At an unknown small hotel, Luo En spent one su le to rent a room, which served as a temporary place to stay.
"Everything that happened tonight was an accident."
Luo En used a pendulum to perform a divination. Everything that happened tonight was too bizarre, forcing him to be cautious.
"Everything that happened tonight was an accident."
...
After silently repeating it a few times, Luo En slowly opened his eyes.
The pendulum rotated slightly clockwise, indicating affirmation.
"Is it just a coincidence?" Luo En pondered the result of the divination.
Previously, his divinations, even after becoming a Beyonder, could only be considered a skill.
However, the Robot's divination had essentially become part of its ability.
While it might not be as proficient as a Seer, it was definitely a significant leap compared to previous effects.
Therefore, Luo En still trusted this result very much.
It could only be said that there was nothing new under the sun; although absurd, it wasn't illogical... Luo En nodded, accepting the night's experience.
Now it was time to deal with the second matter.
Under the dim light of the gas lamp, Luo En carefully examined the revolver in front of him.
The originally pitch-black gun body was now coated with a layer of silvery-gray illusory patterns, faintly visible in the dim light.
His thumb unconsciously stroked the gun's cylinder; the metal, which should have been cold, carried a warmth like body temperature.
He inexplicably brought his nose close to the muzzle, smelling a sweet scent that, mixed with the gun oil, was strangely intoxicating.
"No, this thing is too eerie."
Realizing something was wrong, Luo En quickly shook his head and stepped back a few paces.
He truly hadn't expected to be tempted by a handgun when he wasn't paying attention.
"Is it because it's a handgun that I wasn't as wary?"
After a moment of thought, Luo En decided to use divination to confirm the gun's effects. He didn't use the monocle; on one hand, he had been busy all day and his spirituality was a bit low.
On the other hand, and most importantly, after becoming a Robot, a lot of knowledge related to divination surged into his mind. He guessed it was related to the Robot's abilities.
He planned to use this opportunity to try it out.
Based on the knowledge in his mind, he began to attempt Dream Divination, which he most wanted to try.
...
A moment later, Luo En slowly opened his eyes. Through divination, he roughly understood the gun's effects.
This gun had the characteristic of being able to fire without needing bullets.
As long as spirituality was injected, it could fire. The bullets it shot would randomly choose one of three effects: black flames, ice, or silk thread binding, and all three types of bullets possessed a curse effect.
However, it also had negative effects: it would continuously tempt the user, causing the user to develop strange feelings for it.
After prolonged use, the user would become mesmerized by it, no longer caring about anything else. At the same time, this temptation also had a chance of affecting people around the holder.
Moreover, it seemed to be affected by some kind of resentment; each shot had a chance of misfiring.
There's a chance of a dud? Does it depend on luck too...? Luo En, somewhat unsure of his luck, paid close attention to this negative effect.
"If my luck is bad, is it possible that I won't be able to fire a single shot?"
"It shouldn't be that bad..."
"Forget it, at least there aren't any particularly severe side effects."
"Let's get to business first."
Putting down the pistol, Luo En took out paper and pen and began to get down to business.
He was thinking about how to write a qualified report letter.
...
Inside Blackthorn Security Company.
Several members of this operation were injured, and the atmosphere in the company was somewhat subdued.
"How is Ke Enli?" Seeing that Ke Enli was not present, Luo Yao, who had just completed his patrol mission, asked.
"The situation is not good. Although he wasn't critically injured, his last surprise attack was too reckless. His waist was severely injured, and he'll probably be bedridden for a long time," Acting Captain Frey replied.
Upon hearing this, Rosanne exclaimed, "How could this be? He still has a wedding!"
Everyone present fell silent.
In the subdued atmosphere, Leonard spoke:
"Actually, this outcome isn't too bad."
"In our subsequent search, we found Mrs. Sharon's body, so the objective of this operation has been achieved."
"And although we were all injured this time, no one died. This is already very fortunate."
He spoke in a relaxed tone, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yes, this is indeed very fortunate," Old Neil also spoke. He was the oldest person present and the most experienced among all the Nighthawks currently.
His words carried a lot of weight.
"This time, it was my fault. I didn't expect such an accident to occur," Acting Captain Frey suddenly said.
"No, this was just an accident. No one could have predicted this situation."
"Leonard is right, no one expected to encounter that group of people."
"Actually... I feel like the group of people we encountered today seems somewhat familiar," Klein, who had been silent, spoke up.
"Hmm? Really?" Frey looked at Klein.
...
Let's go back to an earlier time.
The night the Nighthawks team took Sealed Artifact 2-049 to apprehend Ryell Bieber.
That day, Ryell Bieber lost control and turned into a Monster, and the Nighthawks team subsequently engaged in a fierce battle with him.
Due to an accident, Klein inadvertently fell within the range of Sealed Artifact 2-049, the Antigonus Family's Puppet.
After successfully saving himself through the gray fog, Klein saw the scene before him.
That Hermes Society Clown in a tailcoat was negotiating with him, asking him to help him acquire the Antigonus Family's notebook.
However, before he could do anything more, he heard a "bang" of a gunshot.
The tailcoat Clown immediately fell into a pool of blood.
Klein heard two sets of hurried footsteps approaching him.
"Boss, this person seems to be controlled by their own Sealed Artifact," the Circus Clown glanced at Klein.
"We're lucky. I didn't expect the Nighthawks and the Hermes Society people to suffer mutual losses," the Magician nodded, in a good mood.
The Circus Clown kicked the corpse of the Hermes Society Clown in the tailcoat, then looked at Klein lying on the ground.
"Boss, should we kill him?"
What! Kill me!
Hearing this, Klein, who was "playing dead" on the ground, instantly lost his composure, and countless cold sweats formed on his forehead.
"Don't move," the Magician stopped his subordinate.
"He's a Nighthawk, and he's already controlled by their own Sealed Artifact. Let's not cause any extra trouble."
Killing a Hermes Society member could at most be considered a case of "dog eat dog," but killing an Official would be completely different in nature. If you add the Beyonder identity, it could be considered a terrorist attack.
For wild Beyonders, unless absolutely necessary, they must never act against Official Beyonders.
The retaliation of the Official Church is often terrifying.
"He's lucky," the subordinate glanced at Klein, then asked his boss:
"Boss, what should we do next?"
"Hurry and support the other two. Our target is the Hermes Society's notebook."
"Don't we even want this guy's Beyonder characteristic?" The Circus Clown pointed at the Hermes Society member's corpse.
The Magician gently shook his head.
"The mission is more important."
...
...
Let's return to the present.
"You mean the group of people we encountered this time are the same ones who previously snatched the Antigonus notebook?"
"Yes, it's highly likely."
Klein nodded and continued:
"I barely remembered their figures at the time, and they are very similar to two of the people in the group we met today. Combined with their abilities, it can basically be confirmed that it's them."
After listening to Klein's account, Acting Captain Frey nodded.
"I didn't expect such a dangerous group of Beyonders to appear in Tingen."
"This matter has exceeded our capabilities. It's necessary to discuss it with the Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind."
"I'll go write a report first to report what happened tonight."
"Everyone, go rest."
...
After leaving the company, Klein walked home.
As he walked, he suddenly thought of a question: Why would Captain Dunn Smith suddenly go to Backlund under such severe circumstances?
Also, wasn't his progress with Mrs. Daily too fast?
Was it really just a coincidence?