In an instant, all the hairs on Barton's body stood on end.

Although he couldn't be sure that what he smelled was blood, his slightly unusual inspiration told him that it was the smell of blood.

Fernal had suffered misfortune? Just like the archaeological team I was part of? No, there was no blood left on this envelope, how could it smell of blood? After a moment, of extreme fear, Barton stood up.

As an ordinary person, in the face of this kind of thing, he has only one instinctive reaction.

That's the alarm!

As soon as Barton took the envelope and left his seat, he suddenly remembered something:

The "Rune Foundation for Antiquities and Conservation" has a clear internal rule on what to do in a similar situation - if a project has a frightening or incomprehensible phenomenon, it will immediately suspend everything and report it to the "Compliance Department", who will take care of the follow-up.

Barton didn't quite understand why he wanted to go to the "compliance department", which in his perception was a department that dealt with the terms and reviewed the project for violations, and had nothing to do with dealing with unknown dangers.

However, when the Foundation's founder, Miss Audrey Hall, reviewed the internal rules of practice, she didn't make many changes, but added this one, so the higher-ups were reluctant to argue with her about it.

Obviously, I'd rather go to the head of security...... Barton grunted as he walked out of the office and made his way to the "Compliance Department" at the end of the hallway.

Knock knock, he tried to calm down, and knocked on the door three times in a gentlemanly manner.

"Please come in. There was a nondescript voice coming from inside.

Frankly, Barton knew very little about his colleagues in the "Compliance Department", except that they were callous, quick-moving, and caught one internal moth after another that defrauded the Foundation of funding.

Taking a deep breath, Barton twisted the handle and pushed the door open.

In his imagination, the "compliance department" should work in an unusually dark environment, where everyone remained silent, whispering a few words from time to time to decide the fate of a project and its leader, but the first thing that caught his eye was the bright sunshine, brightly colored furnishings and the spacious layout.

"What's the matter?" greeted a black-haired, brown-eyed, nondescript "Compliance Department" employee.

He wore a heavy black tweed coat and didn't seem too well suited to the cold and humid winter climate of East Chester.

In addition, Barton noticed that the "compliance" employee had a Bakerland accent and had either been born there or had been there for a long time.

Not so cold, mechanical, difficult to get along with, and even come across as relatable...... Patton flashed a similar thought, and said hurriedly:

"One of our partners seems to be out of order!

"The letter he sent was only an envelope, no contents, and it smelled of blood. ”

The "Compliance Department" employee didn't have any change in expression, and said softly:

"Show me the envelope. ”

Barton then handed over a "letter" from the archaeologist Vernal.

It was only at this time that he realized that he had been a little impolite just now, and hurriedly asked:

"I'm sorry, what should I call you?"

The "Compliance" employee held the envelope out into the sun, looked at it carefully, and replied casually:

"Pacheco Dawn, Deputy Head of Compliance, a senior solicitor, you can just call me Pacheco. ”

Without waiting for Barton to respond, Pacheco lowered his arm and said with a somewhat serious expression:

"There is indeed a certain anomaly.

"Preliminary judgment, the letter came from the Clough Inn in the city, where I had lived for a while, and knew that they liked to print lavender castle motifs on specially made envelopes and stationery. ”

"Do you need to call the police?" Barton blurted out.

Pacheco shook his head:

"Not for the time being, let's go to the scene to confirm the situation first.

"It's going to take some help from you, I don't know the partner. ”

“...... Well, I'll go with you. Barton replied hesitantly.

After leaving the "Rune Antiquities Collection and Conservation Foundation" and boarding a rental carriage, Barton saw that the scene was a little silent and embarrassed, so he took the initiative to ask:

"Pacheco, are you from Beckland?"

"Nope. Pacheco shook his head, "I'm from Makai County, and I've only lived in Beckland for nearly fifteen years. ”

"Why did you leave Beckland? I've heard that it's the best city for a lawyer. Barton said casually.

Pacheco smiled and said:

"But there's also a lot of competition there.

"Well, kidding aside, I used to be the personal lawyer and partner of steam-powered car mogul Frankie Cage, who later invested in the Beckland Bicycle Company, and I started working as legal counsel for the company. ”

Barton suddenly said:

"Miss Audrey owns a large stake in this company, and that's how you got to know her?"

"Yes. Pacheco sighed, "In the previous war, Frankie died tragically, and his estate was mired in many disputes. As a friend of his, I helped his widow and children secure a considerable share, and as a result, I offended some people, which made my situation difficult in Beckland. Luckily, at this time, Miss Audrey extended an olive branch and invited me to East Chester County to work for the Foundation as Deputy Head of Compliance. ”

Seeing that Pacheco even told himself this kind of thing, Barton felt more and more cordial to the other party.

He asked, slightly confused:

"Why is it against you? You're just doing your duty as a friend and lawyer.

"Those people should be more targeted at Frankie Cage's widow and children. ”

Pacheco laughed at himself and said:

"I used something that wasn't quite right.

In addition, Frankie's widow and children have other friends to take care of. ”

In the midst of this small talk, the horse-drawn carriage arrived at the Clough Hotel in the heart of Stone.

The location of the hostel is very good, it is located in a beautiful and quiet neighborhood, and it is only a 10-minute walk from some of the city's busiest streets.

Entering the hotel and finding the owner, Pacheco asked bluntly:

"We're looking for a friend named Vernal. ”

Through the previous small talk, he had a general idea of the target.

The boss frowned suspiciously:

"If I'm not mistaken, there shouldn't have been a guest named Vernal. ”

When Barton heard this, he hurriedly added:

"He's a little taller than me, he looks sturdy, his nose is always red, and he always smells of alcohol......"

He described Vernal's physical features in detail.

The boss recalled and looked at the waiter next to him.

"There is such a guest. The waiter immediately replied, "He lives at number 309." ”

Led by the waiter, Barton and Pacheco arrived outside Vernal's room and knocked on the wooden door.

The sound of thump echoed, and there was no movement in it.

Just as Barton was about to call the police again, Pacheco bent down and picked up a handful of white, soft hair from the crack at the bottom of the door.

No, it's not hair, they're closer to the condensation of fog.

With the touch of Pacheco's fingers, they diffuse and melt into the air around them.

At the same time, Barton, who was a little more inspired, faintly heard a faint male voice sound:

"Tamara...... Tamara ......"