Whoever was behind this had collected a massive amount of life force.
Though their purpose remained unclear, it certainly wasn't for anything good.
"Thanks to you, we've finally caught a break in this case." Leonard waved the candy wrapper.
"I'm planning to give this paper to our 'Seer' and hope he can uncover more clues for us."
The three of them boarded the carriage and returned to Blackthorn Security Company, leaving that life-devouring factory district behind.
Klein didn't disappoint them.
Through divination, he discovered the suspect's hiding place was in a house by a river. However, the characteristics were still somewhat vague.
A thorough search would probably take several days to pinpoint the exact location.
They reported the situation to the captain. Dunn immediately began arranging personnel to search for the target house along the banks of the Tussock River and Khoy River.
Since Blaine hadn't yet taken courses in tracking and investigation, he wasn't assigned to go out.
Instead, he remained at the company.
Not only would Blaine be staying at the company now, but tonight he also had to go underground to guard the Chanis Gate.
If I don't go home, Cecilia will have to face that lunatic Miss M alone tonight. That's really worrying...
Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel anxious.
Sooner or later, I'm going to kill her.
"What's wrong, Blaine? You look a bit gloomy."
Just then, he heard Dunn's voice. Looking up, he saw Dunn watching him, his gray eyes showing some concern.
Captain, I'm being controlled! That persistent Miss M broke into my house and took control of me and my sister.
Hurry up and contact the Holy Cathedral, get a high-ranking deacon over here to take her out!
"I'm fine. I just saw some things at the factory that made me feel regretful."
Blaine smiled and shook his head.
In truth, he really wanted to tell Dunn everything that had happened. But the red blood mist and phantom eye hovering by his face constantly reminded him that Miss M was monitoring him right now.
The moment Blaine dared to speak up, she would activate the flesh bomb without hesitation and blow both him and Cecilia to pieces.
Time passed second by second. Afternoon turned to evening, and night fell. The clerical staff and off-duty Nighthawks had all left.
Blaine followed Dunn underground to the guard room.
Sitting in the chair of the guard room, his back was to those double doors of black iron, embedded with seven holy symbols.
"There's coffee and black tea here. If you feel drowsy, you can drink some to help you stay alert. Whatever you do, don't fall asleep."
Dunn advised him.
"Understood, Captain."
This was Blaine's first time on guard duty, so he listened to Dunn's explanation quite seriously.
The Chanis Gate was an important facility of the Nighthawks organization.
Basically, every outpost had one.
Behind the Chanis Gate were stored various dangerous sealed artifacts, precious Beyonder materials, and classified files, all watched over by special sealing powers and guardians.
According to Dunn, during the day, there were guards inside the Chanis Gate.
They were all retired elderly Nighthawks who volunteered to enter and stand guard.
But at night, the sealing power inside the gate would strengthen, and the elderly Nighthawks couldn't withstand it, so they had to withdraw.
"Remember, when you're on guard at night, no matter what sounds come from inside or what happens, don't open the door and go in."
Before leaving, Dunn warned him seriously. "Understood?"
Some of the sealed artifacts stored behind the Chanis Gate possessed "living" attributes and would sometimes struggle against the power behind the door.
Blaine had heard from Leonard that the last time Klein was on guard duty, he'd seen a puppet open the door from inside and hand him a note with mysterious symbols drawn on it.
"Yes, Captain."
Blaine nodded seriously.
Cecilia was still waiting for him to rescue her. There was no way he'd court death by going in there.
Hearing Blaine say this, Dunn finally felt reassured enough to leave.
Soon, Blaine was the only one left in the vast underground space. It was so quiet he could hear the "hiss" of the gas lamps.
In the eerily quiet atmosphere, Blaine sat down expressionlessly with his back to the Chanis Gate.
He didn't make tea or coffee, nor did he read magazines or novels to pass the time.
He simply stared at the wall illuminated by lamplight across from him, saying nothing.
Time seemed to freeze.
Right now, Cecilia must be sharing a room with that crazy woman, right?
I wonder if she's scared, if she can sleep peacefully...
Stop thinking about that. It's rare to have this much uninterrupted time alone. I need to figure out what to do next as soon as possible!
While Blaine appeared to be staring into space on the surface, his brain was working furiously.
He couldn't use pen and paper to write down his thoughts and organize them because Miss M was watching.
He could only use his mind to analyze the situation and plan his next moves.
First, the most important thing was ensuring Cecilia's safety. This was even more important than killing Miss M.
Second, while ensuring Cecilia's safety, he had to kill Miss M.
But how could Blaine possibly kill her?
Miss M had planted flesh in both siblings' bodies, monitoring and controlling them.
At the slightest abnormality, she might trigger an explosion.
Furthermore, she was a powerful Sequence 5 Beyonder. With his current abilities alone, he had basically no hope at all.
But did Miss M really have no weaknesses?
Of course not.
Just as Blaine had discovered before, something seemed wrong with Miss M's body, and her attitude toward Blaine was also a bit strange.
If he could figure out her true purpose, perhaps he could use her own methods to counter her...
But the biggest problem was still that he was being monitored!
His every move was under her control, basically making him completely transparent to her.
Even if he had countermeasures, it would be difficult to prepare them!
Thinking of this, Blaine's heart felt heavy and frustrated. What could he do to temporarily block Miss M's surveillance without her noticing?
"Creeeeak..."
Just as Blaine was lost in thought, a teeth-grating scraping sound suddenly rang out behind him, echoing through the empty underground space.
"Who's there!"
Blaine's heart jumped.
He practically leaped from his chair, one hand reaching for the holster at his waist, the other pressing against the clown doll on his chest. His heart pounded violently as he looked toward the source of the sound.
When he saw clearly what had made the noise, his eyes widened involuntarily.
It was the Chanis Gate!
The Chanis Gate was opening!
Accompanied by creaking sounds, that heavy and magnificent door was being slowly pushed open from inside.
The seven holy symbols embedded on it gleamed brilliantly under the gas lamplight.
What... what's going on?
Blaine froze for a moment. The captain hadn't told him how to handle this situation!
While his thoughts raced in confusion, a mass of black threads suddenly surged out from within the Chanis Gate.
They floated lightly yet swiftly, appearing before Blaine in an instant and wrapping tightly around his head.