Chapter 272: Islanders "Okay." Lumian nodded to manager René. After a dinner of foil-baked lamb chops, scrambled eggs, pigeon with minced onions, and jam tarts, Lumian wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up, and walked to one of the balconies of the cafe, looking out over the market avenue at night. The gas street lamps emitted a slightly hazy yellowish light, illuminating the road for carriages and pedestrians. At this time, more and more people walked into the Breeze Ballroom and joined the carnival. Frankly speaking, Lumian prefers drinking in the basement bar of the Golden Rooster Hotel to here. It makes him relax and feel better. In his opinion, the guests of the Breeze Ballroom were too self-indulgent. They either ignored their family situations or their futures and only wanted to indulge in alcohol, beauty, dancing and shouting. Most of the regulars of the basement bar were tenants of the Golden Rooster Hotel. They often did not come back until nine or ten o'clock and had to go to bed before 1 . They went there to drink, sing, brag and dance, mainly to seize the short two or three hours and give themselves a little happiness. Only in this way can they have the courage to face the heavy work of the next day and look forward to the new day. It's like a kerosene lamp, which needs to be refilled with fuel regularly to continue to shine. Lumian looked down at the market avenue for a few minutes, and suddenly saw a familiar figure.
Charlie, with a formal jacket draped over his arm, wearing a white shirt and a blue vest, was wrestling with someone on the street. “You’ve made some progress…” Lumian smiled and expressed his feelings using a phrase that has only become popular in recent years. He held the balcony with his right hand and jumped lightly from the second floor to the edge of the market avenue. In a few steps, he arrived at the scene where Charlie was fighting with someone. He did not stop or help Charlie, but watched the fun with interest. The man who was wrestling with Charlie was a thin, dark-skinned man. He was not very old, probably about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. He has deep eye sockets, dark eyes, thick lips, and slightly curly black hair. He has typical Misty Sea Islands ancestry, but compared to his compatriots, he looks quite decent. "Liar! You damn liar!" Charlie cursed as he wrestled. The islander, wearing a blue shirt with a pen in his breast pocket, dodged and explained: "I don't want that to happen either. I was deceived too!" "Shit!" Charlie kicked but missed. The two men wrestled in an amateurish manner until they were out of breath, and almost simultaneously slowed down and stopped. It was only then that Charlie noticed Lumian standing nearby, watching with a smile on his face. "Charles, he's Monette! That liar! He cheated me out of 10 filgs and almost made me starve to death!" Charlie's face lit up with joy, and he couldn't wait to explain the identity of the man from the opposite island. "Praise the sun, I met him today!" The islander whom Charlie thought deserved to die? Lumian laughed: "You are also wrong in this matter. Don't you remember that sentence? Never trust the people of the islands." "I thought he and I were friends," Charlie muttered in frustration. How did you manage to be so innocent and gullible? You are obviously good at playing pranks... People like you can easily be tricked into bed by those with bad intentions, and you still can't get the love or money you want. Uh, I've been fooled... Lumian muttered a few words in his mind and cast his eyes on the islander named Monite. Monette showed a flattering smile: “I was really trying to help Charlie find a job but I got scammed too and lost all my money. "I was too embarrassed to face Charlie, so I secretly moved out of the Golden Rooster Inn." As he explained, he took out a stack of banknotes from his trouser pocket, counted out three 5 Felkin notes, and handed them to Charlie:
"I came back to the market area this time just to find you and return your money to you, along with interest." After Charlie confirmed the authenticity of the three banknotes under the light of the street lamp, his mood calmed down a lot and he asked suspiciously: "You will also be deceived?" From the time he met Monitor until he moved away, Charlie had only seen this guy cheat other people, but had never seen him suffer any loss. He was worthy of being an islander. Monette smiled awkwardly: “Not only was I scammed, I was scammed twice. "The first time, I met a group of people who said that the 'Different' dance hall in the Observatory District wanted to expand its business and offered a portion of its shares for people to subscribe. Each small share only cost 200 Filkins. “You all know how profitable the dance hall is. I couldn’t resist and spent all my savings, but the stock subscription certificate I got turned out to be fake! "I went to confront the gang and was cheated for the second time." "Different" dance hall...Lumian's eyelids suddenly twitched. Fitz, a bankrupt businessman living in Room 401 of the Golden Rooster Hotel, was once cheated out of 10 Felgins by Timmons, the owner of the "Different" dance hall. He wanted to ask Lumian to help him get the money back, but after Lumian investigated on the spot and asked several people, he felt that the rules of the dance hall were very strange, and that the owner had strong enough connections and seemed to have good strength, so he gave up the commission. Now, he has encountered another victim of the "different" dance hall. "You've been fooled by them once, why can you be fooled a second time?" Charlie felt that he would not be so stupid. Monette coughed twice: "They told me directly that they were just a bunch of scammers and that it was impossible for them to return my money. They also said that calling the police was useless. Since I had talent, they asked me if I was willing to learn their scam techniques and then earn back the money I was defrauded of. "In the end, they taught me everything I knew, but they just gave me something extra." "What is that?" Charlie was always curious. The next second, Monette took out a transparent monocle from his other trouser pocket. Then, naturally, he clamped it in his right eye socket. For some reason, after Monet put on the monocle, Lumian felt that some indescribable subtle changes had taken place in him, just like an "actor" playing a different role. Monette, who was wearing a monocle on his right eye, raised the corner of his mouth slightly. He first glanced at Charlie, then looked at Lumian, his eyes moving from his face to his chest and to his hands. Lumian felt inexplicably nervous, but he had no premonition of danger. Monette smiled and said: "Are you the Ciel who invented that fool instrument?" “Yes.” Lumian did not deny it and quietly became more alert. Monette pinched the monocle on his right eye: “You’re quite good at playing pranks. "Do you want this monocle? It's of no use to me. It's better to exchange it for cash. You can use it to disguise yourself as someone from the 'different' dance hall and make more money there." Do you think I'm a fool? Lumian rejected Monet's proposal without hesitation: "I don't have a penchant for wearing monocles." He has always been confused about the strange rules of the "Different" dance hall and has a basic sense of vigilance. Monette withdrew his gaze with a hint of regret, took off his monocle, and said to Charlie: "I've given you the money and the interest. If you need anything in the future, come find me at the 'Different' dance hall." Charlie uttered a disdainful "Huh".
He still suspected that Monette had intended to cheat him out of his money. After the islander left the market avenue, Lumian glanced sideways at Charlie: "Remember to keep your distance from that guy, otherwise he might bring you a similar fate as Susanna Mathis." The latter part of the sentence was meant to deceive Charlie, mainly to frighten him so that he would not take the advice to heart. Charlie was horrified for a moment, and didn't bother to ask why, and nodded hurriedly: "well!" ………… At midnight, Lumian and Janna, who was wearing a red sequined dress, left the Breeze Ballroom and walked towards White Coat Street. Janna didn't ask why he was on the way. After a long silence, she said: "Have you ever felt like nothing mattered, you were confused, and you had no motivation?" “Of course there is.” Lumian looked at the street ahead and answered casually, “It requires you to rediscover the meaning of life and figure out what you really want to do.” Jenna was silent again, and after a while she asked: "Have you ever had that kind of experience? Something illusory in your body suddenly shattered, and a mysterious starry sky seemed to appear around you, with stars of all sizes shining." "No." Lumian thought for a few seconds and said. He had experienced the feeling of unreal things suddenly shattering, every time the potion was completely digested, but he had no idea about the mysterious starry sky or the stars of all sizes. Janna didn't say anything else. I don't know if she was thinking about what this phenomenon meant or if she was thinking about something else. Not long after, the two arrived at Apartment 3, 601 White Coat Street. Franka had returned and watched the two men enter side by side with caution. Before she could ask, Janna brought up the matter of “the shattering of unreal things and the emergence of the mysterious starry sky”. Franca was stunned for a moment, then said happily: "Your 'Assassin' potion has been digested! "Assassinating a congressman in public and under heavy protection will really help you digest the potion." “Is this a sign of the potion being digested?” Lumian did not hide his astonishment and confusion. Why do I only have the first half and not the second half? Franka looked at him suspiciously: "You've never experienced this? How did you get promoted?" The seal on my body not only seals Thermiporos, but also seals some of my mystical perceptions? Yes, the seal is on my body, it is impossible that there is no effect at all... Lumian probably had a guess and said casually: “Not so obvious.” Franka, who was more concerned about her female companion, did not raise any objections and asked Janna curiously: "You should have summarized some rules for acting, right?" "Roleplay rules?" Janna recalled, "After the assassination, I understood a lot of things. Well, assassination is something that puts one's life on the line. Assassination is the final punishment and a disaster for those criminals..." After a lively discussion with Janna about "acting methods" and acting rules, Franca remembered that Lumian was also there. "Is there anything I can do for you?" She looked at her male companion who was already sitting on the sofa. Lumian glanced at Janna, meaning that they needed to communicate in private.
Janna understood instantly and went into the guest bedroom under the pretext of changing clothes. Lumian then lowered his voice and said to Franka: "What kind of person do you think 'Hela' is?" (End of this chapter)