At that moment, Wendel felt his calves tremble slightly, as if he could no longer support the weight of his body.
After leaving Utopia, he had anticipated the worst possible outcome—sudden death with no explicable reason.
However, he never expected that he would meet someone from Utopia in Backlund, a real large city.
More importantly, the visitor had even invited him to Utopia.
To Wendel, this was an extremely scary nightmare. Him not experiencing a mental breakdown could only be attributed to his good mental fortitude.
Keeping his composure, Wendel forced a troubled expression and said, “I’ve had plenty of things to do recently…”
The police officer named Biles immediately said, “The trial will happen in two weeks. Here’s the subpoena.”
As he spoke, he handed the document to Wendel.
Frankly speaking, Wendel didn’t want to accept it at all, but he had no choice but to accept it.
Biles took a step back.
“This concerns the future of a lady. I sincerely hope that you can testify in court.”
“It depends on the situation…” Wendel didn’t want to agree or refuse.
Biles didn’t say anything else as he bowed.
“I’ll wait for you in Utopia. I hope we meet again.”
With that said, he turned around and left the residence, entering the street.
Throughout the entire process, Wendel seemed to have been frozen into an ice sculpture, standing there without blinking.
After another ten seconds, he finally woke up from his nightmare. He collapsed to the side weakly and held himself up by placing his right hand to the door.
Just now, he had been so afraid, afraid that Biles would forcefully bring him back to the non-existent Utopia.
If that happened, Wendel didn’t know if he still had a chance to leave. Perhaps, he would disappear forever.
Compared to sudden death, this impossible-to-predict but clearly negative outcome left him even more fearful.
I need to quickly report this matter to the brass! Capture that policeman from Utopia and find out the real situation of this bizarre town and a suitable way to resolve the problem completely! Wendel snapped back to his senses and tried his best to perk himself up. He prepared to inform the MI9 members who were secretly monitoring him.
At this moment, he finally realized that there was a huge problem with his response. He didn’t grab the opportunity to inform his monitoring colleagues with a hand gesture that the police officer who had visited him was problematic. He didn’t try to stall for time either; instead, he waited for the monitors to realize that something was wrong. He also didn’t show his talent as an intelligence agent, asking surreptitiously Biles which hotel he stayed in Backlund and what day he was setting off by train.
He was so terrified that he could only subconsciously use a response that wouldn’t create an accident.
With that thought in mind, Wendel walked out of the door and looked in the direction where Biles had left, but he didn’t even see his figure.
This police officer from Utopia had already blended into the carriages and pedestrians.
Retracting his gaze, Wendel looked down at the subpoena in his hand and suddenly felt a little uneasy.
What will happen if I don’t go to Utopia to testify two weeks later?
The more Wendel thought about it, the more scared he became. His calves weakened again, and he hurriedly made a hand gesture to inform his colleagues that were hiding around him of the anomaly.
…
West Borough, 9 Bellotto Street.
After learning that a Utopia resident had arrived in Backlund, Xio was both shocked and confused.
According to her previous observations, Utopia was likely located in a secret location, or somewhere between real and illusory, allowing outsiders to enter through random entrances.
As for why they wanted outsiders to enter, it was probably a ritual requirement.
Therefore, according to Xio’s understanding, the people of Utopia likely wouldn’t leave their hometown and wander around.
This is also a ritual requirement? What’s the true identity of these residents? Mr. Fool’s believers, The World Gehrman Sparrow’s companions? After Xio asked about the general appearance of the Utopia visitor, she had no choice but to return to MI9’s headquarters due to the lack of further information. She hesitated on whether she should send her subordinates to perform a large-scale search.
She wasn’t sure if Mr. World would be happy to see such actions being taken, and she was afraid of affecting the ritual.
After pacing back and forth in the office, Xio prepared to pray to Mr. Fool and ask “Him” to transfer her questions to The World Gehrman Sparrow.
As she walked to the chair, Xio swept her gaze across the report placed on the table.
It was an investigation report that her two subordinates had prepared. On the one hand, they had confirmed that there were no problems with the passengers that successfully arrived in Backlund. On the other hand, they had pointed out that there were passengers who had remained in Utopia.
Passengers… Xio’s eyes narrowed as she made a guess based on her intuition.
That Utopia inhabitants had their own goals in coming to Backlund, and it wasn’t for a random trip. And his goal is very likely related to a particular passenger who has left Utopia.
This… Xio was alarmed as she hurriedly sat down and attempted to pray.
Just then, someone knocked on her office door.
“…Please come in,” Xio said after some hesitation.
As the door opened, Xio saw the goateed Locke and Wendel, who was in charge of the Utopia incident.
“Colonel, Wendel met someone from Utopia. He paid him a visit directly!” Locke said, fumbling over his words.
This development was equally unexpected.
Indeed… Xio wasn’t surprised. Instead, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
She looked at Wendel and asked, “Why did he visit you?”
“He requested that I head to Utopia to testify about the homicide case I mentioned in my report.” Wendel was clearly calmer than before.
He then added, “He’s a policeman. Name’s Biles. I don’t dare ask where he was living. I don’t know when he’s planning to leave or which steam locomotive he’s planning on taking to leave.”
To express the weight she had on this matter, Xio stood up and thought.
“Locke, summon your team members to look for the rental carriage drivers who often prowl for customers around Wendel’s residence, as well as the carriage drivers who passed by the nearby district, and ask if they’ve seen Biles before. If they have seen him, ask them where he was sent to. Also, send someone to the steam locomotive station and wait by the entrance to observe the passengers…”
After instructing her subordinates, Xio turned to look at Wendel.
“Cooperate with them and sketch out Biles.”
“Yes, Colonel,” Locke and Wendel replied in unison.
After they left and closed the door, Xio sat back down and began to pray.
Soon, she received Mr. Fool’s response and saw The World Gehrman Sparrow praying in the gray fog.
Gehrman Sparrow told her:
“You can carry out normal investigations.
“When necessary, you can suggest that it’s a ritual, but it must be included among a few options.”
Xio immediately heaved a sigh of relief as she patiently waited for her subordinates to report the results of their investigations.
As night fell, Locke returned to Bellotto Street and reported to Xio,
“We found the rental carriage driver that took the Utopian’s business!”
“Oh?” Xio showed her concern.
Locke explained simply, “That Utopian originally got the carriage driver to go to the dock area. However, as soon as the carriage entered the corresponding area, he requested to get off, saying that they had arrived.
“That street was very unfamiliar to the carriage driver, making him feel like he was lost.
“After leaving that street, he realized that his surroundings had become familiar.
“Our men accompanied him to that place again, but he couldn’t find that street no matter what.”
Xio nodded slightly and said solemnly, “It matches our preliminary descriptions regarding the entrances and exits of Utopia.”
“Colonel, are you saying that one can enter or leave Utopia from any city and street?” Locke was in disbelief.
Xio thought for a moment before saying, “From the looks of it, yes. But I have a feeling that there’s something wrong. Hmm… How does Utopia connect to different places? What does it rely on?”
As her voice trailed off, Xio said to Locke, “Tell Wendel that he’ll spend the following two weeks here until that subpoena expires.”
“Yes, Colonel.” Locke turned around and left Xio’s office.
Wendel didn’t have any objections to Colonel Derecha’s arrangements. He could even say that he would only feel safe inside MI9’s headquarters.
His temporary residence was a simply refurbished duty room. Through the window, he could see the lawn, garden, and trees outside.
At a glance, Wendel saw a pitch-black raven standing on a tree branch, silently looking over.
…
Night in Bansy was abnormally creepy. From time to time, the cries of ravens or other seabirds could be heard.
Verdu stood at the window, watching the approaching dilapidated dock and the city that had already been reduced to ruins. The pressure in his heart grew.
After a few days at sea, the ship he boarded was about to reach Bansy Harbor.
The captain had already informed Verdu in the morning that they would only wait for two hours. If he exceeded the two hours, Verdu could only wait for the next ship on this deserted island. Who knew when the next ship would come.
After taking a deep breath, Verdu retracted his gaze and took off his coat.
Then, he opened his suitcase, took out a classic black robe, and put it on.
The surface of the robe was embroidered with golden and silver threads, and there were many gems the size of rice grains attached to it. It was a Sealed Artifact of the Abraham family.
After making preparations, Verdu left the pirate ship and entered Bansy Harbor.
Along the way, the ancient robe tightened, causing his face to turn purple as he nearly fainted.
As they walked, Verdu found the spot where the telegraph office stood based on the map he had bought. In the middle of the rubble, there were two bloody red marks—ones that remained fresh. It was as if they were left behind after two people were crushed into minced meat.
Beside the two figures, on a broken wall, there was an octopus-headed monster wearing armor. It stood on waves and was holding a trident.
Verdu raised the lantern in his hand high and was about to take a closer look when he suddenly felt a drop of cold liquid land on his neck.
Gripped with terror, he subconsciously reached out his hand. He found it sticky, nothing like rain. It was colorless. Not blood.
It’s a little similar to saliva… Verdu’s forehead twitched slightly and he slowly raised his head to look at the place where the drop of liquid could have dripped from.
It was a swath of pitch-black. It was the night sky without the moon or stars.
