After seeing Detective Robin off, Lex prepared to return to his bedroom to rest. This time, he had no intention of sneaking out of the hotel under the guise of a nap; he genuinely wanted to relax.
Since arriving in Tingen, he had been occupied with all sorts of matters almost every day. If he didn't rest soon, he worried he would collapse from exhaustion.
Well, he meant mentally.
Moreover, he didn't know if Klein would suddenly pull him into the gray fog, so it wasn't suitable for him to wander around.
However, he remembered that in the original story, Klein only held the Tarot Club meetings on monday afternoons, so this afternoon, he should have some free time.
This was a good opportunity to summarize his experiences as a Provoker during this period.
In the bedroom, the parrot was in its cage, cowering in a corner for some unknown reason.
The original female parrot had been disliked by it, so Lex could only send her away, having Matthew return her to the pet shop.
Now, the parrot, alone in the cage, looked like it was afraid of something. It was completely silent and stared straight ahead.
"What are you doing? Engaging in performance art?" Lex lightly tapped the cage with his finger.
Of course, he didn't expect a parrot to understand what performance art was, even if it was a magical creature.
"Shhh, don't talk. Oh, they're gone." The parrot glanced towards the window.
Lex curiously opened the window but found nothing unusual: "Who's gone?"
"I don't know either, just something that made me uncomfortable. Oh, you're going to die." The parrot observed Lex, tilting its head.
"You're the one who's going to die! Cursing me, I'll punish you by giving you no food tonight, let you starve to death!" Lex glared at it in annoyance.
The parrot spread its wings, shrugging like a person: "What did I just say? I was talking nonsense. You wouldn't really argue with a parrot, would you? Would you?"
Lex almost rolled his eyes hearing that. At a time like this, you're not insisting you're a Dragon?
He called Matthew, instructing the valet to take the parrot out for some fresh air. Matthew worried the parrot might fly away, but Lex had no such concerns.
That fellow was too smart.
After sending the noisy guy away, Lex finally had a peaceful afternoon. He sat on the sofa, hands on his knees, leaning back in a relaxed posture.
I already know that the most basic application of Provocation is to use words and actions to make an opponent lose their reason and become enraged.
This has been verified when dealing with the assassin who came to kill Helen, and on the Sea Serpent Gang leader.
I quickly understood that Provocation doesn't necessarily require a lot of words; often, a single sentence or a look at a crucial moment can achieve the same effect.
Just like that time with Maggie, my cooperation with everyone formed a powerful suppression against her, causing her immense psychological pressure.
Finally, I used a single sentence and a look to make her lose her reason, and she quite cooperatively rushed into my pre-set trap.
And on the night I dealt with Meyers, I even discovered that Provocation could also be applied psychologically.
My action of standing at the door at that time was undoubtedly a psychological Provocation, but the purpose of that Provocation was not to make him lose his mind, but to make him suspicious, ultimately causing him to abandon the easiest way to break through.
Therefore, I believe that when dealing with cautious people, psychological Provocation will make them paranoid, thereby missing the simplest and easiest opportunities to achieve their goals!
"I didn't expect Provocation to involve so much knowledge."
In the evening, Lex slipped out of the hotel and went to the safe house.
In the mailbox on the porch, he found a letter.
"For me?"
Lex looked around, then cautiously opened the mailbox. He didn't directly use his hand to take it, but used a dagger to pick it up, finding the words 'Airos Security Company' written on the envelope.
He 'oh'ed, remembering that he had reported the address of his safe house to the Hunter Club. It seemed Eiros had an urgent matter to discuss with him, which was why he had someone send a letter.
At this time, the importance of the telephone was evident. If there were telephones or mobile phones, one could immediately contact the other party.
He wondered if this world would ever develop something like mobile phones in the future.
Lex took the letter into the house, lit the gas lamp, and then opened the envelope.
Taking out the folded letter paper, he unfolded it and saw only one line of text: Duke, please come to the club immediately, urgent matter!
Lex frowned, disposed of the letter, and checked the items on his person. He specifically confirmed the Teleport brooch; this was a crucial life-saving item that could get him out of danger at a critical moment.
Then, without turning off the light, he left by climbing out the window at the back of the house.
Hunter Club.
When Lex walked in, he felt a tense atmosphere. Hunters gathered in small groups, talking about something.
At the bar, Eiros was talking to Nafi. The tall, beautiful girl saw Lex and immediately called out: "Boss Duke, over here."
Lex walked over: "What happened?"
Nafi said nervously: "Grizzly and Mole are both missing."
"Missing?"
Lex was stunned for a moment, then asked: "How do you know?"
Eiros stood up and said: "It's Bowen. He's a member of our club and also a friend of Grizzly and Mole."
As he spoke, he waved to a man in his thirties, balding, with black eyes, in a corner of the hall.
The man walked over, and Eiros introduced: "This is Bowen."
"This is Duke." Eiros patted the balding man's shoulder. "Come on, tell him about Grizzly and Mole."
Bowen nodded and said: "The three of us originally agreed to go do something exciting last night. Well, I mean the casino, we could play all night."
"But when the time came last night, those two guys didn't show up. I wasn't too concerned at first; they occasionally stood me up, I was used to it."
"Then last night, I lost a sum of money, a considerable sum, which made my life a bit difficult. I heard they had made a lot recently, especially Grizzly, so I went to him to borrow some money."
"But Grizzly wasn't home. What was strange was that there was half-eaten food on the table and an unfinished cigarette. The key thing was, there was also an unfinished bottle of wine."
"That guy is a heavy drinker; he might leave food uneaten or a cigarette half-smoked, but he would never waste a single drop of wine."
"The situation at the scene made me a little worried, but I checked the surroundings and found no signs of a struggle. It was like that kid left halfway through eating, and he never came back after that."
Listening to his account, Lex also began to feel that the matter was not simple.
Bowen continued: "Unable to find Grizzly, I went to look for Mole. I thought Grizzly had gone to find him, but Mole wasn't home either. However, in Mole's house, I found a cigar that had been lit."
Lex asked, puzzled: "So what?"
Bowen said in a deep voice: "Mole never smokes cigars; he only smokes rolled cigarettes. And, we had set up some emergency signals."
"Among them, if Mole's cigar had been lit, it meant something very dangerous had happened, meaning he needed help, even rescue!"