Chapter 30

This is the third time Mr. Franklin has come to the door to make a request; the content of the request is the same as before: to forcibly bring young Franklin, who is addicted to Rhoder cards, out of that illegal club that operates at night.

Mr. Franklin has had enough; he intends to sell his property and quit his job in the near future, abandoning the thirty years of hard work he and his wife have put into this northern capital city, and leaving the rich and prosperous Tobesk to move his whole family to the west of the kingdom, to the city of Atak, known as the "City of Art." Mr. Franklin's older brother has lived in that city for many years and can introduce the family to new jobs.

Of course, more importantly, it is to keep young Franklin away from those rotten friends, away from Rhoder cards and the gambling table.

"After I bring him back this time, I will lock him directly in the house. Until I finish handling the moving matters next month, I will take him directly onto the steam train. So, Detective Hamilton, can you bring my son out of that club?"

The client confirmed.

This matter only requires Xia De to set off immediately to enter the club and then persuade young Mr. Franklin to leave with him, so the accountant's offer is 13 shillings and 3 pence, which is more than half a pound. For an accountant with an annual income of about 70 pounds, this is about a week's salary.

This commission fee includes the club's entrance ticket and an extra subsidy for traveling at night. Although compared to the commission for finding Little Mia, this business is not even worth "half a cat," Xia De considered it for a moment and was willing to accept this commission.

Not long ago, he saw the Franklin family's affairs in the previous detective's commission records, which recorded the process of the detective persuading young Franklin to leave with him.

"A very simple task, there won't be any mistakes."

Leaving the orange cat at home and worrying that Little Mia would be afraid, Xia De even endured the pain of not turning off the gas lamp before going out. Mr. Franklin went home to wait for news, while Xia De, because of the long distance, chose to take a carriage to his destination.

The charging standard for taxis in Tobesk has different rules depending on the passenger's boarding location and destination. For boarding within the city center area centered on Yodel Palace, the fare is 1 shilling for destinations under 2 miles within a 4-mile range, and 5 pence for every mile thereafter. If you leave the central urban area for a long-distance trip, the cost per mile will be cheaper.

And Xia De's destination this time is in the lower city in the usual sense, which is Beicheng. Counting the extra tips that need to be paid to the driver for night driving, he paid a total of 3 shillings when he got off at the dim alley entrance.

Fortunately, the Franklin family is also in the Beicheng area, so there is no need to take a carriage after finding young Franklin.

At the same time, the expensive taxi usage price also made Xia De realize the wealth gap in this complex and prosperous steam era. And how many challenges he, as a person at the bottom, has to face.

The city's night is quiet, but Xia De, who has become a Ringed Shushi, feels a terrible feeling like staring into an abyss from the silent long night. Tobesk, the largest city in the north, has secrets and unknowns hidden within it, and there are definitely no shortage of mysteries in the shadows of alleys and corners of apartments, but fortunately, at least Xia De did not encounter these tonight.

"This world... is more dangerous than I imagined."

The club named "Lucky Southern Cross" has its main entrance on Glass Mountain Avenue. But if you want to enter the club's casino, you must enter from the back door in the alley.

Xia De followed the records left by the previous detective, entered the alley, and circled half a circle in the dark before seeing the silver-gray rusty iron door. During this time, a wild cat suddenly jumped out from the top of the wall, giving the detective a fright, and he was annoyed at his own "timidity" because of this.

After carefully knocking three times in a row on the iron door and waiting for a full half minute, a tall man with a beard, wearing a black coat and leather boots, vigilantly opened the door from the inside.

"This is not a place for young people."

He glanced at the young detective and reached out to push him, but unexpectedly did not push him. Even if he is only a First-Ring Shushi, his physical fitness has been greatly enhanced.

"Are the rules here so barbaric?"

Xia De displayed a Rhoder card of the Silver Moon 13 suit, which is one of the deck he picked up on the roof of the pet boarding center in the morning, and then said:

"I'm here to find Mr. Rhoder, for some matters on the table."

Then he gave three one-penny coins as an entrance fee.

"Just now I thought you were... coming for the first time?"

The bearded man glanced at the card and confirmed that the code was correct.

"Introduced by an acquaintance."

Xia De replied in a low voice. The bearded man looked him over again, then gave up the doorway, letting Xia De enter the back door corridor of the club illuminated by dim yellow gas lamps.

The detective immediately turned up the collar of his trench coat to cover half of his face, looked vigilantly to the left and right of the alley, and then walked in.

"Although this is an illegal casino, there's no need to be like this..."

The bearded man muttered behind Xia De.

The corridor was quite dim, and the air was filled with a disgusting smell of sweat, alcohol, and tobacco mixed together. After walking less than ten steps inward, doors appeared on the left and right of the corridor. All the doors were ajar, allowing the glaring light from the rooms to shine into the corridor, and inside, chaotic shouting and the sound of hands slapping the table could be heard.

Xia De did not enter any door. He walked forward cautiously and quietly used 【Blood Echo】 to check the surroundings. He did not find any too obvious bloodstains, which shows that at least there are no more serious illegal activities here.

"Although it's not a combat-type curse, it's inexplicably really easy to use."

The corridor leads to the brighter east hall of the club. Dozens of wide wooden tables with tablecloths are placed in the hall. Gentlemen in decent clothes, drunks who have just left the tavern, workers who have finished work at night, and all kinds of people are crowded around the tables, waving banknotes in their hands around the still somewhat dim tabletops, excitedly watching the gambling game on the table.

The Lucky Southern Cross Club is divided into three floors, and only guests with sufficient status can go to the casino upstairs. And young Franklin obviously can only hang out on the first floor. Last time, Detective Sparrow Hamilton found the young man who was dead drunk and lying in the corner of the wall in the east hall.

Because there were too many people, Xia De had only heard Mr. Franklin introduce young Franklin's clothing and appearance, so he did not find the young man at the first time.

With a 1-shilling banknote in his hand, he quickly mixed into the crowded hall. He kept stopping by different tables, observing whether there was anyone he was looking for, but he would never throw the banknote onto the gambling table. The cost of taking a carriage already made his heart ache, and Mr. Franklin would not reimburse unnecessary expenses during the detective process.

In half an hour, he had almost seen the entire east hall, but did not find his mission target. Instead, while pretending to study the bets at the table, he heard the gamblers chatting about an interesting thing that happened here an hour ago.

A young man with small eyes, wearing a gray hat, a sailor's short shirt, and a face full of freckles, was caught and taken to the second floor to be forced to "repay debts" because he owed too much money at the gambling table.

Xia De did not know the meaning of "repaying debts," but he thought it was not a good thing. He knew that he had already found the trace of young Franklin, and this young man's situation was quite bad.

Entering the second floor of the club requires showing at least 10 pounds in cash, and also requires an introduction from an acquaintance. Xia De had no money and no acquaintances, but he had to go to the second floor. Now is not the time to give up, after all, it is his first formal commission.

After waiting for a while, fortunately, not long after, a group of dozens of drunks stumbled out of a room on the side of the corridor and walked towards the second floor together.

"Good opportunity!"

Xia De dodged to the side with a few people near the stairs, but when the drunks passed by, he immediately supported one of them who was slightly behind, endured the smell of alcohol on him, and mixed into the crowd. The detective finally arrived on the second floor.

"Sure enough, there is no easy time to make money."

Compared to the noisy environment on the first floor, the second floor was obviously much quieter, and the decoration was more elegant. Even at night, this is still a liquor club rather than a casino.