Mystery: Lucky One

Chapter 13Chapter13 "2-049"

This is a dark chamber.

After slowly adapting to the dim light, Alice saw a puppet wrapped in oil-stained cloth strips.

The puppet turned over with a creak, and its face painted with clown paint met Alice's gaze.

There was a pair of pure black pupilless eyes on the strange face, and a crack suddenly appeared under the eyes, forming the shape of a "mouth".

The split "mouth" showed a clear arc, forming an exaggerated clown smile on the face painted with clown paint - Alice realized that the puppet was smiling at her.

Alice suddenly woke up from her dream, recalling that weird and scary smile, she felt lingering fear. Alice, who couldn't sleep, had to get up and look at the time - good, at least it was daylight.

"A dangerous extraordinary item...perhaps a sealed object, with certain characteristics of being alive."

After using the ritual to draw the image of the puppet in her dream, Alice brought the freshly painted portrait to Dunn's office and placed the portrait in front of him.

"Have you seen 2-049?" Dunn obviously recognized what this portrait was at a glance.

"2-049? A Sealed Artifact?" Alice frowned. The possibility of a Sealed Artifact was one of her guesses, but this number did not meet her expectations. "That Sealed Artifact is alive." ?"

"Alive?" Dunn frowned and looked at her, "No, 2-049 has never shown the characteristics of being alive."

"That's because it was affected by an unknown... I understand. The point is not 2-049, but the things that affected it!" Alice suddenly realized.

After listening to Alice's words, Dunn looked at the portrait and pondered for a moment, then said while putting away the portrait: "I understand, you can go back."

Alice nodded and was about to leave, but she suddenly stopped as if she saw something. When Dunn cast his doubtful gaze on her and was about to ask, she seemed to suddenly react and left Dunn quickly. 's office.

She closed the door as if nothing had happened, greeted everyone she knew with a smile, and walked all the way into the bathroom. After closing the door, Alice leaned against the door and closed her eyes to calm her thoughts.

She would never forget what she saw - the shadow of death that had been surrounding Dunn since she first saw him, submerging him bit by bit, completely shrouding him, had just shaken.

"Not enough," Alice warned herself softly, "at least to the point where you can see what is behind the shadows...or the purpose, the deeper purpose."

Alice was not a very kind girl, but she also couldn't help but watch Dunn die. After realizing that someone was trying to achieve a certain goal through Dunn's death - or being trapped in a certain situation, Alice thought about prompting Dunn - and then spiritual intuition stopped her.

She realized that she couldn't tell all this, or even show any trace of it, otherwise it would lead to unknown dangers.

Alice obviously would not sacrifice herself for Dunn, so she pretended that she had not discovered anything, but Dunn spent three years without incident. It seemed that things had not changed, but Alice looked at the secret Shadow knows it all - a dragnet has been laid out in the darkness, just waiting to be opened.

But Alice had no choice. She couldn't reach behind the spider web without stepping on it. She could only wait quietly for the opportunity-until today.

But why does this affect Dunn?
The clueless Alice left the bathroom after calming down her thoughts and started her occult course today.

...After getting back the Antigonus Notes and receiving treatment, Dunn stayed alone in his office to write his report.

After checking the side report again and confirming that there was no problem, Dunn, who was about to go out, heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," Dunn replied as he considered who might be looking for him.

Alice pushed the door open, closed it, and looked at Dunn between movements - the little influence on the shadow was back in place.

really. She thought to herself. This is a hidden and long-lasting influence. To break this layout, one must either plan slowly or suppress it with absolute force...

Unable to do the latter, Alice could only do something rather unreasonable: "Captain, what were you doing out there?"

Dunn frowned and looked at Alice - of course, there was nothing wrong with telling her. After all, in name, Alice was even a formal member of the Nighthawks team...even if she never took turns at Chanis Gate, nor did she go out on her own. Pass the task.

But that's exactly the problem - Alice knows everything about her situation, and she won't take the initiative to inquire about it unless someone tells her herself.

"I'm here to remind you," Alice realized Dunn's misunderstanding, "something that affects 2-049..."

As soon as the words were spoken, Alice saw the shadows dissipate as insignificantly as in the morning. This scene made Alice understand that her reminder was not meaningless - after all, it was no secret that Dunn had a bad memory.

Dunn obviously recalled what happened in the morning: "...Sit down, since you have come to ask, and this is your dream after all."

Alice sat down as she was told.

"Do you remember the notes of the Antigonus family?" Dunn asked while correcting the report.

Alice nodded, she would certainly not forget why that special new colleague joined them.

"We successfully obtained that notebook today. If there is anything that may have an impact on 2-049, it should be that notebook." Dunn explained while analyzing, "If this is the case, that notebook should be Quite dangerous..."

Alice did not answer this question. She believed that this guess had a high probability to be correct, but why did a misjudgment of the danger of the notes lead to Dunn's death? As a senior official transcendent, he should not...

Alice thought for a moment, and she remembered the eyes behind Old Neil.

... Could it be that the captain is also on the verge of losing control?
Alice looked at Dunn quietly. Unfortunately, she did not have the ability in this area, so she could only ask a more inappropriate question: "Can I take a look at that notebook? No need to open it or read it. , just take a look from a distance.”

Dunn pondered for a moment, but still rejected the request: "It's not that I don't trust you, but... I think it's best for us to wait until the temple is rated before making a decision."

"...I understand." Alice looked at Dunn for a few seconds, then realized that he would not agree to this request, so she had no choice but to accept the matter and left Dunn's office.

(End of this chapter)