After lunch (to be precise, a meal of thin and bitter wheat porridge), under the leadership of Chad Weihe Hauser, a group of them were settled on the top or most remote layer of the tunnel, closest to the ground
The exit is not far away, but far away from other local "residents" - Glover's violent intrusion made them unwelcome.
After the operation, Kathleen lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep. Chadwick stood beside her and whispered a prayer. Rolf was still leaning in the corner, watching the scene with a complicated expression. Dorothy set up the stove and
Cooking pot, Gadama put her hands on her hips, pointing at Warniak and Bobo to prepare other bedding. Glover was rummaging through a pile of old goods or garbage, trying to find something.
Weapons.
"Is that all you pried out of her mouth?"
Beside the stove, Hilley and Thales talked in a low voice. The former asked the boy angrily:
"A silly nickname - Lausanne II?"
Thales looked embarrassed.
She fainted after the operation. What could he do?
"It's not just this," the young man tried his best to save some face, "At least we...then what do you want to know?"
"Too much!"
Xi Lai opened his palms and tapped his fingers again and again:
"When was the last time she met someone from Iris? What was the order she received? What exactly was she done? Are there any suspicious points in it? What happened to the Blood Bottle Gang? How did the Secret Service attack them?
What is Zhan’s plan?..."
Thales was overwhelmed by her scolding, but at this moment, Slimani's voice sounded from the opposite side:
"Hey, Master Magic! Brother Wyatt and Miss Wyana, have you figured it out? Where should we go next?"
Thales and Shilai both turned their heads with unhappy expressions.
I saw Srimani squatting on the wet ground, helpless and uneasy in front of a roll of hay.
"We'll leave when it gets dark. Don't worry, it's safe here..."
"Stop perfunctory with me!" Slimani raised his voice.
Obviously, today's experiences made him nervous.
"The person who just came down is the 'good neighbor' of the citizens of Emerald City, Kathleen, the 'Phantom Blade' of the Blood Bottle Gang," Slimani stared at Kathleen on the ground, "I recognize it, I remember it! When
When I was still in the police station, her younger brothers often came in to 'drink tea'."
Thales and Hilley looked at each other.
"What?"
Uncle Hauser, who was dealing with the work at hand, turned around when he heard this and stared at Slimani's obviously pampered hands and figure:
"Were you a green-skinned person before?"
"Yes, yes," the defense lawyer was a little embarrassed at first, and subconsciously tightened his abdomen and raised his chest, but then he figured it out and smiled bitterly, "I know, it doesn't look like it, does it? I don't go out on the streets very often?"
"On the contrary," Hauser snorted and turned around, unable to hide the disdain in his words, "It's so damn similar."
Hauser's attitude made Slimani a little embarrassed. He leaned close to the stove and glared at Thales:
"Please, a gang leader escaped here, and her two gangsters covered in blood...you have to tell me, what happened?"
Thales looked at Hilley, who shrugged and motioned for you to please go first.
All right.
The young man could only sigh:
"Let's put it this way, Kathleen's current situation is very similar to yours. The difference is that you are luckier and met us."
"Like me? But I was..."
Slimani looked puzzled, then was shocked: "Even the boss of the Blood Bottle Gang...oh no, Duke, Lord Zhan, is he crazy?"
"Maybe I'm just anxious," Thales thought, "My life is hanging by a thread, so of course I have to fight for my life."
The more Slimani thought about it, the worse he got, and he became frightened:
"No, no, no, people are dying in Emerald City, Kongming Palace is silencing people everywhere, even the Blood Bottle Gang... Emerald City is going to be in chaos, right?"
Xi Lai came back to his senses, his eyes cold.
"So, if you cooperate as soon as possible and tell us everything you know, maybe we can turn the tide."
"Turn the tide? Stop joking, it's just you?"
Srimani was emotionally unstable and became increasingly angry.
Xi Lai raised his eyebrows: "It's not us, but our master. You know, he has a noble status and superb methods..."
Thales sighed helplessly on the side.
"Come on, your master is the source of chaos," Slimani apparently ran out of patience and spoke faster and faster, "From the wine merchant to the wool merchant, and now, everything has come from him.
Start! If he didn’t come to Emerald City, none of this would happen! Neither would I, wouldn’t..."
Srimani buried his head in his hands, very frustrated.
Thales raised his eyebrows:
"Are you sure?"
"certainly!"
Srimani raised his head and said angrily:
"I have been in the Emerald City for so many years, from the Duke of Leinster to the Duke of Jenn, and it has never been this bad!"
Slimani sniffed, raised his head and looked around.
"God knows how I ended up in such a ghost place! The stinking ditch is full of rats and cockroaches, it's cold, wet, dirty and dark..."
clang!
A sharp metal collision suddenly sounded, making Srimani tremble in fright!
"Don't forget, this damn place and the smelly ditch saved your life."
Gadama walked past them, taking the blame behind his back, holding a spoon in his hand, his expression was very sarcastic:
"Of course, most people here are not as valuable as you, 'Sir'!"
"Of course," Slimani realized his current situation and hurriedly changed his expression, "Oh, I mean, thank you! You are all good people!"
"A good person? But don't be so sure yet," Gadama looked at him disdainfully with a ferocious smile, "You don't understand 'water ghoul'."
The aunt's expression and tone were quite scary. Coupled with the dim environment, Slimani swallowed:
"Wait, this place is opened by the Chadian priests, right? For charity?"
Uncle Hauser, who had his back to them, sneered.
Slimani hesitated: "He adopted these, these..."
"Do you want to say monster? Or deformed child?" Warniak, who had just finished his work and sat down opposite, snorted coldly.
"Sorry," Slimani's expression changed and he quickly lowered his head: "No, I didn't think so."
"real?"
Hilley sneered and shook his gloved hand intentionally or unintentionally:
"Then look around: dwarfs, fools, tumor people, seal people, lobster hands, hairy people, brainless people, two-headed people, and of course, people with polydactyly..."
"Wiana!"
Thales pressed her hand and shook his head.
Hilley looked back at him silently.
After a few seconds, she withdrew her hand.
Warniak across from them snorted in displeasure.
"No, Chad Wei didn't adopt them - do you think we are similar in age?"
Uncle Hauser turned back and chuckled:
"At most he is just helping."
Slimani frowned: "Then here..."
"It was a long time ago."
Hauser sighed:
"A certain Duke of South Bank, God knows which one, wanted to imitate the royal capital and rebuild the sewers, but he gave up halfway. As time went by, the half-built tunnels became filled with people, or simply put, deformed monsters lived in them.
They..."
Thales turned his head and looked at the tunnel: the residents each had a mutilated figure, and many of them were very sensitive to gaze. When Thales looked at them, most people quickly lowered their heads and turned around, or retreated deeper into the darkness.
Thales suddenly thought of the abandoned house many years later, and of Mertessa, who was guarding it and living his life without any hope of returning to the Brotherhood.
Uncle Hauser sat by the stove, and the way he put his little hands on the blanket was quite funny.
"Over the years, as the Emerald City has become more prosperous and expanded, the number of people in this tunnel has increased - from lepers to deformed abandoned babies, from disabled people to lunatics, from work-related injuries to paralysis to incurable diseases, this tunnel has become a complete
It is a complete stinking shit pit. Countless 'people' who are abnormal, not needed, and not wanted by the world on the ground will be thrown here, or forced here, forgotten by others, and left to fend for themselves..."
Warniak snorted angrily, and the giant tumor beside his neck became more glaring.
Slimani looked at the dark tunnel, his smile gradually disappearing.
"So that people on the ground can't see it, for the sake of the civilization and cleanliness of the Emerald City?" Thales said in a daze.
"More than that," Xi Lai chuckled and rubbed his hands:
"To drive out the 'abnormal' from the 'normal'."
Thales frowned slightly.
Srimani was silent for a while.
"Then how do the people here live?"
"Anything."
Uncle Hauser pointed to the pile of old goods behind him:
"I do some refurbishment work, Gadama does fortune telling and sells deceptive elixirs, Dorothy collects rags from the garbage dumps thrown above, and as for people like Warniak and Bobo
, just go to the circus to perform burlesque, jump through fire hoops, or go to a freak show for a day, and then come back in the evening, of course, there will be more people, lepers and the like... Well, just count the days."
Slimani forced a smile: "Oh, then... at least you are self-reliant. You are very... self-reliant?"
"Make no mistake, this place was not as 'normal' as it is now." In the firelight, Hauser stared at the dark and endless tunnel. "A long time ago, those 'people' who were forced here were twisted.
It’s not just the body.”
"What's the meaning?"
Lady Gadama sat next to Hauser and tucked a blanket over him:
"Have you ever seen a seven-year-old kid kill another sixty-year-old man just for a meal of rat meat in the pot? Or a deaf man who was pressed headfirst into the sewage just because his bunk was better?
Even the legend of the water ghoul is not without trace. At that time, even the territory of the Black Street Brotherhood was better than here," Gadama sneered and looked at the frowning Dorothy and Warniak.
, "Don't look at me, I also listened to what old Paulai said."
"We know," Warniak shook his head, "You've told it over and over again a dozen times."
"Really?" Slimani looked ugly, "Then now...it shouldn't be like that anymore?"
"Thanks to Sister Ilshagar," Hauser sighed. "She discovered this place a long time ago. Over the decades, she has devoted herself to treating deformed children as human beings regardless of the cost. She not only insisted on providing relief, but also worked hard to help the barbaric
Re-establishing—God knows how she did it—order out of chaos.”
Hauser nodded:
"The most important thing is that she did not expose this place, but gave the people here...the last bit of pitiful dignity."
"I still remember the last time she was on crutches and was helped down by Lord Chadwe. Yirshaga gave me her hairpin, saying that she was approaching the end of her life and would no longer need it."
Mother Dama's voice was a little stiff, "It's hard to imagine that grandma has been dead for so long."
"I went to her grave the day before yesterday to send flowers before the tombkeeper chased me away," Uncle Hauser patted his wife's hand, "May the setting sun bless her soul."
Warniak, Dorothy, Hauser, and even Bobo who only knew "woo woo woo"... The aborigines in the tunnel all prayed in unison, even better than the clergy in the temple.
There are also standards.
Thales looked at this scene in surprise.
It seems that Sister Ilshagar not only brought dignity, hope and order, but also the faith of the setting sun.
but……
“Trying to make people live more like human beings, rather than the other way around,” Thales lamented. “Perhaps in this aspect alone, she is better than most of the officials and lords in the kingdom. This nun is worthy of Sunset’s faith.
"
If the people here are saved because of the sunset believers, then why not?
But Thales noticed that Xi Lai beside him was motionless, just staring at the stove with his mouth raised.
"You know," Slimani suddenly spoke, but this time his tone was low, "I once had a child, but that child was born...without the back of the head."
"No...the back of the head?" Warniak looked surprised and subconsciously touched the back of his head.
Srimani looked at the stove with a sad expression:
"Yes, the doctor said it may be due to malnutrition and the child did not develop well in the mother's womb..."
"Is your child malnourished?" Gadama looked at his fine clothes and asked suspiciously.
Slimani patted his clothes, feeling embarrassed.
"I...I was very poor at that time, working for the Police Department, running errands and delivering letters, and the prices in Emerald City were so high, my mother-in-law could only live in a short-term rental house with me, hungry and full...
…”
"But you live above ground," Dorothy whispered.
Slimani's words paused, he sighed and closed his eyes.
"When our child was born, the doctor who delivered her was so frightened that she said she had delivered so many children and had never seen such a deformed child, a monster with only half a head."
Thales listened quietly, and there was silence in the tunnel for a moment.
"Not a monster."
Warniak suddenly spoke and shook his head, as if he wanted to convince more than just Slimani:
"No! Your child is just, just, just unlucky."
His voice was trembling and his eyes were sad.
Slimani was startled for a moment, then he slowly lowered his head:
"Yes, it's just, just not very lucky, not very lucky."
At this moment, the voice of Priest Chadwei came over:
"Everyone's natural appearance is both the grace of the goddess and a test."
Everyone turned around, and the priest, with a tired look on his face, came forward and joined their conversation:
"She's getting better. I'm sorry for causing trouble to you..."
"Don't worry about it, Mr. Chadwei," Madam Gadama said respectfully, "Brother Mohasa has something to say about what you said; doctors do not abandon terminal illnesses."
Chad Wei paused:
"Thanks."
He then asked Srimani:
"What happened to your son?"
Srimani reacted.
"daughter."
The defender said dejectedly:
"Our child, she was a daughter. For weeks, we tried everything we could find...but she died in the end. I, I could only try to comfort my wife."
Everyone fell silent.
Chad Wei sighed:
"Sunset Mercy."
Slimani chuckled lightly.
"But it's not over yet. One day my landlord came to me. He gave me money and asked me for help," he said bitterly. "His son followed the example of a gang of Blood Bottle Gang gangsters. After drinking, he
To be precise, the drug addict caused trouble and entered the squad room, and he needed me to go to the police station to exchange the confiscated evidence - a certain bag of medicines."
"I'm just a temporary worker in the police department, how dare I? But... he threatened me, if I don't do it..."
Slimani took a deep breath and suppressed his emotions:
"He is going to write an anonymous letter to report me, to incite the neighbors, saying that we country folk worship the devil, practice evil methods, give birth to such a deformed monster, and raise her at home..."
"What?" Thales couldn't believe it.
"I know, it's ridiculous, right?" Slimani gritted his teeth.
Amidst the murmurs of everyone, Priest Chadwei sighed.
"After the Year of Blood, the Emerald City was not doing well for a while."
The priest said dullly:
"There are too many people, not enough food, and all kinds of businesses are in jeopardy... The life of people, especially the people at the bottom, is very bad. Over time, there have been all kinds of rumors and nonsense. For example, the reason why our city is like this
Oops, it’s because it’s cursed—brought by strangers during the war.”
"The curse of the water ghoul?" Thales asked.
Chad Wei shook his head: "That's just one of them."
"In short, for more than half a year, the whole city has become fanatical. From good citizens to unemployed vagrants, from blood bottle gangs to small gangsters, from vagrants to beggars, everyone is keen to combat cult superstition and put an end to devil worship, especially those who
Foreigners, it seems that after getting rid of them, the Emerald City will get better and return to the past..."
The priest's words made everyone feel depressed.
"That's what happened to my cousin," Gadama said gloomily. "She was originally a famous numerologist from all over the country. She only needed a bowl of tea and could do calculations quickly and accurately...until she was reported and said she was cursed.
The neighbor's fields were handcuffed and taken away..."
"That's right, I fled here during the Year of Blood. At that time, the popular thing here was to crack down on 'foreign forces'."
Hauser sighed:
"If you dare to complain about high prices, someone will ask you, are you, a foreigner, taking money from foreign countries and planning to subvert the Emerald City from within?"
"Fortunately, the Duke of Leinster stepped forward in time to stop this farce and hang several rumor mills." Priest Chadvi glanced at Slimani, who looked sad and angry, and shook his head. "But the damage that has been caused...
"
The priest was silent.
"Then your landlord, did he report you?" Dorothy asked cautiously.
Slimani shook his head.
"In order to protect myself, I had to agree to him. I went to the police station and stole the key to the evidence room..."
The defense attorney sighed painfully.
"But that was just the first time. The landlord took it a step further and started asking me to do things for him, such as notifying him before the police department set off for inspections, so that he could hide illegal workers and resell antiques. He also forced me to take him in.
He stuffed me with money, as if he could get me on board, and if I refused, he would take my daughter..."
"Bah, despicable," Warniak said angrily, "and you just let him bully you? Just because you gave birth to an...unfortunate child?"
Slimani fell silent, and when he spoke again, his words were filled with hatred.
"You're right, how could I forget? Ha?"
He gritted his teeth:
"How can he be allowed to use my child to blackmail me and threaten me? When my wife is still woken up by nightmares every night, crying while holding an empty cradle?"
Thales felt his heart sink.
"So, when he came to me for 'business' for the last time and mentioned the 'dead child' openly or covertly, I made up my mind and wrote an anonymous report letter," Slimani took a deep breath and said, "
He was sent to prison together with his hopeless scoundrel son."
Thales frowned: "Then after him..."
"Hanging," Slimani replied, his tone so calm that startled everyone, "The charges are drug possession, drug trafficking, and evil worship."
Hauser frowned: "What?"
Slimani nodded, his brows twisted together in pain:
"The most powerful and critical piece of evidence is the carefully preserved and embalmed body of an infant... without a back of his head, hidden under the floor of his rental house."
Everyone was shocked.
Dorothy covered her mouth: "That's..."
Slimani closed his eyes and nodded in a daze.
There was silence in the tunnel.
Chad Wei sighed deeply:
"The test from God not only tests him himself, but also tests the people related to him, and even tests the believers of the goddess."
"You did the right thing," Shilai said suddenly, "your daughter helped you get revenge."
Thales frowned slightly.
"Yes, tit for tat, that landlord should have thought of this day when he harmed people! He deserves it!" Warniak gritted his teeth.
"But this is... too sad." Dorothy trembled.
"Woooooo!" Bobo waved his arms in displeasure.
"Quiet," Hauser suppressed everyone's chatter with his eyes, and turned back to comfort Slimani, "It's okay, man, at least, at least it's over."
Srimani opened his eyes.
"Yes, I thought, I thought this was the end, and I could finally return to my life, but..."
He paused for a moment, and the color in his eyes only became darker.
"But in the police station, my boss, or to be precise, his boss's boss, somehow found out about this," Srimani said blankly, "He took out my anonymous letter and said...
A handyman with good writing skills smiled and said, "Don't worry, he will not hold me accountable, but will also promote me."
Warniak's eyes lit up:
"Isn't this great?"
Thales frowned.
"Yes, pretty good."
Srimani laughed sadly,
"The premise is that I have to pass a test: write a closing report on a case in which the nephew of a high-ranking official violated a civilian daughter."
"I don't understand?" Warniak asked confused.
Slimani covered his face and snorted softly.
"That case was a hot job that no one wanted to do. The boss didn't want to offend anyone or make a mistake, so he pushed me on: If there was something wrong with this report, the person who wrote the report would be the scapegoat.
, an on-duty clerk, a temporary worker..."
He scratched his hair.
"But I couldn't refuse. My boss took advantage of me: I accepted bribes and was complicit with the landlord, including... framing him."
Thales sighed softly.
The tunnel became quiet, and only the sound of gurgling water could be heard.
"When trials come, demons will whisper, evil spirits will whisper," Priest Chadvi read the scriptures, his words were serious but his expression was compassionate, "in a language we cannot understand."
Slimani took a deep breath and shook his head feebly.
"I had no choice but to do it. I could only rack my brains and use all the grammar I learned in essay school to write my first police officer closing report - God knows how much I had been looking forward to this moment before that day.
, until it really comes - the writing is flawless and leaves no flaws: 'The person involved was a young woman, the crime occurred at dusk, she was alone outside, her clothes were light, her makeup was complete, and the flowers she carried with her were found to have aphrodisiac properties... When she went to work...
Close relationship with many men... Whether the relationship between men and women is consensual still needs further evidence...', Ha, I swear, I didn't write a single lie in it, they were all conclusions of the investigation, but when I testified in court, any
Anyone who reads the report will feel that the girl behaves inappropriately, has a suspicious identity and occupation, and goes out alone at night, perhaps because of a financial dispute afterwards..."
"What?"
Dorothy understood and was very angry: "How could you?"
Slimani looked ashamed and did not dare to raise his head.
"Yes, I know, many people know that it is very mean, but if I don't do this, my boss, my boss's boss will kill me, I, I have no choice..."
Everyone was silent, no one knew how to respond.
"But you have it, you have always had it," Heeley suddenly said, "It's just that you don't want to, or don't dare to admit it."
Slimani opened his mouth to speak, but in the end he just bowed his head.
"The devil whispers secrets, evil spirits murmur."
Priest Chadvi sighed:
"Those who are not firm in their thoughts will always be in trouble. Those who hesitate and look back will have a difficult road ahead."