Chapter 45: 45. Chapter 45: Return

Chapter 45: Return

That notebook of the Antigonus family was in the room directly opposite the kidnappers!

Though it was a massive coincidence, Klein believed his intuition was not wrong.

He immediately rolled out of bed and stripped off his old sleeping clothes in a few quick movements.

He grabbed a white shirt from beside him, threw it on, and hurriedly began buttoning it from top to bottom.

One, two, three... He suddenly realized a button was "missing," and the left and right sides didn't seem symmetrical.

Looking closely, Klein realized he had misaligned the buttons from the very start, making the shirt look twisted.

He shook his head helplessly, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, using a bit of meditation technique to regain some composure.

After putting on the white shirt and black trousers, he managed to steadily fasten his shoulder holster, pulling out the revolver hidden beneath the soft pillow and tucking it inside.

Without taking the time to tie a necktie, he threw on his formal coat, holding his hat in one hand and his cane in the other as he walked to the door.

Donning his mid-height silk top hat, Klein gently turned the handle, opened the door, and stepped into the corridor.

Carefully closing the bedroom door, he descended the stairs almost silently like a thief. He used the stationery and pen from the living room to leave two lines of words, indicating that he had forgotten to mention company business last night and needed to arrive early today.

Stepping out the main door, Klein immediately felt a refreshing cool breeze, and his entire being settled into tranquility.

The street before him was dim and silent, devoid of pedestrians, illuminated only by the quiet glow of the gas streetlamps.

Klein took his pocket watch from his inner pocket, clicked it open, and saw it was just six o'clock. The crimson moonlight had not yet fully faded, but a hint of brightness was appearing on the horizon.

Just as he was planning to look for an expensive hired carriage, he suddenly saw a four-wheeled, horse-drawn omnibus approaching.

"An omnibus this early?" Klein felt slightly surprised. He stepped forward and waved to signal it to stop.

"Good morning, sir." The coachman skillfully brought the horses to a halt.

The staff member responsible for collecting fares beside him covered his mouth and let out a yawn.

"To Zouteland Street," Klein said, pulling two 1-pence coins and four half-pence coins from his trouser pocket.

"4 pence," the fare collector answered without hesitation.

After handing over the fare, Klein boarded the carriage. He saw that the interior was empty, with no other passengers, lending a distinct sense of desolation to the dimness.

"You're the first one," the coachman said with a smile.

The two brown horses broke into a stride, moving forward with relative lightness.

"To be honest, I didn't expect an omnibus to be running this early," Klein replied casually as he sat near the coachman, attempting to distract himself and ease his internal tension.

The coachman said self-deprecatingly

"From six in the morning until nine at night. But, my weekly wage is only 1 pound."

"No time for rest?" Klein asked in surprise.

"We rotate for one day off a week." The coachman's tone turned heavy.

The fare collector beside him added

"We are responsible from six in the morning until eleven at noon, then we go for lunch, then a midday break, and after dinner—at six—we swap with our colleagues... Even if we don't need rest, the two horses do."

"It wasn't like this before. Ever since some coachmen got too tired and made unacceptable mistakes, causing the horses to lose control and the carriages to overturn, this rotation system was implemented... How could those vampires suddenly become kind!" The coachman let out a sneer.

Under the light of the dawn, the omnibus drove toward Zouteland Street, picking up only seven or eight passengers along the way.

Once Klein had slightly relieved his tension, he stopped speaking and closed his eyes, replaying yesterday's experiences frame by frame to see if anything had been missed.

By the time the sun had fully risen and the sky was truly bright, the omnibus arrived at Zouteland Street.

Holding his hat down with his left hand, Klein hopped off the carriage.

He walked briskly into No. 36 Zouteland Street and climbed the stairs to the exterior of the Blackthorn Security Company.

At this moment, the main door was closed and had not yet been opened.

Klein took the key ring from his waist, found the corresponding brass key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it with a *click*.

He pushed forward, allowing the door to swing slowly open, and saw Leonard Mitchell, with his black hair and green eyes, lightly sniffing a popular brand of cigarette.

"Actually, I prefer cigars... You look quite rushed?" the poet-like Nightwatcher asked in a relaxed and easygoing manner.

"Where is the Captain?" Klein countered instead of answering.

Leonard pointed toward the partition

"In his office. As a Beyonder who ascended from a 'Sleepless,' he only needs to rest for two hours during the day. I imagine those factory owners and bankers must love that potion most."

Klein nodded and walked quickly through the partition, seeing that Dunn Smith had already opened his office door and was standing at the entrance.

"What is the matter?" He wore a black trench coat and held a gold-inlaid cane, his expression steady and serious.

"I had that feeling of 'I've seen this somewhere before.' It should be that notebook, the Antigonus family notebook," Klein said, exerting all his effort to control himself so his answer sounded organized and logical.

"Where?" Dunn Smith's expression did not change noticeably.

But Klein's spirituality told him that the other man seemed to have experienced a distinct, invisible fluctuation—perhaps a shimmer of spirit, or perhaps a shift in emotion.

"Right where Leonard and I rescued the hostage yesterday, in the room opposite the kidnappers. I didn't notice it at the time, until I had a dream and received revelation," Klein said, revealing nothing.

"It seems I missed a very big credit yesterday," Leonard chuckled, having walked over to the partition at some unknown point.

Dunn nodded slightly and gave solemn instructions

"Have Cohen Li replace Old Neil to guard the armory. Have Old Neil, Frye, and come with us."

Leonard ceased his frivolous behavior and immediately notified Cohen Li and Frye in the Nightwatchers' lounge; one was a "Sleepless," and the other was a "Corpse Collector."

Five minutes later, a two-wheeled carriage belonging to the Nightwatcher squad sped along in the early morning when pedestrians were still few.

Wearing a felt hat and a shirt and vest, Leonard acted as a temporary coachman, occasionally snapping a whip in mid-air to make it crack loudly.

Inside the carriage, Klein and Old Neil sat on one side, while Dunn Smith and Frye sat opposite them.

The "Corpse Collector's" skin was so pale it looked as though he hadn't seen the sun in a long time, or perhaps he was severely anemic. He appeared to be in his thirties, with black hair, blue eyes, a high bridge to his nose, and thin lips. His temperament was cold and dark, seemingly carrying a faint scent left by years of handling corpses.

"Tell the story in detail once more," Dunn said, adjusting the collar of his black trench coat.

Klein rubbed the citrine pendant hidden beneath his sleeve and recounted everything from the moment he accepted the commission up to the dream. Beside him, Old Neil chuckled

"You seem to have some sort of fated bond with that Antigonus family notebook. To run into it like that..."

*Indeed, it is far too coincidental! If Leonard hadn't just mentioned that the preliminary interrogation of the Elliot kidnapping case suggested there was no manipulation by secret organizations or mysterious forces, but was merely a case of taking risks for money, I would have suspected someone had deliberately arranged this...* Klein also found it quite strange.

It was too much of a coincidence!

Dunn offered no opinion, appearing to be lost in thought, while the "Corpse Collector" Frye, also dressed in a black trench coat, maintained his unchanging silence.

It wasn't until the carriage stopped and the building Klein had described appeared outside the window that the heavy silence was broken.

"Let's go up. Klein, you and Old Neil walk at the very back. Be careful, you must be careful," Dunn said as he stepped off the carriage. He pulled a strange revolver with an unusually long and thick barrel from his coat and tucked it into his right pocket.

"Understood." Klein wouldn't dare rush to the front.

Once Leonard found someone to watch the carriage, the group of five Beyonders entered the stairwell in an orderly fashion and reached the third floor with light footsteps.

"Is it here?" Leonard pointed to the room opposite the kidnappers.

Klein tapped his brow twice, activating Spirit Vision.

In this state, his spirituality was enhanced, and he felt that the door was strangely familiar, as if he had entered it before.

"Yes," he nodded with certainty.

Old Neil also activated his own Spirit Vision. After careful observation, he said

"There is no one inside, nor is there any magical aura."

"No evil spirits," Frye, the "Corpse Collector," added hoarsely.

He didn't need to activate Spirit Vision to see many spiritual entities, including evil spirits and wraiths.

Leonard took a step forward and, just as he had done yesterday, struck the door lock with his fist.

This time, not only did the surrounding wood splinter, but the lock itself popped out and fell to the floor with a clatter.

Klein felt an invisible seal vanish instantly, followed immediately by a powerful, nauseating stench.

"A corpse. A rotting corpse," Frye stated coldly.

He showed no sign of nausea whatsoever.

Dunn extended his right hand, clad in a black glove, and slowly pushed the door open. The first thing that met their eyes was a fireplace; despite it being early July, an unnatural, stifling heat emanated from within.

In front of the fireplace sat a rocking chair, and an old woman in a black-and-white dress sat there with her head hanging low.

Her entire body had abnormally enlarged. Her skin was blackish-green and bloated to the point of shining, looking as though a single poke would cause it to burst and spray rotting stench. Maggots or parasites crawled in and out of the flesh, fluids, clothing, and wrinkles—in Spirit Vision, they appeared as clusters of light points surrounding a dim, extinguished mass.

*Plop, plop.*

The old woman's two eyeballs fell out, hitting the floor and rolling a few times, leaving behind yellowish-brown trails.

Klein felt a wave of nausea. Unable to suppress the impact of the stench any longer, he bent over and began to vomit.

(End of Chapter)