In the past, Derrick would have gladly accepted the award and sincerely thanked the chief.
But Derrick, who had matured considerably, noticed that the chief's tone was a bit off, emphasizing the words "reward" and "keep safe."
In that instant, Derrick suddenly recalled the scene when he reported to the chief that he had found the sealed artifact in the swamp. At that time, the chief seemed to already know that the sealed artifact was not found by him.
Then a bold guess came to Derrick's mind: the chief might mean that I should give this sealed artifact to the person who actually discovered the demigod-level sealed artifact, as a token of Silver City's gratitude!
Yes, that must be it.
Derrick quickly confirmed his idea, because the merits he earned could be exchanged for a Sequence 7 main material, with some left over.
For an exploration mission, this is already a very high reward; it's unlikely that you'll receive any other rewards.
Chief Colin did not urge him, but waited quietly for Derrick to fall into thought.
After a long pause, Derrick carefully said, "Thank you, Chief. I will... I will 'keep it safe'."
Colin nodded in satisfaction: "Go ahead."
Derrick put away the sealed artifact and quickly left the round tower.
However, just to be on the safe side, he plans to wait a few days and ask Mr. "The Hanged Man" or Mr. "The Hermit" for their opinions at the Tarot meeting before taking any further action.
...
Backlund, 15 Minsk Street.
Odis, inside the carriage, touched the soil and grapevines in his pocket again. He had collected them that afternoon specifically for use when searching for the demon.
Of course, ordinary "diviners" cannot find the demon who issued the curse using only these cursed items, but Klein, who possesses the "Source Castle," can.
As Odis alighted from the carriage, he suddenly sensed something amiss in the atmosphere around him, but when he activated his spiritual senses, he felt no danger.
Odis didn't pay much attention, went to the door, and rang the doorbell.
Ding-a-ling~
Odis waited a few seconds. The lights were on inside, and there were sounds coming from inside, but no one opened the door.
Just as Odis was about to ring the doorbell again, the door suddenly opened, and a strange man with a thick beard and a thin build opened the door.
He asked warily, "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"
Upon seeing that the visitor was wearing a mask, the man took a step back, placing one hand on his waist as if he were about to draw his gun.
"I'm looking for Detective Sherlock." Oddis immediately had a bad feeling. "If he's not here, I'll come back tomorrow."
"Mr. Gar!" Just as Odis was about to turn away, Sherlock Moriarty, also known as Klein, came out of the inner living room and said to the man at the door, "Stuart, please invite Mr. Gar in."
Odis had no choice but to go inside. He saw several other people in the living room, men and women, all looking at him warily.
Odis seemed to have guessed something, and a wry smile appeared behind his mask: "You have a party today?"
"No," Klein, who had also arrived at the door, made no attempt to hide anything: "We investigated a serial murder case before and helped the police find the killer."
"But what we didn't expect was that there was a mastermind behind the murderer. We all received threatening letters from the mastermind, so we got together to discuss countermeasures."
Odis smiled and said, "Sorry, I have something to do. See you tomorrow."
Klein, however, blocked the doorway and showed no intention of making way. He smiled and said, "Things aren't as dangerous as you think. Please come with me to the living room. We really need your help."
Odis took a deep breath: "Alright then."
He remembered that there were many official extraordinary individuals stationed around here today, but there was indeed no danger.
Odis then realized: No wonder the atmosphere outside felt strange when he got off the carriage; it was because he was surrounded by official extraordinary beings.
Upon entering the living room, one finds a man and a woman.
The man was an elderly man with graying temples and a thin face. He was wearing a black trench coat, and his left shoulder was bulging high, as if it were wrapped with thick bandages.
The woman had thick eyebrows, wore a gray wool coat, and had slightly sagging facial muscles.
Odis slightly removed her hat: "Hello."
The elderly man with graying temples smiled and said, "Mr. Garr! I've heard so much about you."
The woman also sincerely praised, "A protector of streetwalkers."
Odis remarked, "I never imagined I had such a nickname."
Klein closed the door and introduced, "This lady is Detective Kaslana, and this is the great detective Isinger Stanton."
Odis nodded slightly and said again, "Hello."
"There may not be time for pleasantries," Klein said. "Please sit down. Let me give Mr. Gar a brief overview of the current situation."
After everyone was seated, Klein said, "We are all extraordinary beings, so there is no need to explain some common sense things."
"The serial killer is a 'demon,' Mr. Gar. Do you know anything about the extraordinary ones on this path?"
Isengard and Kaslana were slightly surprised when "Detective Sherlock" said that "Mr. Garr" was an extraordinary being, but then they felt that it was nothing surprising.
"Indeed, I had such a suspicion before," Odis said, feigning knowledge. Then he added, "I know some things about this path."
"What impressed me most was their ability to 'sense malice'. As long as they were plotting to put a certain 'demon' in danger, they could sense the threat."
To be precise, he came to see Klein today because he was looking for traces of a "demon".
To save time, Odis continued, "Is the person behind it all a 'demon' or an 'apostle of desire'?"
Upon hearing Mr. Gar's answer, Klein knew that this man was quite knowledgeable about "demons," and he replied, "It should be 'Apostle of Desire.'"
He then said, "We are currently discussing how to stall this 'Apostle of Desire' and then notify the official Extraordinary beings who are lying in wait outside to eliminate him."
At this point, Isengard said, "Let's continue our conversation. The 'Apostles of Desire' can exploit and manipulate everyone's emotions and desires, tempting them to fall."
"Therefore, when facing such an enemy, one must not have strong emotional fluctuations or obvious desires, otherwise one will be remotely controlled by him or have a seed planted in him to be detonated at a critical moment."
Kaslana seemed to have figured things out: "So that's how it is."
Isengard took out his pipe, but did not fill it with tobacco: "I have fought that 'Apostle of Desire' head-on and witnessed his extraordinary ability to foresee danger. I have a preliminary understanding of his strengths and weaknesses."
"Although the 'demon' can sense danger in advance, even a long time in advance, the flaw in this precognitive ability is that it can only sense who the danger comes from and where it comes from, but it has no way of knowing the specific details."
"This gives us an opportunity to take advantage of."
Kaslana immediately asked, "What opportunity?"
"I have a ring that originated from a runaway sequence 6 of the 'Reader' pathway," Isengard said quite frankly. "It allows me to recognize, see, remember, and simulate the extraordinary abilities I have ever seen."
"Of course, the stronger the extraordinary ability you are facing, the higher the probability of failure."
As he spoke, Isengard produced a dazzling ring set with many tiny diamonds surrounding a beautiful, emerald-green gemstone.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Upon seeing the sealed artifact, the others didn't think much of it, but Klein immediately recognized it: Wasn't this the ring of the "Eye of Wisdom"? Isengard Stanton the "Eye of Wisdom"?
However, Klein used the "Joker" ability to control his expression and did not show the slightest surprise.
Kaslana looked at the ring with a hint of envy and asked, "What ability do you want to simulate to counter the 'Apostle of Desire's' premonition of danger?"
Isengard smirked: "The demon's ability to foresee danger."
The great detective, now resembling a gray-furred fox, said: "The first step, which is what we are doing, is to devise a plan that can actually harm the 'Apostles of Desire' and put it into action."
"The second step was that the 'Apostles of Desire' sensed the danger and knew that its source was with us, that it originated from here."
"Thirdly, as a 'demon,' there are some instincts he can't change. His first reaction will definitely be to nip danger in the bud. After all, even if the four of us combined, we would have almost no chance of killing him."
"Fourth step: as long as he has such a thought, regardless of whether he acts on it, my simulated ability can detect the threat of the 'Apostle of Desire' and pinpoint his location."
Odis couldn't help but exclaim, "This plan is brilliant!"
Klein was also amazed: That's an incredible move!
Aisin glanced at the three people in front of him and smiled, "Based on my judgment, he just caused Stuart and the others to lose control of their emotions, so he must be hiding nearby. After all, the ability to remotely manipulate other people's emotions must have a distance limit."
"Once I pinpoint his location, I can immediately notify the official extraordinary individuals, who will quickly seal off the relevant area and surround it layer by layer."
Odis thought for a moment, and of course he remembered where the "Apostle of Desire" was now.
In fact, as soon as the other party appeared, he could hold off that "Apostle of Desire" for more than ten seconds by himself.
He stopped thinking about it as soon as he realized this, because if he continued, the "Apostle of Desire" would sense a danger he couldn't handle, which would make him afraid to take action.
Although he didn't think about it any further, as Odis listened to Isengard recount his plan, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a corner of the secondary array of the "space magic circle" drawn on a piece of cloth.
At this point, Klein said, "But the problem is, how do we notify the official Extraordinary?"
"If this cannot be done in a few seconds, the 'Apostle of Desire' will escape."
Isengard took out a palm-sized golden object that resembled a miniature telegraph machine, but also had a loudspeaker.
"This is a sealed artifact that allows my voice to resonate within a five-kilometer radius simultaneously," Isengard smiled. "For this operation, the 'Mechanical Heart,' 'Night Watchers,' and the military each dispatched a senior deacon or colonel, along with two to three squads of extraordinary individuals, all of whom were lying in ambush within a five-kilometer radius."
"I can use it to tell the extraordinary beings outside the location of the 'Apostle of Desire'."
Kaslana listened attentively, then frowned slightly and said, "Since you have official extraordinary individuals, it seems you don't need to cooperate with us."
Isengard carefully put on the gemstone ring and said sincerely, "In order not to alert the 'Apostle of Desire' in advance, the area closest to us is powerless. If the target is nearby, we will need to help each other to delay him as much as possible."
The great detective chuckled, "Originally, it would have been a bit of a stretch for the three of us, but with Mr. Garr joining us, I believe we can hold off the enemy for seven or eight seconds without any problem."
Klein thought for a moment and then said, "I have no problem."
"I also really hate that serial killer," Odis said with a smile. "My abilities aren't good for direct combat, but I have a few that are great for stalling the enemy."
Kaslana nodded and said, "Mr. Stanton, you don't really need to explain so much. We will cooperate for our own sake."
"Haha, the explanation is part of the premeditated plan, and reaching an agreement means the operation is about to begin." With that, Isengard half-closed his eyes.
The emerald gem on the ring he wore on his right hand shimmered with a deep blue light.
Suddenly, Isengard stood up abruptly: "He's right here, upstairs."
Klein and the other two also got up and ran towards the door.
Apart from Odis, none of them expected that the "Apostle of Desire" would be so bold as to be watching their scheme from upstairs!
Just then, Kaslana's eyes suddenly turned red, and she clenched her right fist and punched Isengard in the back.
Klein and Isengard immediately realized that the "Apostle of Desire" had, without them noticing, planted the seeds of depravity in Kaslana's heart.
However, Kaslana was too close to Isengard and had no time to dodge.
Bang!
Kaslana punched and slammed into Isengard's back.
Click!
Klein even heard the sound of bones breaking as he watched Isengard fall to the ground.
Kaslana collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, as if she had lost all her strength.
Klein rushed to Isengard's side, half-squatted down, and tried to help him up.
Lying there, Isengard cried out in anguish, "Run! Don't worry about me!"
Klein hesitated for a moment, about to make a decision, when he saw a viscous "liquid" flowing down from the ceiling, quickly condensing into a dark figure.
Odis, who had been observing everything, suddenly pulled out the secondary array of the "spatial array." With the array half-open, he used his other hand to grab a grape leaf that emitted a pure light.