[WP] Chapter 9: Suspected Extraordinary

[WP] Chapter 9: Suspected Extraordinary

"Very good; since the direction and time are suitable, let's catch up. If I can't catch up, I can go directly to the church. Anyway, I can't go hungry on the first day of the new world. I can't think like this; otherwise, I will feel a little pitiful."

With such a "simple" idea in mind, Shade took his things and set off along the low wall on the street, chasing the man forward.

To prevent being discovered, although the fog in the city became thicker as the evening came, Shade still didn't dare to follow closely. He was very self-aware and knew that he didn't have the skills to follow others.

So of course, more than ten minutes later, when they turned around the back wall of a milk distribution company and entered the alley, Shade completely lost the trace of the man.

"Ha~ Should I say, I lost him after all."

Standing in the alley and looking around blankly, he confirmed that he had lost the target, then shook his head and gave up the search. He didn't continue to dwell on this matter. Since he had lost him, he would go to get the "relief food,"  but—

"Where is this?"

In a completely unfamiliar city, while avoiding being discovered and following others, Shade had no time to remember his route of action. He only knew that he was now in a narrow alley with a very bad smell.

On the left was the outer wall of the milk distribution company, and on the right was the side wall of a three-story apartment building. On the walls on both sides, in addition to rusty pipes climbing up to connect different directions, there were also layers of messy obscene words and graffiti, and under the walls were garbage and feces everywhere.

Only near the entrance of the alley were there two or three rusty, large-diameter steam pipes, and no one knew who had abandoned them here.

"Go check the name of the milk distribution company, and then find the current location on the map."

Shade had an idea, so he no longer cared about the person he wanted to follow.

Turn around and go back along the alley, being careful not to step on the filthy and indescribable things in the alley. When he was about to walk out of the alley, he carefully avoided it because a team of police officers in police uniforms hurriedly ran on the street in front of him.

The tall middle-aged man with stubble on his face at the end of the team also glanced at Shade, and Shade also looked at the man with innocent eyes, so the police ignored Shade.

"What happened over there?"

Shade stood at the alley and looked in the direction where the police ran. Because he didn't know which street this was, he couldn't tell what was in that direction of the street.

"It's none of my business."

He said in a low voice, holding a notebook and walking towards the door of the milk distribution company. This is not a factory, but an office building for the distribution department. The yard is surrounded by a two-story yellow building, and an old dog that looks a bit old is lying at the door.

The dog also glanced at Shade, who was approaching here. Seeing that Shade just stopped at the door and didn't come in, he stood up lazily and moved to a place where the sunset could shine.

The name of the milk distribution company is "Silver Parrot,"  a very strange name, but it is indeed on the map. The previous detective also marked that a murder case occurred here three years ago.

The murder case naturally has nothing to do with Shade. He walked forward with a quarter of the map unfolded, constantly confirming that his position was correct.

There are not many pedestrians on the street, and you won't bump into people if you walk with your head down. 

Unconsciously, in the sunset and thick fog, along the direction of the pipe with white steam coming out of the wall, he walked to the end of the street. There is a five-way intersection ahead. According to the map, it will probably be closer to go from the road with a dessert shop diagonally to the left.

But the intersection was almost blocked by the crowd. There was a silver shop near the mailbox on the east side. The sign was cleaned, but something seemed to have happened there. The team of police officers that Shade had seen at the alley just now were maintaining order and preventing people from approaching.

While stopping to observe, more four-wheeled carriages came from behind Shade and other intersections. In just a few minutes, more police officers appeared here. There were even some people who looked like school scholars who walked out of the carriages, and I didn't know what they were going to do.

Shade didn't want to join in the fun. Now the relief food was the most important thing. But because there were too many people joining in the fun, he was squeezed into the front of the crowd while trying to pass the intersection.

He wanted to retreat, but the people behind him didn't want to. The police in front kept shouting for people to disperse. There was nothing worth seeing here.

Perhaps seeing Shade being squeezed over and not wanting to get close, the young police officer who maintained order with a pen in his chest pocket kindly reminded him to be careful of thieves.

This made Shade a little nervous, and he subconsciously touched the 10-penny note in his pocket. After confirming that it was still there, he saw another team of armed policemen escorting three men in plain clothes into the silver shop.

The tallest man among them was unusually strong, and the young man walking in the middle had the temperament of a scholar. The last man-made Shade felt familiar as if he was the missionary who handed him flyers in the afternoon.

"Do missionaries in this world still work part-time as policemen?"

He thought about the conclusion he didn't believe and held the coins and pocket watch in his pocket tightly, intending to leave here quickly, otherwise he would be late.

The moment he turned around and wanted to squeeze back, a strange warning suddenly came from his heart. Before he understood the reason for this feeling, he heard a sound.

Boom!

The explosion was beyond everyone's expectations, and the sound that almost tore the eardrums caused screams in the crowd. Although no fire could be seen, the glass window of the silver shop was immediately shattered, and the wall seemed to tilt, causing the metal pipes on the wall to make a harsh sound of twisting metal.

Fortunately, the police did not let the crowd surround the store door, so no one was injured when the panic shouting sounded.

The crowd immediately dispersed like a flood. Shade, who was standing in front of the crowd, remained calm and wanted to leave. He saw a middle-aged man with brown hair running towards the door of the silver shop.

"I'm a reporter! I'm a reporter! What's going on here?"

He grabbed a notebook in one hand and waved his ID in the other. He rushed over here more excitedly than anyone else and was then pulled by a young policeman.

"The gas pipeline exploded, sir; please don't get close."

Shade didn't believe it at all when he heard this conclusion. How could a gas pipeline explode?

Boom!

Another explosion that almost stopped the heart sounded in the silver shop, and the vibrating air almost produced the power to push people.

Even the glass on the second floor of the silver shop was broken, and the falling glass fragments forced the police, who were maintaining order, to flee temporarily. As Shade retreated, he saw through the window that on the second floor where the explosion occurred, there seemed to be two people fighting in a white fog, and there seemed to be light on the fist of one of them.

The distance was a bit too far, and the fog that came with the sunset was also reducing the field of vision, so Shade could not see it very clearly.

"Extraordinary?"

He thought in his heart.

[Yes.]

The woman's voice startled Shade, but knowing that the other party would not explain more, he did not ask but left here quickly.

"The three people just now are definitely from the church, and this happened after they entered. Sure enough, the church in this world is most likely a supernatural force, and it seems to be closely integrated with the kingdom's order. In this way, the probability that the Orthodox Church can be trusted is greatly increased. I wonder if I have a chance through the church's channels."

This means there are two choices. Not only the psychologist but also the five churches in this city have the opportunity for Shade to contact the supernatural and figure out the voice in his head.

"But how did I run into this kind of thing by chance?"

He walked in the original direction with the dispersing crowd, and the woman's voice in his mind said the sentence he had already said:

[Observe his ring.]

Although he didn't know what the woman's voice in his mind was, Shade at least knew that the other party had no obvious malice. He immediately followed the voice and looked around, and saw the young man wearing a pebble ring and carrying a suitcase again, walking not far ahead.

"It's such a coincidence. Wait, the explosion just now—it can't be related to him, right? Why do I have such an idea? Now there is no evidence."

With this idea, Shade didn't want to follow. If the other party could create an explosion with bare hands like the two people in the silver shop, following him would be almost like wanting to copy the tragic end of the previous detective.

"No, no."

Shade slowed down his pace, wanting the other party to disappear naturally in his sight. Unexpectedly, the young man also stopped, took out the map to check like Shade just now, and then carried the box into the alley next to him.

"Follow or not?"

The woman's voice in his head reminded the ring three times: it should not be boring. But Shade, who knew almost nothing about the world, must also ensure the necessary caution.

He walked forward according to his original plan. When he passed the alley where the young man turned in, he naturally glanced inside and saw the man disappear at the corner in front.

"Follow or not?"

He asked himself again and suddenly realized that the next decision would affect his life for a long time in the future.

"Follow or not?"

He asked the woman in his mind, and he heard laughter and whispered answers:

[The road of destiny unfolds before you, a guest from a foreign land. Are you willing to be ordinary, or do you desire immortality? The world is like an ocean; do you have the courage to explore the horror outside the peaceful island? The road of destiny unfolds before you; one leads to the extraordinary, and one leads to...]

"Chase!"

Shade gritted his teeth and entered the alley along the wall.

(End of this chapter)