Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 388: Are you being played around by Alice?

Standing in the busy square, Linger held two large one-penny Breton coins in his hands, watching the backs of the two aardvarks pulling the cart gradually going away. Even the thin middle-aged man on the seat gradually disappeared from his sight. Both his expression and mood were extremely complicated.

After entering the city, Mr. Gwilly sent them to the square, and then said goodbye and left. He wanted to temporarily leave the cart and the two aardvarks at the Union Post, and sell the fodder and agricultural products he brought. Before leaving, he returned the two pennies he had collected as fares to Lingge, saying that he didn't want the money because he had a good chat with them, especially with Alice, so he gave them a free ride.

Then he drove away on a cart, waving a horse whip and humming a tuneless folk song all the way, leaving everyone with only a dashing back, which once again proved that although the people of this land have the genes of riot and anger flowing in their bodies, they also have a passionate and unrestrained temperament.

After he left, Alice winked at Linger: "What do you think? I told you I would be able to help! Isn't this a great help?"

So your role is only worth two pennies?

Lingge silently put away the coins and ignored her.

Saint Xia Liya pursed her lips, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and she couldn't help but smile: "Yes, Alice is great, she really helped a lot."

"Hey, I'm not as good as you say." Alice scratched her head and smiled innocently, "I love to hear this. Please praise me more."

Saint Shalia: “…”

Vampires... Talking about this race reminded Linger of his experience in Linville City. He looked in the direction of the Rutal Steam Engine Factory and saw towering chimneys in the closed industrial plant area. The huge steel towers used gears and hinges to drive the elevators up and down. The thick blast furnaces burned with molten flames, and the roar was deafening.

The Valenhild family of that era represented the Elliots in the struggle for sovereignty in the Taguao Wilds, but in fact it was a family founded by vampires. It still exists today, but only some vassals who stole the family name and bloodline remain. The real vampire Valenhild has long disappeared into the darkness.

Near the cliff, the mountain was hollowed out, and deep and complex tracks were built with rails and sleepers. Rows of mine cars driven by locomotives passed over the tracks at high speed, delivering rich raw materials to the factory continuously. The thick smoke released by the burning coal in the boiler room drew a trajectory of roaring and whistling whistles, comparable to the smog that always lingered in the sky of Linville City.

After saying goodbye to Mr. Gwilly, the three began to search for clues in Rainy Harbor.

The area where the inner ring meets the cliff is the factory area. Rows of stacked brown roofs are lined with chimneys, spewing hot black smoke, almost condensing into thick acid-corroded clouds. Looking further away, you can vaguely see the shadow of the heavy industrial center of the Port of Desolate Rain - the Rutal Steam Engine Factory. It mainly produces high-precision machinery such as engines for ships and vehicles, factory machine tools, and mining machines. It is the most famous machinery company in Metosh. It is said that the Valenhild family, one of the five major families, holds one-third of its shares. The latter is also the former ruler of the Port of Desolate Rain.

The golden-haired maid started to push her nose and face again. It was precisely because he knew this that Ling Ge did not praise her. Unfortunately, Saint Xia Liya seemed to have some unrealistic expectations of this guy's character.

They were now in the lower area of ​​the eastern city of the Harbor of Rain, which was also a port and industrial area. Thirteen deep-water docks were built in the outer ring area near the Bixisi River, where huge three-masted sailing ships and steamships were anchored. Sailors and coolies were going in and out along the planks, unloading and loading cargo. They could vaguely hear the rough and loud trumpet songs coming from the tavern.

He heard Alice urging him on, so he withdrew his gaze and walked in another direction.

Before the church united to reorganize the Port of Sad Rain, the bloody law of the Valenhild family was the only law in this city, and the charges in the hands of the judges and prosecutors were nothing more than toys for them to comfort themselves.

Although I said that, I was just strolling around, after all, I hadn't found any clear goals. The only thing I had to be careful about was not to walk to the top floor while strolling around, because that was where the headquarters of the Holy See of Inquisition, the Temple of Judgment, was located. There might be some special magic device that could see through the thread of fate.

The numb and decadent workers, the experienced drivers driving the mine carts, the auditors checking the materials with the reports... when the industrial plant was running at full capacity, outsiders were prohibited from entering. Therefore, although he knew it was related to the Valenhild family, Linger could not enter to find out.

Sandwiched between the inner and outer rings is a road more than 200 meters wide. Although it sounds spacious, it is actually because it is the only main road in the Dongcheng District-Lower Level Area, which is subdivided into steam locomotive tracks, train tracks, ordinary vehicle roads and sidewalks. In other words, all vehicles in the Dongcheng District-Lower Level Area and the transportation of nearly 100,000 residents rely on this road. If you think about it this way, isn’t it a lot narrower?

The opposite of width is length. It is said that this main road stretches from the square at the entrance of the city to the other end of the city. Even if you drive a steam locomotive, it will take a whole day to reach the end. This exaggerated contrast between length and width is also a major feature that distinguishes the Port of Rain from ordinary cities.

Walking along the sidewalk of the main road, there are some houses, shops and pubs, as well as public areas such as small parks with scarce greenery. Because the land is precious, they only occupy a small area. Looking up, through the thick smoke and haze, you can see the shadow of the giant city pressing on your head, bringing an indescribable sense of oppression. The dense pipes and beehive-like sewage devices clinging to the bottom of the city base seem to be scattered and messy, but in fact they follow the rigorous and meticulous rules that only the most superb mechanical craftsmen can see. Therefore, even in the eyes of laymen, they are full of the beauty of steel, steam and industry.

The two girls walked in front, and Linger walked behind. As he walked, he listened to passers-by talking about interesting things that happened in the Harbor of Rainy Harbor recently, trying to find useful clues. These interesting things include: the arbitrator of the Inquisition cooperated with the city police to crack another major case of smuggling banned drugs, and arrested all the gangsters involved; the ship returning from the overseas colonies entered the port and berthed, bringing back a box of precious jewels. It is said that the Valenhild family who invested in this fleet will make a profit of millions; the Rutal Steam Engine Factory received a large order from a mysterious customer not long ago, and is currently working at full capacity. A worker in the factory died suddenly after working for 48 hours continuously...

Basically, they are all very subtle intelligence. It cannot be said that they are completely useless, but it can only be said that we have no idea how to use them.

Is it really too difficult to rely on hearsay?

The young man rubbed his brows, feeling a little awkward. At this moment, Alice suddenly turned around and waved to him, shouting in an excited tone: "Hey, Lingge! Let's go sit on that!"

that?

Lingge looked in the direction of the voice and realized that Alice was referring to a large elevator that occupied an entire square not far away. It was driven by a steam engine and was slowly rising along a vertical track. It was packed with people.

These large elevators are widely distributed in Qiyu Port, with at least nearly a hundred of them. They are important hubs connecting the upper, middle and lower areas, and are also the most commonly used means of transportation for the city's residents in their daily travels. Their status is roughly equivalent to that of public trains or trams in other cities.

In recent years, with the development of tourism, they have become a must-try for tourists from other places when they come to Qiyu Port. It is said that the Qiyu Port government is considering increasing the number of large elevators in the city, which can not only alleviate the increasingly congested traffic conditions, but also meet the needs of tourists, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

The young man frowned slightly: "We are not here for tourism."

"I know, but—" Alice puffed out her nonexistent breasts and said confidently, "The middle-level area is the residential and commercial area with the largest flow of people. It's easier to find clues there!"

Ling Ge: “…”

The golden maid only showed special intelligence at times like this, almost making people think that she could also use the Scholar's Path Sequence 9 magic [Quick Thinking].

“It’s too risky to go into the middle,” he said.

After all, it is close to the upper area, and the upper area is where the Temple of Judgment is located.

"It's okay." Alice vowed: "If we are careful, we won't be discovered. I believe in Xiao Xia's thread of fate. Don't you believe it too?"

She started to use moral blackmail.

Upon hearing this, a certain shepherdess stopped, turned around, and blinked her clear and flawless golden eyes, looking very innocent. Although she didn't seem to express her opinion, her eyes kept poking at Lingge, but she quickly retracted them for fear of being discovered, thus appearing to be hesitant, which completely exposed her true thoughts.

She was really not good at disguising herself and was played around by Alice.

What else could the young man say? He could only sigh helplessly and say, "I believe it too."

When Saint Shalia heard this, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and a relieved smile appeared on her face, and the golden-haired maid also cheered loudly: "Great!"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)