It was already noon when we arrived at Pigtail Alley in the north of the city. Although it was an alley, it was actually wide enough for a carriage to pass through. On both sides of the alley were towering old buildings, with vines climbing all over the outer walls, almost blending in with the steam pipes. This was a unique look of the city in summer, coupled with the chirping of birds and the faint smell of cooking in the alley. This kind of place with a strong atmosphere of life really suited Xia De's appetite.
Of course he would never move out of St. Teresa's Square.
Due to the lack of sunlight, the interior of the apartment is damp and dark. The smell in the corridor is already a bit unpleasant, and there are no windows in the corridor. In the space without ventilation, the smell of sweat, food and undried clothes mixed together, making people very uncomfortable.
As I was walking up the stairs while chatting with Captain Rades about the customs and practices of the southern part of the kingdom, I saw an adult cat with a snow-white body but dark areas around its right eye jumping down from the stairs. It looked a little thin, but its limbs were very slender, and it was not afraid of strangers.
After looking at the captain and Shad, he walked around them and continued walking.
This cat doesn't look as clean as Mia, probably because its owner doesn't clean it often.
"This is the cat that old lady Cullen downstairs keeps. It's usually very fierce to ordinary people. Why is it so well behaved this time? Detective, it seems that the cat likes you very much."
The captain said curiously, and continued to lead Shad upstairs. Captain Rades lived on the second floor and shared a bathroom with five other residents.
The wooden floor of the second floor corridor had warped due to moisture, making a creaking sound when stepped on. When Shade was looking around, the captain had already opened the door of Room 3 on the second floor. He walked in and saw the empty bottles piled on the desk.
The middle-aged captain laughed awkwardly.
The room is very small and serves as a bedroom, study, dining room, reception room, etc. Its furnishings are very similar to the room of the dwarf mouse Peter.
Of course, a single officer couldn't clean his room often, so it looked a bit sloppy. But at least there wasn't much odor, and he often opened the windows for ventilation.
Captain Rades asked Shad to find a place to sit down, while he went to look through the boxes of miscellaneous items piled in the corner. With a cautious attitude, Shad used Blood Echo to observe the room. Although there were indeed bloodstains, they were from a long time ago and had nothing to do with the current tenant.
Are you being too cautious
A voice came to my ear.
"Even if I attend an ordinary banquet, I can encounter evil gods. I am worried about everything I do now."
He replied.
He casually looked at the dining table with unwashed dishes and newspapers, and even found his business card in the corner of the table. After getting permission, Xia De picked up the newspaper and looked at it.
This is the Steambird Daily. Detective Sparrow has never subscribed to this kind of newspaper, so Shade is not very familiar with it. The date is today, and at the top is the advertisement area, with information circled in pencil. Captain Rades is probably looking for a job.
"If I had not chosen to stay, but left immediately after the previous detective died, I would probably be living in a cramped apartment like this, flipping through newspapers looking for a job now, if I was lucky."
Xia De thought.
Sunlight slanted into the narrow apartment through the window. The warm summer sun felt very comfortable on the skin.
The front page of the Steambird Daily reported that Princess Resia was about to return home. She would take a boat along the west coast of the Old World from the Kingdom of Carsenrick back to Coldwater Port City, stay in Coldwater Port for a week, and then return to Tobesk.
Xia De was not interested in this. He turned to the second page and found an academic article published by Tobysk University, pointing out the recent abnormalities in the stars. He turned to the back page and found a debate on the renovation of the steam pipeline in the old town of Tobysk. The commentator who published the editorial believed that the current plan was "a money-making plan by the city hall bureaucracy and a shameful conspiracy of academic and political bureaucrats." He turned to the second page and found news and articles of the same academic report type.
Only then did I realize that the Steambird Daily was probably aimed at students and intellectuals in the Tobysk University district, or middle-class people with some education.
"Well, this kind of newspaper is suitable for publishing my advertisement."
Xia De thought about it and saw the notice of the upcoming academic report published by the Tobysk University Union, which stated that the report was open to the public.
He was actually very interested in the academic research of universities in the steam age, real universities, not universities like St. Byrons, and wanted to understand the development of materialistic science and technology in this era.
After all, Xia De was a student at a certain university in his hometown. If it were not for the mystery and supernatural power of this era, and the power that he yearned for, Xia De would most likely spend the rest of his life in this world studying steam machinery, basic physics, and chemistry.
He is actually an intellectual, and if he can spare some time from his busy studies as a ring wizard, he is willing to participate in the scientific development of ordinary people. In particular, the unique steam machinery here is really fascinating.
"Professor Shad Hamilton... not a bad name."
A slight smile appeared on his face, so he took out his notebook and wrote down the specific date of the academic report, intending to go and take a look when he had time.
Because he didn't have much hope of finding the ornament, Shad was not disappointed when Captain Rads said regretfully that he might not find it today.
Of course, since the "other me" could know which item was a relic, he asked in his heart whether she could find the ornaments in this narrow room, and then got this answer:
You have to at least see that thing before I can sense whether the element exists.
But if Shad could see the ornament, he wouldn't have to look for it at all.
Captain Rades and Shad got along very well, and since the pendant could not be found for the time being, the captain wanted to invite Shad to have lunch at a nearby restaurant as a formal apology for his recklessness in Lakeview Manor.
Shade had received a favor from the captain, and even escaped death from the heart collector because of the Kind Gun, so he didn't want to let the captain spend money. He said he would treat the captain, after all, the antique revolver was much more valuable than his formal suit.
When the two poor people were exchanging pleasantries, they suddenly heard a commotion coming from Pigtail Alley downstairs. A rough male voice used very dirty words to say something that Xia De had no desire to translate.
Then, gunshots rang out.
Xia De subconsciously wanted to hide, but the middle-aged officer waved his hand indifferently, as if he was used to it:
"It's okay, it's okay. This kind of thing happens all the time around here, but it's rare in broad daylight. We'll go find a place to eat later. This group of people will probably leave soon."
Living in the remote downtown area, life is completely different from that in St. Teresa's Square.