Lord of Mysteries: Yao Guang

It is even easier to rent an apartment in the East District.

Many farmers who went bankrupt due to the "Corn Bill" flocked to the factories lined with Backlund, and renting without status became the norm in the chaotic East End. On the other hand, there is not much security protection in such an environment. The gangs here do much more than the police. Everyone just wants to earn a living.

The landlord was a very cold and lanky man. He was missing a little finger on his right hand. He was holding a bunch of iron keys that were almost rusty. But seeing the bulge on his waist, Esther was very suspicious of the coat. There was a pistol tucked underneath.

Perhaps it was because Esther's small body could not survive more than two days in the eyes of the man. After collecting the two weeks' rent, which amounted to ten soles, he didn't even ask for a deposit. He just grabbed a key and roughly threw it to Esther. Te, not caring about anything else: "You want the one with windows."

Although she felt the other person's contempt and disdain, Esther was happy to leave such an impression on others.

Anyway, she may go to other places at any time, and she can no longer leave too many traces like she did in Lily of the Valley Street.

There was nothing in the room except an extremely hard bed, a wooden board that could be used as a tabletop when put down, and a few hooks nailed to the wall. There were no pillows or matching bedding on the bed, and it was at most half a meter higher than the ground. The already low ceiling made the room look cramped and cramped, and it was really shabby to the extreme.

No wonder they don’t even ask for a deposit. The most valuable thing in this house may be the door lock that comes with this key. Esther muttered, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting down the board. The barbs left by the rough work pricked her fingers, making Esther sigh.

Xiao Qi struggled to squeeze out of her satchel, landed on the window sill, and gasped: "Ha, I'm so suffocated. Why do you keep closing your bag with your hands?"

"Ah, sorry, I'm a little nervous."

"I really doubt how long a character like yours can survive in the East District." Xiao Wu also poked his head out of the small pocket of his satchel and made a sarcastic remark.

"I don't plan to make money in the East District," Esther took out her harmonica from her backpack and wiped it gently. "Anyway, there is a steam subway. I can go to various areas to play, wander around to avoid the reprimands of the police officers, and then come back at night. Come and stay in the East End.”

Xiao Qi tilted her head: "I won't stay here for long. I have to leave for a while to the suburbs of Backlund."

"Huh? Do you have a plan?" Esther checked the switch on the window, but as soon as it was pulled up, the choking smell of smoke from the street kept pouring in, mixing with the damp musty smell in the house. , Esther quickly closed the window again.

"Go and ask those who may know."

Xiao Wu seemed surprised. It seemed to know who Xiao Qi was going to find: "Are you serious!?"

"Of course, how many people can survive from the Third Age to today? He is the most likely to know."

Esther's curious eyes flickered between the two, but no one gave her an explanation this time, so she could only keep a bunch of questions in her heart for the time being.

However, she also noticed that the personal pronoun Xiao Qi mentioned was "he" again.

Really terrible.

"Then are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Well, because I don't want Him to notice you. It's much safer to find Him in the suburbs than in Backlund city. But I can only find Him when He is willing to see me."

"It sounds mysterious. Is this because of some extraordinary ability?" Esther frowned, "Are you in danger?"

Xiao Qi laughed: "There is nothing in this world that is not dangerous. I will be fine, but I still need a piece of your hair."

Esther reached out and pulled out a bang from her forehead: "No wonder you always remember me and find me in Lily of the Valley Street. That's what happened. Sooner or later, I will be bald by you."

Xiaoqi laughed strangely twice, swallowed the hair into his belly, and the white circle under his right eye disappeared again: "Then I'm really looking forward to that day, I will definitely laugh at you happily."

——

A few days later.

Klein followed Mike Joseph and accompanied him for interviews in the East District. Their guide was the old Kohler. At Mike's insistence, he hired this middle-aged dock worker at two soles per day. Old Kohler helped give a more detailed and in-depth introduction to the situation in the East District.

Not long after they left the cafe, they came to an intersection. Mike saw a dozen children in ragged clothes and empty eyes gathered around the street. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and planned to walk over and give them some pennies.

But the homeless man Kohler stopped Mike: "Those are thieves!"

"Thieves? Where are their parents? Or are they all controlled by gangs?" As a senior reporter, Mike has also heard some such things. Gangs will control these street children to steal or beg. Compared with adults, of course, they are more controlled. Easier and cheaper for these unprotected children.

Old Kohler talked about his understanding of this matter, and a lot of information came from the workhouse where he stayed: these children are either orphans, or their parents are thieves, and the gangs behind them will even teach them how to steal. Some Sometimes, these young children will inevitably be arrested for stealing.

"I remember the youngest thief caught on this street was only six years old. Alas, six years old..."

Old Kohler thought of his sadness and said nothing for a while.

Klein narrowed his eyes: "Who do they seem to be surrounding?"

Old Kohler took a whiff of the crumpled cigarette in his pocket, and then carefully put her back: "It should be little Hamel. She appeared two days ago and brought black bread to those children. It should be the same today. .”

Mike was obviously stunned for a moment: "Philanthropist?"

"Hahaha, we don't know that. No one in the East District will pay attention to this." Old Kohler laughed, and the old wrinkles on his face softened a lot. "And no one would do what she did here. 1 When she first appeared, many people felt that she was more likely to be a human trafficker than a noble lady who did good deeds..."

Mike became even more interested. After all, it was not common for such a character to appear in the East End. There had never been any rumors before: "Can we go over and have a look? Maybe we can interview her by the way?"

Old Kohler's brows immediately frowned: "I don't know if there will be any risk. She seems to be a mysterious person. It can be seen from the fact that she can still appear here. And the group of children next to her are here, how can you You have to watch your wallet.”

Mike turned to Klein: "Since she is willing to share food with others, she is not a person who cannot communicate. What do you think, Sherlock?"

Klein originally disapproved, but his keen sense of ordinary people allowed him to hear the sound of the harmonica coming from the wind.

The tune was familiar, but it took him a few seconds to remember it.

[Don’t ask me where I come from. My hometown is far away. Why do I wander? I wander far away...]

Even though the only sound that came from the harmonica was the sound of the harmonica, Klein instantly filled in the lyrics for it.

Did Emperor Russell still leave this song? Klein was completely unimpressed.

"Let's go and have a look. But we have to be vigilant to avoid this being a scam trap. The East District is a place full of forest laws, and simple kindness will only attract jackals." Klein pushed up his glasses and suppressed the anger in his heart. Excited, thanks to the "Joker's" ability to regulate facial expressions, he will not show any abnormalities due to emotional fluctuations, and still maintains the rational reasoning style of the "Sherlock Moriarty" detective.

But there was an unbelievable guess in his heart - this guess was too bizarre, but it seemed like a flame of hope was scorching his heartbeat, making Klein eager to find out the true identity of the lady.

The pen in Mike's hand moved quickly, as if he was writing down this sentence: "It makes sense. If that guy is too dangerous, we can just watch from the side."

"Hamel. According to rumors circulating in these streets, her voice is very young, and Hamel is her self-identification. We usually call her Little Hamel, but those children all call her Hamel Angel. "

Knowing that "angels" really exist in this world, Klein twitched his lips and sincerely hoped that this was just a nickname and not the true identity of "Hamel".

As they got closer, what they saw became more specific.

Of course Mike didn't know, but as Klein listened to the increasingly melodious sound of the harmonica and watched the children being deeply immersed in the music, with their eyes gradually shining brightly, he could easily think of "Hamel's blowing music". The legend of "Pied Piper" - in the story, the Pied Piper took away the rats that were infested in the small town. However, because the mayor refused to pay the reward, the Pied Piper played music at midnight, attracting and taking away the rats in the small town. Of the children, only one child was left who was on crutches and had limited mobility.

Looking at it this way, she looks more like a personal trafficker!

After Klein finished complaining in his heart, he looked past the group of children in front of him who were nibbling on black bread and listening to music obediently, and looked at the person surrounded by them:

If old Kohler hadn't used the personal pronoun "she", it would be difficult to tell that she was a woman from the figure wrapped in a black and green cloak. She is not tall, and the fingers on the harmonica are not as rough and swollen as those of a washer. Her fingers are white and her nails are neat. She even wears an iron face mask under the hood of her cloak, with only the curves exposed. Soft chin and lip curves. She wore lace-up leather shoes for easy movement, rough-made shoes and linen trousers exposed under the cloak, which also showed that her financial situation was not very good.

There is a bulge under the cloak on the lady's side, which must be a satchel.

Seeing this lady's outfit, Klein's first reaction was "witch". In fact, her sneaky appearance makes it difficult for people to think of an image like "philanthropist".

But the admiration on the children's faces was not fake. They really liked this lady, especially the music she played.

After the song ended and the woman put down her harmonica, Klein's second reaction was that the smile felt familiar to him.

The ragged children around did not finish the piece of black bread at once, but each kept a portion and stuffed it into their arms, and continued to crowd around the lady. The child who looked oldest and had the cleanest face walked up. Go forward and ask her in a low voice if you can play another song.

His voice was cautious, his face was flushed, and he was so nervous that he showed almost pious adoration.

The voice of this "Hamel" is indeed very young, gentle and soft: "Sorry, there seem to be a few guests today, please leave now."

The children remained quiet, even the two youngest, who looked disappointed, and made no sound. However, several teenage children glared at Old Kohler and his group angrily. One of them stumbled and almost missed them. When Klein subconsciously reached out to help him, the lady's voice rang out:

"rabbit."

Mike and Klein didn't understand what the woman was saying for a moment, but the child who almost bumped into him quickly ran away, avoiding Klein's arm. The boy, who was only in his early ten years, raised his head, made a face at the two of them from under his messy seaweed-like brown hair, and then quickly disappeared into the streets like other children, looking for the target they wanted to attack today.

It turns out that the boy just wanted to make the first order of the day, but he stopped after the lady called out his nickname. But even if he didn't stop, he would still be caught by Klein. Having been promoted to a Sequence Seven "Magician", it was impossible for him to have his things stolen under such a little trick.

Just that scene was not conducive to communicating with this lady. She put the harmonica under her cloak, slightly revealing the patterned vest and white shirt underneath. Klein could feel the eyes under the hood constantly looking at him. Full of doubts and thoughts.

Her voice was still so gentle and calm: "Sorry, this is their survival instinct."

Mike, who was most interested in this "Hamel", took a step forward: "It doesn't matter, after all you helped us out. Let me introduce myself, I am a reporter, and I came to the East District this time to interview the residents here. You don’t feel like an ordinary worker to me. I wonder if you would like to talk to us?”

However, the answer was destined to disappoint Mike. The lady shook her head and said, "I have just arrived in the East District, and I probably don't know as much about it as the old gentleman next to you."

"So that's it. Were you distributing food to those children just now?"

"All I have to offer is a little bit of black bread; any more and I'll be in trouble."

Mike subconsciously asked, "Unlucky? Why do you say that?"

The lady chuckled, and the sense of familiarity she brought to Klein became clearer at this time: "Of course it is because some people will covet it. Even if it is not these black bread that make them crave, it may be my property and my use value. This is the case in the East District, Mr. Reporter, if a resident of the East District cannot protect himself, then showing off his wealth is tantamount to committing suicide."

Klein pulled up the brim of his hat, casting a shadow between his eyebrows: "Then why do you still do such a conspicuous thing?"

The lady was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "There are many reasons why I insist on saying it, because I like it, because I want to do it, and because I am lucky enough to escape from those terrible things and not be contaminated by bad luck."

She raised her head and slid her hood back two inches, revealing an iron mask covering most of her face, as well as a pair of light and clear gray eyes: "It's more because I'm taking advantage of those children, gentlemen, I I won’t deny that.”