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Chapter 733: The Return

Under a persistent rain, mingled with the thin fog, the rows of street

lamps tried their hardest to shine through the mist. The occasional

horse carriage that proceeded down the streets was a common evening

sight in Backlund.

Apart from these, Klein noticed a few gratifying changes while standing

behind the window.

Ring!

A crisp sound echoed in the air as a two-wheeled mechanical device

rushed down the side of the street to the other end of the street. Its

frame was black in color, with some parts revealing grayish-white steel.

Under the illumination of the street lamps and rain, it sparkled with

the beauty of metal.

On this device sat a man dressed in a postman's uniform. He kept

pedaling with his legs, apparently using a great deal of strength.

Behind him was a wooden box that had been painted in green.

It's been promoted very well... The white-shirted,

black-vested, mature-looking Klein sighed inwardly when he saw this

scene.

In a few hours within his return to Backlund, he noticed many similar

mechanical devices, and they were none other than the bicycles that he

had promoted and invested in!

From the newspapers, Klein knew that the Backlund Bike Company had done

tons of advertisements. It even held a bicycle competition in boroughs

like Cherwood and Backlund Bridge so as to garner the attention of

others. Apart from that, they also actively promoted it to the

government departments such as the postal service and the police

departments. The results were said to be pretty good.

Their pricing strategy had followed Klein's original suggestion,

avoiding the middle-upper class who often used horse carriages. Instead,

they aimed their target audience at those with weekly salaries of 1

pound 10 soli and above, such as technical workers, students with a

decent family background, and clerical employees that often needed to

travel outside. Therefore, a bike worth 3 to 5 pounds was affordable for

the people in this demographic if they bit the bullet a little. And at

the same time, they could flaunt it to the masses who had incomes that

were lower than them.

*The current issue is that Backlund often rains. It's difficult to hold

an umbrella while riding a bicycle... The next step should be a

raincoat.* Klein retracted his gaze, shook his head, and

chuckled.

The place he stayed at was a high-end hotel in the Hillston Borough. It

cost him 10 soli a night, making him feel quite the pinch. However, to

match his persona, all he could do was bite the bullet and put up with

it.

His idea of Dwayne Dantès was that he was a believer of the Evernight

Goddess and a mysterious tycoon that came from Desi Bay. He had sold his

original land and mines, planning to seek out brand new opportunities in

Backlund. He had a certain level of interest in obtaining an

aristocratic title, but he didn't have the abundant wealth to do so. He

had to first expand his social circle and begin making some investments.

The benefits of this identity was that it was clearly different from the

characters Klein had previously acted as. It allowed him to very

naturally interact with people from the middle-upper class, especially

members of the military officers club and the Backlund diocese bishops

of the Church of the Evernight Goddess. It made it convenient for Klein

to continue his investigations into the Great Smog of Backlund while

gathering intel before he made detailed plans to steal the Antigonus

family's notebook.

There were obvious disadvantages as well. Such a mysterious tycoon would

definitely catch the notice of the Nighthawks and Mandated Punishers, so

there was a certain level of background checks that he would have to

undergo.

According to Klein's experience, such an investigation would be done by

the official Beyonder organizations under the premise that nothing

important had happened. It could also be handed over to the police

department, but in summary, not too much effort would be put into it, as

it would be considered a routine check.

Therefore, Klein, who was considered quite an expert at disguises, had

prepared a second layer to his identity as Dwayne Dantès to his designs,

so as to deal with the background inspection.

This second layer to his identity was that Dwayne Dantès was a person

who had adventured in the Southern Continent's East and West Balam for

some particular reason. He had used a nickname, and he spent more than

ten years in that rather dangerous land filled with opportunity in order

to amass a great deal of wealth.

Since the origin of his wealth wasn't overboard, he had secretly

returned to Desi Bay, and he forged a new identity. He had planned on

beginning a new life in Backlund and gradually legalize his wealth.

It wasn't rare to see such people in Loen. Their stories were acceptable

and imaginable for an investigation. For this identity layer, Klein had

left some inconspicuous clues in Conant City so as to indirectly reveal

the "truth."

These clues included but were not limited to the stubs of his scalped

tickets from East Balam to Conant City, habits as a result of living in

the Southern Continent for extended periods of time, as well as his

wealth of unknown origins.

Klein believed that as long as Dwayne Dantès didn't involve himself in

any serious Beyonder matters, preparations such as this were enough to

fool most routine background inspections.

And if he encountered an extremely dedicated official Beyonder who

investigated it all the way and was even willing to seek the help of

colleagues from the Southern Continent, then Dwayne Dantès had a third

identity layer. It was that he was a cheat who had anti-divination

measures to a certain degree. He disguised himself as a mysterious

tycoon and spent large amounts of money in investments for this final

scam.

This identity was enough to get Dwayne Dantès arrested, but the level of

attention placed on him wouldn't be too great. This allowed Klein to

exit the stage without much trouble.

*Compared to my first time in Backlund, the creation of a three-layered

identity shows how I've really matured significantly...* Klein

slowly walked to the middle of the room as he cast his gaze on a

full-body mirror in the corner.

His reflection had black hair and some strands of gray hair. His eyes

were deep, but his experiences had left indelible marks on his face. He

was a charming middle-aged man with a mature bearing.

The design of Dwayne Dantès's identity wasn't difficult for the present

Klein. However, stealing the Antigonus family's notebook from behind

Saint Samuel Cathedral's Chanis Gate was practically an impossible task

for any external Beyonder. Even a King of Angels couldn't guarantee

success.

Of course, unlike other Beyonders, Klein had two advantages. First, he

was once a Nighthawk. He had quite a good understanding of the internal

procedures they followed, and he knew which matters he could exploit.

Therefore, the first solution he eliminated was to become a particular

Nighthawk, infiltrate it, and find a chance to pass through Chanis Gate.

There was a problem that existed in this. Nighthawks weren't able to

randomly enter Chanis Gate, even for the captains and deacons. Something

had to happen first before they received the corresponding authority.

Furthermore, Chanis Gate had its Keepers inside. Randomly entering or

taking things would result in an attack on him, causing a battle to

break out. Klein didn't wish for his theft to result in any deaths or

injury to the members of the Church of the Goddess.

After careful consideration, he placed his sights on the Keepers.

These elders were retired Nighthawks who volunteered to enter Chanis

Gate. They were in charge of watching the Sealed Artifacts, and they

were from a different department from the Nighthawks. They entered and

exited using the underground passageway through the cathedral, and they

never interfered with the Nighthawks' work, nor would they be disturbed

by the Nighthawks.

Perhaps a result of staying behind Chanis Gate for extended periods of

time, these Keepers all had certain traits. They had cold auras and had

deadpan expressions. Their skin was pale, and they resembled monsters

from the deep darkness who were on the border of life and death. Klein

believed that it wasn't difficult for him to locate his target if he met

one.

His initial plan was to rent a place in North Borough near Saint Samuel

Cathedral. He would hire a butler, a valet, a maidservant, a gardener, a

chef, and a carriage driver to have a front as a tycoon. Then, he would

often head to the cathedral to pray piously, participate in Mass, donate

money, and familiarize himself with the bishops and priests.

During this process, he would work hard to find suspected Keepers. He

would choose two or three targets and observe their habits. When the

opportunity arises, he would imprison one of them, change into his

appearance or directly possess him, pass through Chanis Gate, and

attempt to flip through or take the Antigonus family's notebook away.

This was a very crude plan that was merely a train of thought. It needed

to be perfected according to the intelligence Klein would slowly

acquire.

For this matter, Klein's second advantage was the Tarot Club. He had

assistants that the Church of the Evernight Goddess and the Nighthawks

would never think of. Furthermore, he could consider extending the

recruitment of a Backlund diocese Nighthawk or Keeper into the

Gathering. He could then complete the theft through this traitor, just

like how Emperor Roselle was used to obtain the Antigonus family's

notebook by Zaratul.

*I've got to frequently head to the cathedral. Only by doing so can I

find a target...* Klein faced the mirror as he silently nodded.

It had to be said that he felt conflicted. If a true Nighthawk or Keeper

were to betray the Church to serve Mr. Fool, his first thought was to

unleash divine punishment to get rid of this despicable traitor!

After exhaling, he gave a self-deprecating laugh. He wore his

double-breasted frock coat and hat, walked out the room, and reached the

streets.

With an umbrella, he circled to another street. Taking advantage of the

distant street lamp and the drizzle, he suddenly changed back into

Sherlock Moriarty.

Glancing at his wrinkled trousers, Klein stopped a carriage and planned

on heading to Isengard Stanton's house in Hillston Borough.

Half an hour later, the somewhat ancient and dark building appeared

before Klein's eyes.

He paid 2 soli for his ride as he walked steadily around the puddles

amidst the drizzle that refracted the yellowish light of dusk before

coming to the famous detective's doorstep.

Putting away his umbrella, he reached out to ring the doorbell and

waited for a moment before seeing a man with a wide face open the door.

The man had a head of malt-colored hair, grayish-blue eyes, and high

cheekbones. He had the traits of someone from Lenburg or Masin.

*Mr. Isengard Stanton's new assistant? Someone from the Church of the

God of Knowledge and Wisdom?* Klein took off his hat and said

with a smile, "Good evening, is Mr. Isengard Stanton home?"

"He is. He just had his dinner after a busy day at work," the

malt-colored lad replied politely. "May I know who you are?"

Klein chortled and said, "Tell the good detective that a friend of his

has returned from his vacation."

The young man was taken aback as he blurted out, "Mr. Sherlock

Moriarty?"