Chapter 2018: Parsifal Club

The Sunday Review newspaper office is located on the lively Clover Street on the edge of the lower city area. This newspaper is not famous in the distant northern Tobesk City, but its circulation in the Moon Bay area is huge. Of course, although it sounds like a serious newspaper that comments on current affairs, it is actually a well-known local gossip tabloid.

If the story of Xia De and Miss Galina happened in Moon Bay City, they would become the resident celebrities of this newspaper.

The reporter Mr. Cooper, code-named "Boatman", is the person Xia De is looking for. When Xia De saw him at the newspaper office, he was checking a manuscript, and he was even startled to see the business card of the "United Fruit Company" salesman. After mutually verifying their identities, he invited Xia De to a tavern on the other side of Clover Street for a drink, and then have lunch together.

Xia De was a little worried that this would delay the other party's business, but the reporter waved his hand with annoyance:

"What's here is always news about affairs, cheating, and illegitimate children, and the editor also requires us to fill in the details ourselves, and it must be attractive enough. Sometimes I even doubt whether I am a reporter or a novelist writing illegal publications. Alright, alright, let's go for a drink, don't you have things to ask too?"

Compared to an agent, this reporter with a medium build and even a small belly looked more like an ordinary worker who was tired of work under the pressure of life. The two sat down in the tavern to chat while eating, and Mr. Cooper insisted on paying the bill himself:

"It can be reimbursed."

After a pause, he added:

"Both at home and at the newspaper office can be reimbursed."

Xia De accepted the other party's "good intentions" and also explained his purpose:

"United Fruit arranged for me to operate in the Moon Bay area for a while, and I might come to bother you in the future. I came here for two things this time."

"Please don't be so polite. The fact that they arranged for me to coordinate your affairs in Moon Bay City is enough to show your importance. What exactly is the matter?"

"First, I want to ask about someone."

Xia De lowered his voice. The tavern was quite lively at noon, and their conversation was not conspicuous:

"Freeman Hawthorne."

"If you are referring to that Freeman of the Hawthorne family, I don't even need to go and inquire about this news."

The reporter pointed to his head, and seeing Xia De nod, he introduced carefully:

"Among the 'Seven Glorious Families of Moon Bay', the Eddington, Hawthorne, and Belindel families currently still have the Earl titles of Karsenrik, while the remaining four are Viscounts and Barons. The current Earl Hawthorne is the grandfather of this 34-year-old Freeman Hawthorne. Freeman Hawthorne's father is the second son of the family, and is now also a member of the City Council, and covets the family title.

As for Freeman Hawthorne himself, he did not participate in politics. He is considered the one furthest from the core power in the Hawthorne family, and also the one with the worst reputation. At least one-fifth of the local gangs are related to him, and most of the things that cannot be seen in the Hawthorne family are also handled by him."

A few simple words outlined the character profile. Xia De continued to ask:

"If I want to find this person, where should I go?"

"This is not troublesome either, his daily life is very regular. It's Friday afternoon, he should be fooling around at the Parsifal Club in the east of the city. That is a... high-end leisure place, or a high-end brothel. We don't get reimbursed for going to that kind of place. But if you really want to go, I can also find a way to apply for an activity fund."

He kindly reminded Xia De, and Xia De nodded gently:

"Don't worry about the funding. In the past few months, has there been any news of the Hawthorne family contacting mysterious people?"

The reporter thought while holding his wine glass:

"No, but if you need information, I can go and collect it, but this will take some time."

"No need, knowing where the other party is, I will find a way to get the information myself... Then the second thing, I want to contact the Grey Gloves, is there any way?"

Although the two sides are hostile forces, sometimes there must be contact between them, so Mr. Cooper was not very surprised:

"Still go to the Parsifal Club. The female boss there, Mrs. Frey, is a famous information dealer locally. She is backed by one of the seven families, although she is not our person, but if you tell her that Mr. Boatman asked you to go, she will be willing to help you."

So, as long as you have connections locally, those things that seem difficult to handle are just a few words away.

Xia De had lunch with Mr. Cooper with peace of mind, and also listened to the other party tell interesting stories about Moon Bay City and things worth noting.

Of course, Xia De didn't forget to inquire about the "headless corpse" and the "corpse drained of blood". It's just that Mr. Cooper didn't know much about this, only knowing that the former had made people in the city very uneasy in recent weeks, while the latter was more like a story of urban legend.

After lunch, Xia De's investigation work continued. The matter of the Grey Gloves was temporarily put aside by him. He still thought that the Hawthorne family and the mysterious Ringed Shushi were more important.

Just as reporter Mr. Cooper said, the Parsifal Club located in the East District of the city is a famous local... technical workplace. The situation there is very similar to the place where Xia De saw the leaders of MI6 and the Grey Gloves meet in the City of Glass. A wooden grid wall covered with morning glories and other flowers Xia De couldn't name blocked the view on the east side of the downhill road, but the four-story building with a large footprint behind it could not be blocked by this kind of wall at all.

Under the drizzling sky, it seemed that only this building on the whole street looked colorful. But precisely because the weather was bad, no one noticed the red butterflies flying out of the alley, flying into the window on the top floor of the club in the rain.

Finding someone in a strange building was not difficult for Xia De. Relying on the photos given by the reporter—Freeman Hawthorne had many gossip news—plus simple hypnosis and mental guidance under the effect of powerful mental power, he soon found the target on the fourth floor.

Xia De knew in advance that Freeman Hawthorne was playing games with two girls in the room, but when he casually inserted a wire into the keyhole and shook it twice, and then opened the door with the "Key of the Door", what he heard was the sound of a whip waving.

After entering the room quietly and locking the door again, he found that this room was a large suite, so he turned left into the room following the sound, and approached the man waving the whip with his back to him silently.

The two girls with very little clothing tied to the chairs of course also saw Xia De, but their mouths were also stuffed, so they widened their eyes and could only make woo-woo sounds, unable to remind Freeman Hawthorne.

Xia De, who had successfully "stealthed" again, knocked Freeman Hawthorne unconscious from behind. And when he woke up again, the whole person was firmly tied to the chair with hemp rope, and Xia De standing in front of him was holding the whip he was holding just now:

"Don't worry about the two girls just now, I knocked them unconscious and threw them into the room outside... Looking at your expression, it seems you don't care about them very much."

"What do you want?"

Unlike most men's hairstyles, the thirty-something Freeman Hawthorne had long hair and tied his hair into a small braid behind his back. If it weren't for the scar running through his left cheek, he would have quite an artistic temperament.

His height was basically the same as Xia De's, but his build was very thin. He was not panicked, but asked very calmly. He was only wearing a pair of loose underpants, looking at Xia De's clothing and appearance up and down, his psychological quality was indeed quite good:

"If you want money, I can give you a bearer draft, which can be cashed at any bank in Moon Bay City. If you want me to help you do things, I don't mind making a very capable friend. If you were hired by someone else, I can pay three times the price. This is Moon Bay, I am Hawthorne, I can satisfy almost all your wishes."

Xia De sneered... He hoped he was sneering, this expression didn't suit him:

"To find you, I circled Moon Bay in a big circle."

It took a full half day to collect various clues.

"I originally wanted to pretend that my pet dog was killed by you, and I came to you for revenge, but thinking about it carefully, there is no need to waste that kind of time. Answer me three questions, I only need three answers."

"You say."

The bare-chested man frowned and looked at Xia De:

"Or you untie the rope, maybe we can go for a drink together. We will have common topics, look at the rope you tied, it's really professional, we can communicate and communicate. Friend, this is the Parsifal Club, you should tie up girls, not me, a man."

Xia De didn't want to talk about this topic:

"Shut up. The first question, there is a rumor in the city recently that someone wants to sell three expensive special rule cards. I heard that your subordinates wanted to send those cards to you. Are those cards in your hands now, and do you know which series the three cards belong to?"

Freeman Hawthorne suddenly realized:

"So you are for this?! Friend, do you want to play a game of Rhodes cards? I can..."

"What do you think we are doing now? Answer my question."

Hawthorne licked his lips:

"Those idiots didn't get the cards, but I am indeed interested in those three cards. I heard that one of them was issued in the era when Rhodes cards were first created. This is what everyone wants. But to be honest, friend, I don't know where they are either. Now many people in the city want to get them. Although it was my people who killed the merchant who originally held the three cards, you looking for me is really looking for the wrong person."

Xia De frowned slightly. He originally just asked casually to confuse his true purpose, but didn't expect to get this answer. Although the possibility was not high, it did not rule out that the "Founder" series of cards appeared in the Moon Bay area. ===== CHAPTER 2019 =====