met free Chapter 108 Night Raid
Chapter 108 Night Raid
Before the blue-haired man could notify the others, Suren put away the books and quickly left.
As for how Charles would explain the origin of the books later, that was not his concern.
"However, Arabella knows of Joseph's existence. If Charles negotiates with the Howard family, they will know that the book thief is connected to Charles."
"Although my [Information Shackles] can block investigation, the other side can still find some clues by following Charles's lead."
"Yes, we can use the 'Information Shackles' to mislead them. They'll only know that Brian sold the book to Karen Dantès, so at least on the surface, the book thief won't be traced back to me."
As for the indiscriminate retaliation that the other party might retaliate against when cornered, Suren is not too worried.
After all, Arabella is still officially a member of the Howard family, so she can't use the Howard family to take revenge on Suren.
Actually, if it weren't for the sensitive nature of the area where the other party was located, Suren would have preferred to kill Joseph and the others, since keeping them alive would also pose a threat.
……
That night.
Silent Chords Secondhand Shop.
Suren was sitting at the table, flipping through the mysterious book.
The book is made of a very special material; it feels slightly warm to the touch.
Suren tried to pierce the paper with a pin, but found that the paper was unusually stiff, deforming the pin.
As for the contents of the book, just like last time, he couldn't understand the text at all.
Although the book contains a few illustrations, these illustrations are very abstract, and Suren has no idea what they are trying to express.
It's not that Suren is uncultured; in fact, ever since he saw this book last time, Suren has taken the time to look up some linguistics books.
Later, Suren discovered that the text in this mysterious book did not exist in the existing language system at all, and was more like an ancient lost language.
"I wonder how the Howard family cracked that mystery..."
Suren sighed. It seemed he wouldn't be able to interpret the book's contents independently, and he even felt that his asking price of 5000 pounds was a bit too low.
"Never mind, the important things are all in those ruins, gold pounds are secondary."
Suren couldn't help but recall what Mrs. Howard had mentioned before, the so-called "secret to becoming a god."
Although Suren did not believe that a single site could hold such an important secret, it seemed, at least for now, that site must contain many valuable items.
Suren was still very interested in the mysterious "Elovian the Dawn, God of Life".
After putting the books away, Suren used "Source of Knowledge" to create a small piece of flesh and blood, which he then stuck to the crack in the door of the secondhand shop.
These flesh and blood were connected to his consciousness, and if they were damaged, even in his sleep, Suren could sense it.
This is a habit Suren has developed since arriving in Libraton; after all, one must be careful on church territory.
Of course, this measure is not without its flaws; for example, Suren's own "Mirror World" ability could perfectly circumvent it. But Suren already knew that no existing superhumans possessed similar spatial jump abilities; Suren's ability was unique.
After securing all the key doors, Suren went back to her room to sleep.
……
late at night.
A dark figure arrived at the door of the Silent Chords secondhand shop, holding a long axe in his hand. With a sudden swing, the glass door shattered instantly.
Strangely, he made no sound at all during this action.
The man then strode into the room without making a sound.
He then walked through the hall, went up the stairs to the second floor, and after checking several rooms, he finally arrived at Suren's door.
The dark figure kicked open the door, saw the bed inside, and walked straight over to it.
Without the slightest hesitation, a sinister smile appeared on his lips, and he brought his axe down!
Then came the second axe, the third axe...
But then the shadowy figure realized something was wrong: why was there no blood?
"Hey, my blanket is very expensive."
A voice like a thunderclap rang out behind the shadowy figure. He turned around in disbelief and found a sinister-looking man standing behind him, with a gleaming mirror at his feet.
The man was none other than Suren. He chuckled and said, "Isn't it strange? Why can I talk? Why are there suddenly sounds around me?"
The shadowy figure fell silent, hurled the axe at Suren, and then surged forward, seemingly trying to break through.
Suren raised his hand and shot, aiming directly at the opponent's forehead at such close range.
Suren didn't think the shot would hit. Just as he was about to dodge the attack and fire a second shot, he found that the dark figure had fallen straight to the ground, blood flowing everywhere.
"Dead?" Suren was somewhat taken aback. "Even if he was just a Seer of Reason, he shouldn't have died so easily."
He turned on the gaslight and carefully walked up to the man.
After a thorough examination, he discovered that the other person was indeed dead beyond any doubt.
Having experienced countless fierce battles, Suren was now somewhat bewildered: "Were the enemies I encountered before just too overwhelming?"
After saying that, he looked at the messy room and couldn't help but sigh.
……
Several hours later, Suren had finished cleaning the room and disposed of the attacker's body using some methods.
He was sitting at his desk in the study, and he took out the documents that Charles had provided earlier.
Suren had just examined the attacker and confirmed that he was one of Joseph's henchmen. To Suren's surprise, according to the information provided by Charles, this guy was actually an Awakened.
He was not one of the common superhumans that Etherine had mentioned before, but rather, like Suren, one of those rare and unusual superhumans who appeared by chance.
Suren checked repeatedly and confirmed that this person was not a puppet, but a genuine superhuman.
"But this guy is way too weak, and his ability is very limited, which is just to eliminate sound..." Suren couldn't help but shake his head.
But Suren was also somewhat naive; in reality, the attackers had already killed quite a few people using this method of sneak attack.
If Suren hadn't set up a warning device beforehand, and hadn't used the mirror pool placed in the room to move through the mirrors, he might have actually been killed by this guy.
Suren thought about the method that person had used to block out sound, and after careful consideration, he found that it actually had some merit.
"But he's an awakened being, it's too strange for him to only have one ability, it's like he's been castrated..."
Thinking about this, Suren suddenly realized something: "Wait, castration, now that I think about it, the abilities of the known superhumans all seem to be biased towards a single aspect."
He took out his notebook from the ring and listed out all the types of superhuman abilities he knew of.
"The abilities of the four known churches do indeed correspond to four different aspects: the Libra Church corresponds to equivalent exchange, the Judgment Church corresponds to law, and the Shield of Watch and the Church of Eternal Silence are more special, with their abilities seemingly mixed, but each also has its own bias..."
The more common supernatural beings known to the public also follow this corresponding pattern; the concepts of "oath," "cause and effect," and even the attacker's "silence" are all relatively singular.
As Suren wrote, he became more and more fluent, as if he had uncovered a corner of the secrets of this world.
After some time, looking at what she had written, Suren couldn't help but have a guess:
"The power system of this world is like it has been castrated. You can only choose one path and cannot change it in the middle. Moreover, the power of each path is very narrow."
Following this line of thought, based on what Etherine mentioned earlier about borrowing, are we borrowing some kind of single-nature power through ritual?
What lies hidden behind the power system of this world?
He couldn't help but think of the "secret knowledge" that represented his extraordinary abilities.
If the "General Knowledge Manual" hadn't been corrupted by the "Evil in the Mirror," the extraordinary power I currently possess would also be a one-dimensional "General Knowledge."
Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a little worried: "Currently, my ability is a combination of the power born from the 'Mirror Demon,' all thanks to the mysterious 'Book of Secrets' in my mind. So the power system I'm using has also changed somewhat. If I continue to use the original method of advancement, will there be any other problems?"
He couldn't help but take out the "Manuscript of Truth," hoping it might provide the answer.
However, Suren was not in a hurry to use the manuscript now. After all, there was still a lot of time before he was promoted to "Agent". He could make the most of the "Manuscript of the Truth Speaker" by collecting more information.
At this moment, Suren couldn't help but think of another question: how did Joseph manage to track him down?
He closed his eyes and activated [Revelation]. Perhaps because he had enough information and the attacker's low rank, Suren's [Revelation] was a complete, uninterrupted sequence of images.
At this moment, in Suren's mind, it was like watching a movie, with scene after scene replaying.
In the scene, three people are standing in a row, including the man who attacked Suren.
Before them, a small, weasel-faced man was assigning tasks: "Joey, you handle Charles. Pike, you handle Herbert. As for you..."
He pointed at the man who attacked Suren: "Go to that 'Silent Chord' general store."
He then pulled out a dagger and brandished it against his neck: "Remember! Do things cleanly, or you're all dead!"
The scene then became blurry, and Suren returned to her cottage.
Suren couldn't help but feel a little puzzled: "That little mustache must be Joseph. Judging from his appearance, all I know is that the books are related to Charles, but I don't know who has them... and he even sent someone to find Herbert on his own?"
Suren recalled the dark-haired detective Herbert she had met that morning and couldn't help but chuckle: "What a coincidence! Is he the detective Charles hired?"
……
Perhaps because of the attacker's death, Joseph did not send out any more assassins that night.
Time flew by and it was the next morning. After finishing breakfast, Suren was sitting downstairs, dozing off.
A short while later, Charles and Loft arrived in their carriage as promised.
Good morning, Mr. Dantès.
After greeting everyone, Charles glanced at the broken door and said helplessly, "It looks like you were attacked too."
"Mr. Charles, you didn't sleep well last night either, did you?" Suren replied with a smile.
"It's not entirely stable, but Henry is very good at dealing with assassinations, so it's not a big problem."
Charles nodded, then smiled. "But it was this attack that let me know you've definitely completed your mission successfully."
Without saying anything more, Suren simply took out the book, handed it to Loft, and attached a note: "This is my account at St. Heng Bank. You can transfer the funds here."
Loft carefully put the note away, then examined the book thoroughly before nodding to Charles: "Sir, it is indeed the genuine article."
Charles couldn't help but exclaim, "You're really efficient!"
"Actually, I asked a friend for help this time, since I'm not very good at stealth." Suren shrugged. "I can't take items silently; I prefer head-on combat."
Surenza told this lie without batting an eye, because no matter what investigative methods were used, the final conclusion would be that the person who stole the book was a strange detective named "Brian".
Charles didn't delve into it further, but simply expressed his desire to meet Suren's mysterious friend.
Of course, Suren just made up some excuse to decline.
Seeing Charles's regretful expression, Suren changed the subject: "By the way, I interrogated the attackers last night, and it seems that besides attacking you and me, they also attacked a man named Herbert?"
"Yes, he is the detective I hired, the one I mentioned before."
Charles found a seat and continued, "You don't need to worry about his safety. Although he is just an ordinary person, his sister is a very powerful superhuman."
"Oh, just an ordinary person?" Suren couldn't help but be a little surprised.
"Yes, I understand your surprise. After all, it's quite rare to see someone as intelligent as him among ordinary people." Charles seemed somewhat moved as well.
He continued, "Speaking of which, his experience was somewhat convoluted. His father, Gilbert Taff, earned his first fortune by selling his memories to the 'Memory Exchange,' and then used that money to improve his family's life, even purchasing a title through the church."
"Improve your family's fortune, even become a nobleman, through the memory exchange? This..."
Some thoughts flashed through Suren's mind, but he didn't show them. Instead, he sighed, "Many people fall for places like this where you can get gold pounds for exchanging memories after just one visit. Gilbert Taff is quite a character for being able to resist the temptation."
In "Libraton", Suren had seen many homeless people who had become useless due to frequently selling their memories.
Charles nodded, then sighed, "Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Three years ago, Herbert's mother was killed by Jack the Ripper, and his father committed suicide as well, leaving only him and his sister in the family."
"It's really been a long and winding road," Suren remarked with some emotion, while also understanding why Herbert was so concerned about the Ripper.
Charles then looked at Suren and said with a smile, "Actually, I think you two should get to know each other, especially Herbert's sister. She's a famous 'Twilight Remover'."