Whispering Verse

Of course, Shade didn't run away in the end. No matter how much you think about it, you know something is wrong with the three-month mission left by Mr. Hamilton, and Shade, who has been involved in it, since he did not leave before his death, it is even less likely to leave now.

But investigating that mission, and discovering Hamilton's secrets, was a matter for later. The key now is to get enough money to survive for a week before making other plans.

Bring the investigation report and map, and don’t forget the compass and pocket watch in the drawer of your desk. For safety reasons, although no firearms were found, the cane can also be used as a weapon. Of course, don't forget to bring a fruit knife.

For clothes, he chose an inconspicuous black buttoned coat and trousers, which was in line with the dressing habits of Tobesk City where summer had just begun.

There are two bedrooms in Room 1 on the second floor. Shade found clothes suitable for his current figure in the other one. It's a pity that the room that is suspected to belong to the original owner Shade does not have a diary or anything like it, nor does it have any small reminders written by Shade with his pathetic literacy, otherwise life would be simpler.

After doing all this, the clock in the corner of the living room was already close to eleven o'clock in the morning.

Shade found the keys to the door and the downstairs door in the bowl in the cupboard at the door of the room. He locked the door cautiously, took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and pulled a piece of hair from his head. Lie down on the floor between the door and the stairs, put your hair in the crack under the door, squint your left eye, and make sure your hair is facing the room, facing the bulge on the left corner of the bedroom door.

The windows in the stairwell are closed, the first floor is also blocked, and all the windows in the room are closed, so there is no need to worry about your hair being moved by the wind. As long as Shade comes back, don't take big strides at the door, and be careful when opening the door on the first floor. The position of the hair will indicate whether someone passes by here or enters the room.

He wanted to stand up, but looked at the locked door of room "2" on the second floor next door. So after thinking about it, I reluctantly pulled out a piece of hair and clamped it in the crack of the door, parallel to the position of the lock.

Because Mr. Hamilton left behind so many secrets, it's always good to be cautious.

Circling down the stairs, the sound of stomping and stomping in the quiet space made Shade nervous again for some reason.

There was no dust on the stair handrails, and the decorative oil paintings on the walls looked like they had been wiped regularly. The closer he got to the downstairs, the more Shade felt his heartbeat speeding up.

He knew there was nothing to panic about, but after all, this was the first step to step here and truly step into this world.

He stood in front of the door and put on his boots, then grabbed the black dome hat on the clothes rack and put it on his head. It took him a long time to hold the door handle and open the door.

My heart beat faster the moment I opened the door. This feeling of completely entering a strange environment and accepting the fact that I had traveled through time was really uncomfortable.

He stepped over the threshold, but did not look out immediately. Instead, he quickly walked out with his head lowered, then turned around and turned the key to lock the door.

Closing his eyes, he slowly turned around to face the street, backed up and leaned his back against the door, his head against the cold metal door number "No. 6".

"There's nothing to be nervous about. It's just that if you step into a different world, there's a good chance you won't be able to go back."

He said to himself, trying hard to suppress the desire to take a deep breath, raised his head, opened his eyes, leaned against the door, and looked at everything in front of him——

There was some smoke in the air, and the weather was gloomier than in the morning. But the noisy square is still crowded with people, including gentlemen in formal suits and top hats, ladies in skirts and powdered faces, porters carrying wooden boxes, barefoot newsboys shouting loudly, and shy solicitors. Flower girls, hurried carriages, bloated housewives holding paper bags and wearing lace hats...

There was a burning smell in the air, and all kinds of people mixed in on the streets on the edge of the smoky square. The sounds of hawking and shouting almost completely overlapped. On the other side of the square in the distance is a three-story house like the one behind you. Densely packed metal pipes cling to the wall like vines or spider webs, shining in the weak midday sun.

In the center of the square stood a fountain with a girl holding a water bottle. The fountain did not spray water, but the statue was already a little yellow. The patrol officer wearing a police badge sitting next to the fountain looked at Shade curiously. The middle-aged man asked him if he needed help with his eyes. Shade hurriedly looked away.

The boy selling newspapers passed by, and the sound of the soles of his feet rubbing against the gravelly ground made his hair stand on end; the jingling of the horse bells of the four-wheeled carriage passing by the door sounded, and the inquiring sight looking out of the carriage window , and at the same time, the speed at which Shade's heart pumps out blood increases.

Feeling the beating of his heart, he opened his hands and pressed on the door behind him. He instinctively leaned back, frightened by what was really happening in front of him. His blood pressure surged, his heartbeat accelerated, and the sudden ringing of a bell in the distance was almost like a bomb exploding in his head, making Shade almost faint.

So real, so unbelievable, so contrary to the common sense of the past twenty years. This is a different world. He really left his hometown and came to a different world, a completely strange world.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!"

Shade kept repeating it in his heart, but his body's instinct could not be suppressed like this.

"It doesn't matter, I will be familiar with it all, I will fit in here!"

He kept telling himself desperately, but his body still leaned back against the door involuntarily, and his back was already wet.

Suddenly, the woman's murmuring voice sounded again. Although it was also a voice from another world, it seemed to pull Shad back to reality and let him face all this. The murmuring voice declared like reciting a poem:

[You have obtained ‘enlightenment’. 】

The beating speed of the heart slowed down because of the sound, and the high blood pressure gradually returned to normal because of the whisper. The sound echoed in the heart.

"What enlightenment?"

It wasn't that he didn't hear clearly, but he just didn't understand the meaning of this sentence. [Enlightenment] also belongs to the four mysterious elements mentioned vaguely by the detective before his death, but Shade needs further explanation. He was now fully convinced that what was in his head was definitely not a system, and that voice was most likely a part of the mysterious system of this world.

【You are me, I am you. Stranger, you control the direction of destiny in front of the curtain, and destiny unfolds because of you; I am exposed to the reality of the world behind the scenes, and you are strong because of me. Even if you are doubting, we are one and there is no difference between us. 】

The woman's voice did not answer the question, but Shade was not angry, but rather happy.

His guess was correct. In the mystical system of this world, the voice in his head is most likely a part of contact and use of mystery. The worldview of this world seems to be somewhat close to Cthulhu and agnosticism. The extraordinary and mysterious have power, and existence itself will affect mortal things, so another kind of power is needed to help mortals contact those weird and dangerous things.

"You are me, and I am you. Even though I say this, you are definitely different from ordinary situations."

He wanted to confirm his thoughts with the whispering voice in his head, but all he got was the woman's chuckle.

No matter what, he has at least come into contact with the mysterious elements of this world. Even if he doesn't understand anything, at least he is standing here and has his own goal.

The panic just now gradually subsided, as if I was getting closer to this age of steam filled with smoke. The feeling of being down to earth made Shade more calm. He told himself to gradually accept all this instead of panicking in vain:

"Earn a commission, investigate Hamilton's story, gather the four elements, study the voices in your head...go forward, don't panic."

He kept repeating it in his mind, and finally let his back leave the door. Giving up the idea of ​​going back to change clothes, Shade carefully walked down the three steps at the door, came to the street on the edge of the square and stood there, looking up at the world with his eyes wide open in the flow of people. Also let the world be reflected in his eyes:

"No matter what, move forward."

He said in his mind, after a short pause, according to the plan in the house, he walked along the circular street around the square and walked towards the entrance of the street leaving the square on the other side.