After a few seconds, Franka forced a smile and said, "Don't worry about him. He has his own occult gathering."
Janna nodded slightly and said nothing more.
The two put on camouflage clothes, masks and a small amount of makeup, left No. 3 White Coat Street and walked to Market Avenue.
Take the subway line 2 connecting the Suchite steam train station in the market district and the Trier Nord train station in the cathedral district, and arrive at the 9th district, also known as the North Continent, the famous opera district.
Here is the world's largest and busiest arcade, with department stores and high-end shops on both sides, and the glass dome above supported by steel frames is colorful, depicting paintings of sacred epics.
Let the sunlight shining through them add a bit of magnificence to make up for the lack of light brought by the stained glass.
The new kerosene lamps on the iron-black lamp poles are always on, emitting dazzling white light.
This is called a gas lamp. It uses the heat from its own ignition to turn kerosene into steam, which is sprayed onto the hot gauze around it, creating a bright white light.
In terms of lighting effect, this is many times stronger than traditional gas street lamps and ordinary household kerosene lamps. It comes from the transformation of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.
Janna followed Franca into the public restroom in the middle of the opera house corridor, each found a cubicle, changed clothes, and put on some simple makeup to conceal their own brilliance.
Then, they went underground through a nearby entrance.
Unlike other areas of Trier, this underground street corresponding to the arcade of the opera house above is also crowded with people and filled with cafes, galleries, beer houses and small commodity shops.
There was no feeling of darkness, coldness or enclosure at all. Only after she walked out of here did Underground Trier return to the state that Jana had remembered.
As assassins, she and Franka both possessed the ability to see things in the dark, but in order to avoid being discovered by the participants of the occult gathering, they each carried a calcium carbide lamp and projected a yellowish light tinged with a hint of blue forward.
Janna, who was observing Franka's every move, imitated her and put on a silver-white metal mask that covered the upper half of her face.
With almost silent footsteps, they walked deeper into the ground along the slightly damp tunnel.
After walking for a while, Franka pointed to a fork in the road and said with a smile, "There is a legend that there is a haunted place there."
"What legend?" Janna asked cooperatively.
Franca smiled and said, "It is said that people from the opera house often heard strange male voices coming from underground, so they hired several bounty hunters to investigate the cause, but they never came back."
“Didn’t the official Beyonders care?” Janna asked in confusion.
"We investigated, but found nothing because this is a legend we made up."
Franka laughed.
Janna was even more confused: "Why would you go out of your way to make up such a legend, just for fun?"
Franca smiled and said, "So as to prevent those Trier people who like to go underground from disturbing our gathering."
Jana felt that she understood the reason, and suddenly realized: "Scare them so that they dare not come to this area?"
"No." Franca shook her head seriously.
"Let them focus only on that place and ignore the surrounding areas. In short, we need to find something for the adventurous citizens and college students in Trier to do."
Jana, who was born and raised in Trier, was speechless.
After holding it in for a few seconds, he said, "Fuck, the people of Trier around me are not like this."
"Everyone works very hard, but after a busy day, they like to go to bars and dance halls to have a drink, sing and dance, or vent their emotions by insulting each other."
"People from Trier are different from each other." Franca said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head.
As they were talking, they squeezed through a gap, turned into a new tunnel, and arrived at a quarry cave covered with dark green moss.
The quarry was empty, deep and dark. Janna, who had never been exposed to anything mystical, felt her heart beat faster when she saw this scene and she felt scared instinctively.
Franka raised her hand and greeted him: "You only send a skeleton every time, do you need to be so cautious? Damn, you even put a mask on the skeleton, is there anything that can't be seen by others?"
The white skeleton said with a voice like vocal cords grinding against metal: "I like this sentence in the series of novels, The Great Adventurer: This is a top hat."
After saying this, the dark eye sockets, without any flame burning, looked at Janna: "Who is she?"
"My friend, bring her here to see her."
Franka answered very simply, and the skeleton did not ask any further questions.
Kachakacha moved his neck, indicating that the two could enter the quarry cave at the back.
When she got inside, Janna saw that there were already quite a few people there. They were disguised in different ways, some were sitting on rocks, some were standing in corners. No one spoke, and it was extremely quiet.
After looking around, Janna lowered her voice and asked Franca, "You just let me in like that? This is too easy, too simple, right? Aren't you worried about whether you are trustworthy or not, and whether you are safe?"
Franca laughed softly and said, "I believe him, and he believes me."
"Is that so?" Janna nodded, and suddenly felt something was wrong: "How did the skeleton know it was you? Didn't you disguise yourself?"
"He has a special way of recognizing people." Franca explained vaguely.
A quarter of an hour later, more people arrived one after another. By the time the skeleton wearing the iron mask announced the official start of the trade fair, nearly twenty people had gathered in the quarry cave.
Janna watched the transactions with experience and curiosity, and asked Franca a few questions in a low voice from time to time.
She mastered many new terms, and in the process, she was inevitably shocked by the prices of potion formulas, magical items, extraordinary weapons and various materials.
Even for the cheapest ones, she would have to work as an underground singer for a whole week to earn enough. As for the expensive ones, she felt that she had no hope of earning them in her lifetime. The last third of the trade fair was mainly commissions.
Before she knew it, Janna sat up straight, wanting to see if there was anything she could accomplish that would earn her a lot of money.
A man in a black robe, resembling a wizard from various horror stories, said in a deliberately sharp voice, "I have a mission worth 20,000 Felgin."
20,000 Felkin? Everyone present turned their eyes to the client.
The same goes for Jenna. She has never seen such a large sum of money in her entire career.
The man glanced around and said, "The gatekeeper of Deep Valley Monastery in the Hill District has been missing for three days. I hope you can help me find him or his body. I am not able to identify the authenticity of the clues, so only those who bring him or his body back to Deep Valley Monastery can get the 20,000 Felkin. Of course, you can also choose to bring it here."
Deep Valley Monastery belongs to the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, and gathers many people who are determined to study machinery and steam.
An ascetic (monk) who does not marry, have children, or preach.
It is located in the hilly district, also known as District 19, to the west of the cathedral district where the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, the Archcathedral and Trier Nord railway station are located.
To the east is Area 20, which is the cemetery area.
Seeing no one responded, the man continued, "The authorities have already investigated and found nothing. Each of you can accept this commission and go to Deep Valley Monastery to investigate in the name of a bounty hunter. Don't worry about being suspected. I will post notices about this matter in bars, dance halls, and beer houses in each district."
You can give it a try. Even if you can't find out anything, you won't lose anything. At most you'll just waste some time trying to make money.
Janna was quite excited and looked sideways at Franca. Franca nodded and thought that she could take this task. On the one hand, she was curious, and on the other hand, she felt that it could bring some experience to Janna.
To prevent her from assassinating someone at the cost of her life, if they really smell danger and discover something unusual, they can withdraw in time. Of course, a high bounty is also one of the reasons.
After a brief silence, the participants of the party began to ask questions, one after another. They wanted to obtain enough intelligence before the formal investigation.
The client's answer was brief, just telling everyone that the missing monastery caretaker was named Pink, who was in his early fifties and a resident of the nearby town of Deep Valley. He was a devout believer in the God of Steam and Machinery and never married.
He had a passion for machinery, which was why he went to work as a janitor at Deep Valley Abbey even though he had his own fields. He returned home once a week for one day, but he did not disappear from home.
That night, when the monks, absorbed in their research, were testing a steam-powered device in the courtyard, they saw Pink standing at the door of the caretaker's cottage, watching with great interest.
Unexpectedly, he was found missing the next morning.
Janna memorized this information seriously, just like she usually did when learning acting. Not long after, this occult gathering ended, and the participants left in batches tacitly.
A few nights later, Lumian sat at the bar of the Breeze Ballroom, drinking his favorite absinthe while watching Janna sing and dance.
At this time, Louis came over and whispered in his ear: "Boss, the boss is here and is waiting for you in the cafe on the second floor."
"The boss is coming here in person?" Lumian was a little surprised, but he didn't say much.
Gulu finished the rest of the green liquid, stood up and walked towards the stairs.
At this time, Gardner Martin was standing by the window. He was not wearing formal clothes, but a dark brown jacket and a wide-brimmed round hat of the same color. He looked like he had just come from the dock or the yard.
He looked at Lumian with his brownish-red eyes for a second and signaled everyone else to leave.
Soon, Gardner Martin and Lumian were the only two people left in the cafe.
The Sava Party leader smiled and said, "I have expressed my appreciation for you more than once, right?"
"Yes, thank you, boss." Lumian nodded.
Gardner Martin's expression gradually became serious: "Are you interested in joining my circle? This will allow you to come into contact with more extraordinary people, stronger power, and more sufficient resources."
Is this the end of the inspection? Lumian did not hide his doubts: "What is the price?"
Gardner Martin smiled again. "The price is that you may encounter more dangers and must obey orders and complete certain tasks, but as long as you do well, you will definitely be promoted quickly. Maybe in a few years, you can sit in my position."
Lumian deliberately hesitated and considered for a while before saying, "I have no problem."
Gardner Martin nodded seriously and said, "Before that, you need to accept a test. Go to 13 Market Avenue now and stay there until the sun rises."
Number 13, Market Avenue? Lumian frowned and tried to recall. Finally, he remembered where it was: that place was considered by Ostartrull, the secret praying man, to be the most dangerous place in the market area.
That was the building that burned down but was never demolished.