SWNOVELXO Chapter 17: 17
Chapter 81: No Pocket Money (First Update)Title of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3098 words Update time: 2025-05-26 13:03:44
Hugh eventually resisted Caroline's offer of money, but she agreed to take Caroline to an extraordinary party she often attended.
Caroline was very happy about this, but when she saw that Hugh had no intention of accepting her "consultation fee", she still used soft and hard methods to force Hugh to accept a "donation" of only 5 pounds.
In her own words, this was an investment in the future of Miss Hugh Dilchar, a famous "arbitrator" in the East End.
After making an appointment with Hugh to meet at the Brave Bar at 7 o'clock on Saturday night, Caroline said goodbye to Hugh, left the bar, called a carriage, and started back to Cherwood.
Caroline, sitting in the carriage, looked at the passing streets with a wandering gaze, and kept thinking about the three options that Xio had just proposed to her.
The official bounty, the bar commission, and the Extraordinary gathering transactions are indeed progressively more dangerous, but in fact, if you think about it carefully, the dangers of the three may be similar.
The official bounty offered by the police station might also include the heinous murderers, and the bar's commissions might include finding people and things like Ovis Wein.
The only thing that seemed dangerous no matter how you looked at it was probably the commissioned projects at the Extraordinary gatherings. However, Caroline had not personally participated in any Extraordinary gatherings, so she would have to wait until she had a field investigation before she could draw a conclusion.
"So the best option now is to accept the official reward and the middleman-style commission..."
Caroline held her chin and pouted, her thoughts suddenly turning. She suddenly thought of something, straightened up abruptly and patted her legs.
Yes, come to think of it, wasn't it a bounty commission that I helped Ovis Wein find the swindler Lanevus in Tingen?
Tsk, what a waste of an opportunity to be a "Hunter". If I had known earlier, I should have bought the materials to become a "Hunter" before going to Tingen.
Oh, forget it, at least I got the potion materials as compensation, and the trip to Tingen for five days didn't actually cost me much. If you round it off, I basically earned two extraordinary materials for free.
Caroline could only comfort herself in this way. This was her usual way to maintain a good attitude.
...
After figuring out how to become a "bounty hunter" next, Caroline's carriage arrived at the destination after a short journey.
She was awakened from her wandering thoughts by the pause of the carriage. After judging from the street view outside that she had arrived at Blaise Street, Caroline got off the carriage and paid the coachman.
But just after paying the money, Caroline turned around and was about to walk towards her house. From a distance, she saw a familiar, luxurious carriage with a certain serious temperament parked on the opposite street.
"This is not…"
Caroline instantly had a bad premonition and quickly bypassed the obstruction of the luxurious carriage and looked further ahead.
Sure enough, at the door of 7 Blaise Street, which was also the front door of her house, she saw the handsome and agile figure in major general's uniform.
Albert Hanover, Caroline's step-uncle.
"Why did he come to my house at this time..."
Caroline rolled her throat and her expression unconsciously lost control for a moment.
At this moment, Caroline actually wanted to pretend that she saw nothing and leave, and then come back after Albert took his people away.
But she was already here, and it was impossible for her not to go home. Moreover, she could not hide forever. What if Albert brought people to block the door the next morning?
So Caroline took a few deep breaths, mustered up her courage, and then she crossed the road and came to the street on the other side.
As he walked past the carriage, Colonel Luca, who was standing in front of it, inadvertently turned his head to take a look, and saw Caroline, with a strange expression on her face, walking up from behind without making any noise.
He was really scared, not because he didn't feel someone approaching, but because he didn't expect that the person approaching was Caroline, and Caroline looked like she was going to hit someone.
Colonel Luca quickly took a step aside and was about to remind Albert who was standing in front of the door.
But the latter seemed to have sensed something, and when Caroline walked to the entrance stairs, he turned around and met Caroline's eyes.
Albert had a stern face and an indifferent expression. The moment her eyes met his, Caroline felt an inexplicable but faint sense of majesty and oppression, which was faintly enveloping her from all directions.
She took a breath and stood still in front of Albert.
Albert looked at Caroline, frowned slightly, and said:
"You're out."
"Uh-huh..."
Caroline was prepared to face Albert's questioning, but she didn't expect him to open his mouth with such a sentence.
Now she didn't know how to answer, so she could only respond weakly with a "hmm".
Albert then continued:
"When did you come back?"
"Last night."
"What did you do in Tingen?"
"Travel, collect materials…"
"What did you do when you went out?"
"…"
Albert's questions were as continuous as parts produced on an assembly line. Caroline tried to answer him patiently, but after answering a few questions, she saw that he had no intention of stopping, so she simply stopped answering.
She glared at Albert, walked up the steps stubbornly, squeezed past Albert, took out the key and opened the door.
"Wait a moment."
Before Caroline pushed the door open, Albert grabbed her arm, turned around, and said lightly:
"I should have told you not to wander around. Do you know how many banquet invitations I turned down for you during the time you were away from Backlund?"
"I don't know, and I don't care."
Caroline responded to Albert in a cold tone, shaking his hand away and pulling her arm back.
"You should know that these are very helpful banquets for you. They can expand your network in the aristocratic circle and will be beneficial to your future."
Albert turned around and took a step forward, completely ignoring Caroline's attitude and talking to himself.
At this time, Caroline had already walked into the house. She quickly turned around, grabbed the door and tried to close it.
But Albert took a step ahead, put his hand against the door, and moved his face close to the gap in the door, looking down at Caroline, just like he did when he came to the door the day after Caroline traveled through time.
Caroline twitched her lips, raised a very formal smile, and said:
"Dear Mr. Albert, I have not prepared a second dinner, so I am sorry that I cannot invite you to have dinner with me."
As she spoke, Caroline increased her strength and tried to close the door.
"Have you always cooked your own dinner?"
Albert said this, his left hand still on the door panel, and he remained motionless despite Caroline's force.
"I told you a long time ago to hire a housekeeper and a few servants to take care of your daily life. Do you think you look like a descendant of aristocracy now?"
Caroline gritted her teeth and slowly exerted her strength, beginning to use a little of the power of the "Hunter", while saying:
"My parents taught me to do my own things since I was a child. It is a good tradition in our family not to hire a housekeeper or servants. I have never considered myself a noble."
However, even though Caroline had used the power amplified after becoming a "Hunter", Albert outside the door remained motionless, and the door panel that the two were facing remained in the position where they first met, and even began to tremble slightly.
"I don't care what Karl and Catherine taught you before. Now I am your guardian and you should listen to me."
Albert said in a flat tone.
"Thank you for your hard work, my dear uncle, but I really don't want to focus on the trivial matters of the aristocratic circle right now."
Caroline increased her strength a little more, but in her eyes, Albert remained as unmoved as a mountain.
This is the power of the "Hunter", and she is completely no match for Albert.
Sure enough, as a major general of the Royal Army, Albert must have some connection with Feifan.
What sequence is he at now? And which path of Beyonder is he?
Caroline thought to herself without stopping the force she exerted on her hands.
In such a confrontation, Albert must have known that he had become an extraordinary person, but he did not say anything about it, and he continued to talk about those trivial things that made people feel overwhelmed.
Caroline couldn't figure out what Albert was thinking, so she had to continue playing the role of a rebellious niece, pushing the door open and saying to Albert:
"I have my own life and arrangements. I don't need anyone else to take care of me."
"In fact, I may go to Tingen again to start the second phase of interviews and investigations. Now I just came back temporarily because I missed home and sorted out the materials I collected."
"Are you going to Tingen again?"
Albert's tone finally changed. His brows furrowed more tightly, and a hint of dissatisfaction appeared in his eyes.
However, he finally said nothing more. At the same time, Caroline felt that Albert's strength against her was slowly weakening.
The confrontation between the two reached harmony with an inexplicable balance. Albert put down his hand that was against the door, stared at Caroline deeply, and said:
"You better know what you're doing."
Caroline smiled at him and replied:
"Of course I do."
Albert had a stern face and said nothing. He turned around and walked down the stairs, looking like he was finally leaving.
Seeing this, Caroline didn't have time to breathe a sigh of relief before she heard Albert say:
"From this month onwards, your pocket money will be reduced from £1,500 to £1,000 a month."
Caroline was stunned for a moment and opened her mouth.
Then she cried out in a bad temper:
"I know!"
Then she slammed the door shut.Chapter 82: Reward from the Police Station (Part 2)Title of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3083 words Update time: 2025-05-26 18:00:02
"General..."
A carriage bearing the insignia of the Royal Army stopped in the courtyard of Hanover House in the Queen's Borough.
Colonel Luca got out of the car and followed Albert Hanover closely, just like he did every day after becoming the adjutant of the major general.
Seeing that his major general superior had not spoken a word on the way back and remained in a state of deep thought, Luca couldn't help but whispered to Albert's side with some worry:
"Are you really not going to give Miss Caroline a serious advice? According to the information sent by the secret sentry, Miss Caroline seemed to be doing something else during her stay in Tingen besides interviewing people everywhere."
"What I said may be a bit offensive to Miss Caroline, but... the scout told me that on the day she left Tingen, she had a meal with a local entrepreneur in Tingen at a famous high-end restaurant there. Miss Caroline... seemed to have accepted a gift from that person."
Albert did not stop or slow down his pace. He kept his eyes forward as he walked, and said to Colonel Luca:
"This is her own choice. If she thinks she is right, then let her slowly verify it herself. Only then will she know what is right."
"I understand. But General, allow me to say a few words. Miss Caroline has obviously become a Beyonder. If…"
Colonel Luca hadn't finished speaking yet. As soon as the two of them passed through the spacious gate of the garden and entered the mansion, they saw an old man with a white beard and wearing a silk plush dressing gown sitting on the old black wooden chair in the front hall.
This is the contemporary Count of Hanover, head of the Hanover Family.
He is also Albert's legal and nominal father.
"Father."
Albert did not show any surprise. He stood calmly beside the wooden chair where the old Count of Hanover sat, and greeted him in a reserved and steady manner.
"Well, Albert, you're back."
The old Count of Hanover, with a thin face and deep wrinkles, stroked the gorgeous gem on the top of his cane with one hand and looked at Albert with deep and indifferent eyes.
Albert did not meet his gaze, but simply stared at the old Count of Hanover's nose, making it seem as though they were making eye contact.
After a brief silence, the old Count of Hanover turned his eyes to Colonel Luca beside him, and Colonel Luca immediately understood what he meant.
After saluting the old Count of Hanover as a soldier, Colonel Luca withdrew from the side door and took another route to the study to wait for Albert.
After Colonel Luca left, the old Count of Hanover let out a long breath, leaned forward slightly, frowned, stared at Albert and said:
"You're looking for that Williams' orphan again."
Albert did not deny it, nodded and said:
"Yes, I will go and warn her not to leave Backlund at will again."
"What was the result?"
"She wasn't going to listen to me, so I punished her."
Listening to Albert's explanation, the old Count of Hanover snorted coldly and said:
"Oh, what kind of children can be raised with Williams's educational methods?"
Stroking the pearl on his cane, the old Count of Hanover narrowed his eyes slightly and said meaningfully.
Then, he looked again at Albert who lowered his head slightly.
"Albert, you spend too much energy on that girl."
"She is already an adult. It's not like Williams didn't leave her an inheritance. The money is enough for her, as the last descendant of Williams, to live a much better life than ordinary people."
"If we can use her marriage to bring some benefits to the Hanover family, that would be best. But if the investment far outweighs the benefits, then we should stop decisively. Don't forget, that's Williams. Her bloodline and surname are destined to make her an unstable factor."
Albert lowered his gaze to the carpet on the ground with intricate and luxurious patterns, and said:
"I understand, Father."
The old Count of Hanover nodded with a smile, slowly stood up from the wooden chair with the help of his cane, walked slowly to Albert, raised his hand, which was no longer as strong as it was in his youth, and patted Albert on the shoulder.
"Remember who you are and where you belong."
The old voice gradually reached Albert's ears. He didn't say a word, but just lowered his head.
...
Adolescent rebellion always brings some bad influences. Although Caroline herself had long passed the rebellious period, in order to play her role well, she had to force herself to return to the rebellious period. As a result, the bad influences of the rebellious period naturally followed her.
This negative impact caused Caroline to lose 500 pounds every month, but considering the income level of the entire Rune, 1,000 pounds of pocket money per month can be considered super rich.
Caroline's living standard will not be affected by this, but she will have to think carefully about the purchase of extraordinary materials and some necessary items in the future.
But at least now, Caroline still had a lot of spare money in her bank account. After worrying for a while, she did a simple calculation based on the potion formula and material price calculation method provided by Ovis, and believed that these funds should be enough to support her promotion to Sequence 7.
As for the potion formula and material sources after that...it depends on her future choices.
Now it seems that her decision to become a bounty hunter was not a wrong decision.
So, the next morning, Caroline got dressed and went to the Backlund Police Headquarters, which was known as the "Silavis Field" by the citizens of Backlund.
However, unlike the famous British detective novels that Caroline was familiar with, there was no "flower" Inspector Lestrade in Sierravis Field, and Backlund also did not have the great detective Sherlock Holmes.
Since the reform of the police system in the Kingdom of Loen, Silaves Square has maintained the good tradition of being open to all citizens all day long. Therefore, after Caroline arrived at Silaves Street, she could see the open door of the police station from a distance.
However, it cannot be said that there are no people entering and leaving the police station, but there are not many either. After all, no one would just go to the police station when they have nothing to do, and the detectives in the police station usually do not go through the front door when they are out on duty.
The door that remained open was more of a symbol, a symbol of the glorious image of the Backlund Police Department in maintaining urban law and order and protecting the safety of citizens.
Caroline walked among the crowd on the street and slowly approached the entrance of Silavis Field.
Her target was not the inside of the police station, but a notice board erected outside the police station.
It was a bulletin board made of wood and metal, with a rain shelter on the top. The main body of the bulletin board was filled with a large number of wanted notices and police notices. Some were the most recent and still had brand new pages, while others were old and had faded and were hidden underneath other wanted notices.
In front of the notice board, several pedestrians stopped and carefully looked at the information on it.
Some of them might be like Caroline, coming to confirm the new official reward notice issued by the police station, but most of them probably just had nothing to do and happened to stop and observe the recent work at the Silaves Field.
Caroline walked over there and stopped next to the notice board very naturally, looking at the notice and reward on it.
"Collecting case clues...Tracing lost items...Looking for the person who caused the car accident...Silavis Field seems to be quite friendly to the people, but why does this look more like a commission issued to a private detective..."
Caroline looked at the large amount of miscellaneous trivial matters above, shook her head, and continued to look at a wanted poster below.
The information above is somewhat in line with Caroline's needs. The Sierra Vista Field has posted some clues about a burglar who has not been caught recently and is calling on citizens to pay more attention.
The specific location of the crime was in the East District near the dock area. According to the police, at least seven households had been burglarized, and the criminals were extremely cruel.
Without exception, the belongings of all seven households were stolen at night, but fortunately, there have been no casualties so far.
The Sierra Vista Police Station paid close attention to this case and handed it over to the East District Police Station and the Dock District Police Station for joint investigation.
The task force sent people to visit and investigate the residents near the crime scene, asked them for relevant clues, and conducted an on-site investigation.
What can be confirmed at present is that the suspect is most likely a male, with a height of approximately 1.63 to 1.7 meters, short and thin, but agile.
"Burglary? If left alone, it could easily turn into a conflict and murder."
Caroline thought about it and silently memorized the wanted poster.
Then, as she looked to the other side of the notice board, she heard several onlookers nearby murmuring at a notice on it.
"Counting the previous murder, this is the murderer's fourth crime, right?"
"Goddess, this must be a premeditated serial murder case."
"I remember that there seemed to be a serial murder case with similar methods four years ago. Didn't they say that the murderer had been arrested at that time? Could this case be a copycat crime?"
"This is extremely arrogant. This is a naked provocation to Backlund's order."
Listening to the indignant condemnations of the gentlemen, Caroline couldn't help but look curiously at the notice they were talking about.
"Recently, an unidentified suspect has committed murders in many places in the city. The latest victim was found in the early morning of July 5. The murderer's method of committing the crime is extremely vicious. Sierra Vista hereby warns all citizens to avoid going out at night as much as possible and to lock the doors and windows. If you find any clues of the murderer, please report it to the nearest police station immediately! Chapter 83 Extraordinary Gathering (Part 3)Title of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3203 words Update time: 2025-05-26 20:00:00
Serial murder case? My goodness, this is so scary...
July 5th, wasn't that just two days ago? She was still in Tingen at the time and was unable to obtain this information from the Void Cube.
Caroline looked at the description on the notice and subconsciously recalled the remaining memories of the night her original body was murdered.
Her body almost began to tremble reflexively, but after becoming a "hunter", her ability to control her body was significantly improved, which allowed her to immediately suppress the fear from deep in her heart.
She had just been joking about the Sierra Vista Field and the Sherlock Holmes stories, but she had never expected that there really was someone like "Jack the Ripper" in this world.
And from what those gentlemen said, it seemed that this kind of serial murder case had happened more than a few times in Backlund. It had already happened four years ago.
Backlund is truly an orderly city of hope...
Caroline complained to herself that this kind of speech would soon become a common topic among social commentators in newspapers.
A vicious murder case of this level is not something that a "bounty hunter" like her who has not yet started her business can figure out. She can only hope that the Sierra Vista Field will not disappoint the trust of the citizens and solve the case as soon as possible.
However, Caroline is pessimistic about this.
...
Caroline continued to browse some notices on the bulletin board. After writing down the relevant information of a case similar to the burglary in the East District, she left the vicinity of Sierra Vista Field.
After that she went to the shooting club in Cherwood.
Seeing Boss Hank's bald head again, Caroline felt an indescribable sense of familiarity. This might be because she had just been to the Backlund Police Station, and Boss Hank himself was a retired police officer.
As before, Caroline and Boss Hank didn't have much conversation. She selected the gun and bullets, paid the amount, and Boss Hank gave her the selected weapon and target paper and let her practice on her own. It was that simple, straightforward and neat.
Caroline didn't know if this was a habit left in Hank's career as a police officer, but it was obvious that Hank didn't seem to be the talkative type, which was fatal for doing business.
Through the observation ability of the "Hunter", Caroline observed the situation in the underground shooting range when she came to the shooting range again. Judging from the footprints left on the ground and the distribution of dust, it seemed that Boss Hank had not received many guests since her last visit.
But Boss Hank didn't seem to have any idea about this. Maybe he opened this shooting club just to kill the boredom of retirement and had no intention of making any money from it.
"Is this the leisure life of a retired police officer? How much retirement allowance does the police station provide to such officers?"
Caroline was still thinking to herself, and after looking a few more times at Boss Hank who was lying in the armchair with his eyes closed, she stopped thinking too much and began to concentrate on practicing her shooting skills.
She spent the rest of the morning on shooting training. After practicing, she found that her shooting skills had improved significantly as she gained the power of "Hunter".
Before, her normal two-handed shooting could only ensure that she would not miss the target, but the specific accuracy was difficult to predict. But now, she can almost guarantee that every bullet will hit the position she wants.
This is a very good phenomenon. At least for Caroline, who is about to become a "bounty hunter", accurate shooting skills are an indispensable ability.
After leaving the shooting club with satisfaction, Caroline found a restaurant to have her lunch and then returned to 7 Blaise Street.
She still remembered that Xio had made an appointment with her yesterday to take her to a Beyonder party tonight.
They had agreed to meet at seven in the evening. It was obviously still early, but Caroline decided to conserve her energy for the evening's action.
Although after becoming a "hunter", Caroline felt that her energy was sufficient to keep her energetic for the whole day with just a short sleep, for her, sleeping was still a habit and a good way to relax her body and mind.
So Caroline didn't do anything else. After changing into her nightgown, she dived into bed and said goodbye to the whole afternoon.
...
When Caroline woke up, the sunlight outside the window was gradually fading.
I turned over, picked up my pocket watch and looked at the time. It was just a little after 6:20 in the evening.
Caroline quickly shook off her tiredness, went to the bathroom to wash up, and then changed into the hunter's suit.
Xio had told her before that it would be best to disguise herself so as not to be recognized.
For this reason, Caroline also asked Hugh whether she would disguise herself when she went to the party, but Hugh answered no.
Because her appearance was already very famous in the East District, there was no need for her to disguise herself.
Caroline was different. In the "Brave Bar", people only knew that she was a friend of "Arbitrator" Hugh Dilcher, but did not know her name.
Therefore, Caroline put on an extra black hooded cloak over her hunter's suit to cover her face.
After observing her outfit in the mirror and confirming that there was nothing wrong with it, she took her self-defense weapon, the "Silver Key" and the most important cash and went out on foot to the Backlund Bridge District.
By the time Caroline arrived near Tiemen Street, the time had already reached 6:56.
Across the street, Caroline could already see Hugh Dilcher, who had quite conspicuous features, waiting outside the "Brave Bar".
"Have you been waiting for a long time?"
Caroline trotted from the corner of the street to the door of the Brave Bar and whispered her apology to Hugh.
Xio shook his head, indicating that he had not waited too long.
She looked at Caroline's appearance and said with some approval:
"You really do look like a bounty hunter...but!"
Facing Caroline's complacent attitude, Xio suddenly changed his words, looked up at Caroline, and sternly reminded her:
"We agreed that you cannot accept dangerous commissions at that party. Since I brought you to that party, I am responsible for your safety."
Caroline was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect that Xio still cared about this.
Without thinking too much, she immediately made a promise to Xio. After all, she really had no intention of going to the Beyonder gathering to accept a commission, at least not now.
After confirming Caroline's attitude problem, Xio nodded, looked at the current time, and then took her quickly to the other end of Iron Gate Street and called a carriage.
After Caroline paid the fare in advance, the two got on the carriage one after another, and Hugh told the coachman a location.
Caroline recalled that it seemed to be near the border of Queens and Hillston.
The carriage moved forward steadily on the streets of Backlund as night fell. A thin mist had already risen from the Tussock River, dampening everything on the road and obscuring the limited light of the kerosene lamp.
Caroline and Hugh didn't talk much in the car. As the guide, no one knew what Hugh was thinking, while Caroline kept observing the surrounding environment.
The report on the serial murder case that she had seen in the morning just happened to appear in her mind at this moment. She didn't want to encounter any discordant things when she went to the Beyonder gathering for the first time.
Fortunately, no accidents happened along the way until they arrived at their destination. It seems that even Mr. Serial Killer needs some rest.
After getting out of the car with Hugh, Caroline followed him and started walking west along the street.
Caroline was somewhat familiar with the route in this area, because Queens was just ahead.
Whether she had gone to see Albert before or went to Sierra Vista Field in the morning, she had passed through Queens.
Could it be that the Beyonder gathering that Xio took her to was located in Queens? This was too bold...
You know, the Queens District is the place with the best public security in the entire Backlund, and the most stringent patrol and inspection measures, basically second only to the Sodrak Palace where the royal family lives.
But Caroline soon realized that this bold move was not just a random guess on her part.
Under Hugh's guidance, the two turned several corners along the street and finally entered Queens from the west exit of a square.
Skillfully avoiding the patrolling guards on the road, Xio took Caroline to walk in the area where the villas were located for about ten minutes, and finally stopped outside an inconspicuous house.
Caroline noted down the route along the way and compared it with Backlund's map in her mind.
She was surprised to find that the house was less than two blocks from Sierra Vista Field.
This is truly a typical case of a great person hiding in plain sight!
Standing in front of the house, Xio turned around and introduced to Caroline:
"This is the meeting place. The time of each meeting will be announced through the coded advertisement published in the newspaper. I will tell you how to decipher it later."
"Caroline, I believe in your ability, but today is your first time attending a party like this, so if there is anything that needs to be negotiated, please don't say anything and leave it to me."
As he spoke, Xio patted his lower back, and Caroline clearly heard a slight sound of metal collision.
Are you sure you really know how to negotiate...?
Caroline thought so, but her body still nodded honestly to Hugh.
Without saying anything more, Caroline followed Hugh, who took a few steps forward to the door and knocked on it in a regular pattern of three long and two short knocks.
Without waiting too long, the door slowly opened, and the light from inside the house leaked out, illuminating the messy footprints on the carpet at the door.
Before she and Quinn entered the house, Caroline saw that quite a few people had gathered in the house.
However, what attracted Caroline's attention most was the man sitting on a single sofa, wearing a black hooded robe similar to hers.
Unlike other people in the room, he looked at everyone around him quietly with a very proud attitude.
Caroline realized almost immediately that this person was different from everyone else, including them.
And it was at this moment that Caroline's eyes met with the man in black robe.Chapter 84 Roselle's DiaryTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 2939 words Update time: 2025-05-27 13:47:17
The moment their eyes met, Caroline felt an irrepressible discomfort spreading throughout her body from her toes to the top of her head, as if she had been completely seen through, and she couldn't help but shiver all over.
Facing her was the dark gaze of the man in black robe hidden in the shadow of his hood, but she could not see through him at all.
Noticing Caroline's reaction, Hugh Dilcher glanced in the direction of her gaze, then lowered his voice, moved closer to her and said:
"This is Mr. A, the convener and organizer of this party."
Mr. A? Why does this code name sound like the code name of a certain type of criminal used in the case...
Caroline pursed her lips and nodded, and Mr. A did not look at her for too long after their eyes met for the first time. After staring at her for a while, he looked away and continued to look at other people in the house with an indifferent look as if he was not involved.
The two walked into the house, and the gatekeeper immediately closed the door after they came in.
Caroline followed beside Xio and briefly observed the situation inside the house. She found that it was a fairly spacious living room. There were a large number of footprints on the floor. It can be judged that these footprints came from different people. There were so many people that Caroline couldn't count the specific number for a while.
At this time, there were already quite a few people sitting in the room, but they were all sitting quite scattered, with chairs and sofas placed randomly without much order. Xiu was now leading her towards a small empty sofa.
Following beside Xio, Caroline continued to ask:
"Is this Mr. A very powerful?"
Xio nodded and replied quite seriously:
"Mr. A is a powerful Beyonder. No one knows his specific path and sequence. But there have been several cases where some Beyonders of Sequence 8 and even Sequence 7 have targeted him and wanted to harm him, but those people eventually disappeared."
Even Sequence 7 Beyonders can't get any benefits from Mr. A...!
Caroline took a deep breath. This was the first time she had met such a powerful Beyonder.
Of course, the mysterious Mr. Fool cannot be counted among them.
Since Sequence 8 and Sequence 7 Beyonders could not pose a threat to Mr. A, he should be at least a Sequence 6. But from what Xio said, it seemed that Mr. A did not spend much effort to deal with those troublemakers, so he was very likely not just a Sequence 6, but a Sequence 5, or even...
Caroline quickly stopped her thoughts, but she felt that no matter what, Mr. A would not be able to exceed Sequence 5.
"At such an extraordinary gathering with such a powerful person in charge, how many hidden talents will there be..."
With this thought in mind, Caroline and Hugh sat on the sofa.
Under the dim light of the gas lamp, Caroline looked at the two blackboards standing at the front of the room.
There were lines of words written on the blackboard, most of which were names of items and their corresponding prices, as well as some requests for materials, weapons, and potion formulas.
The listed items were quite rich. It was the first time that Caroline saw so many names of extraordinary materials appear in front of her.
To be honest, compared to now, the underground trading market where Ovis Wein usually sets up his stall is really more like a simple vegetable market.
Scanning the blackboard, Caroline suddenly found something that interested her.
"Emperor Roselle's mysterious notes, two pages, 13 pounds."
Wow, isn't this the emperor's diary? There are actually people selling this kind of thing at the extraordinary gathering!
Caroline's eyes lit up and she reached out to touch the small bag inside her pocket.
She had plenty of cash with her today, and from what she could see, the materials sold at the party were very affordable.
So she leaned towards Hugh, who seemed to be looking at the content on the blackboard as well. When she noticed Caroline approaching, she immediately listened attentively.
"What should I do if I want to buy something? Should I just say it?"
"Yes, you have already found something?"
Caroline nodded and replied:
"I am quite interested in Emperor Roselle's notes."
Xio was stunned for a moment, scratching her hair in a strange way, then she seemed to have thought of something, and murmured with a look of sudden realization:
"By the way, you are a student at Backlund University. I wonder why you are interested in this kind of thing."
While Xio was communicating with Caroline, a man who did not put on much disguise stood up from his seat, walked to Caroline in small steps, and asked in a low voice:
"You want to buy Emperor Roselle's mysterious notebook?"
Caroline looked at the slightly abrupt young man, hesitated for a moment, but still nodded to confirm.
The young man rubbed his hands excitedly and asked:
"Are you also interested in Emperor Roselle's mysterious writings?"
"Well, I'm interested. I've done some research."
His expression became visibly excited, he seemed very thrilled, as if he had met someone with a similar interest.
"Yes! I am also studying those mysterious words!"
"Do you want to buy the notes to study? I can sell them to you right now. I have gained a lot from studying those two pages of notes!"
Did you get any reward? Why, did the emperor just make some sketches in his diary?
Caroline suppressed her smile and thanked him in a friendly manner. Then, using her cloak to cover herself, she counted the money and handed him 13 pounds, exchanging the money for the goods.
After getting the two pages of the diary, Caroline quickly looked at the contents.
"May 13th, I'm dying. There's definitely something wrong with the oysters at the banquet yesterday! I haven't left the bathroom for the entire night. If this continues, I might end up in the hospital!"
"The Tort family is really a bunch of idiots. I thought they just lacked political acumen, but now it seems that their entire family has incomplete brain development due to inbreeding. They can't even check the quality of oysters. Did they just find two people on the street to set up their own kitchen? I will sue them, sue them hard!"
"On May 15th, the hospital in Trier was useless, and I had to rely on myself! Fortunately, I still remembered some folk remedies my grandmother taught me, otherwise I, the protagonist, would have been killed by diarrhea before I could accomplish anything great."
"…"
Caroline twitched her lips and glanced at the young man who was still standing next to her with shining eyes.
Please tell me you didn't learn something about how to treat diarrhea...
Looking at the notebook in Caroline's hand, Xio turned sideways and asked:
"How is it, there shouldn't be any problem."
Caroline nodded reluctantly.
Xio heaved a sigh of relief and turned to look at the two blackboards again.
Caroline saw that she was looking for something and asked curiously:
"What do you want to buy here?"
Hugh did not hide his true feelings and answered directly:
"I'm looking for the formula for the Sequence 8 potion on my path. It's called 'Sheriff'."
"Sheriff"?
Caroline looked at the blackboard thoughtfully. There was indeed a Sequence 8 potion formula for sale on it, but it was not the potion that Xio wanted.
"Sequence 8 'Barbarian' potion formula, 450 pounds."
"Barbarian"? What kind of potion is this? Its predecessor sequence can't be called "Goblin"...
Caroline was thinking so wildly, and she glanced at Xio out of the corner of her eye. She saw that she was a little disappointed because she didn't find the potion formula she wanted.
It seems that even if I have enough money, it is not so easy to find the potion formula...
Shaking her head, Caroline looked at the second page of the emperor's diary in her hand.
"November 10th, it is said that Intis is a country with the "Hunter" heritage. Now it seems that this rumor is not false at all. The former royal family, the Sauron family, is in charge of the potion formula of the entire sequence of the "Hunter" pathway. My subordinates told me that the Sauron family also hid some treasures related to the "Hunter", so I should be careful of their counterattack."
"It's really ridiculous. Am I afraid of them? Even if the "Hunter" is the way to control the war, so what? Didn't they still succeed in overthrowing me with my clever and brave means? War, war, war depends not only on strength, but also on the people's hearts, and more importantly, on brains! And I am the most intelligent person in this era!"
The emperor really did not hesitate to brag about himself in his diary. Did he never think about what would happen if his diary was seen by other travelers from Earth in the future?
Caroline calmly put away the notes. She didn't look at them for too long to prevent others from noticing anything.
However, just from such a cursory glance, the information she got was enough for her to chew on for a while.
Intis is a country with a "hunter" heritage, which is very interesting information.
Combined with what Ovis had told her before, Intis has an organization composed entirely of extraordinary people from the "Hunter" path. Perhaps she can go to Intis to explore the "Hunter" path in the future.
But, the way to control the war...
Caroline couldn't help but think of the conclusion of the "Notes" that described her becoming a "War Chariot".
"How long can the peace last?"
Are all abilities after the "Hunter" path related to war?
Is the "Void Cube" hinting to her that there might be a war in the future?
How much does this relate to me?Chapter 85 HuntingTitle of the Book: Mystery: Fire and the Fool's Path Author's name: December's Stranding Chapter word count: 3347 words Update time: 2025-05-27 18:08:57
During the subsequent gathering, several deals were reached openly and secretly.
Mr. A's servants also came down one by one to ask the participants if they needed anything or if they wanted to have a face-to-face conversation with the person selling the items.
The organizer, Mr. A, has prepared small rooms for private interviews for each participant. If there is something you want to seek but don't want others to know, you can also write what you want on the blackboard in these small rooms.
When asking Caroline and the others, Caroline thought about it and decided not to ask for the "Hunter" Sequence 8 potion formula.
On the one hand, it was because she already knew that Ovis had the formula, and the trusting relationship between her and Ovis was at least closer than that between her and the strangers here.
On the other hand, just like Mr. A's idea of providing them with a small room, she didn't intend to reveal too much about her sequence.
The party proceeded in an orderly manner. After the transaction, it was time for rest and conversation. However, no one seemed to have anything to say, so Caroline did not speak either. She quietly observed the developments in the party and analyzed the useful information in the two pages of the emperor's diary.
As the party was coming to an end, Caroline and Hugh left the house together.
When we walked out of Queens, it was already around eight o'clock in the evening.
Caroline accompanied Xio and slowly walked to the Backlund Bridge. After confirming that no one was following them, Xio said goodbye to Caroline and walked towards the East District.
Watching Xio walk away, Caroline also started to leave the bridge.
But she just walked around briefly, then returned to the Backlund Bridge, crossed the Tussock River, came to the bridge area on the other side of the river, and then quietly entered the East District from another direction.
...
Under the dark night sky, patrol police officers walked across the slippery and dirty cobblestone road. Teams of police officers were holding kerosene lamps, checking the door locks and windows of every household.
The thefts in the Tuckerton neighborhood have become so severe recently that new cases are reported to the local police station almost every day.
Half a month ago, there was only one family, and then a few days later another family came. Now, almost one family is robbed every day, and there is even a trend of multiple incidents happening in one day.
The living conditions in the Tuckerton neighborhood were slightly better than those of most of the poor in the East Side, but only slightly better. For the residents here, thefts in their homes would make their lives very difficult for the next few months.
In order to prevent theft from happening to them, the residents here even started to arm themselves and dared not sleep at night, for fear that thieves would visit them after they fell asleep.
But even with such anti-theft measures, thefts still occur.
Sierra Vista Field has issued a notice to the East District and Dock District police stations, asking them to arrest the arrogant thief as soon as possible.
This made the detectives in the branch feel very troubled, because in all the previous investigations, no one had directly witnessed the criminal's exact appearance. The closest time they had seen the criminal was when the male owner of a family got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and accidentally saw the thief committing a crime.
That is one of the sources of the police's current description of the thief: male, short and thin. The more specific height prediction was calculated by the detectives based on a rough assessment of the thief's footprints left at the scene.
The police had no idea how to catch a thief who left almost no clues, so the police station had to organize night patrols to conduct night searches in the Tuckerton neighborhood in the hope of "coincidentally" encountering the thief in the act.
After checking the situation of another family with a kerosene lamp, the police officer in charge of the inspection complained a little bit unbearably:
"The sheriff is really torturing us. He makes us walk around the streets in the middle of the night. We'd be surprised if we run into a thief!"
He looked at the pocket watch in his hand, and the number on the hour hand told him that it was already midnight.
"Stop complaining Walter, the Sheriff told us to do this, so we'll do it."
The police officer next to him patted the officer named Walter on the shoulder and comforted him.
"Unless there's a really big fog one day, so severe that you can't see anything more than one meter away, then maybe we can run into the thief directly."
Walter spoke sarcastically as he looked at the mist in the air cast by the street lights.
The night fog in Backlund tonight was not very thick. It was just a thin layer of mist composed of water vapor and those annoying stench.
But it is this kind of fog that makes people most uncomfortable.
After complaining about his work for a few minutes, Officer Walter, with the comfort of his team members, picked up the lamp and prepared to go to the next house to continue the investigation.
"Shua…"
Suddenly, the police officers on the scene heard a strange noise coming from a dark alley nearby.
The police officers who were still somewhat slack were startled and bent over to grab the batons and pistols at their waists. Walter, who was closest to the alley, quickly took the light and shone it into the alley, shouting:
"Who is it!"
Under the illumination of the kerosene lamp, the alley before the police officers was empty.
There were a lot of discarded debris piled up at the innermost end of the alley, and at the end was a tall wall that didn't look easy to climb over.
A false alarm?
The police officers rushed into the alley and checked around, but found nothing. At most, they saw some cloth and worn-out clothes with rat bites in the pile of miscellaneous items.
Walter stood in front of the wall and compared it with the other two, confirming that even well-trained policemen like them could not climb over it without making any noise.
"It should just be the noise made by a mouse or some animal..."
Shaking their heads, the police officers withdrew from the alley one after another.
...
The light of the kerosene lamp gradually faded away. Caroline, who was crouching on the roof of a house next to the alley, quietly raised her head, looked at the movements of the police on the street below, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"The police officers in the precinct are still very vigilant..."
While admiring the professionalism of the police officers, Caroline looked at the large sack in her hand.
A rough estimate showed that the sack was big enough to fit a short man.
Just now, she took a detour into the East District and first went to the police station near the neighborhood where thefts occurred frequently to confirm the details. Then she went to the houses of those who had been burglarized one by one to investigate.
Since the thief's case investigation cycle has lasted for more than half a month, the quality of clues and traces left at different scenes varies.
But even so, Caroline used the "Hunter"'s powerful observation and tracking abilities to find the footprints that were most likely to belong to the thief from among the different footprints at various scenes, and tracked them all the way to this vicinity.
But the footprints were diluted by the ordinary footprints of daily walking. Caroline had no choice but to start checking every house one by one using the most primitive method.
Until just now, she discovered that the latest set of target footprints appeared outside a certain house, and left a large number of wandering and lingering footprints in front of the main door, the windows on both sides, and the windows in the alley next to the house.
With so many footprints left here, either the house is the thief's base, or... that is his next target.
Caroline and others who were squatting on the roof saw that the police had completely gone away, then they moved their bodies again and began to move through a large number of roofs next to each other.
I don't know whether I look like Batman or Spiderman...
The "Hunter" potion not only gave Caroline a body as strong as a bear, but also gave her movements as nimble as a cat. She was able to climb over tall walls and move back and forth on the roof without making too much noise.
Soon, Caroline took the sack and moved to the rooftop, which was determined to be the thief's next victim.
She was not sure whether the thief would commit crimes tonight. Although according to the information posted by the police station, the thief's crime frequency was getting faster and faster, almost one crime every day, and he committed two crimes in a row yesterday, but this did not necessarily guarantee that the thief would commit crimes again today.
Maybe the thief will stop a little and avoid the police's attention.
But Caroline didn't care about it. This was her first time trying "hunting" and it didn't matter if she failed.
If the prey didn't show up, there was nothing she could do.
Once in position on the roof, Caroline took out the Silver Key and deployed the Void Cube outdoors for the first time.
The solid space enveloped Caroline, and she immediately focused her attention and looked at the illusory map in the space.
In the map, an aerial view of the area around the house below her was clearly projected.
This is a typical old house with two floors, but the second floor is only used as a warehouse.
The living conditions in the Tuckerton neighborhood are indeed better than those in the core area of the East Side. After all, many people there cannot afford to live in a single-family house and can only share a house or even a room with others.
The thieves are indeed selective in who they target. These people happen to have a little money, and when they are robbed they don't have much spare money to hire someone to catch the thieves, so they don't have to worry about retaliation.
Caroline checked the situation inside the house shown on the map and confirmed that there were four people in this household, all sleeping in one room.
The map also showed a small half of the nearest house, which was a little worse off than this family. Caroline saw many overlapping dots displayed on the upper and lower floors of a room, which meant that the house was shared by several families.
Before becoming a Beyonder, Caroline had tested that if she simply unfolded the "Void Cube", she could probably maintain it for about an hour, but if she was reading the "report" at the same time, she could only maintain it for thirty minutes.
After becoming a "Hunter", the two times became two hours and one hour respectively.
Caroline wasn't sure how long she could keep looking at the map, she just hoped she could see at least something interesting before her energy ran out.
In this way, Caroline lay on the roof, unfolding the "Void Cube" and staring at the "map" quietly.
She even entered a certain meditative state to maximize her energy.
Time passed slowly, and Caroline could also see time in the "Void Cube".
She waited, awaited, ambushing her prey like a seasoned hunter.
As twelve o'clock passed and the night gradually turned into the early morning, Caroline's energy was slowly exhausted, but she still insisted on unfolding the "Void Cube".
Until one moment, a discordant little dot broke into the area shown on the "map".