Part 2 The Faceless Man Chapter 1 The Land of Hope

　　Woo!

　　The sound of the steam whistle echoed from every corner of the platform as the huge, monster-like front end of the steam train, dragging more than twenty cars, came to a slow stop.

　　Dressed in tuxedo formalwear and a half-height silk bowler hat, Klein carried an exaggerated leather suitcase that didn’t quite match his size, and stepped onto the ground of the capital of the Kingdom of Ruin, Beckland, with a steady gait.

　　The city, which was diagonally divided into two parts by the Tasok River that flowed into the southeastern mouth of the sea and was connected by the Beckland Bridge and ferries, boasted a population of more than five million people, making it the most prosperous metropolis in the north and south continents.

　　Klein looked around with his best eyes, only to see a yellowish mist everywhere, with very poor visibility, the gas lamps hanging on the station platforms were lit up one by one early on, dispelling the gloom and dimness.

　　”It’s only half past six, isn’t it? It’s as good as nine or ten o’clock ……,” Klein shook his head in a slightly unseen way, suddenly remembering a joke he’d read earlier in the Tassock Gazette:

　　”A gentleman who had just arrived at Birkeland lost his way in a thick haze, and had to inquire of a gentleman who had rubbed his shoulders and was dripping wet, asking the other, ‘How do I get to the Tassock River,’ to which the gentleman replied very kindly, ‘Straight on, don’t stop, I’ve just come from there swam up.'” (Note 1)

　　Every time I read a newspaper or magazine in Birkeland, the reporters and editors are changing their ways to sneer at the air pollution here and the increasing number of foggy days. …… Before that, the Birkeland Daily News even made a special statistic, saying that the number of similar days has increased from about 60 days 30 years ago to 75 days and nights at present. …… For this reason, many insightful people set up “soot reduction association”, “smoke reduction association” and other organizations… …One of the bills for September is said to propose the formation of a “Kingdom Air Pollution Investigation Committee” …… Klein put down his large suitcase and pinched his nose to ease the sudden discomfort.

　　Then, he followed the golden bracelet and pulled out a gold watch from his vest pocket, snapping it open and glancing at it to confirm the time.

　　After actually bidding farewell to his brother and sister, Klein had made a special trip to the department store and spent four pounds ten sousl on a gold pocket watch with a gold chain of one pound five sousl.

　　–For him, not being able to keep specific, clear time at all times creates a sense of panic.

　　Originally, Klein had planned to buy a silver pocket watch, which he thought would suit his temperament, but in view of the true meaning of “clowning”, he ended up choosing a flashier and more ostentatious gold watch.

　　”6:39 …… not much late ……” Klein tucked in his pocket watch, picked up his cane and suitcase, and followed the crowd as he slowly made his way out of the steam train station.

　　Suddenly, without warning, he made a U-turn, leaving someone who had quietly followed behind and put his hand in his coat pocket wide open.

　　Unconcerned by this interruption, Klein made his way along the concrete avenue, mingling with the crowd, to the intersection ahead.

　　There were street lawns and gardens there, and they surrounded a column that towered like a chimney.

　　”No, it may be the chimney ……,” said Crane, seeing the smoke that thinned out from the top of the pillar.

　　Part of this smoke drifted high into the air, and part of it turned into tiny droplets of water that spilled out all around.

　　Again Klein paused in his steps, put down his suitcase, and unfolded the newspaper and map he held in his other hand.

　　— The ride on the steam train had been a time when he had planned out where he was going to go and what he was going to do next.

　　The experience of this period of time and the experience of pretending to be a clown in the morning made Kline finally realize the true meaning of “clown”, that is, “Although I can slightly predict the fate, but I still feel helpless about the fate, so I use a smile to cover up all the sadness, pain, confusion and frustration! “.

　　At that moment, he clearly felt the digestion of the “Joker” magic potion, and believed that if he continued to play like this, he would be able to attempt promotion in a short time.

　　But the problem was that he still didn’t know what the corresponding Sequence 7 magic potion was called, let alone the specific formula.

　　”How should I obtain the recipe? The Secret Cultivation Society seldom appears, and they only seem to be interested in the items of the Antigonus family …… That’s the reason why other people know almost nothing about them, well …… consider two aspects, one is to contact the local circle of extraordinary people to see if they can find clues, and the other is to Taking the initiative to lay a trap, using the Antigonus family’s treasure as bait to fish out the people of the Secret Cultivation Society, after all, I am in possession of that weird vertical pupil that consists of many mysterious symbols.”

　　”But this is too risky, one must be cautious enough, the bait put out cannot be too ‘good’ or too ‘bad’, too ‘bad’ and others won’t be interested If it’s too good, it’s easy to catch a giant shark that can swallow my giant shark in one bite. …… Chalatu, the head of the Order of the Secret Doctrine, was the one who mentored Rossel the Great, and maybe he even got the biggest piece of cake of that feast of the change of the times… …Of course, he may not have survived until now, it was nearly two hundred years ago ……”

　　Between the flurry of thoughts, Klein felt the chill of Berkland and stifled a shiver, deciding to find a place to stay as soon as possible.

　　Flipping through the newspaper, he once again perused the house rental section and saw the one he had circled earlier:

　　”15 Minsk Street, Chorwood District …… Townhouse …… Weekly rent 18 Soules ……”

　　Klein had thought over and over about where to live, and although Berkland had a population of over five million, he still had to be wary of the possibility of encountering a local night watchman – whether it was Daley, who had been newly transferred to the area, or Loretta, El Hassan, or Borgia, who had belonged to Berkland before, they were all sure to recognize him.

　　Therefore, Klein excluded the North End, where St. Samuel’s Church, the headquarters of the Church of the Goddess of the Night’s parish in Birkeland, was located, and excluded the Queens and the West End, where security was the best and regulation was the strictest – these two districts belonged to the aristocrats and the top-ranking rich merchants, while the former was more inclined to the Queens.

　　Excluding a few more factory districts, dock districts, the East District where the poor gathered, and the Bakerland Bridge area, there weren’t many that Klein could choose from, one was the Hilston District with the Bakerland Stock Exchange, the Bills Clearing House, the Futures Center, the headquarters of the seven major banks, a variety of trusts, various railroads, and a variety of bulk goods trading companies, which was known as the Ruin Kingdom’s economic, commercial, and financial center, and the second was the Jowu District with its small firms The Chorwood District, which was full of small companies and numerous residences.

　　Both of these districts had a high flow of people and relatively good security, making it easy to hide, and Klein chose the cheaper rent of the Chorwood District after careful consideration.

　　–The reason why he didn’t look for organizations such as the Metropolitan Housing Improvement Association and the Metropolitan Working Class Housing Improvement Corporation was that they all required a certain amount of identification, which he currently couldn’t get. He can’t get one.

　　”If I can’t rent a house today, I’ll find a small hotel that doesn’t require identification and stay there for a while. ……” Klein closed the things in his hand, put on his suitcase, and according to the map’s instructions, he headed towards what looked like the front door of a department store.

　　It was the entrance to the Bakerland subway.

　　Yes, the subway!

　　When Klein first read the term “subway” in newspapers and magazines, he was shocked, not realizing that this kind of transportation had become a reality even before entering the electrical age.

　　It was born twenty-five years ago, first connecting the two sides of the Tasok River, and now it has expanded to the main urban areas, of course, there are not many stops.

　　Passing through the gates, Klein followed the people in front of him and took a step towards the ticket booth.

　　After a few minutes in line, he finally saw the ticket agent with the pretty blonde hair.

　　Without looking up, this girl pointed to the wooden sign of prices hanging near the window:

　　”Rush hour (7am-9am, 6pm-8pm) 10 minutes, the rest 15 minutes, first class 6p, second class 4p, third class 3p, round trip 9, 6, and 5p respectively, annual passes are £8 for first class, £5.10 soules for second class, and no annual passes for third class.”

　　It’s cheaper than I thought …… Surprisingly, there’s no limit to the distance …… Melissa must like this better than a carriage, it’s mechanical …… Crane thought about it, and then suddenly got a little hard .

　　With a broad smile, he pulled out four copper pennies and handed them to the conductor:

　　”Second class seat.”

　　Snap! The ticket agent ripped a ticket, stamped it, and handed it to Klein.

　　After finding the line to the Chorwood district and passing the not-so-strict inspection, Klein descended the steps and soon came to the platform, following the markings on the floor to find the second-class seat counterpart.

　　Whoops!

　　He did not have to wait long before he heard the sound of a whistle that rolled and echoed like thunder, and saw a huge steam locomotive break through the illumination of the gas lamps on either side with a mammoth sense of power, and clank to a halt.

　　There was something uniquely beautiful about its massive form, its sinuous body, its black iron coloring and its intricate machinery mixed together.

　　The subway in Baker’s Landing still uses steam trains, and the smoke that belches out, in a unique design, runs through the pipes above, into the chimneys and out into the outside world.

　　This is the “real use” of the street lawns and gardens.

　　With the sound of metal scraping against metal, Klein waited for the passengers in front of him to get off before walking up with his cane and suitcase and accepting the ticket check from the steward.

　　Unlike the third class seats, the second class seats were for one person, so he didn’t have to worry about being robbed of his seat, and Klein had just sat down, put his suitcase away, and leaned on his cane when he heard a rush of footsteps.

　　He subconsciously looked sideways at the door and saw a thin, green-faced boy hurrying into the carriage.

　　The boy was dressed in an age-appropriate old overcoat, a yarmulke, and carried a worn satchel with his head buried low.

　　”I’m sorry, I’m in the wrong carriage, I’m in third class ……” He flashed his ticket, apologized to the steward, and then marched briskly toward his place in the third class carriage.

　　Klein withdrew his eyes, double-checked his destination, and waited for the carriage doors to close.

　　Just then, he heard another clutter of hurried footsteps, and then saw several men in black jackets and half-height bowler hats rushing into the compartment.

　　After the boy of fifteen or sixteen? Crane intuitively ventured the thought.

　　He shook his head slightly and continued to read his newspaper and map, no different from the other passengers in the carriage.

　　Note 1: This joke is from a former British magazine, Clumsy.