Because he was sleeping in a strange place, Xia De woke up very early the next morning. He touched the pocket watch on the bedside and saw that the time was half past six, so he thought of going downstairs to see if there would be a newspaper delivered.
He knew that people in Tobesk City generally had the habit of ordering newspapers.
The former detective could be considered middle-class by any means, and the nature of his job also required him to read newspapers to understand the news. Therefore, it is indeed possible for the current Shad to inherit the future newspapers.
Wearing slippers, I walked up the stairs to the foyer on the first floor. I looked at the sealed first floor with some curiosity, thinking that if I had time, I could take apart a piece of wood and take a look inside.
The gas lamp in the foyer was turned on. Unfortunately, I didn't see the newspaper inserted through the delivery port on the footmat in front of the door.
Shaking his head with regret, he wanted to change clothes and go out to have breakfast. But as soon as his slippers touched the first step, he heard the sound of the bell.
There is a door rope outside the door of this apartment building. When pulled, the rope will affect the gear mechanism inside the door and ring the bell on the inside. It is considered a simple doorbell.
"The newspaper delivery guy is here? No, why is the newspaper delivery guy knocking on the door... Could it be that it's time to pay for the next month's newspaper subscription?"
Shade, who had little savings, thought with some panic in his heart. He calculated the remaining money and turned to look at the door uneasily. No matter who was outside the door, he could not recognize him, and the possibility of collecting money was not high.
The probability is to find the owner of this place.
"Maybe a new client?"
In a worse case scenario, the rent-collecting landlord may have arrived.
There was no structure like a cat's eye on the door, so Shade could only come to the door and use the language knowledge he gained yesterday to translate and ask:
"Who is it?"
Immediately I got the answer from outside the door, it was a familiar voice:
"Is it Hamilton Detective Agency? I'm Bill Schneider, do you remember me? We were the psychiatrist yesterday. We exchanged business cards at the door of the newspaper office opposite the Lark Club."
On this early morning, which was also shrouded in fog, one of the few people in this world whose name Shade knew came to visit him.
Unexpectedly, the visitor was Dr. Schneider. Shade stood behind the door, wondering whether he should open the door. He only hesitated for a moment before letting the psychiatrist outside the door know the detective's precautions:
"Mr. Hamilton, you don't have to think too much. Although it is strange to come to visit at this time, I have no ill intentions. After all, I don't have much time. Please take a look at this first."
The man outside the door was talking and delivered a piece of paper through the newspaper delivery slot.
"Remember what I said yesterday? Adult education, correspondence teaching. Detective, you have a very special talent."
Shade bent down and took the piece of paper, then raised his hand and slightly turned on the light of the gas lamp in the foyer. With this light, he saw that it was an admissions brochure.
"Um?"
He suspected that he was dazzled or had not yet woken up.
The paper in his hand, which is about the same size as A4, outlines the shape of a parchment roll with silver edges. This is an admissions promotion document for an institution of higher learning called "St. Byrons Comprehensive College". Except for the words "Locked up by chains" directly above
Apart from the "book"-shaped school logo, there are not many patterns, and the printed text takes up most of the paper.
St. Barrons Comprehensive College is not recruiting ordinary students, they are recruiting "correspondence" adult students.
In addition to this, the ten departments of the college are also written on the paper, indicating the tuition fees, admission time, academic year system, enrollment conditions and restrictions, and the recommendation-based registration process. At least from these aspects, this is just a college.
Ordinary school.
"But why is there no school address?"
It took Xia De a long time to ask, and then he was surprised that he did not ask whether the other party had a mental illness, but actually came over to deliver enrollment documents to a stranger early in the morning.
"Your observations are very keen."
The psychiatrist outside the door praised, and then asked:
"Well, at least let me go inside and talk, okay? Maybe I can answer your questions about... the other you in your head."
The voice in his head did not appear because of the mention. Shade opened his mouth and opened the door anyway.
A middle-aged doctor carrying a briefcase, wearing a brown coat and a small silk hat, stood on the steps. He was wearing a pair of thick black boots. He still had a dressy mustache, and his blue eyes made people feel
Very fond of:
"Don't forget your milk."
He pointed to the milk crate on the left side of the door. He spoke with a standard accent and was probably a native of Tobesk City:
"When I came here just now, the milkman had just left."
"Okay, please come in."
Shade nodded hesitantly, looked at the doctor, and tried his best to make a kind expression. He picked up the key on the shoe cabinet and opened the lock of the milk box. The psychiatrist followed after Shade got the milk bottle.
He walked into the apartment door.
He was also surprised by the sealed part on the first floor, but the doctor didn't say anything more. Instead, he and the silent Shade walked along the stairs to Room 1 on the second floor.
After letting the doctor wait for a while, Shade went back to the bedroom and changed his clothes, and then boiled hot water to entertain the guests. Although there was no food in the kitchen, at least there was black tea for the client of the detective case, otherwise Shade could only serve the guests with boiled water.
Already.
After everything was settled, the two sat down to talk.
The fabric sofa set in the living room has a sense of age, I don't know if it is an antique. It is two long and two short, surrounded by a wooden coffee table from all sides, which is very suitable for discussing business with the client.
The doctor and Shade were sitting on the couch facing each other.
"There's no need to introduce yourself. First, I want you to trust me."
The mustached psychiatrist Schneider spoke first. He smiled and thanked Shade for the black tea:
"I came here really for the college promotional page I just gave you. First of all, let me describe your current symptoms-"
"Wait a minute, are the symptoms related to school?"
Shade asked, but he already had a guess in his mind. He was not a "local". He had seen those crazy fantasies and was more adaptable to this situation. The "St. Byrons Comprehensive College" mentioned by the other party was probably the same as Huo Huo's.
Gewirtz is a Title I school.
"Of course, please listen to me. Mr. Shade Hamilton, can you hear another voice in your head?"
Although Shade tried hard to control his expression, he could see his failure in the smile of Mr. Schneider opposite him.
The doctor added:
"Is that voice saying some incomprehensible words? And, are some words helpful to you? He will whisper in your ear and speak suddenly when you don't expect it, but he has no malice towards you."
Shade knew he couldn't hide it, so he nodded.
"And, detective, your symptoms must have appeared within 72 hours."
"To be precise, 24 hours."
Shade said.
"That's even better. Then we still have a lot of time. It seems we are very lucky. After all, the talent awakening time is 72 hours. This way, I have more time to explain the situation to you."
Dr. Schneider smiled and said:
"The above symptoms are similar to those of schizophrenia, but they don't actually appear to me."
He pointed to himself, looked at Shade with his blue eyes, and spoke very slowly:
"For certain groups of people, the existence of 'another self' is a wonderful and dangerous talent. No, it should be said that this is an early manifestation of talent. If it can be guided, then you can see more real
A world of mystery and danger, if not guided..."
"Return to the ordinary?"
"No, it's worse."
The doctor shook his head:
"I don't want to deceive you, at least there is no need for it now. To be clear, this is a sign of the 'Circle Warlock' talent. It is a very rare talent. You can regard it as a gift of fate or a curse of fate.
As for the 'Circle Warlock', you can think of it as a special profession that can use...mysterious power. I hope you understand what I mean."
The doctor is deliberately observing Shade's expression. This era is still an era of ignorance, and people who believe in the righteous god generally do not accept concepts such as "witchcraft." But fortunately, just like the doctor's investigation, the detective opposite him found out a few days ago
He is also a person with a brain problem, who only returned to normal due to the awakening of his talent, so his concept is different from that of normal citizens.
On the other side, the guess was confirmed, and Shade nodded hesitantly. He wanted to pretend to be surprised, because normal people would definitely be surprised, but at this moment, he felt particularly calm inside, even a little too calm. He thought this
Maybe it’s because I was too stressed yesterday:
"In other words, hearing strange sounds in the ears is actually a manifestation of some... system, a power system? Many people do this? It's like some people can see further, and some people can hear further.
many?"
Shade asked.
"Yes, 'I am you, you are me', this is true for every Ring Warlock. If you successfully become a Ring Warlock, then this voice will accompany you throughout your life and help you throughout your life. That voice is another you, just yours.
The vision is just different. He will help you contact this crazy and noisy world in a more real way, contact the secrets and weirdness. Knowledge, information and even words have dangerous power, and outside the safe world of ordinary people, we cannot
Use your soul to get directly close to the power that can distort you."
The doctor waited a moment and gave Shade time to think:
"But the awakening time of a ring warlock's talent is very short. From the first whisper in the ear to the complete disappearance of the sound, it usually takes 72 hours, and not every talent can hear the sound frequently and be aware of it.
It's not their own thoughts. They will only think of it as an illusion or something wrong with their ears.
Therefore, Detective Shade Hamilton, whether it is the three major colleges or the church, it is very difficult to recruit and train new personnel. Therefore, I say that we are all very lucky."