Struggle in the Steam Age

After adjusting the hat slightly so that it would not press against the wound, Lawrence walked out of the tavern he was renting with the jingle of the doorbell.

There was a clear contrast between the bright and warm sunshine outside and the coldness in the tavern. Lifting his trousers lightly and stepping on the small dry ground above the mud, Lawrence carefully moved out little by little.

There are not many people on the street, and the workers living in this area have already gone to work at this time. The owners of fish shops and bakeries on both sides of the street sat bored behind their goods, and from time to time used a long pole with rags tied to the end to drive away the flies that tried to land on their goods.

But when he turned onto the main road, the traffic suddenly increased. There were many people walking up and down on the curb, most of them were workers in smocks, fedora hats and bowler hats. , little clerk in a jacket. They hurriedly walked to their respective workplaces.

All of this looked as it did in the old pictures of the Gilded Age, except that one or two short, pointed-eared figures passing by in the crowd reminded Lawrence that this was a magical world.

Fortunately for Lawrence, when he came to the tram station at the junction of Narcissus Street and Third Avenue, there happened to be a double-decker carriage pulled by two horses at the station.

"Where are you going?" asked the conductor who stepped on the outer step of the carriage and held onto the railing with one hand.

"Far Harbor Comprehensive University." Lawrence replied, and at the same time took out two 1-cent copper coins and handed them over. It is indeed very tiring for him to catch the coach every morning, but he has to do it for the cheap rent.

It may be because the time for concentrated work has passed, the people in the car seem scattered. So Lawrence simply found an empty seat on the first floor and sat down. After more than half an hour, the carriage arrived at the end, the station in front of the Far Harbor Comprehensive University on the edge of the city.

After getting out of the carriage and walking more than 20 meters, we came to the gate of Yuangang Comprehensive University. The main entrance of the university is two tall wrought iron gates, on both sides are red brick pillars with a bronze statue of a giant eagle on top. Although it may seem a bit shabby, no one would take this university lightly for that.

As the first university established after the founding of the Federation, Far-Kang Comprehensive University naturally has its own glorious and long history. Although it is not comparable to the famous schools with a long history in the old continent in all aspects, it is indeed second to none in the new continent, and only Jinshan University in Jinshan Port, the capital of the Xinzhou Republic to the west of the mountain range, can compare with it.

Walking into the gate, there is a straight stone road under your feet. On both sides of the road are grassy meadows. On the grass, more than a dozen bust statues placed on square platforms lined up along the stone road. They are all celebrities who graduated from this place. And these square platforms are nailed with bronze plates facing the direction of the stone road, and their personal profiles and achievements are briefly engraved on them.

At the end of the road is a huge fountain with a diameter of more than 20 meters. A gilded bronze statue of a figure is placed on a white marble platform in the center of the fountain. He holds an ax in his right hand, and in his left hand, he holds a tree whose trunk is twisted like a python and covered with scales. Each branch has leaves that look like a wailing face, as if he is about to swing the giant ax in his hand at the next moment. The next general.

This is the founder of the White Eagle Federation, the most important sponsor of Far Harbor Comprehensive University, demigod warrior George Adams. And this statue depicts the story of Adams helping the aborigines kill the demigod-level demonized tree spirits, and gaining the support of the aborigines to build a city and a school on the land of Eagle Fort.

Unlike the massacre of the New World aborigines in the last world in Lawrence's memory, the relationship between the colonists and the aborigines of the New World in this world is not too bad.

What caused all this was the endless emergence of extraordinary creatures in this world, especially things like goblins or kobolds. This forces humans and other civilized groups to survive in this world only by sticking together.

Especially after the establishment of the White Eagle Federation, the indigenous people who were in the state of primitive tribes quickly joined in. Today, 100 years later, most of them have found their own place in the White Eagle Federation.

Just as Lawrence was standing under the statue thinking about these things, suddenly a familiar greeting came from behind. "Hi, Lawrence, Professor Black said he was waiting for us in the office today, why are you standing by the fountain in a daze?"

"Good morning, Edward, I just thought—what's the matter with your arm?" Lawrence turned his head to greet his friend who was also invited by the professor, but he was surprised before he finished speaking. Saw Edward Hans with a cast on his right arm being hung around his neck with a bandage.

"I don't know, I went to the bar yesterday, and I got into a fight in the bar while drinking. I don't know who gave me an arm with a stool in the chaos, and then it's like you saw."

Speaking of this, Edward showed an angry expression, "My father already knew about this, and he will help me find that bastard—wait, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I was also attacked yesterday, and the assailant also robbed my wallet." Lawrence said as he took off his bowler hat, revealing the gauze wrapped around his head.

"It's too much of a coincidence." As the son of the local sheriff, Edward also learned a lot of criminal investigation knowledge from his father. It is obviously not an accident that the professor finds two top students to talk about things after graduation, and it turns out that the two of them were injured at the same time the day before the talk.

"I also think it's wrong." Lawrence added, and then told Edward the news he had received before, and after listening to the news, Edward could basically confirm that it was a targeted attack.

"After we go back, we still have to investigate seriously." Edward said, patting Lawrence's shoulder with his intact left hand. "But now let's go to Professor Black. Only by knowing what the professor asked us to do today can we find clues and analyze why those people attacked us."

After discussing the matter of being attacked, the two walked around the fountain to a small two-story red brick building in the rear complex.

The phrase Faculty of Medicine was written on the lintel of the staircase, and the small building opened into a hall with gleaming teak floors. After going up the stairs to the second floor, they quickly came to the third office door in the corridor on the left.

"Come in." After knocking lightly on the door, an aged voice came from inside the room.

Hearing this, Lawrence turned the bronze handle on the door, and the door opened, and a grey-haired but hale and hearty old man was sitting behind a heavy desk looking at some documents.

After hearing the door open, Professor Black removed the lenses stuck in his eye sockets and raised his head, then he raised his eyebrows suddenly and showed a surprised expression. "I haven't seen you two for three days. How did you become like this?"