After the first research fund was transferred to the Tingen University laboratory account, Lex felt a pang of heartache as he watched the amount in the account drastically decrease.
It's fine.
No pain, no gain.
Today I spent four thousand pounds, tomorrow I'll earn forty thousand pounds, or even add another zero to that!
One must have a long-term vision and a broader perspective.
Comforting himself, Lex left the bank under the admiring gazes of the company employees nearby.
Lex had no plans for the day, so he bought a bouquet of fresh flowers from a nearby florist and once again visited Raphael Cemetery. It was already past ten when he arrived at the cemetery, but it remained cold and quiet.
Lex didn't let Gru accompany him; he walked into the cemetery alone. As he carried the flowers towards the vicinity of Grizzly's tombstone, he heard one or two soft sobs.
Lex then noticed several people walking towards him. They were all dressed in pure black formal wear; the men carried canes and had a white handkerchief tucked into their chests. The women wore small white flowers in their hair and long black dresses.
It seemed they had just attended a funeral. A deep sadness emanated from them.
Lex noticed that the man walking at the very front was about thirty years old, with a high nose bridge and deep gray eyes filled with profound sorrow, as if he had just seen off someone very close to him.
Walking slightly behind the gray-eyed man was a young man. He had black sideburns and green eyes, was very handsome, and possessed the romantic temperament of a Poet.
But now, this Poet looked very melancholic; his gaze was lowered, appearing somewhat distracted.
Lex also saw a young man of medium height, with black hair and brown eyes, exuding a clear scholarly aura. He was comforting the girl in the black dress, and seemingly feeling Lex's gaze, he looked over.
The moment their eyes met, Lex had a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before but couldn't quite place it.
Soon, Lex and these few people passed each other. He walked alone to the vicinity of Grizzly's tombstone and, as he did today, placed flowers before a stranger's grave.
Suddenly, he looked back in the direction he had come from and saw those people disappear through the cemetery gate.
Lex's heart quickened.
He knew who those people were.
They were Night Watchers, and the one he had just exchanged glances with must have been Klein!
Their appearance perfectly matched the description in the original novel!
Did the Night Watchers come here because one of their colleagues had sacrificed himself?
Speaking of which, I remember there should have been an old man among them.
That old gentleman taught Klein a lot of knowledge about mysticism.
He's not here, so could this funeral be for him?
For no reason, Lex recalled Kyle's words.
Walking in the mysterious world, no one knows whether accident or tomorrow will arrive first...
We are all pitiful worms struggling to survive.
Without speaking, Lex stood quietly for over ten minutes before leaving the cemetery.
In the evening, he arrived at the safe house, and after passing the mailbox, he walked back to it.
Lex remembered telling the Detective that if there was a new report next time, it could be sent here. This was the residence of 'Duke,' an employee of Airos Security Company, who had previously handled Sandy's commission.
Now that Sandy was in trouble, 'Duke' commissioning a private Detective to investigate the cause, though a bit far-fetched, was still more reasonable than the Baron's son getting involved.
Opening the mailbox, Lex indeed found an envelope inside.
He took out the letter, went into the house, and lit the gas lamp in the living room.
Under the lamplight, Lex saw that the letter had no recipient information or signature; the envelope was blank.
He opened the envelope with a letter opener, took out a letter from inside, opened it, and found a few lines of text.
'I am very sorry, sir.'
'I have an urgent matter that requires me to return to my homeland, and I cannot continue with the case you entrusted to me. Here, please allow me to sincerely apologize to you.'
'You should know who I am.'
Of course, I know.
Lex casually threw the letter into the fireplace, lit it, and watched as the letter turned to ashes in the fire.
Robin stopped the investigation?
In that case, should I re-entrust a Detective, such as Mr. Henry? His commission should be completed by now, right?
Robin should be alright, right?
Without extinguishing the fire, leaving the fireplace as it was, Lex quietly departed as light smoke billowed from the chimney on his roof.
As Lex walked into the hall of the Hunter's club, he heard a hammering sound. A warning barrier had been erected around the area where Nafi had stomped through the floor last night.
Inside, Lex saw Nafi. The tall girl was wearing gray-blue work clothes today, a baseball cap, and her beautiful face was smeared with lime.
She was nailing wooden boards together, and it seemed she had been working hard all day, repairing the hall floor she had damaged last night.
"Isn't this quite good? How about it, did the day pass quickly?" Lex stood by the warning barrier, looking at the girl who was doing the repair work inside.
"Boss!"
Nafi said glumly, "This isn't good at all. My stage should be on the battlefield, fighting those monsters, not here repairing the floor!"
"It's good to have a change of pace once in a while, besides, there aren't that many monsters for you to kill." Lex chuckled, left the girl, and went straight to the bar.
Mr. Parker, who was wearing a red bow tie today, glanced at him: "It looks like your trouble is resolved?"
"Sort of."
Lex sat down in a chair: "Is there any progress on Grizzly's matter?"
Mr. Parker wiped a glass and retorted: "Do you think I would know?"
Lex leaned forward slightly and whispered: "Mr. Parker, you are actually a Beyonder, aren't you?"
Mr. Parker's movements didn't stop: "According to you, are Beyonder like cabbages, easy to stumble upon anywhere?"
"Then how did you determine where Grizzly and the others were detained? Although they weren't saved in the end, if it weren't for you, their bodies would probably have been found even later."
The old man's lips just curved upwards, but the smile disappeared before it could fully form: "Experience, channels, plus a little imagination, you can do it too."
"Don't let Mr. Parker fool you." The voice of the person in charge, Eiros, rang out. He seemed to have just returned. "Don't let Mr. Parker's appearance deceive you; when he was young, he was an excellent Hunter. His experience is far richer than anyone else present."
Mr. Parker's face was expressionless, as if Eiros was talking about someone else.
Eiros walked into the bar, took out a few bottles of wine, and began to mix drinks.
He also called out to Nafi, who was repairing the floor: "Little girl, put down your work for a bit and come have a drink."
"One can't always spend time working; occasionally, one must enjoy life."
Lex glanced at the girl behind him, thinking that she was not small at all, in every sense of the word.
He then looked at the person in charge: "I remember you said you would be staying at the club for the next two days?"
"But I can't always stay in the bar; I have a family, Duke. But don't worry, I'll be staying at the club tonight. I have a few strong men with guns protecting me, so I can get a good night's sleep."
As Eiros finished mixing a drink, Nafi came over. He smiled and pushed the glass towards Nafi: "This one's on me."
"Thank you, Mr. Eiros." Nafi took off her hat and reached out to grab the glass.
Just then, Eiros coughed a few times.
Lex was quite wary of coughing now. He immediately activated his Spiritual Perception and found Eiros's aura to be quite healthy.
Aside from a faintly glowing, vaguely human-faced mist around his mouth, the person in charge was quite normal.
Not at all!