Part 2: The Faceless Man Chapter 141: An Adventure in the East End
A crossroads in the East End of Birkeland.
Mike Joseph saw a number of poorly dressed children on the side of the street, wiped his mouth with his handkerchief and intended to give them some pennies.
However, he was stopped in his tracks by old Kohler, a former tramp:
”Those are thieves!”
”Thieves? Where are their parents? Or is this all controlled by gangs?” As a veteran reporter, although Mike had never been to the East End, he had vaguely heard that there were several gangs here that would control street children to steal or beg.
”Parents? They either don’t have parents, or their parents used to be thieves or are still doing it now, of course, Mr. Reporter, you are right, many of them are indeed controlled by gangs, and it is said that those gangs will also teach them how to steal, for example, hang a gentleman’s coat on the wall, put a handkerchief in the pocket, and dangle a pocket watch on the outside, and by practicing over and over again, do it so that you can steal the handkerchief and the pocket watch doesn’t appear to be wobbling, heh, this all what I heard in the poorhouse when I was a tramp.” Old Kohler rambled on, “The youngest burglar I remember ever catching in this street was only six years old, heh, six …… years old.”
He seemed to remember the child he had dyed and lost, and couldn’t resist pulling a crumpled cigarette from his coat pocket, but didn’t bother to smoke it, just sniffed the flavor.
”Six years old ……” Mike was a little shaken by the number.
Klein listened quietly and sighed:
”This is the East End.”
He looked around the room and adjusted his mood and said:
”It’s closer to the jungle than human society.”
”Our interview will have to be treated as an adventure, both in terms of knowing how to avoid the territory of dangerous creatures, and staying away from the little things that don’t look like they’ll do you any too much harm, well, I mean mosquitoes in the jungle.”
”Mike, if you expose the thickness of your wallet in front of those kids, even if you protect it well and don’t let them steal it, you’ll be in for a doomed mugging for the rest of your adventures, and if you’re brave enough to fight it off, maybe there’ll be one more dead body floating in the Tasoc River tomorrow morning.”
”Mr. Detective, you are so right! With all the people on the East End, a few missing every day won’t make anyone care.” Old Kohler agreed.
Mike listened with a stoic expression, and after a few seconds of silence, he suddenly spoke:
”One million three hundred and fifty thousand.”
”Huh?” Due to suffering from a cold, Klein’s voice was already noticeably a bit muffled.
Mike took a step forward and said:
”That’s the preliminary population count for the East End.”
”But I know that it must actually be quite a bit more than that.”
”That much?” Old Kohler was startled.
Although he had experienced both day and night in the Eastern District and knew intuitively that there were many residents here, he hadn’t expected it to be as many as this.
It was several times the population of Tingen City …… Klein subconsciously compared it to the place he knew best.
He glanced at the intersection a few steps away and said:
”Which way do we go next?”
Old Kohler looked up and said:
”Don’t ever go straight, that neighborhood is controlled by the Zimanga Party, they are vicious, completely unreasonable, and will definitely beat us up if they find a reporter interviewing us!”
The Zimanga? Isn’t that the gang of the “brainless” guy who caused me 10,000 gold pounds of damage? He was also some kind of executioner… I don’t even remember his name… Luckily, that 10,000 pounds was eventually exchanged for the Sequence 7, Sequence 6, and Sequence 5 potion formulas of the Diviner, the All Black Eye, and the Inferno Eye! “, in exchange for the life of Ambassador Intis …… also do not know about the third generation of differential machine manuscript was finally obtained by which power …… Klein immediately recalled the events of the beginning of last month.
”The Zimanga Party? The gang that’s made up mostly of Highlanders?” Mike asked thoughtfully in return.
”You’ve heard of them, Mr. Reporter?” Old Kohler was surprised.
Mike gave a heckle:
”They’ve been involved in quite a few cases, and have a bit of a reputation outside of the East End, and it’s rumored that a member was once involved in an Intis spy case.”
…… Next to you is the person in question, the person who reported the case, the victim …… Klein added silently.
”You decent gentlemen know all about the Zimmerg party, why don’t the police arrest them all?” Old Kohler asked with the thinking of the people at the bottom.
Mike’s expression turned a little hard and he coughed twice:
”You can only arrest the ones who have done cases, the rest can’t be arrested without evidence, and the Eastern District is so big, with such a large population, it’s hard to find anyone who really wants to hide.”
With that said, he sighed and said:
”It’s easy to destroy a Zimmerg party, but as long as there are still Highlanders coming to Birkeland, and as long as they retain their tradition of good bravery and haven’t found another way to make a living, it’s only a matter of time before a new Zimmerg party emerges.”
That’s the complex social problem …… Klein pointed to the left and right:
”Pick a side.”
Old Kohler looked to the right street:
”It’s the Fairey Party that’s active there, as long as you don’t mess with the ladies on the street and in the bars who do, well, that kind of business, you won’t be noticed by them, huh, it’s morning, it won’t be a problem, they’re all still sleeping.”
The word “Philly” means “outlaw” in Loon, and the gangsters who chose that name were pretty self-aware, so to speak.
Klein and Mike had no problem with this and entered the neighborhood with their guide.
The buildings here were relatively good, the streets were not so dirty, and the air was filled with the smell of oyster soup, fried meat and fish, ginger beer, and other food and drinks left behind by street vendors, as well as the fishy smell of fish and water.
Walking around, Klein had an inexplicable sense of familiarity, like he was back in Tingen City, back in Iron Cross, back in the street outside the apartment building where he had first lived.
The only difference was probably that Birkeland was closer to the sea, had more transportation, and the sea fish were quite plentiful here.
”It’s the nicer apartment in the neighborhood, I’ve wandered around it a few times before and found the gentlemen and ladies in it to be better dressed and, well, cleaner.” Old Kohler pointed to a pale yellow, three-story building.
The trio leaned over and noticed that there was also a sign hanging in front of the apartment that depicted a pocket watch, wall clock, and screwdriver with the words “Repair Clocks.”
”A watchmaker lives here?” Klein dug up a similar scene from fragments of the original owner’s memory.
At that time, Benson, Melissa, and he were going to a similar place to repair the silver pocket watch left behind by his father, but the item was repaired several times, and then all broke down quickly, until it was pounded by Melissa to be completely fixed, becoming the most decent thing on Klein’s body in that period of time.
The watch, which had both monetary and sentimental value, was not buried with Klein when he “passed away”.
Now it belongs to Benson, doesn’t it? I wonder if he’ll think of me every time he pulls out that pocket watch …… Klein suddenly blinked and outlined the corners of his mouth.
”I think so.” Mike wasn’t sure.
If something went wrong with his pocket watch, it was usually sent to the original watch store, which assigned it to a subordinate repairman or entrusted it to a longtime craftsman.
Just as they entered the apartment, they saw a bearded, middle-aged man.
This gentleman had just come out of the lavatory to return to his room, and on discovering that three strangers had entered, he busied himself with a question:
”To repair the clock?”
What a coincidence …… to meet that smith directly …… Klein was slightly surprised.
Mike pulled out his pocket watch and smiled:
”Yes, my pocket watch has always gone out of time recently, you help me look at it.”
He didn’t reveal his identity, intending to do the interview as casual small talk.
The middle-aged man instantly revealed a smile and guided them into a two-bedroom room with a half-covered door, pointing to the chair next to the wooden table:
”You guys wait, I’ll get my tools.”
”Your tools aren’t at home?” Mike asked in surprise.
The clockmaker shook his head and laughed:
”How can that be?”
”A set of tools is very expensive, I can’t afford it by myself, I can only pool money together and buy three or four sets, whoever has a business will use them, so we moved to one piece, huh, it’s more convenient this way, if it’s too far away from each other, you’ll have to spend extra time and public wagon fees to borrow the tools.”
He said as he walked out the door and to the side.
It turned out that it was no coincidence that we had run into a watchmaker, and that many of the occupants of this place were watchmakers …… Klein was instantly dazed.
Old Kohler, on the other hand, examined the room and said enviously:
”I lived in a place like this before I got sick, and my wife would help sew at home, two kids, two kids ……”
Mike then sighed and lowered his voice:
”I thought watchmakers were rich.”
”So did I ……” Klein pinched his nose.
……
After exchanging cordial words with several of the apartment’s occupants, Klein and the others set off on their adventure once more.
They had walked a hundred meters or so when they suddenly heard someone arguing in the street.
The two ladies were vocally greeting each other in a variety of nasty languages, teaching Klein a number of previously unheard words.
The reason for their quarrel was that the one on the left accused the woman on the right of making the apartment she lived in dirty and making noise, while the woman on the right scolded the one on the left back, arguing that it was her own problem and that no one had told her to solicit customers at night and sleep during the day.
”That’s a slurry washerwoman?” Mike asked as he listened with a slight frown.
”Yes, I know her, she’s a widow with two daughters of her own helping with the laundry.” Old Kohler replied in the affirmative.
Mike thought for a few seconds and said:
”Show me their house.”
Old Kohler nodded and led the two men around the scene of the quarrel and into the dilapidated house that was clearly inferior to the apartment that had just been built.
Just outside the room of the berrywoman, Klein immediately felt the dampness.
Inside there hung dress after dress that had not yet dried, and a young girl of seventeen or eighteen was squatting in front of a large basin, slurping things that were bubbling with foam, while a girl a little younger than her held a hot iron wrapped in damp linen and carefully handled the items that had already been washed and dried, her movements so careful that it seemed as if she had already been scalded by the steam a number of times.
This was both their workplace and where they slept at night, and the moist vapor filled the room and soaked into their bodies.
In addition, the stench of various odors mixed together was so obvious.
”Don’t you feel bad?” Mike pinched his nose.
Klein answered in a jarred voice:
”I’ve got a cold. ……”
He didn’t smile a bit at that statement.
Mike loosened his fingers and stepped into the room, addressing the two surprised teenage girls:
”I’m a reporter and I’d like to interview the berrywoman.”
The young girl who was scrubbing the laundry shook her head numbly:
”We have too much to do to be delayed.”
With that, Mike’s request for an interview was denied.
He came out with a heavy expression and walked back down the street in silence.
Looking away, he pursed his lips and said:
”Let’s get on with it.”
……
Silver City, Derek Berg, who was experiencing hallucinations and visions, was examined in detail and taken to the bottom of the Round Tower.
–This place housed residents who showed signs of losing control, trying to save them with various methods.
Walking through the eerie, dimly lit aisles, he suddenly felt some inexplicable chill.
”Help!”
Such a scream suddenly came out from a closed room.
”Help ……”
That voice ended abruptly, and there was silence all around.