Blue Eyes Under Fog City Bridge (3)

The wind swept through the alley, carrying the stench of rotting garbage, yet it could not disperse the explosive tension between the two opposing sides.

Ye Yan was indeed surprised when the coordinates of the Luck Compass pointed toward the Southwark District near London Bridge.

He had originally assumed Billy's theft ring was merely a loose, small-time organization on the streets of London, never expecting to accidentally hook a massive fish lurking in the abyss of crime.

Having experienced the recent operation to suppress the cultists, Ye Yan knew exactly what kind of existence the Southwark District was.

It was the trash can where the entire city dumped its dark side.

The filthiest sewer of this glamorous city, the gathering place for all things sinister.

The British Government might have been unwilling to deal with this cesspool in the past; after all, without this buffer zone, the crime rate in other parts of London would skyrocket.

But now, it had evolved into a hotbed of sin that even the British Government dared not touch lightly.

The number of bosses, both large and small, in the Southwark District was countless.

The man before him was one such boss, nicknamed Scarface, who had arrived at Red Lion Lane five years ago; no one knew his origins.

He took in homeless children, sending the young ones to beg at London Bridge, while training the older ones to be pickpockets or leasing them out to various docks and factories for manual labor, profiting by collecting a "weekly tax" from these children.

This man was brutal and cunning, having established a firm foothold in Red Lion Lane within just a year of his arrival.

Rumors claimed he was a transcendent who had awakened mysterious powers. Ye Yan carefully observed every part of Scarface, yet found no obvious anomalies.

"Curious, truly curious."

Scarface's right eye narrowed slightly, and the ugly scar running across his eyelid contracted with his facial muscles, looking like a waking centipede, appearing all the more terrifying.

"How did you lobsters in uniform manage to sneak into Red Lion Lane?"

It was not that official personnel could not enter the Southwark District.

The prerequisite was to infiltrate while hiding one's identity; as long as they weren't there to cause trouble, the people of the Southwark District wouldn't bother them.

But if they were to openly declare their identities and lead a fully armed squad into the Southwark District, it would undoubtedly provoke the sensitive nerves of every underground faction.

There was no need to elaborate on the consequences of such a foolish act.

Scarface truly could not understand why Blood Lion, the overlord of Red Lion Lane, would let these blue lobsters in. Could the Red Lion Society be preparing to surrender to the government?

He licked his lips, revealing a cruel, sinister grin: "I am very curious, why would Boss Blood Lion let you in?"

Hearing this, a subtle expression appeared on Ye Yan's face.

Blood Lion was the boss of the Red Lion Society.

The Red Lion Society was the largest force in Red Lion Lane, and the leader of the organization was naturally the undisputed manager of this area.

The entry of Ye Yan and his team could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of the Red Lion Society, but the truth was that they had been personally brought here by one of Blood Lion's subordinates.

If one asked why?

It was because their previous suppression of the Sunset Church had effectively helped the Red Lion Society in a roundabout way.

If the Sunset Church's ritual had succeeded, the first to suffer would have been the various underground factions of the Southwark District.

When Ye Yan and his team simply stated their intentions, that Blood Lion had opened the doors for them under the guise of returning a favor, even dispatching a subordinate to lead the way.

Neither Lestrade nor Ye Yan had expected things to progress so smoothly.

Perhaps the other party had ulterior motives.

But they didn't need to consider that much; the exchange of interests and political maneuvering were not things they needed to worry about. They only needed to make the arrests.

Besides, the higher-ups hadn't stopped them.

The only victim between the two forces would likely be the Scarface before him.

Facing the police encirclement, Scarface seemed to have given up, yet Ye Yan noticed that the man's right hand, hanging at his side, was slowly moving toward the small of his back.

He calmly adjusted the angle of his pistol, his index finger resting lightly on the trigger.

Ye Yan could sense the lucky coin he had given Billy on the man's person. Guided by the coin's coordinates, aiming and firing at Scarface felt as easy as a master marksman.

"Bang!"

The gunshot exploded in the narrow alley.

The metal ball in Scarface's hand hit the ground with a "clatter," rolling a few times before coming to a stop in a puddle of sewage.

Lestrade immediately made a gesture.

The blue-uniformed officers quickly moved forward with their weapons drawn, soon surrounding the entire shack.

Billy hugged the trembling Irene tightly.

Facing the chaotic scene, the children were huddled in the corner in fear, but he stared at a familiar figure, his eyes filled with surprise and hope.

It was the kind gentleman who had once given him an apple and a lucky coin!

"Don't be afraid, Irene," Billy whispered, his voice filled with irrepressible excitement: "These are the police here to save us. Especially that gentleman who fired the shot, he's a good man, he's here specifically to save us!"

The thugs hired by Scarface soon dropped their weapons and surrendered, squatting in the corner with their hands on their heads.

But Scarface himself displayed astonishing tenacity.

Despite being shot in both hands and feet, his trousers soaked in blood, he still managed to let out a roar of defiance, struggling to stand up like an unkillable cockroach.

His physical constitution was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

When two officers attempted to handcuff Scarface, the veins on his arms bulged, and he nearly broke free from their control.

Ye Yan's gaze caught the fact that the wounds on Scarface's body had already stopped bleeding, and the flesh around the bullet holes was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This confirmed the rumor of unknown veracity.

Scarface had indeed awakened some kind of extraordinary ability, but it was limited to powerful regenerative capabilities and strength beyond the norm; he possessed no other offensive traits.

The commotion was completely quelled.

Ye Yan remembered the boy named Billy saying earlier that his younger sister was sick.

He scanned the area, found Billy, and saw him holding a girl who was running a high fever.

"Detective Lestrade."

He turned his head, his voice carrying a rare sense of urgency: "We need to prioritize escorting these children out. Especially one little girl; she is very ill and in urgent need of treatment."

Lestrade nodded.

"Rest assured, I have already arranged for a workhouse to take these children in; the carriage is waiting at the end of the lane."

"A workhouse?"

Ye Yan's brows furrowed deeply.

"As far as I know, the living conditions there are extremely wretched. These orphans will only suffer hunger and abuse once they enter. Can we delay sending them there?"

Lestrade patted Ye Yan on the shoulder, a rare smile appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Newman, this one is different. Its manager... is a truly good man."

A good man?

Ye Yan couldn't help but feel a spark of curiosity. What kind of person could be called a good man by Lestrade?

And soon, he met this good man.

An old man with meticulously groomed white hair stood by the carriage, and he reached out to Ye Yan: "Hello, I am Oliver Twist. It is a pleasure to meet you."

As Ye Yan shook hands with the kind old man before him, the Diary that had been silent for a long time suddenly unfolded.

[April 12, 1881 -- London]

[In Red Lion Lane, the detective and I rescued a group of orphans who had nearly gone astray.

However, the issue of their placement gave us a headache.

Through the detective's introduction, I met a kind philanthropist.

His name is Oliver Twist...]

Wait.

Ye Yan's fingertips stiffened slightly in the old man's palm.

What did he say his name was?

Oliver Twist?

Isn't that the name of the protagonist in Oliver Twist?