After sending the telegram and tidying up his desk, "White Shark" Hamilton completely relaxed, finally having the leisure and mental capacity to think through the details of the incident.
The first question that popped into his mind was:
"What about the guards outside?"
He pushed himself up with both hands and stood up abruptly. He walked heavily to the door, pulled it open, and saw several of his subordinates standing crookedly, telling jokes about women.
Hamilton felt a surge of anger rush to his head, but he quickly calmed down. His facial muscles twitched slightly as he punched the open door.
Bam!
The guards were startled, instinctively turning their heads to look at the door.
"Boss..." "Chief..."
Upon seeing who made the sound, they scrambled to stand at attention, stammering.
"White Shark" took a silent breath and said:
"Did any of you see anyone enter my room just now?"
"Yes, Lardero. He said there was a situation downstairs," the guards replied, utterly confused by the question. "You let him in, Boss..."
As their words trailed off, they suddenly thought of another explanation and asked one after another:
"Chief (Boss), was something stolen from the room?"
Hamilton's expression darkened. He shook his head.
"Don't lose focus!"
Bang! He retreated back into the room and closed the door, leaving the guards exchanging glances, suspecting their boss was drunk.
Inside the room, the tall and fat Hamilton frowned and began pacing back and forth.
"Lardero, Lardero. They saw Lardero... That guy, that guy, can he change into the appearance of others?" As a collaborator who helps pirates fence their loot and gather intelligence, "White Shark" Hamilton was no stranger to the various rumors of the sea. The first thing that came to mind was the former pirate admiral Zilingos, who was said to be able to transform into anyone.
But he quickly thought of more:
"It doesn't have to be this kind of mystical ability. If it's close to what the rumors describe, illusions, suggestions, and mental manipulation could all achieve something similar."
"Hmm, something feels off. That guy just now had a refined appearance, a mad mind, and terrifying strength. Why would he pretend to be my subordinate to infiltrate and even address me as 'boss'? With the personality he displayed, he should have knocked out or killed everyone he passed, strolled to the door, and then knocked very politely!"
"If it was to avoid making a big commotion, leaving behind too much information, or exposing his Sequence-related secrets, there were plenty of more covert methods. For example, climbing through the window..."
"Very contradictory... There is only one explanation for this contradiction: he was faking it!"
"Faking his personality, or faking his strength? Or maybe both?"
Reaching this point in his thoughts, Hamilton suddenly stopped in his tracks, connecting all the details:
"That guy is a rookie! His madness was a facade! His strength is dependent on a certain mystical item!"
"Yes, it must be!"
"Only this can explain those contradictions. He didn't climb the outer wall and enter through the window because his Sequence is low, he's not good at those things, and the mystical item's focus isn't in that area... He was willing to lower his head and call me boss to smoothly enter the room because he relies purely on the mystical item and lacks confidence in himself, not arrogant or crazy enough... He acted like a madman to complement the mystical item's fear-inducing effect, applying pressure to get information."
"This also perfectly explains why he just left. The reason he came to me was because he got a powerful mystical item, his ambition swelled, and he wanted to get rich by capturing and hunting some pirates. When he found out I was working for 'Silver Coin Viper' Odel and 'Admiral of Blood''s intelligence officer Old Quinn, and that it might involve the 'Mystery Queen', he got scared, became timid, barely made any pretense, and chose to leave, not daring to kill anyone!"
"White Shark" Hamilton felt more and more that he had found the truth. He hurriedly set up the radio again, retrieved his codebook, and sent a supplementary piece of intelligence, briefly describing his speculation.
He believed he wasn't being targeted by a hunter; the previous event was purely the inflated ambition of a young man who had stumbled upon a fortuitous encounter. He also gave the corresponding characteristics of the target:
"Blonde hair and blue eyes. Not crazy, even a bit timid."
"Possesses a quite mystical item. It might be able to change appearance and body shape, or it might create illusions. Combined with the sense of terror, the latter is more likely. In short, his true appearance is unknowable."
"An inexperienced rookie, good at using items to fake a powerful aura!"
"Has a certain understanding of me. Doesn't seem like an out-of-towner visiting Damir Harbor for the first time."
Tap, tap, tap. Hamilton stopped his fingers and leaned back in satisfaction, making the chair creak.
The corners of his mouth curled up bit by bit, as if he had already seen the ending of that bastard just now:
"A guy with a very low Sequence but possessing a powerful mystical item won't have a good end at sea. Greedy sharks will swarm towards him!"
"When that happens, I won't have to worry about my problem being exposed!"
............
The harbor was quite quiet under the night sky. Having left 'Flying Fish and Wine', Klein rounded a detour in the distance, going fast at first and then slow, gradually settling into a stroll.
After confirming no one was following him, he changed his face back to Gehrman Sparrow while passing a dark area, and tucked the hem of his shirt into his pants.