Although more than a hundred years have passed, the city's layout has completely changed.
However, Isaac could still barely find traces of the past... After all, this port city was originally the place where he was born.
Annan followed him, watching Isaac go into alleys that were familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar, while thinking and recalling, looking for long-gone memories.
"I still remember this place... this should have been a broken wall."
When Isaac led Annan through the alley, he stretched out his hand and gestured in the middle of the alley: "It is only about one meter high, and there is a dent on it for some reason. It looks like it was broken by a long-handled hammer.
trace."
"Break the wall, but not completely?"
Annan asked jokingly: "In that case, it is very suitable to climb over when escaping. If you ambush under the corner, you might be able to kill a few."
"Maybe that's true."
Isaac nodded instead. He stretched out his hand to support the beautiful and neat white stone walls around him, feeling nostalgic: "If I remember correctly, this place should have been the houses of residents. There are some dirt on the walls, except
In addition to dried blood, there are also excrement. And the marks drawn by thieves and pirates on the wall - in addition to being used to convey information, they are also used by undercover agents to exchange intelligence.
"But now, it has turned into a bakery. The one next door has turned into selling shell products... What is it called, a souvenir shop?"
Isaac said as he hurried forward.
He was not seeking an answer from Annan.
Just because of everything around him, there was a huge change from the city in Isaac's childhood impression.
It was only then that Isaac realized one thing very clearly.
That is, since Isaac left this city...until he died and was reborn, he never came back.
Everything in the "Black Sail Town" in front of him was different from the "Red Sail Town" in his memory.
The people of the past are gone, the buildings are gone, and even the name of the town has changed... Except that it is indeed the same place geographically, Isaac can't even find any trace of the past.
Annan turned his attention to Isaac who was walking in front and stared at him intently.
But Isaac ignored Annan.
He just looked at everything around him...as if he was trying to dissect the projection of the past.
But the harder he tried to recall the past, the paler his words became: "I still remember this place...ah, yes, that's right. This was not a square originally. It was originally blocked by two walls, forming an acute-angled alley.
A bunch of garbage is piled up here. We call this the 'Stinky Alley'. Those gangs will dump the corpses directly here, and after they rot, they will give off a very smelly smell.
"I still remember here... Yes, in this alley, there used to be an old man with a sick mind living here. The children on this street were all afraid of him. Some said he ate children, and some said he had lives in his hands.
Others say he is an old assassin who failed to assassinate wizards.
"But I'm not afraid of him, because I heard that he used to be an inventor, and then because of something, I think he may have offended someone and became like this and went crazy, or maybe he was pretending to be crazy, but anyway... who knows.
"
Isaac spoke very fast. And it was getting faster and faster.
His pupils trembled slightly, as if he was confused or panicked.
Even Isaac himself didn't know what the tidal wave of emotions in his heart was.
In a sense, "Black Sail Town" is not much different from "Hong Sail Town" more than a hundred years ago.
The fish market still has the same stinky smell. The gambling stalls still sell human lives. Gangs of pirates, large and small, are still running rampant. There are still the same number of people coming and going.
Some people became rich overnight, while others became penniless in an instant. On the one hand, under the intimidation of the "supervisors" from the mounted police and gangs, everyone enjoyed a relatively safe and stable life in the sunshine area...
And after darkness falls, it becomes a lawless zone of chaos and hustle and bustle.
None of this has changed from before.
but……
The dilapidated alleys have become tidy, and the old and dirty houses have been bulldozed and rebuilt. People's clothes are no longer as shabby as they were more than a hundred years ago, and there are no longer iron racks pushing various fish hanging on the streets.
Children were walking around, and children controlled by gangs, begging or stealing were also missing.
At least on the surface, "Black Sail Town" has indeed changed for the better.
However, it is completely different from the "Red Sail Town" in Isaac's impression.
Isaac suddenly became silent.
Without saying a word, he carefully took Annan around the streets and alleys of Black Sail Town. He seemed to be lost, constantly turning back, and he seemed to have a clear goal and was looking for something.
Suddenly, Isaac's steps stopped.
What appeared in front of Annan was the middle-aged man who was dragged behind the horse after being beaten.
The man's face was so bloody that it was almost impossible to see his original appearance. The gravel was embedded in the flesh, and perhaps also in the bones.
He might be dead, or he might just be in a coma. He was tied under a streetlight, his head lowered.
And a little boy whose legs and ankles were loosely tied with a rope, and another little girl whose feet were also tied, were being beaten by a thin and tall man with a white mask wearing an exaggerated smile on his face.
Carry one on the left and one on the right with you.
The tall man put his hands on the shoulders of the two children. Or it could be said that he put them on their necks.
His hands were so big that it looked as if he could easily break the necks of the two children. His brown pupils seemed to be solidified and dried blood.
As for the two children, neither cried loudly nor acted hysterically.
The little girl just lowered her head and sobbed quietly, while the little boy stared at the middle-aged man who didn't know whether he was dead or not with a complex look that was mixed with sadness, resentment, and pain.
There was a circle of people around.
The people gathered in the innermost circle were all thin men with relatively dark skin. They were all wearing loose jackets with many metal zippers, and their hands were clasped behind their backs with expressionless faces.
There were also a few men and women who were over two meters tall and looked very fat. They looked like machine gun bullets were hung on their bodies, and there were strange spikes hanging on each shoulder.
Behind the tall men, there were some dealers with good figures, mysterious temperament, and beautiful faces standing together.
Although this was the first time for Annan to see this scene.
But thanks to the "childhood" that Isaac told him before, he immediately recognized it - this was the "gambling stall" that Isaac had mentioned before.
…But wasn’t that gambling stall owner’s entire family killed?
"Are they still open?"
Annan exclaimed: "That's really a century-old store."
"……No."
Isaac suddenly spoke.
His voice was low: "We have passed by that gambling stall before... it has been converted into a clinic now.