Watching streaks of lightning illuminate the dark sky, Derrick didn't go directly to knock on the doors of his acquaintances. Instead, he walked along the widest avenue to the training grounds on the edge of City of Silver.
After each exploration team returns, they stay here for a period of time. This serves both to facilitate communication and reporting on what they encountered in the dark depths and to indirectly isolate themselves from any strange entities that might attach themselves to a member and then violently erupt over time.
This is the experience that City of Silver has explored and summarized over two thousand years. It is not complicated, but it is quite effective.
Upon entering the training ground, Derrick Berg, with the " Hurricane Axe " tucked behind his waist, was suddenly struck by the sight of Elder Lovia, who appeared to be only in her thirties, and two familiar faces of similar age.
--Silver City of Silver is only so big. Due to environmental constraints, its population has never been able to grow. There are not too few people in a certain age group, but not too many either. Derrick wouldn't dare say he knows them all, but he has seen most of them, and some of them have been his classmates in general education classes and training partners for several years.
Of the exploration team members, Derrick was most familiar with Dark Ray Megus, who had once been his teammate on a patrol team.
This boy named Dark is of medium height and slightly chubby. He is known for his strength, is optimistic and cheerful, and always has a friendly smile on his face. He is currently Sequence 8 " Gladiator " in the " Giant " pathway.
At this moment, the two sides are separated by a semi-transparent but steel-like wall, making effective contact impossible. They must wait for all members of the exploration team to confirm that there are no problems before they can meet directly.
Derrick, who had become silent and withdrawn since his parents' death, waved to Dark.
The Gladiator noticed and turned his head to look over.
" Dark, how are you? Did you encounter any danger?" Derrick called out.
The material used for that section of black wall came from not far from City of Silver and was called " Dark Amber." It was as hard as steel but also had a certain degree of transparency and good sound conductivity, so Derrick's words passed through without much obstruction.
Derrick imagined Dark would beam with a bright smile, habitually waving his arms and saying, "See, I'm not hurt at all, so you should know we didn't encounter anything too dangerous, just minor issues!"
Hearing his voice, Dark took a few steps closer to the wall and replied with a smile:
No, everything has been going smoothly.
Looking at his flawless smile, Derrick suddenly felt a chill run through him, as if he were sleeping on the roof of an abandoned tower or in a destroyed city at night, surrounded by darkness and simmering undercurrents.
Inside the Cragg Club, Klein and Doctor. Allen reached an agreement on compensation:
£2!
It has to be said, Doctor make money so easily... In the past, I would have paid at most 10 Soli for a similar request... Klein, who was already interested in taking on this task, sighed to himself.
He remembered hearing " The Corpse Collector " Frye mention something when he was with the Nighthawks team: famous Doctor earn a lot of money.
At the time, Leonard Mitchell, a poet who didn't seem like a poet, responded that, to his knowledge, the fastest way to recoup the investment in a house in the bustling area of Backlund was to convert it into a clinic.
The two agreed to visit Will Auceptin. It was only a little before three in the afternoon, so the riding instructor, Talym, invited the three of them to a table and started playing a game called "Upgrade," the kind invented by Emperor Roselle.
I envisioned myself playing tennis, practicing shooting, and browsing books in the library—what a healthy life! But why did it turn out like this...? During a break from playing cards, Klein couldn't help but think.
Frankly speaking, with his current "magic" skills, he could easily make Doctor. Allen, Reporter Mike, and Talym lose all the money they had on them.
But I'm an honest man, and I believe more in my skill and luck... As the waiter in the red vest shuffled the cards, Klein picked up a shortbread and took a satisfying bite.
He exclaimed in sincere admiration:
This is life!
During the card game, Klein noticed something: the riding instructor, Talym, was no longer as often lost in thought and troubled as before.
"Has his friend's infatuation with the wrong person been resolved?" Klein thought with considerable curiosity as he took a sip of Marquis black tea.
As a Detective, he knew he shouldn't ask about this in front of others, so he held back and focused on playing cards.
At five o'clock, Mike Joseph had to go back to the club, so the four-person card game ended, and Klein won 5 Soli.
"My luck has been really good lately..." Klein thought with satisfaction and admiration. Seeing Doctor. Allen leave his desk and head to the restroom, he lowered his voice and chuckled in a low voice:
" Talym, has your friend's matter been resolved?"
Talym, who was tossing his cards onto the table, paused for a moment upon hearing this, then sighed and laughed:
I guess so.
He added, clearly eager to discuss:
"Actually, it wasn't anything too serious; I was just overthinking it."
"Simply put, it's about a young gentleman of high status who falls in love with a commoner woman. You know, men of this status must marry noblewomen. Ha, for him, even the daughter of a wealthy man is out of the question."
Oh, I see... I'd been imagining so many melodramatic and bizarre stories, like falling in love with a man, falling in love with Monster, falling in love with someone whose relationship is forbidden by ethics... Klein was disappointed, then chuckled and said:
"As far as I know, upper-class men don't mind keeping a mistress outside the home."
"No, Sherlock, you don't understand. Love, do you understand? Love! That young gentleman only wants to marry that commoner woman," Talym sighed.
"Yes, I don't understand, I'm just a single dog..." Klein opened his mouth, but was speechless.
Talym sighed to himself:
"For the sake of that young gentleman's future, I once thought of asking you to find someone with some extraordinary abilities, discreetly, hehe, anyway, I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I'll only think about it in my head."
"How was the matter resolved in the end?" Klein asked with great interest.
Talym picked up his highland coffee and took a sip:
"The solution was simpler than I thought. I went directly to the lady, told her about my predicament, and she rationally expressed her willingness to leave the gentleman and asked me for help."
"I must say, she is truly a considerate, kind, elegant, and beautiful girl. If we didn't consider our social status, I might even kneel before her and kiss the back of her hand."
"Well, it seems I can't be of any help." Klein picked up the white porcelain cup with gold trim that held the black tea.
As an outsider from Earth, he had absolutely no interest in requests to break up couples or sabotage other people's love lives.
However, listening to gossip is a different matter altogether.
After having dinner at the Cragg Club, where they enjoyed the limited-edition Sonia lobster, Klein and Doctor. Allen traveled together in the latter's carriage to Will Auceptin's house at 66 Doughton Street in the North Borough.
This was an address that Doctor. Allen had memorized long ago. He didn't go back to the hospital to look up the corresponding medical records, and Klein guessed that most of the information about Will Auceptin had probably been taken away by the Nighthawks.
As a former Nighthawks, I know their procedures very well... Klein sighed with a wry smile.
They rang the doorbell, and after a short wait, the door opened. A maid dressed in black and white asked in confusion:
"Gentlemen, who are you looking for?"
Seeing that Allen still had his usual indifferent expression, Klein took the initiative to speak:
"We're calling Will Auceptin, his Doctor, to do a follow-up visit and confirm his health condition."
"I... I don't know him. I've only been here a few days... I'll go find my master. Please wait a moment," the maid replied, looking bewildered.
While the two were waiting, Allen suddenly spoke up:
"I almost believed the reason you just gave me."
"That's basic professional skill for Detective," Klein chuckled.
At this moment, an elderly gentleman in his fifties walked to the door and said in a deep voice:
" The Will Auceptin family has moved away, to..."
He gave a date.
Allen did a quick calculation and then frowned:
"You were just discharged from the hospital two days ago after surgery, how can you possibly do the strenuous work of moving?"
He acted as if he were making a follow-up visit.
Klein asked with slight doubt:
"Sir, how do you know so much?"
Normally, subsequent tenants will definitely move in after a period of time.
The old man replied irritably, "Someone else had already asked, and I even went to see the landlord."
The Nighthawks ... Klein pressed on, with little hope:
Do you know where Will Auceptin and his family moved to?
"No." The old man uttered only one word.
"Did they leave anything here?" Klein asked after a moment's thought.
"There are some," the old man said, taking a breath, "But they were all given to the previous group!"
It's really frustrating to run into someone in the same industry... They always seem to anticipate what you're thinking of... Klein couldn't help but sigh.
Seeing that there were no further leads, Klein and Allen politely said goodbye and left 66 Doughton Street.
"It seems your doubts will take a long time to be resolved," Klein said, turning his head to Doctor. Allen.
Allen was silent for a few seconds, then slowly exhaled:
"After what just happened, I'm not so bothered anymore. I'm a Doctor, and it's enough for me to do my job well. I should follow up on patients' health, not interrogate them about their situation, what others think, or why they're not kind. Those aren't my concerns. In the future, I'll just try to maintain the Doctor -patient relationship."
"That's the best way to put it," Klein sincerely agreed, then casually asked, "What exactly happened to Will Auceptin's left leg back then?"
"He had a strange growth on his left calf, forming a ring that was severely compressing blood vessels," Doctor. Allen recalled. "But the child didn't seem to be in much pain, just a bit scared. We the Original tried conservative treatment, but the condition deteriorated rapidly."
PS: Third update complete, please vote with monthly tickets~ All promised extra chapters have been completed.