Lorenzo Holmes arrived in Old Dunlin six years ago and now works as a private detective in this city of steel and steam.

Another person died.

That's what people are talking about this morning.

According to the "Queen's Daily", a man was shot and killed at the junction of Erins and the inner city in Dongcheng District. Because it was close to the inner city where rich people lived, the patrols were dispatched very quickly, but just like before

Many times, they found nothing.

According to Su Yalan's autopsy, the man was hit head-on with a shotgun at close range. The scattered bullets battered the front of his body to a bloody mess, making it difficult to distinguish his appearance. However, based on the tanned skin and the faint fishy smell, Su Yalan

The Department speculated that he was a sailor, but they didn't know why the sailor appeared there that day. It was obviously very far from the harbor, and he had no motive to come here.

Another mystery, at least that's what the public thinks.

No one was surprised by this result, or even panicked. After all, everyone has been used to it for a long time.

This is Old Dunling, the heart of the entire Inverge, the heart of the entire world. The first steam engine in human history came from here.

Therefore, countless strangers come here every day, some for wealth, some for knowledge, and some for power.

Excessive abortions have brought about deterioration in public security. In order to maintain order, Jiudu Dunling has been divided into four urban areas, each of which is linked to another.

The center is the center of power of the entire Ying Erweg. The Platinum Palace where Queen Victoria lives is there. At the same time, the Wangli Third Mobile Troop is stationed there. Beyond this is the inner city, where most of the wealthy and noble people of Old Dunling live.

Here, you enjoy the 24-hour protection of the patrol. Beyond this is the outer city area divided into four small areas. Most residents live here, which is the largest part of the entire old Dunling. The last one is Xiamen.

urban area.

According to the visitor’s documents, various areas of Old Dunling are open to them one by one. If you are dressed in rags, you cannot enter the outer city at all. At most, you can only hang out in the lower city area, and the lower city area is not considered in a sense.

urban area.

It was a slum at first, but as more and more people came here, the lower city continued to grow, and finally became so large that even the consul had to face it.

Therefore, a chaotic and disorderly urban area emerged, where the largest black market transactions in the entire Old Dunling were conducted, and the final incineration furnace for all secret information. It was only a thin line away from the world that everyone pursued.

This dead sailor was from the lower town. In the eyes of the residents of Inverg, the people from the lower town were not even human beings. They were just a bunch of dirt that tarnished this beautiful city.

The sailor's death became the talk of everyone, and no one cared at all except one person, the man who killed him.

Lorenzo is walking in the downtown area. Now he is on the edge of the downtown area. The infrastructure here is not the same at all. His boots are treading on the muddy road. If it were not for his livelihood, Lorenzo would not come here.

this.

Wearing a deerstalker hat dyed black, with his short pale blond hair pushed down, a dark red tie on his chest, and a wide gray and black windbreaker that perfectly blocked the firearm underneath, he held his cane and looked at it from time to time.

Pocket watch, looks like a businessman in a hurry.

Lorenzo's clothes were just right and he was no different from an ordinary pedestrian, but now he was in the lower town, and to the people in the lower town, he was just a fat sheep who had strayed here by mistake.

People from different countries and regions are waiting for this fat sheep in the corner. This place is not under the jurisdiction of the patrol. Even if someone dies, there is rarely any accountability. After all, there is a huge flow of people here, and countless people arrive with ships every day.

this city.

There is everyone among them, and they know very well who they should attack and who they should not attack.

Several new strangers became interested in Lorenzo, and they quietly divided Lorenzo's property. Some wanted his windbreaker, and some wanted his pocket watch.

The rest of the people just ignored this. After Xiacheng District became the black market of Old Dunling, a new black industry chain was formed here. Most of the people who dared to rob people were gang members. If they helped, they would only get themselves involved.

On the dirty street, this group of people surrounded Lorenzo with fierce eyes.

"My friend is well dressed."

The leader looked at Lorenzo with a smile on his face. This was not a kindness, he just found that Lorenzo's pocket watch was much more valuable than it looked.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do this."

The voice was a little helpless, as if he was used to it, and Lorenzo didn't care about what happened to him.

This was the case in the Lower City. He had killed a few desperate people before with dozens of people watching, thinking that he would gain some prestige. However, it still happened every time he came here. Lorenzo thought that someone was targeting him, but

Later he discovered that this group of people was just gone.

This is the lower town, the temporary residence of those foreigners. According to Inverg's law, this is not protected by the kingdom, and the people here are not citizens. Beyond this is the estuary of the Thames, where

It has the largest seaport in Inverg, and the people hanging out in the lower city may be here one day, but may go to other seas with the fishing boats the next day.

There are also gang reasons for this. The only interests in the black market are these. For these industrial gangs, conflicts break out in the lower city every day. People die every day. Their corpses will be thrown directly into the Thames River. After being filtered by the steam hub, the corpses will

It will be incinerated together with other debris.

It's not that no one remembers Lorenzo, it's just that they died too quickly.

The bright knife dangled in front of Lorenzo's eyes, and just as he was thinking about how to deal with these desperate thugs, the sound of rapid horse hooves sounded, and a dark carriage stopped by the street. The carriage driver didn't know what to do when he saw this scene.

He politely took out his pistol and shot at these thugs.

He was really rude. After a few gunshots, the bodies of the thugs were lying in front of Lorenzo. People on the street fled because of the gunfire. For a while, only he and he were left on the empty street.

Coachman.

"Mr. Holmes?"

It seemed that he couldn't see Lorenzo clearly because of his old age, but the shooting just now was so precise that it was a bit difficult to judge the coachman.

"it's me."

After glancing at the emblem on the carriage, Lorenzo got on the carriage without hesitation, but instead of sitting in the carriage, he sat at the front of the carriage and sat with the carriage driver.

"What happened to those people?"

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Lorenzo looked disgusted.

"Stowaways. There have been more and more stowaways recently. Most of them are criminals. They think they can usher in a new life in Old Dunling, but they don't know that starting a new life requires saying goodbye to their past... They still retain

He has the mentality of a thug, so he has caused a lot of trouble recently."

The coachman waved his whip, and the carriage started slowly, moving forward on the muddy road.

"Shrike doesn't care about this?"

"Your Excellency has been very busy recently. There are two gangs that are about to go to war because of territorial issues. Your Excellency has been mediating recently. Those two gangs have important industries. Your Excellency doesn't care whether they win or lose, but because of their conflict, those industries will inevitably decline.

Affected, their lives are not that valuable."

"Hmm...it seems to be his style." Lorenzo said and nodded.

"By the way, Mr. Holmes, if you want to come next time, please tell me in advance. I will come to pick you up. This can avoid unnecessary conflicts."

The coachman added, as considerate as a butler.

Lorenzo nodded and said nothing. Although he got into the car not long ago, it was obvious that he had arrived at his destination.

Behind a series of dilapidated buildings is a hidden castle, made of various piles of rubble, hung with tattered flags and iron frames, like the work of an artist.

He got off the car and took off his hat to thank the coachman. This was something he had only learned in etiquette class for a long time. He was too lazy to think about what occasion it should be used for, but it had become part of his habit.

Walking towards the weird castle, the half-opened door opened directly to him, and then the true appearance of the lower city was revealed before his eyes.

Different from the dilapidated outside world, this place is as luxurious as the inner city, like traveling from the slums to the Platinum Palace in an instant.

It was already the end of October, and the weather was getting colder, but Lorenzo still felt a heat the moment he entered, not only physically, but also in his heart.

The space inside is much larger than it looks from the outside. Various precious paintings are hung on the pale gold walls. The floor is made of marble that can reflect people's figures. Waiters with gorgeous masks are holding plates on various gaming tables.

Bringing drinks.

The distant female voice singing on the high platform in the center stirred up the atmosphere of the entire casino.

Incense was lit in the exquisite iron cages around it. The smell was very good, but it contained a trace amount of stimulants, making those hesitant guests put all their chips on the line.

This is what Xiacheng District is really like, full of life and money.

Unlike the inner city, this area is not subject to jurisdiction and has become a den for many noble people to sell their stolen goods. They seem to be gambling, but they are diverting their wealth to another channel. The amount of secret currency transactions here every day is an amount that is difficult for ordinary people to reach. Of course,

There will also be many excitement-seeking nobles coming here, and they are all VIPs from the Lower City.

Shrike once told himself this. According to Yin Erweg's law, everyone here's crime is enough to spend the rest of his life in prison. Of course, therefore, the entire aristocracy of Old Dunling will be reduced by at least one third.

people.

No one stopped Lorenzo. Unlike those short-lived strangers in the outside world, the people here can live a long time, and they know very well who Lorenzo is.

Pushing open the iron doors, Lorenzo easily reached the deepest part of the underground, where he met the employer of this business.

The man was wearing an exquisite silver mask with carvings of thorns and birds. He was sitting behind an oak table, the whole room was filled with incense, and the song was slowly flowing from the gramophone. He closed his eyes and waved like a conductor.

His hands, until Lorenzo's arrival broke the world he was immersed in.

"Welcome! my friend!"

He saw Lorenzo and smiled in welcome.

This is the real ruler of Lower City, the Shrike who all gangs bow to.

Butcher Bird Shrike.

Lorenzo sat opposite him unceremoniously and spoke directly without any polite words.

"There was nothing on that man. Before he died, he seemed crazy. He couldn't ask anything, and there were no clues to investigate."

"Huh? Is that really true?" Shrike took out the wine glass from under the table and poured his favorite wine into it. "Lorenzo, you are the best detective I have ever seen. You should have discovered more than this, right?
To be continued...