The secret passage may sound mysterious, but it is actually not that rare.
After all, it was built for human use.
Aiwass took Lulu and Sherlock into an abandoned warehouse not far from the Pelican Bar that had previously stored stones but was now full of dust and gravel.
Coming out of the back door of the warehouse, you can see a slightly desolate and decadent wasteland.
There is no one here. A creek formed by sewage and stagnant water blocked their progress. The other side of the creek is filled with various domestic garbage and bushes, which have become faded and rotten after repeated exposure to wind and rain.
When Aiwass saw it, he was relieved, as if he had found his target, he crossed the creek without hesitation, and then walked towards the garbage beach on the opposite side.
"Continue to walk forward from here and climb over this big slope."
"That's it."
I jumped over with great reluctance. Sherlock, who had not soiled his shoes, followed Aiwass and murmured in a low voice, "Using images of sewage and garbage that make people feel abandoned and at the end of the road, to make people subconsciously think that there is no road here. Not counting." A very clever hiding method, but it is enough for ordinary people."
"Because this is indeed not a high-level secret passage, and it is not artificial."
< p>Aiwass walked at the front and led the way. At the same time, he turned slightly and explained, "It leads to a chemical plant that was abandoned twenty years ago.""About seven or eight years ago, this secret passage opened It was discovered and occupied by a group of young boys from Lloyd's District. They were today's Sweater Brotherhood, a gang of stranglers. "
"The Strangler Party, isn't it the name of a gang?"
Lulu, who was holding up her skirt and reluctantly following Aiwass, asked doubtfully, "I thought that It is the largest gang in Lloyd District. ”
“That’s not the case. The Stranglers are indeed gang members, but that doesn't mean they have a common gang called the Stranglers. "
The person who answered her question was the newsboy Sherlock, "Any gang member who kills and robs by strangulation is called a strangler. It is precisely those small gangs who make money in this way. "
"What about the biggest gang?"
"It must be Lloyd's. There is only one Lloyd's Club in Lloyd's District. ”
Aiwass replied, “Prince Lloyd established the Lloyd’s Society when he was still a businessman more than two hundred years ago and still exists today. It was a large association selling insurance, loan sharking, ocean intelligence, and business insider information. In a sense, they are the only legal gang in Avalon. "
"Isn't loan sharking illegal? Why are there legal loan sharks?"
"Because they do not charge excess interest on the surface. Instead, they collect interest by selling Lloyd's Weekly at ultra-high prices that are far beyond what ordinary people can afford. ”
Having said this, Aiwass glanced helplessly.Lulu "My dear, don't you think that the price of five red candles for a weekly newspaper is normal?" "That's a weekly newspaper." This means that most of the news above is old news that has been reported by other newspapers. There is a saying in the journalism industry that the newspaper in the morning is useless paper by the evening. Although it is a bit extreme, weekly newspapers should be cheaper than daily newspapers anyway. ”
The newsboy Aiwass met at the door of the Pelican Bar was the “newsboy” raised by Lloyd’s.
At that time, Haina felt that Lloyd The price of the weekly newspaper was wrong. But she didn't understand who Lloyd's Weekly was selling to, and Aiwass didn't want to explain it to her.
With her straightforward nature, it was better not to know.
Haina thought the people who bought newspapers would be sailors, fishermen and laborers. How could they afford such money?
Even if they could, they would only buy meat and beer.
The tired and poor people at the bottom cannot afford to buy newspapers. They can only get free news from the bar.
Little Sherlock on the side sighed and whispered no. Her Royal Highness the Princess, who is well-versed in worldly matters, patiently explained the convolutions involved: "Anyone who borrows money from Lloyd's in the Lloyd's District must regularly purchase a designated share of Lloyd's Weekly as additional interest. When the loan collector comes to inspect the home, he will check the number of copies of the newspaper held by the borrower and cut off a corner of the newspaper as an inspection.
"The same goes for the inside information they sell. Those factory owners or company directors will order a large number of Lloyd's weekly newspapers directly from Lloyd's. And the person who delivers the newspaper will include the oral message Bring.
“They also have the business of investigating designated targets, and they once invited me. As far as I know, there are private investigators who accept their employment. When Lloyd's submits the investigated personal information, it also pays with a designated share of Lloyd's Weekly. ”
“Is it because newspapers will pay taxes?”
Hearing this, Lulu immediately reacted, “So the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Taxation will protect them”
< p>Although this was the first time she heard about this method of gray trading through newspapers, she immediately realized the cleverness of this approach.This meant that Lloyd's society was open to the kingdom. He reported all his income and actively paid a large sum of money for protection.
Since he took their money and did not arrest them, it means that this behavior is allowed.
It is indeed an organization cultivated by Prince Lloyd.
Although she lacks a lot of experience, Princess Isabella's brain is very good.
And she comes into contact with the intellectual class. Very high, so he also developed a good political sense
“The reason why newspapers are used to collect money is because Lloyd’s expresses its respect for authoritarianism, even if they originate from the Labor Party. The forces left behind by Prince He, but if they really offend the Round Table Hall, they will also be in trouble.
“But if the loan transaction is carried out in the form of selling newspapers, it means that theyThey will pay taxes on interest as a kind of net income because they do not want to offend the Supervision Bureau, so their tax payment behavior will be more active and stable than those businessmen who are almost bound to evade taxes. ”
Isabella listened to the Minister of Taxation complaining countless times about the problem of not being able to collect taxes.
He kept asking the Inspectorate to send tax inspectors to companies that may have engaged in tax evasion. . Every time, a long and terrifying list was brought out, which was longer than Isabella's hair. When she held it in her hand, she wanted to see the other end hanging on the ground.
Isabella's clear consciousness. It can be seen that if Lloyd's tax payment behavior is sufficiently active, large and stable, then they will indeed be protected.
The fact that they can obtain the distribution rights of Glass Step News has already explained the Round Table Hall. Regarding their opinions.
The newsboy nodded, "Because of this, the Inspectorate will not send anyone to take care of them. Coupled with their actions of voluntarily maintaining civil order in Lloyd District, the Supervisory Bureau could only turn a blind eye to them.
"After all, it is a legal association that practices the authoritarian way and also respects the existence of the authoritarian way upstream. In a sense, they are not actually an association, but can be regarded as It’s a large company with dirty tricks.
“So they won’t carry out strangulation, which may lead to investigation. However, their squeeze on the profit margins of other gangs will cause other societies to continue to choose to send members to commit strangulations, home invasions, burglaries, thefts, kidnappings, assassinations and other illegal means to obtain funds.
“And this will make them easy to be investigated and arrested by the Supervisory Bureau. This further reduces the living space of other associations.”
“It’s more than that.”
< p>Finally, Aiwass, who saw the back door of the abandoned chemical plant from a distance, breathed a sigh of relief and casually added, "In fact, after those strangler gangs sneak attacked and killed passers-by and took away all the belongings on them, their way of selling the stolen goods was still labor. The Lloyd's Association. And some commissions like assassinations or thefts are also issued by the Lloyd's Association."So I just said that there is only one largest gang in the Lloyd's District, and that is the Lloyd's Association. "
"There is also this matter"
Hearing this, even Sherlock was surprised.
But when he thought about it carefully, it seemed that this was not the case. Reasonable. No matter how legal Lloyd's is, it is still a dirty gang rather than a serious industrial company.
But Sherlock has never been able to find out the evidence of their crime.
Maybe it's not just because the evidence was destroyed by the Supervisory Bureau.
Maybe it's because they no longer need to do that kind of thing in person. >Sherlock looked carefully at the "fox" dressed as a priest, and for the first time he began to doubt his true identity.
He seemed to be familiar with the Lloyd District and knew this secret passage. He even knows something about Lloyd’s secrets
Is it possible that the "Fox" is not a student of the school, but a gangster?Send members, or simply an informant of an organization that has penetrated into the church, or a renegade pastor
Thinking of this, Sherlock asked tentatively, "Mr. Fox, if I investigate the Sweater Brotherhood, what will he do to me?" Are you causing trouble?
“If so, I think I would be a little more lenient. As a token of my gratitude for helping me in the ceremony. "
Hearing this, Aiwass paused.
He turned back to look at the newsboy, the corners of his mouth raised slightly.
"Since I can If I tell you in front of you, I won't be afraid of you checking. After checking the bone carvings, let's arrest the Sweater Brotherhood. This can be regarded as eliminating harm for the people. Despite the fact that the Sweater Brotherhood is a small organization, no one has less than five lives on their hands.
"According to my hearsay, they may be connected to the group behind the Pelican Bar."
It's not just that.
The reason Aiwass remembers this secret passage is because it is a mainline copy.
I have forgotten all the previous plot, but Aiwass is convinced that the "Sweater Brotherhood" must be related to the Noble Red Society. Because the members of the Sweater Brotherhood who appeared in this dungeon not only had their bodies greatly strengthened and their minds raged by the demonologist's rituals, but they also raised a large number of demon dogs made from corpses.
That copy is quite disgusting.
Not only is it long and winding, it is easy to get lost if you don’t know the way. Moreover, there are all kinds of garbage, quagmire, and sewage on the ground that affect movement. There are also a large number of demon dogs that will ambush around the corner, activate when the first person passes by, and then suddenly rush up and start biting the second person.
Not only are these demon dogs wearing scrap iron armor with sharp edges and a lot of meat, but they also deal high damage, and they also have a chain of hatred. After being enlarged, they will start to call dogs frantically, and other dogs on patrol will I'll come after I hear it.
Compared to the boss whose mechanism is not complicated, the mobs in this copy are much more annoying.
Aiwass doesn’t want to type this book again. Just thinking about being pounced on and bitten by those half-human, half-human tin mad dogs fed on human flesh made him feel a little numb.
It is better to let Sherlock take them away in advance.
Also give Sherlock something to do, don't let him stare at the things behind the Pelican Bar. Otherwise, "that lord" might think that his letter fell into Sherlock's hands, and vigilantly begin to destroy the evidence and silence him.
If "that gentleman" destroys evidence faster than Aiwass, it will be difficult for him to investigate.
Although the identity of the "fox" remains a mystery, for the suspicious and intelligent Sherlock, the random clues from the fox he encountered during the dream ritual would be more valuable than the clues deliberately sent by someone in reality. Worth investigating.
Because he will doubt the latter's motives and try to reason backwards from a higher level. This cannot be said to be wrong. Aiwass was afraid that he would notice his motives, so he had to "accidentally" give him information through "accidental encounters".
Aiwass knew Sherlock, he was indeed such a person. Please remember to bookmark, the latest and fastest website is free to read without anti-theft