Part 1 The Joker Chapter 16 The Dog Takes the Mouse
Whew, finally got past the psychic part ……
Klein exhaled a cloudy breath and turned slowly, enjoying the peace of the evening and the soothing cool breeze as he paced closer to the apartment door.
He pulled out the key, inserted it, and twisted it gently, letting the scarlet-laced blackness expand with the sound of a creak.
Walking up the deserted stairs and breathing in the cold air, Klein inexplicably had the wonderful feeling of having a few more hours of life than everyone else, so much so that his steps became brisk.
Clicking, he kept a similar state of mind and opened the door to his room, but before he could step in, he saw a figure sitting quietly in the darkness in front of his desk, with black hair bathed in red, bright brown pupils, and a clean face, just like Melissa Moretti!
”Klein, where have you been?” Melissa’s brows stretched out and asked suspiciously.
Without waiting for Klein to answer, she added, as if to make the cause and effect, the logic of the matter clear and obvious: “I just got up and went to the washroom, and realized that you weren’t at home.”
Klein, who had a wealth of experience in deceiving parents, had a brainwave and replied with a bitter smile without panicking:
”I was a little sleep-deprived after I woke up once, and thinking that I might as well work out for this waste of time, I went out for a few laps, and look at that, all sweaty.”
He took off his jacket and half-turned his body, pointing to his back.
Melissa stood up and looked at it with little concern, deliberating for a few seconds:
”Klein, actually you don’t have to, don’t stress too much, you’re sure to pass the interview at Tingen, and even if you don’t, well, I mean if, you can find something better.”
I didn’t even think about the interview …… Klein nodded:
”I understand.”
He didn’t say he had gotten an “offer” because he hadn’t thought about it yet.
Melissa gave him a deep look, suddenly turned around, jogged into the inner room, and took out a turtle-shaped object cobbled together from gears, rusty iron, springs, and clockwork.
Quickly twisting the clockwork, Melissa placed the item on the desk.
”When you feel troubled, watching it move like this will make you feel much more comfortable, I’ve been doing this a lot lately, it’s very effective! Klein, give it a try.” Melissa invited with bright eyes.
Klein didn’t reject his sister’s goodwill, and looked closer at the “turtle”, waiting until it stopped before laughing:
”Simplicity and regularity do bring relaxation.”
Without waiting for Melissa to say anything else, he pointed to the turtle and asked casually:
”Did you do that yourself? When did you do that? How come I don’t know?”
”I made it out of materials the school didn’t want and things I found on the road, and I just finished it two days ago.” Melissa’s expression was as usual, and the corners of her mouth curled a few times.
”Very impressive.” Klein praised from the bottom of his heart.
As a boy who was poor with his hands when it came to mechanics, he was dying to put together a four-wheel drive when he was a kid.
Melissa replied in a flat tone with a slight lift of her chin and a slight bend of her eyes:
”It’s okay, it’s okay.”
”Excessive modesty is bad character.” Klein laughed softly, “It’s a turtle, isn’t it?”
The atmosphere in the room suddenly sank for a moment, Melissa’s voice ghostly as a scarlet veil:
”It’s a mannequin.”
Mannequin ……
…… Klein smiled awkwardly and forced an explanation:
”The problem with the material is that it’s still too rudimentary.”
Immediately afterward, he changed the topic:
”Why would you go to the lavatory in the middle of the night, when there’s a toilet in there? And aren’t you good at sleeping through the night?”
Melissa was stunned for a moment, and it took a few seconds before she opened her mouth, ready to explain.
Just then, a gurgling, violent digestive sound came from between her chest and stomach.
”I-I’ll go back to sleep!”
Bang! She grabbed the turtle-shaped “mannequin” and jogged back to the inner room, closing the door behind her.
…… Yesterday’s dinner was too good, ate too much, the stomach and intestines are not adapted to ah …… Klein shook his head and lost his smile, slowly walked to the desk, noiselessly sat in the chair, and quietly thought about Dunn Smith’s invitation by the Crimson Moon that emerged from behind the dark clouds.
The downside of being a civilian member of the Nightwatchman’s team was pretty obvious:
As a traveler, the initiator of the mysterious party, “The Fool”, he has a lot of secrets, and it is not a small risk to hang around for a long period of time under the eyes of the Church of the Goddess of the Night, which specializes in dealing with transcendent events;
As long as he joins Dunn Smith and the others, his goal will definitely be to become an extraordinary person, so as to cover up the benefits from the “party”, and to become a full member, his freedom will definitely be restricted, just like the civilian employees have to declare their departure from Tingen, they can’t go wherever they want to go, and they can’t do whatever they want to do, so they’ll miss out on a lot of opportunities;
The Nightwatchmen are a tightly knit organization, and once they have a mission, they can only wait for the arrangement and accept the order, they cannot refuse;
Extraordinary people run the risk of losing control;
……
Listing the bad points in his mind, Klein turned to the necessity and the good in it:
From the “Transit Ceremony” and other encounters, he will not be the 80% of the lucky ones as Dunn said, and there are bound to be bizarre events that will fall on him, which are full of dangers, and only if he becomes an extraordinary person or joins the night watchman, he will have the ability to counteract them;
If you want to become an extraordinary person, you can’t rely on the “party” alone. The formula of magic potion is not a big problem, but where to look for the corresponding materials, how to get them, how to make them, as well as the common sense of the extraordinary person’s daily cultivation, there are serious obstacles for yourself, and it is not possible to ask the “justice” and the “inverted” for everything. It’s impossible to ask “Justice” and “The Hanged Man” for everything and exchange everything with them, not only will it damage the image of “The Fool” and make the other party suspicious, but also they don’t have so much time to exchange such fine issues, and likewise, they can’t get anything that interests them. They are not interested in it;
In addition, more material transactions will leave traces of their real identity, and then the “online disputes” will turn into “offline conflicts”, which will be a big problem;
By joining the “Night Watchers”, you will certainly be able to access the general knowledge of the mysterious world and related channels, and accumulate a sufficient number of counterparts, using this as a pivot point to pry the “party” from the “justice” and “inverted”. This will serve as a pivot point to pry the “party” and get the most benefits from the “justice” and “inverted man”, which in turn will enhance the reality and get more resources, forming a virtuous cycle;
Of course, one can also go to the “Psychological Alchemy Society” that Dunn told us about to join the organization that is being suppressed and rounded up by all the major churches, but if one becomes a member of them, one will also lose one’s freedom, and even have to be afraid at all times. More importantly, one does not know where to find them, and even if one gets the information from the “inverted man”, one’s life will be in danger if one contacts them hastily;
If you become a civilian, you still have a buffer and a chance to quit;
The identity of a night watchman may be a better protective color for a small person who hides in the wild, a medium person who hides in the city, and a large person who hides in the imperial court;
In the future, when one becomes a senior member of an arbitration tribunal, who would think that he or she is a heretic and the mastermind behind a hidden organization?
……
As the morning sun shone and the scarlet hid, looking at the golden color of the sky, Klein made up his mind.
Today was the day to go to Dunn Smith and become a civilian member of the Night Watch!
”You didn’t sleep?” At that moment, Melissa reared up and pushed her way out, surprised to see her brother stretching unimaginatively.
”Thinking about something.” Klein flashed a smile, all relaxed.
Melissa mused for a moment:
”When I meet something troubling me, I’ll list both the bad and the good, line by line, and when I’m done, I’ll compare them and get ‘hints’ as to what I should do.”
”Good habit, that’s what I do.” Klein smiled in response.
Melissa looked relieved, and without further ado, grabbed the large yellowed sheet of paper and toiletry items and headed to the communal washroom.
When breakfast had been served and his sister had left, Klein was in no hurry to go out and was in a good mood to catch up on his sleep, for as far as he knew, almost all the taverns were closed in the morning.
At two o’clock in the afternoon he smoothed out the folds of his bowler hat with a small brush and handkerchief, got the filth out of it, brought it back to neatness, and then went out in a suit of formal dress, as if he were going to an interview.
Bessick Street is a bit far away, Klein is afraid to miss the night watchman’s “work time”, not walk there, but at the corner of Iron Cross Street to wait for the arrival of the public carriage.
In Ruen Kingdom, there are two types of public carriages, trackless and railed, the former is pulled by two horses, counting the top of the carriage, it can sit about twenty people, only the general route, no specific stops, flexible operation, stopping on demand, unless the passenger is full.
The latter is operated by the railroad carriage company, first in the main street paved similar to the railroad track device, the horse walks on the inside, the wheels rotate on the top, easy and labor-saving, so it can pull a bigger double-decker carriages, riding close to fifty guests, the only problem is that the route is fixed, the station is fixed, a lot of places can’t go, more stagnant.
After ten minutes or so, the sound of wheels hitting the tracks came from far away, and a double-decker carriage stopped in front of the stop at Iron Cross Street.
”To Besic Street.” Klein said to the coachman.
”You’ll have to turn off at Champagne Street, but when you get there, it’s only about a ten-minute walk to Besic Street.” The coachman explained the route.
”Champagne Street then.” Klein nodded in agreement.
”It’s over four kilometers for four pence.” A young man with a white face next to the coachman spread his hand and said.
He was the staff in charge of collecting money.
”Okay.” Klein took out 4 copper pennies from his pocket and handed it to the other person.
He walked up to the carriage and found that there weren’t many riders, and even on the first level there were still several empty seats.
”With only 3 pennies on me, I’ll have to walk to get back ……” Klein clicked his hat and sat down securely.
Most of the men and women on this floor were seated in formal attire, but there were also those in overalls and leisurely reading newspapers, but there was hardly any talking and it was fairly quiet.
Klein closed his eyes to refresh himself, not bothering with the comings and goings of the passengers around him.
After one stop and another, he finally heard the words “Champagne Street”.
Getting out of the carriage and inquiring along the way, he soon came to Besic Street and saw the tavern with the brown and yellow hound’s emblem painted on it.
Klein stretched out his right hand and pushed hard, the heavy door slowly opened, and the noisy sound and impetuous heat wave rushed in.
Although it was still afternoon, the tavern already had quite a few patrons, some of them were temporary workers who were looking for opportunities and waiting to be hired here, while others had nothing to do and paralyzed themselves with alcohol.
The inside of the tavern was rather dim, with two large iron cages erected in the center, the bottom third of which went deep into the ground, leaving no room for empty space, and people holding wooden glasses of wine, gathered around, sometimes discussing loudly, sometimes cursing and laughing.
Klein took a curious look, and found two dogs locked up inside, one black and white, resembling the huskies of Earth, and the other pitch-black, with glossy, watery fur, robust and ferocious.
”Want to bet? Doug has won eight in a row this time!” A short man wearing a brown fedora approached and pointed at the black dog.
A bet? Klein froze at first, then snapped out of it:
”Dogfighting?”
When he was at the University of Hoy, the aristocratic students and the sons of rich families would always ask themselves with contempt and curiosity, asking if the rude workers and jobless rogues liked to participate in boxing and gambling in the tavern. Did the gambling programs include cruel and bloody programs such as cockfighting and dogfighting in addition to boxing and cards?
The short man snorted:
”Sir, we are civilized people and will not do such undignified things.”
Speaking here, he muttered in a small voice: “And a law was introduced last year to ban these things ……”
”So what are you guys betting on?” Klein was momentarily curious.
”To see who’s a good ‘hunter’.” The short man had just finished speaking when there was a roar in the arena.
He turned his head and looked around, waving his hand excitedly:
”This one’s started, can’t place any bets, you wait for the next one.”
Klein sniffed, stood on his tiptoes, raised his head, and looked out, seeing two strong men each dragging a sack, coming to the side of the iron cage, opening the “cell door”, and dumping the things inside.
It was a gray, disgusting animal!
Klein carefully recognized, found that it was actually rats, dozens of hundreds of rats!
Because the bottom of the iron cage went deep into the ground, there were no openings, and the rats were scurrying around, but they couldn’t escape.
At this time, as the cage door closed, the chains of the two dogs were unlocked.
”Woof!” The black dog pounced over and bit a rat to death.
The black and white dog first looked confused, then excitedly played with the rats.
The people around them were either holding their wine glasses and gazing intently, or yelling:
”Bite it to death! Fuck it up!”
”Doug Doug!”
…… God damn dog scratching …… Klein woke up, the corners of his mouth twitching.
The gambling program here turned out to be betting on which dog caught more rats ……
Maybe even bet on a specific few ……
No wonder someone over at Iron Cross has been buying live rats ……
It’s really unique ……
Klein shook his head in amusement and backed away from the edge, skirting around the huddled block of drinkers to the front of the bar.
”New faces?” The bartender glanced up at him as he wiped his glass, “Rye ale at 1p a glass, Enemart ale at 2p, Southwell ale at 4p, or would you like a pure malt brewed Ronzi?”
”I’m looking for Mr. Wright.” Crane spoke bluntly.
The bartender whistled and called out to the side:
”Old man, there’s someone here to see you.”
”Well, who is it ……,” a slurred voice bubbled up, and a drunken old man stood up behind the bar.
He rubbed his eyes and looked over at Klein:
”Young man, you looking for me?”
”Mr. Wright, I want to hire a mercenary squad for a mission.” Clyne replied as Dunn had instructed.
”A mercenary squad? Do you live in adventure stories? It’s long gone!” The bartender interjected and laughed.
Wright was silent for a few seconds and said:
”Who told you to look here?”
”Dunn, Dunn Smith.” Klein answered truthfully.
Wright burst out laughing:
”I see, in fact, …… mercenary squad still exists, it’s just a different form and a name that is closer to the current society, you can find one by going to the 2nd floor of No. 36 Zotland Street.”
”Thank you.” Klein thanked him sincerely and turned to squeeze out of the bar.
As he was on his way out, the drinkers gathered in a block suddenly fell silent, leaving only a murmur of murmurs:
”I can’t believe Doug lost ……”
”Lost ……”
Klein shook his head in amusement and walked quickly away, asking for directions to the nearby Zoltan Street.
”30, 32, 34 …… here.” He counted the door numbers and walked into the staircase.
Rounding the corner and going up step by step, he saw the vertical sign and the current name of the so-called mercenary squad:
”Blackthorn Security.”