After impulsively agreeing to Klein's invitation, Angel regretted it not long after.
Carefully recalling the details of the conversation, she realized Klein's purpose might have simply been to thank her for helping during the battle and for assisting in "lying" to conceal some facts.
And not the "confession meeting" she had imagined.
But since she had already given a verbal promise, Angel did not intend to go back on it. She would just treat it as social interaction between colleagues...
She comforted herself this way in her heart.
——————
After resolving the "Antigonus Family Notebook" incident, the Tingen City Nighthawks team suddenly had nothing to do. Apart from routine patrols and sentry duties, most members lounged in the lounge or reception room, either reading newspapers or chatting idly.
Angel had only just become a full member this week and had not yet been assigned the duty of guarding the "Chanis Gate." Originally, today's plan was to patrol the cemetery in the northern outskirts with Miss Roye, but Roye had taken a carriage to send the Backlund Nighthawks team to the steam train station and had not returned.
Not wanting to waste time waiting idly, Angel went to the base's basement to collect some alchemical materials and handgun bullets from Old Neil, and began crafting special ammunition in the dim alchemy room.
Since joining the Nighthawkss and being issued "Demon Hunter Bullets," her need for "Storm Gathering" ammunition had greatly decreased. Although the latter had better penetration and damage than the standard Demon Hunter Bullets, they were time-consuming and labor-intensive to make, and also wasted precious extraordinary materials in the warehouse. She had rarely crafted them these past few days.
In contrast, "Phosphorous Burst," this type of auxiliary bullet, was something she urgently felt the need to carry with her after yesterday's fight with the Tuxedo Clown .
Among the Beyonders in this world, abilities to hide one's form were not rare. At least those she had seen included Madam Sharon the "Witch" and the Tuxedo Clown of an unknown Sequence.
The benefits of invisibility in battle went without saying, and "Phosphorous Burst," which scattered glowing powder to reveal them, was the best countermeasure.
Having prepared the materials in the alchemy room, Angel skillfully began crafting "Phosphorous Burst."
She heated the bullet, melted the adhesive, removed and discarded the bullet head, emptied the gunpowder, treated the shell's surface with wax, and then used a ritual knife to carefully carve complex runes and prayers, finally drawing the holy emblem of the Evernight Goddess.
Although the Church of the Evernight Goddess had not yet asked her to hand over the production method for special bullets—only collecting some samples—Angel had already prepared for this in advance. Therefore, she did not use English prayers, but rather the localized Hermes language as a substitute.
She then soaked the treated shells in a prepared etching solution. Soon, the acidic liquid corroded the unprotected engraved parts into deep grooves. Next, she filled these indentations with Mandrake essence to complete the spirituality-storing talisman.
After finishing a batch of etched shells, Angel mixed powdered glowing lizard scales treated with nitric acid, calcium carbide, and gunpowder, and reloaded them into the shells. The bullet heads couldn't use hard copper-lead bullets, but had to use similarly processed soft wax-composite heads.
These bullets would quickly ignite and explode in the air upon firing, scattering phosphorous powder across the area and exposing enemies within.
"Phosphorous Burst" didn't require much spirituality, but the craftsmanship was complex and had a low success rate—especially the rune carving and etching parts. A small mistake could ruin the entire shell, requiring a fresh start.
Perhaps it was due to working in an unfamiliar environment or her mind being distracted, but discarded shells had already piled into a small mountain nearby, with only about ten successful ones. Most were small caliber, but since she still had plenty of .45 caliber bullets, she crafted a few large-caliber ones too.
She seemed to hear faint conversation from outside the door. Angel instinctively tilted her head to listen, and her hand slipped with the ritual knife. A new ugly scratch appeared across the Scarlet Moon on the Night Goddess' emblem, ruining another processed shell.
As the voices grew closer, she sighed quietly to herself—clearly today she wouldn't be able to keep working.
She poured the now-murky etching liquid down the drain, tossed the discarded shells and materials into the trash, sorted the tools, and carefully wrapped the finished "Phosphorous Burst" rounds in oil paper and stored them in a metal bullet box. Rubbing her sore shoulders, she left the alchemy room.
Sure enough, there were two people standing outside—the voices she had heard earlier had come from them.
The one in a trench coat and silk top hat was Dunn Smith. Seeing someone exit the alchemy room, he nodded toward the other man—a middle-aged man in a black priest robe—across from him. "I understand."
The man said nothing, only tapped his right hand on his chest in succession, drawing a Scarlet Moon, then lowered his head and hurried away.
"Who was that?"
Watching the man walk away from the crossroad in the basement passage, Angel asked.
"That pathways leads to St. Selena Church. If the cathedral has an emergency but can't reach us, they send a telegram to the church, and someone comes to inform us."
Dunn answered evasively, retracting his gaze from the passage end and looking at Angel.
"There's an emergency mission. The cathedral sent a telegram earlier, but our receiver often malfunctions and doesn't get the message. So, they sent it to St. Selena instead."
Dunn removed his top hat, tucked it under his left arm, revealing neatly combed brown hair. His eyes flickered, as if deep in thought.
Once his gaze returned to Angel, he continued:
"Before noon tomorrow, you need to arrive at 26 First Avenue, Golden Apple District, Enmat Port. That's the base of the Enmat Port Nighthawkss. It's easy to find—right across from St. George's Church."
"Once there, find Captain Bell Clement of the Enmat team. He'll tell you what to do next. Just follow his instructions."
Enmat Port? Emergency mission?
Angel looked into Dunn's eyes, trying to find some clue, but he only returned her gaze calmly—his gray eyes as tranquil as a still lake.
"Alright, I understand."
She nodded. Since the order had been given, as a full member of the Nighthawkss, she had no right to refuse. Still, Angel asked her question.
"But why me?"
As if expecting the question, Dunn waved his hand and walked ahead toward the basement exit. Angel followed behind him.
"The Tingen City Labor Mutual Aid Society's human trafficking case has made progress. The root is in Enmat Port. The telegram didn't specify details, but they need a large number of people for the operation. The Enmat team is about the same size as ours, and even full mobilization isn't enough. So not only Tingen, but other nearby cities with Nighthawks teams are sending people."
"As for why you..." Dunn turned his head slightly, revealing a faint smile. "You were the first to discover this case. The credit should be yours."
Seeing Angel's skeptical expression, he added:
"Of course, there's another reason. Most Nighthawkss are Beyonders on the 'Sleepless' or 'Corpse Collector' pathwayss. They need different types of powers."
That made more sense...
In the Tingen Nighthawks team, aside from new members Angel and Klein, there were seven Beyonders. Except for Old Neil the "Seer" who had gone into administrative work, the rest were all on the "Sleepless" or "Corpse Collector" pathwayss. This certainly reflected the Night Goddess Church's extraordinary legacy, but the potion choices were clearly specialized.
It was likely other cities had similar pathways distributions in their Nighthawks teams. Sending another from the same pathways wouldn't help much.
"I see. But for a cross-regional case like this, temporarily assembling unfamiliar Nighthawkss to work together—can we really guarantee combat effectiveness? Wouldn't it be better to form a dedicated team in advance for such tasks..."
"It's good that you thought of that."
Dunn nodded approvingly. He carefully chose his words before replying:
"There is an elite team within the Nighthawkss. Their distinctive feature is that they wear bright red gloves, so we usually call them the 'Red Gloves.'"
"The Red Gloves' task is to support Nighthawkss in other cities at any time, resolve crises beyond the capabilities of a single team, and hunt cross-regional extraordinary criminals. This human trafficking case involves multiple secret organizations, covering the counties of Jianhai, Ahowa, and Eastchester. It should've been handled by them, but the Red Gloves are occupied with another mission and can't return in time, so the cathedral decided to temporarily summon Nighthawkss from each area."
The two had now passed the crossroad and returned to the spiral staircase leading to the Blackthorn Security Company. Dunn stopped at the stairway entrance. The flickering light cast his shadow unsteadily.
"That's all I know. The rest you can ask Clement about once you reach Enmat Port."
He pulled his hat from under his arm and placed it back on his head.
"They require arrival within 24 hours—before noon tomorrow. You can leave this afternoon, but I suggest preparing thoroughly and heading out early tomorrow. Any ammo or supplies you need can be picked up from the armory. Use theirs once you arrive in Enmat."
While Dunn gave these somewhat tedious instructions, Angel nodded repeatedly. Seeing he wasn't going upstairs, she ascended alone toward the surface.
"Three... two... one..."
She deliberately slowed her pace, counting silently in her mind.
"Wait a second."
As expected, Dunn's voice called from behind.
"Captain, is there something else?"
She forced a smile and turned back to ask.
"Hmm... Go to Madam Orianna and get your bounty advance—that's the 50 pounds from the police wanted list that belongs to you. Use it as funding for this mission. Reimburse the rest based on actual expenses after you return."
Seemingly afraid he'd have to call again, Dunn immediately pressed down his hat and turned toward the "Chanis Gate."