Sherlock Holmes

London, Uptown, Whitechapel

This church is considered one of the earliest churches in London. Its history can even be traced back to before the beginning of the Holy Calendar. Due to its history of more than three hundred years, this church has been continuously renovated. The crosses and statues of the Passion of God decorated in the hall have also All were replaced with decorations with a strong papal style.

As for why this place is called the Whitechapel, it is said that at first, the exterior wall of this church was completely white, hence its name. The London government also responded to the occasion by painting it with a thick layer of white during the renovation. The paint covered the mottled red bricks that had leaked out under the rain.

At night, there was a drizzle. London was at the junction of spring and summer. Instead of rising in temperature, there was a chill in the rainy night. A carriage came from the night and stopped at Whitechapel. In front of the door, the young judge Natasha stepped out of the carriage, walked quickly to the church, and opened its side door.

Because London is the primary demonstration city for the implementation of electric lighting, most of the gas pipes in the uptown area have been replaced with electric circuits in the past six months. At this time, the slightly yellowish light inside Whitechapel is brighter than ordinary gas lamps. It even dissipated some of the coldness of the rainy night.

And here, as early as half a month ago, it had been requisitioned by the Inquisition and Scotland Yard and became the London office of the Ripper case.

The reason is that the dismemberment case of prostitutes that occurred here more than two months ago caused the residents of Shangcheng District to have great fear of Whitechapel. Almost no one came here to pray, and they were idle. In addition, As the location where the Ripper committed his first crime, the police directly used this place as their office area. It was also a declaration of war against the murderer and a demonstration to the public of their determination to solve the case.

After passing several not-so-wide corridors, Natasha pushed open a door to a room at the edge of the church. At this time, his immediate superior, Judge Stanley Hopkins, was sitting at a desk. Inside, organize the documents at hand.

Since Hopkins handed over evidence half a year ago that Augustine the Great participated in the massacre of London citizens, he has been labeled as a "frame" and taken away for examination. Not only himself, but also others All the third divisions of the trial court where he worked were suspended.

But in fact, these so-called suspensions were just rhetoric to the outside world. After Emperor Augustine announced his abdication, all reviews by the Third Division of the Tribunal were suddenly terminated. The Holy See made a very serious decision to these officials who were under investigation. Considerable compensation, and Hopkins was directly appointed as the supreme judge of the Third Division.

This person has been praised as the most outstanding genius of the Tribunal for decades from the beginning. Everyone thinks that he will become the youngest justice of the Tribunal in the future. But now it seems that his promotion path is more difficult than imagined. Even faster.

"Teacher" Natasha opened the door and bowed respectfully to her immediate superior.

Hopkins took off his glasses and rubbed his aching eyes. Looking at his energetic student, he seemed to think of himself ten years ago when he had just entered the trial court. He couldn't help but smile:

"How did you feel after going to the Blood Prison?"

Of course, the dark and bloody prison was very uncomfortable, but Natasha still showed no fear: "Prison is a place of punishment for sins. No matter how gloomy it is, it is still on the side of justice, so there is no Nothing to be afraid of."

She responded, but it was obvious that she came to Hopkins for other reasons:

"Teacher, you know the man named Sherlock Holmes, right?"

Hopkins nodded: "Well, what's the problem?"

"Then do you know his relationship with the Pope?"

This question made Hopkins frown slightly:

"Well, I know, that guy is an acquaintance with the Pope. Why do you ask?" He carefully considered his words. In fact, at first he wanted to use the word 'friend' to answer, but considering the status of the Pope, Transcendence, in the end, I used the vague term "knowledge".

Natasha was silent for a while, as if she noticed the caution in her teacher's words. A few seconds later: "After I took the death row prisoner out of the blood cell, he was picked up by the Pope's maid."

"Oh, I already knew about this yesterday."

"I'm a little confused. Why did the Pope ask his personal maid to pick up that guy? He is a death row prisoner! I later learned that he was released from the bottom of the blood prison!" There was an obvious hint in Natasha's tone. Confused and excited: "The most vicious scum are imprisoned at the bottom of the Blood Prison. Why would the Pope know that kind of person? And the relationship between them seems to be more than just 'knowing'."

Hearing this, Hopkins looked at his young student and laughed again:

"It seems that you have a deep grudge against this."

"Of course!" Natasha's eyes were filled with obvious confusion: "In my understanding, the Holy See is the embodiment of justice. Although it is too large, its details will inevitably breed some seeds of evil, but The Holy See as a whole must be bright and righteous. Shrouded in the holy light, the Holy See is a beacon leading mankind towards a bright future.

Then the Pope is naturally the embodiment of justice.

But why would the incarnation of justice meet a criminal imprisoned at the bottom of the Blood Prison?

I.I can't understand! ! "

There was a hint of relief, or appreciation, in Hopkins's smile. He felt more and more that the woman in front of him was so similar to his former self. At this moment, he couldn't help but think of his own life half a year ago. The teacher’s brief conversation with him in that church:

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. After all, you are still young." Hopkins said very patiently: "In fact, after you work in the trial court for a few more years, you should find out that people's attitude towards [justice] is actually... It's constantly changing.

You will even gradually discover that justice, to a certain extent, has nothing to do with the law.

Because the law exists in the imperial code, and justice exists in our hearts.

That guy named Sherlock is indeed a criminal. According to the laws of the empire, he should stay at the bottom of the Blood Prison until his death. However, this cannot be said to be evil. "

Speaking of this, Hopkins himself was suddenly stunned for a moment. Recalling the things Sherlock had done, he suddenly changed his words in embarrassment:

"Well, that guy actually doesn't have much to do with justice. I admit, he is an out-and-out murderer, the most crazed kind.

However, you just mentioned the future of mankind.

You may not believe it, but he is such a damn murderer, to a certain extent.

Most of mankind's future is given by him. "

Natasha looked at her respected teacher quietly. She found that she could not understand his words more and more, but at this moment, she could clearly feel that many memories flashed through his eyes.

What does the future of mankind have to do with a murderer?

What did he do?

What kind of interaction did the teacher have with the man named Sherlock?

Under the golden light, the young judge seemed to be subconsciously caught in some kind of curiosity.

A night of silence.

At noon the next day, London was as foggy as ever.

A carriage was driving and amidst the haze, Sherlock and Watson sat in the carriage, looking at the city they had not returned to for four or five months, feeling both familiar and unfamiliar.

As an out-and-out Londoner, the coachman has not experienced the period of the steam revolution, but as a resident of the steam capital, he is somewhat arrogant in his bones. Now, the main city where electricity is popularized is also London. After implementation, his sense of glory became even stronger.

Hearing the conversation between the two passengers in the carriage, he said with great pride:

"The construction over there is to install underground generators. The mayor said that within five years, the entire energy supply system in London will be converted to electricity.

By then, those sewers will no longer spew white smoke all day long. "

When he said this, the coachman's body was swaying, and he was so arrogant, as if he had completely forgotten that he was a coach puller:

"To be honest, I really want to thank Mr. Franklin. Electricity is really good. This month I can clearly feel that the poor working people in the factory do have money in their pockets. Within two kilometers I even dared to call a carriage for a long distance, and I earned 12 pounds this week!"

"Oh, I also heard that the soldiers on the front line have begun training to control demons. I don't know how this kind of thing was developed. Professor Darwin is truly a genius."

"Also, those who promote these things are indeed worthy of the gratitude of the entire empire."

The coachman's emotion was full of hope. Sherlock looked at the street outside the window with a smile on his face. It could be seen that he was in a good mood.

After crossing long streets and crossing the Thames River Bridge, more than an hour later, they finally arrived at a quiet villa complex.

Watson has a very unique insight into the concept of 'beauty'. Looking at the distribution of green plants around him and the style of the buildings in the entire area, he knows that the people who can live here are either rich or noble.

"By the way, I haven't asked yet, who is the murder target mentioned by the Ripper?" Watson looked at the beautiful scenery around him and seemed to be very satisfied, then he asked belatedly.

"Nightingale." Sherlock said, getting out of the carriage.

Breathing in the rare fresh air, he stretched his arms comfortably and walked towards a villa ahead.

"Hey, why are you standing here? Let's go."

Watson frowned, seeming to still be hesitating whether he heard something wrong just now:

"Tell me, who are we going to see now?"

"Nightingale." Sherlock said.