Embers of Embers

Chapter 213 The Bad Rat
After sending Pres away, Lorenzo sat on the Iron Snake for a while. After a while of walking, the lower city gradually appeared at the end of his field of vision.
The sky is gloomy, and the dilapidated houses seem to be randomly piled up with mud, water and wood. There are many more buildings like this, like a strange and deformed tree. This is a forest where they grow wantonly.
In the cracks in the trees, Lorenzo could see the godless people behind them. They gathered around the stove, the warm light swaying in the darkness, absorbing the only warmth to get through this difficult time. The remaining winter.
This is what most people in the lower city are like. They cannot survive in this cold city, and they have no energy to leave. They are like trapped animals, rotting bit by bit in the shadows.
Most of the young people with labor force will enter the factory. Although the work is tiring, the wages here are indeed much higher. At least they are more promising than those in the lower city. The remaining people may choose to join gangs. Although it is dangerous, at least they can work in the factory. Food and clothing are guaranteed in this deformed forest.
Lorenzo held a cigarette in his mouth, and a faint mist rose up. After slowly rising, it merged with countless dark clouds.
The muddy road was also frozen hard due to the low temperature, and it was extremely uncomfortable to walk on it.
But Lorenzo didn't care about that now. The people around him still looked unkind, but Lorenzo didn't have any spare time to waste on them this time.
Xiacheng District is simply the epitome of all chaos. Most of the gray industries of old Dunling circulate here. Under the dirty dilapidation, there is bloody gold.
Lorenzo's arrival this time was completely spur of the moment. No coachman came to pick him up, and no one knew about it. He was alone.
He is like a hunter walking in the forest, searching for traces of prey.
"Feileng Cui..."
The detective murmured.
This city exists in my memory. After so many years, my impression of it has become blurred, only the past experience is still clearly visible.
Feilengcui's life was pretty good, but if the Holy Night had not destroyed everything, although Lawrence, the culprit, was dead, there were still many mysteries that had not been clarified.
For example, why did Lawrence rebel? He is a very special one among the demon hunters. He can be said to be the longest-living and highest-status demon hunter. He already had everything, but in the end he chose to put it in the fire. .
There may never be an answer to this question. Lawrence is dead, and the remaining flesh and blood has been fused with the black angel. That guy can't die anymore.
Sometimes the helpless part of life is here, and in the end many questions will not have answers.
However, without thinking about this, Lorenzo had already made some inner judgments about the current situation. He guessed that the group of stowaways were most likely from the new sect from Feilengcui, and their purpose was "Revelation".
But the question is where is the Book of Revelation?
After so many days of vigilance and search, the purification agency still found nothing.
Judging from the number of demons that Lawrence cultivated at that time, there was indeed a group of a certain size behind him. However, after Lawrence's death, that group disappeared mysteriously, as if it did not exist, as if Lawrence's death took away everything related to him. .
No, no one has ever seen anyone other than Lawrence. Lawrence has always appeared alone. Maybe he doesn’t have any helpers?
Lorenzo felt a headache when he thought of this. He was sure that although Lawrence was dead, something he planned was still going on in the darkness. The disappearance of "Apocalypse" was the best proof, in a certain shadow corner. , there is still sinful blood being shaped.
Lorenzo suddenly stopped and looked at the homeless man sitting in the corner. He seemed to be aware of Lorenzo's stop and stopped peeping at Lorenzo.
His movements were very stealthy, and if it weren't for the witcher's keen insight, no one might have noticed him at all.
Lorenzo was delighted. His thoughts, which were originally chaotic, suddenly became clear.
"You were looking at me just now, right?"
The detective suddenly moved forward and squatted down.
The homeless man was a little overwhelmed by Lorenzo's sudden enthusiasm. The downtown area was not a good place, and the people here were the same. Everyone lived cautiously and were wary of the people around them.
He shrank back, and on his dirty face, only his eyes were exceptionally clear.
"You...what are you going to do?"
The homeless man asked warily, but his curled-up hands had already touched the steel object, where everyone needed something to protect their lives.
"Don't be nervous, I just have some questions to ask..."
Lorenzo didn't care at all about the homeless man's growing murderous intention. In the eyes of the demon hunter, these guys were nothing more than harmless white rabbits compared to the monsters.
"Which gang are you loyal to?" Lorenzo then asked.
The tramp's eyes instantly turned cold. He immediately launched an attack and drew out the dagger in his arms. However, Lorenzo was faster than him and stood up directly. In a flash, he lifted the man with one foot. His wrist was stepped on.
"Calm down, I don't mean any harm, I just want to ask some questions."
Lorenzo twisted his foot hard. The tramp felt the pain and couldn't help but let go of his hand. Then Lorenzo kicked the dagger away.
"Stop pretending. I'm not an outsider. I've been around in the lower city for a while. I know exactly what you do."
Lorenzo said as he took out a mottled coin from his arms and threw it directly in front of the homeless man's eyes.
His vigilant eyes suddenly froze, as if he couldn't believe it, and then he quickly grabbed the coin, raising the dust on the ground together with it.
There is a shrike engraved on the coin. Only those who really hang out in the lower city know that this thing is the real hard currency.
The way the tramp looked at Lorenzo changed a lot. For a person of his status, this coin was enough for him to live comfortably for too many days.
"Bad rat."
The homeless man collected the coins and hid them in the innermost part of his pocket. He glanced around, hoping that no one would see all this.
"really……"
Lorenzo said softly, as if he had already guessed this.
"Have you seen any new faces these days?"
"No...at least not in the area where I stay."
After receiving the money, the homeless man started to do things much more happily, and he answered directly and straightforwardly.
This was also expected by Lorenzo. He did not think that he could find out the traces of the stowaways by just asking casually.
There is no absolute chaos. There is a faint order in all chaos that controls everything. Just like Shrike controls the economy of the lower city and serves as a mediator between forces, but in fact he is the purge agency. One person, all this chaos is tightly controlled by another layer of greater order.
Tramps are also part of that order, but they are at the lowest level.
This is a bad rat, a despicable rat, and rats can have great power when they come together, as is the case with these tramps.
The Bad Rats are also one of the gangs in the Lower City, but they do not have a fixed territory. Instead, they are scattered throughout the Lower City and make a living by selling information. These homeless people scattered on the streets are their eyes.
Maybe these bad rats can find the information that the mounted police can't find. After all, those stowaways can only stay in the lower city now, and they are in this deformed forest.
"Take me to see the Rat King, I want to buy some information." Lorenzo said.
The tramp shook his head, "No, the Rat King won't see anyone."
"Are you still so vigilant?" Lorenzo said.
His understanding of bad rats also came from Shrike. In Shrike's words, these damn rats are the most troublesome guys in the lower city. Although they don't steal or rob, the weird feeling everywhere is really Heart-stopping.
Therefore, the Shrike rarely cooperates with the bad rats. These guys are so pervasive that the Shrike is worried that his identity will be discovered by them. Although the crisis of identity leakage has occurred in the tenure of the Shrike in the past generations, as long as the purification agency enters the scene, it will be directly Just a big wash.
But the bad rats are different. They will summarize the information to the Rat King, so the information will be recorded. From gossips and rumors... as long as the bad rats think it has certain value or interesting information, they can report it.
It is said that there is an archive of the bad rats hidden in a sewer in the lower city. As long as the bad rats hear it and find it useful, you may even find a casual chat you made one day in it.
To this day, Shrike still doesn't know whether that archive really exists, or whether there is the mysterious Rat King that no one has ever seen.
But just like urban legends, there are always some such things, and the size of the old Dunling is not what it seems on the surface, and there is also the complex furnace pillar system underground.
Even Lawrence could build a breeding ground in a complex underground pipeline, not to mention a group of pervasive rats.
"This is not a matter of vigilance, this is a matter of rules." The homeless man said very seriously.
"But what if I want to buy information? A lot of information."
"I can take you to someone who knows," the tramp replied.
Lorenzo nodded. He had made several transactions with Bad Rats. The process was almost the same. If he found any homeless man on the street, Lorenzo was usually very lucky. Out of ten he caught, at least nine would be homeless. Han are evil rats. They will not take you to see the Rat King, but they will take you to someone who knows.
Usually this person in the know is called a tipster, and he acts as a middleman between the buyer and the bad rat.
But this is also the weird thing about the whole Bad Rat. As long as you ask to see the Rat King, they will refuse. It seems that the Rat King is real, but in the entire composition of the Bad Rat, there is no place for the Rat King. .
The tramp stood up, picked up the dagger that fell on the ground, and then hid it in his clothes. He motioned to Lorenzo to follow him, and the two started walking on the complicated road.
Although these bad rats are humble, they are all human spirits. Sometimes they want to find someone in the lower city, and their efficiency is higher than that of shrike.
It didn't take long for the two of them to come to a low house. Like many buildings in the lower city, it was twisted and deformed. Under the cover of night, they looked like monsters.
A few homeless people were lying in front of the door of the low house, and more people were hiding indoors. They were a group of lowly rats who could only huddle together for warmth.
Lorenzo could sense that there were many pairs of eyes staring at him, but this could not put any pressure on Lorenzo. Without any fear, he lowered his head and walked into the low house with the homeless man.
The dim interior smelled terrible, but the space inside was much larger than it looked from the outside.
The homeless man kicked a sleeping homeless man away with his feet, revealing the baffle under him. He opened it, and there was deep darkness inside.
"Come on, I hope you can bear this."
The disgusting smell gushed out from inside, which even the homeless man couldn't stand.
Lorenzo glanced at the deep darkness, and without thinking, he lowered his body and tried to enter.
This action surprised the tramp slightly, and then he stopped Lorenzo.
"Aren't you really scared?"
Lorenzo gave him a strange feeling, like a calm and fearless person. Tramps with this kind of character have seen many times. After all, this is the lower city, where thugs are everywhere, and people who show fear will die. Many people would force themselves to be calm and fearless, but Lorenzo is different. He really seems to be like this.
Below is a dark and narrow tunnel... In fact, no one knows what is below. What if this is a trap full of sharp knives?This guy actually went in without stopping. This was no longer fearless, just like a fool who didn't know life or death.
"What? You will take the opportunity to kill me?"
Lorenzo took a look at the cave and realized that it was indeed a good place for killing people.
But who would have thought that the homeless man nodded.
"Indeed, but we usually kill some unpleasant guests," he said. "We will take him to the same tunnel, but there are traps full of sharp knives."
"Is there a sharp knife here?" Lorenzo asked innocently.
"No, you are a wealthy guest, and we prefer to obtain wealth without blood."
As he spoke, the tramp groped for something from the darkness on the side. It was a kerosene lamp. He lit it and went down first, stepping into the darkness.
This is a sign of trust, but it doesn't matter whether you trust Lorenzo or not. The darkness does not have a great impact on him, let alone a sharp knife plated with holy silver.
But he still has to be careful. After all, rats live in sewers, and there will never be a shortage of germs there. This may not kill him, but it will at least make Lorenzo uncomfortable for a while.
Lorenzo stepped inside. After the two left, the homeless man who pretended to be asleep got up and covered the baffle again. Thinking about Lorenzo's appearance in his mind, he made strange noises in the dark corner.
Not long after, the same sound responded to him in the darkness, and a black mouse crawled out with a long tail. He picked up this familiar old friend, stroked it, and tied the iron chain to it. on its tail and then let it go.
　I'm a little stuck, and I've started working on my final project, and I'm still a little busy.
　
(End of this chapter)