Because the matter was resolved so smoothly, when Shade walked out of Squirrel Alley, it was not yet half past ten. The task of catching the mysterious man could only be carried out at noon, and the other task was too far away, at the other end of the city.
So after thinking about it, Shade went to the Steambird Daily Newspaper to make up for the advertising fee for next month, then took a carriage to the gas company to inquire about the pipeline installation. Finally, he went to the MI6 base to get his salary.
And walking around the city like this can also help you relax.
"Don't laugh, I just suddenly thought of Mia."
Walking on the street, there was still laughter in my ears. Xia De said in his heart with some dissatisfaction, but she did not answer Xia De's request at all.
The MI6 base that connects with Shad is located in the "Urban Waste Disposal Management Center" in the west district of Tobesk.
The last time I came here was more than half a month ago. The gray building located between the snuff bottle shop and the shoemaker's shop specializing in rain boots was still hidden in the bustling steam city, just like the last time I came here.
Because I had been here once, after entering the building, I told the receptionist at the door that I was looking for Mr. Giles Johnson, and soon found the middle-aged man reading the newspaper in the "Equipment Management Office".
Hearing the sound of the door opening, the middle-aged man who looked bored looked up at Xia De, and after Xia De closed the door with his backhand, a smile appeared on his face:
"Oh, look who's here, isn't this the Hamilton Knight from Rejade?"
After saying this, he stood up and shook hands with Xia De enthusiastically.
"Mr. Johnson, there's no need to be so exaggerated."
"Of course it is necessary."
The middle-aged man motioned for Xia De to sit on the iron chair opposite the table. Behind them were rows of filing cabinets.
"You saved the queen, which not only saved our loyal director, Mr. Anros, from having to manage the Kingdom Cemetery, but also prevented us, the poor low-level civil servants, from facing the risk of being liquidated."
He even poured a cup of tea for Xia De. You know, the last time Xia De came, he didn't even get water.
"Why, are you here to collect your salary this time? Do you have any receipts for reimbursement? Do you need extra bullets?"
"Of course, I brought all the reimbursement receipts."
Shade took out an envelope and took out the certificate he had received from Father Augustus on the day of the Holy Prayer Festival. Because they were all genuine, Mr. Johnson simply checked them and put them away.
He took a bunch of keys and walked towards the filing cabinets behind him. After a long while, he came back with a stack of money:
"MI6 agents don't have receipts to prevent their identities from being discovered by interested parties, so please count them. If there is no problem, your salary for this month will be settled."
"Okay... why so many?"
In Shad's hand were six five-pound notes, totaling 40 pounds. But his weekly salary was only 1 pound, so with the 30 pounds of reimbursement, it should have been just over 34 pounds.
"Oh, I almost forgot to mention that you got a promotion,"
Mr. Johnson waved his hand to tell him not to be surprised:
"Because of your contribution last time, Mr. Anros adjusted your rank. There is no complicated hierarchy within the Sixth Department. We are directly affiliated with the Royal Army. According to this calculation, you are now a major."
"Major?"
Shad was very surprised. You know, his friend Captain Rads had been on the front line for decades without making any mistakes and had just been promoted to the rank of captain. Shad had surpassed him in one step.
"Yes, Major, this is nothing surprising. You are our ace agent, and the promotion system of the Sixth Division is different from that of the Royal Army. Isn't it normal for field agents to have good treatment?"
"Me, Ace?"
"Oh, sir, don't be so surprised. This is your officer's ID card. Please keep it. I had time to make the last one, but I didn't expect it to be replaced by a major's."
Mr. Johnson gave Shad a new ID. Unlike the MI6 ID that did not have his full name, the officer ID of the Royal Delarion Army not only had a photo, but also the full name of Shad Suren Hamilton. And that photo seemed to be the one Shad took with the King.
"Your current salary will be adjusted to 5 pounds per week, and your expense reimbursement will remain the same for now to prevent people from making irresponsible remarks. But when your fame has faded next year, Mr. Anros will give you a surprise."
Mr. Johnson said, and Shade didn't know what to say. But anyway, the bad mood brought to him by the previous mission has completely disappeared.
"Oh, and there's the bullet thing. I want to apply for reimbursement of the bullets, but the usage report for the old bullets..."
"It's okay. I'll help you with this. It's just some boring clichés anyway."
The middle-aged man said enthusiastically. Xia De wanted to thank him, but the other party just shook his head:
"Given your relationship with Mr. Anros and Miss Carina, it is actually a help to me if you allow me to help you."
"Excuse me, Miss Carina and I?"
Shade looked at him suspiciously.
"There are some rumors about the Duchess inviting you to spend the night at her estate... Don't worry, they are just rumors."
Mr. Johnson made that "I don't know anything" expression.
Because Shad had nothing else to do before noon, he chatted with Mr. Johnson here for a few words before leaving.
Recently, not only has the city's security improved, but even the MI6 department responsible for the Tobesk area does not have much to do. The advent of the evil god has temporarily eliminated all the unrest in the city, but there are still many things happening outside of Tobesk.
"The Gray Gloves have been very active in southern cities recently. Mr. Anros left Tobesk three days ago and seems to be organizing some secret operation."
But since Mr. Johnson could say it so easily, Shade was really not sure whether Mr. Anros had gone to the South.
"It's barely a peaceful time now. Are the Gray Gloves of Carsenrick still so active?"
Because the letter sent from an unknown location to number 6 St. Teresa's Square would arrive in a month, Shad was also concerned about the spies in neighboring countries.
"Of course, it is clear that peace will not last forever. Planting spies in government departments, developing underlings among young people in colleges, investigating the use of special steel in factories, or just sending people to mingle in the upper class and spy on the privacy of the nobles... Although these seem useless now, they actually have their own value. Otherwise, what is the value of the gray gloves and MI6?"
Mr. Johnson yawned, and Shad thought he had hit upon the original job of Detective Sparrow Hamilton.
"You've also worked as a field agent? I see you're familiar with these jobs."
Shade asked with a smile, picking up the teacup and taking a sip. The quality of the tea leaves was not as good as those left by Detective Sparrow.
"Yeah, I did that when I was young, but then I got shot in the ankle and became a civilian support worker."
Mr. Johnson shrugged, and his enthusiastic tone turned lazy, returning to the work-weary tone he heard the last time Shade came:
"The gray gloves of Carsenrick are doing this work, and so are we. Even the ambitious people in the small principalities have their own intelligence departments. Mr. Hamilton, politics between countries is a very complicated matter. We should be thankful that we are in Tobesk and do not have to work as double agents."
"How many Gray Gloves are there in this city?"
Shade asked again, and Mr. Johnson smiled and shook his head:
"I can't answer that question, and even Gray Glove can't answer it. But six places have made estimates, probably in the three or four figures."
"Even if Tobesk has a large population, including the diplomats from the United Kingdom embassy and consulate, there shouldn't be so many people, right?"
Shade asked hesitantly.
"Some people don't even know they're working for gray gloves, and this number includes that part of the population, so it sounds scary."
"So are there any known spies in the local area?"
This is Shad's curiosity.
"Famous spies are failed spies, and unknown ones are successful."
The middle-aged man thought for a moment and added:
"However, it is certain that there are Gray Gloves among those in the embassy and consulate, and there are also some brokers who move between the political circles of the two countries. In addition, two years ago we received news that Carsenrick secretly sent two ace agents from the Gray Gloves organization to lurk in Tobesk. We caught one half a year ago, but he committed suicide. From his letter, we learned that the other one was the famous 'Grey Eagle' (Chapter 74)."
Mr. Johnson shook his head with a sigh:
"But we only know his name. The last time our agents fought him was three years ago in Gondor, the steel capital in the east of the kingdom. At that time, we knew that he was a man who was extremely good at makeup. In that operation, the Grey Eagle stole a batch of smelting records of special alloys for casting steam cannons. The losses caused to us are still affecting the special metal smelting industry in Delarion. His Majesty was furious, and Director Anros was almost demoted... There was also the gold robbery ten years ago, and the accident at the Coldwater Port Shipyard eight years ago..."
This kind of agent is the real "ace". An "ace" like Xia De can't compare with him at all.
With just a few words from Mr. Johnson, Shad imagined the complex and interesting story of this secret spy who was active in the steam age and walked on the edge of light and shadow. If Dorothy used such a person as the protagonist, she would definitely be able to write a good story.
"So do we know the other person's age and appearance?"
"It's not that we are incompetent, it's that the other party is too cunning."
Mr. Johnson said regretfully again, and seeing that Shade was very interested, he added:
"If anyone can catch him, as long as he is not of a bad family, I think he could be made a viscount. Unfortunately, there has been no news about the Grey Eagle lurking in Tobesk for two years. I even doubt whether he has really come."
The middle-aged man sighed helplessly again:
"Where could he be?"
“It’s really hard to say, as Tobesk is so big.”
Xia De was also quite emotional and hoped that the "ace agent" would never disturb his life.
After chatting with Mr. Johnson for a while, Xia De left with the money and three books.
It was already half past eleven in the morning. Shad got on a carriage at the street corner, passed through the streets and alleys, and brushed shoulders with countless strangers. Following the clues provided by Iluna, Shad hurried to Lewis Street, which was also in the west of the city.
This is a rare pedestrian street in the city where horse-drawn carriages are not allowed to enter. The street was not called this name twenty years ago. Later, after General Lewis of the kingdom died here, the street got its current name.
According to intelligence, Ms. Swan, a 26-year-old divorced woman who sought help from Blackstone Security, had noticed a man in black clothes peeping at her at the exit of Black Corner Alley on Lewis Street every day at noon, except Sundays, since two weeks ago.
Lewis Street was the only way for her to get home, and it would be quite troublesome to take a detour.
This was a task entrusted to Blackstone Security by ordinary people, so the security company only conducted a brief preliminary investigation. After confirming that there were no major problems, the task was temporarily postponed and the contract signed with the client will be implemented from next week.
Iluna specifically chose this task because the client described the peeper as "even in summer, he always wraps himself tightly every time he appears, even wearing gloves. I didn't dare to approach him, but from a distance I looked at the face hidden in the shadows of the alley and under the brim of the hat. Oh, God, I can't describe what I saw."
This description easily made the ring warlocks think of something bad, and Shade thought of the ugly murlocs in Coldwater Harbor.
He came quite early. Ms. Swan worked as a typist at the Southern Cotton and Linen Trading Company not far from here. She would leave her workplace and pass by here around 12:10 noon.
Before she showed up, Shade walked around the nearby alleys, identified the nearby roads, and tried to find the peeper, but the other party didn't seem to have arrived that early.
He hadn't eaten lunch yet, so he was working on an empty stomach. In order to appear more natural, Xia De bought an expired morning newspaper from a passing newspaper boy and stood under a street lamp, pretending to be waiting for someone.
Fortunately, Tobesk is still shrouded in mist today, otherwise even Shad would not be able to stand standing on the street with an empty stomach at noon in summer.
At 12:08, Miss Swan, who looked exactly like the lady in the photo provided by Iluna, finally appeared at the intersection of Lewis Street East. She was a tall woman with a charming figure, but she looked a little frightened. There were other pedestrians on the street, so although she was quite worried and looked at both sides of the street while holding her handbag, she still walked forward bravely.
Xia De, who was "reading a newspaper" on the side of the road in the middle of the street, suddenly became alert. The hustle and bustle of pedestrians passed by him, and the noisy sounds made the atmosphere of city life very strong.
His attention was focused on the alley across the road. Sure enough, as Miss Swan appeared, a man wearing a black top, black pants, black shoes and a black hat leaned against the wall and poked his head out from the large shadow of the alley wall.