Odys's Gray Industry

West Borough, 51 Henry Street.

Odys woke from the bed in the lounge and let out a long breath. He had to be cautious when attending the Tarot Club for the first time. After that, he could gradually relax, and "Justice" would not pay as much attention to him as she had today.

He reflected on it and felt that, at his first gathering, he had still been unable to resist showing off a little. Otherwise, "Justice," Audrey, would not have caught the expression on his face when he wanted to trade with "The World."

Though he should not have, Odys did not blame himself. After all, this was the legendary "protagonist team." Attending such a gathering for the first time, it was only natural that he wanted to display some of his strength.

After stretching, Odys got up and went into the herbal shop.

Kainer was chatting with a plainly dressed woman in her twenties. She had ordinary features but carried herself with a certain heroic air.

She was Miss Mandy's assistant, Bella. When she saw Odys enter, she immediately rose. "Mr. Gal, these are last week's accounts."

As she spoke, she handed him a black leather ledger. "Miss Mandy also asked me to report that the transaction with the wealthy merchant Ajenong has been completed. She needs to go to the East District again to look for several new recruits."

Odys nodded as he flipped through the ledger. "Let Mandy handle it herself."

Other than finances and personnel arrangements, Odys barely involved himself in the daily operations of those businesses.

Bella gave a slight, respectful bow. "Yes."

Odys carefully reviewed the ledger and made a summary.

Just then, a fierce-looking man in his thirties with tattoos on his face entered the shop.

As soon as he came in, he immediately removed his felt hat, revealing several long scars on his scalp. "Mr. Gal."

While greeting him, he held the hat in both hands and gave an uneasy little bow.

This was Enoch, the leader of the gang Odys had subdued. He was extremely ruthless, but did not have much brains.

It had taken Odys only a few exchanges to beat him into complete submission.

Without raising his head, Odys nodded and gestured to Kainer. The young clerk immediately brought Enoch a chair.

After finishing Bella's ledger and giving her a few further instructions, Odys finally turned his gaze to Enoch after Bella bowed again and left.

Enoch immediately stood up and pulled out a black leather ledger as well. Its cover was somewhat grimy, and the handwriting inside was extremely messy.

Odys frowned slightly. There was nothing to be done about it. Enoch had never received a proper education. When he had first started following Odys, he had kept accounts with numbers and symbols only he himself could understand. "Tomorrow, go to the East District with Mandy."

Enoch hurriedly replied, "Yes."

Fortunately, the gang's income and expenses were not complicated. Odys made a brief summary before closing the book. "The Serial Murder Case has only just passed. Tell everyone not to be too high-profile."

"Yes, yes, yes. We've been honestly hiding in the bar and drinking these past few days." Enoch began his report. "Last week, One-Eye brought people to provoke us. We only drove them off. Following your rules, we tried our best not to kill anyone.

"Oh, right. Also last week, a mysterious masked person asked me to find someone for him. The reward was very high. I sent people to investigate, and it turned out that person was an informant for the Mandated Punishers. Should we give his information to the mysterious person?"

Under Odys's guidance, he had learned a little about the Beyonder world as well.

Odys asked, "Is there a portrait?"

"Yes." Enoch handed the portrait to Odys. It depicted a gaunt middle-aged man with a conspicuous scar at the corner of his left eye.

Odys said, "Don't get involved."

Enoch nodded. "Yes, yes, yes. That was what I thought too."

Odys took out 20 pounds from his wallet. "Though you didn't get the reward, you can receive an intelligence fee from me."

"No, no." Enoch hurriedly said, "This is what I should do!"

Odys held it out again. "You earned it."

Only then did Enoch accept it and continue his report.

After the gang leader left as well, Odys wrote a note and had Kainer deliver it to the Backlund Mechanical Research Society.

He intended to use the official Beyonder channels to investigate Xio Derecha through the police, so as not to leave any traces of his own investigation.

This was really just for show. Odys knew this short bounty hunter very well.

Cherwood Borough, 15 Minsk Street.

Early Tuesday morning, Klein's doorbell rang.

When he opened the door, he unsurprisingly saw Mike Joseph, a reporter from the Daily Observer.

The two had arranged the day before yesterday for Mike to hire Detective Sherlock Moriarty to protect him while he conducted interviews in the East District today.

They took a carriage to the filthy, chaotic East District. Klein happened to run into Old Kohler, so he made him his first interview subject and hired him as their guide.

Mike then interviewed an elderly woman in her sixties. Calmly, she recounted how her once-happy family had rapidly gone bankrupt, and how her husband and son had died one after another. After eating the food Mike ordered for her, she died while sitting in a warm café.

Looking at the old woman's body, Mike opened his mouth, momentarily unable to say anything.

Old Kohler tapped his chest three times and gave a bitter smile. "I knew she wouldn't last much longer. Things like this happen every day in the East District.

"At least she filled her stomach and died somewhere warm. Hope... heh, hope I can die like that someday too."

After watching the police deal with the old woman's body, the three of them sighed over it for a while before continuing their search for interview subjects.

They saw thieves running everywhere through the streets, as well as sallow, emaciated streetwalkers already soliciting customers by the roadside.

Old Kohler described what he had heard about how gangs trained thieves, as well as the streetwalkers found everywhere in the East District.

Throughout Backlund, one-fifth of all women were or had briefly been streetwalkers. Streetwalkers were not only everywhere in the East District; even in Cherwood Borough and Saint George Borough, where the middle class was more concentrated, many women had been forced by life to work briefly as streetwalkers.

For ordinary people living in this glamorous international metropolis, bankruptcy came all too easily. Between dignity and filling one's stomach, the choice did not seem all that difficult.

Mike saw six-year-old thieves and streetwalkers who looked no older than twelve or thirteen.

As the three walked on, their attention was drawn to one of the streetwalkers, a girl of sixteen or seventeen. Aside from her beauty, it was her nervousness, unease, and the bruises on her face that caught their eyes.

It was very likely her first day in the profession.

Judging from the style of her clothes, which had been washed until they had faded gray, her family had likely once been well-off. Otherwise, with her looks, she could not have become a streetwalker only now.

Mike was about to approach and interview her when Klein suddenly stopped him.

At that moment, a carriage stopped ahead of them. A poised, elegantly dressed woman in her thirties stepped down, smiling faintly as she began talking to the streetwalker.

Old Kohler sighed. "That girl is so lucky. Miss Mandy, such a kind lady, actually took a liking to her."

Klein froze slightly. "Miss Mandy?"

"Yes." Old Kohler explained, "Every so often, this lady comes to the East District and takes away several pretty girls."

Mike rubbed his chin. "I remember now. She works for Mr. Gal!"