Just as Odis was questioning his own plans and objectives, he suddenly thought of the old Kohler, whom he had never met.
Then Odis's eyes hardened: even in hell, some people still hold onto hope for the future. Even if we cannot save their souls and bodies, we must save that hope.
Next, Odis wrote with lightning speed, drawing one magic circle after another.
After drawing for more than an hour, during Odis's break, Bernadette's voice finally rang out behind him: "What's going to happen in the East District?"
"Someone is planning a disaster here." Odis answered honestly, "a disaster that could kill tens of thousands of people."
Bernadette then asked, "Why don't you tell the official Extraordinary about this?"
Odis smiled wryly, "There's no way to explain the source of the intelligence to them."
This is the most difficult part. Although he is deeply trusted by the "Mechanical Heart," even his guesses will be taken seriously by the "Mechanical Heart."
But this time is different because it involves the royal family and 0-08.
The former would make "Mechanical Heart" treat it with caution, potentially alerting the enemy, while the latter would give the enemy an early warning, thus allowing them to begin "writing stories" about "Mechanical Heart" and Odis.
It's quite possible that the members of "Mechanical Heart" and Odis will miss the best opportunity to solve the smog incident due to ridiculous reasons such as oversleeping or collective diarrhea.
Therefore, Odis still needs to plan and implement this matter herself. Besides, Odis has no intention of exposing the royal family's conspiracy or cracking down on the "Witch Cult." She just wants to save some people who shouldn't have died like this.
They are straw stalks, teetering on the brink of collapse in a gust of wind.
But now that someone is going to cut it off in advance with a sickle, Odis can no longer pretend not to know.
Bernadette asked again, "There must be a huge conspiracy behind this, right?"
"Yes?"
"Aren't you afraid of their retaliation?"
"Afraid."
"Then why do you still do it?"
Odis suddenly smiled: "There are always things that are above all else."
At first, he didn't understand the sentence. But when he realized that it might anger the king of the country and even make Adam take notice, he suddenly understood how absurd the underlying logic of this world, which was based on the extraordinary, was.
At the same time, he realized that having a strong opponent was one thing, but whether he would act or not was another.
Ultimately, Odis chose to do it.
Even if the risk is extremely high.
Bernadette paused for a few seconds, then asked, "What kind of enemies might I be facing?"
Odis thought for a moment: "The Witch of Despair."
Bernadette said "Oh," and "I understand."
Odis smiled slightly at the air, grateful that Bernadette hadn't pressed for details.
They drew until after 2 a.m., and Odis had used up almost all the spiritual materials she had prepared. Finally, the large "composite magic circle" was finished.
Bernadette escorted Odis back to her lodgings: "See you tomorrow."
She had a premonition that something big would happen tomorrow.
Odis smiled and said, "See you tomorrow."
After Bernadette left, Odis went to the fireplace and warmed herself quietly for a while until she felt warm all over before returning to her room to rest.
...
North District, Government Street, "MI9" office building.
Late at night, the light in the office of the action team leader, Corraymond, was still on because the head of MI9, Selt, had given him a final deadline: he had to find Odis before the end of the workday the next day.
Recently, MI9 has been under considerable pressure. Until evidence of Odis's or the "leader's" crimes is found, the Church of the God of Steam and Machines has been constantly questioning Corraymond's previous actions.
As things stand, the three churches are almost united in questioning MI9's decision, and if this continues, the three major churches may very well intervene directly in the matter.
Seltzer had to make concessions at this point, so he issued an ultimatum to Corremond.
If he can't catch the man and give the three churches an explanation by tomorrow, Corraymond's career will be over.
So he worked overtime through the night, searching for clues.
Corraymond believed that several days had passed since the search of the herbal shop, and Odis had surely started sneaking out again.
Checking the intelligence and extraordinary reports from MI9 in the past few days should yield some clues.
By 5 a.m., Corraymond had already drunk several cups of coffee and was just about to take a short rest when a clue suddenly caught his eye.
It says that a very magical "wizard" has come to Backlund, who is clearly a wild extraordinary being.
Just as MI9 was preparing for its routine investigation, Mechanical Heart sent a letter saying that this "wizard" was involved in an extraordinary case they were investigating.
As is customary, such routine investigations are terminated immediately.
It often happens among official Extraordinary organizations that one organization discovers an Extraordinary criminal and is about to arrest him, only to be informed by another Extraordinary organization that he is their criminal.
According to the usual practice among official organizations, whoever discovers the criminal first is responsible for the investigation.
But Corraymond still sensed something was wrong because the "Mechanical Heart" was reacting too quickly.
In such cases, another official organization usually only becomes aware of the situation after a routine investigation has already begun.
However, while MI9's routine investigation was still in the preparation stage, the letter from "Mechanical Heart" arrived!
It was as if they weren't stopping MI9's investigation, but rather announcing that they were going to protect this "wizard".
Claymond immediately perked up and began to carefully examine the document. He quickly and astutely noticed that the time when "Gandalf the Wizard" appeared was also the time when Odis was not in the herbalist's shop.
Although MI9 could not interrogate Kena, it could interrogate the residents and shop employees around the herbal medicine shop.
They eventually obtained a relatively detailed schedule of Odis's recent visits to the herbalist's shop.
While the information about "Gandalf the Wizard" is not as detailed, it is not difficult to find from the dates that the two have never appeared at the same time.
After thinking for a moment, Corraymond immediately summoned a member skilled in divination and asked him to divine whether the wizard Gandalf would be home that evening.
Because of some information about the wizard Gandalf, members skilled in divination created the horoscope.
Theoretically speaking, even without information about Gandalf's hair or other frequently used items, it's still fine for simple divination.
However, the members skilled in divination failed twice.
Instead of being discouraged, Corraymond was quite happy, because whether it was "divination," "leadership," or divination of Odis, the result was the same: failure!
Corraymond was almost certain that this was Odis's other identity.
But just to be on the safe side, we should double-check.
Of course, you can't go directly to Rose Street, as that would easily alert the target or the "Mechanical Heart".
However, in the extraordinary world, there are ways to confirm it again.
Corraymond orders the search for a portrait of the wizard Gandalf!
Many people have seen this wizard, such as the former Viscount Vader and the servants of the current Baron Vader household.
Without much effort, Corleymond obtained Gandalf's portrait.
After staring at the portrait for two or three seconds, he was certain that this was Odis.
Although Odis's makeup skills were quite good, the facial features hidden behind the costume could not escape the eyes of the former "interrogator," now the "judge," Corraymond.
It was already past ten in the morning. While Corraymond was dispatching his best surveillance personnel to keep an eye on Gandalf from a distance, he immediately went to Celt's mansion to report his findings.
Selt was delighted upon hearing the report and told Corraymond to go ahead and arrest the man without worry, as he would handle the "Mechanical Heart's" questioning.
Just then, his subordinates reported that Gandalf had gone out, seemingly to meet someone.
Selt immediately became serious: "Follow him and see who he's going to see."
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
...
No. 66, Rose Street.
Odis got up early, made the final preparations, and after having lunch at noon, leaning on his wooden staff and carrying a cloth bag, he went out, took a taxi, first sent a letter to the Backlund Mechanical Research Society, and then traveled to the East District.
Midway down Black Palm Street, Odis got out of the car and stood there quietly waiting, looking quite like he was about to meet someone.
...
15 Minsk Street.
As Odis left, Klein also left.
He is going to Prince Edsack's Red Rose Estate today to tell the prince his "investigative findings".
Or rather, go and find out more about the matter, and then use a vacation as an excuse to quickly leave Backlund.
The process went very smoothly. Klein, now the "Faceless Man," made himself look older to prove that he had been working hard recently, but due to his lack of ability, the investigation had to end there.
The prince did not make things difficult for the great detective and politely instructed his butler to send a carriage to take Klein away. Up to this point, everything went smoothly.
As the Red Rose Manor receded into the distance, even Klein breathed a slight sigh of relief, believing that he had left the "0-08" stage.
Just then, an idea struck him: he saw the carriage door open quickly and then close silently.
Before Klein could react, a figure flashed out: a woman dressed in a heavy black dress and wearing a sapphire ring.
Upon seeing the sapphire ring, Klein, who had already stood up, sat back down, not daring to make any rash moves.
That was a level 0 sealed artifact, and he knew that any resistance he offered would be futile.
At this moment, the figure was fully revealed. She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a slightly round face, narrow eyes, and a gentle and refined demeanor. She was an exceptionally beautiful woman.
Klein was taken aback at first, then recognized her and blurted out, "Triss!"
They had met before in Tingen, when the beautiful woman in front of them was named Triss and was a man.
Triss wasn't surprised; instead, she exclaimed with delight, "I knew you knew me!"
"Otherwise, it would be impossible to miss meeting you time and time again due to various coincidences."
Klein asked cautiously, "What do you want to do?"
Triss smiled and said, "It's simple. Report me to the 'Night Watchers,' 'Punishers,' and 'Mechanical Heart' as soon as possible! Let them come here and arrest me!"
Klein was initially bewildered, but then quickly realized: Triss would rather be locked behind the Charis Gate than stay at Red Rose Manor.
He then asked in a deep voice, "What are you afraid of?"
Triss paused for a second, then widened her eyes: "Someone is manipulating my life!"
"They even changed my name, making me... call me Trischik!"
Chick!
Klein immediately recalled an entry from one of Roselle's diaries: ...The name of the "Primordial Witch" is Chick!
As terrifying speculations flashed through his mind, Triss raised her right hand, letting her slender white fingers slowly slide down her side. The gesture was so alluring that even the distracted Klein couldn't help but swallow.
Triss chuckled with a hint of mischief, "If you can inform the official Beyonders about this, and I happen to run into you before they arrest me, I wouldn't mind showing you what true pleasure is."
After she finished speaking, she disappeared, and the carriage door opened and then closed.
It took Klein a second or two to come to his senses: What... what am I thinking! What am I looking at! Who dares? Even the Fool wouldn't be able to withstand it if he suddenly awakened as the "Primal Witch".
Klein quickly broke free from the "allure" and began to try to save himself!
He's back in the spotlight of "0-08," and this time "0-08" will definitely delve deeper into "Detective Sherlock" and find a way to get rid of him.
Klein took a deep breath, snapped his fingers, and a dry branch on a large tree not far away was ignited. The flames quickly rose, and Klein's figure disappeared from the carriage, emerging from the flames by the roadside.
Snap snap snap~
Klein snapped his fingers repeatedly, his figure flashing through the sparse, withered trees as he made his way to the nearest church at top speed.
In addition, as he ran, he took out the Azik copper whistle from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and blew it.
Without a sound, white bones gushed out of the ground like a fountain, and a skeletal messenger over four meters tall took shape.
He had just found Mr. Azik's trail, but because of "0-08," he hadn't dared to contact Mr. Azik. Now, he couldn't care less about that; he had to do everything he could to save himself.
Klein temporarily stopped "Flash", took out a pen and paper he carried with him, and wrote down a word: Help!
After the messenger disappeared, he assumed a praying posture, briefly recounted Triss's situation, and then entered "above the gray fog" to "send" to Audrey, reminding her, as "The Fool," that Chick was the name of the "Primordial Witch."
Just as Klein was about to continue his escape, his eyes narrowed as he saw several flaming meteorites falling rapidly, engulfing the entire forest.
After cursing a few times in his mind, Klein was overwhelmed with despair.
Just then, a change occurred before my eyes. The various colors suddenly became richer and overlapped together, as if forming a strange oil painting.
A figure emerged from the rich colors; he was of medium build, with bronze skin and rather soft features.
Klein exclaimed with delight, "Mr. Azik!"
Azik waved his hand, indicating that now was not the time for reminiscing. He grabbed Klein's arm and led him into the depths of rich color.
Everything around me seemed like a phantom, rushing past rapidly.
Klein had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly felt Azik's hand gripping his arm tremble violently, as if his strength was very unstable. Then Klein felt his body sink, and the rich colors gradually faded and disappeared.
He was somewhat dazed, realizing that he was in an ancient ruin, with an upward passage leading deep into the rock wall and out of sight.
The next second, a figure appeared not far away. He had only one eye, and his features were like those of a classical sculpture.
Klein narrowed his eyes: Ince Zangwell!