In the deep, dark underground structure, Klein carried a lantern and made a full circle of the hall, meticulously checking for any other entrances. Of course, he didn't dare enter the passage leading to the innermost room, while the snakes that had gathered again were once more blown away by the biting cold wind.
After getting a positive answer, he voluntarily retreated to the entrance, and together with the three zombies, watched the bodyguard lady, Miss Sharon, place explosives in different positions.
"She looks very professional," Klein murmured quietly.
The three zombies, of course, did not respond to him.
However, there was a reason for this. He had been using his spirituality to shield the negative effects of Azik's copper whistle. Otherwise, he would have encountered an unusually enthusiastic "agreement."
He originally hadn't planned on bringing this ancient and exquisite copper whistle, but considering he needed to guard against evil spirits secretly causing trouble, he had no choice but to sacrifice some of his spirituality.
"Bodyguard lady, no, Miss Sharon, said she was an explosives expert. She really wasn't bragging..."
"Was she originally in this industry? Or did a Sequence in her Beyonder pathway make her skilled in this area? According to the data I've seen in the Nighthawks squad, these roughly correspond to Sequence 9's 'Criminal', 'Prisoner', 'Warrior', and 'Hunter'; Sequence 8's 'Sheriff'; Sequence 7's 'Weapon Master' and 'Knowledge Keeper'. Heh, the latter has a nickname, 'Detective', and belongs to the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom... I don't know about the others..."
"I wonder which pathway Miss Sharon belongs to. Nothing really fits. She also demonstrated the ability to command zombies this time..."
Amid Klein's rambling thoughts, Sharon finished setting up and casually lit the fuse.
Casually? Lit? Hey, hey, hey! Why didn't you give a warning! Klein snapped back to reality, startled, and hurriedly retreated from the hall into the outer corridor.
The three zombies, however, unhurriedly followed behind him.
"It's safe here," Sharon suddenly appeared beside him.
Klein breathed a sigh of relief. "Will any dust be shaken loose here?" he asked instead.
"Yes," Sharon gave an affirmative answer with a single word.
"That's good," Klein said, taking another step back.
Hiss, hiss... The sound of the fuse burning reached his ears, making him slightly restless.
This feeling wasn't because he was afraid of the upcoming explosion, but because he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"One," Sharon suddenly said.
"Huh?" Klein couldn't understand what she meant for a moment.
BOOM!
The earth shook violently, and dust and smoke suddenly fell from above. Klein's ears rang with a deafening roar, and he briefly couldn't hear any other sounds.
If he weren't a "Clown," he would have lost his balance and fallen to the ground.
Cough, cough! Caught off guard, he coughed and saw huge rocks and dirt rapidly falling in front of him, instantly sealing the entrance.
In the lingering tremors, Klein tightly gripped the copper whistle Mr. Azik had given him, observing its reaction.
Although he had already divined beforehand and obtained a result indicating no danger in this trip, this place involved the humanoid statues of six orthodox gods. Even though it was a revelation obtained above the Gray Fog, he didn't dare fully trust it, and the interpretation itself could be wrong. Therefore, he cautiously used Azik's copper whistle to determine if any evil spirits had been freed.
The surface of the whistle was cold yet gentle, showing no abnormal changes. Klein was completely relieved. He looked at the zombies beside him and confirmed from their eyes that he was currently very disheveled and covered in dirt.
That's good. It perfectly matches the explanation I'll give Mr. Miller Carter later... I didn't waste my effort in specifically changing clothes before coming... He walked to the entrance, confirming it was completely sealed.
Without creating a huge disturbance, in the future, indeed, only the "Apprentice" pathway and Beyonders like Miss Sharon could enter. She eliminated many potential competitors. No wonder she did it for free... Klein gazed at the rocks and dirt, silently sighing.
"Of course, I can too. I have a spirit-like state!" He silently added in his mind with a smile, but his expression remained impassive.
"Wrap it up," Klein snapped his fingers exaggeratedly, leading the three zombies back to the basement of the house in a hasty and panicked manner, while Sharon had disappeared at some unknown point.
In the spacious basement, Miller Carter was pacing back and forth, tense and worried, occasionally glancing at the secret door.
Seeing Detective Moretti and his assistants come out in one piece, he immediately let out a long sigh of relief and asked urgently: "What happened inside?"
Klein deliberately panted as he said: "That underground structure was too, too old. It hadn't been repaired for ages. We were originally driving away the snakes, but we made a slightly big move, which triggered a massive collapse, a total collapse. Luckily we were near the entrance and managed to escape in time."
"Storm above! Was the building that dangerous?" Miller Carter punched his left chest with a fist.
"Yes, only a few ancient buildings remain intact. The rest have collapsed in the river of history," Klein replied. "I'll take you in to have a look, to confirm the situation."
"Will there be another collapse?" Miller asked cautiously.