The Lord Of Mysteries
Chapter 17: Special Operations Department

"Blackthorn Security Company."

Upon seeing the signboard, Klein felt surprised but found it reasonable.

What should I say about this. He shook his head and laughed before climbing the stairs and knocking on the half-closed door gently with his right hand.

Knock it! Knock it! Knock it!

The voice echoed slowly but rhythmically, but there was no response; only a faint stuttering sound could be heard.

Knock it! Knock it! Knock it!

Klein repeated, only to meet with the same result.

He switched to pushing the door, making the gap bigger as he gazed into the classic—sofa that might be used to serve guests, soft cloth chairs, and a stocky wooden coffee table. There was a girl with brown hair behind the table right across with her head drooping.

Although "Security Company" is just a cover, isn't this just....it's too "unprofessional?" How long has this place been in operation? Right, you guys don't need any business. Klein approached as he complained silently and knocked on the table right beside the girl's ear.

Knock it! Knock it!

The brunettes girl immediately sat down and quickly picked up the newspaper in front of her, covering her face.

Honest Paper of Tingen City. Nice name. Klein quietly read the title of the page facing him.

"Soaring Express' steam train service that goes directly to Kota Konstan started operating today. I really don't want to get on that ship there anymore, it's too horrible, really terrible ... Hey, who are you?" The brunette girl read pretently and gave her opinion. As he spoke, he took down the newspaper and showed his bright forehead and his light brown eyes, looking at Klein with a fawning and surprised look.

"Hello, I'm Klein Moretti, and I'm here at Dunn Smith's invitation" Klein said as he lowered his hat to his chest and bowed slightly.

The brunette girl looked to be in her early twenties. She was wearing a light green Loen-style dress. She set off with a beautiful rope on her sleeve, collar, and chest.

"Captain.all right, wait here for a second. I'll pick him up." The girl rushed over and entered the room beside her.

He did not even present a cup of water or anything.The level of service awareness was alarming .. Klein smiled faintly as he waited in place.

After two to three minutes, the brunette opened the door and walked out. She said with a sweet smile, "Master Moretti, please follow me. The captain is on guard at the 'Chanes Gate' and can't leave at this time."

"okay." Klein quickly followed behind. In his mind, he was contemplating himself.

Chanis Gate, what is it?

Passing through the partitions, the first thing he saw was a small corridor, with only three offices on each side.

Some of these offices were tightly locked, while some were opened, revealing someone inside who was typing nonstop on a heavy mechanical typewriter.

At first glance, Klein sees a familiar figure: a young officer who has been investigating his apartment, who is black-haired and blue-eyed and has the romantic aura of a poet.

He was not wearing any official clothes; his collared white shirt was not tucked in, making his appearance quite unruly.

Perhaps he was truly a poet. Klein nodded to greet him and was greeted with a smile.

The brunette pushed open the left office door at the end of the room and pointed inside, chirping, "We still have to go down a few levels."

This office had no furniture, only a grayish-white stone staircase that extended downwards.

Both sides of the stairs are illuminated by gas lamps. Stable light removes darkness and gives a sense of harmony.

The brown-haired girl walked in front, staring at her feet while walking carefully.

"Although I walk here often, I am still constantly afraid of falling, falling like a barrel. You don't know, Leonard did such a fool. On the first day to be 'Sleepless'—the first day where he has not mastered his new powers—he tries to rush down the stairs. And-and she's being a somersault. Haha, funny too come to think of it. Oh yeah, the guy who just greeted you. This was about three years ago. By the way, I've been with the Nighthawks for five years; I was only seventeen when I joined … "

The girl watched his footsteps as he spoke. Suddenly, he smacked his forehead and said, "I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Rozanne. My father was a member of the Nighthawks, who sacrificed himself in an accident five years ago. I think we are co-workers from now on— Err , yes 'colleagues' is the right word.. We are not teammates because we are not Beyonders."

"i wish I had the honor, but still it depends on what Mr. Smith says," Klein said as he assessed the closed environment. He felt that they were heading underground— moisture seeped out of the stone wall, dissipating the heat of summer.

“Do not worry, the fact that you came so far means the Captain has agreed. I've always been a little scared of him, even though he's friendly, fatherly. I don't know why but I'm still scared." Rozanne spoke as if there was a sweet piece in her throat.

Klein replied jokingly, "Isn't being afraid of a father normal?"

"true." Rozanne said as she held the wall around the corner.

As they spoke, the two finished walking down the stairs and reached the stone floor.

It was a long alley; both sides of the wall were mounted with gas lamps surrounded by metal grilles. The shadow of Klein and Rozanne extends under the illumination.

Klein was very concerned that there was a "Dark Sacred Emblem" every few meters—symbol of the Goddess of the Night. The pitch black background was decorated with glistening decorations, as they clumped exactly half a red moon.

Before long, a crossroad appeared in front. Rozanne briefly introduces,

"The path to the left will lead to the Cathedral of Saint Selena; to the right is an armory, a warehouse, and an archive. And straight ahead is Chanis' Gate."

The Cathedral of Saint Selena? So, Zouteland Street is right behind Red Moonlight Street? Klein was a little surprised.

The Cathedral of Saint Selena on the Red Moonlight Road is the headquarters of the Church of the Goddess of the Night in Tingen, a sacred place that local followers want to visit. Together with the "Holy Numerical Cathedral" of the Steam and Machine God Church on the outskirts of the city, and the "River and Sea Cathedral" of the Storm Ruler Church in North Tingen, the, they propped up religious circles in the city of Tingen and the towns and villages affiliated with it.

Aware that his status made him unsuitable for asking more, Klein simply listened in silence.

They pass through the intersection and move straight ahead. In less than a minute, a black iron gate carved with seven sacred emblems was visible.

It stood there, heavy, cold and domineering, like a giant guarding in the darkness.

"Chanis Gate." Rozanne reminded him and pointed to the room beside them, saying, "The captain is inside. Go in by yourself."

"Okay, thank you." Klein replied politely.

Rozanne's room is right in front of the "Chanes Gate". The window opened, revealing a bright room inside. Klein took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Knock it! Knock it! Knock it!

"Lake in." He heard Dunn Smith's deep, friendly voice.

Klein gently opened the unlocked door. There was only one table and four chairs inside. Dunn Smith with her tall hairline, who was wearing a black coat from the previous night plus a gold watch chain on her chest, was reading the newspaper casually.

"Come and sit down. Have you decided? Are you sure you want to join us?" Dunn smiled and asked as she put down the newspaper.

Klein took off his hat and bowed, then he sat down beside the table and said, "Yes, I'm sure."

“Then look at this deed, heh heh. People like to call it a contract now.” Dunn took out a desk drawer and took out two copies of the contract.

There are not many clauses, and most have been mentioned by Dunn Smith. The emphasis is on the secret clause. The offenders were tried in the trial court of the Church of the Goddess Overnight, not the royal court. It was similar to how soldiers and officers were sent to military courts for trial.

Two pounds and ten solis for a weekly wage, ten solis as compensation for risk and secrecy. Klein read it and replied emphatically, "I don't care about that."

"Then sign it" Dunn said, pointing at the fountain pen and the deep red ink.

Klein used a piece of scrap paper to try the pen before taking a breath. He signed both contracts under his name: Klein Moretti.

Since he did not yet have a stamp, he could only use his thumbprints.

Dunn accepts the contract, removes the stamps from the drawer, and stamps at the end of the contract and some important parts.

After that was done, he stood up and returned the contract with one hand, and grabbed Klein with the other, "Welcome, from now on, you are one of us, you are one of us, and please note that the contract is also confidential."

Klein stood up as well. He accepted the contract, shook his hand, and said, "So, I'll call you Captain?"

"Yes." Yeah." Dunn's grayish eyes looked very deep in the dim environment.

After shaking hands, they sat down. Klein glanced at the stamp on the contract, it read: "Nighthawks Squad, Tingen City, Awwa County, Loen Kingdom."

"I can't believe you're going to use the name 'Blackthorn Security Company' as a disguise" he laughed and said.

"Actually, we have another nameplate." Dunn took out a piece of paper from the drawer.

It was stamped with the stamp of the city government and police department. The contents are as follows: "Seventh Unit, Special Operations Department, Awwa County Police, Loen Kingdom."

“Four first units are regular police in charge of general security, such as VIP Protection Unit and Lock Installation Protection Unit. And from unit five onwards are the ones dealing with supernatural incidents in every city. Our unit is responsible for incidents related to "

Dunn briefly introduced, "Unit Six of the Mandated Punisher forces under the Church of the Lord of Storms were in charge of the pier area, east, and south. The university and suburban areas are under Unit Five, which is the Hivemind Troop Machine at Tingen."

"true." Klein had no questions about it. He then laughed. "What happens if someone actually comes here because of the 'Blackthorn Security Company' signage and asks for our services?"

"We will accept the request; why not? As long as it doesn't affect our day-to-day operations" Dunn said slowly and jokingly. "Any income will be considered an additional bonus, so our members are quite willing to take the job. After all, the market for trivial and troublesome things like finding dogs and cats has been monopolized by private detectives."

"So how many people are in this Nighthawks squad?" Klein asked as they discussed this topic.

"There weren't many supernatural incidents, so Beyonders was less. There are only six official members of Nighthawks in the entire Tingen City, including me. Heh heh, for the civilian staff, there are six including you."

Klein nodded his head, and finally asked the question he was most worried about, "So, Captain, what do you mean by Beyonders losing control? Why did that happen?"