... Should I pay close attention to this

matter and find an opportunity to silence him? Since he sent someone to

kill me, I wouldn't feel any psychological burden from killing him...

Yes, I can consider setting a mission for the Tarot Club. Let's see if

Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man have any solutions... Perhaps, a large

sum of money can tempt that "Mr. A" or some other powerful

Beyonders...* Klein suddenly had an idea came to him as he

thought of the Tarot Club.

With this idea in mind, he calmed down a lot. He found some paper and a

pen and wrote the divination statement: "Ian Wright's whereabouts."

After confirming that there were no hidden Beyonders in the room, Klein

looked at the curtain that shielded him from prying eyes. He recalled

Ian's appearance and silently read out the divination sentence before

leaning back into his chair.

He quickly entered a dream and saw a dark, small, run-down room in the

dreamy world. There was a bunk bed and a floor mat that four people

slept on.

Ian was curled up at the top of the bunk bed, sleeping soundly under an

old satchel.

When the dream shattered, Klein opened his eyes and interpreted the

revelation.

*Living quarters like that only exist in the East Borough and the

Backlund Bridge area, but it's an abnormally huge place. Even if all the

police in Backlund are deployed, they still wouldn't be able to find

it...*

Ian was very careful. He didn't leave anything with me. Otherwise, I

would've been able to find him through dowsing rod divination...

After a few minutes of consideration, Klein picked up the pen and added

a paragraph to each of the divination statements, making it an excuse:

"I don't know Ian Wright's whereabouts. I haven't seen him since we

found Zreal's body."

That piece of paper was left on the desk with a pen pressed against its

edge.

After all was done, Klein got up and went back to his bed, making a

quick, less obvious flick of the coin to make sure that no one was

watching him.

After obtaining a negative answer, he quickly took four steps

counterclockwise, chanted the incantation, and entered the world above

the gray fog.

Within the ancient and towering palace, Klein couldn't be bothered to

inspect the situation around him, and instead repeated the divination he

had just done.

Seeing that the negative answer hadn't changed, he stopped feeling so

nervous. Raising his head to the side, he realized that the core

position of the newly added crimson star had been dyed with a sun-like

gold.

"Is this the source of the warmth I felt?" Klein spread out his

spirituality and gingerly touched it in response to the prayer.

A blurry scene quickly appeared in front of his eyes.

The petite lady he had tried to pull up above the gray fog was standing

in front of an altar with a lady with slightly curled brown hair. A man

wearing a white mask softly chanted the honorary name of the Eternal

Blazing Sun, creating a warm and pure light.

Was she trying to get someone to do an exorcism? Klein almost

laughed.

At that moment, he finally understood the reason behind the previous

situation. It wasn't that someone had penetrated the gray fog and locked

onto him. It was similar to Justice and company reciting his honorary

name before making a prayer. And after the gray fog received the

message, it automatically give him feedback. However, since it wasn't a

prayer, the illusory, overlapping voices ended up becoming a warm

current.

*Notification. This is a notification, and not something that can cause

harm or influence...* Klein made a definite judgment.

At the same time, he was roughly certain of one thing. The way the

mysterious space above the gray fog connected with Justice and the

others wasn't absolutely abnormal or above the rules of this world. It

still suffered particular restrictions that could cause effects of

varying degrees by using specific methods.

Klein continued watching the scene before him and listened to the voice

speaking. He was surprised to find that it lasted longer than ever

before.

Before this, he wouldn't be able to take the initiative to spy on the

corresponding target of the crimson stars, unless the other party had

prayed for it, and only then would he be able to receive the

corresponding scene.

In another situation, when he gave his feedback, he would be able to see

the scene and hear synchronized voices at the same time. However, once

the response ended, he would no longer be able to gain any additional

information.

Now, it was like watching a long video whose footage was filled with

mosaicked reality TV footage.

He saw the petite lady talking to a man in a golden mask in the study,

heard her companions address her as Xio, and realized that she was

looking for the Beyonder potion corresponding to the Sheriff's potion.

It wasn't until the two women returned home that Klein felt regretful

that he failed to identify their address. The "recording" thus came to

an end.

Watching the gradually dissipating gold colors, he nodded his head

thoughtfully. He vaguely understood why such an anomaly had appeared.

*In other words, the power of purification helped me maintain the

corresponding passageway? Xio's thirty pounds was worth it... I wonder

when I'll be able to maintain it myself...* Klein shook his head

and smiled. He took out a pen and a paper to continue to divine Ian

Wright's whereabouts.