Age of Mysticism

  Chapter 176 The Cape Port Controversy (6000)

  When Lambert arrived at Cape Harbor with 500 members of his Cape Secret Service Second Team, Luke's detective convoy arrived just in time. The two teams of imperial agents joined together and entered the port area aggressively.

  The gangs on the pier saw Inspector Meteor put up such a formation, although they didn't know what happened, they responded positively. All of a sudden, a large group of people swarmed in, and the sturdy guys stood in front, building up momentum for Inspector Meteor.

  The armed merchant ship docked on the pier occupied the inner waters of Cape Harbor under the command of Mrs. Tasia. The gun door on the side of the ship was opened, and the muzzle of the black artillery protruded from it.

  Aim at a fleet in the port.

   That fleet belongs to the Saxon Engineering Company, with a total of four ships, all of which are the latest steam-powered warships.

   Luke who came to the dock also saw these four most advanced warships.

  Adonis-class steam battleship: Displacement 2,745 tons, speed 7 knots, equipped with 20 post-loading artillery developed by Saxon Engineering.

  Although the main structure of the hull is still made of wood, a steel armor plate with a thickness of 80 mm is added to the outside of the hull. Therefore, when facing the superior number of armed merchant ships in Cape Harbor, the four Adonis-class steam battleships did not panic at all. They left the pier where they were docked, and calmly formed a defensive formation.

   Come prepared!

  Luke has already felt the strength of the people from the Saxon Project before he met them. If I don’t make it right today, I’m really going to make a killing here!

   At Pier 9, Luke meets one of Yomington's entourage.

"Hello, Inspector Meteor." The entourage of the Saxon Engineering Fleet facing away from the sea saluted Luke, but his expression was very arrogant: "My lord and Mr. Edgar of the Saxon Engineering are waiting for you on the Coral Reef. You want to see them both, and we have a boat ready for you."

  Luke saw the small boat docked on the edge of the pier, and four sailors were sitting in it with oars.

He lit a cigarette for himself first, and then said to Yomington's entourage: "I will give you an hour, and let Yomington and Edgar come to my Lucky Princess to find me. If the time comes, I will I didn't see the two of them..." Luke took out his pocket watch and looked at the time on it: "The thugs at sea will attack your four ships. If something unfortunate happens, all I can do is to Lord Shoufu and Saxon Engineering have reported their deaths."

The entourage didn't expect Luke to make such a blatant threat, he said angrily: "Master Inspector, you are facing four of the most advanced warships in the sea, and the guns on those ships can't penetrate the armor of our warships at all. "

Luke blew out a smoke ring, chuckled and said, "How to eliminate you, that's the business of the thugs at sea, don't associate me with the thugs. Let me remind you...every word you say to me here counts time. "

  Although the follower was annoyed, he didn't dare to waste any more time. It seems that one hour is more than enough, but with the round trip in a small boat and the disembarkation, in fact, there is not enough time for Yomington and Edgar to think about it.

  The consequences are not something that a small follower of him can bear.

  The entourage hurriedly boarded the boat, urging the sailors to row towards the Coral Reef.

  Luke boarded the Lucky Princess docked at the pier.

  In the captain's room of the Lucky Princess, Luke met Mrs. Tasia, who was making an attack plan, and the core captains of the armed fleet.

  After sitting down, Luke asked the backbone of his fleet: "The enemy is there, and we need you to have a plan to wipe them out."

  Ms. Tasia spread out a topographic map of Cape Harbor in front of Luke, and the staff officers and captains used models to set up a map of the situation between ourselves and the enemy.

"Master Inspector..." Mrs. Tasia pushed four merchant ships forward from her own fleet, and the other ships lined up behind the four ships: "The battleships of the Saxon Project have very strong defense and firepower. The artillery on our ship It is impossible to penetrate their protective plates. But fortunately, they are trapped in the inner waters of the port, and we can fight with them with some casualties.

   There is no problem in annihilating them all.

  The only concern is... whether there are other warships of the Saxon Project in the outer sea, and the reaction of the Imperial Navy stationed in the naval port of Raging Waves City.

  Our fleet is not yet ready for war with either of them. "

   Luke is thinking too... Hit! consequences that will arise.

  The navy should not have to worry about their intervention. The military does not participate in the internal affairs of Raging Waves City. As long as the war does not break into several important urban areas of Raging Waves City, the army will not move.

  But the Saxon Project is a behemoth that is difficult to fight against the existing strength of the Cape District.

  Saxon Project is the leading private military-industrial complex in the Golden Shield Empire. Its main business direction is freighters, warships, ship-related equipment, and overseas colonization.

  In order to control the overseas colonies, the Saxon Engineering subordinates set up a private fleet, the equipment level of which is not weaker than that of the regular navy.

For the Saxon Project, the Adonis-class steam battleship is nothing more than an offshore frigate, but for the current Yanyang Armed Fleet, it can only use the most primitive tactics to win in this specific environment .

  If it is placed at sea to fight a regular naval battle, the Yanyang Armed Fleet is estimated to be completely wiped out.

  At this moment, Luke has never been so eager to have a powerful fleet. At the same time, he also realized that even if he controlled Cape Harbor, without the protection of a fleet, others could strangle the sea artery at any time.

   "Plane No. 1" is still purchasing equipment, so don't expect it to come to the rescue now.

   But no matter what, today's step must not be taken back.

   Retreat is a dead end.

"Just fight the war I tell you to fight." Luke made up his mind to fight if he couldn't talk about it: "If you have to fight, try to capture these four Adonis-class steam battleships as intact as possible, which will help us deal with the war. Follow-up reprisals of the Saxon Project."

   "Yes, Inspector!"

  Luke set the tone, and Mrs. Tasia led the captains to continue to formulate a specific attack plan.

  In the captain's room of the Coral Reef, Edgar, the representative of the Yomington and Saxon projects, was also discussing...Whether Inspector Meteor would dare to initiate an armed conflict.

  Edgar is a middle-aged strong man with a military look, sitting there is very oppressive. He listened to Yomington's entourage relay Inspector Meteor's warning, and then said to Yomington: "As you said, Meteor is very unruly. Do you think he will attack us?"

  Although Yomington had expected Luke's reaction, this straightforward military threat was beyond his expectations.

  He asked Edgar: "Can your fleet stop the attack of those mobs?"

Edgar didn't think too much: "In the open sea, my fleet can easily destroy them. But here... as long as they are willing to pay a certain sacrifice, they can fight with my fleet. At that time, our firepower Neither defense nor defense can be played.

  The opponent will win, but the sacrifice must be very great.

   Then the head office will send more warships to avenge us. "

  Edgar's answer was very rational, and he didn't have any worries that he might die here.

  Yormington asked again: "Do you think the opponent is bluffing, or is he really going to attack when the time comes?"

Edgar said with a smile: "This is what you need to judge. The order I received is to obey your arrangement. But I think Inspector Meteor will never come to the Coral Reef anyway, and he doesn't cherish the so-called 'thugs'." life."

   From this point of view, there is a high possibility that Inspector Meteor will fight.

   But doesn't he know the consequences of the fight?

  Yormington knew what kind of follow-up impact this battle would cause. No one could bear the military and political chain reaction caused. Even if Meteor was valued by the eldest princess, he would not suffer any punishment.

  Does he dare to fight?

   Considering rationally, he dare not fight!

  But Inspector Meteor is definitely not a person who can use reason to judge. Yomington recalled the series of events he had come into contact with with Meteor. He is a person who can do anything.

  While Yomington was still thinking, he reminded him in a low voice: "My lord, Inspector Meteor only gives you one hour, and the time has already been counted before I left the pier."

  Yomington looked at Edgar. He is a retired naval officer who is only responsible for military operations, and he still makes decisions by himself.

   "Prepare the ship, Mr. Edgar and I will go to see Inspector Meteor." Yomington made a decision.

   "Yes, my lord." The entourage left.

  Edgar asked Yomington: "You also judge that meteorites will attack us?"

   "He is a lunatic!" Yomington said helplessly: "I'm sorry, I should let your fleet act as a deterrent outside the port."

"If the ships of the Saxon Project dare not even enter the cape port, what's the use of deterring outside the port? This is also an attempt, at least we know the determination of the opponent. Lord Yomington, let's go... we Go see Inspector Meteor."

   "Please, Mr. Edgar."

  When Yomington and Edgar boarded the boat heading for the Lucky Princess, they could see that the armed ships surrounded by the outer circle had already formed a shock formation. Just as Edgar judged, these dual-powered wooden ships did not line up the battle lines of conventional naval battles, but aligned their bows like land battles.

  As long as the attack starts, the leading ship attracts the attack and covers other ships approaching. There are also a large group of sailors sitting in the small boats on the coast, preparing to use swarm tactics to carry out a breakthrough and boarding battle against the four warships in the middle.

  Faced with dozens of times the enemy's attack, the Saxon Engineering fleet has no chance of winning.

  Luke got his wish and met Edgar, a representative of Yomington and Sachs Engineering, on the Lucky Princess. A crisis has not erupted for the time being, but the tense atmosphere in the entire Cape District, and even in Raging Waves City has not eased in any way.

  The warning from Inspector Meteorite has reached the ears of the main officials in the city.

  Detective Meteorite showed a fierce reaction, which was beyond everyone's expectations. In the face of the Saxon project coming from the imperial capital and the thunderous judgment of the city council, Inspector Meteor Star not only did not accept the facts, but showed the fierceness of fighting to the death.

  The Haijiao District has entered a closed state under the control of the Bureau of Secret Information. It is difficult to pass out information from inside, and it is also difficult to pass in information from outside. Everyone waited anxiously outside, fearing that the powder keg in Haijiao District would be detonated, and the entire Raging Waves City would be affected.

  Member Ible, Mrs. Mihir, and Viscount Iscorran used all their energy in Raging Waves City to lobby. If Inspector Meteor really caused the turmoil in Raging City, all three of them would be involved.

  At the same time, they also know... If they can't save the situation and take back the Haijiao Harbor repair project, then they will lose completely.

  There are swords drawn in Cape Harbor; all parties in Rage City are wrestling; on the deck of the Lucky Princess, Luke puts out a grand banquet.

  A dining table with three seats, and on the grill next to the dining table, a fat chef grilled large pieces of fish. Surrounded by heavily armed sailors and imperial spies, Luke looked like a black boss, knocking on Erlang's legs with a cigarette in his mouth, and said casually to Yomington and Edgar who were boarding: "Sit down, two... I heard you are coming Haijiao port inspection, I came to see you without even having breakfast. Let’s talk while eating, and hope that after breakfast, we can reach a satisfactory result.”

   As soon as Luke waved his hand, a sailor stepped forward and put two oak glasses full of beer on Yomington and Edgar.

  The grilled fish is also cut into pieces and placed on the table.

   After sitting down, Yomington asked angrily: "Inspector Meteor, what do you mean? Do you know what you are doing?"

"I know what I'm doing! I'm afraid you don't know what you're doing! I've paid so much for Cape Harbor Renovation...money, I've put in; people, I've rallied; equipment, materials, I've It's ready. Just wait for this project to be completed, which can drive the recovery of Haijiao District.

  You all suddenly jumped out and took away the meat on my plate... If you were me, what would you do? "

  Luke brought the whole plate of roast meat in front of him, picked up a fork and put a mouthful of meat into his mouth, staring at Yomington.

Yomington replied: "Detective Meteorite, doing business requires fair competition. Saxon Engineering is an old-fashioned engineering company with a history of 200 years and has very strong technical strength. And as a company mainly engaged in the shipbuilding industry , Saxon Engineering knows the direction of future ship discovery, and knows what kind of ports will be needed in the future.

  What is the Yanyang trading company you support?

  Construction of the port is a technical project. The city council of Rough City decided to hand it over to a professional company. Is there anything wrong? "

   What Yomington said is well-founded, and it is difficult to refute.

Luke did not follow the rhythm he started: "Our construction of Cape Port is not simply a port repair. I have a whole set of infrastructure projects in the Cape District to be implemented. I am not here to stop Saxon Engineering from taking over this project. If Saxon Engineering is willing to invest in my Cape recovery plan, and Cape Harbor can be repaired by anyone."

  Yormington immediately remembered the fact that he bought Virgil from Inspector Meteor. Could it be that he occupied the Cape Harbor repair project, or was he trying to make money?

  Yormington was a little confused about the detective's purpose.

   "Can you tell us about your plans for the recovery of the Cape District? If it turns out to be profitable, I think Saxon Engineering might be interested."

"The location of Raging Wave City, as long as there is no investment, it will make money." Luke ate the meat, and said: "All the roads in the Cape District will be rebuilt according to the standards of the central city, and all the civil systems of water conservancy, electricity, and transportation will be benchmarked against the center. urban area.

  Building a heavy machinery factory, a smelting factory, a large shipyard, a textile factory, a chemical factory, a steam engine factory..."

  Luke opened his mouth and asked wildly.

  After he said that he wanted something, Yomington asked again: "If Saxon Engineering is willing to invest in these projects, what kind of return can we get?"

   "Isn't it a reward for you to build Cape Harbor?"

  Yormington's face darkened instantly.

  It turns out that these things you offer are all for nothing, and even those factories don’t plan to share some shares.

   Play fools!

   "Master Inspector, you are very dishonest!"

  Luke smiled and said: "No, I am very sincere! As long as the Saxon Project takes out the money, I will take people back immediately, and this port will be given to you."

  Saxon Engineering will definitely not take advantage of this.

  Yormington said seriously: "Meteor, don't continue to make trouble for no reason. The city council of Raging Waves City has already made a decision. You belong to the Imperial Bureau of Secrets and have no right to interfere in the city's government affairs.

   If you insist on obstructing the normal progress of the Cape Harbor repair project, the Saxon Project will sue you in the Supreme Court of the Empire. "

  Facing Yomington's threat, Luke snorted and continued to eat, ignoring it.

And Yomington thought that Luke was timid, so he took advantage of the victory and pursued: "Detective Meteor, accept the fact. Although you have an important mission, Raging City is not something you can pry. Be a detective here for a few years in a safe and sound way. Wouldn't it be nice to leave the job safely with a considerable amount of wealth?

  Other Secret Service detectives do this, knowing they can't fight the way history is going. "

  Luke doesn't speak.

  When Yomington was about to continue persuading, an imperial agent came to report: "Inspector, a professor from Oulu College who claimed to be Bruce Ban came."

  Luke picked up the napkin and wiped his mouth: "Professor from Oulu College? Let him come over."

   "Yes, Inspector!"

   After a while, Bruce Bann boarded the deck of the Lucky Princess. He saluted Luke and said, "Hello, Detective Meteorite!"

  Luke nodded in return: "Hello, Professor Ban, what do you want me to do?"

  Bruce Ban replied: "I came here on the order of Professor Qingkong, the head of the Oulu Academy's Department of Occult Arts. A few days ago, our Department of Occult Arts discovered an unidentified girl who claimed to be Kestrel and lost her memory.

   When we inspected the Kestrel, we found that her brain had been fitted with a transformation device, and her bones had been replaced with alchemical metals. Dean Willred was very angry that a poor girl was treated so inhumanely, and asked Professor Clear Sky to investigate the matter.

  I am here this time to invite Mr. Yomington to Oulu College.

  Professor Qingkong wants to ask you some questions. "

  Bruce Ban's last words were addressed to Yomington.

  Yormington's ears undoubtedly revealed too much information.

  Dean Will Reed expressed his attitude...very angry!

   This is the attitude of Oulu Academy.

  But isn’t the Oulu Academy extremely cautious in politics? Master Oulu only engages in academics, and does not stand for any position.

  Yormington explained: "Kestrel is my adopted daughter, and she was already like that when I adopted her. I have been looking for someone who killed her..."

Bruce Ban interrupted Yomington's explanation: "I'm sorry, Mr. Yomington. It is Professor Clear Sky who wants to see you, and your explanation to me is of no use. Please come with me... It's night at Oulu Academy, don't let Professor Qingkong has been waiting for a long time."

  Yormington didn't want to go.

   This is clearly a trap!

  The entire city of Raging Waves knows that Fairy Clear Sky and Mrs. Mihir are good friends, and Mrs. Mihir is from Meteor.

   Qingkong didn’t come to find him early or late, but he came at this time. Yomington didn't believe it, she just asked about the kestrel.

   "Sorry, I don't have time right now, I still have very important things to talk to Detective Meteorite."

  Luke said: "I have nothing to talk to you about! The representative of the Saxon Project is Mr. Edgar, we can talk here. Master Yomington, you can go."

"I…"

Just as Yomington was about to find an excuse to stay, Bruce Ban took out his magic wand: "Mr. Yomington, I'm not a person who is good at words. Professor Clear Sky asked me to take you back, so I have to take you back. If force is needed, I will use force."

  The scene immediately became tense, and Yomington knew that he had to go to Oulu Academy. Without knowing the true attitude of Oulu Academy, one must not offend this behemoth.

"Okay, I'll go to Oulu Academy with you, and I'll explain it to Dean Willred in person." Yomington got up and turned to warn Luke: "Detective Meteorite, don't think that your little tricks can do anything to me. In the same way, I don't believe that the Oulu Academy will interfere in the government affairs of Raging Waves City. You must have deceived Dean Willred.

   Timely ending is the most correct choice for you! "

  Luke glanced at Yomington: "Goodbye, Yomington...I think Miss Weatherlight will treat you well."

   "Don't be too happy, Oulu Academy's behavior is different from yours. I will be back soon."

  Yormington followed Bruce Ban and left.

   Edgar remained silent since he got on the boat.

  Luke continued to eat, pushing the empty dinner plate forward after finishing a large plate of grilled fish.

   "My appetite is this plate of meat, and no one can take away a piece. In the muddy waters of Raging Waves City, is the Saxon Project really going to come in? Can you bear the price of coming in?"

  Edgar picked up the wine glass, drank the whole glass of beer in one gulp, then wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth, and then replied to Luke: "We are all pawns in the royal game, you have your mission, and I have mine.

  My mission is to lead my fleet to obey the command of Yomington. Now that Yomington is taken away by the people of Oulu Academy, I cannot make a decision. "

  Luke smiled and asked his men to serve Edgar with a plate of grilled fish.

   "I'm afraid you need to make a decision. Yomington won't show up again until I get the Cape Harbor Repair Project."

  Luke's words surprised Edgar: "What do you mean? Oulu Academy will detain Lord Yomington! He is the chief aide of Lord Chief Assistant."

  Luke said very meaningfully: "I just told you that the water in Raging Waves City is very deep, and you can't grasp it. Let alone Yomington, it is useless even if Master Shoufu comes...

   Take your fleet with you after eating the meat, the water in Cape Harbor is not safe at night. "

  (end of this chapter)