Because it was an open government department, Xia De was not stopped when he walked into the yard.
When he looked up, he immediately saw a blue-gray short-haired kitten basking in the sun on the top of the discarded metal shelves piled together on the east side of the yard.
"Are you so lucky today?"
The weather was still gloomy, and even though it was almost eleven in the morning, there was not much sunlight. The cat squinted its eyes and lay on the metal plate supported by the shelf. It waited until Shade approached before opening its eyes and looking at him.
"Mia, don't scream."
Shade warned Mia, who was clearly trying to radiate ill will, and then clapped his hands gently, signaling the cat to jump down. Without Mia making trouble, Shade's affinity for cats played a significant role. It was the first time the cat saw Shade, but after seeing him clapping, it stood up energetically.
He looked at Xia De with wide eyes, then swung his tail and jumped down along the stacked metal plates and shelves. He trotted to Xia De's feet, squinted his eyes and stretched his neck, and rubbed his trouser legs.
Shade squatted down cautiously and picked up the cat. Mia on his shoulder immediately purred, which was the cat's behavior when it was trying to intimidate but couldn't.
"It will leave soon, and we will go have a delicious meal at noon."
Of course, Shade would not forget to take care of his cat. He stretched out his free left hand and patted Mia's little head on his right shoulder in an awkward position. Only then did it calm down, but it still stared at the blue-gray short-haired cat that was a circle bigger than it, and the new cat also showed fear of Mia, as if Mia was some unspeakable monster.
In short, the commission that was thought to be very troublesome was actually completed in just one morning. When Shade returned the very well-behaved blue-gray short-haired kitten to old lady Midra, the old lady almost cried.
Because Shad completed the commission quickly and efficiently, the old lady gave him an extra half pound as a thank you fee when he paid the commission fee. After declining the invitation from old lady Midra to have lunch together and discuss cat-raising techniques, Shad took the cat, who seemed a little angry, to have a big meal in a nearby neighborhood.
Sure enough, when the cat that approached Shade was sent back to its owner and Mia ate satisfying food, she returned to normal. Perhaps for this cat, the "memory space" needed to remember delicious food completely overwhelmed the "memory space" for remembering troubles, and its life seemed to be truly carefree.
Avoiding the customary lunch break, which was from 12 to 1:30, Shad arrived at Dr. Schneider's psychological clinic in the eastern district of Tobesk at 2 o'clock.
He had only wanted to ask if the doctor would appear at the Yodel Palace tomorrow night, but he did not expect that after the meeting, the doctor immediately gave him surprising news:
"Shad, you'll never guess what happened! I met another gifted person who just awakened!"
Because of excessive surprise, Xia De even stood beside the sofa and forgot to sit down, and the words in his mouth blurted out:
"Oh, doctor, did you use the relic that can overdraw your luck?"
As soon as I said this, I suddenly realized how the other members of the group felt when they heard that the doctor had met them.
"No, no, I won't use that kind of relic, Shad, please sit down and talk."
Dr. Schneider was obviously in a good mood and greeted Xia De warmly:
"Speaking of which, this matter is related to you. A week ago, you asked me to find someone who could make a 'Mind Crystal'. The new gifted person was discovered by me when I was looking for the target!"
"The other party's dream can create spiritual crystals?"
"Of course, the gifted ones who are within 7 hours of awakening, whose spirits are strong but unstable, are the best targets!"
The doctor smiled and said:
"If you have nothing tonight, you can explore each other's dream world with me. He will wake up in about 8 hours, so we can't miss this night."
"So, doctor, are you going to invite the other party to join our group?"
Xia De actually cares more about this.
The doctor smiled and shook his head:
"Of course not. Our team has already met the minimum number of people, and we are not short of experts in certain technologies. Once we have made the alchemical materials you need tonight, we will inform the church of his information through the black market and let the church handle it."
The doctor sat behind his desk, arranging the follow-up matters very carefully. But after thinking for a while, he added:
“Besides, even if you hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t have invited the gifted people this time to join us.
The situation this time is different from yours. When I first met you, you had just woken up from blindness and stupidity because of the ring warlock talent. Your eyes were terrified, but full of hope. And the subsequent investigation of your origins was also innocent. But this time the gifted person is different, he..."
The doctor sighed:
"Well, he has serious psychological problems. He lives at No. 2 Black Corner Alley. He suffered a fire at his workplace three years ago and suffered burns on more than 60% of his body. Even the cause of the fire seems to be related to him, but the Redwich Center has not found any evidence. Based on the above, I think it would be better for our team not to get involved with him."
"Black Corner Alley? The burned man?"
Xia De felt inexplicably familiar, and after thinking for a while, he asked tentatively:
"Doctor, the Black Corner Alley you mentioned, is it the alley next to Lewis Street?"
"Oh? You've been there?"
The doctor asked curiously.
Of course, Shad had been there. In order to get credits for promotion from first grade to second grade, he got three commissions from Iluna that might be related to mysterious events. The second commission was to help Ms. Swan investigate the mysterious person who would spy on her every noon.
The mysterious man was the one who lived in the second door of Black Corner Alley and had burn marks on his face and hands.
"I met him a month ago, but I didn't expect that he would become a gifted person."
Xia De told the doctor about his experience, and the doctor frowned and thought for a while:
"The 28-year-old man is called Luther Kingsway. Three years ago, a fire burned down his workplace and killed ten people. He was the only one who survived and received a large sum of compensation. Although peeping at beautiful girls is not a crime, when these two things are put together, I always feel that the other party is really not a good person."
"How did you find him, doctor?"
Xia De asked with great interest, but he didn't expect Dr. Schneider to smile awkwardly and was unwilling to say more:
"Luck, yes, pure luck."
Even without the power to detect lies, Shad could tell that the doctor wasn't telling the truth. But everyone has their own secrets, so he didn't care about the truth behind them.
As for whether Luther Kingweiss was a good person, Shade didn't really care. But if he could discover something during a dream, not only Shade, but the doctor would probably not mind adding his criminal record when reporting the new gifted person to the church.
After confirming the adventure plan for tonight, Shad heard another good news. The doctor had no plan to attend the dinner at the Yodel Palace tomorrow night because no one would give him an invitation. After knowing this, Shad was relieved to make an appointment with the doctor tonight.
Since Luther Kingweiss was already a gifted person, even though he had not officially become a first-ring warlock, the reconnaissance function of his "other self" had already taken effect. Therefore, Shade and Dr. Schneider met at the intersection of Lewis Street at 11:30 that night.
Mr. Kingweiss should have fallen asleep at this time, and the "other me" who is not awake and not active yet should not wake him up easily.
The two walked along the low wall on the street, trying to avoid the gas lamps on the street. Although it was not raining, dark clouds still covered the sky above the city, and the light of the moon and stars could hardly penetrate the mist.
In order for the gifted person to enter his dream, the doctor needs to directly touch his head, so the two of them must break into the house at Number Two Black Corner Alley.
After taking a look at the alley entrance and making sure there were no other pedestrians nearby, the doctor stood in the alley below the steps and continued to look around. Xia De stood in front of the door and put his finger on the door lock, turning it gently to open it:
"Why do I always do this kind of breaking into other people's homes with Dr. Schneider?"
He thought silently in his heart.
After opening the door a crack, Shade leaned sideways into the darkness of the house. After a few seconds, he stretched out his hand from the crack in the door and gestured for safety. The doctor then walked backwards up the stairs, looked left and right, and leaned sideways into the house through the crack in the door.
The door closed silently, as if nothing had happened. Although Luther King was just an ordinary person, the two were still cautious.
Compared to No. 6 St. Teresa's Square, this house in Black Corner Lane is not very big. The entrance hall is very narrow, and there are a lot of sundries such as shoe racks and cardboard boxes.
In the darkness, the faint light from Shade's fingers illuminated the two of them. The doctor handed Shade shoe covers and gloves, but Shade shook his head and took out the gloves and shoe covers he had prepared from his pocket.
Dr. Schneider showed a gratified expression. From the time he met Shade two and a half months ago to now, the young detective has grown a lot.
Luther King lived alone, and his bedroom was on the left side of the second floor.
The two of them tiptoed upstairs, and when they tried to open the bedroom door, they found that the handle could not be turned.
"Who locks their bedroom door when they are asleep at home?"
Xia De thought in surprise and used magic again to open the door.
But the two did not go in directly. The doctor carefully took out a copper box from his pocket. When he opened it, he found a thick cigar that was one-fifth burned.
The doctor lit it, took a puff of smoke, put the cigar back into the box, put his head through the crack in the door, and blew the smoke in.
He clearly only took a puff, but the puff of smoke he exhaled was like a long dragon, which lasted for ten seconds before stopping. During this period, Xia De was a little worried that Dr. Schneider would be short of oxygen.
After he finished smoking, Dr. Schneider carefully closed the door. The two waited in the corridor for half a minute before finally pushing the door open and entering the room. (To be continued)