After taking the steam metro to the south bank of the Tussock River, Klein hired a rental carriage and headed for Aston Cemetery in the outskirts of the South Borough. It was managed by the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.
In the darkness of the evening, the trees around the cemetery bared their fangs and claws, blocking out the light, as though there were monsters lurking in the night.
After the carriage driver accepted Klein's payment of four soli, he glanced at the cemetery and mumbled, "Do I need to wait for you here?"
"No, there's no need. I'm here to visit a friend."
"No, there's no need. I'm here to visit a friend." Klein casually came up with an excuse, but he immediately realized that the carriage driver's expression had suddenly changed.
This is a cemetery … I'm here to visit a friend … It's already dark … The carriage driver heard his heart pounding.
Only then did Klein snap out of his daze and add with a smile,
He smiled and added, "He's the gravekeeper here."
The carriage driver immediately heaved a sigh of relief, but he didn't dare stay any longer. He hurriedly drove the horses and quickly left.
As for Klein, he circled around the cemetery until night truly fell.
After the sky turned dark, the amount of smoke and dust emitted decreased significantly. Coupled with the biting cold winds, the fog in the air thinned significantly. Although he still couldn't see many stars, the crimson moon was faintly peeking out, covering the ground with a veil-like glow.
Klein tapped his chest four times in a clockwise fashion, drawing the crimson moon. Then, he put on his gloves, pushed himself over the metal fence, and entered the cemetery.
He looked around warily, found a secluded corner, took out Azik's copper whistle, and held it in his palm.
Not far in front of him was a tombstone. The photo on it was already dirty, and the epitaph appeared very blurry under the moonlight. Klein carefully read it for a few seconds before he could figure out what was written.
"Friend passing by, please give me a hand. Thank you!"
A very humorous gentleman … You're the one! Klein stopped in his tracks and leaned against the nearby trees that shielded the tomb from sunlight and rain. He waited patiently in the cold night.
He tossed Aztec's copper whistle high and caught it firmly. He tossed it high again and caught it again. Just like that, he passed the time until twenty minutes later.
There's no sign of zombification … Klein closed his pocket watch and examined his surroundings to confirm the results.
"I'll come back here in two days to see if there are any additional changes. If there are none, it means that Mr. Aztec's copper whistle can't affect the bodies that have received the priest's Requiem Ceremony," Klein mumbled to himself and put the ancient and delicate copper whistle back into his pocket.
In the Kingdom of Rouen, there were generally three types of burials. The first type had a coffin and a corpse, which was suitable for the middle and upper classes who lived a relatively comfortable life. The second type didn't have a corpse and was directly cremated and buried in an urn. This was the choice of the lower middle class and skilled workers who could afford the cremation fees but felt that a coffin was too wasteful. However, there were times when there were religious and governmental factors. For example, the believers of the Eternal Blazing Sun would have most of their corpses cremated. For example, the poor who received help from the government would all be cremated for a small fee.
The third type belonged to the poor. They couldn't afford a coffin and didn't want to be cremated, so they wrapped themselves in something and buried them.
From the shape of the tombstone and tomb, Klein had already determined that the subject of his experiment had a coffin and a corpse.
If Aztec's copper whistle could really turn the target into a zombie, it wouldn't be completely unresponsive even if the target had already decomposed into bones. Even if it couldn't open the coffin lid that was covered in thick soil and stone slabs, it could at least make a dull thud.
Striding toward the fence, Klein suddenly thought of a careless part of the experiment.
Well, I have to classify it. This is a corpse that has been buried for a long time. I have to find a target that has just been buried.
That's the only way to make the most accurate judgment.
After that, Klein and the tomb keeper caught the treasure and found a grave where the burial ceremony had just been completed during the day.
This time, he waited for half an hour and still didn't find any abnormalities.
Phew, I can basically determine that Mr. Aztec's copper whistle can't affect the corpses that have been put to rest. That's a bit weak. No, that's not right. This copper whistle isn't used to make zombies. Its function is to summon messengers. Affecting corpses is a negative effect! Klein tightened his double-breasted coat and walked toward the fence.
He planned to go home and change his clothes before carrying out the second set of experiments.
The second set of targets were corpses that hadn't been put to rest for long and had not been dead for long.
Such targets often existed in hospital morgues!
Climbing over the fence, Klein returned to the South Side step by step in the gloomy night. The surroundings were dead and peaceful. Only the evergreen trees covered in dust swayed gently.
This reminded him of the night he came back to life. At that time, he also walked from the cemetery to the city.
Sigh … Klein sighed and suddenly began to run, as if he wanted to get rid of the melancholy far away.
Half an hour later, he hired a rental carriage in the South Side. His destination was the nearest steam subway station.
There was still about an hour before the steam subway stopped. This could save him a lot of money.
…
In the wee hours of the morning, Klein changed into a grayish-blue worker's uniform and wore a cap. He went to St. Estin Hospital in the Baekeland Bridge area.
This was a charity hospital that belonged to the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.
Many poor people at the bottom of the social ladder died of illness here, and there was no place to place their corpses at home. They could only be stored in the hospital's morgue, waiting for the government to cremate them or donate them to the medical school. This phenomenon was especially common in the summer, but it was rare in the autumn and winter after the weather cooled down.
However, in an era without air-conditioning or low-temperature equipment, the hospital's morgue wouldn't leave the corpses for too long. Those who were willing to donate would be embalmed quickly, and those who were to be buried would be cleaned up the next day. Of course, this was the rule in the summer. It was relatively more relaxed in the autumn and winter. Therefore, during this period of time, there were still many corpses in the morgue every night.
St. Estin Hospital's morgue was located in the basement. It was rather cool even in the summer, and it was even colder in the autumn and winter.
Klein used the knowledge he had learned from the Nighthawks and relied on the agility and balance of a Clown to sneak in. He avoided the doctors and nurses on duty and entered the basement.
Before he even got close to the morgue, he felt that the surroundings were cold and gloomy.
Quickly flashing past the janitor's room, Klein took out a wire and deftly opened the morgue's door lock.
This was one of the techniques of infiltration and tracking!
He slowly and silently pushed open the morgue's door with his black-gloved right hand. At the same time, he spread his spirituality and enveloped Aztec's copper whistle, hoping to confirm if this method could eliminate the negative effects.
The temperature in the morgue seemed to be lower than the corridor. Most of the dead here were in body bags and placed in different metal cabinets. Only a small number were placed on a long table in the middle of the empty space, as if they were waiting to be examined.
As a Sequence 8 Clown, Klein wasn't afraid of such a scene, but he instinctively felt uncomfortable.
He remained cautious, carefully closed the door, and circled around the long tables.
After more than ten minutes, Klein exhaled a cold breath and confirmed that the corpses hadn't changed.
It's about time … He took out his golden pocket watch and opened it to take a look.
After making his preparations, Klein retracted his spirituality and stopped wrapping Aztec's copper whistle with it.
He didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but he inexplicably felt that his surroundings had become even more silent.
As a Seer, he fully believed in his consciousness. He stopped pacing back and forth and retreated near the door.
Seconds turned into minutes, and Klein believed that it had been about two minutes.
At that moment, a corpse on the long table suddenly sat up!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The surrounding metal cabinets immediately emitted a series of banging sounds, as if something was about to hatch!
Bang! Bang! Bang! As Klein listened to the commotion and looked at the corpses that were sitting up, he suddenly said in a deep voice,
He suddenly said in a deep voice, "Crimson!"
Following that, he injected his spirituality into the Requiem Charm and threw it out.
Icy-blue flames burned silently as a peaceful and gentle black spread out. The corpses lay down again, and the banging sounds from the metal cabinets came to an abrupt stop.
Klein, who had experienced a similar scene, didn't relax. He used another Requiem Charm.
As there were many corpses here, he used a third charm just to be safe, using up all the stock he had.
Not bad … As expected, it only affects corpses that haven't undergone the Requiem Ritual and have just died, including zombies. Covering them with spirituality can block this effect, Klein thought with a smile.
Seeing that the corpses didn't react abnormally, he prepared to open the door and leave.
At that moment, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside and saw a faint light seeping in.
The elder guarding the door was attracted by the banging sounds in the morgue. With a lantern in hand, he approached!
Klein looked around and pressed his hand on the door. He nimbly jumped and climbed up, stopping at the gap between the door and the ceiling.
His fingers dug into the protrusions and gaps, and he maintained a very good balance.
Creak!
The elder opened the door with a key and entered the morgue.
He took a few steps forward, raised the lantern high, and examined the metal cabinets and the long table, as well as the corpses.
And behind him, Klein nimbly leaped down and landed silently.
Seizing the opportunity, Klein quickly escaped the morgue. He first hid in the gatekeeper's small room for a few seconds before carefully returning upstairs.
The gatekeeper checked and didn't find anything out of the ordinary. He was a little afraid of the corpses, so he quickly left, locked the door, and didn't stay any longer.
Returning to the guard room, he wrapped himself in a thin blanket. It took him a few minutes to calm his racing heartbeat. He mocked himself in a low voice.
He muttered to himself in a low voice, "Those old guys always tell me about the abnormalities that happened in the morgue to scare me. That strange sound just now probably counts. It's nothing much, and those corpses didn't come back to life!"
"Pui, how can there be zombies and wraiths!"
At the same time, Klein was walking comfortably on the quiet and deep street, happy that he had gotten rid of a latent danger.
He looked at the elegant gas street lamps on both sides, looking forward to the Beyonder gathering that was to come.
As long as he could obtain a weapon with a special effect, he could obtain one of the main ingredients of Magicians!
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