In response to Esgaroth Stanton's proposal, Caine showed little reaction. He glanced at the closed door of the sitting room. "As far as I know, 'the Demon' can anticipate dangers even before we act, identify their source, and respond effectively. 'We find it difficult to locate and hold him.' Esgaroth nodded gently. 'Yes, that's true. But there is indeed a way to address this.' 'What way?' Kaslana asked immediately. Esgaroth smiled. 'I've fought him directly and witnessed his extraordinary ability to foresee threats. Thus, I've already identified both his strengths and weaknesses. 'The Demon truly can sense dangers in advance—sometimes even quite far in advance. As long as we formulate plans specifically targeting him and take concrete action, he will inevitably feel the premonition. Of course, that action must genuinely threaten him.' "No. The truth is that different kinds of 'demons' vary in their strength when it comes to this kind of foresight—some might only detect danger as early as fifteen or twenty minutes ahead.克莱恩 silently countered this in his mind, but didn't voice it out. Esgarrouth continued: 'The limitation of this foresight ability is that it can only identify the source of the threat—where it comes from and who is responsible—but it provides no details about the specifics. This gives us the opportunity to exploit it.' 'What kind of opportunity? I don't think we can trap a demon capable of foreseeing danger.' Kaslana expressed her skepticism.克莱恩 nodded in agreement beside her. Of course, I can use the gray mist to deceive the 'Demon of Desire,' making him unable to detect the threat much earlier than expected. But the problem is—how can I reveal the secret of the gray mist in front of others?"克莱恩 added silently, without speaking. Esgarrouth chuckled, "Normally, it wouldn't work—but the extraordinary world is always full of the unexpected. 'I'm a Sequence 7 'Keeper of Knowledge,' also known as a 'detective.' I'm telling you all this openly because it's a genuine expression of my willingness to cooperate. In this situation, I believe honesty is more important than any other factor." Only a Sequence 7? How could a Sequence 7 even escape the grasp of a 'Daimon of Desire'? It seems Mr. Stanton possesses powerful magical artifacts indeed... Caine adjusted his seat slightly, now somewhat enlightened. "Can a 'Keeper of Knowledge' counteract a demon's ability to foresee danger?" Kaslana leaned forward, asking. "No," Esgarrouth smiled, "but I have a ring—originating from a失控 Sequence 6 'Reader.' It allows me to recognize, perceive, remember, and simulate every extraordinary ability I've encountered. Of course, the stronger the ability, the higher the chance of failure." "Ha! In our church, there's a saying: 'All-knowing means all-powerful.' That sounds so familiar... especially the description of that object... As克莱恩was about to recall, he already saw艾辛格.斯坦顿pull out a radiant ring. The ring was set with numerous small diamonds, clustering around a beautiful green gemstone that shimmered like a human eye. Simply seeing the ring,克莱恩felt dizzy, as though his mind had been drained. This—this isn't the sealing object '2-081'? Is艾辛格.斯坦顿the esteemed elder known as 'The Eye of Wisdom'?克莱恩looked up in astonishment, toward the detective seated in the armchair. Indeed, that very ring was the one 'The Eye of Wisdom' had previously displayed and used several times during the gatherings of the extraordinary ones!" The Eye of Wisdom… the name itself sounds closely tied to the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom… Caine used the "Clown's" ability to control his expression, quietly observing Estington. In the end, he found that the detective did indeed share certain features with the venerable "Eye of Wisdom," though there were significant differences in many details. Strong disguise skills—perhaps even leveraging the abilities of "2-081"? Caine now had a clear sense of this. At that moment, he found himself envisioning a scene: If Mr. Estington said, "To effectively collaborate against the 'Apostles of Desire,' sincerity is key—I've already shared my sequence and magical artifacts, now it's your turn," how would he respond? Would he simply silently produce the "Sun Brooch" he had purchased from him? And then, would he conclude with, "Ah, so it's you, after all!"? While Kline was daydreaming, Caslanara watched Esing Stanton's ring, expressing both admiration and curiosity. "What ability would you like to simulate to counter the 'Desire Apostle's' foresight of danger?" Esing smiled gently, lifting a corner of his mouth. "The demon's foresight of danger." At that moment, he seemed like a fox with silver-gray fur. Ah? Really? Kline found himself momentarily puzzled about how to implement this. Seeing Kline and Caslanara's expressions of bewilderment, Esing smiled and explained: "First, what we're currently doing—crafting a concrete plan that genuinely threatens the 'Desire Apostle' and putting it into action. Second, the 'Desire Apostle' becomes aware of the danger and learns that it originates from us, from here." "Step three: As a demon, under unforeseen circumstances, certain instincts remain unchangeable. His immediate reaction would be to either eliminate the threat or retaliate against us, accompanied by noticeable physical changes. Only afterward would he assess whether the current situation is unfavorable for a counterattack, or whether he should choose to retreat." "Step four: Simulating the demon's foresight, I have detected the threat posed by the 'Apex of Desire,' and pinpointed the source of danger—specifically, his current location." That... divine maneuver! Caine was nearly stunned. But what comes next? Once the 'Apex of Desire' identifies the threat, he immediately flees—there's simply no time for us to catch up. He then voiced a fresh query. Esgarrouth glanced at both of them, smiled, and said: "Based on my assessment, he is currently concealed within the surroundings. While he may be able to influence others' emotions remotely, such influence has a limited range. Indeed, he recently guided the emotional instability of Stuart and the others." "After I escaped pursuit, I've been waiting until now because I've been coordinating with the night-watchers, the Mechanical Heart, and the military to develop a strategy. Each of them has dispatched two to three teams to cover specific areas—each of these zones has its own designated name. Honestly, this was precisely what the 'Apostle of Desire' anticipated. Even if he sensed danger, he would simply consider it routine. 'As soon as I pinpoint his location, I'll immediately notify the official Exceptional Agents, who will swiftly seal off the relevant areas and encircle him from all sides.' The challenge, however, lies in how we can reach out to these official Exceptional Agents. If we can't accomplish this within a few seconds, the 'Apostle of Desire' will have already escaped—indeed, after our previous attempt failed, he may have already moved away," Klein said, reflecting. "If that's the case, we don't have any other options—no solution is absolutely perfect. We can only wait for one of the seals to be fully activated. At that point, the 'Apostle of Desire' might already be far from Beckland, but could return at any time," said Esgarrouth. He then produced a golden object about the size of a palm. Its shape resembled a scaled-down telegraph machine, yet it also featured a horn. "This is a seal that allows my voice to be heard simultaneously within a five-kilometer radius," Esgarrouth smiled and explained. "The downside is that once activated, all sounds within the five-kilometer range will be transmitted directly into the user's ears, lasting for a long time. Of course, I can simulate a remarkable ability to mitigate this effect." Kaslana listened carefully and furrowed her brows slightly. "Given that there are official extraordinary beings, doesn't it seem unnecessary for you to collaborate with us?" "Carefully and deliberately, Esgarrouth placed the seal, '2-081,'" he said earnestly. "To avoid prematurely alerting the 'Apostle of Desire,' the nearest region we currently have is devoid of strength. Should the target indeed be here, we'll need all three of us to support one another and delay him as much as possible." "I have no objections," Caine replied after a brief thought. Kaslanara nodded as well: "Mr. Stanton, actually, we don't need you to explain so much—we'll cooperate for our own sake." "Ah, indeed—explanation is part of the strategy, and reaching an agreement means action is about to begin," Esgarrouth murmured, half-closing his eyes. The ring on his right hand glowed with a deep, almost dark blue light. Suddenly, Esgarrouth Stanton stood up, his expression serious, pointing upward. "He's here—he's on the upper floor!" Klein and Kaslana rose simultaneously. One prepared to snap his fingers, lighting the matches on the second floor and leaping upward, while the other followed Esgarrouth toward the door. Neither had expected the boldness of the "Apostle of Desire"—after their initial failure, he had remained right here, right at 15 Minsk Street! Perhaps, while we were discussing our plans against him, he had been quietly observing everything from above! That thought suddenly struck Klein. At that moment, he saw Kaslana's eyes suddenly fill with red, her right hand clenched into a fist, and she struck Esgarrouth-Stanton squarely in the chest. The earlier disturbance, initially seeming unseemly, was actually designed to ease everyone's vigilance, setting the stage for Caslanara to break down emotionally at the crucial moment! Caslanara's primary objective remains Esgarrouth-Stanton. How clever!... Caine snapped his fingers with a sharp sound, yet only sent a bullet of air toward Caslanara. At the same time, he shouted: "Watch out!" Esgarrouth, seasoned in such matters, didn't hesitate—regardless of the circumstances, he charged forward. Yet Caslanara ignored the bullet, allowing it to strike her arm, letting the blood spray. Thud! She drove both fist and body into Esgarrouth's back. Crack! Caine heard the sound of bones breaking—right at the spinal junction. P.S.: I started writing in the morning, but just as I opened the web page to check a few things, my wireless network connection disappeared—my wireless network adapter was also gone from Device Manager. And we don’t have any Ethernet cables at home. So I had to quickly switch to writing on my phone and finally managed to catch up. However, I haven’t revised it yet, so please forgive any typos. My system is Windows 10. Does anyone know how to resolve this? Today’s two chapters are now posted. I’d appreciate your recommendations for monthly votes.