Tingen, Blackthorn Security Company.
"Klein, have you been staying late at the company every night recently?"
"Yes, Rosanne. I've already submitted a request to the captain and received approval."
Klein smiled as he looked at the brown-haired girl before him.
"But why? There's no requirement here for overtime."
"Mm, I need to decipher a batch of ancient documents, it's rather time-consuming."
After chatting with Rosanne for a bit more, Klein prepared to head down to the archive beneath the staircase.
Just as he was about to step onto the next stair, his stomach suddenly churned violently, and a sharp pain spread through him.
"So painful!" Klein quickly grabbed the handrail with one hand to keep from falling down the stairs, while the other clutched his agonizing stomach.
"Klein, what's wrong?" Not far away, Rosanne noticed something was off and hurried over, calling out for others to help.
Soon, Leonard rushed over, supporting Klein, who was nearly collapsing from the pain.
"How can it hurt so badly? Did you eat something bad? Should we take you to the hospital?"
"No, just help me to bed for a while, that'll be fine."
Klein refused Leonard's offer. He didn't think this stomachache was as simple as food poisoning.
Even if it were, at worst he'd just have to visit the washroom a few times. For it to strike so suddenly at this exact moment, there had to be another reason.
"Come on, careful now. Let's get you to bed to rest."
Leonard supported him, carrying him into a small room usually used for resting.
After lying in bed for a while, the pain eased slightly, but his whole body felt weak, he didn't even have the strength to stand up.
Leonard dragged a stool over and sat by the bedside, curiously asking: "What exactly did you eat tonight?"
"A serving of pan-fried beef, a Tasok fish, and a glass of sweet iced tea."
The poet frowned. "Strange, none of that sounds like a problem. Which restaurant did you go to?"
"The one a hundred meters north from here, then a left turn at the corner."
To avoid being tracked by Ince Zangwill, he had deliberately chosen a restaurant nearby. If something happened, he could immediately call for support.
"I'll go investigate," he said, brows furrowed.
"I'll find some painkillers for you," Rosanne added, leaving together with Bright.
Leonard thought for a moment, then got up to close the door. Returning to the bedside, he lowered his voice: "Klein, do you think this sudden stomachache might be connected to Beyonder factors?"
Over this period, Klein had demonstrated an uncanny diviner's sense when it came to danger, especially when uncovering that Ince Zangwill and 008 were hiding in Tingen. Leonard already trusted his instincts deeply.
Today, Klein had even suspected that there was an issue between Lanevus and Megose.
They had planned to investigate tonight, yet at this crucial moment, Klein was struck with this inexplicable pain.
It made Leonard's imagination run wild.
Klein nodded weakly from the bed. "I've been on guard against Ince Zangwill's revenge lately, so I purposely stayed at the company to avoid any accidents."
Leonard muttered angrily: "Didn't you say that 008 is a powerful Grade 0 Sealed Artifact? And yet it resorts to this kind of shameless stomachache trick against you?"
"I don't know."
Klein smiled wryly. He hadn't expected the Beyonder world to employ such underhanded means, using 008's ability to make him suffer stomach pains as though from bad food.
It was like a modern business war where someone simply cuts the internet cable.
"Then you're in trouble. Looks like you'll be stuck in bed for days."
"If that's the case, it means Ince Zangwill is preparing for a major move soon."
"Megose's child?"
"Mm. You must be cautious tonight, absolutely don't lower your guard."
"I understand." Leonard's expression turned grim. He knew all too well the terror of 008.
After a while, Rosanne returned with painkillers and warm water. Klein took them and rested, finally regaining a bit of strength.
Gurgle…
But soon his stomach churned again. His face flushed as he muttered: "I need to go to the washroom."
Rosanne blushed slightly. "Looking at you, once probably won't be enough…"
"I'll help you," Leonard said, motioning for Rosanne to assist as well. Together they escorted Klein to the washroom.
Being supported into the washroom like this, Klein felt his face was thinner than ever before.
Inwardly, he cursed Ince Zangwill's vile methods. To target him with such despicable tricks was revolting!
He was a Sequence 5 Beyonder, after all!
Gurgle…
His stomach twisted again, his face paling. Though he had the trump card of the gray fog, his physical body wasn't much stronger than a normal person's. Beyonder abilities couldn't relieve such a stomachache.
After half an hour of torment, Klein finally managed to take four steps backward and ascend above the gray fog. He intended to divine whether his stomachache truly originated from Ince Zangwill.
Divination statement: This stomachache has Beyonder factors!
Soon, the citrine pendant gave a clear answer, there was Beyonder interference!
"As expected, Ince Zangwill and 008 are behind this!"
"But is there any way to stop this stomach trouble?"
Klein frowned, thought for a while, but found no solution. He quickly withdrew, then, leaning against the wall, staggered out of the washroom.
"Klein…"
Leonard hurried forward to support him. He tried to hold back his laughter, but couldn't quite manage.
Klein caught on and muttered: "Go on, laugh if you want."
"How could I laugh at you in this state… hahaha… Still, how did Ince Zangwill even think of this? Did he get a stomachache himself once?"
"…" Klein covered his face.
Across his two lifetimes, he had never felt so speechless.
…
That night, around nine o'clock.
Dunn Smith, Leonard, and Frye of the Night Watchers, accompanied by four police officers, headed to the place where Megose lived.
"I'll pull her into a dream first. You two act accordingly, but don't be rash. Tonight, we're mainly probing whether the child in her belly has a problem."
Dunn assigned tasks, then had the four policemen split into two pairs, one to knock on the door, the other to guard the back.
Knock, knock, knock.
Soon, someone opened the door.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Megose. We'd like her cooperation regarding Lanevus."
"Alright, I'll go call her." By now, Dunn had already entered nightmare state, ready to drag Megose into a dream at any moment.
"Officers! My niece Megose suddenly disappeared!" Christina cried out in panic.
The officers rushed after her to the now-empty room, there was no one in sight.
After searching, they found a note hidden under Megose's pillow.
"How amusing. That you fools managed to anticipate my plan to use Megose. Very well, this makes me happy, but also enrages me!
"The gift I prepared for you hasn't even been delivered, yet you discovered it early. I can only come back, take Megose away, and play another game with you."
"This time I won't leave any clues. If you want to find me, and find Megose and the child in her belly, then wring out what little wisdom your brains possess!"
They recognized the handwriting immediately, it was Lanevus's signature taunt.
So he had already taken Megose!
Leonard muttered with a complicated expression: "That means Klein's guess was right. Otherwise, Lanevus wouldn't go to such lengths to take her."
Just thinking of a growing spawn of an evil god made their scalps tingle.
Even if the entire Night Watcher squad mobilized, such a being would be extremely difficult to face.
Dunn's face darkened. This was Tingen, the place he was determined to protect. For someone to try to make it the birthplace of an evil god, that was utterly unforgivable!
Just as they prepared to leave and fully search for Lanevus's possible hideouts, the silent night sky of Tingen erupted with explosions.
Flames rose from one location, then two, then three… a dozen.
The blasts, the screams, the fleeing crowds, Tingen was thrown into unprecedented chaos.
This was no accident. It was a deliberate act.
Someone wanted to create chaos to cover Lanevus's abduction of Megose!