Mystery: The Silver Key

Chapter 4 The Eye of the Secret and the Unexpected

After a two-second silence, Cyril, seemingly struggling to process the unfortunate news, asked in a deep voice:

"Who are the people still alive?"

Carlson looked at him and said in a low voice, "You, Welch Stamms, Owen Garcia."

"One club president and two vice presidents, it's quite a coincidence."

Max Livemore glanced at his assistant, who wisely kept quiet.

Cyril kept his head down, making it impossible to see the expression on his face.

He paid no attention to the suspicious and scrutinizing language of the "inspector" assistant in front of him. He knew very well that what appeared to be a conversation was actually the two of them interrogating him.

He controlled his facial expression and looked up at Max Livemore. Actually, he didn't need to control it much. Although he had obtained most of the original Cyril's memories, he really didn't understand this matter. Otherwise, he wouldn't have held the ritual himself and killed himself.

He took a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound sorrowful, yet with a hint of relief, and said:

"I may know about that evil ritual. It comes from a sharing by Virch Stammas. It is said to help the person performing the ritual to recognize the essence of the spirit, break free from the shackles of the body, achieve spiritual sublimation, and even gain extraordinary power."

Max pressed on with a serious look, "According to whom?"

"Wilch" Sirion didn't hide anything, nor did he need to.

He paused for a moment, then added, "I was delayed by some classes and didn't have time to collect materials over the weekend, so I took a day off to collect materials during the day and hold the ceremony tonight."

"But I wasn't feeling well today, so I missed it."

As he spoke, he touched his chest three times, drawing the shape of a triangular holy emblem, and murmured:

"The steam above must be a sign that my piety has been blessed by the gods."

Max and Carlson, one with a serious expression and the other with a strange one, both earnestly tapped their chests three times, making a perfectly standard steam church prayer gesture:

"Steam above." x2

"The Lord will protect every believer who sincerely believes in Him."

After a brief interruption, Max continued, "Owen Garcia didn't perform that evil ritual either, do you know why?"

After a moment's recollection, Sirion said, "He began to withdraw from the club after his parents passed away one after another. Perhaps this is just how a teenager grows up."

"Although he was given a copy of the ritual that Welch shared this time, I could tell that he was very dismissive of it. It's normal that he didn't hold the ritual, since similar things have happened many times before, but never successfully."

Max nodded slightly and asked very politely, "Would you mind if we went upstairs to take a look?"

"sure."

Cyril nodded slightly, gestured for them to proceed, and then led the two upstairs, showing them each room.

Seeing that the two men looked normal, Cyril breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Adam. He finally understood why this big shot had restored the room to its original state after leaving.

Oh no, Adam may not have left. The "audience" has psychological camouflage; perhaps He is quietly watching this scene from the sofa.

Thinking of this, Cyril felt a chill run down his spine.

Back in the living room on the first floor, Max continued with the question he hadn't finished asking earlier: "What do you know about Welch Stammas?"

"Vilc?" Sirion carefully recalled the memories in his mind, and after thinking for a while, he answered:

"The son of a very wealthy and generous tycoon, and also a fanatical occult enthusiast; he spearheaded the founding of the World Truth Society."

"By the way, about three months ago, at a party he told me that he had found the real mystery, but it seems to have fizzled out since then. Every time I ask him, he just sighs."

Max nodded slightly without comment: "Okay, I understand. If you remember anything important later, you can contact us here."

As he spoke, he handed Sir Ryan a business card the size of a playing card, with a row of eye-catching gold-embossed words: Rune's House of Celebration Machinery Shop.

Cyril reached out and took the business card, nodding slightly. "I understand."

As Max and Carlson were being escorted to the door, Max suddenly turned around and asked, seemingly casually yet with a hint of seriousness:

"As far as I know, the coursework in the History Department at Backlund University isn't heavy, especially since you're nearing graduation. So, what courses are taking up your time?"

Cyril's expression froze. After a long while, he sighed and said:

"You should have already investigated me. I also have a younger brother, Haven Gray. We are twins. Although we are not exactly identical, as long as we act, it is difficult for outsiders to tell who is who."

"When we occasionally want to skip class, we'll have the other person pretend to be us in class. Most of the teachers and students at the school won't notice. I was helping him with an experiment left behind by a physics professor."

"You can even do physics experiments?"

Carlson, standing to the side, looked at him with surprise, his eyes showing more approval and even a hint of admiration.

As an "archaeologist" with the "Generalist" pathway sequence 8, even with the blessing of extraordinary traits, he still finds knowledge such as physics and chemistry overwhelming, and has caused explosions in the laboratory more than once.

Therefore, in his eyes, everyone who can become an expert in this field without relying on magic potions is a true genius.

Cyril shrugged and said casually, "Of course not, but I can fool people with the most basic operation of experimental equipment. After all, I've taken a few classes."

He paused, then continued the previous topic, saying, "At that time, Professor Holamik Hayden, an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Backlund, visited the laboratory. He himself was the proposer and nominal head of that experimental project."

"He is one of the few people who can distinguish between me and Havin despite my deliberate disguise, so he can prove the truth of what I just said."

"However, officers, can this matter be kept quiet? Harvin and I still want to graduate from Backlund University smoothly."

Max gave him a deep look, her eyes filled with a helpless expression of wanting to complain but not knowing where to begin, and said:

"I will go to the Master... Mr. Khoramik to verify this matter, but since Mr. Khoramik has not exposed you, there is no need for us to do anything unnecessary."

"Thank you for your cooperation. We hope you will never see us again."

After saying that, he and his assistant Carlson walked out the door without hesitation. Under the watchful eyes of Sirion, the two boarded a carriage that was parked at the crossroads ahead.

An elderly man was driving the carriage. In Sirion's view, this old man also possessed a spirituality far exceeding that of ordinary people, but he was still somewhat inferior to Max and Carlson, probably Sequence 9.

Seemingly noticing his gaze, the old man sitting on the front step of the carriage suddenly turned his head and looked over, their eyes meeting across the distance.

The next second, the old man hurriedly, even awkwardly, withdrew his gaze.

"Hmm? His eyes... was that a spying sensation just now?"

"He seems to have seen something in me. Damn it, I was careless and forgot to guard against the 'Secret Seeker's' 'Secret Eye.' How could a proper Mechanical Heart squad not be equipped with a 'Secret Seeker'?"

"Could I just inexplicably become the prime suspect in this case, or even a wanted criminal by the Church of the 'God of Steam and Machinery'?"

As Cyril muttered to himself, growing increasingly uneasy, Max, on the other side of the road in the carriage, suddenly looked at the elderly driver and asked with concern:

"House, what's wrong?"

The old man called House stiffened for a moment before slowly shaking his head: "No, it's nothing. It's just an old problem of the 'Spy'. He always inadvertently sees things he shouldn't see, causing unexpected and unavoidable harm."

As he spoke, he wiped the blood and tears streaming down his face with one hand, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket, took out a bottle of pale green medicine, and gulped it down.

Where the two behind him couldn't see, the bloodshot in House's unusually clear light blue eyes faded at a visible speed, replaced by an undisguised fervor.

He had just seen the truth of the world, the true greatness, which was the goal he needed to pursue and believe in with his whole life and everything he had.

That is the true god, not some insignificant false god like the "God of Steam and Machinery".