Chapter 993

"Yes, we have a lot of precipitation here in winter and summer, especially in winter."

Dorothy said. Princess Margaret was observing the street scene with great interest, while Dorothy was observing Princess Margaret:

"Miss Mary, how is the winter in Wilndale different from here?"

Princess Margaret still remembered that her companion was a female writer, so she tried to make her answer as elegant as possible:

"The winter in Wilndale is completely different from that of Tobesk. It's not a difference of cold versus cold, but rather more like..."

Xia De, walking in front, listened to the conversation between the two ladies, wanting to laugh but not quite daring to.

The two literary young women continued to talk about the winter scenery of Tobesk, and Dorothy would occasionally mention the detective stories of Xia De that she had recorded. As they approached their destination, the "Cameron Wool Textile Factory," Xia De also joined the conversation, mentioning that not all the commissions he participated in were related to mysterious events.

"At least this time I think it's just an ordinary case. I don't know which swindler dares to cause this kind of thing in the capital of Delarion."

Xia De said this as the three of them watched a carriage hurry past at the intersection. Opposite this T-junction was the wool textile factory surrounded by walls. At the bottom of the wall, heavy steam pipes passed through holes into the interior of the courtyard. Inside the wall, chimneys spewed black smoke toward the sky shrouded in gray fog, and the burnt, foul smell in the air became even more severe.

From the factory's fence gate, one could see porters wearing short clothes inappropriate for the season, struggling to push wheelbarrows to transport goods. In the factory further away, it was unknown how many female workers were still working hard.

"Only when seeing steam factories do I feel that Tobesk and Wilndale are actually no different."

Princess Margaret said in a low voice, then had her attention attracted by two children running past the street. They were not children from the slums near the factory, but a pair of twins looked after by three manservants. They were dressed in proper coats, their hair groomed meticulously, passing in front of the steam factory gate. The beggar huddled by the wall just glanced at them once, then lowered his head and remained motionless.

"After all, they are both of the same era."

Dorothy said, then glanced at Xia De. The Outlander's gaze looked at the black smoke, looking out at the sky shrouded in gray fog. Whenever he saw similar scenery, he felt that this world was truly extremely real.

Luck was not bad; Mr. Jimmy Cameron was indeed in the factory. Such private factories were generally not allowed to be entered, but Xia De still had some reputation in the city. After handing over his business card, someone soon led the three of them into the white building on the east side of the factory.

When they met Mr. Jimmy Cameron, he was sitting at a desk in a room facing the sun, seemingly balancing accounts. But looking closely, the book he had put down in his hand was clearly the knight novel "The Lady in Boots."

"Are you Detective Hamilton?"

After the four of them were seated, Mr. Cameron instructed his servant to prepare tea. He was not interested in the two ladies following Xia De, but instead reached out to shake hands with Xia De with great interest:

"I have long heard of your name. I wonder what business you have with me? Could it be that one of the female workers in the factory is related to the case you are investigating?"

Like his brother, he looked like a detective novel fan:

"Let me guess, a serial murder case has appeared in the city, and a female worker of mine unfortunately became a victim? Or did the Ridgewich Yard commission you to assist in investigating the recent sensational theft case, and you ended up finding me?"

This plump gentleman was wearing a dark brown coat. Compared to his well-maintained brother, Mr. Jimmy Cameron's hair volume was truly worrying. Since the two were brothers, the difference in hair volume must be related to their daily routines.

【As long as a girl stays overnight at home, your routine is also abnormal.】

"I am not an ordinary person, and witches all have hair-growth spells."

Xia De responded in his heart, let go of the hand he was shaking with Mr. Cameron, and shook his head with a smile:

"No, no, it's not such an important matter."

The servant pushed open the door to serve tea to the four. Although this was a steam factory, Mr. Jimmy Cameron and the manager sometimes had to meet business partners in this small white building, so they had specially prepared tea leaves.

"This lady is Miss Dorothy Louisa, and this lady is her assistant, Mary. They want to investigate a matter with me today, and they might record our conversation in a while. This matter is related to you."

"It doesn't matter, you can record it. However, what matter is related to me?"

Mr. Cameron grabbed a handful of his very dangerous hair, then showed an embarrassed expression:

"I must state in advance, I am not evading taxes. The lawyer introduced by my brother said that it is a legal tax avoidance method, not an illegal act."

Dorothy took out paper and pen, but did not record this part. Princess Margaret sat beside the blonde girl, a faint smile on her face. While listening, she looked around the room. Although the walls were slightly yellowed, the wooden floor was cleaned very cleanly. This Mr. Jimmy Cameron seemed to have good taste. Although the furniture was all second-hand, the brown leather sofa and the dark brown wooden coffee table matched well.

"No, no, although only taxes and death are inevitable, I am not responsible for tax audits."

Xia De immediately shook his head:

"It's like this, I am recently investigating a kind of magical box."

He looked at Mr. Cameron, who showed an expression of sudden realization:

"Victor's box?"

Xia De did not know this name; Sir Cameron had only called it a "box" this morning:

"Do you really believe it can replicate coins and banknotes?"

To prevent the two from talking about different things, Xia De asked the question directly. Mr. Jimmy Cameron pursed his lips and leaned back on the sofa, his two hands folded together:

"Although my brother, Baron Cameron, often says that I am unlearned and unskilled, I still have basic common sense; otherwise, this factory would have gone bankrupt long ago."

He said hesitantly:

"When I first heard about Victor's box, I didn't believe it either."

Dorothy subconsciously picked up her pen wanting to record, but thinking that Princess Margaret was her assistant, she did not do it herself. And Princess Margaret only realized her job after the conversation started.

"But later I believed it. It can indeed print banknotes. This is something I tried myself. I experimented with coins and banknotes separately, and both can be replicated. And I had people verify them; those coins were also real."

Jimmy Cameron looked a little uneasy, but this was not because he realized he might have been cheated:

"This shouldn't count as privately printing the kingdom's banknotes, right?"

"It doesn't count."

Xia De shook his head:

"My client was also cheated. He wanted me to investigate who exactly is manufacturing and peddling this kind of box. I can basically determine that this is a scam, so it's not privately printing banknotes. May I ask, how many pounds did you spend to buy that so-called magical box?"

Mr. Cameron thought for a moment:

"100 pounds."

"How much money has it 'replicated' so far?"

"21 pounds."

"Except for the first replicated banknotes, are the serial numbers of the subsequent replicated banknotes consistent with the replica itself?"

"Inconsistent."

Mr. Cameron said, the expression on his face representing that he did not realize there was any problem with this at all. This made Xia De frown slightly, because this factory owner did not look like a simple intellectually disabled person:

"Then have you ever thought that if that box is just a complex and ingenious mechanical box, the coins and banknotes you took out were just stored in the interlayer in advance? Once all the banknotes in the interlayer fall out, it is just an ordinary box."

Mr. Cameron shook his head:

"It won't be. The gentleman who sold me the box guaranteed that if the box fails, I can go find him at any time."

"May I ask, is the other party..."

"No, no, I cannot reveal the identity of that gentleman. He told me that this kind of business can only be done by a few people and cannot be told to more people."

Because this was Xia De conducting the investigation, neither Dorothy nor Princess Margaret interrupted. But hearing this, the girls basically determined that this was a fraud case.

"Why can't too many people do it?"

Xia De asked relentlessly. Mr. Cameron folded his hands together, trying hard to recall:

"He said that if too many boxes are sold, it will lead to a large amount of banknotes being replicated in a short period of time. In the case where the total amount of goods in the market remains unchanged, the appearance of too much currency not pegged to the kingdom's gold reserves will lead to more currency targeting the same total amount of goods, thereby causing an abnormal rise in prices, and in more serious cases, it may even trigger an economic crisis."

He nodded with a very serious expression:

"So we cannot let others know about this wonderful machine at will. For the sake of Delarion's financial stability, we must absolutely keep this secret. Yes, everything for Delarion!"

Xia De felt that Dorothy beside him was about to lose control of her expression. Princess Margaret lowered her head to write, which made it impossible to see her expression.

"At least the financial and economic knowledge is still correct."

Xia De evaluated it simply, then suggested:

"I wonder if I have the honor to take a look at the Victor's box in your hand?"

"Of course you can, but the box is not at the time it can be used now, Detective. I'm afraid you won't be able to solve its puzzle."

Mr. Cameron said, getting up himself to fetch the box. The box was in the safe in the corner of this room.

That gear safe with a built-in small steam engine required two rotations of the gear password, one push of the piston password, and most importantly, a circular key to be opened.

And the so-called "Victor's box" kept by such an ingenious safe was actually made of wood. The box was generally rectangular, about the size of two palms of an ordinary person. The outside of the mahogany box was not decorated much, just some strange patterns with unclear meanings carved out with wood grain.

Although there was a lock on the box, Mr. Cameron did not use a padlock to lock it. After placing the box on the table, the eyes of all three of Xia De were attracted. After obtaining Mr. Cameron's permission, they checked the box separately.

The inside of the box was polished very smoothly. It was easy to compare that the internal volume of the box was much smaller than the volume of the box itself. Even the most stupid person could guess that there must be an interlayer inside.