Chapter 17 - Special Operations Department

"Black Thorn Security Company." Seeing the sign, Klein was stunned for a long time, having a feeling that was unexpected but also logical. It really... I don't know how to joke about it... He shook his head and laughed, ascending the steps, extending his right hand and gently knocking on the half-opened door. Bang! Bang! Bang! The slow and rhythmic knocking echoed, but there was no response from inside. Only faint "tap-tap-tap" sounds could be heard. Bang! Bang! Bang! Klein repeated it again, but the result was the same. He changed to pushing instead of knocking, widening the gap, and his gaze followed as he saw a set of sofas, soft armchairs, and a wooden coffee table that were presumably for reception, and a table directly opposite, as well as a girl with her head bowed and brown hair slowly falling down behind her. Although the sign "Security Company" was just a disguise, it was too... too unprofessional, wasn't it? How long has there been no business coming in? Well, you don't need any business... Klein muttered to himself as he moved closer, knocking twice on the table beside the girl. Bang! Bang! The brown-haired girl sat up straight, suddenly grabbing the newspaper spread out in front of her and covering her face. "The Honest Citizens' Gazette of Tinggen City... What a nice name... " Klein murmured to himself as he looked up at the raised head on his side. "Direct to Conston City's steam train 'Flying Train' opened today... Really, when will it be able to reach the Dix Bay directly? I don't want to take a boat anymore, it's too uncomfortable, very uncomfortable... Eh, who are you?" The brown-haired girl recited in a pretentious manner and expressed her opinion, while speaking, she lowered the newspaper, revealing a smooth forehead and light brown eyes, first showing a pleading expression and then a surprised look at Klein. "Hello, I'm Klein. Moretti, invited by Mr. Dunn. Smith." Klein took off his hat and placed it on his chest, bowing slightly. The brown-haired girl looked around her early twenties, wearing a light green Ruhn-style casual dress with beautiful lace on the cuffs, collar, and chest, making her face even more beautiful. "Captain... okay, wait here for a moment, I'll go ask him." The girl hurriedly stood up and entered the inner room through the adjacent door. There was no need to pour a cup of water or anything... Service awareness is worrying... Klein smiled slightly, waiting in place, not going to the sofas and chairs. After two or three minutes, the brown-haired girl pushed the door open, smiling sweetly and saying: "Mr. Moretti, please follow me. Captain is on duty at 'Channis Gate' today and can't leave." "Okay." Klein walked with a gentle step, but his mind was wondering. What is Channis Gate? Through the partition, what first caught his eye was a short corridor, with about three offices on either side. Some of these offices were locked, while others were open, and he could see people inside using heavy mechanical typewriters to type non-stop. Looking at it for a moment, Klein actually recognized a familiar face: the young police officer who came to search his house that day, with black hair and blue eyes, with a poet's romantic temperament. He wasn't wearing a suit, and his white shirt wasn't tucked into his pants, looking carefree. Perhaps he really is a poet... Klein nodded in greeting, and the other person returned a smile. The brown-haired girl turned the handle of the office on the far left of the end and pushed the door open, pointing inside and smiling: "There are still a few more floors to go down." This office didn't have any items, only gray-white stone steps extending downward. The walls on both sides of the stairs were lit by elegant gas lamps, the stable light dispelling the darkness and bringing peace. The brown-haired girl walked ahead, staring at her feet, walking carefully: "Although I often come here, I still feel scared. I always worry about falling and rolling down. You have no idea. Leonard did such a stupid thing. On the first day he became a 'non-sleeper', on the first day he didn't fully master his own power, he tried to run down at a sprinting speed. Then, then he turned into a wheel, ha ha, thinking about it is funny. Well, that's the guy who just greeted you a moment ago. This was three years ago. To tell you the truth, I joined the Night Watchers. I was only seventeen at that time..." The girl said naturally while looking at the road ahead. Suddenly, she secretly patted her forehead and said: "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rosan. My father was a former member of the Night Watchers who died in an accident. From now on, we should be colleagues. Er, we should use the word 'colleagues'... We can't be teammates yet. After all, we are not extraordinary beings." "I hope to have this honor, but in the end, it depends on Mr. Smith's opinion." Klein looked at the enclosed surroundings and felt that the two of them were starting to descend into the ground - the stone walls exuded a cold dampness, dispelling the heat of summer. "Relax, being able to let you come directly here means the captain has agreed. I've always been a little afraid of the captain, although he is kind and takes care of people, the feeling I had for my father, for some reason, I was just afraid." Rosan's voice sounded like it had a piece of candy in it. Klein responded humorously: "Is it normal to be afraid of your father?" "That makes sense." Rosan reached out to support the wall at the corner. While speaking, the two finished the spiral staircase and came to the flat stone floor. This was a long corridor, with metal grilles embedded on both sides of the walls to form gas lamps, the light spreading down and stretching out the shadows of Klein and Rosan for a long time. Klein noticed keenly that every certain distance there was a "Dark Holy Emblem", which was the symbol of the Night Goddess - "Deep black as the base, brilliant, surrounded by exactly half of the crimson moon." These emblems seemed ordinary, but walking among them, Klein's mood gradually became calm. Rosan also closed her mouth and no longer chatted as she did before. Not long after, a crossroads appeared in front, the brown-haired girl briefly introduced: "Go left to reach the Saint Selina Church, go right to the weapons, materials and literature library, go straight to the Charnis Gate." Saint Selina Church? Could Zorteland Street be behind the Red Moon Street? Klein was stunned. The Saint Selina Church in Red Moon Street is the headquarters of the Night Goddess Church in the city of Tinggen, it is the sacred place that all local devout believers aspire to, together with the Steam and Machinery God Church "Saint Number Church" in the outskirts and the Storm Lord Church "River and Sea Church" in the north of Tinggen, they support the religious world of Tinggen City and its affiliated towns and villages. Not wanting to ask too much about his current status, Klein just listened silently without speaking. After crossing the crossroads, going straight ahead, less than a minute later, a black iron double door engraved with seven holy emblems appeared in front of the two. It stood there, giving an impression of heaviness, coldness and a commanding look, like a giant guarding in the darkness. "Charnis Gate." Rosan mentioned and pointed to the adjacent room, "The captain is inside, go in yourself." "OK, thank you." Klein replied politely. The room Rosan pointed to was just a little in front of "Charnis Gate", the window was open, and there was light shining through, Klein took a breath, and calmly flexed his fingers. Ding! Ding! Ding! "Come in." The deep and gentle voice of Dunn Smith came out. Klein gently pushed open the partially closed door and saw that there was only a table and four chairs inside, Dunn Smith with a high hairline was wearing the black windbreaker from the other night, leisurely reading a newspaper, near the button on his chest there was a gold watch chain. "Sit down, have you made up your mind? Are you sure you want to join us?" Dunn put down the newspaper he was reading and smiled as he asked. Klein took off his hat and bowed, then sat down at the table and nodded slowly. "Yes, I'm sure." "Well, take a look at this contract. Ha ha, nowadays people call it a 'contract'." Dunn opened the drawer of the table and took out a copy of the contract in two identical copies. The terms on it weren't many. They were mostly the same as what Dunn. Smith had mentioned before, with the emphasis on the confidentiality clause. If a violator didn't go through the Kingdom Court but was instead judged by the Arbitration Court of the Night Goddess Church, it would be like soldiers and officers going through the military court. "I have no problem." "Then sign it." Dunn pointed at the dark red pen and ink on the table and said. Klein first tested the pen on a scrap of paper, then took a deep breath secretly, signing his full name, Klein. Moretti, at the corresponding positions on both copies of the contract. Since he didn't have an official seal, he could only press his fingerprint at the end. Dunn took the contract back, took out an official seal from the drawer, and stamped it at the end and several key points. After all this was done, he stood up, handed back one copy of the contract, and reached out his hand to Klein: "Welcome. From now on, you are one of us. Remember, the contract must also be kept confidential." Klein stood up and followed him, taking the contract and holding his hand, smiling: "So, should I call you Captain now?" "Yes." Dunn's grey eyes were exceptionally deep in the dim light. After shaking hands, the two sat down separately. Klein looked at the seal on the contract and noticed that the text was "Rune Kingdom Ahova County Tinggen City Night Watch Team". "I never expected you would use 'Black Thorn Security Company' to cover up." He said with a casual laugh. "Actually, we have another logo." Dunn took out a piece of paper from the drawer. It had the seals of the municipal government and the police department, and the content was two lines of words: "Rune Kingdom Ahova County Police Department Special Operations Unit No. 7." "The first four groups are normal police for security, such as the protection group for important figures and the protection group for important places, while from the beginning, we have been dealing with supernatural events in each city of the county. Our seventh group is responsible for events related to the goddess believers in Tinggen City. If there are different believers, they will be divided by region. We mainly cover the northern, western, and golden willow area regions." Dunn gave a brief introduction, "The sixth group of the 'Reparators' of the Storm Lord Church is responsible for the dock area, the east area, and the south area, the university area, and the suburbs, which is also the 'Mechanical Heart' team in Tinggen." "Um." Klein had nothing to ask about this matter and instead smiled, "What if someone really comes to ask for a mission under the name of 'Black Thorn Security Company'? What should we do?" "Accept it. Why not? As long as it doesn't affect the daily affairs, that's fine." Dunn replied calmly and humorously, "If we make money, it will be an extra bonus. The team members are quite happy about it. Anyway, these troublesome and trivial matters like looking for cats or dogs are now all handled by private detectives." "Our Night Watch Team has a total of how many people?" Klein asked on this topic. "The number of supernatural events is not many, and the number of extraordinary individuals is even fewer. There are only six official members of the Night Watch in Tinggen City, including me. Ha ha, including the civilian staff, you are also one of the six." Dunn answered calmly and unhurriedly. Klein nodded and finally asked the matter he was most concerned about: "Captain, what do you mean by the extraordinary individuals going out of control? Why are they going out of control?"