After fleeing the dock district, Truman didn’t hesitate at all.
He casually found a remote and secluded warehouse to hide in.
“Achoo!”
Truman sneezed, breaking free from his body’s rigid state.
He lightly weighed the palm-sized clown puppet wrapped in brown cloth in his hand, placed it on the ground, and watched it slowly move in a certain direction.
Truman knew very well that was the direction he had fled from, and where the Antigonus family notebook still lay.
“Compared to that eerie notebook, this Sealed Artifact in my hand is much safer.”
Truman chuckled lightly and once again prayed to Mr.
Fool.
Although he hadn’t succeeded in seizing the notebook, having this Sealed Artifact that could track the Antigonus family notebook, plus a Nighthawk who had read its contents, was enough to report back.
“Oh Fool who does not belong to this era.”
“You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog.”
“You are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.”
…
“Mr.
Fool, the operation to seize the Antigonus family notebook has failed.
That notebook seems to have the ability to influence the mind.
I couldn’t successfully take it away, but I haven’t come away empty-handed either.”
Truman prayed for a while but still received no response.
If it weren’t for the faint gray mist and the fleeting crimson stars he could vaguely see during his prayers, he would have thought he had been kicked out of the group chat.
“It seems that existence’s current situation is indeed not very free!”
Seeing no response, Truman didn’t show any disappointment or confusion.
That was only natural.
If the other party really was a deity, how could you expect a god to reply to your messages instantly?
Besides, Truman had encountered precedents before—Mr.
Door, for instance, would only keep calling with harassment during his sequence advancements or at the full moon.
“It seems He’s busy.”
“I was going to report a work-related injury too.”
Truman murmured thoughtfully.
He activated the Deceiver Ghost’s supernatural power, and faint gray mist began to surround him.
After the gray mist appeared, Truman suddenly felt an itch on his scalp, as if something was about to grow.
Truman closed his eyes and began to meditate, sensing the source of the itching.
Surrounded by the gray mist, some semi-transparent black patches appeared and were gradually dissolved.
“Contamination?
No wonder my emotions were so volatile earlier, my killing intent surging like a tide.”
“But I wore gloves the whole time and didn’t even open it to look at the contents—how could it still contaminate me?”
After using the gray fog’s power to cleanse the contamination from the Antigonus family notebook, Truman looked up at the pitch-black warehouse ceiling and quietly listened for a moment.
After a brief silence, the surrounding environment was very quiet, even the occasional creaking of Sealed Artifact 2-049’s joints had stopped.
“No punishment?”
“So Mr.
Fool doesn’t mind me borrowing His power?
Or does He not mind me actively drawing closer to Him?”
Truman guessed that both possibilities were likely.
If he frequently borrowed the gray fog’s power, he might be subtly influenced by the gray fog over time.
However, he already needed to attend the Tarot Club meeting every week.
Since he inevitably came into contact with the gray fog, it wouldn’t hurt to take some benefits for himself.
“You’re much more sensible than people.”
“I might have something to learn from you.”
After cleansing the contamination from himself, Truman smiled and looked at Sealed Artifact 2-049 lying motionless on the ground, playing dead.
This Sealed Artifact clearly had living characteristics.
Earlier it had been constantly trying to interfere with and control him, but now that it sensed the gray fog’s presence, it was as docile as a quail.
Truman felt that Sealed Artifact 2-049 had taught him the attitude he should maintain toward Mr.
Fool.
“Since I can’t rule out the possibility that the Evernight Church has means to track Sealed Artifact 2-049, it’s best not to move around recklessly for now.”
“However, at least for now, none of the low-sequence Beyonders in Tingen can track my whereabouts.
I can rest here temporarily and recover the spirituality I consumed.”
After briefly analyzing the situation, Truman took out a silver carving knife and constructed a spiritual wall in the warehouse.
He then took out two cigarette cases and stored the Magician’s Beyonder characteristic and Sealed Artifact 2-049 inside.
To prevent 2-049 from going berserk, Truman injected a bit of gray mist into the cigarette case before sealing it with the spiritual wall.
“I’ll make do with resting in this abandoned warehouse tonight.”
Truman held his astrology crystal ball in his arms, leaned against the wall at the edge, closed his eyes, and meditated to recover his spirituality and strength.
Dock District, outside the white warehouse.
Dunn Smith broke free from his ropes and hurried over to the unconscious Leonard to check his condition.
After confirming that Leonard was only unconscious due to excessive spiritual consumption and had suffered no serious physical injuries, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
“Captain, how is Leonard?”
After Aiur Harson untied Klein’s ropes, Klein hurried over and asked anxiously.
“No life-threatening danger for now, but we’ll need to arrange further examination after we get back!”
“That’s good!”
Klein felt relieved upon hearing that Leonard was not in life-threatening danger.
If Leonard had been accidentally killed by Mr.
Lovers, he would have felt deeply guilty and distressed.
If it weren’t for Mr.
Fool’s orders, Mr.
Lovers wouldn’t have been so invested in the Antigonus family notebook.
“Oh, the Antigonus family notebook is still here?”
At that moment, Klein noticed the black hardcover notebook in Dunn’s hand and was puzzled.
Wasn’t Mr.
Lovers there for this?
Why didn’t he take it?
“The other party took Sealed Artifact 2-049 and left this notebook for us.”
Gravedigger Lorotta walked over with a grim expression.
They were the main ones responsible for escorting Sealed Artifact 2-049 this time.
Now that the Sealed Artifact was lost, the three of them could not escape blame!
“Klein, give us a detailed account of what happened after we lost consciousness!”
Dunn said to Klein with a stern face.
He hadn’t expected that their group of six, even carrying a Level 2 Sealed Artifact, would still fail!
If that mysterious figure who suddenly appeared had wanted to silence them all, they would have suffered heavy losses!
Fortunately, there were no casualties in the end.
Clearly, compared to losing a Sealed Artifact, Dunn was more concerned about his teammates’ lives.
“Yes, Captain!”
+++
T/N: Thanks for reading!