Tap, tap, tap.
The horse's hooves moved, the wheels rolled, Klein activated "Soul Vision" and turned to look around. But he failed to see the gentle and charming young lady as he had hoped. His eyes were filled with the scene of the brown carriage moving forward.
At this moment, all the passengers who wanted to take the public carriage at this stop had already boarded, the door was tightly closed, and they were gradually moving away.
Inside the carriage, twenty or thirty humans were sitting closely together, their energy fields overlapping and obscuring each other. In Klein's eyes, it was like a colorful and dazzling array, truly difficult to distinguish.
He silently shook his head, raised his hand to tap his temple, and turned off "Soul Vision".
For him, just now it was a simple sentiment of helping if one encountered a situation, but if it was already missed, the situation wasn't particularly clear, so there was no need to constantly worry and delay the matter itself.
Bathed in the crimson moonlight, along the still busy Narcissus Street at this time, Klein strolled back home. He saw Melissa sitting at the dining table, working on the school assignment under the bright gas lamp.
She gently bit the pen tip, furrowed her eyebrows, and was deeply thinking.
"Where is Benson?" Klein asked casually.
"Oh..." Melissa raised her head, stared blankly for a few seconds before saying, "He said he visited several districts today, got so tired that he's sweating all over, and he wants to take a good bath to relax."
"All right." Klein smiled and suddenly noticed that Melissa was wearing a dress he had never seen before.
It was overall light white, with fashionable sheep's leg sleeves, the collar and the edges of the lapel were decorated with thin lace ruffles, and there were no overly complicated designs. It belonged to the light and casual type, perfectly highlighting the youthful charm of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.
"New dress?" Klein asked with a smile.
This was the expense that he and Benson had strongly requested to settle.
Melissa "mhm"ed:
"I just got it from Mrs. Rochelle. I thought since it would definitely need to be washed, it might as well be tried on first."
Klein listened with considerable confusion and said:
"Mrs. Rochelle?"
Isn't that the previous neighbor?
Melissa nodded and explained seriously:
"Mrs. Rochelle is actually a tailor. Just unlucky, she had to sew clothes for others at home. Her life is, um, a bit tough. I know her skills are good, the price is cheaper than buying from a ladies' clothing store, and it fits well. I ordered a new dress from her, only 9 shillings and 5 pence. It will only take a few days. For the same style of dress, at Harrods Department Store, it will cost a full 1 pound and a half!"
So thrifty... Girl, I know, at least half of the reason is your sympathy for Mrs. Rochelle... Klein didn't criticize Melissa's self-initiated action, but instead smiled and said:
"When did you go to Harrods Department Store?"
It was in the Hales neighborhood, near the Divination Club, a place that at least the middle class could afford to consume. "..." Melissa was momentarily at a loss for words. It took her a long while to say, "It's Selina and Elizabeth. I must let me accompany them. Actually, well, I actually prefer gears, and I prefer places with steam and machinery. Um."
"Girls sometimes go shopping at department stores, well, that's fine." Klein smiled and comforted his sister.
After a few casual conversations, he hurriedly went upstairs to wash off the smell of the bar.
Just as he was about to go back to his own bedroom to get his change of clothes, he suddenly heard some noises coming from the bathroom near the small balcony.
In just a few seconds, Benson, while wiping the receding hair, opened the door and came out.
"How is it? Did you compliment Melissa's new dress?" He glanced at Klein and asked with a smile.
"I guess I forgot. I just asked where it was made..." Klein thought for a moment and said.
Benson immediately shook his head in disbelief:
"That really incompetent brother of yours! Melissa just got that long dress, she couldn't bear to take it off. She finished cooking the dishes and washing the bowls, and immediately couldn't wait to put it on. She hasn't taken it off yet." "... "Wasn't she planning to change after taking a bath? Why not do the laundry and hang it up at the same time..." Klein subconsciously replied, using the explanation given by Melissa.
"Ah." Benson sighed, "It's been quite hot these days. She's been working in the kitchen for so long. I think it will be much more comfortable for her to do her homework after taking a bath."
That makes sense... Klein suddenly understood and smiled at his brother Benson.
So that's how Melissa is... There's nothing wrong with girls being beautiful. There's no need to find excuses to embellish... He raised his lips slightly, shook his head, and walked into his own bedroom.
After taking a bath, Klein vaguely heard a knock on the door downstairs. His heart immediately began to race with worry:
Doesn't the staff member who takes out the coins from the gas meter come once every two weeks?
Could it be Mrs. Shad from the next door? No, this lady is said to strictly follow the etiquette of the middle class and wouldn't visit at an inappropriate time.
In confusion, Klein dried his body, put on his old but comfortable shirt and trousers, and ran downstairs with a quick pace.
He looked around and didn't spot any strangers, so he asked aloud:
"Was there someone knocking on the door just now?"
Benson, who was leisurely reading the newspaper, smiled and said:
"It's Bich Monbatton, one of the police officers in Iron Cross Street, asking if we encountered a round-faced boy around eighteen or nineteen years old today. Oh, he even gave us a portrait for identification. Alas, neither I nor Melissa have seen him, so we won't be able to get the reward. How about you, Klein?"
"There wasn't any," Klein probably understood what was going on.
"Conspirator" Tris successfully escaped from the area of the evil dragon bar in the dock district and reached the vicinity of Iron Cross Street and Narcissus Street. Thus, the police came to inquire.
And reaching this point also indicates that the operation to capture the "instigator" is approaching failure!
Klein didn't dwell on this matter any further because he hadn't yet started his combat training and shooting skills were only just beginning. Considering dealing with the innate "assassin" at this time was like playing with one's life.
That night, he slept restlessly, constantly worrying that the "instigator" would sneak into his home to hide and create another bloodshed.
Fortunately, Water Lily Street remained peaceful throughout the night, and the morning sunlight dispelled all the gloom.
Relaxing, Klein put on his formal attire, put on a top hat, and carried a walking stick, and made his way to Zotlan Street, greeting Rosanne at the reception hall.
"Good morning, Klein," Rosanne responded cheerfully, lowering her voice, "I heard that the big operation last night failed?"
"The operation to capture the instigator Tris?" Klein asked curiously in response.
"Uh-huh!" Rosanne nodded emphatically, glanced at the partitioned area and said, "It seems that the informant of the Punisher Squad discovered the 'instigator' in the dock area... Originally, their plan was to wait for the arrival of the other extraordinary individuals and a special police action team from the department before launching the operation, hoping to resolve it and not disturb the ordinary people. Unfortunately, the 'instigator' was very perceptive and promptly discovered the problem and broke through in advance, successfully escaping."
"At this time, they needed an extraordinary individual with tracking abilities, like me," Klein joked.
"At that time, there wasn't a shortage of trackers," suddenly, Dunn Smith's voice rang out.
Rosanne turned sharply, saw the captain wearing a black windbreaker, leaning lightly against the partition door frame, and was staring at her with deep gray eyes.
She hurriedly raised her hands, covered her mouth, and repeatedly shook her head, indicating that she hadn't said anything.
Dunn shifted his gaze, turned to Klein, thought for a moment, and said:
"The Punisher, Mechanical Heart, and our Night Watchers, a total of over six extraordinary individuals, tracked the injured Tris to the lower street of Iron Cross Street and discovered his temporary residence. However, the clues ended here. Whether through extraordinary means or normal investigation, they lost their effect. He seemed to have vanished suddenly, completely disappearing."
"Would you like me to use divination to help?" Klein tentatively asked.
Dunn shook his head slightly:
"The Heart of Machinery has a 'Secret Seeker', who is a very experienced extraordinary being not much inferior to Old Neil. I even suspect that he is already at sequence 8, but I'm not sure what the corresponding potion is called."
"The Knowledge of the Spirit can be passed down to this day, so there must be something special about it." Klein casually comforted the captain.
For the entire morning that followed, he continued with the mysticism course, continued reading historical materials and documents, and continued practicing certain skills, just as he had done before.
Seeing that lunchtime was approaching, Klein gradually became distracted.
After a few more minutes, he simply gathered up the materials and listened to his stomach's call.
Just then, Dunn Smith, the secretary, came to the civilian staff office, speaking in a low and gentle voice:
"Klein, you and I are going to check out the Charnis Gate. The sealing object '2-049' has been escorted to its destination. The subsequent actions may require your perception of that notebook." "... "OK." Klein stood up and replied.
His thoughts in his mind began to swirl, wondering what the sealing object looked like, and whether this mission would be dangerous.
In this slightly tense silence, he followed Dunn down the stairs and into the corridor.
After going straight through the crossroads, Dunn suddenly stopped, turned his head to the side, and said seriously:
"Follow me and do this movement. Keep doing it, absolutely not stop. Don't forget, absolutely not stop. This is related to your safety!"
While speaking, Dunn bent his arms, then stretched them out, stretched them out again, and then bent them back, repeating this cycle continuously without interruption.
Klein stared blankly at the captain's demonstration. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his mind and he said:
"Because of the special nature of that sealing object?"
"Yes," Dunn nodded with unusual seriousness, "This kind of movement can enable us to detect your problem at the earliest moment, and timely rescue will not pose any risk to your life."
"Um." Klein didn't hesitate any longer and followed suit to perform the "bending and stretching arms" movement.
"If this arm gets tired, then switch to the other one." Dunn added one more instruction.
"2-049" The sealing object is really strange... What's the significance of this kind of movement? It looks very dangerous... Klein's thoughts flickered, and he looked at the captain carefully and said:
"OK."
He had too many questions in his mind, but since the Charnis Gate was in sight, he had to forcibly endure it.
Besides, considering my confidentiality level, it's estimated that I won't be able to know the details. I can only do as I'm told... Klein let out a breath and followed Dunn, the captain, to the duty room outside the Charnis Gate.