The red moon returns

Chapter 72 The firm’s first commission

The distribution of buildings in the King District is quite distinctive.

The buildings around Charles Square are the best in the entire King's District, and they are all relatively new. A little further out, they become particularly dilapidated, and then gradually become newer as they extend outward.

Mrs. Sterling's home is not far from Charles Square, deep in the alley where she first met little Martha, in a shabby old building.

It's easy to spot because the familiar van is parked downstairs.

The detached two-story building may only have four or five rooms, but it actually houses two households with nearly thirty people. There is no gas or running water at all. Cooking and lighting all rely on gas pipes pulled in from the outside, which Lynch saw. Everyone was a little worried, not knowing when a gas leak would blow up the entire building.

It is said that most of the people in the King's District are farmers who have been coaxed and tricked into buying their land. This kind of living conditions is really hard to describe. In comparison, my life as a time traveler is already very comfortable.

Thinking about his experiences in the past few days, Lynch walked around the van, squeezed through the narrow stairs between countless items, and finally climbed to the second floor. Mrs. Sterling's family of seventeen people were crowded on the second floor. In three rooms.

As soon as he entered the door, Lynch closed his eyes and examined it carefully. There was no mysterious or dirty reaction. Fortunately, this meant that at least most of the residents here were safe.

All the men in the family had gone out, and there were only five or six children crowded around the old woman, Mrs. Sterling. When they saw Lynch coming in, everyone was obviously relieved.

"Mr. Detective is here, little Janet is saved."

Someone murmured something, and then a group of people burst into cheers. Several children rushed up and surrounded Lin Qi into the door.

"Mr. Detective, you must help my sister."

"Mr. Detective, my sister promised to take me to the river to play in a few days. You need to wake her up."

"Mr. Detective, here, this is my lunch today. I don't want to eat it, so just take it as reward and save my sister."

"You guys, get out of here and don't disturb the guests." The old woman drove away the children with great force and smiled apologetically at Lin Qi. "The house is too small and there are too many children. I really can't find peace. Sorry for disturbing you."

"It's nothing. It's understandable that the children are worried about their sister, but I didn't expect them to have such a good relationship." Lin Qi took a small piece of crumpled white bread, thought about it, threw it into his mouth, and didn't dare to chew it. He swallowed it directly, "I've eaten all the bread, why don't you take me to see little Janet first? I heard she's in a coma?"

"Well, I'll excuse you."

The old woman took him into another room with an apologetic face. In fact, she crossed a rag curtain and entered another area. There were several large beds, several dirty pillows, and one person wearing coarse cloth. Child in pajamas lies on the bed.

His face was gray, his cheeks were sunken, his teeth were clenched, his skin was dry, his hair was withered, and he looked like a mummy.

"How long has she been like this?"

"I was fine a few days ago. I have been getting weaker and weaker these days, and I have been in a trance, but it has not reached this point yet. When we came back yesterday, we chatted for a while, but this morning she It’s become like this, and I can’t even wake him up.”

"Overnight?"

"It's not overnight, but the obvious changes started last night."

Lin Qi frowned. This was not like an ordinary disease. How could a person turn into a mummy overnight? He took off his gloves and touched the child's limbs directly with his fingers. The muscles were loose and inelastic, and the skin felt soft. Also pretty rough.

Pressing on the child activates the ability of mysterious intuition. There is no trace of dirt left on the child, making it cleaner than most people. Lynch stared at the child and pondered for a while, then motioned to Mrs. Sterling to bring in another child. Soon, the child who delivered the bread was brought in. He was still dirty. Lin Qi touched the child's head, then took the child's hand and felt it for a moment.

This is how normal people feel. Living in this world, your body will be contaminated to some extent, and no one can be too clean. But little Janet was unusually clean, as if everything in the house, good or bad, had been removed, as thoroughly as if it had been removed.

This is because something in the whole body has been taken away. Such a strange performance is likely to be mysteriously related.

Lynch followed his first instinct. According to the guidance of the police officer, the first instinct in the mysterious world is often of great significance and can even be classified as a kind of omen.

This is related to future planning. Even if the reward is definitely not high, you might be able to get a rare item or even learn something. This risk is worth taking.

Task accepted.

After making up his mind, Lynch retracted his finger, thought for a moment and asked, "Are everyone else in the family okay?"

"Everything is fine." The old woman pulled her other granddaughter and said with a sad face, "Only little Janet has an accident."

That means the problem is not at home. The gradual development means that the source of the problem is probably not a one-time contact, but multiple staged contacts. The most likely possibility is that it is either a school or a factory. These are the only two places where she frequently appears.

Hiss, it’s really connected to Grant Screw Factory.

Having a bad premonition, Lynch still asked Mrs. Sterling. He didn't hear that the children who went to school with her had any problems. As for the factory, they didn't know. However, factory work is messy and dangerous, and people are often injured, so problems are normal.

This world is really scary. Is it normal to lose your life just to work? The social animals in my hometown are really so blessed that they don’t know how blessed they are.

Sighing secretly, Lynch stepped away from Janet's window: "I accepted this commission, but I can't guarantee that it will be completed. I can only say that I will try my best."

"Great, thank you Mr. Detective."

The child who had just come in cheered and immediately ran out of the curtain and announced loudly. For a moment, the whole room was filled with cheers, and even the old woman Mrs. Sterling was smiling.

"I won't embarrass you with the commission fee, it's five shillings." Lin Qi's heart was bleeding, but judging from the situation of this family, any more would be a burden. Lin Qi still liked the intimate atmosphere of this family and was not interested in going. Testing human nature, "But if there are any special items obtained in the commission, which I think are more valuable, I have the right to take them directly without discussing with you. Of course, this does not include the belongings in your home."

Mrs. Sterling nodded frequently without thinking. Lynch's asking price made him completely relieved.

"Very good. Then I'll go to her factory to have a look later. But before that, tell me as much as you can think of about her special performance in the past few days. Also, didn't you say, Did she start sleepwalking and drawing at night? Take it out and let me take a look."

"that's it."

The old woman quickly pulled out a few pieces of torn paper from under the mattress, with a lot of graffiti drawn on them.

Lin Qi was unprepared, but when he saw it for the first time, he immediately felt his ears ringing and his consciousness was violently shocked.

Just like when he accidentally saw the ghoul in Maya's photo.

Damn, this stuff is exciting.

(End of this chapter)