Chapter 70 Interaction

Backlund Steam Train Station, the third platform.

After talking with his parents and sister for a while, Alfred seized the gap before departure, left the train, came to the platform, and said to a squire:

"Give me an East Balam cigarette."

If these years of experience had any negative impact on him, then in addition to some mental torment and pain, there were only a few bad habits left.

After smoking too much "East Balam" made of spices and herbs directly wrapped with cured tobacco leaves, Alfred was completely unsuited to the popular paper cigarettes in the Northern Continent, thinking that they were bland and tasteless, like water mixed spirits.

As for cigars, he thinks it needs a good environment to taste slowly and is not suitable for now.

Of course, he is not a big smoker. A "knight of punishment" has enough physique and spirit to resist this influence. The reason why Alfred came to the platform to smoke was because he felt that the carriage was too stuffy and his mother always It's about his marital problems.

When the squire took out and lit the "East Balam Cigarette", Alfred brought the browned and nearly black outer object to his mouth and took a deep breath.

The strong smell soaked into his body, and his spirit was suddenly lifted.

At this time, he saw a blond man with a classical sculpture leading the valet approaching.

Alfred hesitated, smiled, raised his right hand and said:

"Hibbert, I thought you weren't going back to East Chester."

The visitor was the eldest son of Earl Hall, Alfred's brother, Lord Hibbert Hall.

Hibbert sketched a smile that was perfectly in line with etiquette and said:

"I'm just a cabinet secretary, not a chief cabinet secretary, and I won't be so busy that I don't even have a weekend."

In fact, he will not be the chief secretary of the cabinet. His main purpose is to accumulate experience in different positions in various government departments, build his own network resources, and prepare for entering the upper house in the future.

Alfred took another puff of "East Balam" and said with a smile:

"happy weekend."

After watching Hibbert enter the carriage, Alfred vaguely felt that someone was looking at him.

Doing a discussion:

"Why doesn't that train have passengers waiting?"

"It doesn't appear to be full."

"Haha, that's a special train, which was booked in advance by a big man who spent a lot of gold pounds. I know, you may not have seen a similar situation, but remember, this is in Backlund, in Cons It happens from time to time in big cities. When those big people go out with their families, they must follow hundreds of servants, maybe there are pets, how can they squeeze a train with ordinary people..."

"Is that so..."

"I don't know who the big man is?"

Alfred turned his head to look over, and saw dozens of people in gray-blue uniforms on the second platform quietly looking at this side across the track where the train was not stopped.

The distance between the two sides is actually not small. If Alfred's hearing is excellent, he will definitely not be able to figure out what those people are discussing.

"Who are they?" Alfred asked his adjutant sideways.

He could only recognize that the uniforms those people wore belonged to the railway company.

The adjutant turned around immediately, found the staff in charge of this platform, and asked about it.

Soon, he trotted back and whispered to Alfred:

"General, they are train dispatchers from all over the kingdom, and they are undergoing a short-term training in Backlund."

Alfred nodded slightly and glanced at the second platform again.

The oldest of those train dispatchers had gray hair, and the youngest looked in their early twenties. Most of them were middle-aged in their thirties and forties, and there were many with slightly gray sideburns.

…………

Sunyahai, Bayam "City of Generosity".

Verdut carried a suitcase without any valuables, took a small boat at night, left the port, and boarded a pirate ship.

——The Sequence 7 of the "Apprentice" pathway is not very good at fighting, and although Verdu carries magical items, he is quite afraid of negative effects and is reluctant to use it until the critical moment. Therefore, in order to avoid danger, he lacks trust in pirates. Try not to bring anything that can easily arouse greed in others.

The pirates on the deck glanced at Verdu and said with a smile:

"Don't be afraid, we all keep our promises. As long as you pay enough for the ticket, we will definitely not throw you into the sea. Here, you are even safer than taking a passenger ship, at least you don't have to worry about encountering pirates."

Seeing that Verdu remained silent, looking a little scared, the pirate proudly threw the key to him:

"The second floor on the deck, the innermost room."

Verdu took the brass-colored key, entered the cabin, climbed a flight of stairs, and walked to the deepest part of the corridor.

This floor seems to be specially prepared for those who take pirate ships for various reasons. Along the way, Verdu encountered several passengers who did not look like pirates at all.

Among them were young ladies with slightly revealing clothes, like street girls, middle-aged men with protruding stomachs and oily faces, and very cold young men with cloaks and top hats.

"Do you want to live with me?" The girl asked Verdu with a smile when she saw Verdu look over. She didn't know if she planned to do some business on the way, or if she wanted to do business on the way.

Verdu ignored her, withdrew his gaze, and came out of his room.

The young man with a deep outline and cold lines also stopped at the door diagonally opposite.

…………

Backlund, West End, 9 Bellotto Street.

"Please come in." Xio straightened up from the large seat.

The door to the office creaked open, and two MI9 members who belonged to Hugh's team walked in.

"Colonel, our investigation into Utopia has yielded something." One of the men in a dark jacket handed Hugh a report.

Xio was slightly startled and refreshed:

"What is it?"

The man in the dark jacket simply said:

"In the past few days, we took advantage of the spare time when the previous mission had been handed over, and visited the passengers of the steam train and all the passengers in Backlund in person and through informants."

Without a doubt, he was referring to the steam train that stopped in Utopia by mistake.

"Well." Xio nodded, signaling his subordinates to continue.

The man in the dark jacket pointed and reported:

"We initially confirmed that none of the passengers who successfully arrived in Backlund had any abnormality, their mental state was good, and there was no problem with their cognition.

"However, we found one thing, not everyone was back on the train at that time, and according to two passengers, their seatmates chose to stay in Utopia.

"That is a lady who loves to travel and explore. She has a deep love for unfamiliar places. After seeing Utopia's excellent red wine, desserts and unique bubble iced tea, she decided to give up her original itinerary. The small town with temperament will stay for a while longer, and discover more beauty.

"This is all that the two passengers knew when they chatted with her, not only did they share the same seat, but they also chose to stay in the same hotel, and they met early in the morning.

"That hotel is the same hotel where our intelligence officer lives, called 'Iris'."

Xio nodded slowly and said:

"Have you found out what's going on with that lady?

"What's her name?"

"No, we can't be sure if she has left Utopia now." Another MI9 member with a small bushy goatee replied, "The two passengers only knew that the lady was named Monica, not her name. Last name and origin,"

Hugh said "um":

"Your next task is to investigate the origin of this woman, find her family and friends, and confirm whether she has returned."

"Yes, Colonel." The two MI9 personnel bowed and exited Xio's office.

Xio carefully read the report they submitted again and sighed silently.

Compared with her subordinates, she is actually closer to the truth of Utopia. She already knows that it is a ritual and has a certain connection with Gehrman Sparrow.

However, she couldn't report the news and earn credits.

Leaving aside the issue of intelligence sources, what Hugh needs to consider most is whether Gehrman Sparrow is willing to let this information leak out.

Maybe try to contact Gehrman Sparrow and ask him for his opinion... Xio thoughtfully packed up the table and left MI9.

After changing her outfit, she returned to the East District and the Bridge District, went to different bars like a bounty hunter, and collected various information from different acquaintances.

During this process, she asked about Utopia by the way, but no one had heard of it.

Finally, Hugh entered a bar in the Backlund Bridge area, sat on the bar stool, and said to the bartender:

"Has anyone been suspicious recently?"

"A lot of people are quite suspicious, but they don't have a bounty." The bartender responded casually.

Xio revolved around this topic, inquired about the news, and finally asked according to the procedure:

"Have you heard of Utopia?"

"I've heard of it," the bartender replied as he wiped his glass.

The eyes of Xio who was examining the table at the bar raised a little bit.

She looked at the bartender and said:

"Where did you hear it?"

"There was a guest here before, and he drank very modestly." The bartender said indifferently, "I pitched him our specialty bartender, and he said he had something to do and could only drink a beer, and I complimented him. A few words, and asked where he was from, he said, Utopia."

…………

Wendell had just finished his breakfast when he heard the doorbell ring.

Through the cat's eye, he saw a policeman in a black and white checkered uniform outside, and opened the door a little suspiciously.

"Excuse me, is there something?" Wendell asked politely.

This house was the residence he was assigned after he came to Backlund, because he would settle in this metropolis for a short period of time, subject to internal review and status monitoring.

The policeman was still very young, a little green, and looked like he was in his early twenties.

He put on a smile and said to Wendell:

"Hello, I'm Byers, a policeman, and I want to ask you to testify in a case."

"What case?" Wendell frowned slightly.

The young policeman named Byers said with a polite smile:

"The Tracey Murder in Utopia."

"..." Wendell's pupils instantly enlarged.