Early the next morning, Gu Xi slowly climbed out of bed, his waist aching slightly.
The rare deep sleep had left Gu Xi in fairly good spirits.
He just did not know why his lower back still felt sore.
Still, a shilling was worth a shilling. Though it was a third-class room, it had everything it should have. Even Gu Xi's clothes had been taken away and pressed, so he finally no longer had to wear damp clothes.
After getting dressed, Gu Xi picked up the jerky from the bedside table, bit into it, and only then left the room.
As soon as he came downstairs, the bartender, who was cleaning behind the counter, looked up.
"Guest, how did you sleep last night? Would you like me to keep your room for you?"
"I slept well, but I want to change rooms tonight."
As Gu Xi spoke, he placed a shilling on the counter.
The bartender understood immediately. "Sure, I'll arrange a clean room for you tonight."
At the same time, he pushed a key toward Gu Xi.
Gu Xi took the key and casually asked, "By the way, do you know how to get to Westminster Abbey?"
"What are you going there for? That place is full of rich people's graves."
The bartender asked with a puzzled look.
"There used to be a church in Victoria City, but it was torn down at some point. One of my Ancestors was buried in the graveyard behind that church.
"But after the church was demolished, I had no idea where the body was moved. The only thing I know for sure is that a knight's corpse from that church was moved to Westminster Abbey.
"So I want to go over and see whether they have records of relocated graves."
"I see." After hearing Gu Xi's explanation, the bartender did not ask any more questions.
Though Britons did not care much about such things, no one would stop others from caring about them.
Since Gu Xi had such a need, the bartender naturally would not try to dissuade him. "Westminster Abbey is a little behind the Upper City level. It's actually not far from here. Go out from here, take the 19th Steam Bus, and get off at Miannawei Station.
"Westminster Abbey is huge. You'll see it the moment you get off."
"Thanks."
Having learned the route, Gu Xi did not linger. Chewing on his jerky, he headed outside.
After leaving the tavern, Gu Xi looked up at the sky. Victoria City was still as foggy as it had been yesterday. Without a lamp, visibility did not exceed thirty meters.
At night, visibility was even lower. Even standing beneath a street lamp, one could only see seven or eight meters around oneself. Any farther than that, let alone tell male from female, one could not even tell whether there was anyone there.
That was why all vehicles on the streets, whether horse-drawn carriages or steam locomotives, constantly rang their bells while moving.
If you did not hear it and got run over, then you died for nothing.
While waiting for the bus, Gu Xi heard the distinctive sound of the 19th Steam Bus.
"Ding~ toot toot~ ding!"
Then, a huge headlamp appeared within the white mist. Through the steam and white mist, Gu Xi could clearly see the number 19 written on the lamp.
"It's here!"
Just as Gu Xi was about to board, he took a step forward. But at that moment, he sensed faint footsteps behind him.
Gu Xi had become thoroughly wary of Victoria City's ever-present thieves.
There were thieves everywhere. Even when he was waiting for a bus, there was one.
Without a second thought, Gu Xi spun around and shoved the jerky clenched in his mouth into the thief's hand.
The thief had intended to steal the money in Gu Xi's pocket. He had not expected Gu Xi to turn around so suddenly, and he stood there gripping the jerky with a baffled expression.
Gu Xi pointed at him.
Lesser Corpse Explosion!
Then Gu Xi swiftly jumped onto the 19th Steam Bus.
Before the thief could react, the jerky in his hand exploded with a bang.
The explosion was not particularly powerful, about as strong as a small firecracker.
But an explosion was still an explosion, and the thief had been gripping the jerky tightly.
With that blast, the thief's hand was ruined on the spot.
Dazed by the explosion, the thief could not even think of pursuing Gu Xi. He could only watch helplessly as Gu Xi boarded the 19th Steam Bus and departed.
Gu Xi, who had acted on impulse, had no idea someone now bore a grudge against him. He pulled another strip of jerky from his pocket and bit into it.
Gu Xi found that this jerky was actually quite useful. Not only could it be eaten, but it also had decent power when used to blow people up.
Most importantly, it was cheap. Throwing jerky was much more convenient than throwing Flying Daggers.
Sometimes, this jerky could even kill someone if thrown hard enough.
Besides, carrying jerky around on the street was far more reasonable than carrying a bunch of Flying Daggers.
Pleased with his choice, Gu Xi happily considered how best to make use of this discovery.
For instance, he could scorch some jerky and see whether Corpse Explosion would gain the power of flames.
Or perhaps add some poison to the jerky? As Gu Xi considered this while chewing the jerky in his mouth, he unknowingly discovered that the 19th Steam Bus had reached Victoria Bridge.
The instant the bus went onto the bridge, Gu Xi felt as if something swept over him.
Just as Gu Xi was about to rise and resist, that sensation vanished in an instant.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Gu Xi understood that this was how Victoria's official professionals controlled Victoria City.
In particular, vehicles entering and leaving Victoria Bridge were under their surveillance.
All professionals knew this, but none of them could resist it.
Gu Xi was an outsider and knew nothing about Victoria City's circumstances, so it was only natural that he had been frightened.
Fortunately, this surveillance merely swept over them casually. It did not seem intent on keeping every professional under constant watch.
After crossing Victoria Bridge, that surveillance disappeared. Gu Xi finally relaxed, found a seat, and sat down.
The rest of the journey was much smoother. Seated by the window, Gu Xi noticed that after so many years of construction, Victoria City had become much larger.
Though the Steam Bus had high movement speed, it still took nearly an hour to reach Gu Xi's destination.
Miannawei Station.
He knew he had arrived entirely because, just after the Steam Bus turned a corner, a towering church appeared directly ahead of it.
No introduction was needed. Gu Xi knew that this church was his destination: Westminster Abbey.
However, as he looked at Westminster Abbey from afar, Gu Xi felt that this matter might not go so smoothly.
Others might not have been able to see it, but Gu Xi could see at least three pure white halos radiating outward from Westminster Abbey.
This was a sign of professionals whose strength had surpassed level 20.
In other words, there were at least three professionals above level 20 inside this church.
And they were all of the Holy Light lineage.
Before you continue