Chapter 159: The Plan in Progress
Backlund, 69 Rose Street, second floor.
Mrs. Griffin, the landlady, frowned, looking at the messy room.
Scorched marks from black flames remained on the walls, several torn paper figures lay scattered on the floor, and a faint, strange sweet scent still lingered in the air.
She recalled the intruder from earlier, who, wrapped tightly in transparent threads, had frantically escaped through the window.
"A Demoness?" Mrs. Griffin murmured to herself, a hint of solemnity flashing in her eyes.
"I am indeed getting old, a bit too lax..."
She glanced around, sighing.
Such a situation was her fault according to the contract.
"Little Luo En—what kind of people have you been provoking out there—"
Meanwhile, in a dark alley a few blocks away.
Klein was being held by Irin in a somewhat ambiguous position, moving swiftly across the rooftops. The night wind howled past his ears, making him feel a little unreal.
"Put me down! I can walk myself!"
He snapped out of his daze and struggled to say.
Only after his feet were firmly back on solid ground did Klein breathe a sigh of relief. He straightened his somewhat disheveled collar, looked at his teammate, who was smiling charmingly before him, and asked, "Why are you here?"
"If I hadn't come, you'd be done for, great detective," Irin said, crossing her arms and looking at him amusedly.
Klein immediately retorted, "If you hadn't suddenly made a move, we wouldn't have fought at all!"
"Oh?" Irin raised an eyebrow. "You wanted to persuade that old woman? Do you think she would believe a dangerous individual like you, who 'illegally trespassed'?"
"That lady didn't seem unreasonable, and—"
Klein paused for a moment, then sighed, "If you hadn't made a move, she might have believed me. As a detective, I'm quite confident in my eloquence."
"Speaking of which," Irin didn't argue with him further, but suddenly took a step forward, her body almost pressing against his, her breath like orchids, "Why did you hide it from us and sneak out alone?"
Looking at her alluring face, so close, Klein unconsciously swallowed, his body stiffly retreating half a step.
"A detective's commission. The client requested confidentiality," he replied, feigning composure.
"Oh~ Even I need to be kept secret?" Irin's gaze became even more playful.
"— — —" Klein paused, but ultimately insisted, "Of course."
"What an unfeeling detective," Irin pouted, straightened up, and returned to her usual self.
"Never mind," she stretched, winked at him, "This time, you owe me one~"
"Let's go home, great detective~"
Watching Irin's retreating figure, Klein muttered to himself.
Demoness are truly terrifying. Bayam, a bustling dockside bar.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of cheap liquor, sweat, and tobacco. The curses of Sailors, the shouts of gamblers, and the flirtatious laughter of waitresses mingled together.
"How about that one?"
"No, too short."
"And that one—?"
"Too fat."
In an inconspicuous corner, Danitz and Luo En were speaking in low voices, both scanning everyone in the bar like wolves choosing their prey, without attracting attention.
In such a noisy environment, their small actions went unnoticed.
For Luo En, time was very pressing. Before the ten-thousand-pound bounty had fully fermented and spread throughout Bayam's Beyonder circle, he had to act quickly.
After some time, once the bounty spread, some things would not be so easy to do.
He had a bold plan, but he needed a suitable "substitute."
However, due to Bayam being in a special period, there weren't many pirates in the bar, so he couldn't find a suitable target for a while.
"How about that person?"
Just then, Danitz gestured with his eyes towards a young pirate drinking at the bar.
Luo En followed his gaze. It was a young man in his early twenties, with messy brown short hair, a lean build, drinking alone in silence.
"His height and build are very similar to mine," Luo En mused.
"Is that guy clean?" he asked.
"Clean?" Danitz chuckled. "That guy is called 'Bloodhand' Luca. Don't let his age fool you; he's been a pirate for many years. To quickly gain fame, his methods are quite cruel, and the blood debts on his hands are countless."
"What about his strength?"
"A sequence 8 Lunatic, far inferior to me," Danitz gave a definite answer.
Luo En's lips curved into a cold arc.
"Good, he's the one."
Half an hour later, "Bloodhand" Luca stumbled out of the bar, drunk, and swayed into an alley leading to the city.
Not far behind him, Danitz followed silently like a ghost.
As a Sequence 7 Hunter, tracking a drunken sequence 8 was not difficult.
The alley was pitch black, with only a faint light cast from the lighthouse at the distant dock. Luca had just reached the middle of the alley when he heard urgent footsteps behind him.
His heart jolted, and most of his drunkenness vanished. He spun around, only to see a tall figure blocking his retreat.
"Who are you?!" He instinctively reached for the weapon at his waist.
However, just then, another person emerged from the shadows in front of him.
A man with black hair and glasses.
Luca's brain instantly froze. He was caught in the middle of the alley, unable to advance or retreat.
As he hesitated, wondering which one to deal with first, the man with glasses suddenly looked up.
His eyes, hidden behind the lenses, seemed to transform into two bottomless whirlpools.
"Buzz—"
An invisible, chaotic mental shock instantly blasted into Luca's mind!
Mental Storm!
Luca's body stiffened abruptly, his eyes instantly becoming dull. He stood still like a Puppet whose soul had been extracted.
The next second, Danitz's figure suddenly appeared behind him. With a swift movement, a clean and sharp hand chop landed heavily on the back of his neck.
"Thud."
"Bloodhand" Luca didn't even have time to grunt before his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the dirty ground, completely losing consciousness.
"Bloodhand, a fearsome name. But his strength is truly mediocre," Luo En commented, looking at the unconscious pirate.
"What do we do now?" Danitz asked.
"While it's still dark, tie him up and take him to the house we just rented."
"By the way, are you sure the one you want to cooperate with is the same person we played cards with when we first met?"
"Yes. It's him," Danitz nodded.
"Hmm... I still need to plan a bit more."