Chapter 184: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Among the bustling crowd of people who came to watch the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Xia De and Mrs. Cook appeared out of place. They stood in place, separating the flow of people, and Xia De held his breath to distinguish the sounds in his ears. This not only required distinguishing from the background sound of more than ten minutes ago, but even from the current background sound.

After all, while listening to the sounds of the past, the sounds of the present were not completely blocked.

"This way."

He barely heard the timid voice of the boy in front asking if he could leave, and then heard the woman's gentle persuasion. Xia De beckoned to Mrs. Cook with a serious face, and the middle-aged woman, who was almost numb, followed instinctively.

Subsequently, the two squeezed through the crowd and walked east along the tree-lined path on the east side of Tobesk Station.

After passing through the tree-lined path, they walked north again. This area was a slum next to the station, which also provided the station with a huge amount of cheap labor such as porters.

There were many fewer pedestrians nearby, and Xia De was very glad that he had not lost the trail. But as he continued to walk forward, he actually heard someone calling his name. He was stunned for a moment before realizing that it was not the sound from ten minutes ago; it was the sound of the present.

Turning his head to look across the street, it was actually Captain Lades walking over while waving his hand. He hadn't seen him for a week, and his spirit looked much better. He was wearing decent clothes and no longer had the sloppy temperament peculiar to a drunkard.

"That is my friend, you explain the current situation."

He turned his head and said to Mrs. Cook with a fast speaking speed, and then continued to listen to the surrounding sounds and walk forward.

Just now, in order to explain that he could find clues, Xia De also asked passersby many times along the way. But that was avoiding Mrs. Cook, only letting her see his back; in fact, Xia De did not talk to anyone.

Once the direction of the sound was lost, it would be almost impossible to find it again, so he had no time to greet acquaintances now.

The soldier temperament on Captain Lades became particularly conspicuous after he walked out of the predicament of decadence. Mrs. Cook had no idea at all following behind Xia De, and now seeing Captain Lades walking over, she also followed the detective's meaning and briefly explained that the kind detective was helping her find her lost child.

"Child lost? This is a major event!"

The captain was startled, and seeing the detective in front looking around, he followed behind them:

"Detective, I will come to help too. It just so happens that there is nothing to do during the day today. What clues do you have now?"

"This way!"

Xia De pointed forward, and his serious appearance made the captain, who did not know what had happened before, think that he held major clues in his hands.

Walking and stopping, they actually circled Tobesk Station in a big circle, and the people nearby who came to watch the excitement were also increasing. Because Wang Hou Diana, as the representative of the royal family, was about to arrive, the police were already sealing off parts of the streets, which also made Xia De feel urgent:

"Why hasn't it stopped yet? Could it be that they know they are being followed?"

The Tobesk Station West Street where they were currently located was the main stopping point for rental carriages. But at the same time, the alleys here extended in all directions, connecting to many nearby street blocks.

Every time they passed an alley entrance, Mrs. Cook and Captain Lades behind him would look inside.

And finally, Xia De stopped and looked at the alley entrance beside him.

In the alley, a plump woman with a headscarf wrapped around her head turned in from another exit of the alley and was walking toward the alley entrance where they were.

The sound from more than ten minutes ago, the voices of the boy and the woman, were exactly entering this alley. And the woman walking in front seemed to match the age group of the owner of the voice.

In order to prevent the other party from turning around and running, Xia De did not ask out loud, but wanted to wait until the other party was closer before letting the other party speak, judging from the timbre whether this woman with a headscarf was his target.

But he did not expect Xia De to be cautious, while the other party was even more cautious.

After noticing the three people appearing at the alley entrance, she subconsciously slowed down. Then, not knowing whether she recognized Mrs. Cook or was frightened by Captain Lades' temperament, a hesitant expression appeared on her face, and then she actually turned around and ran.

"It's her!"

The excellent reaction ability that the captain had exercised in the army made him the first to roar and chase after her.

"Mrs. Cook, call the police for help. I suspect your child is in one of the alleys nearby. Remember, you must say that this is the location of the culprit of the Tobesk child serial disappearance case. Be careful that they have accomplices!"

After speaking, Xia De also chased after her. In a situation where the tracking had been detected, and without knowing which house in which alley nearby had a problem, catching the woman was the best breakthrough.

In fact, Xia De was carrying two guns on him now. That Luger revolver he got from MI6 could be fired at any time. But the woman was already running in the middle of the alley, and Xia De's explanation to Mrs. Cook delayed a few seconds; he simply could not guarantee that his marksmanship could hit the target.

So he could only chase forward, but Xia De believed that with his physical strength as a Ring Mage, he would definitely be able to catch up with the woman.

He still thought too simply.

This alley had no fork in the road. The woman who started running first was the first to rush out of the other end of the alley panting, and then turned to the left.

Captain Lades was the second to drill out of the alley. After chasing a few steps, he saw that Xia De had actually overtaken him. The young detective was agile, and even in the dense flow of people on the street, he could exert extremely fast speed.

"Detective Hamilton, I will take a detour to block her, you chase forward!"

Seeing this situation, Captain Lades decisively chose a more rational approach.

Xia De shouted "Understood" at him, staring at the woman who was constantly pushing away pedestrians in the crowd, and chased after her quickly.

Because it was too close to the station, the flow of people was increasing, and Xia De's speed could not be fully exerted, so the distance between the two did not narrow rapidly. He did think of shouting loudly to let the pedestrians in front help catch the person, but he did not expect that as soon as he shouted, the people in front dodged one after another, making the woman run faster.

As for the police officers patrolling at the street corner, because the environment was too noisy, they simply did not hear Xia De's voice.

The two ran one after the other through a whole street. The position directly opposite the street corner was the main entrance of Tobesk Station. The whistle could be heard from afar, and it was thought that a train had arrived.

And at this time, there were four-wheeled carriages of all sizes parked at the entrance of the station, police officers in uniforms with guns were maintaining order, and reporters were looking into the distance, waiting for the protagonist of the ribbon-cutting ceremony to arrive.

The fat woman immediately turned around and ran toward the road on the left of the station entrance, not giving Xia De a chance to ask the police for help, unless he was willing to take a detour and waste time.

"I must catch up with you!"

Xia De followed closely and turned left at the street corner, no longer wasting energy shouting, and ran forward along the gaps in the flow of people along the wall.

After running less than a few dozen steps, he accidentally bumped into a nervous middle-aged man sticking to the wall. Xia De apologized quickly and flashed forward, while the middle-aged man looked serious and put his hand in his pocket, looking at Xia De's distant figure and ignoring him, instead continuing to squeeze toward the front of the crowd watching the ceremony.

From the distance of the road came a more chaotic sound. With the police clearing the way and the Royal Guard escorting, the carriage decorated with the Cavendish royal crest was slowly driving over.

People on the side of the street expressed their respect to the noble lady in the carriage. The carriage window was opened, and the face of Wang Hou Diana, who often appeared in newspapers, appeared there. The makeup was not complicated, and the woman in her thirties was wearing a silver crown, with a kind smile waving to the citizens.

There seemed to be others sitting beside her.

The surrounding cheers and shouts made this street even more crowded and complicated. The lively atmosphere reached its peak, and the crowd squeezed from the side of the street toward the center of the street, forcing the police from the Ridgewich Yard who were maintaining order and the Royal Guard to allocate more manpower to prevent anyone from approaching the carriage.

The fat woman running in front saw the motorcade driving from afar. She looked back at the detective who was chasing relentlessly, getting closer and closer, and with a ferocious expression, and then gritted her teeth and rushed toward the motorcade. But she did not approach, but passed directly in front of the motorcade and ran from one side of the street to the other.

And when Xia De also wanted to cross the street in the same way, the police officers in uniforms clearing the way in front had already sealed off the street so that the motorcade could move forward, and used a human wall to prohibit anyone from coming to the street from the side of the street.

At this time, Xia De was only twenty steps away from the street corner behind him, and he could be seen from the entrance of Tobesk Station.

"I even dare to gamble with luck, do you think I will lack such courage?"

He said in his heart, stopped, and prepared to squeeze through the human wall and dash across the street while the police were not paying attention before the motorcade arrived.

And the middle-aged man Xia De bumped into a few seconds ago had also squeezed to the front of the crowd. He frowned and looked at the motorcade that was about to arrive, pressed his black men's soft hat with his left hand, and his right hand inserted into the inner pocket of his overcoat remained motionless.

In Tobesk Station behind him, a group of pedestrians poured out; these were passengers who had just arrived. Those who could still enter and exit freely at the ribbon-cutting ceremony site were naturally the True God Sect, and Miss Beiya's party accompanied a middle-aged man carrying a briefcase out.

Doctor Schneider, who was watching the excitement in the crowd, was chatting with his familiar friends and appeared from the street corner behind Xia De.

Miss Miss Jia Lin Na sat beside Wang Hou Diana, looking out boredly from the carriage window.

Captain Lades on the other side of the street was behind the crowd, making a posture of pouncing forward, not noticing Xia De.

Mr. Anluosi, the director of MI6 in the crowd, noticed Xia De at close range, but because the two had only met once, he hesitated for a moment before confirming it was him, not knowing what the young detective's strange posture was trying to do at the moment.

Taking advantage of the police officer in front looking to the left at the motorcade that had already arrived, Xia De ran forward two steps.

The middle-aged man looked at Wang Hou Diana's face in the carriage window, and his right hand slowly pulled out from the inner pocket.