Embers of Embers

Chapter 2 Second-rate Detective
Lorenzo Holmes, who arrived in Old Dunling six years ago, is now working as a private detective in this city of steel and steam.
Another person died.
This is what people are talking about this morning.
According to the "Queen's Daily", a man was shot and killed at the junction of Ilins and the inner city in the East District. Because it was close to the inner city where the rich lived, the patrolmen were dispatched very quickly, but as before Like many times, they found nothing.
According to Su Yalan’s autopsy, the man was hit head-on with a shotgun at close range. The scattered bullets left the front of his body bloody and bloody. It was difficult to distinguish his appearance, but based on the tanned skin and the faint fishy smell, Su Yalan The hall speculated that he was a sailor, but they did not know why the sailor appeared there that day. It was obviously very far from the harbor, and he had no motive to come here.
Another mystery, at least that's what the public thinks.
No one was surprised by this result, or even panicked. After all, everyone has been used to it for a long time.
This is Old Dunling, the heart of the entire Inlveg, the heart of the entire world, where the first steam engine in human history came out.
Therefore, countless strangers come here every day, some for wealth, some for knowledge, and some for power.
The excessive flow of people brought about the deterioration of law and order. In order to maintain order, Old Dunling was divided into four urban areas, and they were surrounded by a ring.
The center is the center of power for the entire Inverge. The Platinum Palace where Queen Victoria lives is located there. At the same time, the Wangli Third Mobile Troop is stationed there. Beyond this is the inner city, where most of the wealthy and noble people of Old Dunling live. Here, you enjoy the 24-hour protection of the patrol. Beyond this is the outer city area divided into four small areas. Most residents live here, which is the largest part of the entire old Dunling. The last one is the lower city area.
According to the documents of the visitor, various areas of Old Dunling are open to it one by one. If you are dressed in rags, you cannot enter the outer city at all. At most, you can only hang out in the lower city area, and the lower city area is not considered in a sense. urban area.
It was a slum at first, but as more and more people came here, the lower city continued to grow, and finally became so large that even the consul had to face it.
As a result, a chaotic and disorderly urban area emerged, where the largest black market transactions in the entire Old Dunling were conducted, and the final incineration furnace for all secret information. It was only a thin line away from the world that everyone pursued.
This dead sailor was a person from the lower city. In the eyes of the residents of Yingerweg, the people from the lower city were not even human beings. They were just a group of dirt that stained this beautiful city.
The sailor's death became the talk of everyone, and no one cared at all except one person, the man who killed him.
Lorenzo was walking on the edge of the lower city. The infrastructure here was completely different. His boots were treading deeply and shallowly on the muddy road. Lorenzo would not have come here if it were not for his livelihood.
Wearing a deerstalker hat dyed black, he pushed down his short pale blond hair, wore a dark red tie on his chest, and a wide gray and black windbreaker that perfectly blocked the firearm underneath. He held his cane and looked at it from time to time. Pocket watch, looking like a businessman in a hurry.
Lorenzo's clothes were just right and he was no different from an ordinary pedestrian, but now he was in the lower town. To the people in the lower town, he was just a fat sheep who had strayed here by mistake.
People from different countries and regions are waiting for this fat sheep in the corner. This place is not under the jurisdiction of the patrol. Even if someone dies, there is rarely any accountability. After all, there is a huge flow of people here, and countless people arrive with ships every day. this city.
They have it all, and they know exactly who to attack and who not to.
Several newcomers were interested in Lorenzo. They divided Lorenzo's property in whispers. Some wanted his windbreaker, while others wanted his pocket watch.
The rest of the people just ignored this. After the lower city became the black market of Old Dunling, a new black industrial chain was formed here. Most of the people who dared to rob people were gang members, and they only helped themselves into it.
On the dirty street, this group of people just surrounded Lorenzo with fierce eyes.
"My friend is well dressed."
The leader looked at Lorenzo with a smile on his face. This was not a kindness, he just found that Lorenzo's pocket watch was much more valuable than it looked.
"I wouldn't do this if I were you guys."
The voice was a little helpless, as if he was used to it, and Lorenzo didn't care about what happened to him.
This was the case in the Lower City. He had killed a few desperate people before with dozens of people watching, thinking that he would gain some prestige. But it still happened every time he came here. Lorenzo thought that someone was targeting him, but Later he discovered that this group of people was just gone.
This is the lower city, the temporary residence of those foreigners. According to Yin Erweg's law, this is not protected by the kingdom, and the people here are not citizens.Beyond this is the estuary of the Thames River, where there is the largest seaport in Inverg. People hanging out in the lower town may be here today, but may go to other seas with fishing boats the next day.
There are also gang reasons, and these are the only benefits of the black market. For these industrial gangs, conflicts break out in the lower city every day, and people die every day. Their bodies will be thrown directly into the Thames River, and after being filtered by the steam hub, the bodies will It will be incinerated together with other debris.
It's not that no one remembers Lorenzo, it's just that they died too quickly.
The bright knife was dazzling in front of Lorenzo's eyes, and just as he was thinking about how to deal with these desperate thugs, the sound of rapid horse hooves sounded, and a dark carriage stopped by the street. The carriage driver didn't know what to do when he saw this scene. To be polite, just take out your pistol and shoot at these thugs.
He was really impolite. After a few gunshots, the bodies of those thugs lay in front of Lorenzo. The people on the street fled because of the gunfire, and he was the only one left on the empty street for a while. and the coachman.
"Mr. Holmes?"
It seemed that he couldn't see Lorenzo clearly because of his old age, but the shooting just now was so accurate that it was a bit difficult to judge the coachman.
"it's me."
Glancing at the emblem on the carriage, Lorenzo got into the carriage without hesitation, but instead of sitting in the carriage, he sat on the front of the carriage with the coachman.
"What happened to those people?"
Looking at the corpse on the ground, Lorenzo looked disgusted.
"Stowaways. There have been more and more stowaways recently. Most of them are criminals. They think they can usher in a new life in Old Dunling, but they don't know that starting a new life requires saying goodbye to their past... They still retain He has the mentality of a thug, so he has caused a lot of trouble recently."
The coachman waved his whip, and the carriage started slowly, moving forward on the muddy road.
"Shrike doesn't care about this?"
"Your Excellency has been very busy recently. Two gangs are about to go to war because of territorial issues. Your Excellency has been mediating recently. Those two gangs have important industries. Your Excellency doesn't care whether they win or lose, but because of their conflict, those industries will inevitably... Being affected, their lives are not that valuable.”
"Hmm...it seems to be his style." Lorenzo said and nodded.
"By the way, Mr. Holmes, if you want to come next time, please tell me in advance. I will come to pick you up. This can avoid unnecessary conflicts."
The coachman said again, as considerate as a butler.
Lorenzo nodded and said nothing. Although he got into the car not long ago, it was obvious that his destination had arrived.
Behind a layer of dilapidated buildings is a hidden castle, made of various piles of rubble, hung with tattered flags and iron frames, like the work of an artist.
Walking towards the weird castle, the half-opened door opened directly to him, and then the true appearance of the lower city was revealed before his eyes.
Different from the dilapidated outside world, this place is as luxurious as the inner city, like traveling from the slums to the Platinum Palace in an instant.
It was already the end of October, and the weather turned cold, but the moment Lorenzo entered, he still felt hot, not only in his body, but also in his heart.
The space inside is much larger than it looks from the outside. Various precious paintings are hung on the pale gold walls. The floor is made of marble that can reflect human figures. Waiters with gorgeous masks are holding plates and placing them on various gaming tables. Bringing drinks.
The distant female voice singing on the high platform in the center stirred up the atmosphere of the entire casino.
Incense was lit in the exquisite iron cages around, and the smell was delicious, but it contained a small amount of stimulant, which made those guests who were still hesitating gamble all their chips.
This is what Xiacheng District is really like, full of life and money.
Unlike the inner city, it is not subject to jurisdiction and has become a den for many nobles to sell their stolen goods. They seem to be gambling, but they are diverting their wealth to another channel. The amount of currency transactions here secretly every day is beyond the reach of ordinary people.Of course, many nobles looking for excitement will come here, and they are all VIPs in the Lower City.
Shrike once told himself this. According to Yin Erweg's law, everyone here's crime is enough to spend the rest of his life in prison. Of course, therefore, the entire aristocracy of old Dunling will also be reduced by at least one third. people.
No one stopped Lorenzo. Unlike those short-lived strangers outside, the people here can live for a long time, and they know very well who Lorenzo is.
Pushing open a series of iron doors, Lorenzo easily came to the deepest part of the ground, and here he met the employer of this business.
The man wears an exquisite silver mask carved with thorns and birds.Sitting behind the oak table, the whole room was also filled with incense, and the phonograph was singing slowly. He closed his eyes and waved his hands like a conductor, until the arrival of Lorenzo broke the world he was immersed in.
"Welcome! My friend!"
He saw Lorenzo and smiled in welcome.
This is the real ruler of Lower City, and all the gangs bow to him.
Butcher Bird Shrike.
Lorenzo sat opposite him unceremoniously and spoke directly without any polite words.
"There was nothing on that man. He was like crazy before he died. He couldn't ask anything, and there were no clues to investigate."
"Huh? Is that really true?" Shrike took out the wine glass from under the table and poured his favorite wine into it. "Lorenzo, you are the best detective I have ever seen. You should have discovered more than this, right? .”
After listening to Shrike's words, Lorenzo sighed helplessly.
"It's just speculation."
"What speculation?"
After hearing Lorenzo's words, Shrike became interested. Sure enough, Lorenzo Holmes never let him down.
"I found his whereabouts based on drug dealers. A sailor in the lower city didn't have much income, but he would find a different drug dealer every day to buy hallucinogens. By the time I found him, the sailor seemed to have been injected with a large dose of hallucinogens. Drug, my words were vague, and there were patrol police everywhere near the inner city, so I couldn’t ask too many questions...
So I speculated that he must have encountered something, something that frightened him so much that he could only use hallucinogens to escape. "
Lorenzo's voice was very soft, as if he was reading a touching story.
"Why do you think it's a matter of fear?" For some reason, Shrike cared about the word fear.
“Because I shot him in the chest, and dozens of bullets penetrated his heart, lungs and bones. Even if he inhaled hallucinogens, he would feel pain and wake up.
You must know that people are afraid of death. As long as I entice him a little, he will respect my words in every possible way for the rest of his life and answer whatever I ask. "
"But he didn't. He kept talking in a foreign language that I couldn't understand... Even though his face was smashed by the bullets, I could see the relief-like beauty on his face."
"It's like I didn't kill him, but saved him from some nightmare."
Shrike was stunned when he heard this. He ignored Lorenzo's speculation, but paid attention to his actions.
"Did you kill him? You should have brought him to me alive!"
"what?"
Lorenzo was taken aback.
"You didn't say you wanted to live. If you still have trouble, please pay attention to your identity, okay? You are Shrike, the boss of the entire lower city. The nobles in the House want you dead, and the gangs below also want you dead. Only you are dead. They can become the next boss."
He directly took the glass and drank, and continued.
"I am thinking about you. People who know my identity more or less know about your relationship with me, and you have repeatedly emphasized that this matter should be kept secret. I guess this matter is very important, right?
They all want to bring you down, and I won't give them any excuses for this important matter. You see, it's just a sailor who died, and no one will think of you. "
Lorenzo put down his glass and spread his hands.
"Best of both worlds."
"So your best of both worlds is to kill the only lead and come here to drink?"
Shrike spoke calmly, and took out a revolver from under the table steadily. The shiny silver metal surface was engraved with reliefs of gods and ghosts, and it looked exquisite without any guns at all.
"I hope you can understand one thing. You are my employee, and I am your employer. You will not get money, but you will get a bullet."
Without even raising his head to look at Lorenzo, he filled the bullet nest one after another, filling five rounds and leaving one. Then he turned the bullet nest and pointed the gun at Lorenzo.
"You are the best detective I have ever seen, but what you did was really stupid... So do you want to put your luck on it? One in six chance."
Shrike looked at Lorenzo seriously, he was not joking about this matter.
Lorenzo's smile faltered.
"Okay, okay, you are really boring."
Waving his hand, he tried to press down the muzzle of the gun, but then Shrike raised the muzzle again.
Seeing this situation, Lorenzo also knew that he could only explain the matter clearly at gunpoint.
"I have been following that sailor for many days. His name is Wall, and he is a Viking from the northern seas. In the past few days, he has been wandering among several drug dealers, with no intention of returning to the port. Look, He looked like he had been abandoned by his captain."
"When you gave me this case, you just asked me to investigate this person. You said he had a secret."
As if there was no muzzle in front of him, Lorenzo became casual again.
"To be honest, your request for this case is really ridiculous. You don't know his secret, but you asked me to investigate..."
"Identity, communication, nothing, a very clean person, until I witnessed him injecting hallucinogens."
"what happened?"
Shrike was particularly concerned about Sailor Waugh.
"It's ridiculous, you know?"
Lorenzo was talking nonsense while pretending to have an injection in his neck.
"A whole tube of hallucinogens, which is a lethal dose for ordinary people, he just took it all, and continued to take it for several days. I got this confirmed by the drug dealer, he bought it every day .”
"I thought it might be a problem with the Vikings' physique. After all, their ancestors' pirates once attacked directly at the gate of Old Dunling."
Lorenzo raised his eyebrows when he said this. Talking about this kind of dark history always made him particularly happy.
"I found a Viking in the lower city to experiment, and he was already foaming at the mouth after a whole bottle of hallucinogens went down."
"So there is something wrong with Wall's health?"
Shrike grasped the key.
"Yes, he has serious health problems. And not only that, he is very aggressive. He has killed at least six people in these few years. Otherwise, how can you think a sailor has money? Then I did kill him, but it was because he asked for it. mine."
Lorenzo recalled the story of that night.
In the rising white steam and the light cast by the Zeppelin, Lorenzo was the dark silhouette. Under him was twisted and living flesh and blood. Every bullet hole was filled with dark red blood. His chest was heaving violently. There was a whimpering sound in his throat. Although he couldn't understand the sound, he seemed to understand the meaning.
kill me!
Take me away!
"Then I stabbed along the bullet hole scar with my staff sword."
Lorenzo pulled out his cane, and the dark wood cracked, revealing the cold light underneath.
"I pierced his cervical vertebra...the carotid artery ruptured and there was massive internal bleeding. He died very quickly, but that's when something weird happened."
During Lorenzo's story, Shrike couldn't help but lean forward, listening to every word carefully, and constructing the scene of that night in his mind.
"He should be dead...he must be dead, but his heart is still beating, beating violently. It can be said that his brain is dead, but his body is still alive, squeezing a steady stream of blood out of the bullet holes. .”
"This is a completely abnormal phenomenon. I pierced his heart with my staff and sword again. Only then was the corpse truly dead."
The story was over. Shrike was silent and seemed to be thinking about something. Lorenzo was not in a hurry and just drank a small drink. He knew very well that everything he could put in front of Shrike was good, and he could drink more.
"You should have brought his body back."
"No need."
"No need? You clearly know there's something wrong with that body!"
Shrike was really angry this time, as if he was about to shoot in the next second.
"So what if you take it back? This is a casino, not a morgue. You have a group of thugs but not even a coroner... Do you know how many bones there are in the human body?"
Looking at the shrike with disdain, Lorenzo continued.
"Now Wall's body is lying in the morgue of Victoria Central Hospital, being dissected by a group of forensic doctors who graduated from Wangli Medical College for who knows how long.
Cut off piece by piece, neatly placed on the iron frame, like a sumptuous human body meal. Every abnormality is recorded in the report in strict accordance with the rules, and all of this is waiting for me to go there at the moment. Pick. "
Picking up his pocket watch, Lorenzo checked the time.
"There are still two hours until these people get off work. Do you have anything else to ask?"
(End of this chapter)