Upon hearing the squire's words, Alfred felt as if the temperature in the room had plummeted.
An indescribable chill seeped into his body, freezing his blood and bones.
When the passenger ship docked at Utopia Port, he had actually considered what the worst-case scenario would be: Utopia was the headquarters of some cult, and everyone there was a potentially dangerous Lunatic.
But now, the reality may be even worse:
Utopia may not even exist!
At this moment, Alfred was extremely grateful that he was no longer the noble young master he was when he left Backlund, and that he had accumulated a wealth of experience, so he had not truly entered Utopia Port.
Under the watchful eyes of his adjutant and entourage, the army major general paced back and forth a few times with a somber expression, and calmly gave the order:
"Draft me a telegram to report on the Utopia to Military Intelligence Section 9."
"At the same time, local officials of Beyonder are urged to act immediately, contact the captain, request the list of personnel who entered Utopia Port, and, if necessary, visit each of them to confirm whether there are any problems."
"Yes." His adjutant immediately stood with his feet together and bowed in response.
After the adjutant left the study, Alfred said to one of his entourage:
"Bring the typewriter up from downstairs; I need to prepare a detailed report."
His plan was to first report the key information by telegram to avoid delaying the initial operation, and then reveal more details in the form of classified documents to provide a basis for the military leadership to make judgments.
On the Steam train platform, Wendel, with one hand on his top hat and the other carrying a suitcase, stepped into the second-class carriage.
He was not yet thirty, with dark sideburns and calm brown eyes. He didn't have any particularly memorable features, but he possessed a comfortable and pleasant aura.
Just a few months ago, he was an intelligence officer active in the Feynapotter section of Desi Bay, where he made many contributions. Now he has become Sequence 7 Beyonder, belonging to the Internal Affairs Operations Department of Military Intelligence Section 9.
Today, his mission is to deliver a classified document to Backlund and hand it over to the head of Military Intelligence Section 9.
After sitting down, Wendel casually bought a newspaper from the newsboy outside the window and leisurely began to read.
This is the surface phenomenon. The truth is that he began to use his extraordinary abilities to sketch portraits of the passengers around him, memorizing their characteristics in various aspects, and making meticulous and thorough preparations for any unexpected events that might occur later.
Ugh!
With a whistle, the Steam train rattled along, and the scenery outside the window flashed by rapidly.
A few hours later, Wendel looked out the window with some worry, for dark clouds had gathered in the sky, and a storm was about to break.
This means that the Steam train would stop at a station early and continue its journey after the storm had passed, or even the next morning, instead of arriving at the designated destination.
For Wendel, this would cause things to deviate somewhat from his expected plans, which would undoubtedly bring more risks.
However, he couldn't stop it; he couldn't change the weather like the " Sea God " touted by the new government of the Rorsted Archipelago.
All he could do was pray, pray to the " Lord of Storms ".
As it turns out, prayers are mostly ineffective. As darkness fell, the platform ahead signaled with lights that the train should slow down and stop on the spot.
Ugh!
The whistle sounded again, and the train slowed down until it finally stopped at a platform that felt somewhat unfamiliar to everyone.
The next second, near the steam- Steam locomotive, the mechanical door opened, and the train conductor stood at the entrance, shouting to the staff on the platform:
What happened up ahead?
"Torrential rain, you can't see anything!" the station worker, whose temples were already turning gray, shouted back.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a muffled clap of thunder sounded from high above, making everyone tremble and sense the approaching downpour.
"Damn it!" the train conductor cursed, "Which station is this?"
Because it was an unauthorized stop, he wasn't sure which station it was, since the trains he was responsible for didn't stop at every station along the route in the past.
" Utopia! A small station! You're on your own from now on!" the staff member shouted a few times before running to the other end of the platform with a glass lantern. "I need to signal the trains behind me!"
The train conductor had no doubts about the staff's attitude, because this was a normal dispatching procedure; otherwise, a rear-end collision between the two Steam trains would have occurred.
He could even conclude that other staff at this Utopia station were already sending telegrams to other stations to warn them.
Of course, they must have received a telegram informing them that the area ahead was shrouded in torrential rain.
" Utopia..." Wendel repeated the name under his breath, unable to find any useful information in his mind.
Of course, he didn't pay too much attention, because there were many unnamed Steam train stations throughout the Kingdom of Loen, which was a reflection of a country's overall strength.
The train conductor glanced at the dark sky, muttered a couple of things, and then addressed the passengers through the newly equipped megaphone:
"A storm is approaching, and the train will be stopped at Utopia Station until 8:00 AM tomorrow."
He predicted the storm would continue into the evening.
"You can stay in the carriage, or you can leave on your own and head into the city to find a hotel. Tomorrow, you only need to show your ticket stubs to get back on the train. Remember to be on time." The train conductor offered two options.
Wendel glanced at the passengers in the second-class carriage, considered for a few seconds, picked up his suitcase, and stepped off the train.
It wasn't that he couldn't accept the harsh and abnormal sleeping environment; he had suffered a lot as an intelligence officer. He was just relying on his professional judgment to determine that a train carriage with insufficient personnel flow was not as safe as a single room in a hotel.
Of course, he could stay up all night, but that would inevitably affect his condition tomorrow, and obviously, there's still a long journey ahead tomorrow.
After leaving Utopia Station, Wendel boarded a horse-drawn carriage parked by the roadside and said to the driver:
"Go to the City Hall Square."
In the Kingdom of Loen, there will always be a church and at least one inn near the city square.
"Sir, are you going to the inn?" the coachman asked familiarly as he turned the horse around.
"Hmm." Wendel, Sequence 7 Beyonder, made no attempt to hide it.
In his view, as long as he was in a town within the country, he could easily find a group of helpers by virtue of his identity, and his strength was enough to support him in completing this task.
"The best hotel in our Utopia is ' Red Boots,' shall we go there?" the coachman asked in a suggestive tone that only men would understand.
If he didn't have a mission, Wendel wouldn't mind indulging in some pleasure, but now, he could only shake his head without hesitation:
"I want a quiet hotel."
"Alright..." the driver replied, somewhat disappointed. "Then let's go to the ' Iris ' Inn; no one will bother you there."
As the carriage moved forward, Wendel turned his gaze to the window, observing the situation outside.
Perhaps because of the impending downpour, people on the street were hurrying along, and even the newsboys seemed listless.
"A very small city..." Wendel made his initial judgment based on the lack of horse-drawn carriages.
He even saw only one trackless horse-drawn carriage, which suggests that most parts of Utopia can be reached on foot within a reasonable time.
As he expected, the carriage stopped in front of the " Iris " hotel in less than ten minutes.
After paying the fare, Wendel hurried into the hotel before the downpour began.
A rustling sound then rang out behind him.
After checking in and putting away his luggage, Wendel rested for a while, then, clutching the confidential document, went to the restaurant on the first floor for dinner.
He cautiously refrained from ordering any alcoholic beverages, opting instead for a "sparkling iced tea," supposedly a local specialty, along with a fried pork chop with apple juice.
As an intelligence agent who had frequented high society, Wendel didn't have high expectations for this dinner, but the result was somewhat unexpected:
The pork chop was fried to a tender and juicy perfection, with a rich aroma, while the slightly tart apple juice poured over it cut through most of the greasiness; the sparkling iced tea added a refreshing touch, making it exceptionally delicious...
When paying the bill, Wendel nodded to the medium-sized waiter and said:
"Please thank the chef for this wonderful dinner."
The ordinary-looking waiter responded with a smile:
"No problem.
"In the entire city of Utopia, our ' Iris ' chefs are the best."
Without engaging in idle chatter, Wendel quickly returned to his room and made some arrangements to prevent others from sneaking in.
Then, he fell asleep immediately, without the slightest hesitation.
He was using the relatively safe time of day, which potential enemies considered unsuitable for action, to sleep, thus "emptying" the night.
After an unknown amount of time, Wendel was suddenly awakened by a loud commotion.
He checked his pocket watch and realized it wasn't yet midnight.
In the next room... a woman's voice... a man's voice... Wendel sat up, listened intently, and tried to distinguish the sounds.
At the Original, he suspected that the man and woman were flirting, but later he found that it was too intense, and even fragile items were thrown against the wall.
An argument escalated into a fight? Wendel had barely uttered a word when he heard women shouting, cursing, and screaming.
Beating women? As a gentleman of the Loen people, although Wendel worships the " Lord of Storms " and has some overt and covert prejudice against women, this does not prevent him from believing that men should not be violent towards women.
After thinking for two seconds, he decided to go over and knock on the door to remind his "neighbor" to be careful.
Just then, a scream rang out.
This is clearly from a man!
Bang! Something heavy fell to the floor.
Wendel's eyebrows twitched slightly, keenly sensing the atmosphere of a criminal case.
He stood up, put on his coat, went to the next room, and tapped twice with his fingers.
A few seconds later, the door creaked open, and a beautiful young lady with lake-green eyes and long, flaxen hair appeared before Wendel.
Her hair was disheveled, her face was deathly pale, and her light green clothes were the Star with bright red blood. She was also holding a dagger that was dripping blood.
After a moment of hesitation, the young woman in her early twenties spoke in a dreamlike tone:
"I killed someone..."