The Master of the Strange Realm

His thousand-year-old wooden heart was all consumed in the Skeleton Sword incident, and the one that grew into a tree would not have the original characteristics even if it was recovered. It would be a long process to reacquire the wooden heart, but the first one that went so smoothly seemed to have made a good start for the process.

After returning to the antique shop, he told his father about the exhibition. His father didn't mind Jenkins taking half a day off. He just asked him to bring some food when he came back at noon tomorrow, so that he didn't have to worry about lunch.

It was ten o'clock in the morning when he returned to the antique shop. Just after settling the cat that became more active because of the arrival of spring, a customer came to the door.

This was a very difficult middle-aged lady, who was extremely shrewd when talking about prices. I spent until noon with her before I finally sold the plaster statue in the store.

The plaster statue depicted a painter from two hundred years ago. The painter was not famous in his time, but his works rose to a very high value fifty years after his death.

Critics are willing to use some words that ordinary people don't understand to describe his abstract paintings, and try to find the meaning that the original author wants to express in those randomly arranged geometric patterns.

"But it's very likely that it's just a block of color graffitied at will."

Dad said this, he always looked down on those who speculate in antiques or artworks.

During lunch, the two found that the canned fish that Dad had placed in the warehouse was actually spoiled. After opening it, the disastrous smell filled the whole room, and Chocolate rushed back into the store and tried to push the door with its little paws.

In the end, it was the brave Jenkins who covered his nose and disposed of the can, but after that, the appetite of the two people and the cat was greatly reduced.

The remaining cans were thrown into the garbage dump in the alley behind the backyard of the store. Dad stuffed Jenkins with a handful of change and asked him to go to a nearby restaurant to see if there was any take-out food. Dad was the first to open the can just now, and he inhaled the most rotten fish odor. After the can was disposed of, he even asked Jenkins to treat him before he recovered.

"This is the first time I know that rotten canned food smells like this."

Walking on the road, Jenkins whispered to his cat. Chocolate meowed listlessly, looking very listless.

"Meow~"

It meowed again, patted Jenkins's face with the soft pad on its paw, and then stared at the cake shop they had just passed with wide eyes.

"No, we are here to buy lunch, not dessert for you."

He warned, and the cat returned to its listless look again.

Because of the stinky fish attack just now, Jenkins has decided not to eat anything related to fish in the next few days. This leaves a lot less room for lunch choices, but he knows the restaurants nearby quite well. Walk north along Queen's Avenue 5, let the slowly approaching carriage pass, and turn left at the third intersection where the mailbox stands; enter the first alley you see, be careful not to touch the wet clothes on the clothesline, throw the little boy who deliberately bumped into you and tried to steal to the side, and walk out of the alley. You can see a mid-range restaurant on the left side of the opposite side of the road.

Jenkins is also a regular customer here. After calling the waiter to make his request clear, he sat casually near the door. It took too much time to process the canned fish. It was past lunch time, so there were not many people in the restaurant.

Because he was the only guest, the kitchen cooked very quickly. I thought no one else would come in. When Jenkins looked at the chocolate and licked his paw, someone pushed open the door of the restaurant.

It was a beautiful woman in her twenties, carrying a red women's handbag and wearing light makeup. That was Agnes Howard, the owner of Howard Detective Agency, codenamed "Miss Magic".

When Jenkins investigated the detective agency with his real identity, he had met this woman once. But he didn't mean to come forward to talk now, and still looked down at his cat.

Miss Magic didn't recognize the young guest sitting there, as a young writer who had met her once. She sat against the wall, holding the menu and talking quietly to the waiter.

"I wonder if she has found the pirate king Fermishu."

Jenkins guessed carefully. On the way back to his father's antique shop after leaving the restaurant, he bought a copy of the "Funny Daily". This is a tabloid that sells hearsay news and exaggerated horror stories. It would be interesting to read the news in it as a story.

"Oh? Mr. Hood is organizing a party tonight?"

He put the first and last words of the second news on the third page together, and it actually formed the code for Mr. Hood's party.

"Fortunately, I still remember this, otherwise I would have missed it."

Jenkins shook his head, holding the meal in one hand and the newspaper in the other, and walked towards the antique shop.

Just as he guessed after meeting the flower girl in the morning, no strange things happened today. After a peaceful day, Jenkins said goodbye to his father and went home for dinner.

After planning the writing plan for the third detective novel in the study, he put down his pen, picked up his hat and coat, and went out again.

The temperature is rising day by day, and now even if you go out at night, you don't need a heavy coat. The hair loss that Jenkins had worried about in the past did not happen. However, with the arrival of spring, Chocolate started to become a lot more restless. Of course, this may also be because Jenkins was planning to reduce its food recently.

One person and one cat pretended to be out for a walk, walked on St. George Street for a while, then turned and walked to the next block. When they reappeared, they had changed their appearance and were flying in the sky.

Although the unicorn is not summoned very often, the beautiful little beast really likes Jenkins. After landing, it reluctantly rubbed its face against Jenkins' sleeve. Until Chocolate seemed a little anxious, it reluctantly stepped into the space wall to go home.

There was no unique location chosen for the gathering. The location was the two-story apartment building where Mr. Hood led everyone after rescuing him last time.

Jenkins landed on the roof of a closed night club two blocks away. After sending the unicorn away, he climbed down the sewer pipe with the cat.

Chapter 995 Chapter 977 Mr. Hood’s Thanks

Climbing down the sewer pipe in the alley at night is not very conspicuous. Jenkins was so focused on observing where to fix himself in the pipe that he didn't notice anyone passing by directly below. When they jumped down from the second floor, Mr. White Cat who was passing by and Jenkins who landed were both startled.

"Oh, my God~ This is really unexpected. I should be lucky that I don't have heart disease, otherwise I will regretfully miss the party tonight."

Mr. White Cat recognized the cat on Jenkins' shoulder and understood it was Mr. Candle. After Jenkins apologized in a low voice, the two walked towards their destination together. On the way, they casually chatted about the city's recent epidemic prevention situation, and then talked about their mutual friend Mr. Black Cat.

Mr. White Cat joined this party because Mr. Black Cat introduced him.

"I received his letter. He has now settled in Turin and has found a stable job. I really envy that guy. His decision to leave Nolan seems to be the right one."

"I also have some contact with Mr. Black Cat. Although he has left, he is always paying attention to the news here. I feel that he is still a little regretful about his departure. In Turin, the benefactors all heard that Nolan seemed to be hiding. A treasure room with countless traps, some people want to get in..."

"Some people want to leave."

Mr. White Cat added.

After knocking on the door, Mr. Hood opened the door for them, and the two were the first to arrive. Mr. Hood prepared food and drinks for the party companions in the living room. The three men chatted about the air for a while, and then talked about the Righteous Church's killing of the Skeleton Sword holder.

"About this matter, I can tell you some secrets later."

Mr. Hood said mysteriously, and then took out a large mahogany square box from next to the sofa and placed it on the coffee table.

It was probably not an illusion. Jenkins smelled the unique smell of corpse embalming agent.

Hathaway soon arrived, and she met Jenkins' neighbor Miss Silverflute on the road. The last one to come was Miss Magic. She smelled of moisture, as if she had just fallen into the water and then evaporated quickly.

But the woman just apologized quietly for being late, and did not explain what happened to her just now.

It has been more than a month since the last gathering. Everyone except Hathaway knows that Mr. Hood has been busy fighting transnational human trafficking during this period, and even almost took his own life.

He once again explained the reason for the long gap between this gathering and the last gathering, and loudly thanked the other four people who participated in the rescue activities that day.

"I know that if they can find you, you will come to save me, Mr. Lark."

Mr. Hood said to Hathaway, holding up the wine glass on the table and motioning to her. The hooded redhead responded in the falsetto voice she was so good at:

"Of course, we have known each other for such a long time. It's a pity that I was not in Nolan that day."

"So, you happened to avoid the civil unrest in the city the next day?"

Miss Yindi asked.

"Yes, when I returned to Nolan, everything was over. Thank you to the Zhengshen Church and the Holy Son who took action..."

"What a lucky guy."

Jenkins commented that others thought Mr. Candle was talking about Lark, but in fact he was also talking about himself that day.

This was the first time since Jenkins attended Mr. Hood's party that everyone could sit down and talk. Before, they had all stood. Before everyone arrived, Mr. Hood had already surrounded the four couches around the coffee table. He and Jenkins sat together, opposite Miss Magic and Miss Silver Flute, while Mr. White Cat and Hathaway sat alone in the small On the sofa, the latter is observing Mr. Candle's cat.

When chocolate changes its coat color, it usually also causes slight changes in its face shape and body shape. But it would not change the shape of its own kitten, so as she became more familiar with Jenkins and Mr. Candle, Hathaway would occasionally associate the two cats together.

But the chocolate in the form of vanilla is very measured. Even if there are fruits and snacks for guests on the table, it does not show any desire to eat. She squatted obediently on Jenkins' lap and accepted his touch, which was completely different from Chocolate, the lazy cat who liked to lie down or lie on her stomach.

Mr. Hood's house is well decorated, which shows that his financial situation is very good. The decoration style of the house is simple, conservative and traditional, which is the type that Jenkins likes.

Mr. Hood started sharing the news, and he immediately said something that surprised everyone:

"I know who killed the holder of the Skeleton Sword!"

"Um?"

Jenkins was shocked, but soon realized that Scrooge Pompey was not killed by him. He squeezed his leg quietly to keep calm and not let his expression show any flaws.

"You mean you know the true identity of the Holy Son of the Zhengshen Church?"

Miss Magic questioned.

The decisive battle in the Evergreen Forest was witnessed by more than twenty Gifters from the church. After the incident, in order to protect Jenkins' safety, everyone signed an additional confidentiality agreement and swore to the gods to keep this secret for life.

After that, the church released some specious news to explain the defeat of Skeleton Sword. The more real part is that "a certain Holy Son killed Scrooge Pompeii, the holder of the Skeleton Sword", and this news is now known to most people.

"No, the Orthodox Church only defeated him, but did not kill him."

Mr. Hood emphasized this point, and then motioned for everyone to look at the mahogany box he placed on the coffee table.

"I killed him as part of revenge."

As he spoke, he stood up and pulled the box in front of him. He opened the four metal buckles at the bottom of the box with a click, and then took off the box body, revealing the chassis and the antiseptic Pompeii head on it. .

"Tsk tsk~"

Jenkins made this sound and leaned back. Although he had killed many people, looking directly at a human head still made him feel uncomfortable.

The others didn't speak, not knowing what Mr. Hood meant. Now that the church has announced that Pompeii is dead, all bounties and wanted orders on him have been naturally cancelled. Even if you take this head to the church, you will not be able to get any reward.

"This is a gift from me to everyone as a thank you for rescuing me."

He said cheerfully. Seeing that no one spoke, he took out a note pad from his pocket and placed it on the table. It had a red light.

Chapter 996 Chapter 978 Knowledge of Pompeii

The so-called scratch pad is actually pieces of paper of the same size stuck together with glue that is easy to tear apart. When you use a page, just tear it open and you will get a sticky note.

Mr. Hood's book is already very thin, and by visual inspection there are no more than 20 pages left.

The house's living room was much smaller than Jenkins's, but that allowed the gas light to better illuminate every corner. No one except Mr. Hood knew what it was, but they probably guessed that it was something extraordinary.

"This is a strange item I got during an adventure in the Strange Land in my early years. It has helped me a lot over the years. Because it was taken directly from the Strange Land, the church certainly has no record of it. I have been groping for so many years, I just barely understood what it was.”

As he spoke, he tore off the top note and pressed it on Pompeii's head.

"Put any piece of paper on the head of a dead creature, and you will randomly get a piece of knowledge that he had during his lifetime. Of course, the integrity of the head must be more than two-thirds, and the brain tissue must be intact. The knowledge obtained It’s completely random and depends on luck, and has nothing to do with the master’s control of the head.”

This is simply the best Category B [Extraordinary] prepared for murderers and those who get something for nothing. From the thickness of the notepad, it can be seen that Mr. Hood must have used it many times over the years, but I don’t know what he did for it. "Knowledge" and took the initiative to kill several people.

"Each head can use sticky notes multiple times to acquire knowledge, but most likely it will be junk knowledge like [how to breathe more evenly] [how to make delicious bread] [middle-aged men’s clothing matching experience], etc., from my personal Judging from the experimental situation, the probability of obtaining useful knowledge is less than 1 in 20. Of course, this is also affected by how many things are in the head."

After saying this, he looked at Jenkins, Mr. Hood, Miss Silver Flute and Miss Magic in turn.

"This is my thank you gift to you. Each person can use one note. But I hope that those who have obtained the knowledge can show that knowledge to others to prevent someone from obtaining the [Skeleton Sword Quilt" with a very low probability. I'm hiding the information somewhere."

This is of course a reasonable request, and no one present will deny it. Hathaway was the only one excluded from the event. After all, she was not in Nolan that day and did not participate in the rescue.

Miss Yindi was the first to reach out and tear off the note. After making a disgusted sound, she reached out and stuck the piece of paper to her head. After a few seconds, Mr. Hood indicated that it was ready, and she quickly withdrew her hand. She glanced at it first, and then "tsk~".

"bad luck."

As she spoke, she handed the note to the magical lady beside her without any scruples.

"Oh, that's really interesting."

Everyone looked at the densely packed words written on the paper in turn, which was a test of eyesight. It describes how to obtain qualified ritual materials in a cemetery, which is worthless to everyone.

Then came Miss Magic. She seemed unwilling to touch the head, but she still extended her hand according to the instructions. After reading the content above, the woman hesitated, tore the paper from the middle, and then handed it to the person next to her.

Although the paper was damaged, it could be seen that it recorded a unique method of reviving skeleton soldiers. The peculiarity of this method is that it does not use bones, but uses plaster and bone powder as substitutes to directly summon the undead. While the undead summoned this way are extremely fragile, it's pretty amazing considering it doesn't use bones.

I just don't know whether this is something Pompey researched himself or the knowledge provided by the Skeleton Sword.

Then it was Jenkins, who first touched Chocolate twice with his hand, hoping to bring himself good luck. Perhaps it was the [Fate Stage] or the action just now that really brought the favor of the hermit. In short, when the sticky note was attached to the head, he knew that what he had obtained was definitely not ordinary knowledge.

The paper was actually melting, and it was melting very quickly. Although he didn't feel the heat, Jenkins quickly released his hand.

When his hand returned to his side, there was a slight clang, and a red sphere appeared in the ashes of the sticky note. The sphere was as big as a glass bead, and red air filled it. You could even faintly see Pompey's roaring face flashing on the surface of the sphere.

"Meow~"

Chocolate made a righteous threat and tried to jump over and use his mouth to eliminate the bead for Jenkins. But Jenkins thought that the situation was not yet the most dangerous time, and he didn't need his precious cat to take action, so he pulled it back and put it on his lap.

"Oh, this is really... so lucky, I have only encountered it once so far... Mr. Candle, you directly obtained an ability of Pompeii."

Mr. Hood's tone was full of surprise and regret. He motioned Jenkins to twist the beads and continued to explain:

"【Ability】 is also knowledge. The probability of directly obtaining the ability of the gifter through knowledge is very low, really very low... Directly use the spirit to feel the inside of the beads, and you can directly obtain the ability represented by the beads. But this process is a bit dangerous, because it contains some resentment of the dead. Before using it, it is best to prepare some rituals to purify resentment and keep inner peace, or similar talismans to prevent being affected by resentment. Of course, I haven't found a way to know the content of the ability before using this kind of bead..."

"Mr. Candle, do you want to sell it?"

Mr. White Cat asked directly without waiting for Mr. Hood to finish his introduction.

"No, I don't have this plan for the time being."

Jenkins shook his head. Even though he didn't have a blank bubble at the moment, he didn't want to sell such an interesting thing.

The last one was Mr. White Cat. Because of Jenkins's gains, he suddenly became very interested in sticky notes. Before using it, he performed a blessing ceremony that no one could understand, but in the end, the hermit of fate did not favor him.

"Oh, the maintenance and cleaning of formal wear... Is this person's true identity a clerk in a dry cleaner?"