Chapter 226: Moving Castle (Bonus for 5200 Monthly Votes)

New Calendar year 1027, January 2nd.

The shops of Plymouth were filled with a festive atmosphere, and Aaron even watched a few grand holiday parades.

But once night fell, the drifting, homeless travelers would discover that the prosperity and wealth of this city had nothing to do with them.

They exhausted everything they had, yet still could not possess a place to stand in Plymouth.

They could only wander everywhere, enduring the contempt and expulsion of the patrolmen, and using old newspapers to ward off the bitter cold under bridge arches.

Aaron certainly did not need to be a vagrant, but looking at the vast city under the cover of night, he felt a sense of bewilderment as well.

Aaron's pupils instantly turned pure white, his palm unconsciously brushing against the wall of the hall.

After waiting a moment longer, he stood up and walked toward the washroom.

"Most of them are those who have spilled their hard work, sweat, and even blood and tears into this metropolis, only to depart in gloom after growing old or falling gravely ill, or even dying right here..."

Aaron counted, entered the door of the seventh restroom, and seeing the stained flush toilet before him, he frowned: "They really don't know how to pick a spot."

Aaron knew this was because Plymouth's population had surged too quickly while the number of police officers was too low, leading to the proliferation of all kinds of crimes that could not be effectively resolved, thus necessitating the pursuit of supplementary civilian forces.

Along both banks of the river, numerous docks had been established.

Sometimes, the entity issuing a mission would turn out to be the butler of some wealthy person, or a detective agency.

Aaron muttered a complaint in his heart and took a sip of lemonade.

"The nightlife belonging to the Extraordinary has only just begun..."

"It is said that Plymouth concentrates all the ambitious young people of Invis, known as the 'Metropolis of Dreams,' but those who can truly realize their dreams are few and far between..."

On the ground lay drunks sprawled in all directions, all fellows who had drunk too much, though no one cared about them now.

"Murphy Deike, murderer, bounty 50 pounds, valid clues 2 pounds!"

On the walls were all sorts of doors; from time to time, Extraordinary individuals wearing cloaks or openly revealing their faces would walk out from the doors, nodding to each other or showing friendly smiles.

"At least a Non-human Grade Magical Item... its essence is a palace? This is my first time seeing such a large Strange Object!"

The next moment, as Aaron reopened the door, what appeared before him was no longer the original men's restroom, but a massive hall!

From this, many detective agencies, security companies, and bounty hunter professions were born.

Then, Aaron turned around and looked at the back of the restroom door, where there was a mysterious symbol consisting of a semicircle inside a triangle, pierced by a line.

"Happy New Year! New here?"

"Yesterday, 'Madman' Karl broke into the Blood Snake Gang's casino and dragged 'Six-Fingers' Sosolo out from inside; he really is a madman, isn't he afraid of retaliation?"

Aaron noticed that on one wall of the bar, a row of Wanted Orders was posted.

Of course... it was also regarded by gangsters as a good place to dump bodies after a murder.

"I have to say, the owner here has a lot of nerve, and their strength is also very high... perhaps there is some tacit understanding with the Investigation General Bureau?"

"But... for me, a dignified Green Forest Earl, an 'Immortal' feared by the Investigation Bureau, and a tycoon carrying 8,000 pounds in cash, to go be a mercenary or bounty hunter? I must be crazy!"

A short man walked past nearby, and a smile appeared on the mouth beneath his Black Iron mask: "Welcome to the Black Queen District!"

The Dosom River is the largest river flowing through Plymouth, emptying directly into the Dark Sea.

"Suk Hood, fraudster, bounty 20 pounds, 1 pound for providing valid clues!"

Below the Wanted Orders, some were stamped by the Plymouth Police Headquarters—commonly known as 'Momora Field'—while others were not, replaced instead by a line of small text: "Interested parties please contact Mr. So-and-so."

Aaron sighed and walked toward a bar emitting a warm glow.

He glanced at a Scavenger passing by, feeling that the person looked only about thirty years old, yet their eyes were dull, as if they had lost all hope.

In Spirit World knowledge, this has meanings such as 'space,' 'teleportation,' and 'opening doors.'

It just looked like this symbol was a bit crooked, like a child's doodle.

"In the bounty hunter line of work, how can you not be crazy?"

His expression remained unchanged as he tapped the tip of the triangle, the middle of the semicircle, and the end of the line.

The hall was obscured by curtains, making it impossible to know where one was, and every so often on the walls hung a Horse Lantern, radiating a warm luster.

"Give me a glass of lemonade."

He entered the bar; since Invis also had holidays for the New Year, there were quite a lot of guests inside.

Aaron came to the bar counter, letting these voices drift into his ears, thoughtful: "Being a bounty hunter is still very dangerous... once you run into an Extraordinary criminal, eight out of ten are just sending themselves to their deaths, and the other two might have already touched upon the Mysterious, or might come into contact with the Mysterious because of this... hmm, this should be a suitable profession for me."

Whether it was the level of his own essence or his ability to divine, both could allow Aaron to complete missions at an astonishing speed and then become wealthy overnight.

"This secret gathering doesn't look simple..."

The bar's washroom was built quite large, with rows of independent restrooms.

The intelligence here was naturally the one obtained from Cornelius.

"This is the Black Queen District, but the Black Queen District is more than just this... In fact, Extraordinary individuals collectively refer to all mysterious gatherings and areas hidden in Plymouth as the 'Black Queen District.' One can even frequently see ordinary people here; most of them are Occultism enthusiasts and folklorists."

The method to open the 'door' did not require infusing Spirituality, which invisibly broadened the customer base, making it possible for ordinary people to enter.

On the bar's sign, the name 'Hunter Bar' was written.

According to what the other party said, as long as one completed the previous actions at a fixed location, one could enter this place through the 'door' to trade with other mysterious people.

"But being too crazy isn't good either; I haven't seen 'Giant' Lami for a long time. He might have already been dismembered by someone and thrown into the Dosom River."

"'Savage' Bafil, surname unknown, serious assault, bounty 15 pounds..."

He did not undo his belt, but instead took a silver-white half-face mask from the 'Carnivore's Satchel' and pressed it onto his face.

"The main function is—'teleportation.' It can set up no more than 20 'teleportation points' within the range of a large city block, teleporting people who meet the conditions in or out... It really is very suitable as a base for secret transactions."

"Its name is—'Halsey's Moving Castle,' and the negative effect is that its owner might be randomly teleported to any location within a range as large as Plymouth at any time..."

(End of chapter)