Chapter 189 Strange Footprints (asking for monthly ticket) Holding an iron-black calcium carbide lamp, Franka looked at the road sandwiched between stone pillars and asked the smuggler Fernandez who was leading the way in front with a little doubt: "Is this the way to the observatory area?" Although no one could fully grasp the overall picture of underground Trier, the tunnels on this level were marked with street names corresponding to the ground. Franka realized that the direction was wrong after a brief recollection. ——The smuggling must have been from outside the city to inside the city, and the Observatory District was closer to the center of Trier than the Honourable Market District, and was separated from the Boulevard District by the Serenzo River. Fernandez, the smuggler who worked for "Rat" Christo, turned half sideways and explained with a smile: "That hidden route must first go to the observatory area. We always get the goods to the warehouse over there." "Is that so?" "Red Boots" Franca slowed down and put more distance between herself and Fernandez, who was wearing a brown felt hat. Since they had not yet entered the smuggling route, she lowered her voice and chatted with Lumian beside her: "I remember you used the 'Fighter' Extraordinary Feature to exchange for Fel Gold from Gardner. "You know that's a Extraordinary characteristic, right? Or, you know what a Extraordinary characteristic really means, right?" “My sister told me.” Lumian attributed the origin of this knowledge to Aurore’s teaching.
Franka is tall and has long legs, so she can stay parallel to Lumian without much effort. She said with deep emotion: "It's great to have someone to guide us. We were all blind back then and had to figure things out on our own. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen..." Her voice gradually became lower and finally turned into a long "Ai". This reminded Lumian of a famous quote from Emperor Roselle that Aurore either said herself or relayed to her: "Once you make a serious mistake, you will regret it for the rest of your life." Franca quickly calmed down and reminded Lumian in a low voice: “You have just entered the field of occult studies, and you lack a lot more than just knowledge. "You'd better not be stingy with that money. Use it to buy a magical item or extraordinary weapon to make up for the Hunter's lack of mystical means. Otherwise, if Black Scorpion Roger really wants to take revenge on you, he won't need to go through so much trouble and can just send a few undead spirits to find you. "If you have any intention in this regard, I will help you keep an eye out for it." Lumian laughed immediately: "I've already bought it." "So fast?" Franca almost couldn't control her voice, causing the smuggler Fernandez to look back. The two sides were quite far apart, and the interlaced light and shadows from the calcium carbide lamp made it difficult for Lumian to see Fernandez's expression, and he wondered what associations he would make. Lumian answered "honestly": "Before I joined the Savoy Party, I found a circle of truly extraordinary people through the information about gatherings of occult enthusiasts published in the Psychic Magazine. I exchanged the Felkin given by the boss for a magical item there." “No wonder…” Franca showed a look of understanding and praised Lumian, “Your mind is more flexible than I thought. Hmm, is it an item that can improve your mysticism skills?” Lumian said calmly: "A pair of glasses from 'The Lawyer', but they seem to be tainted by some strange power." As he spoke, he took out his brown "secret-seeing glasses" and demonstrated them: “It helps me see a lot of things that I can’t see normally…” "This is very dangerous." Franka's brown eyebrows that flew into her temples frowned slightly, interrupting Lumian's words.
“I know.” Lumian explained with a smile, “But as long as you choose the right environment and protect it well, it’s not that dangerous. It can also provide good camouflage and mysticism…” Lumian briefly explained how wearing the "secret glasses" would give rise to the urge to draw. Franca tied the ponytail behind her head little by little: “It’s really useful, and I would choose it if I were in your situation. "That is, the leaders and thugs of the Sting Gang have never really come into contact with you. The only impression they have of you is your strange hair color. Otherwise, they have already recognized your true identity and don't need to do it themselves. They can just send your information and the wanted warrant to the police headquarters and the two churches to complete their revenge." Lumian smiled: "Yes, I can now pick a time to meet Officer Everett for coffee." Franka's bright lake-blue eyes smiled, and she said: "You actually told me about the occult gathering and your own trump card. Janna also kept saying in front of me that you are cunning and deceitful, and good at deceiving, even though you are so sincere and frank! Well, this is also the reason why our relationship is different from others. "I told you, a Muggle's brother wouldn't be that kind of person!" Lumian felt a little guilty for a moment and said sincerely: "Yeah, she totally misunderstood me." The two chatted for a while and finally arrived at the edge of the underground area corresponding to the observatory area and turned into a tunnel extending to the south. Soon, Fernandez stopped in front of a secondary shaft that belonged to a quarry. He placed the calcium carbide lamp at the mouth of the well, pointed downward and said: "Let's go in." With the help of the blue light, Lumian looked down to the bottom of the well and found that this auxiliary well had been abandoned for a long time and seemed to be completely blocked by rubble. Relying on the depressions on the well wall, the ropes hidden in the shadows, and the simple iron ladder nailed to the moss, the three climbed down and soon reached the bottom of the well. Smuggler Fernandez moved away several heavy-looking stones, revealing a tunnel at the edge of the well wall that was wide enough for one person to pass through. After walking through this tunnel with relatively polluted air, the front suddenly became open, as if entering another quarry cave. It is even more dead silent and dark here. The cave ceiling is quite damp, and there is little moss around. Lumian and Franca, each holding a calcium carbide lamp, slowed down their pace and carefully examined the various traces on this smuggling route. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Fernandez pointed to a tunnel not far away: "Our leader and Baron Brinell did not fail to gain anything. They found that the caravan's footprints disappeared out of thin air there." It was a tunnel connecting two quarry holes. The road was full of gravel and potholes. In the distance it was pitch black without any light. Lumian and Franca soon found the place where the fresher footprints suddenly disappeared, squatted down, and began to check carefully. “There are only footprints from the way here, and the way back is cut off here. "Most of the people returning were carrying heavy objects, and their footprints were deeper, which was obviously different from when they came here... We can rule out the possibility that they turned around and stepped on their own footprints, retreating step by step..." Lumian made a series of judgments quickly. Franka turned her gaze away from the surroundings and said as she stood up: “No signs of a struggle were found. “It’s very weird!” Then she motioned for Fernandez to go a little further away and wait in the quarry cave they had just passed. When the light of Fernandez's calcium carbide lamp completely disappeared in the distance, Franca took out a small makeup box and a white handkerchief with blue plaid from somewhere.
The latter was an item that was commonly used by "Mouse" Kristo's younger brother, Erken, who also disappeared in this smuggling operation. Franka immediately put down the calcium carbide lamp, opened the pale gold box, and reached out to touch the mirror inside. At the same time, she held the handkerchief and chanted in Hermetic language: "Erken's current location, Erken's current location..." The already dark tunnel became even more depressing. The light of the two calcium carbide lamps was pushed back a little by an invisible force. The palm-sized mirror soon began to shimmer, as if it was showing the situation at the bottom of the dark river. Before Lumian could count to three seconds, a scene appeared on the mirror: Coolies carrying wooden boxes and smugglers holding pistols and rifles walked slowly in the tunnel. As they moved forward, the darkness behind them filled the place where the light was taken away. In the end, the light of the calcium carbide lamp disappeared at the end of the sight, and the mirror surface was dark. "They did disappear in this area." Franca stopped divination and pursed her rosy, thin lips. "But I can't see anything." Lumian did not suggest trying the "secret glasses". In his opinion, the underground of Trier was full of dangers and hid all kinds of things, such as relics of the Quaternary Period, smelly and dirty old bones, catacombs that had to abide by specific rules, and the ghosts of Montsouris that had been wandering for years and had not been cleared. These were all things that made people afraid to explore the truth. If he really used the "secret glasses" to look around here, he would most likely explode on the spot. By then, there will be another legend involving the power of evil gods under Trier. Therefore, Lumian would help for the sake of the Savoy Party leader's "face", but he would not do his best and take risks. Anyway, the one who was lost this time was "Mouse" Christo, so what does it have to do with him, "Lion" Charles? The Breeze Ballroom still has plenty of alcohol in stock! Franca glanced at him, with no intention of making things difficult for him. The "Red Boots" put away her makeup box and Erken's handkerchief, picked up the calcium carbide lamp, and said to Lumian: "Let's go back to Fernandez and let him lead us forward. Maybe there are clues left somewhere else." "Okay." Lumian felt that Franca was just fulfilling her obligations as a member of the Savoy Party. The two men turned around, holding their own carbide lamps and walked towards the original quarry cave and the darkness in the distance. After walking a dozen steps, Lumian stopped suddenly and his expression became solemn. "What's wrong?" Franca asked puzzledly. Lumian pointed to the gravel and potholes on the ground and said in a deep voice: “There are no footprints anymore. “The traces of the smugglers’ footsteps out of the city and our footsteps coming in are gone! “But there are more footprints of people carrying heavy things forward!” Franca was startled and looked down, only to find the ground in a mess. All the footprints of herself, Lumian and Fernandez when they entered the tunnel had disappeared, while the footprints of the missing caravan reappeared out of thin air! PS: Please vote for me~ (End of this chapter)