Beyonder 2

Phew, I finally got through the round with the medium…

Klein let out a foul breath. He slowly turned around and

enjoyed the cool breeze and tranquility of the night while

walking closer and closer to the apartment building's door.

He took out his keys, inserted the correct one in and turned it

gently, allowing the crimson-mixed darkness to expand with

the creaking sound of the opened door.

Walking on the staircase without a single person in sight and

taking in the cold air, Klein had an inexplicable and amazing

feeling. It felt like he had a few more hours than others. This

caused him to hasten his pace.

In a similar state of mind, he opened the door to his room and

before he even stepped inside, he saw a silhouette sitting

silently in front of his desk. It had reddish black hair, bright

brown eyes, and a delicate, pretty face. Undoubtedly, she was

Melissa Moretti!

"Klein, where did you go?" Melissa asked curiously as she

relaxed her eyebrows.

Without waiting for Klein's reply, she added, "Just now, I got

up to go to the bathroom and realized you weren't home." It

was as if she wanted to know everything clearly, from the

causes and effects of the matter to the underlying logic.

With great experience at lying Klein said I can't sleep so I went for a walk.

Melissa stood up, took a glance half-heartedly and deliberated

for a few moments before saying, "Honestly speaking, Klein,

you don't have to stress yourself out. I'm sure you can pass the interview to Tingen University. Even if you can't, er—I

mean if —you can still find better ones."

I haven't even thought about the interview… Klein nodded his

head and said, "I understand."

He did not mention the "offer" that he had gotten because now is not the time for that, but in time she will become a Beyonder.

Staring at Klein intensely, Melissa suddenly turned around and

trotted into the interior of the house. She took out an object

that resembled a tortoise. It was comprised of items like gears,

rusted iron, torsion springs and ordinary springs.

After quickly tightening the torsion spring, Melissa placed the

object on the desk.

Ka! Ka! Ka!

Dum! Dum! Dum!

The "tortoise" moved and jumped with a rhythm that could

pull anyone's attention.

"Whenever I feel irritated, I feel much better seeing this

tortoise move. I've been doing this very often recently and it's

very effective! Klein, give it a try!" invited Melissa as her eyes

brightened.

"When I become a Beyonder of sequence 8. I will tell her to join steam church then with her capabilities she can join Beyonder of savant." Klein thought as he play with toy Melissa created.

"I made use of unwanted materials from school and things

picked up from the streets to make this. It was only finished

two days ago," Melissa said in her usual tone, the side of her

lips upturned a few more degrees.

"That's impressive," Klein praised sincerely.

As a boy with poor skills in machine assembly, he encountered

great difficulties even assembling a four-wheel toy car as a

child.

With her chin slightly raised and her eyes slightly bent,

Melissa calmly replied, "It was okay."

"Being overly humble is a bad trait," Klein smiled slightly and

continued, "This is a tortoise, right?"

Instantly, the atmosphere in the room took a great plunge,

leaving behind an air of graveness for a while. Then, Melissa

faintly replied with a voice that seemed enigmatic like the

crimson veil, "It's a puppet."

Puppet…

Klein gave an awkward smile, and tried to forcefully explain,

"The problem lies in the materials, they're too rudimentary."

Following that, he tried to change the topic and said, "Why

would you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? Isn't

there a toilet here? Don't you always sleep till dawn?"

Melissa was taken aback momentarily.

It was only after a few seconds, before she opened her mouth,

prepared to explain.

At that moment, an intense sound of digestion sounded from

herthoracoabdominal 1

area.

"I-I'll go get some more sleep!"

Bang! She grabbed her tortoise-like "puppet", trotted to the

interior of the house, and closed the door to her room.

Last night's dinner was too good, she ate too much and now

her stomach is having trouble digesting it… Klein shook his

head as he smiled, slowly walking towards his desk. He sat

down soundlessly, silently pondering Dunn Smith's invitation

as the crimson red moon emerged from behind the dark

clouds.

Being a Nighthawk civilian staff member had its apparent

disadvantages.

…

As the first rays of the morning sun shone, the crimson

disappeared. Gazing at the golden light on the horizons of the

sky, Klein made up his mind.

He would find Dunn Smith today and become part of the

Nighthawk's civilian staff!

At this moment, Melissa, who had gotten out of bed again, had pushed open the door to the room. She was surprised to see her brother stretching in an unglamorous manner. "You didn't

sleep?"

"I was thinking through some things." Klein smiled, feeling

relaxed.

Melissa thought for a moment and said, "Whenever I

encounter problems, I'll list out both the pros and cons one by

one and compare them. After that, I would be able to get a hint

of what I should do next."

"That's a good habit. I did that too," Klein smiled and replied.

Melissa's countenance was relaxed, and she did not add more.

Holding a yellowish sheet of paper and her toiletries, she

headed to the bathroom.

Not in a hurry to leave after he finished his breakfast and his

sister's departure, Klein took a good nap. Based on what he

knew, nearly all the pubs were closed in the morning.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, he smoothed the pleats of his

silk hat and handkerchief using a small brush. He also

removed the dirt to reestablish the tidiness.

Thereafter, he wore a suit of formal clothing, just like he was

going for an interview.

Besik Street was a little far, but Klein was not worried or anything.

"If I get offer of becoming a Beyonder then it will be a boon for me." Klein thought.

After alighting the horse carriage, he inquired along the way

and soon reached Besik Street, where he saw the pub with thebrownish-yellow hound logo.

Klein reached out his right hand and gave a forceful push. The

heavy door gradually opened, inundating him with a wave of

uproarious noises and an impetuous heat wave.

Although it was still afternoon, there were already many

customers in the pub. Some were temporary workers, looking

for opportunities here, waiting to be hired. Others were simply

idling around, numbing themselves with alcohol.

The pub was dimly lit. In the center, there were two large iron

cages with a third of its bottom sinking deep into the ground

without any gaps.

People held wooden wine cups and surrounded it, sometimes

discussing loudly while laughing, sometimes cursing loudly.

Giving a curious glance, Klein found two dogs caged inside.

One was black and white, similar to the husky found on Earth.

The other was wholly black, with shiny fur, making it look

healthy and fierce.

"Do you want to bet? Doug has won eight games in a row!"

said a little man wearing a brown beret, as he neared Klein and

pointed to the black dog.

"No thank you.i am not hare for bet." Klein answered.

Klein shook his head, laughing as he backtracked, and circled

along the edge of the alcoholic customers, and reached the

front of the bar.

"New here?" said the bartender as he spared Klein a glance

while wiping the cups. He continued, "One cup of rye beer is a

penny. Enmat beer, costs two pence. Four pence for Southville

beer, or do you want a cup of purely brewed malt Lanti?"

"I came here for Mr. Wright," said Klein directly and bluntly.

The bartender whistled and shouted to the side, "Old Man,

someone is looking for you."

"Oh, who…" A vague voice sounded, and an intoxicated old

man stood up from behind the bar.

He rubbed his eyes, shifted his gaze to Klein and asked, "Lad,

were you looking for me?"

"Mr. Wright, I would like to hire a small mercenary squad for

a mission," replied Klein, according to what Dunn had

instructed.

"A small mercenary squad? Are you living in an adventure

story? This hasn't been around for a long time!" the bartender

interrupted and smiled.

Wright went silent for a few second before saying, "Who told

you to look for it here?"

"Dunn. Dunn Smith," replied Klein in all honesty.

Instantly, Wright broke out in a chuckle and replied, "I see.

Actually, the small mercenary squad still exists. It's just in

another form, with a more contemporary name. You can find it

on the second floor of No. 36 Zouteland Street."

"Thank you," thanked Klein sincerely before he turned and

squeezed out of the pub.

Klein need to complete this procedure because if he suddenly appears in front of Nighthawk and tell them join. Then either they will capture me and sealed me behind chain gates or kicked me out then I will probably lost my chances.

He left quickly and

found his way to the nearby Zoeterland Street after asking

around.

"30, 32, 34… Here," he counted the house numbers and

walked into the stairwell.

Going around the corner and slowly climbing up the stairs, he

saw the vertical sign with the current name of the so-called

small mercenary squad.

"Blackthorn Security Company."