Lex felt his heart pounding non-stop. This was his first time facing an out-of-control Beyonder. Fortunately, Stephen had already been injured, his mother had given him the 'Sleeping' Charms, and he had a weapon like Blood Praise in his hand.
Otherwise, Lex couldn't predict what the consequences would have been.
The monster, still dressed, fell, and outside the door, the gunshots gradually diminished. Lex composed himself and said to the tall and beautiful girl, "Go help Cromwell."
Nafi came back to her senses, nodded obediently, and rushed out with her longsword.
Lex looked around and noticed the wooden box full of gold coins and jewelry, his eyes lighting up.
He put away his revolver and took out the remaining items from the safe. These included several gold bars and an account book.
On the cover of the account book was the symbol of a two-headed sea serpent. As for the contents of the book, they were essentially the Sea Serpent Gang's criminal records.
Lex placed the account book in a prominent position, then closed the treasure-filled wooden box. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a finger had appeared on Stephen's corpse at some point.
A black, scaly finger.
He looked around and found a fallen tin cigarette case on the ground. He took out the rolled cigarettes from inside and put the finger into it.
Because he was closer to the corpse, Lex noticed that a black shirt on Stephen's body, where it had been hit by bullets, was actually repairing itself.
"Huh."
Lex suppressed his disgust and took off the fur-collared coat from the corpse, which made it even clearer. The bullet holes in Stephen's black gauze shirt were repairing themselves, and the bloodstains and dirt on the clothes were disappearing.
Undoubtedly, this must be a magical item, but he didn't know what its function was.
Following the principle of not wasting anything, Lex took it off and threw it into the wooden box.
As soon as he finished all this, the Arbiter, Cromwell, walked in. His coat was stained with blood, and the slightly panting man said, "It's over."
"I took care of Terros, and the remaining members have all been apprehended."
Lex nodded slightly: "Then, according to our previous plan, everyone will disperse and leave. We'll meet at the club tomorrow night."
Hurrying back to the hotel, Lex opened the wooden box, which should contain all of the Sea Serpent Gang's property.
Lex roughly estimated that the gold coins and gold bars alone amounted to over five thousand pounds. Adding the jewelry and gems, the box was worth at least 10,000 pounds.
Considering just this box, Lex's actions tonight were not in vain, not to mention the finger and the shirt, which was suspected to be a magical item.
He first put away the box. With the money in the box, he wouldn't have any financial crises in the short term.
However.
Gold coins and gold bars could be spent, but the jewelry and gems could not be casually sold.
Heaven knew by what means Stephen had acquired these jewels. To be safe, these jewels would have to be processed through underground channels or sold in cities outside Tingen.
But these were not within Lex's consideration for now.
He first went to the washroom to wash his face, then summoned the 'mystical book', not daring to directly touch the strange finger with his hand.
Lex cautiously put on a pair of gloves before taking the black, scaly finger in his hand, then communicated with the 'mystical book' to 'appraise' it.
This cost him 9 dimensional crystals.
As the number of dimensional crystals changed, Lex felt a slight trance, and the objects in the room became blurred. In a blurred light and shadow, he saw some scenes.
He saw a small boy curled up on the ground, enduring a man's beating; he saw a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy stealing a wallet from a man's pocket in a market; he saw a man in his early thirties locked in a temporary prison.
He saw a blurred figure holding a cup, and in that cup were strange liquids, connected like jelly; he saw Stephen smiling and walking on the street, deftly stealing wallets from passersby as he brushed past them.
He saw Stephen dressed in a formal suit, like a salesman, eloquently speaking to several old ladies, who then took out their money or jewelry and handed it to Stephen; he saw Stephen introducing a design drawing to several gentlemen in formal suits, and in a flash, Stephen's table was piled high with banknotes; he saw Stephen in a dimly lit ship cabin, kicking open a box full of jewels, and besides jewelry, there was also a black gauze shirt folded inside.
The images before him disappeared, and Lex once again saw the scene in the hotel bedroom, but he knew that he had just seen a microcosm of Stephen's life.
At this moment, the appraisal results appeared on the page.
'thief finger: This is a residual characteristic of a Swindler after losing control. Note that while it has the ability to steal items, its negative effects are exceptionally severe. It can steal valuables from targets within 10 feet. If there are multiple targets within this range, it will steal randomly.
It will make you addicted to Theft and unable to extricate yourself. It will also continuously steal your life until the arrival of death. Additionally, it carries a certain degree of mental pollution, and frequent use may lead to loss of control.'
Looking at the text on the page, Lex immediately threw the finger back into the tin box.
Is this a magical item?
After an out-of-control Beyonder dies, can their characteristics form a magical item?
But its negative effects are too great: addiction to Theft, stealing life, mental pollution, and possibly losing control because of it.
Lex shook his head, intending to seal this thing away.
He was not a thief, and even if he needed money, there were many other ways to obtain it without using this finger.
Lex then took out the black gauze shirt, hoping this item would be usable.
After consuming 15 dimensional crystals, Lex once again entered a trance state. This time, he didn't see many images, only a man in a white shirt, fighting various monsters in the dark. In one scene, he unfortunately sacrificed himself.
Blood seeped from the white shirt, and where the blood stained it, the shirt gradually turned black and became translucent.
In the illusory, unreal images. The shirt was deep and tranquil, as if a piece of the quiet night had been cut out and made into this garment.
Coming back to his senses, Lex saw lines of text appearing on the page.
'silent night's embrace: It was originally an ordinary shirt, but after being stained with the blood of a Beyonder from sleepless pathway, it gained magical powers.'
'When you wear it, your existence will become hidden, and your actions will gain a layer of 'reasonable appearance.' You are like someone embraced by the night, like a passerby walking in the dark, difficult to see clearly.'
'This shirt is for men only, and wearing it for a long time will bring some negative effects.'
'After wearing it, the wearer will gradually become unsmiling, appear preoccupied, but unwilling to share his thoughts with others. As negative effects accumulate, the wearer will gradually lose self-emotion, forgetting feelings such as sadness, happiness, anger, and joy, eventually becoming a person without emotions.'