Chapter 646: The

It was 9:10 when he arrived at the station. After seeing at least three trains leave the platform, a steam train with a rare black paint job on its body drove into the platform from the south.

The design of this steam train's locomotive was clearly different from the ones just now. Even someone with no experience could recognize that this was a special train.

Xia De recalled the train schedule he had just seen. This train should be the special train carrying merchants from the southern foothills of the Rommel mountain range, traveling back and forth between the two countries. On one hand, it was to save time, and on the other, it allowed merchants to come in groups, which was also helpful for doing business, so it was supported by both countries.

"Could it be this one?"

He thought to himself, standing motionless under the platform pillar covered with wanted posters and recruitment advertisements. The train slowed to a stop, and with the sound of gas gushing, a stream of scorching white steam mist sprayed from the bottom of the carriage toward the platform.

People meeting the train surged up. In just a few dozen minutes, almost all the passengers in the carriage had walked down.

Xia De still didn't move, and then he saw a middle-aged man wearing a black hat and dressed in ordinary clothes walk down from the first carriage at the very front.

He looked around, and soon saw Xia De, who was leaning against the platform pillar holding a newspaper. After walking closer and carefully examining his attire, he nodded to him and said in Kasenrike:

"Sir, do you like men?"

"Hmm?"

Xia De was stunned, then thought of the password mentioned by Professor Higgins:

"No."

He also used Kasenrike.

"Then what age of beautiful girl do you like?"

The man asked again.

"All ages."

Xia De said, enduring his shame; he really wanted to punch the person who came up with this password.

"Then, are you interested in going to see beautiful girls with me?"

"I am interested."

He finished the last sentence of the code, and he could clearly see that the middle-aged man also breathed a sigh of relief:

"Very happy to see you."

He said in Deraerion, and reached out to Xia De. Xia De also shook his hand:

"I hope the next password can be more normal."

"A decision from above; we cannot interfere either."

After shaking hands, Xia De handed over the briefcase in his hand, but the man shook his head:

"For this kind of commercial secret, you should hand it over yourself."

He pointed to the first carriage with the door open.

This special train would stop here for about an hour, and after changing the locomotive, loading goods, and having passengers board, it would pass through the mountain pass and return to Kasenrike. So, the person coming to pick up this briefcase this time might be a big shot from Kasenrike on the other side of the mountain.

"Okay."

Xia De hesitated for a moment, then followed the man toward the first carriage.

The first carriage of the special train was prepared for special guests. The entire carriage was completely opened up and arranged like a reception room. And when the carriage door behind him closed, it actually blocked out all the noisy sounds in the Midehillburg train station at once.

A scent of spices permeated the carriage, and girls wearing maid outfits seemed to be preparing breakfast for the owner here.

A translucent screen separated the sofa set from the desk. Xia De could only see a lady sitting by the desk, but didn't know who it was.

While noticing that shadow, Xia De actually felt the badge on his chest heating up slightly. The degree of heat was very slight, which meant that the woman behind the screen should be a follower of some Great Witch, and the witch's power was extremely low; Xia De didn't even need to worry about being discovered by the other party for his special nature.

"Wait, this wouldn't be Miss Miss Jia Lin Na or Miss Afurola playing a joke on me, right?"

At this time, even if Miss Miss Jia Lin Na suddenly walked in from outside the carriage, Xia De wouldn't be surprised. But clearly, the other party was indeed here to pick up the goods, and the female behind the screen was a follower of a Great Witch Xia De didn't know.

"Why do I always encounter unfamiliar witches?"

He muttered in his heart:

"Are there other Ringed Shushi? What level?"

【Behind the screen, possibly level 4, possibly level 5. Besides her, there is another level 1 or level 2 Ringed Shushi further away in this carriage.】

"Understood."

Xia De didn't sit on the sofa, but held the briefcase high with his right hand and supported the bottom of the box with his left:

"This is it."

He wasn't very clear about the current situation, so he spoke as little as possible. He used Kasenrike; this kind of simple sentence was no problem for him.

"Who are you? Where is Professor Higgins?"

The voice behind the screen said. Judging by the voice, the age shouldn't be large. She also used Kasenrike.

"Dead."

Xia De really wanted to explain that a "money dispute with a local" was the cause of death, but his foreign language skills weren't up to par. In this situation, speaking Deraerion would seem very abrupt, so he could only answer simply.

"Then, who are you?"

The voice behind the screen asked this question again:

"Are you one of us?"

"Us" should refer to the Gray Gloves.

"Of course I am."

Even if Professor Higgins died, he shouldn't have told a stranger about this secret that could lead to the total annihilation of the entire army.

"Then, what is your codename? In the Midehillburg area, are there 'people of ours' like you?"

"I am good at disguise."

"Disguise" was one of the more complex Kasenrike common words Xia De had mastered:

"I am carrying out a secret mission, so it is inconvenient to reveal my identity."

The pause in the middle wasn't to pretend to be cold, but because he was stuck on the word. The word "secret" was a bit of a tongue-twister, and he had to think it through before speaking.

"You mean, you are one of us carrying out a secret mission? You occasionally encountered the dying Professor Higgins, and only after gaining his trust did you take over his task?"

The voice behind the screen said.

"Yes."

Xia De answered simply and placed the box at his feet. But the carriage door remained tightly closed; the owner of the carriage didn't intend to let him leave.

"Sir, I am very suspicious of your identity. Tell me your codename. My clearance level is very high, and I know most of 'our people'."

"You definitely don't know me."

Xia De said in a deep voice.

"Is that so? There are at most ten people I don't know. Then you say you are one of those ten?"

"Yes."

"Hmph~"

The voice behind the screen laughed:

"Do you think I will trust your words?"

"I brought the thing you wanted."

Xia De kicked the box.

"But how do I know this box is the thing I want?"

The woman asked. Xia De hesitated for a moment:

"I can say my codename, but you have to bear the price of hearing my identity. My intervention in this mission is already a violation, and exposing the codename is an absolutely forbidden act. Madam, if you are sure your identity is sufficient, then I will continue."

"Please speak. I believe I can hear any news."

"Alright, I am..."

Xia De sighed in his heart and whispered an apology to Detective Sparrow Hamilton, who was resting in the public cemetery of Tobesk:

"I am Gray Hawk."

For the sake of Lei Qianya's arrangement, he had to say this. And the Gray Gloves should not yet know that the real "Gray Hawk" was dead, otherwise they wouldn't have trusted the information in the fountain pen that was passed on.

A strange silence appeared in the carriage, and then the woman behind the screen laughed again. It was a very arrogant laugh:

"This joke is even more interesting than the one just now."

"Madam, I don't know if you have the qualifications to hear me prove my identity."

Seeing him so confident, the woman hesitated:

"You all leave first."

So, only this lady, Xia De, and another low-level Ringed Shushi remained in the entire carriage. That was a maid, who seemed to also have very little witch power.

"The intelligence was received from Virgil Cameron of the Set Principality."

He was very straightforward, and this sentence was prepared in advance during the gap when everyone left. Since he had decided to disguise himself as that ace agent for Lei Qianya's sake, he wouldn't expose any flaws.

"No, no, if you were an MI6 agent, you might also know about this. In fact, who Gray Hawk really is—age, appearance, or even gender—no one in the entire Gray Gloves knows completely. Those who know his identity only know a small part of the truth, and only together can they piece together the general characteristics of this gentleman."

The woman paused:

"However, you are lucky. I once talked to him through a wall when the contemporary King met him..."

Xia De's heart skipped a beat. He knew nothing about this:

"Terrible!"

"Mr. Gray Hawk is very cautious, almost airtight, but it was probably because he relaxed in the palace that I still discovered a small hobby of his. Please tell me, sir, Gray Hawk is very fond of pocket watches. Even if that pocket watch is inconsistent with the identity he is disguised as, he will definitely carry an expensive pocket watch, which can be explained by other excuses for the origin of the pocket watch. So, what style is his pocket watch?"

Xia De breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He knew the style of Mr. Sparrow's pocket watch, but just as he wanted to open his mouth, he immediately realized something was wrong:

"Mr. Sparrow's pocket watch is not expensive! Is this a trap?"

His eyes narrowed slightly:

"Since we talked through a wall, how does this woman know the style of Sparrow's real pocket watch? No, she is bluffing me... but she should indeed know Detective Sparrow's small hobby, an inconspicuous small hobby..."

"I don't love pocket watches."

Having figured out this trap, Xia De's mouth curled into a smile:

"What I love is black tea."

He paused:

"Yorkshire black tea."

To commemorate that detective, he had specifically gone into the city to find the same tea leaves. Because the price was truly astonishing, Xia De would never forget that kind of tea. After all, even the picky Miss Miss Jia Lin Na and Lei Qianya had praised that kind of black tea as very good:

"Do you need me to say a more specific origin?"

After a silence of 3 minutes and 23 seconds:

"I think it's no longer necessary."

The woman's voice behind the screen said softly:

"But... why are you here?"

The tone was full of disbelief, and Xia De breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed this lie had passed.

He just wanted to say that his appearance here was for a top-secret mission, but the door connecting the second carriage to here was knocked on at this moment.

Afterward, a maid walked in hurriedly and whispered a few words in the ear of the woman behind the screen. ===== CHAPTER 647 =====