Backlund, Hilston District.
Klein and Alan arrived at Lian Thomas's home. His mother, a grief-stricken old woman, opened the door for the two of them.
"Dr. Alan, this is..."
She looked at the unfamiliar bearded gentleman beside Alan, puzzled.
"This is my friend, Detective Sherlock Moriarty." Alan introduced Klein. "I specifically invited him to come look for the missing Thomas."
"Good morning, ma'am. I hope I can be of help."
Klein removed his hat in greeting.
"Welcome, Mr. Moriarty."
The old woman's eyes flashed with gratitude as she welcomed the two into her home, saying to Alan, "Thank you so much for caring about Lian this much..."
Alan comforted the old woman while following behind Klein, watching him tour the entire house.
His detective friend seemed very thorough, carefully examining every corner, then lowering his head in thought, silent.
"Sherlock, did you find anything?"
Alan couldn't help but walk over and ask in a low voice.
Klein didn't answer immediately.
As a Sequence 7 Beyonder, he hadn't detected any traces of mystical factors in this house, much less any dangerous aura related to the True Creator.
Perhaps the crime scene isn't here, or it's simply an ordinary case...
Actually, Klein couldn't be certain this matter was related to Lanevus.
The only suspicious point was Lian Thomas's identity: an obstetrician. Thinking about Lanevus's pregnancy cycle, the evil god's offspring in his belly could indeed be born in the near future.
Let's find the person first.
Klein thought for a moment, then turned to look at the worried old woman.
"Excuse me, could you give me one of Dr. Lian's personal items? I can borrow a hunting dog with a keen sense of smell, perhaps it can help find clues. Also, I'll need a photograph of him."
Of course he couldn't actually borrow a hunting dog.
He was just using this explanation as an excuse to obtain a personal item for divination.
Alan wouldn't know that his detective friend wasn't actually good at reasoning, solving cases entirely by relying on the topaz pendant wrapped around his wrist.
Dr. Thomas's mother naturally wouldn't refuse. She found a stethoscope her son used daily and a recent photo.
In the photograph, Lian Thomas had a genial round face with small eyes.
"Alan, I'll handle the investigation from here. You don't need to follow."
Leaving the Thomas home, Klein clutched the stethoscope and said to Alan, "I may be going to dangerous neighborhoods afterward.
If you're with me, I'll have to worry about protecting you. Besides, as a colleague, you've already done more than enough."
What he said was still an excuse, meant to send the other person away so he could use divination more conveniently.
"I understand... I hope you can find him."
Dr. Alan said sincerely, putting on his hat and hurrying away.
After watching the other person leave, Klein hired a carriage at the street corner.
He didn't tell the coachman a specific location, just had him drive forward first. The carriage charged by time, so the coachman had no objections at all.
In the swaying compartment behind, Klein held the stethoscope in one hand and his cane in the other, using the "Dowsing Cane Seeking" divination technique to find Lian Thomas's specific location.
The good news was that the divination worked. He could clearly sense the other person's location.
The bad news was that Lian's current location was quite far.
The carriage left Hilston District, Jowood District... and finally headed all the way east, entering the chaotic Bakerland Bridge District.
This area, together with the East District, formed Bakerland's slums.
Klein divined while directing the coachman to change directions.
After a while, the cane guided the carriage to circle around a certain street, which allowed him to determine that Lian Thomas's current location was within this cluster of buildings.
"Slow down and circle around here one more time."
Klein told the coachman.
He was very cautious and didn't get out of the carriage, instead observing the street outside through the window.
This street had quite a few bars.
Perhaps because it was morning, the doors were open but there weren't many customers. Bartenders listlessly cleaned up the premises, yawning from time to time.
Nothing seems wrong...
Klein muttered to himself.
The only issue might be that there were a few too many streetwalkers here. And normally, shouldn't they be resting in the morning?
Thinking of this, he seemed to notice something off.
So Klein had the coachman continue forward.
After crossing over one street, he got out and opened a room at a cheap inn.
After some precautions, he walked counterclockwise four steps in the cramped room and arrived above the gray fog.
He needed to perform divination in this place of higher mysticism to see if he could get more details.
Soon, Klein's figure appeared behind that bronze table. He manifested paper and pen, writing a divination statement on it:
"Lian Thomas's current condition."
Holding the stethoscope in one hand and continuously muttering the divination statement in a low voice, he quickly entered a dream state.
Many images appeared one after another.
Klein saw a weary man walking out of a hospital. He had a genial round face, exactly the same as in the photograph.
This was Lian Thomas himself. He walked down the street when suddenly, he was accosted by several streetwalkers.
Looking carefully at these women, one would notice their movements seemed somewhat stiff, like puppets...
In the next scene, Thomas was forcibly controlled by the seemingly frail streetwalkers and transferred to a dark location.
Immediately after, he seemed to see some existence in the depths of the darkness, his facial expression instantly becoming extremely terrified...
Before the scene could shift to the opposite side, Klein's dream abruptly ended.
***
"...That's roughly what happened."
Klein concealed the part about being above the gray fog, only narrating his dream to Silas.
"I tried divining about Lanevus afterward, but I saw nothing."
"That actually proves the point."
Silas frowned. "Lanevus has an evil god's aura on him, which can interfere with divination."
"That's what I thought too."
Klein nodded.
Especially as the evil god's offspring gradually finished gestation, the interference with divination became even stronger.
But Lanevus is really about to give birth...
Silas thought with a strange feeling.
His kidnapping of an obstetrician must also be to ensure he could smoothly deliver the divine offspring...
Is he planning a cesarean section? After all, there's no corresponding exit.
"If I'm not mistaken, those streetwalkers are also problematic."
Silas said. "One of the 'Rose Bishop's' abilities is to create blood-flesh servants.
Those streetwalkers were probably killed by Lanevus long ago and are just acting as his puppets."
"So that's it. Thank goodness I didn't rashly get out of the carriage."
Klein said with lingering fear and disgust. "So, how are you planning to handle this?"
Since they'd confirmed Lanevus was there, what should their next plan be?