Dark was Derrick's classmate during his general education and later a teammate in the patrol squad.
But after returning from exploring the half-destroyed temple of the "Fallen Creator," Dark lost his previous enthusiasm and cheerfulness, becoming very somber and only smiling at everyone.
Derrick was a little puzzled: Why did he suddenly come to see me?
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him: Elder Lovia knew that he suspected that they had undergone a change, so Dak came to test him.
Then Derrick realized that this was a good opportunity to clear his name!
After a brief moment of excitement, Derrick became somewhat nervous, as this was the first time he had implemented his plan and he didn't know if it would succeed.
Derrick took a deep breath, steadied himself, and quickly walked to the door, opening it.
Before my eyes came a slightly chubby boy with a bright smile: "Your quarantine has been lifted?"
As he spoke, he stepped aside to let Dak in, but dared not expose his back to his classmate and teammate.
"Yes." Darke walked to the table and sat down. "Didn't you say before that you were very interested in knowing about our exploration experience?"
Derrick hummed in agreement; he suddenly wasn't so keen to know anymore.
Dak smirked: "We found some strange plants at the bottom of the temple. They looked like mushrooms from the general education course. They were very brightly colored and looked very appetizing."
"It has been confirmed that they are safe to eat directly."
As he spoke, he took out a bright red mushroom from a small cloth bag.
Just seeing it made Derrick swallow hard, as if he hadn't eaten for days.
Dak said enthusiastically, "Here, have one."
"Okay, okay..." Derrick reached out and took it, barely managing to resist putting it in his mouth right then and there.
He tried to control himself: "I'll try it tomorrow."
At the same time, he warned himself in his heart, "I must not eat it! If I do, I might be corrupted by the 'fallen creator'!"
Derrick awkwardly changed the subject: "What discoveries were made on this expedition?"
"Yes!" Dak exclaimed immediately, "We've discovered some murals..."
Derrick felt disoriented, as if he couldn't resist picking up the mushroom and swallowing it. He realized he had to do something to get out of his current situation.
Thinking of this, he regained some of his composure, reviewed his previous plan, and then said to Dark, "Let me get you a glass of water."
Dak didn't say anything, he just nodded.
Derrick rose, and as he poured water, he deliberately slowed his movements, lowered his head, and began to recite the name of Mr. Fool: "A fool who does not belong to this age..."
"Your faithful servant begs for your attention;"
"Please accept his offering;"
"We pray that you will open the gates of the kingdom."
A sudden gust of wind swept through the room, and Dark looked sharply at Derrick: "What happened?"
Derrick did not answer. He picked up the "Hurricane Axe" with one hand and reached into his pocket with the other, dispelling the "Spiritual Wall" of the "All-Black Eye".
A faint, indistinct murmur and a sense of evil and depravity began to emanate from him. Dark's expression suddenly turned gloomy, and the fine veins in his blue eyes bulged outwards.
At this moment, the brightly colored mushrooms on the table no longer gave people a sense of appetite, and suddenly turned into a bloodstained scalp with short black hair.
Derrick felt a sudden urge to vomit when he thought about how he had almost swallowed the "mushroom." He suppressed the churning in his stomach and sang, "God, please send down your holy light here, give your believers courage, drive away the enemy, and drive away all evil."
The singing voice exuded warmth and holiness, basking Derrick in the sunlight, and his discomfort immediately disappeared.
Dark shielded his eyes from the sunlight, staring intently at the "All-Black Eye," repeatedly asking, "What's on you? What's on you...?"
Suddenly, Dak's flesh was stretched open, and strips of flesh swung around, making Dak look like a blood-red hedgehog.
Derrick raised his arm and swung down the "Hurricane Axe" he had been holding, striking Dark on the head.
Dark continued to stare at the location of the "All-Black Eye," screaming in agony, but his eyes refused to look away.
At this moment, the "Fool" responded by opening a phantom door with many strange patterns.
The shadow in the room suddenly stretched out and shouted at Derrick, "Stop! What are you doing!"
He sensed the power of that illusory gate, but he couldn't stop anything.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Derrick threw the "All-Black Eye" at the illusory gate. As the "All-Black Eye" disappeared, the gate, covered with strange symbols and signs, slammed shut with a "bang" and then vanished quickly.
Then, Derrick began his performance, deliberately contorting his facial muscles and coughing violently until he covered his mouth with his hand and collapsed to the ground.
The shadowy figure in the room first quickly took control of Dark, who had already turned into a monster, and then tried to cover Derrick. Just then, Derrick "fainted," and a strange little worm with twelve transparent rings appeared in his palm.
Klein, standing above the gray fog, slowly nodded, giving "Little Sun" a high score for his performance. It seemed that most of the suspicions against him could be cleared.
With that thought in mind, Klein looked away.
...
Backyard, 51 Henry Street, backyard of Gard Herbalist.
Odis returned to the real world. He sat quietly for a while, using his spiritual sense that no one was watching him, before taking out a portable spatial array and retrieving the gloves and extraordinary properties he had captured during the Battle of Kapin from the "Wilderness of Knowledge".
He touched the black glove with his hand and infused it with spirituality, allowing him to immediately sense the glove's layers.
When dividing the spoils, his spiritual perception proved to be remarkably accurate. The glove was indeed at Sequence 5, but Odis's level was too low to determine the glove's abilities and negative effects.
Since these gloves are no longer usable in Backlund, and after figuring out their rank, they were put back.
As for that extraordinary trait, it is a Sequence 7 level "Interrogator" trait.
We don't dare to use this feature right now; we'll just put it aside for now.
After putting away his spoils, Odis smiled slightly, thinking to himself: I actually made a profit from "The Fool".
That Sequence 5 glove alone is worth more than the three extraordinary properties that the Fool took.
Buzz buzz buzz~
A sudden, excruciating noise struck Odis's mind, making him feel dizzy. He quickly reached out and grabbed the table for support.
Fortunately, this uncomfortable feeling passed in a second or two, and the dizziness quickly disappeared. My mind seemed to be filled with some messy, unfamiliar, and incomprehensible things!
Knowledge comes to everyone!
Odis felt the pain of "knowledge chasing people" for the first time. No wonder "Star General" Cattleya was almost out of control. She was already so uncomfortable at Sequence 8. Would her head explode at Sequence 5?
However, now is not the time to think about that. Odis is still very busy this afternoon. He went to the basement, put on Mr. Gar's outfit, and then used the "teleportation array" in the basement to arrive at the third floor of the "Nanmu Ballroom".
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Ms. Mandy was already waiting outside. Upon seeing Odis wearing a mask, she immediately said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Gar, it was an oversight on my part that prevented me from..."
Odis raised his hand, interrupting her: "Is the carriage ready?"
"Ready!" Mandy said immediately.
Odis said nothing more and hurried downstairs, with Mandy following immediately.
After boarding the luxurious carriage, Mandy asked, "Mr. Garr, where are we going?"
Odis said, "Joewood District, 15 Minsk Street."
Regardless of whether Klein knows that Mr. Garr is the "Hermit," going directly to his door will definitely catch him off guard, and it is currently the best strategy to deal with the situation.
Mandy's eyes narrowed. She hadn't even had a chance to report the private investigator's address to Mr. Garr, but he already knew!
But then Mandy returned to normal, just as she had predicted, that Mr. Garr couldn't possibly have only her as an intelligence source.
...
15 Minsk Street, Joewood District.
Klein first watched as "Little Sun" cleared his name before returning to the real world to continue his research on "The Book of Secrets".
Ding-a-ling~
Around 4:30, Klein suddenly heard the doorbell ring.
He hurried down to the first floor, and the moment he grasped the doorknob, the scene outside the door flashed through his mind.
Outside the door stood a young man wearing a mask and a black trench coat…
Mr. Garr!
Klein couldn't help but take a step back. Mr. Gar, whom he had been investigating for two days without any leads, had suddenly appeared outside the door.
At that moment, Mr. Gard outside said, "I know you're inside. Open the door."
Suddenly, the brainwashing rhythm echoed in Klein's mind: "...Don't hide inside and keep quiet. I know you're home. Open the door, open the door, open the door! You dare..."
Cough cough.
Klein cleared his throat, reached out and opened the door. Besides Mr. Gar, Ms. Mandy was also there.
"Mr. Garr," Klein smiled, feigning surprise, "what brings you here?"
Odis said, "Shall we go inside and talk?"
"Please come in." Klein invited them to sit on the sofa in the living room and then went to make them tea.
As soon as Odis sat down, he smiled knowingly and said, "Detective, how was the cigar I gave you last time?"
Klein smiled helplessly. Earlier, when he had been asked by reporter Mike to protect the Daily Observer reporter during negotiations with Mr. Gar, Mr. Gar had subtly given him a warning while delivering cigars.
Mr. Garr's mention of this matter at this time was clearly quite meaningful.
Klein added hot water, picked up the teacup, and walked to the coffee table: "It's alright, the taste is not bad."
Odis nodded slowly: "Let's get down to business. Around last year, Asiburn first came to 'Nanmu Ballroom' and was quickly attracted by the ballroom's business model and profitability."
"We later had two pleasant exchanges. He hoped to use the police and a certain member of parliament to pressure me to shut down the 'Nanmu Dance Hall' and then buy it back at a low price."
"As a result, I thwarted both of his operations, and he has been searching for me ever since then."
"I think he must want to visit him and express his apology for those two bastard behaviors."
"But I can't stand seeing others apologize, and of course, for his safety, I didn't tell him where I lived."
Klein's lips twitched: "A pleasant exchange" indeed! That's blatant sarcasm! It's true, the lord's life is no longer guaranteed at this moment.