Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 707 Is He Really a Detective?

The streets and alleys of Lonwittin are filled with the sound of the blacksmith's furnace, the sound of water boiling in the laundry, the noise of the brewery, and the hum of leather workers using grinding wheels to grind saltpeter for animal hides, accompanied by the ever-expanding sheds and shops, and the streets and public areas that are constantly being swallowed up. This city is an organic entity, always expanding itself in various ways. The direct consequence of this unrestrained border expansion is that the terrain of each block is as complicated as a maze. Outsiders often mistakenly think they have come to another world, getting lost in it and unable to escape.

This situation is particularly evident in the Qixingpan area, because it is both the forefront of the city's expansion into the suburbs and the ruthlessly expelled border area; the various residents it contains are both symbols of poverty and give this neighborhood a chaotic prosperity. Here, you can see old houses from the old times, city walls from the time of King Inver or stone gates from the Victorian era. They are all dilapidated and not in the planning of the city map. They often suddenly appear from a corner, blocking the road you thought was unobstructed.

If they are not dilapidated, their ancient history cannot be highlighted; and if you try to plan and renovate them, you will be surprised to find that the vitality of the neighborhood is gradually dissipating, as if all its prosperity must be built on this disorderly chaos, relying on its diverse residents, complex maze-like terrain, and the uncertainty and enthusiasm that has not changed from ancient times to the present.

Incredibly, as outsiders who visited this block for the first time, Lingge and his two companions did not fall into the carefully set maze, but kept following the mysterious detective girl. This was not because they had the ability of perspective, and could see through the wall whether the other side was a fork or a dead end. The real reason was that the girl was obviously deliberately luring them to catch up, so she would always stop at the critical moment to give the pursuers behind her a little hope of catching up; and when they thought they could catch up, she would turn around and disappear at the corner of the street, and then repeat the above behavior at the next fork in the road.

Even with Lingge's magical physique, he couldn't catch up with her speed, and the distance between them never closed. The girl was like a butterfly flying with ease, or a hazy mist in front of her, seemingly within reach, but actually out of reach.

What does she want to do?
During the chase, Lingge thought about this question more than once, but he could not get the answer no matter how hard he thought. Not only did the girl appear suddenly, but her behavior was also so strange that people could not guess her thoughts at all. The only thing that was certain was her identity, which was definitely not as simple as an ordinary human being. Ordinary people could not play with the sign of fate in their hands.

Are we just going to keep chasing like this?

If the girl wanted to, she could definitely get rid of them easily, but she didn't do that. In this case, there might still be a possibility of negotiation. He should think of a way to make her stop on her own initiative... Just as Ling Ge was thinking this, he was surprised to find that the girl running in front of him gradually slowed down her pace, and then stopped in front of a house on the street.

She lowered her head slightly, reached out her hand to lightly press down the brim of her hat, and a mysterious smile appeared on her profile again. She turned and walked into the house, leaving only a graceful back view for the strangers chasing after her.

this--

This unexpected situation made the three of them a little doubtful. They stopped at the same time and stood on the street outside the house looking at each other. For a moment, they didn't know whether they should continue chasing or give up.

The house where the girl disappeared was a two-story building. Its shape was a rare exquisite style in the Qixingpan area, but it was too old and therefore looked old. The building was made of pure stone. Facing the street, there were three rows of windows in parallel, blocking the gray window glass, which looked very desolate. The small garden in front of the house was scattered with clumps of weeds and short trees, as if it had not been taken care of for a long time. A path in the garden led to three white stone steps. A mottled and faded mahogany door was ajar, revealing a small gap for outsiders to peek into the house. There was also a copper doorplate hanging next to the door, which read: 22B Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes and Watson Detective Agency.

I had always thought that the girl’s dress style was very similar to that of the great detective, but I didn’t expect that even her profession was exactly the same. She even named her detective agency after the two protagonists in the book. If she wasn’t the most fanatical fan, it would be difficult to do this, right?

The surrounding streets were narrow and dark, with damp mosses clinging to the walls of the buildings, and pale green water floating in the sewers without iron bars. Not to mention people, not even stray cats or mice could be seen. Would anyone really patronize a detective agency in such a place?
Even if there are people visiting, they are probably mostly out of curiosity and desire to explore, just like the three guests standing in front of the office now.

"Do you want to go in and take a look?" Saint Xia Liya turned around to ask for Ling Ge and Alice's opinions. "Of course!" Alice rubbed her hands, eager to try: "We have already chased here, we can't just turn around and leave, right? Besides, they took the initiative to invite us to be their guests. It would be too rude if we don't go up to meet them."

It turns out you know what impoliteness is.

Lingge didn't believe that the golden-haired maid was such a polite person. He knew that she was just suggesting this for fun, but her words made some sense: if he retreated here, why did he chase after her before? In the final analysis, from the moment he decided to chase after the girl's back, there would be no second answer to this question.

"Walk."

He gave a concise answer, then took the lead and walked towards the half-open mahogany door. Before pushing the door, he did not forget to give Alice a warning look. The latter instantly understood and silently placed her hand on the game console at her waist, ready to start the cartridge at any time.

There was a short corridor after opening the door. On the left side of the corridor was the living room, on the right side was the kitchen, and at the end was the staircase leading to the second floor. The floor seemed to have not been swept for a long time and was covered with dust, so a series of footprints could be clearly seen extending to the end of the staircase and finally disappearing at the corner. Obviously, the mysterious detective girl was waiting for them on the second floor.

Linger walked towards the stairs, while Saint Chariya held down Alice who was trying to sneak into the kitchen, and followed the young man by pulling her collar. The three of them went up to the second floor, where the structure was relatively simple. In addition to the two doors with dusty locks that had obviously not been used for a long time, there was only the last room at the end of the corridor.

Thinking that she would soon meet the real owner, even the most restless Alice couldn't help holding her breath and slowing down her steps. They walked through the dim corridor and entered the third room with a vigilant or expectant mood. They could see that it was an open square room, but it was a little crowded due to the layout: the entrance was a shoe cabinet and a drawer for sundries. Further inside, there were three rows of mahogany bookshelves filled with books. The two filing cabinets against the corners were also filled with various paper documents with complicated contents. In the middle of the room was a low-legged rectangular table and three velvet couches for entertaining guests. On the left was a stone fireplace with burnt charcoal in it, but no open flame, and the slag on the iron grille had not been cleaned for a long time. On the right was a wardrobe and hangers. There were also hooks for hanging hats on the wall. There were more than a dozen deerstalker hats of different styles, colors and sizes hanging on them. It seemed that the owner had a special liking for this kind of hat.

The owner's office is at the deepest part of the room. A black walnut desk is piled with miscellaneous items: documents, papers, books, ink boxes and pens, etc. There is a cupboard on the left side of the desk and a piano on the right side. There is a window directly behind, which is the only window in the room. The light coming in from the alley seems to carry a whiff of gray dust, which does not bring much brightness to the room. Instead, it seems a little gloomier.

The person that Linger and the others wanted to meet, the mysterious detective girl, was sitting on a chair behind the desk, with her back to the dim light, her hands crossed and her chin supported, looking at the invited guests with interest. After a while, a playful smile appeared at the corner of her mouth: "Welcome to the Sherlock Holmes Watson Detective Agency."

"Dear guests."

"Excuse me, do you have any commissions to handle?"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)