Shadow Apostle

"Dudu, dudu~~~"

The long whistle sounded from afar.

The midday sun casts a dazzling sheen on the Windy River.

At a glance, on the river on the other side, three small black dots dragged billowing black smoke down the river, heading towards the Mingyue Bridge.

Jingle bell bell bell.

The bell rang urgently, and several bridgehead workers carried the barricades and ran to the middle of the road, stopping all pedestrians and vehicles.

"Get ready, add fire."

In the steam engine room under the bridge, the black-clad bridgehead workers each held a shovel in their hands, showing their strong muscles. When the foreman gave an order, the shovels flew into the air, and piles of coal were sent into the blazing steam boiler.

Boom boom boom~~

The piston pushes and pulls faster and faster, and the metal connecting rods on both sides of the Mingyue Bridge zigzag and expand, driving the gears to rotate faster and faster.

Tsk~~

From the bridgehead on the shore, hot steam spurted out from both sides, and streams of white mist sprayed into the air and spread around, making the bridgehead seem to be in mist.

The sound of metal friction resounded throughout the sky. Under the traction of machinery, sections of the metal bridge shrank and folded toward the shore.

"Dudu~~"

The smoky black spot is getting closer and closer. Three huge sailing ships are approaching. The hulls are covered with thick metal shells. The masts on the deck are covered with sails. Thick black smoke is flowing from the chimney at the stern. Spurting out, amidst the roaring sound of machinery and driven by both wind and steam, the giant ship sailed across the Mingyue Bridge and sailed into the distance.

As the only land connection to the broad Wendy River, the Mingyue Bridge is always so busy all day long. When the bridge deck is re-stretched and closed, people and vehicles flow to the other side like a tide.

Not far from the other side is the Iris District.

People often say that in Mingyue City, people in the River Valley District have a mountain of money, but people in the Iris District have no money at all.

Anyone who can live here, any words are more effective than money.

Because this is the aristocratic area of ​​Mingyue City.

Of course, the money was not completely invisible. At this time, a copper Mira flew through the air.

Horst jumped down from a lumber carriage and waved a Mira.

"Thanks, man, here you go."

"Next time you want a ride, come find me. Who doesn't like the free cigarette money?"

The coachman caught Mira with a smile, cracked his whip, and drove the carriage away.

There is no large public carriage in the Iris District. The life of these nobles is really sad.

Horst was so proud that he almost cried.

Wiping his eyes, he raised his head and saw the familiar mansion in front of him.

Burnt family mansion.

The carriage that was being watched and photographed at the door has disappeared, but there are still a few guards in blue uniforms nearby, staring at Horst who is acting suspiciously from a distance.

Lifting his hat and bowing to the patrolmen, Hoster rang the doorbell.

This time when I came back, there were obvious changes in my spiritual awareness.

Walking all the way through the courtyard, the servant led me to the fountain at the entrance of the mansion. Everywhere I passed was soft green and faint golden.

The sun is warm and the breeze is blowing.

Even the air is filled with a faint fragrance.

Um? Fragrant?

Horst turned around and looked at the young girl who had walked behind him.

She wears a light blue lady's skirt, a gauze hat with raised edges, light makeup on her face, and her body exudes a light and elegant fragrance.

Miss Berndt was smiling with surprise, holding up her skirt and trotting out to greet her. An old housekeeper with white hair and beard who was at least sixty years old and two maids were chasing behind her, panting.

"Mr. Horst, why are you here today?" Before anyone arrived, a voice came over first, "I thought you wouldn't come until tomorrow."

For a moment, Horst almost forgot to breathe.

"Good morning, Berndt...Miss Jessica."

Horst smiled and bowed, nodded to the old housekeeper again, took off his windbreaker and handed it to the maid, and followed Jessica into the mansion.

There was a faint scent of incense burning in the living room, and the amber black tea was mellow and soft in the exquisite enamel tea set. The old housekeeper and the maid left an extra small glass of water, then bent down and quietly left, looking at Huo Huo for the last time. Horst's eyes were a little strange, which made Horst quite embarrassed. He always felt that he had misunderstood something.

The slender hand picked up the teaspoon next to the water, dipped it in a little water, and sketched a simple pattern on the coffee table, then gently poked the spoon in the center of the pattern.

With a soft tinkling sound, the teaspoon stood upright on the coffee table, looking shaky but not falling over.

"Okay, it will fall down if someone comes close. You...Mr. Horst, please don't play with the spell's effects."

Horst stretched out his fingers and tried to push down the teaspoon. The spoon stood upright again immediately after falling down like a tumbler.

After pushing several times in succession, he looked up amidst the scolding and met the eyes of Miss Berndt, who was puffing her mouth and huffing.

"Ahem, sorry, I'm just a little curious. What happened to your family last night..."

"My mother is still in a bad condition and may need another treatment in a few days. Everyone else is doing well, especially Connor. He can already get out of bed and walk around in the morning." Jessica looked at Horst's expression. , said thoughtfully, "It seems that something has changed in this area, so you came to the door a day early. If you have anything to say, just tell me, it's okay."

"The Temple of Theft and Fraud. I received a message that your family's affairs are a conspiracy planned by them, and that black shadow is the awakened person of the fraud line."

Miss Berndt thought for a moment and nodded: "The activities of the Temple of Thieves in Norland are not as frequent as the Church of Night, but I have also heard of them. Was it they?"

"It's not 100% certain, but the possibility is very high." Horst explained, "So I need to investigate further, starting with the mysterious object."

"Um?"

"I sent that mysterious item to the Watcher. This is the most direct result of your family's incident. Of course, my becoming an awakener of the shadow series is also another direct result. If they really have a conspiracy, start with these direct results. The most direct way." Horst explained, "The director of the Mysterious Object Watch hopes to know more details, but this is related to the confidentiality of this matter."

"I understand, you took the trouble." Miss Berndt smiled and looked directly at Horst, "It's up to you to decide these matters. You have proven your ability and your kindness to the Berndt family. I believe in your The judgment, how much to say, how to say it, is all up to you.”

"There is another thing that I used in exchange for the news just now." Horst took out the newspaper, "I need to investigate the case of this serial death of homeless people."

Jessica looked at the title of the newspaper: "I heard about this vaguely when I was in church, but there are too many things at home recently, so I haven't paid much attention to it. What, what can I do for you?"

"Well..." Horst said thoughtfully: "There is a Star family in the Iris District. You should know about it."

Miss Berndt frowned and nodded: "It's from the Viscount family. They have been quite active these days. What's wrong?"

"I wanted to touch them, unobtrusively."

"It's not difficult." Miss Berndt thought for a while, then suddenly held her chin and smiled like a little girl, "There happened to be a cocktail party at their house tonight. I didn't plan to attend it, but who knows, the family just hired a new person. As for the young attendant, I have no choice but to take him to see the world."

"Huh? Entourage?" Horst raised his eyebrows, "The salary must be quite high, it's three gold Georges a month? Can you pay it in advance now?"

"No! OK." Miss Berndt said firmly, "And the new attendant has to explain to me clearly the relationship between the whole matter and Baron Star's family during this time, otherwise his salary will be deducted. Um...knock down three Golden Georges."

It seems I forgot to click publish