The puppet's face was painted in bright red and yellow, resembling a common clown with its corners of the mouth curled upward in an unusually comical smile. As its mouth opened, revealing a dark, deep interior, Klein felt every hair on his body stand upright, a sudden, unaccountable fear surging through him. The world before him dimmed, as though he were observing it through thick, tea-colored glass. His thoughts slowed, though instinctively he wanted to call for help—yet his neck felt as though it were tightly bound by a rope, and the word remained only in his mind, unspoken. At that moment, when he noticed the sudden stiffness in his arm movement, Dunn pushed him hard. The tea-colored glass instantly shattered, and the word "help" escaped from his throat, echoing within the carriage with a slightly sharp note of panic. "It's stronger," Klein stated confidently. Staying alongside such an odd sealing object as '2-049' is truly a perilous situation—any slight lapse and one is immediately plunged into a terrifying crisis, not to mention completely unprepared, having to rely on alternative measures to avoid it. "This is normal," El. Hassen said, nodding steadily. Lorota chuckled lightly. "It seems to have grown fond of you? Rest assured, it's relatively less dangerous among the second-tier sealing objects." With a naturally relaxed voice, the joints of the figure became clearly articulated, as if each one corresponded precisely to the limbs of a human puppet, then stepping unsteadily forward, swaying slightly to its left. Its movements were stiff and awkward, much like a steam-powered machine that had been neglected for years and had forgotten to have its lubrication replenished. Robot dance... Suddenly, Caine caught those Chinese words, forming a new hypothesis about what threatened '2-049': Could it be that it was capable of assimilating the living beings it controlled? If I hadn't been woken up in time just now, I'd end up as a large, life-sized marionette—like a real-life Barbie doll, wouldn't I? While Klein's thoughts were swirling, El. Hassen was gently roused by Dunn, extending his arms and pointing steadily toward the direction the puppet was moving, and instructed the driver, Leonard: "Go there!" Unable to navigate the vehicle through the buildings, Leonard had to make a half-circle maneuver, during which "2-049" continuously adjusted its course, persistently serving as the guiding needle for the Antigonid family. Watching this scene, Klein, whose arms were constantly moving, found himself unexpectedly smiling under the strain: "I've heard that '2-049' was manufactured by the Antigonid family. So—is this a sign of loyalty, or a classic example of betrayal?" Subsequently, as El. Hassen's voice occasionally broke through, Leonard steered the carriage steadily through the streets, heading in a specific direction. And every time the strange puppet, "2-049," nearly reaches the edge of the carriage, it's caught by El. Hassen and brought back to start over. Updates aren't easy—don't forget to share the link. Whenever this happens, its mouth opens wider, and simultaneously, two people are affected. Klein's growing anxiety gradually eases, and he begins to realize that the seal "2-049" isn't as daunting as he first thought. As long as there are more than three people present, as long as they maintain gentle movements and learn to promptly awaken their companions, "2-049" is simply a particularly unusual puppet. The carriage speeds forward swiftly and soon arrives at the dock area, reaching the cluster of warehouses. After circling a few times to confirm that "2-049" intends to go to the innermost gray-white warehouse, El. Hassen gives it a serious expression, moves with careful precision, and gently lifts it, resealing the strange puppet into the iron-black box. Thud. Thud. Thud! Amid the relentless, vigorous pounding, El. Hassen awakened again and again, with the help of Borgia and Loretta, struggled to manually close the mechanical switches, and then infused spiritual energy, activating the stellar and crimson lunar symbols on the iron cabinet. As the intangible seal reformed, El. Hassen exhaled deeply. "Get off the carriage," came Dune Smith's calm, resonant voice, "Leonard, just tie the horses here." Six or seven gentlemen and ladies—some in windbreakers, others in formal attire, still others in shirts—stepped down from the carriage and walked steadily toward the innermost warehouse, their arms moving in near-uniform, rhythmic gestures. This added a touch of comic absurdity to the otherwise stiffened tension. The Night Watch Dancers... Klein could only offer dry commentary to ease the feeling. But it wasn't an option either, as per his observation, the impact of "2-049" first manifested in the upper body. To detect it in time and avoid slipping into a more dangerous situation, one could only resort to extending the arms, turning the neck, or shaking the body—options that, in the latter two cases, would make one look like a mere street brawler. Eye blinking and furrowing the brows were either too easily overlooked or too pronounced, neither of which proved particularly effective. The dance troupe still outshone the Cuong Lo Bay gangbangers… Klein sighed, resigned, and followed the captain, Denny, and the others. The closer they got to the warehouse entrance, the more anxious and worried he became. For no one knew exactly how the notebook would transform Riel Beiber! Should anything go seriously wrong, Klein had no confidence in being able to make it through another crossover. Moreover, during the everyday tasks of slicing meat and preparing meals, he found himself still getting injured, still bleeding, with wound healing rates falling within the normal range—not the kind of immortal, unbreakable monster who never feared death or combat. When the yellow crystal stabilized, he half-closed his eyes, shaped a sphere of light, and entered a meditative state, silently repeating: "There is danger in the warehouse." "There is danger in the warehouse." ... Seven times in total, then he opened his eyes to find the pendant slowly rotating, making a clockwise motion. It spun faster and faster, until it began to pull at the left hand of Kline as though drawing it along. "There is danger—significant danger," Kline said truthfully. —Clockwise indicates affirmation of the spoken words; counterclockwise indicates negation. For other extraordinary beings, even those of the "Seers," the "pendulum method" could only determine whether there was danger, not the extent or severity of that danger. Yet Kline discovered that when he used the "pendulum method," the pendant exhibited graded speeds of rotation, each level revealing the degree of the answer. Though not precise or clear, this still allowed one to roughly discern the specific condition. No wonder it's the "seer's" potion—Caine felt deeply satisfied. As he was about to tuck away the yellow crystal pendant, Leonard Mitchell, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke: "Cast another glance to see if there's any danger nearby." "Exactly," said Dune. "I'm worried the Monastic Order won't give up. They've been keeping a close watch on Riel Biber's house, and now they're following us here—ready to cause trouble at the critical moment." Caine inhaled deeply and immediately settled into a serene, meditative state. When the silver chain stabilized once more, he silently murmured within himself: "There is danger nearby." ... "There is danger nearby." Repeating it again and again, Caine opened his eyes and looked at the silver chain. In his deep brown eyes, the yellow crystal pendant first struggled to rotate counterclockwise, then suddenly stopped and began turning clockwise. "There is danger nearby," Caine said, his voice tight with urgency and care. Moreover, there were people attempting to disrupt the divination, yet in this intangible resistance, they had ultimately lost against themselves! As he finished speaking, a citrus-yellow fire ball the size of a fist suddenly soared from afar. It sped toward the center of the gathering crowd at remarkable velocity. Immediately upon the arrival of the fire ball, Dunning Smith, who had already drawn his long-barreled revolver before Caine began his divination, raised his hand and pulled the trigger with a well-anticipatory motion. *Bang!* The impact of the gunshot did not waver the fire ball in the slightest—it continued steadfastly along its predetermined path, as if compelling the crowd to scatter and take cover. Initially, Caine had not been overly concerned about the disruptions, since there were six extraordinary individuals present, including several of sequence 8 and 7, a configuration that made them truly dominant in the small city of Tinggen. But it was only when the fire ball arrived that he suddenly became fully aware of a crucial truth. That fact is this: for us, the most dangerous enemy is not the pursuer, not the disruptor, nor even Riel Biber, who seems to be in some uncertain condition within the warehouse—rather, it is the seal, "2-049"! Once we become scattered, engaged in combat, and fail to awaken one another in time, we will one by one become mere mannequins. As thoughts rushed through him, Cline was brushed aside by Lennar and rolled with her, avoiding the fireball. He didn't have time to worry about his clothing—he saw the night watchmen dividing into two groups, moving with remarkable order and coordination. Pff! The orange-yellow fireball landed on the ground with no dust stirred at all, as though nothing had happened. A phantom? That thought just surfaced in Cline's mind when he saw El Hassen lift the dark iron box and hurl it far aside, at least ten meters away. "Stay away from it! Guard it!" El shouted. He had not finished speaking when Leonard and Borgia stepped forward separately, forming a protective arc at least seven meters away from the box, guarding against anyone approaching. Dune and Loretta each held their rifles, joining El-Hassan, who drew his slender silver sword, and quickly advancing in a half-arc formation toward the point where the fireballs had been launched, while also covering the lateral areas. Seeing this, Caine, who had been making arm movements without his cane, breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he had overlooked a crucial point earlier: the influence of "2-049" was limited in range—once they were far enough away, they were safe from danger! Caine suddenly sat up, placing the yellow crystal pendant into his pocket and drawing his revolver from the gun pouch at his side.