Minsk Street.
Around noon, Klein bought some lunch nearby. On his way home, a ragged newsboy suddenly approached him and asked, "Sir, would you like to buy a newspaper?"
Seeing that it was already noon and the other party's morning newspaper was still not sold out, Klein took out a penny from his wallet: "Give me one."
"Thank you, kind sir," the newsboy said immediately. "You'll have good luck."
Klein smiled as he took the newspaper and went home, intending to read it while eating lunch.
Suddenly, a voice sounded behind him: "Sir, would you like a newspaper?"
Klein jumped up suddenly, turning around while already extending his index finger, ready to "fire" at any moment.
There was no one behind him!
Klein lightly touched his teeth, activating his spiritual vision, but there were no ghosts or anything like that.
"Sir, would you like a newspaper?"
The voice appeared behind them again.
Klein forced himself to calm down. The Joker's warning ability had not detected any danger, which meant that although what was happening now was strange, it was not very dangerous.
Or rather, there won't be much danger until the other party is stimulated by certain factors.
Klein thought for a moment, then suddenly bent down and looked behind him through his crotch. The ragged newsboy from before was now standing on his dining table, looking at Klein with an eager expression, as if hoping that he would sell him a newspaper.
Klein tentatively asked, "Who are you?"
"Kind sir, you'll surely have good luck," the newsboy said with a smile.
Klein stood up again; it seemed the other person only knew those two sentences.
He pondered for a moment, then prayed to himself, and came to "above the gray fog" to observe the newsboy through his own stars.
He was a newsboy!
However, in the "real view," this newsboy seems somewhat unreal.
So Klein tried using the "Black Emperor" card and the "Paper Doll Substitute" ability, and leveraged the power of "Above the Gray Mist" to conjure an angel and cast it into his own star.
The "angel" crashed into the newsboy, passed right through him, and disappeared into the restaurant.
Klein, sitting at the head of the bronze table, frowned. This was the first time he had encountered a situation that even the Fool couldn't handle.
His first thought was to seek help from "the mechanical heart".
After all, he's now an informant for "Mechanical Heart," so "Mechanical Heart" will definitely help him.
But he also had some doubts, fearing that his experience was too bizarre and that the "Mechanical Heart" would capture him for research.
At this moment, he thought of "Mr. Garr," who was very familiar with "The Mechanical Heart," and could ask him to act as guarantor.
But before that, Klein decided to do a divination first to find out what was going on with the newsboy.
So he divined "above the gray fog": "Where does this newsboy come from?"
Where did this newsboy come from?
"..."
After reciting it seven times, Klein used meditation to enter a state between sleep and wakefulness.
He only saw a very blurry picture, and he couldn't see the surrounding environment clearly. He could only vaguely see two strangely shaped windows.
A pale-faced middle-aged man with an unreal light in his eyes was kneeling devoutly before an altar, chanting incantations.
That altar was different from the altars we usually see. It was divided into three layers, and each layer was painted with many complex and extraordinary symbols.
Just then, the symbol in the center of the altar suddenly lit up, and Klein immediately heard a sharp murmur in his ear. He was jolted awake from his dream, and even with the protection of "Above the Gray Mist," blood was flowing from his ears.
Klein judged that the damage caused was not significant, far less than that caused by "Eternal Sun".
Of course, it's also possible that the being represented by this symbol hasn't yet unleashed much power.
Back in the real world, I heard that question again: "Sir, would you like a newspaper?"
By this time, Klein had completely calmed down. After thinking for a moment, he immediately took a horse-drawn carriage to the "Nanmu Ballroom".
...
No. 66, Rose Street.
Odis had just returned from Backlund University and was about to have a cup of tea and rest before considering lunch.
At that moment, his pocket watch lit up; it was a signal from Mandy.
Could it be that Mandy's intelligence network has obtained some important information?
As Odis pondered this, she returned to the basement, changed out of Gandalf's "wizard" clothes, and transformed back into Odis, the herbalist shop owner.
After changing his clothes and teleporting again, Odis appeared at the "Nanmu Ballroom" as "Mr. Gar".
Ms. Mandy was on the third floor. When she saw Mr. Garr come out of his room, she immediately came up to him and said, "Detective Sherlock is here."
He said he had something very urgent to discuss with you and asked you to come as soon as possible.
Odis nodded: "Where is he?"
"He said he needed to be in a room alone," Mandy replied. "So I put him in a private room."
As they talked, Mandy led the way.
Upon reaching the second floor, Odis found herself in a spacious private room where she saw Klein, sporting a beard: "Welcome, Detective Sherlock..."
"Sir, would you like a newspaper?"
A passionate yet mechanical voice interrupted Odis.
Odis then noticed that behind Klein was a seven or eight-year-old, ragged newsboy who was looking at Klein eagerly.
"Buying a newspaper every hour or so is not dangerous," Klein explained.
On his way here, his spirit suddenly sensed a sense of crisis. Just as he was preparing to fight, he had a sudden inspiration and bought another newspaper from the newsboy, and the sense of crisis disappeared.
"Of course, this time may shorten over time." Klein took out his wallet and smiled wryly, "I don't have many coins left."
Odis said to Mandy behind him, "Go get some pennies and don't let anyone near this room."
Mandy couldn't see the newsboy or hear his voice, but after hearing Detective Sherlock's words and seeing Mr. Garr's reaction, she guessed that something important had happened.
After the door closed, Odis sat opposite Klein and smiled at the newsboy, saying, "Son, come over here. Let me see what's in your newspaper."
But the newsboy seemed not to have heard Odis's words, and remained standing behind Klein, eagerly asking, "Sir, would you like a newspaper?"
Just then, Mandy brought over some coins, which Odis put in her pocket. "He seems only willing to sell you newspapers? When did you meet this newsboy?"
Klein smiled wryly and said, "About two hours ago, I bought him a newspaper because I felt sorry for him."
"He also said I would have good luck, and that's exactly what I've been lucky with."
Odis smiled. "He doesn't seem to have a physical form?"
"Yes," Klein replied, "He's like a ghost; he can pass through any object."
The great detective paused for a moment and then said, "There is indeed such a newsboy on Minsk Street, and I see him occasionally."
"I made a point of looking for him when I came, and he was still selling newspapers on the street."
Odis thought to himself: This is more like a "projection".
Then he asked, "May I see the newspaper you bought from him?"
Klein said, "I've seen it. It's not news. It's about creating and controlling zombies using one's own spirituality."
"I suppose this is considered good luck," Odis said as she took the newspaper. "After all, such knowledge is difficult to acquire except by extraordinary individuals through specific means."
Those below the level of demigods only possess the ability to create and control living corpses through the "Death God" and "Prisoner" pathways.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Other extraordinary individuals can only acquire their abilities by praying to high-sequence extraordinary individuals in these two pathways for power.
Otherwise, even if an extraordinary being from the "Death God" or "Prisoner" pathway earnestly teaches extraordinary beings from other pathways how to create and control zombies, those extraordinary beings from other pathways can at most learn how to create zombies, but find it difficult to learn how to control them.
As for those above the demigod level, they can use these abilities temporarily through some clever tricks, but ultimately they are not as professional as the extraordinary ones who follow the "Grim Reaper" and "Prisoner" paths.
Odis took the newspaper, and as soon as he opened it, the newspaper immediately became illusory, turning into a stream of information composed of numbers and symbols that flowed into Odis's eyes.
The change happened so fast that Odis had no time to dodge. By the time she reacted, the message had already disappeared from her sight. Odis instantly understood how to create and control living corpses without praying for power.
Only three can be made, and their lifespan is no more than one month.
Three or more would burden Odis's spirituality, making it impossible for him to control the excess living corpses.
Seeing this, Klein stood up and asked, "Are you alright?"
Odis touched the blood at the corner of her eye: "So far, I'm fine."
Just to be on the safe side, I'll have to venture into the "wilderness of knowledge" for a bit to disinfect myself.
He looked at the newsboy again: "I think I know why he's here, and I also know how to solve the problem."
Klein was slightly taken aback: "Are you confident?"
Odis laughed and said, "I'm sure even the 'Mechanical Heart' isn't as confident as I am, because I happen to have a magic array to deal with this kind of situation."
Klein nodded: "What kind of payment do I need to make?"
"300 pounds," Odis said. "I originally intended to ask for 600 pounds, but I just learned some knowledge, so I'll deduct 300 pounds for you."
"Alright." Klein felt a little reluctant, but he also knew that 300 pounds was not expensive to solve such a problem.
Odis entered the empty area of the private room and began to draw a magic circle.
Seeing that Mr. Garr's movements were very skillful and he didn't seem to be worried about being disturbed, Klein asked, "Is this a magic circle that even the 'Mechanical Heart' hasn't mastered?"
"Yes," Odis said as he drew, "To be precise, it is the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery that disdains solving problems with magic arrays."
Klein recalled how Mr. Garr had used a magic circle to make the two of them, who were not known for their strength as Sequence 7s, rotate a townhouse.
He was somewhat confused: "Even if it's useful, we won't use it?"
Odis smiled and said, "If you were out and met a fortune teller on the roadside who claimed his divinations were very accurate, would you believe him if you were certain he wasn't an extraordinary person?"
Klein roughly understood what Mr. Garr meant: "In my impression, the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery is a church that pursues the truth."
"Perhaps it is that kind of church," Odis began to conclude. "But human prejudice is like a mountain. No matter how fair those scholars are, when they see my research, their first thought is to find fault."
"Because they are professionals, and I am an amateur, they won't waste too much time and energy on amateurs."
Klein nodded and said nothing more.
"The magic circle is finished." Odis stood up, took out a few coins from his pocket and handed them to Klein: "I'm going to get a crystal, and if there's any danger, I'll buy a newspaper."
Klein took the coin and watched Mr. Gard leave.
Two or three minutes later, Mr. Gard returned, this time with a crystal rich in spiritual energy.
After placing the crystal on the magic circle, Odis said, "Jump over this magic circle."
Klein did as he was told, and the newsboy followed him forward into the magic circle.
Under Odis's command, Klein adjusted the position, placing the newsboy in the very center of the magic circle.
At this moment, the newsboy seemed to sense the danger. He stopped staring at Klein and looked at Odis, then examined the magic circle beneath his feet.
However, the opponent's wisdom was still limited. Before he could react, Odis infused the magic circle with spiritual energy.
One by one, the symbols and patterns on the ground lit up, and the newsboy seemed to jump up instinctively, but a white light dome that shimmered with an illusory glow had already formed above him.
The newsboy crashed into the light shield, instantly breaking his head and causing it to bleed profusely; his head even seemed to have been flattened.
This magic circle was modified by Odis based on the sealing magic circle he obtained from the ruins of the Terensost Empire. However, what he was facing now was not an evil god, but only some power overflowing from the ritual of summoning the evil god.
Therefore, Odis simplified the magic circle, which was sufficient for sealing.
The original magic array's power came from a demigod-level sealed artifact or extraordinary properties, but the simplified magic array doesn't need such strong power; it only needs a spiritual material.
Odis continued to infuse the magic circle with spiritual energy, and the illusory light barrier gradually solidified, sealing the newsboy who tried to escape by jumping inside the magic circle.
At this moment, the newsboy suddenly became illusory, transforming into a series of scrolling information streams that entered the mystical symbols of the magic circle.
This was the first time Odis had encountered such a situation; the target actually wanted to break into the magic circle to escape!
Fortunately, the crystal was there as a barrier, and the newsboy got trapped inside it.
Odis quickly picked up the crystal, covered it with the "wall of spirit," and wrote a series of symbols on it, finally completing the seal.
Holding the crystal, Odis belatedly realized, "For a moment just now, the newsboy seemed to be the embodiment of knowledge!"
Klein was slightly taken aback: "He comes from the 'Hidden Sage' or the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom'?"
Both of these deities seem to be related to the "embodiment of knowledge," but the "Hidden Sage" seems to be closer to it.
Considering that someone is performing a ritual to invoke the descent of an evil god, it is very likely related to the "Hidden Sage." After all, the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" is one of the seven righteous gods, and it is unlikely that he would allow his followers to perform such a ritual.