The wind swept through the alley, carrying the stench of rotting garbage, but it did nothing to dispel the hair-trigger tension between the two sides.
When the Luck Compass pointed to the Southwark District near London Bridge, Ye Yan was genuinely taken aback.
He had thought Billy's gang of thieves was just a loose little group on the streets of London. He hadn't expected to accidentally hook a big fish lurking in the depths of the city's criminal underworld.
After taking part in the operation to round up the cultists last time, Ye Yan knew all too well what kind of place the Southwark District was.
It was the city's garbage bin, where all its dark side was dumped.
The sewer beneath this glamorous city, where all its darkest corners converged.
Perhaps the British Government had been unwilling to deal with this cesspit in the past. After all, without this buffer zone, crime rates in the rest of London would have skyrocketed.
But now, it had become a breeding ground for crime that even the British Government wouldn't dare touch lightly.
There were countless bosses, big and small, in the Southwark District.
The man before them was one of those bosses, known as Scarface. He had come to Red Lion Lane five years ago, and no one knew where he had come from.
He took in homeless children, sending the younger ones to beg near London Bridge and training the older ones to pick pockets. He also rented them out to work as laborers at various docks and factories, making money by collecting a "weekly tax" from the children.
He was vicious, cunning, and devious. In less than a year after arriving, he had secured his foothold in Red Lion Lane.
There were rumors that he was a supernatural who had awakened mysterious powers. Ye Yan carefully examined Scarface, but couldn't spot anything obviously unusual about him.
"How curious. Very curious."
Scarface's right eye narrowed slightly. As the muscles in his face tightened, the ugly scar running across his eyelid looked like a centipede coming to life, making him seem even more terrifying.
"How did you blue-coated lobsters manage to sneak into Red Lion Lane?"
Official personnel weren't barred from entering the Southwark District.
They just had to sneak in under cover. As long as they didn't come to cause trouble, the people of the Southwark District wouldn't bother them.
But openly declaring their identities and marching into the district with a fully armed squad was undoubtedly a provocation to the sensitive nerves of the various underground factions.
There was no need to spell out what kind of consequences such a foolish move would bring.
Scarface simply couldn't understand why Blood Lion, the ruler of Red Lion Lane, had let these blue-coated lobsters in. Was the Red Lion Society planning to surrender to the government?
He licked his lips and gave a cruel, feral grin. "I'm curious. Why would Boss Blood Lion let you in?"
At that, a peculiar expression crossed Ye Yan's face.
Blood Lion was the head of the Red Lion Society.
The Red Lion Society was the largest faction in Red Lion Lane, so its leader was naturally the undisputed authority in the area.
The Red Lion Society's informants couldn't have missed Ye Yan and the others entering. In fact, one of Blood Lion's men had personally escorted them here.
Why?
Because their raid on the Sunset Church last time had indirectly helped the Red Lion Society.
If the Sunset Church's ritual had succeeded, the various underground factions in the Southwark District would have been the first to suffer.
Ye Yan and the others had simply explained why they'd come. Blood Lion, in return for the favor, had given them free rein and even sent one of his men to guide them.
Neither Lestrade nor Ye Yan had expected things to go so smoothly.
Perhaps the other side had its own calculations.
But there was no need for them to concern themselves with that. The exchange of favors and political maneuvering weren't their responsibility. All they had to do was make the arrest.
Besides, their superiors hadn't told them to stop.
The only casualty between the two factions might well be the Scarface standing before them.
Faced with the police surrounding him, Scarface seemed to have given up resisting. But Ye Yan noticed that his right hand, hanging at his side, was slowly moving toward the small of his back.
Without a word, Ye Yan adjusted the angle of his gun, resting his index finger lightly on the trigger.
Ye Yan could sense the Luck Coin he'd given Billy on Scarface. Guided by the coin's coordinates, when he aimed and fired at Scarface, he was as good as a crack shot.
"Bang!"
The gunshot exploded in the narrow alley.
The metal ball in Scarface's hand clanged to the ground, rolled a few times, then came to rest in a puddle of dirty water.
Lestrade immediately gave a hand signal.
The blue-uniformed officers advanced with their guns raised, quickly surrounding the entire shack.
Billy held Irene close as she trembled in his arms.
The children huddled fearfully in the corner amid the chaos. But Billy was staring at a familiar figure, his eyes shining with surprise and hope.
It was the kind gentleman who had given him an apple and a Luck Coin!
"Don't be afraid, Irene," Billy whispered, trying to hide his excitement. "These are the police. They're here to save us. Especially the gentleman who fired the gun. He's a good man. He came here just to save us!"
The thugs Scarface had hired soon dropped their weapons and surrendered, crouching in the corner with their hands over their heads.
Scarface himself, however, put up a surprisingly fierce resistance.
Though he'd been shot in both the arms and legs, and blood had soaked through his trousers, he still let out a furious, defiant roar and struggled to his feet like a cockroach that couldn't be killed.
His physical strength was beyond that of an ordinary person.
When two officers tried to handcuff Scarface, the veins in his arms bulged, and he nearly broke free.
Ye Yan noticed that Scarface's wounds had already stopped bleeding, and the flesh around the bullet holes was healing at a visible rate.
That confirmed the rumor, whether true or not.
Scarface had indeed awakened some kind of supernatural ability, but it was limited to powerful regenerative abilities and superhuman strength. He didn't seem to possess any other offensive traits.
The commotion finally died down.
Ye Yan remembered the boy named Billy saying earlier that his younger sister was sick.
He looked around, found Billy, and saw him holding a girl burning with fever.
"Detective Lestrade."
He turned, his voice unusually urgent. "We need to get these children out of here first. Especially one little girl. She's very sick and needs treatment right away."
Lestrade nodded.
"Don't worry. I've already arranged for a workhouse to take the children in. The carriage is waiting at the end of the lane."
"A workhouse?"
Ye Yan's brow furrowed deeply.
"As far as I know, the living conditions there are terrible. These orphans will only suffer hunger and abuse if they're sent inside. Can we hold off on sending them there?"
Lestrade patted Ye Yan on the shoulder, a rare smile on his lips. "Newman, this one's different. Its manager... is a truly good person."
A good person?
Ye Yan couldn't help feeling curious. What kind of person would Lestrade call good?
He soon met this good person.
An old man with neatly combed white hair stood beside the carriage. He reached out to Ye Yan first. "Hello, I'm Oliver Twist. It's a pleasure to meet you."
As Ye Yan shook the kindly old man's hand, the Diary, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly opened.
[April 12, 1881—London] [In Red Lion Lane, the detective and I rescued a group of orphans who had nearly gone astray. But finding somewhere to place them gave us a headache. Through the detective's introduction, I met a kind philanthropist. His name was Oliver Twist...]
Wait.
Ye Yan's fingertips stiffened slightly in the old man's palm.
What had he said his name was?
Oliver Twist?
Wasn't that the name of the protagonist in Oliver Twist?
Before you continue