Chapter 283: Dock Union

Xio has been in the bounty hunter business for a very long time. Many

things were done on instinct without any thought.

When she saw the patron who entered was nearly two meters tall, she

instinctively lowered her head and continued to eat her pork sausage and

French fries as if nothing had happened.

Although the food entered her mouth, Xio didn't taste it at all. She

endured dozens of painful seconds before she slowly raised her head and

pretended to look around casually.

Soon, she saw that the patron who had just entered was sitting in front

of the bar counter, waiting for his booze and lunch.

*Soft, curly pale yellow hair, dark brown beast-like eyes, a slightly

drooping mouth, an aura of solitude and malevolence...* Little

by little, the details came into Xio's eyes, overlapping with the image

in her head.

It's him!

It's the suspected murderer!

The man who killed Williams!

Xio lowered her head again and slowly stuffed the rest of the food into

her mouth.

After a few minutes, she set the tray down on the bar, along with the

glass, and left the Workers Alliance Tavern without looking back.

Due to her high boots, they effectively masked the most obvious feature

of her body.

Outside, Xio slowed her pace and found a secluded spot to observe the

people entering and exiting the tavern.

After waiting for a while, she finally found an acquaintance, a

technician named Burton, who lived in East Borough and worked at the

East Balam Dock.

The young man liked to treat himself to a cup of shoddy rye beer at noon

or in the afternoon, and his salary only allowed him to afford such a

beer, and he couldn't drink it every day.

Xio nimbly darted over and patted Burton on the shoulder. She lowered

her voice and said, "It's me, Xio."

"Xio?" Burton looked up and down at the short man and nearly failed to

recognize him as the famous Arbiter Xio Derecha of the streets of East

Borough.

"I have something to ask you." Xio pointed to a nearby corner.

Burton followed in puzzlement, only to come to a realization when he

arrived in a secluded corner.

"Are you doing a bounty mission?"

He had heard that Xio was also a bounty hunter.

"Yes." Xio nodded perfunctorily, fished out five pennies, and tossed

them around. "Do you know that tall man at the tavern?"

"You mean the one that's this tall, has pale yellow hair, and wears a

fierce look?" Burton gestured.

"Yes." Xio took out the folded portrait and unfolded it. "You have to be

sure."

"That's him. He's been coming to this tavern often for the past two to

three months. I've never seen him before that. He's very fierce,

completely unreasonable, and he's good at fighting. It's best that you

don't provoke him." Burton glanced at the portrait carefully and gave

some sincere advice.

*Yeah, when I saw that person just now, it was just like my encounter

with a ferocious beast when I was young. I felt that I was in danger and

wasn't a match for him, so I had to immediately avoid him...*

Xio secretly exhaled and asked, "Do you know anyone he's in close

contact with?"

"No idea. He's not very sociable and he seldom speaks. We don't even

know what his name is. We have given him a nickname, 'Giant.'" Burton

curled his lips and shook his head.

Xio thought for a while before asking again, "Where else have you met

him, besides the tavern?

"You can ask your friends the same question. Remember, it has to be a

trusted friend."

Burton recalled and said, "When I went to the Dock Union to do some

work, uh---the East Balam Dock's Dock Union, I would occasionally see

him appear there. Xio, why aren't you a member of the union? You're so

just, and those guys not only charge us 1.5 soli a week. But when the

other docks go on strike, they'll pay us half our salary just because we

have to support our families!

"Lord, let's just forget about it. In order to live a good life, we must

help each other. However, once they organize a strike, they'll come to

an agreement with the lawyers sent by those rich people. Our situation

doesn't improve at all!"

"Stop, stop." Xio lowered her right palm and said, "Apart from that,

have you seen 'Giant' anywhere else?"

"No, my friends probably haven't either. After all, we often discuss him

in private," Burton answered in a firm tone.

Xio didn't say anything more and gave him five copper pennies.

"Drinks on me."

"Don't tell anyone about what I just asked. It'll be very dangerous."

Before she finished her sentence, she had already turned around the

corner and headed towards the Dock Union located at East Balam Dock.

About ten minutes later, Xio saw the two-story yellow building.

She wore her canvas coat inverted and exposed the patches beneath,

instantly transforming herself from a short worker to a tramp.

Xio looked at the homeless people huddled around the corner, pinched her

nose, and went over to sit down beside them. She glanced at the Dock

Union on the opposite side of the street where people were coming in and

out.

As the minutes passed, Xio endured the cold and the harsh environment

while tenaciously observing the situation around the Dock Union and the

surrounding area.

She clearly remembered Williams's insistence on drinking, and she also

remembered how she felt when she saw the newspaper that fateful day.

These feelings made her even more patient than usual.

At that moment, about eight people came out of the Dock Union, and they

headed for the café across the street to have lunch in groups.

Xio narrowed her eyes and carefully scanned every passer-by to confirm

their appearance.

There's no one suspicious... Xio was about to look away and

wait for the next batch of people when the door to the coffee shop

creaked and was pulled open as the heat from within rushed out. A man

couldn't help but take off his gold-rimmed glasses and wipe away the fog

with his sleeves.

Xio gave him a casual glance, and her gaze suddenly froze.

Those eyes!

That mouth!

It always had that taunting smile!

Lanevus? Xio jerked her head back, not daring to look again.

The man from before had bronze skin and short hair, and his face was

craggy. He was very different from the portraits, except that his eyes

and mouth gave her a familiar feeling.

It was the feeling of taunting everyone!

Is it Lanevus? Can it be Lanevus? Xio bowed her head and

stared at the flagstones on the street.

At the Sammers.

After a sumptuous lunch, the hosts and guests gathered in the activity

room to chat, and they agreed to play Texas together.

Interesting rumors and humorous stories echoed intermittently as Klein

maintained his smile, interjecting from time to time. He also saw the

Sammer family's two children entering and exiting energetically.

And next to him, Jurgen Cooper wore his usual serious expression,

occasionally providing legal advice for the discussion.

Klein smiled, turned his body slightly, and asked in a low voice, "Are

you bored?"

"No, their topics are very interesting." Jurgen nodded seriously.

Klein was stunned and blurted a question, "Then why don't you laugh?"

Jurgen frowned slightly and looked at him in puzzlement.

"Why are you smiling?"

"..." Klein's mouth twitched, not knowing how to respond.

He was about to make a joke about how much Jurgen was like his cat

Brody, forever so serious, when suddenly he heard a series of ethereal

pleas.

*Female... Miss Justice has found useful information, so quickly, based

on the clue I gave her?* Klein stood up and slightly bowed.

"I need to use the bathroom."

In the bathroom, Klein locked the door, took four steps

counterclockwise, and went above the gray fog.

His judgment was very accurate, as the plea came from Miss Justice.

Klein suddenly felt nervous as he emanated his spirituality in

anticipation and seriousness to listen to her words.

After the usual honorific name, Justice recounted truthfully, "They

discovered the clue you provided at the Workers Alliance Tavern in the

pier district's East Balam Dock. The person's nickname is 'Giant.'

"After tailing the Giant and figuring his in and outs, they discovered a

person suspected to be Lanevus at the East Balam Dock's Dock Union.

"Temporarily, they don't dare to approach Lanevus because 'Giant' is

very powerful and dangerous. They can only continue waiting for an

opportunity.

"In the meantime, they've also asked if they could notify the police and

collect the bounty after confirming that it's Lanevus."

*Lanevus has a very powerful and dangerous helper. Does he have any

other helpers? Is there a faction backing him? Why did he kill so many

people? What was he planning to do by being in the Dock Union?*

A series of questions flashed through Klein's mind, making him feel that

things were much more complicated than he had expected.

As for the last request, his answer was undoubtedly---yes. He would even

suggest to the other party that they should inform the church of the

Evernight Goddess directly because there was a possibility of the police

leaking the information.

*Getting the Nighthawks of the Church of the Goddess to kill Lanevus is

also a form of revenge!* Klein silently murmured to himself. He

had a strong urge to immediately confirm that the man was Lanevus, lest

things changed because he waited too long.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and undid the spirit

pendulum around his wrist on his sleeve.

"There is danger going to the Dock Union for confirmation."

Closing his eyes and chanting seven times, Klein opened his eyes and

looked at the topaz pendant. He discovered that it was motionless,

completely still.

The divination failed? Klein immediately frowned.

He changed the sentence he used, changed the divination method, but they

all resulted in a failure.

After some careful thought, he thought of three reasons. First, there

wasn't enough information to make a divination. Second, Lanevus wasn't

at the Dock Union, making it difficult for the divination to succeed.

And, third, Lanevus was just like Ince Zangwill who had items that could

shield against divination.

*An item to shield against divination... A benefit he obtained from that

god's spawn ritual? A little godhood of the True Creator?* Klein

thought for a few seconds, then decided that no matter what, he had to

make a trip to the Dock Union.

There were certain things that needed to be done even though danger was

a certainty!

*If the two ladies were able to observe secretly without being seen, so

can I... I only need to meet with Lanevus once and I can confirm it with

divination...*

*Of course, I can't be rash. I have to prepare in advance. For example,

I have to send the All-Black Eye above the gray fog and not carry it

with me. That's to prevent the spiritual corruption of the True Creator

from resonating with "His" godhood. Another example, I should elevate my

height so that the "Giant" wouldn't be able to recognize me as the

"passer-by" from last night from my figure. For example, I should find a

suitable and sufficient reason to not arouse suspicion. Yes, I can

pretend to be a reporter and head there for an interview. I'll visit

Mike Joseph later and borrow his false reporter

identification...*

The corner of Klein's mouth slowly curled up as he blanketed his body

with his spirituality before descending back into the real world.