Part 1. The Joker Chapter 163: Signs and Symptoms.
What? Klein froze for a moment at Roxanne’s question and recalled in slight confusion:
”When I went to the old Neil’s house before, which was last month, I found a piano inside the living room, and he told me that his deceased wife loved music ……”
Saying that, Klein was creeped out and inexplicably had some bad thoughts.
Roxanne wrinkled her nice eyebrows and said with less certainty:
”Maybe I remember wrong …… not right, the first half of the year I and Mrs. Oleanna they often will go to the old Neil’s house as a guest, at that time, there is no piano in the living room, I clearly remember that I asked him why he wants to stay single, and his answer is that he did not meet the lady who makes him want to get married ……”
There was no piano in the first half of the year …… still answering the question of why he had remained single …… Klein tightened his body at once and asked in a deep voice, “Roxanne, how long has it been since you have been a guest at old Neil’s? ”
”Since Cohen Lei turned into a night watchman and Viola chose to leave here and stop being a civilian, I’ve either been staying up late or catching up on sleep, so how could I have time to be a guest in someone else’s home …… Well, since the beginning of June.” Roxanne was a little confused by the question and could only answer honestly.
Klein listened to a heart gradually sinking, as if he had a premonition of something.
He busily pulled out a halfpenny denomination coin from his coat pocket and held it between his thumb and middle finger.
Taking a deep breath, Crane deliberated for a moment and quickly finalized his “divination statement”.
”Old Neil is not in the right condition.”
”Old Neil is in a bad way.”
……
In the midst of silent recitation, his eyes quickly turned black, and his entire body entered a meditative state.
Clang!
He flicked his thumb, causing the brass-colored penny to fly up into mid-air, tumbling and spinning continuously.
Snap! The coin fell and landed right in Klein’s spread palm.
This time, George III’s head was facing up.
And the avatar signified correctness and certainty.
It meant that old Neil was indeed in the wrong condition now!
Holding the coin in his hand, Klein remembered with a huff the time when he had just been promoted, when he quickly grasped his psychic vision and saw a pair of near-transparent, unusually cold, eyelash-less, eerily illusory eyes behind Old Neil.
He explained it at the time as a symptom of a ritual magic residue!
By the way, I also saw a nearly invisible figure in the darkness of the doorway, and the color of his aura was exactly the same as that of the dimly lit surroundings. …… Also, the time I finished digesting the “Soothsayer” potion, I secretly changed the switch on my psychic vision to flick my teeth, and then I tried it, and it didn’t work. After that, I tried, and casually looked at the old Neil, the result was that he suddenly coughed violently, coughing heartbreakingly …… A scene flashed in Klein’s mind, making his expression more and more serious.
Roxanne glanced at him and asked with fear and trepidation:
”Old Neil isn’t getting out of hand, is he? No, he’s petty and mean and wants to be reimbursed for everything, but he’s actually a nice guy, rarely gets really angry, no, he won’t lose control ……”
”I can’t be sure, but I think old Neil is just close to losing control.” Klein relieved Roxanne and quickly stepped through the partition and pushed open the door to the captain’s office.
Dunn Smith was sipping his coffee and nearly choked himself when he was startled by the sudden intruder.
”What happened?” He didn’t blame Klein, and his expression became very serious.
Klein answered rather succinctly but without hiding anything:
”Captain, I divined that Old Neil’s condition is not right.”
”Last month old Neil told me that his deceased wife loved music, but today Roxanne says he has remained single.”
”Also, the day I first became an Extraordinary, I saw illusory and eerie eyes behind Old Neil’s back watching everything, and near-transparent figures peering through the doorway, which he told me were signs of residual ritual magic.”
”I didn’t feel right about it, so I tried divination.”
Dunn listened with a sullen face, brushing himself up and asking suspiciously as he made his way to the coat rack:
”Why didn’t you just divine whether old Neil was out of control?”
”Over the past month, Old Neil has behaved no differently from a normal Extraordinary, and even teamed up with me to help Svein remove an out-of-control vicarious punisher, and I’ve also observed the color of his aura several times with my psychic vision, and found that he’s relatively healthy, and just a little bit aged, so I think he’s just close to being out of control, and showing certain signs, and there’s still room to salvage the situation. ” Klein expressed his opinion in one breath.
Dunn put on his black bowler hat and knee-length trench coat, nodding softly:
”Very sensible speculation …… We’ll go and visit old Neil now and, well, try to avoid irritating him.”
”Then, try to control him, using ritual magic to stabilize him and curb his deterioration.”
Control …… Klein heard the word and suddenly had a flash of insight and said:
”Captain, is it possible for us to use the seal ‘3-0611’?”
He had just been thinking about how to solve the matter of Old Neil, wanting to save the other party as much as possible, but because he was too flustered, too uneasy, and too worried, he was never able to find a clue, and it was only when he was awakened by Dunn Smith’s words that he remembered that there was that one sealing object that could come in handy:
”Number: 0611.”
”Name: quiet hair.”
”Danger level: ‘3’, somewhat dangerous, need to be used with caution, only operations with three or more people can apply.”
”Confidentiality level: full members of the Night Watch and above.”
”Sealing method: no direct contact with living creatures.”
”DESCRIPTION: This is a simple trinket made of many strands of long, dark black hair twisted together.”
”With unprotected contact with it, all living creatures lose all desires and emotions, including but not limited to hunger, anger, sadness, pain, jealousy, envy, hatred, happiness, fulfillment, and greed.”
”It has been confirmed that even the desire to disengage from 0611 disappears from the affected creatures, and they will stay quiet and remain where they are until the end of their lives.”
”If there is an external force to disengage the affected person from 0611, then the former will gradually return to normal, but the experimental data shows that the condition for this to hold is that the contact time does not exceed two hours.”
”Once the contact time exceeds two hours, the affected person will go quiet forever.”
”The highest level of experimental subjects is sequence 5.”
”Direct contact can be avoided by wearing gloves, etc.”
”These hair strands do not possess living properties and have no tendency to attempt to escape the seal.”
”Appendix: these hair strands appeared in an incident of promotion failure, a relic of a certain Night Watch captain who failed to make it to Sequence 6.”
Hearing Klein’s words, Dunn’s gray eyes nodded furtively:
”Excellent offer, I almost forgot about ‘3-0611’, you go find Loyal in the rec room, I’ll go behind the Charnis Gate and remove the seal and come back to make up the application.”
That was the way to go, no time to waste! Without delay, Klein immediately went to the night watchman’s recreation room and called out the rarely expressive “Sleepless One” Loyao.
”What’s the mission?” Luo Yao, whose black hair was as smooth as silk, asked calmly.
Klein exhaled and replied with a slightly heavy voice:
”Visiting Old Neil.”
”Visiting old Neil …… him?” Loyal’s eyes widened for a moment with a certain bad guess.
”Not sure yet.” Klein said with a slight nod.
Loyo didn’t say anything else, and both of them fell into silence at the same time, as if something was coalescing a little in the air around them, growing heavy.
After a few minutes like this, Dunn finally returned from the ground.
He wore black gloves and grasped a clump of dark hair that was messily intertwined.
Compared to the “Mutant Sun Emblem”, “Quiet Hair” did not have any obvious external abnormality, so if it fell on the road, it would easily be overlooked.
After calling the driver, Sizer, the group of four set off on their journey to Old Neil’s house.
The wheels rolled over the muddy road where it had just rained, and the carriage was quieter than the middle of the night.
I don’t know how long it was before Dunn sighed and spoke:
”Old Neil actually had a soon-to-be engaged couple when he was young, but she suddenly became seriously ill and was difficult to treat, Old Neil risked leaking the secrets of the Extraordinary One to try and save her with ceremonial magic, but he still didn’t succeed, Old Neil at that time was only just starting out in the field of occultism.”
”According to the information, the night watchmen at that time were wary that Old Neil would lose control as a result, and let’s be thankful that he eventually found his senses and didn’t show any abnormalities.”
Hopefully, this time is also a false alarm …… Klein couldn’t help but draw a Crimson Moon on his chest and whispered a prayer:
”May the Goddess bless him.”
Dunn and Loyal followed with the same gesture:
”May the Goddess bless him.”
……
As the sky gradually brightened and the gloomy clouds completely subsided, the Night Watchman Squad’s carriage stopped in front of Old Neil’s single house.
After letting Sizzle drive the wagon into the distance, Dunn collected his emotions and walked toward the front door with his staff in one hand and the seal “3-0611” in the other, his gray eyes dark.
Crane pressed down his half-high silk hat and followed the captain, along with Loyal, through the garden of roses and gold mint.
Upon reaching the door, Klein stepped forward and pulled the cord that connected the house bell.
It jingled!
The clear, melodious ringing of the bell echoed through the room, breaking the stagnant silence.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! Ding ding ding ding! Klein pulled it several times in succession, politely backing away from further attempts.
The three night watchmen waited patiently for a few minutes, but never heard the footsteps of any one coming to the door.
”Maybe, old Neil went to the doctor and isn’t home.” Klein said as he squeezed out a smile.
Before his words fell, a melodious melody suddenly came from inside the house, it was the beautiful music played by the piano, it was like a peaceful lake covered with a light mist under the moonlight.
Dunn’s expression suddenly became unusually serious and grave, and Klein’s heart sank to the bottom.
He was about to do a divination when he suddenly saw a bubbling stream of water gushing out from the gap below the main door.
This stream of water was first transparent and pure, and then it was tinted with crimson, blood-like crimson, crimson that was thick to the extreme.