Chapter 3917

"Being cautious is indeed correct, but where are you living now?"

Xia De asked curiously again, so Mr. Bernhardt took out a notebook and wrote down the address for Xia De:

"We also have a public identity for coming here. Hou Jue Fabis of Willendale entrusted our group to go to the Arcadia Branch of the Karsinrik Royal Academy of Sciences to check the construction progress of the prototype of the compressed steam engine he ordered two years ago. Besides me, everyone in the team has a background as a scholar and engineer.

We are currently living in the 'Fabis Mansion'. That place is in the Lower City and is the Hou Jue's private residence locally. If you have anything to contact me, just go there."

Although local nobles mostly concentrated in the Upper City, the Upper City had limited area after all, so there were also many noble mansions surrounded by high walls in the Lower City. Considering that the Hou Jue was likely not a local, it was easy to understand why the mansion couldn't be in the Upper City.

Xia De took the piece of paper torn off by Mr. Bernhardt and wrote down the address. Only then did Mr. Bernhardt ask worriedly:

"Then why did you come here? Is it related to what I'm investigating?"

"It seems unrelated now. I am tracking a 'Grey Glove' agent."

Xia De said and looked around, confirming again that no one was eavesdropping nearby. Being heard discussing matters related to Ringed Shushi was a low-probability cause of trouble, but being heard discussing "Grey Glove" would likely cause big trouble.

"There is no progress yet, I am still waiting for the next news."

"Is that agent... an evil cultist? Or some kind of indescribable thing?"

Mr. Bernhardt continued to ask with a worried face, and Xia De laughed:

"He is likely just an ordinary person. Looking for him is just for my private affairs, and it has no great connection with those earth-shattering major events. Hmm... at least there is no great connection now.

I arrived locally this week. I see that this city is still peaceful for now. Although there are hidden dangers of all sizes, at least so far, there is no need to worry too much."

Xia De said he also wanted to leave a communication address for Mr. Bernhardt, but the "Blue Ink Library" hadn't been obtained yet. Because of Vigo, he didn't rent a room in a local hotel as a temporary foothold as usual.

So after hesitating for a moment, Xia De wrote down the address of the Fragrant Residence. He trusted Mr. Bernhardt very much:

"If you have anything, you can write a letter to find me here. Although I am likely not there, the maids of the mansion will help me collect the letters."

The blood-sucking species Viscount took the note and looked at it, surprised. He clearly knew what kind of place this was. But thinking that Xia De always had close relationships with such powerful ladies in different cities — such as Countess Belindell in Moon Bay, he didn't feel surprised by this address.

Then the two exchanged the local information they had mastered. Mr. Bernhardt only arrived half a week earlier than Xia De, and because they seriously distrusted the locals, the information they mastered was not much.

Xia De talked about what happened this morning and mentioned the news from the black market that the "Master of Construction" Mr. Gerald Delong had returned to the Church of Creation's church from the Willendale diocese.

Mr. Bernhardt mentioned that this place was the third largest gathering place for blood-sucking species in Karsinrik, besides Willendale and Moon Bay:

"In fact, since the Delin'or Kingdom era, this has been the area where our race lived. At that time, this was the capital, and it was very prosperous."

Not all local blood-sucking species disappeared. Most of the missing ones were high-level blood-sucking species. Besides visiting the periphery, Mr. Bernhardt and his party spent most of their time this week understanding the situation from fellow clansmen worth trusting locally. The information currently known is not much:

"The church of the 【Church of Creation】 is right next door. Local fellow clansmen are very law-abiding, at least much more law-abiding than the fellow clansmen in Moon Bay. They haven't offended anyone locally, but instead have quite good relationships with most local forces. So, our current suspects are outsiders."

"Very coincidentally, I accepted a commission locally, which is also to investigate outsiders."

Xia De then described the detailed situation of the injury on Ms. Rolin's back to Mr. Bernhardt, but it was a pity that this blood-sucking species had never heard of similar things:

"I don't know whose means it is, but if there are clues later, we can communicate with each other. Maybe we are investigating the same group of people."

And thinking that he might be passively or even actively involved in the things Xia De was dealing with during the investigation, this middle-aged blood-sucking species looked very vicissitudinous, and even once wanted to pull the good friend with a good attendance record in Moon Bay over to help.

"However, maybe this time I won't be involved in too troublesome things."

He thought to himself to comfort himself. Xia De then asked about 【Essence of All Things Blood】. This was a material prepared for starting the "Life Furnace" in the time key. Although it could also be obtained in the "Pantanal Xiewu," it required fighting dangerous monsters after all.

It was just a pity that Mr. Bernhardt shook his head:

"Last summer, all the 【Essence of All Things Blood】 in the race were used to support Albert. Although high-level blood-sucking species can condense that thing, the efficiency is very, very low. The piece consumed by Albert was the amount stored by more than ten clans in Willendale for nearly five hundred years."

And the 【Essence of All Things Blood】 consumed by the blood-sucking species coroner to cast "Earth Power · Protect All Things" was only two-thirds the size of the piece Xia De obtained before leaving the Pantanal Xiewu.

So Xia De stopped thinking about getting that thing in the Sixth Era:

"It doesn't matter, I have other ways to get it, although it's a bit troublesome, it's not impossible to get. Speaking of which, could those people who kidnapped your fellow clansmen be for the Essence of All Things Blood?"

Xia De raised this possibility, but Mr. Bernhardt didn't think so:

"Kidnapping high-level blood-sucking species and challenging the largest blood-sucking ethnic group in the material world for 【Essence of All Things Blood】 is completely not worth it. The condensation of 【Essence of All Things Blood】 is really very slow. Even if those fellow clansmen are kidnapped, don't think about getting 【Essence of All Things Blood】 the size of a fingernail without a hundred or two hundred years. I don't believe anyone would do this."

However, Mr. Bernhardt was not without other conjectures:

"Currently, the idea of me and other members of the investigation team is that someone wants to attack the entire blood-sucking species ethnic group. You should have heard of 'Blood-Sucking Species Hunter', right? In the Fourth Era, the reputation of our ethnic group was indeed very bad, but in the current era, blood-sucking species, like most alien species, actually just want to live a peaceful life.

But there are still sporadic blood-sucking species hunters who want to hunt us. After all, just from the perspective of interests, the blood and certain organs of blood-sucking species are very good magic potion materials. Large-scale hunter actions last appeared before the steam revolution. Maybe they have been hiding for so many years, and now they are finally going to be against us again."

This reason sounded indeed more likely, Xia De nodded:

"Then I will also help you pay attention when I operate locally later. If there are really hunters who hunt intelligent life for profit, in my view, such people are no different from simply eating people. I will help you."

Mr. Bernhardt sighed again:

"In short, blood-sucking species hunter is the best possibility I can think of. If it's other possibilities, I'm afraid it will be even worse."

Xia De asked curiously:

"What is the worst possibility?"

Mr. Bernhardt also looked left and right, then lowered his voice and answered:

"Before the night I set off from Willendale to Arcadia, the elders called me to the ancient castle outside the city. I originally thought they wanted to give me some life-saving relics or holy artifacts passed down by the race. I didn't expect them to show me a stone slab."

He didn't let Xia De guess:

"On the stone slab is 'Poetry Fragment'."

This time it was Xia De's turn to look up slightly and gasp:

"Okay, this is indeed the worst situation that can be expected. Then what is written on that stone slab is..."

"【The End of Time is also the Beginning of Birth】, yes, just such a sentence. Although it seems to have no connection with the Arcadia incident, high-level blood-sucking species usually have strong precognitive dream abilities, especially during long-term hibernation, this precognitive dream ability is more precise.

It's not just one elder who has a premonition that the Arcadia incident may be related to that stone slab. Those old guys... I mean the elders, although they act rigidly, are conservative and don't know how to adapt, but they will never joke about such things."

Xia De thought that this sentence was very similar to what the long-haired Luvia said in his dream last night, and Mr. Bernhardt picked up the teacup again:

"So I have been very cautious since I brought people here. Fortunately, it seems that it has indeed been very peaceful recently."

After his voice fell, the two looked far away at the window of the teahouse together, but there was no explosion immediately, and no noise came.

"Okay then, I will also pay attention to this aspect. Poetry Fragment... the only remaining Chosen Ones who haven't appeared are Sun and Moon, Chaos, and Creation. The Poetry Fragment you mentioned is likely related to Creation, and small probability is Chaos."

"If combined with the fact that I am investigating the disappearance of fellow clansmen, the answer must be Creation. After all, we have nothing to do with that 'small probability'."

Mr. Bernhardt said, chatted with Xia De about some interesting things before and after the Year-End Festival, then took out his pocket watch and glanced at it, and apologized to Xia De:

"There are still some things in the evening, I'm afraid I have to leave."

Xia De also sensed the time:

"What a coincidence, I also have things in the evening. Even if you didn't say it, I'm afraid I would have to say goodbye."