After reading the marks on the paper, Pacheco turned his head and said to Barton beside him,
"What happens next will be quite complicated. I will seek help from the police.
"As for you, you can return to the foundation and wait for follow-up inquiries."
Barton, who was staring at the paper, wasn't disappointed when he heard this. Instead, he felt a sense of relief.
"Alright."
After reading the words left behind by Vernal, Barton's intuition told him that things would be very dangerous.
As an ordinary person, avoiding danger was an instinctive choice.
Of course, this was also because Vernal could only be regarded as an ordinary friend of his. It was not worth it for him to take great risks to get involved in this matter.
After replying, Barton immediately turned around and walked past the hotel owner and the waiter to the street.
This time, he did not choose public transportation. Instead, he boarded a rental carriage.
Barton's trip this time was a special matter that was rather urgent. Also, with the deputy director of the Compliance Department as a witness, the expenses could be reimbursed.
Spending the foundation's money and using his own salary were two completely different feelings.
On the way, Barton looked at the scenery outside the window and couldn't help but think about Vernal's current state.
"Is he still alive?
"There's such a strong smell of blood in the room …
"I hope he's still alive. May the Lord bless him.
"If he's still alive, where would he be now?
"Where …"
"Is it possible?
"This!"
As his thoughts raced, Barton suddenly thought of a possibility. He hurriedly ordered the coachman to change the route and go to the street where his house was located.
Not long after, he returned home.
"What happened?" Barton's wife came up to him with a surprised expression.
There was still some time before lunch, let alone getting off work.
Barton did not take off his hat or coat. He did not answer the question.
"Has Vernal been here?"
"He came to visit you in a quarter of an hour. I asked him to wait in the study and sent Wells to the foundation to find you," Barton's wife answered truthfully.
Wells was their manservant, and it was clear that fifteen minutes wasn't enough for him to reach the Rouen Antiquity Search and Preservation Foundation.
This was what surprised Barton's wife the most.
"Okay." Barton nodded heavily. He hurriedly passed through the living room, went up to the second floor, and entered the study.
Inside the study, the windows were wide open and the curtains were swaying gently. There was no one in sight.
"Vernal?" Barton called out, but no one responded.
He jumped out the window and left … Barton frowned and looked around carefully. He noticed that the books on his bookshelf were out of order.
It was a series of history books, divided into upper, middle, and lower volumes.
Button's habit was to line them up from right to left, but now they were lined up from left to right.
He took a silent breath, walked over quickly, and pulled out the three books.
After a careful inspection, Barton noticed that one of the pages in the middle had been folded.
He quickly flipped to the page and unfolded the corner.
Written on it in pencil was a scribble of words:
"The remnants of the Fourth Epoch are worshipping Evil Gods."
* Hiss … * Barton was both panicked and terrified as he suddenly stuffed the book back into his pocket.
Without much thought, he rushed out of the study and ran to the stairs, intending to find Pacheco, the deputy director of the Compliance Department, to tell him about his discovery and ask him to get the police to protect his family.
After leaving the house, Barton slowed down and considered a rather important question.
Where can I find Pacheco?
Clough Hotel, Stoen Police Headquarters, or the foundation?
After a brief moment of thought, Barton decided to return to the foundation and find another Compliance Department employee.
At this moment, a rental carriage stopped in front of his house, and Pacheco Dwayne alighted.
"We discovered that Vernal has come to your house again," the deputy director of the Compliance Department quickly explained.
Barton heaved a sigh of relief and replied without hesitation, "Yes.
But he's already left.
"However, he left behind some clues."
With that said, Barton led Pacheco into his house, came to the study, and handed the book to him.
Pacheco glanced at it and gently slid his finger across the surface of the line of text.
Then, he took out the pencil he had used earlier and wrote on the side of Vernal's message:
"Call the police!"
After doing all of this, Pacheco stuffed the book back into its original spot.
However, he didn't push the book back completely.
This way, the entire row of books protruded outwards.
"Alright, let's go back to the foundation and have lunch. Then, we'll wait for the good news from the police." Pacheco clapped his hands.
Barton didn't quite understand why this senior lawyer was doing this, but he didn't ask why.
He really didn't want to get involved in this matter. He felt that he couldn't bear it at all.
Barton immediately made up a reason to explain to his wife before following Pacheco back to the foundation and began his daily work.
At tea time, he had just finished an ancient book appraisal when he heard a knock on the door.
"There's a clue. I need to go to your house." Pacheco, wrapped in a gray scarf, stood by the door.
"Clue?" Barton got up in surprise.
Pacheco didn't give a direct answer as he spread his hands and made an inviting gesture.
Unable to refuse, Barton returned home with him.
"Vernal is here again!" His wife clearly sensed that something was wrong and came to the door in horror.
"It's fine. It's just a small problem." Barton maintained his manly image and comforted his wife.
After arriving at the study, he and Pacheco discovered that Vernal had escaped early again.
"Damn it, can't he wait a little longer?" Barton couldn't help but complain.
"It's fine." Pacheco walked to the bookshelf and pulled out the book.
Clearly, Vernal had already read his suggestion because the book was completely stuffed into the shelf.
"I roughly know where Vernal is," Pacheco said with a smile with his eyes half-closed.
Barton was stunned.
"How do you know?"
Pacheco opened his eyes and replied with a smile, "He accepted my bribe, no, a gift.
"He accepted my bribe, no, gift. That's not right either. The most accurate description would be advice.
"Of course, he might not accept it."
With that said, the deputy director of the Compliance Department walked past Barton and out of the study.
Barton subconsciously followed behind him, leaving the area where his house was located and turning into a nearby street.
At the end of the street, there was a house that had collapsed due to a fire.
"They haven't started rebuilding it yet," Barton whispered.
Pacheco put on his white gloves again, and his expression turned slightly more serious.
He passed through the relatively intact main entrance and entered the half-collapsed hall.
Pieces of charred wood fell to the ground, blocking the lower body of a figure.
The figure wore a brown jacket, had a red nose, and looked very sturdy. It was the archaeologist, Vernal.
Barton secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
"Why didn't you call the police?"
"They monitor the police station," Vernal replied without any change in expression.
Barton blurted out:
"Why not leave Stoen and call the police in another city?"
"They monitor the steam stations," Vernal replied in the same tone.
Barton thought for a moment and frowned.
"You have many ways to leave Stoen. They can't lock down a city."
Hearing this question, Vernal's expression gradually became lively. He said in a slightly erratic tone, "
"I can feel the will of that great existence …"
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