In the antique shop in the lower city of Xiland City, Duncan sat behind the counter holding a City Weekly in his hand, seemingly reading the contents of the newspaper carelessly. Suddenly, he blinked twice, and his eyes, which had been somewhat scattered, refocused. Then he glanced at the newspaper in his hand and turned it upside down calmly.
The front page headline of the newspaper reported a major event that had recently occurred in the city-state - His Holiness Valentine, the Bishop of the Deep Sea Cathedral, would preside over a large-scale prayer event soon. At that time, more than ten churches in the city would ring bells and blow whistles to call on the power of the Storm Goddess to bless the city.
As a warm-up for this prayer event, Archon Dante Wayne expressed his congratulations to the cathedral last night and presented gifts...
The face of the city magistrate was printed on the front page of the newspaper - he was a middle-aged man with a serious expression, gray hair, and a tall and thin figure. The most eye-catching thing was that he had a rather scary scar on his face, and an artificial eye replaced his original eyeball.
It was evidently the trace of some fatal accident.
Duncan's eyes slowly swept across the newspaper, and the face of the young inquisitor named "Vanna" emerged in his mind. The inquisitor also had a scar near his eye. Although it did not affect his vision, it was enough to cause blindness.
He recalled the intelligence he had recently gathered:
The governor of this city-state, Danfu Wayne, is the uncle of Judge Fengna. It is said that the scars on their faces are from the same accident. Eleven years ago, a factory leak and a cult riot occurred in the "Sixth Block" near the Cross Block. Danfu Wayne and Vanna Wayne were injured by the thugs. The two were left with permanent scars in the accident, which prompted them to become staunch supporters of the Deep Sea Church and actively combat the cult activities in the city-state...
This information is no secret in the city-state. It can be found in official records and folk rumors. If you ask around in the lower city, you will hear these things.
Eleven years ago again, the "factory leak" in the sixth district... ..
Duncan silently turned the newspaper to the next page, while in his mind he combined and sorted out the various clues he had collected in recent times.
The fragments of the sun, the fire in Nina's memory, Nina's recent nightmare, the accident that Inquisitor Vanna and Archon Dante encountered in the past, and the unknown girl "Shirley" who seemed to be investigating the truth... All these things revolve around the "factory leak" in the sixth district eleven years ago. Now the sun cultists are ready to move in the city again, and the "sun god" behind them is a burning thing that looks like an evil god.
That thing is still calling for help.
Duncan didn't plan to deal with the sun god yet, but he was a little worried that this nameless fire smoldering in the darkness would burn Nina.
He had released the pigeons early in the morning to search for clues about the cultists in the city-state. They were still wandering outside. Nina was packing upstairs and would leave for school soon. The street outside the store was gradually becoming lively.
The sounds of cars and people passing by
The door brings fresh vitality and vigor.
Suddenly, brisk footsteps came from the stairs. The old wooden floorboards made a slight creaking sound. Nina trotted into Duncan's sight. She was holding a bag in one hand and a piece of bread for lunch in the other: "Uncle! I'm going to school!"
"Run slower, don't fall, it's still early," Duncan looked at the girl helplessly, then remembered something, "By the way, is today the day you're going to the museum?"
"Yes! I have an appointment with classmate Gu!" Nina turned around with a bright smile on her face, "I won't be back for lunch. I will go to the museum directly with my classmates. You can get something to eat by yourself." "I know, I know," Duncan smiled and waved his hand, and reminded again, "Slow down, watch out for cars on the road..."
"Okay, okay, bye uncle!"
With the girl's clear shouts, brisk footsteps, and the jingling of the doorbell, Nina disappeared from Duncan's sight. She crossed the street in front of the antique shop and ran quickly into the morning light of Plande.
Duncan watched Nina leave, recalling the previous "home visit" and what old Mr. Morris had told him: Nina had few friends at school, and most of her classmates didn't like to interact with her.
But even if she has few friends, it seems that there are one or two classmates who are on good terms with her. Someone is willing to invite her to go to the museum, and she seems to be very happy, which is of course a good sign. He had already inquired yesterday. The classmate who went to the museum with Nina was a quiet girl who also lived in the downtown area. The two of them had just become friends recently and had a good relationship.
Duncan put down the newspaper in his hand.
Nina has gone to school and will not be back in the afternoon. Today is a weekday, so the antique shop should not have much business. It is a bit of a waste of time to stay here to look after the shop. Maybe I can go for a walk in the city and... investigate some things.
Duncan sensed Ai Yin's current position in his mind, and gave the pigeon the command to "continue patrolling". Then he put on his coat, hung a wooden sign at the door saying "Temporary rest", locked the door, and came to the nearby station.
There were a lot of people at the station. It was the peak time for people to take the bus to work or school. Duncan mixed in the crowd and came to the sign next to the station, looking at the route map on it.
His eyes fell on one of the lines - a location was clearly printed on it: Block 6.
av
Where official records state that a "factory leak" had occurred.
Duncan withdrew his gaze and waited patiently in the crowd. Buses came and went. Several Caiqi engine-driven buses took away half of the people on the platform. After a long time, he finally saw an old bus swaying from the end of the road. The number plate on the front of the bus showed that it was the one he was waiting for.
Duncan followed - a large group of people crowded into the car.
The old bus was packed with people, with citizens rushing to work occupying all the seats and corridor spaces. Duncan quietly squeezed to a spot near the back door, patiently waiting for the bus to start.
With the hoarse roar of the steam engine, the seriously overloaded car started up, and the conductor began to work his way through the sardine-like crowd, calling people to buy tickets while coming to the vicinity of Duncan.
The uniform was squeezed and changed
shape.
"Sixth Block." Duncan gave the ticket seller a friendly smile.
However, the conductor who was squeezed into a daze was obviously stunned when he heard Duncan's voice, and asked as if he didn't react: "Huh? Where are you going?" Duncan frowned: "Sixth Block - I saw it on the route map, doesn't this bus go there?"
The conductor was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the route map on the carriage next to him, and nodded quickly as if waking up from a dream: "Oh, of course, no one usually goes there, I forgot... Four pesos. No one usually goes to the sixth block? It's been eleven years since the accident, and the area around the factory hasn't been rebuilt yet
Duncan was a little confused, but he still bought the ticket calmly, and then watched the conductor squeeze back into the crowd like a warrior rushing left and right in a swarm of troops. Then he just waited silently for the train to arrive.
But at this moment, he suddenly felt a gaze coming from nearby.
The glance was very brief, as if it just glanced at him carelessly and then quickly moved away. However, Duncan's senses were extremely sharp. He couldn't help but feel that the gaze was indeed "directed" at him. He even vaguely felt a sense of... fear and avoidance when the gaze moved away, which made him immediately look in the direction of his feeling out of curiosity.
The next second, he saw a short figure trying to dodge backwards among the crowded passengers at the rear of the carriage.
He saw the figure, and the figure also saw him - so the other party stopped instantly, standing still stiffly, as if he didn't even dare to dodge. It was a girl in a black skirt, who looked about the same age as Nina, with a strange collar around her neck, and a small bell hanging on the collar... It was Shirley.
Duncan immediately raised his eyebrows, never expecting that things could be so coincidental, and then he squeezed towards the girl - the latter had completely stiffened at this time, just looking at Duncan walking towards her with full of nervousness and even fear. Not to mention continuing to dodge, she didn't even dare to turn her head.
Duncan slowly walked up to the girl and said hello with a smile: "Nice to meet you again - are you going to school at this time?"
Shirley mustered up her courage and forced out a smile. Although she had always been careless in front of Agou and said that she wanted to cling to the big boss's thigh, now that she had realized Duncan's terribleness, her smile was uglier than crying: ".... OK..."