After a quiet half-hour uninterrupted by any disturbance, Caine opened his eyes and rose slowly. He took up his walking stick, put on his hat, and left the church, boarding a hired carriage that took him back along the dark streets to Minsk Avenue. By this time, the patrols and checks in the surrounding area had inevitably relaxed, becoming merely the shadows beneath the glow of gas lamps. Just after midnight, Caine produced his key, opened the door to his home, and entered the empty guest rooms to search for The Book of Secrets. With little effort, he found the ancient volume—bound in thick vellum—right inside the wardrobe of the first-floor room. The hardcover of the book was deep black, with two lines of Hermetic script in crimson ink reading: "The Book of Secrets." "Karalamun." Huff. Caine exhaled, didn’t rush to翻阅, but instead quickly established a spiritual wall right within this room, performing his own ritual of summoning himself and responding to himself. Then he tossed the Azor Copper Whistle, the Universal Key, the Eye of Pure Black, the Exceptional Bullets, the Biological Toxin Vial, the Werewolf’s Exceptional Traits, and the Book of Secrets—including their containers—into the gray mist, intending to retrieve and carry only those items once the commotion had settled. He even skipped studying the specifics of the Werewolf’s Exceptional Traits or the Biological Toxin Vial, simply washing up and then lying down on the bed. Yet after just one such intense battle, he now feels spiritually drained, his head aching and drowsy. Indeed, the most taxing to his spirit is the "Paper Man Substitute Technique," followed by creating the "Sun Holy Water" through the brooch—though that was not used tonight. Next comes the "Summoning of Holy Light" and the "Flame Leap"—both of which were employed. Klein yawned, using meditation to ease the state of profound fatigue that made him overly tense and unable to fall asleep. Within less than ten seconds, he entered a dream, with fragmented scenes alternating one after another. To the point where many members of the "Mechanical Heart" quietly joked that the steward must be using bombs to trim his hair. At this very moment, Ikonse, with a face of firm and clear contours, held an ancient silver mirror. On either side of the mirror were eye-like ornamental elements, set upon a black stone base, appearing deep and captivating. Ikonse surveyed the room and said, "Although the mice in the sewers are experts at disrupting divination and spirit communication, and have effectively managed the scene, this is a realm of the extraordinary and mysterious—there is no way to guarantee a hundred percent success." As he spoke, he glanced at the silver mirror and gently stroked its surface with his right hand three times. After a pause of two seconds, Ikonse took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Esteemed Arodes, my question is: which participants were involved in what happened here just now?" Suddenly, the surrounding darkness became hazy, and ripples of water-like light spread across the surface of the silver mirror. Soon, a scene emerged within the silver mirror: amid rising flames, a figure floated in midair, dressed in a black double-breasted formal suit, wearing a half-high silk hat. His form was wavering and distorted, his face blurred beyond recognition, and he was painted with oil colors. Beneath him, the flame surged upward, engulfing him. As the water shimmered, the scene shifted to reveal a middle-aged man in a deep red cloak, his arms blazing with brilliant fire, while his head remained hidden in darkness. Scenes changed in succession: Ikonser and the others saw a woman in an elaborate black court gown, with her golden hair loosely flowing, yet her face completely transparent, as if she did not exist at all. Beside her stood two men whose bodies were covered in dark hair, their backs visible only as figures being pulled by strange, elongated arms. Finally, the transformation concluded, settling on a scene of flames roaring skyward, "smoke" blossoming in radiant splendor, and light shining brightly across the entire frame. In this dreamlike scene, the man in the black double-breasted formal suit reappears. He stretches and bends laterally, facing forward, using the hand that holds his hat to gently press against his chest, then bows slightly. His face is not only profoundly blurred, as though disturbed, but also subtly reveals traces of paint. While Ikonser is about to ask the team members for their opinions, several ancient Fusak words suddenly appear on the silver mirror: "By the principle of equality, it is now my turn to ask." "Should you answer incorrectly or lie, you will be punished." The word "punishment" appears vividly crimson, as if still dripping with liquid! Ikonser's expression first twitches, then becomes remarkably serious. Immediately afterward, the silver mirror shimmers, and a new line of words appears: "What is your sexual orientation?" Ikonser stands motionless, feeling every member of the team now gazing at him. ........ Six o'clock in the morning, just as dawn begins to break. Klein awoke at the precise chime of the church bell. As per his usual habit, he would typically roll over and continue sleeping until near eight, but this time, he sat up immediately, surveying his surroundings. "Well, no one came to collect the gas meter reading," he breathed a sigh of relief, pausing to wash up. Without delay, he stepped four paces from the bed into the gray mist. He wanted to examine his findings from last night! Sitting down at the Fool's place, Klein began with the simplest of observations. He picked up the dark-green tusk, studied it for a few seconds, then materialized a sheet of paper and pen, writing the divinatory phrase: "What is its function?" This did not mean he intended to replace experimentation with divination. Having both a physical specimen and detailed information from Sharon and Marijch about prisoners, madmen, and werewolves, he felt his preliminary groundwork was solid, and thus sought to glean any insights that might emerge. After silently meditating, he swiftly entered the dream and witnessed a series of scenes: A gash had torn across the abdomen of "Lupus" Tael, with intestines spilling out and dragging along the ground, yet he merely washed them with clear water, pushed the intestines back in, and gently pressed the edges together—eventually, the wound healed completely as if by magic. Beneath a full, radiant red moon, he roared to the heavens, black fur sprouting across his body, his fangs clearly visible. He raised his hands and, with a creaking sound, tore through a not particularly thin steel plate. He galloped across the open fields, gradually pulling away a group of gray wolves that had been chasing him at full speed. He inspired each of the attendants—whose eyes were blank and cold—to charge boldly into battle, as though death were nothing to them. He also used various objects to kill his enemies, including bombs, and grew even stronger when he lost his composure and became enraged. ... Upon opening his eyes, Caine roughly understood the nature of the "Lupus" and grasped the potential vulnerability inherent in this exceptional trait: At However, the negative impact hasn't yet reached the level of sealing the property. The exceptional traits left behind by the "Wolf Man" can still be directly used as primary ingredients for the potion. "Good news, though... I'm sorry, the exceptional traits of the "Zombie" Jason were swallowed up by that strange gate... I don't know where the gate leads, nor if there's any way to recover them..." Klein, full of regret and concern, set down the black-green fang and picked up the brown, translucent biological toxin bottle. He followed the same method to perform dream divination, but this time, he didn't feel confident in receiving detailed insights, so he revised the incantation to: "Its positive and negative effects." In the hazy, dim dreamscape, Caine once again witnessed a series of vivid and tragic scenes: people lying on the ground, clawing at themselves, peeling off skin and flesh, exposing stark white bones; others clutching their heads, eyes losing focus, their breath growing weaker and weaker; some continuously vomiting, until finally convulsing and dying; others suddenly laughing wildly, gasping for breath; in the midst of fierce combat, two figures would suddenly halt, gazing at each other, then embracing and kissing one another. As the scenes evolved, a semi-transparent brown bottle was placed in a cup of water, and the clear liquid within gradually turned amber before being consumed. The person holding the biological toxin bottle first grew weak, then began coughing, then reached to feel their forehead—only to find it blazing hot—and their condition worsened steadily. The dream soon ended. Caine lightly tapped the edge of the long table, his brow furrowed, interpreting the messages with growing difficulty: "Combined with Steve's words, the earlier scenes indicate that once the lid of the biological toxin bottle is opened, the toxin continuously diffuses outward. The specific type of toxin each opponent receives is entirely random—uncontrollable even by the holder of the The toxins inside are actually quite severe... The effectiveness range of the toxicity can't be deciphered from the revelations... Hmm, if you soak it in water and drink the amber liquid beforehand, you can prevent poisoning? But how long should you soak it for? People who hold the biological toxin vials—even if they don't open them—gradually deteriorate over time, falling ill and their condition worsening progressively. Wait, exactly what time thresholds matter here...? Klein rubbed his temple, planning to conduct experiments on the gray mist later to verify this, though he wasn't sure whether the biological toxin vials would be effective in this place. For instance, in his current ethereal state, he's completely immune to poisoning. For now, that will have to suffice—he'd return to study this more thoroughly later. Klein turned his gaze toward the volume of *The Secret Book*, bound in calf skin, and casually flipped to its first page. That was a simple page with just a pattern, containing nothing else... Turning it over again, Caine finally spotted the beginning of The Book of Secrets: "We worship the moon, not the goddess of night."