NOVEL WEB Chapter 24: 24
Chapter 116 Aurora ClubTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3100 words Update time: 2025-06-10 18:30:25
Caroline's original idea was to attribute everything to her own inspiration.
Anyway, in this world, all gains from unknown sources can be attributed to the burst of inspiration, which often appears in some mystical books.
However, although she successfully explained the source of the sense of crisis, it did not seem to dissuade Mikhail from taking action.
Before she even had the chance to suggest a retreat, Mikhail had already arranged a tactical plan and was still planning to continue the action.
This put Caroline in a very awkward position. Mikhail's employer was not her, but Ovis Wein. If she wanted to persuade Mikhail to cancel the operation, she could only use the reason that "the Nighthawks will come".
She couldn't see Mikhail's situation, but Ovis had revealed that he was also an extraordinary person.
Since he is a wild Beyonder, the title of "Nighthawk" will naturally be useful.
But the question is, how should Caroline explain how she knew the Nighthawks would come?
If she said too much, she would reveal more, and Caroline didn't want anyone to see that there was anything special about her.
Now, all they could do was hope that Mikhail could solve the problem himself, or that the Nighthawks led by Klein would arrive a little later.
...
Mikhail, who seemed to have made no preparations, gave a few instructions casually and then walked towards the Lanevus Steel Company on his own.
Caroline watched his back gradually disappearing, gathered her thoughts, and quickly walked along the street to the alley next to the steel company.
He looked up and took a look at the direction. It was right under the window of Lanevus' office.
Standing in the alley and observing for a while, Caroline used the protruding corner of a house as a barely sufficient cover, shrank her body behind, tightly grasped the "Silver Key" around her neck, and barely summoned the "Void Cube".
After unfolding the condensed space, Caroline quickly focused her attention on the "map".
From the absolute perspective of the "map", she had a clear insight into the entire structure and distribution of the Lanevus Steel Company.
At this time, there were two dots representing people in the lobby on the first floor. I guess they should be the reception guys Mossen and Mikhail.
From the front hall upwards, that should be the location of Lanevus' office, which is also next to his coordinates, but the "map" does not show even a dot.
This meant that there was no one in Lanevus' office.
In the entire steel company, there were only Mikhail and the receptionist Mossen.
Lanevus actually left the steel company! During the time Caroline went from the surveillance point to the North District to meet with Mikhail and then brought Mikhail back here, he left his company for unknown reasons.
On the "map", the dot representing Mikhail began to move slowly. He seemed to have completed the negotiation with the receptionist Mossen, who was now leading him to Lanevus' office.
Caroline frowned deeply, she finished unfolding the "Void Cube" and gripped the revolver.
"Old Zhou said that the operation to capture Lanevus is extremely dangerous, and Lanevus himself is not in the steel company now. In other words, it is Lanevus's departure that caused this danger..."
"Is this a trap set by Lanevus in the company? Has he discovered my surveillance? But if so, why did he take action at this time? Wouldn't it be easier to deal with me when I was alone a few days ago?"
Caroline was alert to the situation in the alley. It was an alley with only two entrances at both ends. Going straight in was a dead end, and one had to go around several turns to reach the exit at the other end.
However, the main reason why Mikhail asked him to be on guard here was probably to prevent people in the office from jumping out of the window and escaping.
However, Lanevus was not in the company at all, and there was no one in the office. She probably wouldn't get anything.
"They should be arriving at the office soon..."
Calculating Mikhail's speed, Caroline prepared to try to use the "Hunter"'s super senses to detect the situation in the office.
And at this moment, when Caroline was completely unexpected, an extremely terrible explosion came from the office.
"boom--!!"
A powerful destructive force exploded from behind the wall along with smoke. Amid the loud noise, the tightly closed window of Lanevus' office was directly shattered, and thick smoke began to pour out from there.
Shattered glass fell along with the bricks that were blown off the wall by the explosion, scattering in the alley and the street outside, stirring up clouds of smoke and dust.
In the smoke, Caroline did not see the fire, and the deafening noise almost deafened her as she had just activated her superhuman senses, but it also caused her to have an extremely uncomfortable tinnitus.
After recovering from her daze, the moment after the explosion, she immediately looked up at the window above her head despite tinnitus and confused brain.
Glass fragments and brick dust fell one after another. Caroline quickly raised her arms to cover her head and dodged away from the places where she would be stabbed by the glass.
When the aftermath of the explosion and the falling glass bricks gradually subsided, and the tinnitus in Caroline's ears and the smoke rising into the sky slowly disappeared, she looked back at the window.
At this time, a huge hole had been blown open there, and the original position of the entire window along with part of the surrounding wall were completely destroyed. A large amount of black smoke gushed out like blood after the aorta was cut.
Watching everything that suddenly happened before her eyes, Caroline's temples on both sides of her forehead kept throbbing, and Klein's illusory and vague voice kept repeating in her mind.
This is... the terrible danger...
Caroline muttered.
Suddenly, she saw a faint light flash in the smoke, and then a black figure rushed out of the smoke and quickly jumped down from the second floor of the steel company.
Caroline, who was staring at the window, reacted automatically and reached out to pull out the revolver.
But she immediately put down the gun, because the information she had just detected on the "map" and the visual feedback now told her that the person who jumped out of the office could only be Mikhail.
The black coat slowly fell off, and Mikhail landed steadily in the alley. The bricks and building debris on the ground did not affect his movements.
And what was surprising was that there was no dirt or damage on his clothes and face, as if he had not been at the explosion scene just now.
Mikhail slowly stood up, turned to look at Caroline who had put down her gun, and said solemnly:
"He escaped, and an evil explosion magic was set in the office."
"Evil" explosion magic?
Caroline looked up at the second-floor window that had become a ruin.
Just as Mikhail said, after the explosion, she did feel a little bit of strange aura coming from there.
Caroline controlled her heartbeat and tried not to breathe too hard before asking Mikhail:
"Can you determine the source of this explosion magic?"
"Well, it's placed near the sofa. It will be triggered whenever someone gets close to it."
"Where's the receptionist?"
Mikhail glanced at Caroline and said in a deep voice without changing his expression:
"He was killed in the explosion. He died instantly."
"So the receptionist can't be his accomplice..."
Caroline bit her lip, frowned and let out a shaky breath.
Mikhail nodded and took off his hat, revealing the bald head underneath.
Then he took off his coat and turned it inside out, which strangely turned into a khaki coat.
He said to Caroline as he put his coat back on.
"We have to leave quickly. This explosion will soon attract the police. Especially since there is a dark magic element involved, it is highly likely that it will not just be the police who come."
"I will relay this matter to Ovis, you don't have to worry about how to explain it to him."
Caroline looked up at Mikhail and unexpectedly felt that he seemed to be comforting her.
But she didn't care about these little things at all. As the first participant at the scene, Caroline just wanted to get more useful clues from Mikhail.
Taking advantage of the alley, the two quickly left the exploded steel company site from the other exit.
Walking back into the street, they went around the corner from the other side, just like passers-by who had just been attracted by the terrible explosion.
At this time, the explosion in the steel company had already attracted a large number of passers-by to stop and watch, which made Caroline and Mikhail, who were hidden in the crowd, not attract any attention at all.
People's faces showed fear and they didn't notice who was around them or who was missing.
"Oh my God! What happened!"
"Goddess! How could such a terrible thing happen?!"
"Isn't that Mr. Lanevus' company? What happened?!"
Listening to the panicked discussions of the people around her, Caroline looked at the unrecognizable steel company after the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, and asked Mikhail in a low voice:
"What kind of black magic could be so powerful? According to the clues given by Ovis and my observation, Lanevus doesn't seem to be good at any kind of magic."
Mikhail's gray eyes moved, and he turned away, pretending to have no interest in the explosion scene.
"I don't know, but it looks like this incident has some cult involvement. Especially the explosion magic. The filth and corruption contained in it are not something that an ordinary cult can create."
There was something else in Mikhail's words, and he seemed to have figured out what kind of evil cult's power it was.
"What kind of cult is this?"
Caroline asked with a serious expression.
Mikhail glanced at her dimly, and then, with his lips moving slightly, he uttered a name that she had heard not long ago.
"Aurora Club..."Chapter 117 Fragments of the StoryTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3322 words Update time: 2025-06-11 13:17:06
The efficiency of Tingen police officers was considered to be among the highest in the entire Loen Kingdom, but even so, it took more than ten minutes after Caroline left for the police to arrive at the explosion site.
The cordon was quickly set up and the crowd was gradually evacuated. Specialized explosion-proof police lined up to enter the steel company and then quickly came out. Then a large number of police entered the scene to collect clues.
Another ten minutes later, a carriage carrying more professional people arrived at the scene.
"This is really scary... What on earth could have happened to make the scene like this?"
Leonard Mitchell, dressed in a handsome inspector's uniform, stepped carefully across the bumpy ground inside the steel company. The broken walls everywhere made it impossible for him to find a foothold. He now walked slowly up to the second floor over several large pieces of debris as if he was walking on stilts.
Dunn Smith, who was also wearing inspector's uniform, stood at the entrance of the stairs on the first floor, holding the police's investigation report on the scene in his hand, and looked down at the information on it carefully.
Klein just stood beside him, trying hard to adjust his mentality.
He had clearly warned Caroline, so why did something happen here...!
God knows how he felt when he heard about the explosion in the South District while reporting to Dunn Smith. Especially when the name of Laneus Steel Company came up, his eyes went dark on the spot.
On the way from Blackthorn Security Company, Klein was always worried, afraid of hearing about casualties. It was not until he got off the carriage and saw the horrific scene of the explosion that his worry turned into a certain degree of fear.
He looked nervously at Captain Dunn, who was still checking the report. There was no expression on the latter's face, and his gray eyes were full of calmness and composure.
After hesitating for a while, Klein finally asked:
"Captain, what's the situation?"
Dunn Smith closed the report, raised his head and rubbed his eyebrows, then replied calmly:
"According to the police investigation, there was only one death at the scene, and no other casualties. This is a blessing in disguise. Well, this famous quote from Emperor Roselle can be applied to this scene."
There was only one dead person... Klein's breathing paused for a moment, and he suddenly didn't dare to ask the next question.
However, Dunn Smith directly helped him dispel his fear.
"From the information of this company and the appearance of the body, the deceased is a male and should be the front desk receptionist here."
Hearing Dunn's words, Klein immediately felt relieved.
He did not show his emotions in order to avoid being noticed by his perceptive captain.
Fortunately, Caroline is still listening... She hasn't contacted me yet, maybe she is on her way back to her place...
I was too impatient. As a Hunter, she is more likely to survive in emergencies than a normal Sequence 9...
Since nothing happened to Caroline, Crane began to work normally with the mentality of a night watchman dealing with extraordinary events.
After returning the investigation report to the police at the scene, Dunn Smith asked them to maintain order on the first floor, and then took Klein to the second floor.
The direct site of the explosion was in the office on the second floor. At this time, the entire corridor here had been blown beyond recognition, almost all the rooms were broken through, and the floor was full of potholes and building debris.
Leonard was standing where the office door should have been, with his head down, wondering what he was thinking.
When Dunn and Klein approached, he slowly turned his head, forced a smile and said:
"It's a miracle of modern architecture that the whole building has not collapsed even after being bombed into this state."
Leonard made way, and Dunn Smith walked forward and took a look into the office.
Klein walked to Leonard's side. Through the gap between their bodies, he immediately saw the location in the office that should be the center of the explosion.
At this time, a huge black mark was left there, but it did not look like it was burned by fire, but more like a brand left by something.
Klein looked at the marks on the ground, and the knowledge that Old Neil had taught him before flashed through his mind.
"The remnants of a magic circle..."
He whispered his judgment, and Leonard beside him nodded, put one hand on his waist, and said:
"From the scene, it does look like an explosive magic. And there is a residual evil smell in the surrounding air. I think it must be the work of some evil cult organization."
After a pause, Leonard added:
"But besides the evil aura, there seems to be some sacred remnants here."
"Holy remnant?"
Klein asked doubtfully, looking at the captain in front of him.
Dunn Smith nodded slightly, turned around, and glanced at Klein with his gray eyes. He said:
"You just said that Mr. Lanevus, the owner of this company, might be a fraudster and there is a certain chance that he is a Beyonder. Is this the result of your divination?"
Klein nodded in response and calmly stated the reason he had prepared in advance:
"Yes, I first learned about Lanevus's situation at the Divination Club. At that time, I felt that his iron ore project was a scam. Later, I confirmed this fact through divination, and vaguely sensed the existence of some extraordinary factors from the revelation."
"So, this Mr. Lanevus might be a member of a cult?"
Leonard raised an eyebrow and offered an idea.
Recalling the information Caroline had revealed before, Klein frowned and shook his head, saying:
"It's inexplicable, why would he do this in his own company?"
"Indeed... In that case, it is possible that he defrauded other cults and then suffered retaliation?"
Leonard's conjecture is more in line with some current situations, but from this perspective, it is difficult for them to investigate the case.
The three of them entered the office and carefully surveyed the scene.
Perhaps it was the effect of the magic that caused the explosion, but all the spirits in the scene had dissipated, making it difficult for Dunn Smith and Klein to use ritual magic to communicate with the spirits.
Furthermore, due to the explosion, there were no remaining items in the office, so Klein was unable to use the items left by Lanevus to divine for him.
The investigation on the scene yielded no results, so the Nighthawks turned to investigating Lanevus's identity information and interpersonal relationships, trying to find the cult members who caused the explosion.
At the same time, Dunn Smith proposed that the Tingen police launch a warrant for his arrest on charges of commercial fraud and causing explosions.
Following his colleagues out of the explosion site, Klein was thinking about the possible connection with the explosion magic.
He walked slowly towards the carriage, and before he entered the carriage, he suddenly heard a series of phantom whispers in his ears.
...
After separating from Mikhail, Caroline quickly returned to the hotel. Even though she had tried to speed up as much as possible, more than thirty minutes had passed by the time she got back to the hotel.
After closing the door, the first thing Caroline did when she came back was to take out the "Silver Key", unfold the "Void Cube" and check the latest "report".
She was at the scene of the explosion just now, and the source came from Lanevus, whom she had been monitoring. Whether from the relevance of the incident to her or the impact on her, Caroline was sure that a "report" related to it would definitely be generated.
Sure enough, when the solid space fell, the glowing "reports" piled up, and Caroline saw the brand new text on the top at first glance.
"The first piece of the story"
"Earlier today, a sudden explosion disturbed the peace of Tingen."
"One of the leaders of the explosion, Sequence 8 fraudster Lanevus, left the steel company at the perfect time. He fled Tingen before anyone could predict what would happen. His whereabouts are unknown."
"His escape may be due to his keen understanding of the situation, or it may be due to an action he had planned long ago. The real reason for his sudden departure is still unknown, but what is certain is that the Tingen police may not be able to find him."
"As for the person who actually set up the explosion array, Aurora Society member Sirius Arypis has not yet entered anyone's field of vision. His madness and evil will linger for the time being."
"Caroline Williams, who witnessed the explosion, was lucky enough to escape due to Klein Moretti's divination. If she had not been warned and had not chosen to stay outside the company, she might have been seriously injured and killed."
"And Mikhail Enzov, who was at the explosion site at the time, was not equally favored by fate. But fortunately, as a Sequence 6 Dawn Knight, he had enough means to protect himself, and the explosion from the evil magic of the Aurora Society failed to harm him. His spirit may be damaged by the evil explosion, but it is harmless and he will recover soon. "
"At present, the Night Watchmen of Tingen have noticed this incident, and they will investigate Lanevus and the evil cult behind it."
"In the eyes of the Nighthawks, this is just a vicious cult attack. They don't know what kind of conspiracy is hidden behind it."
"The story of Tingen has entered its climax. Although everything is full of surprises and twists and turns, it seems that everything is still moving towards the predetermined future."
"We have no way of knowing what the future will be like."
——"A shocking terrorist attack!"
Caroline's breathing gradually changed as she read the "report", and her brain was filled with huge amounts of information.
This "report" can be fully combined with previous events. What is happening in Tingen is indeed instigated by a conspiracy.
Before she could investigate those coincidences in depth, she almost died from an "accident".
If she didn't know anything, if she didn't inform Klein in advance...
No, there are no such assumptions! She is still alive now!
"I have to tell Lao Zhou all these things."
Caroline thought about it and wrote down all the key information in the "report".
She then took back the Void Cube and began to arrange the ritual magic, praying to Klein.
After reciting the spell, Caroline waited patiently in the room.
Not long after, the familiar gray fog began to appear before Caroline's eyes. The burst of crimson enveloped her consciousness and brought her above the gray fog.Chapter 118 Red ChimneyTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3514 words Update time: 2025-06-11 18:15:03
Above the endless rolling gray fog, in a temple as magnificent as the residence of the Giant King, Caroline's figure quickly emerged beside the long bronze table.
After opening her eyes, she immediately cast her gaze towards the head of the long table and saw Klein leaning forward with one hand on the armrest of the high-back chair.
Klein, who had already activated his spiritual vision, quickly checked Caroline's spirit. After confirming that she was fine, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat back upright.
"I'm glad you're okay."
Klein said softly, and Caroline, who probably guessed what he was doing, smiled helplessly.
"Next time I'll devise a code. If I'm alright, I'll say 'Yoyo Plum' to you."
"It seems that there is no such thing in this world?"
"Just some plums will do. This is a secret code that only you and I know."
Caroline's humorous little joke made the serious atmosphere above the gray fog a little lighter. Klein's mouth corners unconsciously curled up and he leaned back in his chair.
She even had the time to tell jokes, which showed that the explosion at the steel company had not affected her at all...
Klein thought about it, hesitated for a moment, and said:
"What on earth just happened?"
"You should have arrived at the scene, right? Just as you saw, there was an explosion all of a sudden. I checked the situation using the 'map' and there was no one else in the entire company. It could be that the explosion was caused by some magic."
Listening to Caroline's story, Klein nodded slightly.
"We also found the remnants of the magic circle. We initially determined that it might be the work of a cult member. We are now preparing to issue a wanted notice for Lanevus to see if we can catch him as soon as possible."
"No need to look for him, he has already left Tingen."
Caroline shook her head and sighed. Klein looked at her in confusion, and then immediately realized that this should be the information Caroline learned from her magical "report".
Lanevus has actually left Tingen... How did this guy run so fast...
Did he foresee that Caroline would come to catch him, so he asked someone to set a trap in advance and wait for her to take the bait?
Klein was thinking about various possibilities. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to a crisp sound. At the same time, he heard Caroline say:
"By the way…" Caroline snapped her fingers and pointed at Klein.
"Have you figured out which cult it is?"
Klein shook his head when he heard this. The Nighthawks had only detected some cult elements in it at most, and had not yet determined which secret sect or mysterious organization it was.
"I already know that." Caroline took a breath and let it out slowly.
"The information in the 'report' said that the person who arranged the explosion was a member of the Aurora Society named Sirius Arepis. I think he should still be in Tingen now."
Klein was slightly startled. He widened his eyes and looked at Caroline and said:
"Has your golden finger already told you the real culprit behind this...!"
"He's not the real culprit behind the scenes. He's just a pawn at most." Caroline waved her hand and glanced to the side casually.
"Chess piece? What do you mean?" Klein frowned and supported his cheek with his hand.
Caroline looked at him again, her eyes slightly moving. After hesitating for a moment, she sighed and decided to tell Klein about the connection between those coincidences and the possible conspiracy behind Tingen.
She started by talking about the "report" she had read before, then went on to talk about the new information she had obtained after the explosion, adding a little of her own understanding.
Time passed quietly above the gray fog without any noticeable changes. As Klein learned more about Caroline's findings, he became more and more solemn and tense.
"So, you were going to investigate those coincidences yourself first, and then tell me about them?"
Klein frowned, his eyes fixed on Caroline from the beginning.
Even through the gray fog, Caroline could sense his displeasure and a little anger.
"What are you thinking? How can you investigate such a dangerous matter by yourself? You should inform me first, and then let me investigate through the Nighthawks, so that we can find out the truth in the safest way."
"If you hadn't told me in advance and I had done some divination for you, there wouldn't be just one corpse at the scene!"
"Do you know how violent that explosion was? Our captain is a Sequence 7 Beyonder. He said that if he had been at the scene at the time and didn't have a defensive seal in his hand and didn't prepare in advance, he would have died on the spot!"
Klein's voice gradually rose, and the entire ancient gray fog began to tremble slightly, as if responding to his emotions.
It was also the first time that Caroline saw Klein, who was always gentle and elegant, show such strong emotional fluctuations. And to be honest, this matter was indeed due to her lack of consideration.
Now think about it, her thoughts at that time were actually a bit like a parent making decisions for his children without authorization on the grounds of "it's for your own good". If you put yourself in her shoes, if this happened to Caroline, she would definitely not be happy.
She was already in the wrong, and the angry Klein really looked like a great being, so Caroline huddled together, lowered her head and sat upright in the chair, her eyes constantly dodging.
After Klein slowly calmed down, Caroline spoke softly:
"Sorry, Lao Zhou, I won't do this next time..."
Klein took a deep breath, and his eyes wandered to Caroline's face for a moment before he sighed softly:
"I don't really want to blame you, I just want you to know that we should help each other now."
"I understand, I understand. We are now strangers in this world. If something unexpected happens to you, Old Zhou, I will not be able to bear it!"
"Why does this sound so uncomfortable..."
"Well, I won't say anything then."
Klein really didn't want to blame Caroline too much. He could actually understand her thoughts.
Judging from those coincidences and "reports", these things seemed to happen more around him, and Caroline seemed to be suddenly involved in them.
In this so-called "story", he is more like the protagonist, and Caroline is the unexpected X-factor.
Klein rubbed his brow like Dunn Smith, and his emotions gradually calmed down.
After looking at Caroline, who still looked like she had just been scolded by her homeroom teacher, Klein slowly spoke:
"There seems to be some sacred remnants at the explosion site. What's going on?"
Caroline straightened her back quickly and answered actively:
"It's my accomplice...er, companion. It's the reliable person my client sent to capture Lanevus that I mentioned to you before."
"He is a Sequence 6 Beyonder, and his Sequence name is Dawn Knight. That might be the power he left behind."
"A Sequence 6 Beyonder…"
Why does it feel like all kinds of people are gathering in Tingen? What is the person behind the scenes planning...
Klein opened his mouth slightly, but ultimately said nothing.
Taking advantage of this topic, Klein and Caroline exchanged more information, and basically recorded all the information that could be obtained from Caroline's "report".
After repeatedly reminding Caroline to be careful in the next few days, Klein said no more and left the gray fog with her.
...
In the dark room, sunlight struggles to sneak in through the gaps in the curtains, but it can hardly illuminate the room.
On the shabby desk, a dim candle flickered, illuminating an ordinary notebook on the side.
The notebook was open on the desk, and the neat pages were densely filled with a large number of words, forming one strange sentence after another.
"Lanevers originally planned to leave Tingen at an appropriate time without attracting any attention, but because of the recent urban legend about the 'Messenger of Justice' that has been circulating in Tingen, he decided to move up the time."
"As a Sequence 8 of the Thief's Path, Lanevus would instinctively be wary of this kind of person. Especially when he learned that those who were caught at night were all thieves, he couldn't help but think that they might be targeting the Beyonders of the Thief's Path. This is a very reasonable psychological activity."
"So, the cunning and lucky Lanevus chose the most amazing time to leave Tingen."
"He just happened to avoid Caroline Williams' surveillance time and left the steel company before she returned with Mikhail Enzov, and fled Tingen using the train ticket he had bought long ago."
"He didn't inform anyone, including Sirius Arypis, who was supposed to meet him today."
"He was panicked by the death of Heinus Vincent. He originally wanted to discuss his future plans with Lanevus, but he broke the promise."
"The items that had long been cleared out of the steel company's office hinted at Lanevus's departure, which stimulated Sirius Arypis' emotions. As a member of the Aurora Society, his mental state is unstable."
"So, Sirius Arypis, controlled by panic and anger, set up a dark magic circle in Lanevus' office."
"He wanted to expose Lanevus to the official Beyonders, but because of his emotional problems, he overlooked the possibility that he himself might be exposed."
"After setting up the magic circle, Sirius Arypis left the scene without being discovered by anyone."
"Caroline Williams brought Mikhail Enzov to the steel company. They successfully entered Lanevus' office under the pretext of discussing investment, causing the explosion..."
The smooth sentence was suddenly crossed out by a large amount of ink, and a new line began.
"Shockingly, Caroline Williams did not enter the steel company. She unexpectedly avoided the fatal crisis!"
"This is because Caroline's keen inspiration made her aware of the danger, so she did not choose to enter the steel company with Mikhail."
"What a clever girl! Ince Zangwill's evil plan has been ruined!"
"But it doesn't affect our story, and Caroline's death won't make Dunn Smith responsible."
"The story has just changed a little bit."
"Due to Klein Moretti's reminder and the images seen in Heinus Vincent's dream, Dunn Smith is particularly concerned about the incident involving the Aurora Society."
"Therefore, he specifically applied to the 'Substitute Punisher' who was supposed to be in charge of the Southern District of Tingen for the right to jointly investigate this case."
"Dunn Smith will gradually lose his energy in the process, and the careful plan of the smart Ince Zangwill will not go wrong."
At this point in the sentence, the imaginary ink connects to an exquisite classical feather pen.
The hand holding the quill was a pale one.
The hand holding the pen paused for a moment, then slowly wrote the next line of text.
"Sirius will run into Klein in the library, and be killed by him without being able to stop..."
The writing stopped here, and Ince Zangwill, holding the quill, looked out through the gap in the curtains with a quiet look.
Outside the house is a small courtyard planted with beautiful flowers.
Above the house, there is a dark red chimney.Chapter 119 The SeekerTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3393 words Update time: 2025-06-12 13:43:30
The explosion in the southern district and Lanevus's escape with the money caused quite a stir in Tingen.
This experienced and cunning con man used his disguise to deceive many investors. According to statistics from the Tingen police, there were more than 100 victims and the amount involved was as high as 10,000 pounds.
For quite a long time, the streets of Tingen were full of people denouncing this swindler, and some people even went bankrupt because they had cheated so many people.
The Tingen police and official Beyonders had been trying to track down Lanevus's whereabouts, but as Caroline told Klein, Lanevus left almost no clues, and everything about him was lost. Until a few days later, the police were unable to completely search the place where Lanevus had lived before.
Lanevus seemed to have completely disappeared from the face of the earth.
...
Friday, July 20, 10 a.m.
Caroline, who had gotten up early and gone to the South District explosion site to investigate the situation, returned to the hotel.
The steel company that was bombed into half a dangerous building has now been completely blocked. As an ordinary passerby, she has no way to enter and can only look at it from a distance outside.
She asked several police officers who were still at the scene and learned a little about the progress of the case in the hands of the police.
The scene has been cleaned up, and the body of the poor receptionist Mossen has been taken back by his family and will be buried soon.
The name Lanevus was indeed a pseudonym, and the police could only investigate his records after he came to Tingen.
The police are now encouraging the public to actively report the case, and the case has also been reported to Backlund, attracting the attention of the royal government.
This incident has completely deviated from the established trajectory, and Caroline still feels a little regretful about it.
She should have listened to Klein's advice earlier and reported Lanevus to the Tingen police directly to arrest him first.
Standing in front of her door, Caroline turned the key to open the door and sighed helplessly.
Mikhail has not appeared since they parted that day, and Ovis has not made any response to this.
This commission was completely aborted, but at least the good news was that she finally had time to continue playing the role of a hunter and investigating the factory owner Frensen.
Pushing the door open, Caroline looked into the room.
Without warning, she was shocked to see a strange-looking creature standing beside the table in the room.
It was a creature that was transparent and seemed to be made of mist. It looked a bit like the elves in old Western stories, but a little taller than the former.
The elf was holding a letter in its hand. It seemed to be startled when Caroline pushed the door open. It opened its big eyes and stared at Caroline with extreme fear.
The man and the elf just stared at each other in a daze for a while.
Caroline was the first to react. She saw the letter in the other person's hand and roughly guessed the identity of this elf.
Is this the messenger that Ovis Wein mentioned?
"Hello?"
Caroline spoke softly, trying to be kind.
But who would have known that the moment Caroline opened her mouth, the elf's expression twisted as if it had seen something terrifying, showing extreme fear.
It dropped the letter in its hand and jumped towards a certain direction in the air.
"Wait a moment!"
Caroline hurriedly chased after it, but when she reached the table, the elf was gone.
Disappeared... Caroline felt the table and took a few steps forward. She was sure that there was nothing else in the room.
"There were no footprints, no traces left... It was magical."
After checking the floor, Caroline, who was the best at tracking prey, did not find any remains.
Mumbling softly, Caroline looked at the letter that the elf had dropped. The envelope still had the familiar flowing handwriting and the signature from Ovis Wein.
Picking up the envelope, Caroline sat on the bed, opened the letter, took out the letter paper and began to read it carefully.
"Dear and brave lady, I haven't seen you for a long time and I miss you very much."
"Please forgive the danger and difficulty that my ignorance has caused you. I never thought that the cunning and hateful swindler would be associated with the lunatics of the Aurora Society."
"They are one of the most dangerous cults in the world. I wouldn't be surprised if that cunning liar was killed one day because of them."
"Please accept my sincere apologies. The force majeure clause in our commission will take effect. Although the commission was ultimately unsuccessful, as a friendly, fair, and kind businessman, I should provide my client with some compensation."
"The name of the Hunter Path Sequence 8 potion you want is Provocateur. The original price is 400 pounds. Due to the force majeure clause, I can give you a slight discount and sell it at 320 pounds as a token of my sincerity."
"This deal is valid at any time. I will not leave Backlund for the time being because this is the market I like and the customers I love."
"Beautiful lady, I look forward to seeing you again!"
Caroline read Ovis' letter from beginning to end, put the letter down, smiled bitterly and shook her head.
Ovis is really strictly following the business code...
If the emperor knew that he had such a fanboy in his later life, I wonder what he would think about it...
Well, maybe he will write a lot about it in his diary, and then brag about his role as a leading figure as a high-quality idol...
After putting the letter away, Caroline was not in a hurry to return to Backlund to trade the Sequence 8 potion formula.
She hadn't finished playing the role of hunter yet, and there was no benefit in getting the potion formula of "Provocateur" in advance. On the contrary, she might try to advance early without fully digesting the potion because of the temptation of the formula.
It's just like when you get pocket money or salary at the beginning of the month. You will always spend money unconsciously at the beginning of the month, and at the end of the month you may face the embarrassing situation of having to eat steamed bread for three meals a day.
Caroline was thinking so as she was about to plan the subsequent performance arrangements.
Suddenly, traces of crimson and gray mist appeared before her eyes again.
Behind the misty gray fog, Klein's blurry and distorted figure slowly emerged, and brought out that illusory and magnificent voice:
"Meet at Deville Library. I found some clues about coincidences..."
Deville Library? Has Lao Zhou found further clues?
Caroline was delighted. Since the exchange a few days ago, she and Klein had not had any detailed conversations. At most, they complained about each other's lives.
Klein had also complained to her that his joining dinner had been postponed because of Lanevus's incident.
Unexpectedly, just three days later, he found a new clue.
Since Klein had called her, Caroline did not delay.
Standing up from the bed which was not even warm yet, she left the hotel and headed straight for the Deville Library in the Golden Wutong District.
...
In a simple apartment somewhere in the East District of Backlund.
Ovis Vine hummed an Intis folk song and leisurely brewed a cup of coffee.
The slightly gloomy sunlight outside shone into the room, illuminating Ovis's simple residence.
But Ovis didn't seem to care about his environment, as if he was actually in a chic cafe, listening to classical piano music from the Quaternary.
But suddenly, the invisible music was broken by an extremely discordant sound.
"Crack."
As soon as Ovis's operating arm stopped, the sound of the revolver's hammer being pulled was so harsh in his ears.
Ovis forced a smile, slowly raised his hands, and a drop of cold sweat ran down his face.
"Friend, is there anything I can do for you?"
"I can provide a variety of services, including intelligence gathering, hiring Beyonders, trading materials, and even helping you rescue people from the police station... Believe me, I can provide you with more value if I am alive."
Ovis said this in a stiff tone. This was the magic weapon he had mentioned countless times, which bought him his life.
After a moment's silence, a sneer sounded from behind him.
Hearing this familiar sound, Ovis frowned and turned his head quickly.
In the middle of the living room of his humble residence, a man with short red hair and wearing a brown linen jacket looked at him with a sarcastic smile.
The revolver in his hand was not pointed at himself, but the magazine was rotating towards the floor.
Ovis breathed a sigh of relief and threw something in his hand onto the kitchen counter.
"I obviously have a door, why don't you like to knock on it?"
The red-haired man stared at Ovis and smiled:
"If I knock on the door, how can I find out what you are doing?"
Ovis picked up the freshly brewed coffee, turned around and looked at the red-haired man, smiling inexplicably.
"The Iron Cross sent you to negotiate with me? I should be more than just a Sequence 8 'Provocateur', right? Leonique Soran…"
"And what about your own Sequence? The famous 'behind-the-scenes winner' Mr. Ovis Wein lives in a place like this?"
"Emperor Roselle once said, 'Although my residence is simple, my character is as fragrant as flowers... This is not a truth that people like you can understand.'"
Ovis calmly drank a sip of coffee, stared at Leonik for a few seconds, and suddenly laughed:
"Hey, you are not as good as me as a 'provocateur'. No wonder you have no status in the Soran family."
Leonik's expression froze and his cheeks twitched slightly, but he managed to calm down.
"Stop talking nonsense, Ovis. I think you haven't forgotten the cooperation project we agreed with you."
"No, I'm a businessman with a good reputation." Ovis answered nonchalantly, shaking the cup in his hand.
"But I may disappoint you. I haven't found any new Beyonders suitable to join you recently."
"It is up to us to judge whether it is suitable for you to join us."
Leonik swung the revolver in his hand and spoke to Ovis in a threatening tone.
"Don't think we don't have informants in Backlund..."
Ovis glanced at the gun in Leonik's hand and chuckled with disdain:
"Oh..."
"Then you can go to Tingen to find her yourself..."
"You are indeed a wise businessman."
After getting the answer, Leonik put away his gun with satisfaction, without saying goodbye, and without any courtesy, he climbed out of the window and left his place.
Ovis leaned against the dining table and drank a sip of coffee calmly. After confirming that Leonik had left, he quickly put down the cup, rushed to the table in a hurry, and spread out a piece of letter paper.
Picking up the pen, he paused just as he wrote the opening title.
After much thought, Ovis changed his target and continued writing:
"My dear Mikhail, my most respected friend. I need you to do me a favor..."Chapter 120: Unexpected PursuitTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3828 words Update time: 2025-06-12 18:00:00
Zouteland Street was not far from the Deville Library, so Caroline arrived outside the library early.
After not seeing Klein, Caroline simply stood under the beautiful statue outside the library and waited for a while. After about ten minutes, she saw Klein getting off the public carriage parked across the street.
Caroline noticed the license plate of the public carriage. She remembered that this bus would not pass through Daffodil Street, which meant that Klein should have come to the library from somewhere else.
Klein, who was wearing a cheap black suit and holding a black silver-studded cane, clicked his half-top hat and walked neatly across the crosswalk to the other side of the street, toward Caroline, who was wearing a light green walking skirt under the statue.
"You arrived quite early."
Klein smiled at Caroline out of habit.
"I happened to be at the hotel, and Zouteland Street isn't too far from here."
Caroline said, turning around and following Klein's steps, walking side by side with him into the library.
At the same time, Caroline lowered her voice and asked Klein:
"So, what clues did you get?"
Klein looked forward and answered as if he was just chatting casually:
"I have a mentor in college who also seems to have some magical powers. I think he is someone I can trust."
"He said that there was something inconsistent with my fate. After this reminder, I performed divination on all the previous events above the gray fog."
"During divination, I received a revelation and vaguely saw a dark red chimney and a house with a garden."
"I think that should be the hiding place of the mastermind in Tingen that you mentioned."
Caroline's eyes widened slightly. She controlled her inner excitement and quickly analyzed the situation while saying to Klein:
"My commission has ended because of Lanevus's escape. I have a lot of free time now, so I can help you find the house with the dark red chimney."
"No, this is too dangerous." Klein rejected Caroline's proposal without hesitation.
"The mastermind behind this may have some way to track our movements. If we rashly investigate him, he will most likely find out... This matter can only be handed over to someone else."
Caroline nodded and asked:
"Who are you going to entrust it to?"
"I'm going to find a reliable private detective, one who's willing to spend money."
"That's okay. I can take care of the commission costs."
This time, Klein did not refuse. After all, hiring a good enough private detective would cost a certain amount of money, and with Klein's current financial situation, he could only afford an above-average detective.
Putting aside the salary expenditure plan in his mind, Klein cleared his throat and continued:
"Secondly, I also have new clues about the Aurora Society member you told me about."
"After receiving the revelation from Red Chimney, I originally planned to try to divine the whereabouts of the Joker potion... You should understand that it was the idea of taking advantage of the victory."
"As a result, I saw from the dream divination that the original owner of my body traded the Antigonus family notebook with his classmates and others."
"In my dream, I saw that the seller was a man who was previously discovered by our Nighthawks and was involved in a cult. His name was Hainas Vincent. And guess who the other seller standing next to Hainas is?"
Klein had reminded her of this, so Caroline knew it without even having to think about it.
"Is it Sirius Arypis?"
"That's right!"
The two of them slowly walked up the steps and entered the library.
"Being able to be with Sirius means that Hainas is also a member of the Aurora Society."
"I used this clue to properly tell my captain about Sirius, and followed the clue all the way to the 'Dragon Bar'. Finally, I learned from the bar owner that Sirius had been looking for documents and items related to the main peak of Honachis."
Honakis? Honakis again?
Caroline chewed on this word she had heard before. Although this mountain range was a famous mountain range that spanned several countries in the northern continent, it appeared too frequently.
"Do these bad guys like to use the Honachis Mountains to make a fuss? The fake iron mine that Lanevus fabricated before was also in Honachis."
Caroline complained to Klein.
"Maybe there is some kind of charm in such ancient places..."
Klein said, taking Caroline to the counter where the librarian was.
Taking a step forward, Klein took out his ID and badge in front of several administrators who looked puzzled.
"I'm a trainee inspector in the Special Operations Division of the Ahowa County Police Department. I hope you can cooperate with me in investigating something."
Klein spoke fluently and skillfully, looking like a detective from a police movie.
Sure enough, as soon as the administrators saw Klein's identity, their expressions immediately became serious, and they simply ignored Caroline next to them.
"Old Zhou, I think you should change into a suit that better suits your identity as a trainee inspector. You look more like a gang undercover than a sir…" Caroline leaned close to Klein's ear and whispered teasingly.
Klein twitched his lips and replied:
"Custom-made suits are very expensive. If you can, buy them for me..."
Caroline laughed and returned to her seat.
Klein didn't think much about it. He displayed all the relevant information about Sirius Arypis and asked several librarians about his situation.
The librarians were obviously good citizens of Tingen, and in response to the request of an inspector, they quickly looked up Sirius' identity information and residential address from the book borrowing records.
19 Howles Street... just on the same block as the Divination Club!
"All the clues are connected..."
Klein's thoughts surged, and he slowly tightened the handle of his cane.
The original unfortunate classmate Welch lived on Howle Street, and Sirius also lived on Howle Street. The two were from the same class.
And Henas was a member of the Divination Club, a member of the Aurora Society, and a friend of Sirius, so it was natural for Welch to know Henas and complete the transaction of the Antigonus family notes with the two of them.
After confirming this information, Klein, as a trainee inspector, gave some instructions to the librarians to help keep an eye on Sirius.
Then he turned and walked out of the library with Caroline.
"Are you going to send the Nighthawks out to capture Sirius?"
Caroline took a few quick steps and asked Klein.
"Well, Sirius is a member of the Aurora Society. The danger he possesses is simply too great. This is not something we should do."
"Can you first find a surveillance point near Howls Street to see if Sirius really lives there and help observe his movements."
Crane made a request to Caroline.
"No problem. I'm good at monitoring people."
Caroline made an "OK" gesture to Klein, then quickened her pace and left the library first.
Klein's pace gradually slowed down as he thought about Sirius's next possible move.
Sirius set up an explosive array in the steel company, but Caroline's "report" said that no one had discovered him, which means that he will not deliberately hide next, but he will definitely not do anything else.
Therefore, there is no possibility of expecting the other party to show up on his own initiative. Although he still has books to return, I think as long as he has a little bit of brains, he will not show up casually.
There are no clues at the library. From now on, it depends on Caroline's surveillance and the Night Watchers' investigation.
Klein was thinking as he was about to leave the library.
He raised his head and saw a man walking towards him with his collar pulled up high and a relaxed and casual gait.
Klein passed by him and took a quick glance, but he saw some facial features on the man.
Thick eyebrows, gray-blue eyes...
This, this is the facial feature of Sirius Arypis, this person is Sirius!
Klein stopped moving instantly. He had no idea that Sirius had the guts to walk around outside.
Calm down, this is actually a good thing. At least Sirius hasn't fled Tingen like Lanevus did.
As long as he is still here, then as long as the Nighthawks catch him, maybe we can...
Klein's thoughts were surging with excitement. Suddenly, he heard the librarians' terrified and hoarse shouts behind him:
"Officer! The suspect is here!"
Klein's body instantly went cold. At this moment, he wished the citizens of Tingen could be smarter.
Without having time to think about it, Klein quickly turned around and pulled out a revolver from the holster under his armpit.
But Sirius Arypis's reaction was faster, and he didn't remain stunned for too long when he was suddenly recognized.
Although he was confused and surprised, his body had already moved under the drive of instinct.
He turned around and kicked his legs hard, as if he was starting a 50-meter sprint, and rushed towards the window on the side of the library.
Klein immediately realized that he was trying to escape by jumping out of the window!
"Puff! Bang!"
Without hesitation, Klein immediately pulled the trigger twice.
The first blank round was skipped and the second live round was fired as expected.
The sound of the first blank bullet startled Sirius and he jumped into the air, trying to dodge the bullet and escape out the window.
But this provided Klein with the opportunity to hit with the second live bullet.
Klein had already anticipated the trajectory of Sirius's movements, and his demon-hunting bullet flew straight towards Sirius's back in mid-air.
"Crack!"
Sirius smashed the window, glass fragments flew in the air, and a little blood splashed.
Klein's bullet still lost a little bit of its aim and only hit Sirius' shoulder.
Seeing Sirius escape out of the window, he gritted his teeth, ran to the window, stepped on the table and jumped out of the window that was opened by Sirius.
As soon as he landed and stood firm, Klein's eyes immediately locked onto Sirius, who was running towards an alley behind the library.
Although the latter was shot, the bullet hit his shoulder and did not have much impact on his speed.
On the contrary, perhaps due to the surge of adrenaline caused by fear, Sirius was running at a speed that was difficult to catch up with.
Fuck! If I had known, I wouldn't have let Caroline go first!
Klein is a "fortune teller" and his physical fitness has not been improved much by the potion, but Caroline is different. She is a "hunter" and with her superhuman qualities, it is easy for her to chase Sirius.
But it was too late to say anything now. Klein, who was not good at running, could only chase after Sirius.
Seeing that Sirius was about to rush into the alley, Klein took a step forward, stomped hard on the ground to stop his body's inertia, raised his revolver and aimed at Sirius's torso, which had the largest area, and fired a shot.
Just as Klein was about to pull the trigger, just before Sirius rushed into the alley... an iron rod suddenly swung out from the alley without any warning!
Sirius was totally unprepared for this situation. He was hit hard in the face by the iron rod without any preparation.
The iron rod was so powerful and hard that Sirius was completely hit by it, his brain went blank, his nose was crooked, his saliva was flying, and his whole body was numb.
His legs were still trying to run forward, but his upper body was falling backwards due to the swinging.
And at this moment, Klein, who also suddenly saw this situation, unconsciously pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The sharp demon-hunting bullet flew out of the barrel and flew towards Sirius irretrievably.
"puff!"
Klein was originally aiming at Sirius' lower back, but because Sirius fell suddenly, the bullet hit his head directly.
The bullet penetrated his crown and Sirius' body stiffened instantly.
After a few final twitches, Sirius rolled his eyes vigorously, drooling from his mouth, and fell limply to the ground, losing his voice.
"this..."
Klein looked at Sirius who was lying on the ground in astonishment. He then saw Caroline, clutching an iron rod, walking out of the alleyway he had been planning to run into with a look of shock on her face.Chapter 121 Midsummer NightTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3010 words Update time: 2025-06-13 13:08:36
Caroline looked at Sirius Arypis's body gradually becoming quiet on the ground, and she and Klein stared at each other in astonishment and embarrassment.
After a while, she quietly walked out from the back of the alley, holding the iron rod in her hand and explaining:
"I noticed this guy's appearance when I left just now. I didn't turn back because I was afraid of alarming him. I just watched the situation from outside. As a result, a conflict suddenly broke out in the library within a few seconds."
"I had no choice but to ambush outside. After I determined that this guy was about to escape into the alley from behind, I came over to intercept him. Who would have thought..."
"Who would have thought that I fired the bullet at that exact moment and accidentally killed him…" Klein adjusted his hat, put the revolver back into the gun bag under his armpit, and sighed.
Caroline stared at Sirius's body, replaying the series of actions in her mind.
From Sirius' sudden appearance to her ambush in the alley in advance, everything was very reasonable, except for this weird coincidence in the last link.
"Another coincidence..."
Caroline murmured softly, and Klein nodded as well.
"The coincidences are becoming more and more blatant, but the problem is that we have no idea who is behind this."
As he spoke, Klein grasped his cane and cautiously swung Sirius' body a few times from a distance to confirm that there was no dangerous residue on the other party's body.
Caroline walked silently to Klein's side, her eyes always focused on Sirius's body.
It would have been a very good hunt, if not for that unexpected coincidence at the end.
Suddenly encountering prey that was not planned, she made emergency arrangements based on the actual situation. She did not rashly join in Klein's direct pursuit, but observed from the dark, using the terrain and predicting the prey's behavior to launch an attack.
The "Hunter" is not only powerful in frontal assaults, but also has a very critical skill in setting traps in secret and launching unexpected raids on the prey's escape route.
Observe first, then seize every opportunity. The best time to hunt is when the prey is completely caught off guard.
As her thoughts surged, Caroline felt that her understanding of "Hunter" had become more profound.
At the same time, her potion seemed to have been digested to a certain extent.
Klein noticed that Caroline was slightly distracted. He was very familiar with this state, so he smiled bitterly and said:
"Did your potion get any better?"
Caroline came back to her senses and nodded slightly in response.
"At least there's some good news." Klein patted Caroline's shoulder and tapped Sirius' body with his cane.
Listening to the chaotic footsteps approaching from a distance, he said to Caroline:
"You should leave before the witnesses arrive. I will conduct spiritual communication with this guy's body later. Well, I will try to explain your situation to the Nighthawks. After all, there is no way to cover up this part."
"good..."
Caroline nodded and left the crime scene without hesitation.
...
In the evening, in the Tingen dock area, inside the Dragon Bar.
The bar was filled with noise and shouting, and the central ring was crowded with people. The strange smell of alcohol and sweat made people dizzy, and they were more easily infected by this atmosphere.
Io Bronson, who quite liked this atmosphere, was also among them, but he did not gather around the ring like the others.
This would make his clothes stained with too much sweat and stink, and it would be hard to explain to his family when he got home.
After taking a sip of beer, Io Bronson let out a long sigh and relaxed his thoughts.
In the dim light, the door of the bar was pushed open and new customers joined the bar.
This was a very normal phenomenon at this time of year, and Io just glanced at the door quickly.
"Red hair? That's really rare. There aren't many people with red hair in the whole of Loen..."
Io joked casually in his heart and did not pay too much attention to the visitor with unique hair color.
The latter walked slowly across the ring. He seemed to have no interest in this kind of occasion and came to the bar with a clear purpose.
"Give me a Southwell beer."
The red-haired man casually took out four copper coins and threw them on the bar.
Without even looking at him, the bartender skillfully put away the penny, turned around to get a glass of foamy wine, and handed it to the bar.
Having obtained the beer he wanted, the red-haired man was not in a hurry to enjoy it.
He tapped his fingers casually on the bar, his eyes wandering, and asked the bartender nonchalantly:
"Have you seen a woman behaving peculiarly lately?"
A woman with unique behavior?
Io Bronson, who was standing by, heard these words and his attention was unconsciously drawn to them.
The bartender behind the bar looked up at the red-haired man, then quickly lowered his head, concentrating on wiping the wine glass, and replied casually:
"I don't know."
The red-haired man chuckled and tapped his fingers on the bar a few more times.
"She should have light blond hair and behave like a bounty hunter, which should easily attract attention, right?"
However, the bartender still lowered his head and answered with an unchanged expression:
"No impression."
Light blond hair, bounty hunter... doesn't this describe Miss Cirilla?
Io Bronson immediately became alert. The beer in his mouth no longer smelled good, and the boxing ring in front of him no longer looked good.
This guy is looking for Miss Xiliya? What does he want to do?
Io couldn't determine the true purpose of this outsider, but his intuition told him that people who would come to a place like a bar with a clear purpose of looking for someone most likely wouldn't have any good intentions.
So he quickly put down the beer he had not finished, quietly went to the side of the ring under the cover of going to the toilet, and then quickly left the bar.
...
Sirius' death did not cause much commotion, which was clearly reflected in Caroline's "report".
The "report" only gave a brief description of Sirius' death, which was not much different from the other news.
Moreover, not long after the incident, Caroline, who had left the scene early, was summoned by Klein, and the two communicated above the gray fog.
According to him, he conducted spiritual communication with Sirius's body, but the communication was forced to be interrupted because of the "true creator" believed by the Aurora Society.
He just saw a pendant belonging to the "True Creator" and then he was shocked.
Caroline was shocked by this, but fortunately, Klein didn't seem to be too affected.
Of course, there was also good news. Klein obtained the formula for the Sequence 8 potion of the "Fortune Teller" pathway.
Caroline was very happy for Klein. After all, Klein took the potion earlier than her and digested it faster than her.
"I have to speed up my digestion..."
Caroline thought about it, put away the chaotic memories in her mind, and focused on the scene in front of her.
Her body was hidden in the shadows of the night, lying high on the roof of a house.
Below her was the side door of a ceramic factory. The lights inside the factory had begun to go out, but the strange smell lingering in the surrounding air had not been alleviated.
After waiting patiently, Caroline soon saw the figure she wanted to see walking out of the factory, surrounded by several people who looked like bodyguards and servants.
Frenson Maynard, the black-hearted factory owner who owed workers a large amount of wages!
After the incident with Lanevus ended, Caroline finally had a lot of free time to investigate him.
After several days of observation, Caroline finally determined part of his movement trajectory and judged that he would most likely appear here around eight o'clock in the evening.
"He left the factory at eight o'clock. Is he obsessed with his career, or is there some unknown secret in the factory..."
Caroline thought to herself as she watched Frenson get into a luxurious carriage waiting outside the factory, and then watched the carriage slowly drive out.
She did not plan to rush into the factory to investigate. After all, the space inside the factory was limited, while she had a wider view and space outdoors.
Watching the carriage gradually go away, Caroline quickly stood up and tracked the carriage's trajectory through the narrow roofs of the houses.
Frensen's final destination certainly wouldn't be too close, which meant Caroline had a long way to go.
The distance between the houses gradually increased, and it was no longer convenient for Caroline to use the roof to travel, so she slid down from the roof through the water pipe and continued to track on the ground.
She followed the carriage out of the South District, passed through the West District, and finally stopped outside a single-family house in the Golden Wutong District.
"My goodness, from the South District to the Golden Wutong District, this spans most of Tingen..." Caroline, panting, hid in the flowers beside the road.
As the most upscale area in Tingen, there is abundant greenery here, but it is not as good as the urban greenery in my hometown in my previous life.
Even for a "Hunter", such a long-distance raid would consume a lot of Caroline's physical strength.
She took deep breaths to ease the discomfort in her lungs and tried to remain silent as possible, using the cover of the bushes to look toward the single-family house.
Frenson slowly got out of the carriage and walked towards the main entrance of the house with several servants.
Soon, the door was opened, and through the window and the corner of the door, Caroline could barely see many people inside. It seemed that a party was taking place.
The person who came out of the gate to greet Frensen was a middle-aged man with well-groomed short blond hair and a slightly plump figure.
This person is... Councilman of Tingen, Frensen's uncle, Councilman John Maynard!Chapter 122 Your Circle is Really ChaoticTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3109 words Update time: 2025-06-13 18:03:45
"Congressman Maynard... So this is his home, and Frenson was invited to the party tonight..."
Caroline looked intently at the uncle and nephew who were meeting cordially in front of the door: Frenson seemed to have a bottle of wine in his hand, and Councilman Maynard gave him a warm hug, then separated them, patted Frenson on the shoulder, and seemed very happy to take the wine from the other's hand.
However, this was only the appearance on the surface. At least from their interactions, Caroline vaguely realized that Frenson and Senator Maynard were not very familiar with each other. Their relationship might at most be just an extension of the uncle-nephew bloodline.
Apart from this blood relationship, perhaps they are not even good friends.
"If Congressman Maynard, a member of the New Party who promoted the Tingen Poor Workers Subsidy Act, knew that his nephew had been in arrears of wages for several months, I wonder how he would feel about it..."
Caroline teased herself guiltily in her heart.
After waiting for Frenson and Councillor Maynard to enter the house, the carriage at the door also drove away from the scene, leaving only some guards standing outside the garden of the detached house. Caroline observed the deployment of the guards, quietly moved her position, and went around to the back of the house.
Here, she found a more convenient observation point. Through the window at the back of the house, she could directly observe some unknown scenes behind the front hall.
Holding the telescope with the focus adjusted, Caroline monitored the party in the house while beginning to think about what evidence would be that Frensen was unable to repay his wages.
The first and most direct thing, of course, is that Caroline was able to tell Frensen her actual situation in person. This is also related to the reason why he came to attend this party today. Maybe he came here to seek financial support from others?
As a well-known local councillor in Tingen, the participants who came to the party held by Councillor Maynard must be mostly upper-class people in Tingen. Even if Councillor Maynard himself did not know the situation of his nephew, Frensen could still use his uncle's reputation to gain some investment.
However, although this kind of evidence is direct, in this world without recording and cameras, even if Caroline caught the scene, she would not be able to produce actual physical evidence.
Even if she used this opportunity to find someone to expose Frensen's deeds, he would most likely not admit it, and those upper-class people who cooperated with him would probably cover up for him after thinking about it.
Therefore, what Caroline needs to get is actual physical evidence, such as the bills of several factories owned by Frensen...
"Will those things be kept in the factory office, or will Frensen carry them on his person for safer use..."
Caroline pondered, looking through the telescope, through the gaps in the structure of the house, watching the party inside.
The members who came to the party were all people of status and position, which could be seen from their exquisite tuxedos, gorgeous court dresses, and the decorations on their bodies.
Although in Backlund, there were even more exaggerated gatherings among the nobles, but for Tingen, this was already considered a very upper-class occasion.
However, even in the most upper-class occasions, there can be obscene things.
Among the beautiful girls at the party, Caroline noticed a lady who was brightly dressed, had cascading brown hair, and was quite beautiful.
Caroline didn't see her face at first, but was attracted by the large number of gentlemen surrounding her. Following the direction of several people and their dishonest gazes, she discovered this lady with smooth and fair skin and a very good figure.
And just as she was observing carefully, the lady turned around and let Caroline see her face.
I have to say, this is a very beautiful lady. The key is that her beauty seems not only in her appearance, but also in her indescribable unique charm.
This charm has an indescribable attraction, as if it is seducing others, making people instinctively want to do bad things to her and trample on her beauty and innocence.
Even Caroline was inexplicably attracted to her the first time she saw her. Although she had been living as a woman for more than half a month, it did not mean that her subconscious mind easily accepted the change.
Just by observing it, Caroline felt her heartbeat "thump". Fortunately, her current hardware conditions did not allow it, so no subsequent system events occurred.
"Oh my god...are there still ladies of this level in Tingen..."
Caroline quickly looked away, focused her attention, and calmed herself down a little.
If you think about it carefully, the lady's appearance is undoubtedly beautiful, but not to the level of top-notch beauty.
Caroline had seen a top-notch beauty before, Miss Audrey Hall.
The beauty and attraction of this lady, surrounded by gentlemen, were strange, and Caroline could not explain the reason.
"Let's focus on something else. Where is Frensen now?"
Caroline shifted her gaze and looked around with the telescope before she found Frensen in the next room, which should be a study.
He was holding a wine glass and talking to a younger gentleman in front of him. Judging from Frensen's expression, he seemed very calm and relaxed.
Maybe he is now looking for someone to save his capital chain, but Caroline will not risk eavesdropping.
Caroline observed quietly that Frensen seemed to be talking happily with the gentleman. The two raised their glasses and clinked them lightly, and the gentleman left the study.
However, after the other person left, the smile that Frensen had just had disappeared immediately. He had a stern face, gritted his teeth and said something in an unidentified manner.
"It seems that the investment talks have collapsed~"
Caroline sneered with a gloating look. She didn't think that Frensen would use the investment money to repay the workers. The day his capital chain was not relieved, the more flaws he would reveal.
Under Caroline's surveillance, she saw Frenson standing in the study, taking a breath, then turned around and walked out with a relaxed gesture.
She hurriedly followed Frensen's actions, watching him pass through the lobby, greet someone, then go up the stairs to the second floor and enter a deserted guest room with slightly drawn curtains far away from the lobby on the first floor.
"What is this for, is he ready to take off the flight...?"
Caroline was lost in thought, when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a graceful figure walking up the stairs.
It's that charming lady!
Caroline looked in that direction, but due to the obstruction of the walls of the house, she could only see some of the scenes at the stairwell on the second floor through a window next to the stairs.
Just as the lady walked up to the second floor, Caroline saw the host of the party, Congressman Maynard, just coming down from the third floor.
The two seemed to be somewhat familiar with each other, and Caroline saw Councilman Maynard greet the lady enthusiastically.
Just when Caroline thought the two were about to separate, she saw the lady approaching Congressman Maynard and saying something. Then Congressman Maynard suddenly seemed to have lost his mind and hugged the lady tightly, rubbing his head against the lady's neck and face like a dog looking for mice in a corn pile.
This...it seems that Senator Maynard has a wife...
Caroline widened her eyes and watched as Congressman Maynard even pushed the lady against the wall, and his rude action did not cause any displeasure on the other party.
On the contrary, judging from the lady's expression, she seemed…she seemed to be enjoying it very much…!
Caroline was speechless and she politely looked away.
However, Congressman Maynard's enthusiasm did not last long. The lady said something to him, and Congressman Maynard let go of her with a lack of interest and turned down the stairs.
The lady did not stay there either. She simply adjusted her clothes and then walked towards a certain direction on the second floor.
Wait, this direction seems to be...
Caroline suddenly realized what might happen next. She looked towards the guest room where Frenson was with some difficulty and anticipation.
Don't tell me, please don't tell me this will be the case...
Unfortunately, not long after, Caroline saw Frensen open the door, and the lady was standing outside.
She walked into the guest room with a smile on her face. Before she could say anything, Frensen locked the door impatiently and hugged her from behind.
Frenson's actions were far wilder, more unrestrained, and more unconcealed than those of Congressman Maynard, who was just hindered by the environment at the stairs. Even the lady looked very cooperative and very impatient.
So Caroline saw such a horrible scene, two opposite sexes were touching each other, and as they moved, pieces of clothing flew off one after another quickly, and in the end only two white bodies were left entangled together.
"..."
Caroline was silent. She had not expected that the family relationships of Congressman Maynard, who looked so bright and handsome, would be so... casual.
"I guess most of the time tonight will be watching movies that are not suitable for children. I'd better try to start the search from Frensen's factory..."
So Caroline didn't stay for too long. She roughly took note of the appearances of several people who had interacted with Frensen at the party, and then hurriedly left the scene.
...
After Caroline left, the original negotiations in the guest room continued.
However, Mrs. Sharon under Frenson seemed to be a little out of shape.
She subconsciously looked at the curtains that were not completely closed. Through that tiny gap, her eyes became focused and sharp.
"Ha, ha...what's wrong..."
Frenson asked, breathing heavily.
Mrs. Sharon was distracted for a moment, but soon looked back at Frenson and said with a sweet smile:
"nothing."