Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 560 A series of actions successfully landed him in jail.
Countless points of light illuminated the darkness of Blood Harbor, and their numbers were gradually increasing.

The lamplighter carried a ladder to each streetlamp, climbed up the ladder, took out a key from his pocket, unlocked the lampshade, and held a tiny flame into the lamp, thus adding a star to the night.

Nighttime light intensity was once used to measure a region's level of development. This indicator has many problems, but in this era, it can still be used to reflect the degree of industrialization.

Alvarez was no stranger to gas lamps; he had seen this novel contraption in the Rhineland long ago. He was quite impressed by its bright flame and even considered getting a few for his home. However, the complex piping design ultimately made him abandon the idea, and he only kept some lanterns.

These fixed gas lamps rely on underground pipes for gas supply. The cast iron pipes not only require regular maintenance, but the gas pressure also needs to be controlled; otherwise, the gas lamp will either fail to ignite or keep flickering.

All of this requires a systematic industrialization, which is impossible in the North.

But Rhine had it. Although it was very basic industrialization and its coverage was small, it was still industrialization, and Rhine became the jewel in the crown of the empire because of it.

Alvarez had always longed for the Rhine, for the twinkling lights at night. If it weren't for his status, he would have bought a manor in the Rhine to witness the prosperity of the empire.

But all these ideals and aspirations shattered at this moment, like thin snow melting in the midday sun.

Yes, Blood Harbor is like that blazing sun.

The firelight was no longer dim and indistinct, but rather the streets and factories were as bright as day.

Exhausted, the workers went to a stall to buy two servings of fried fish. Not far away, young people laughed and joked as they walked towards the night school. The Secret Order's night watchmen wore hooded robes, obscuring their faces, and the short-barreled shotguns at their waists occasionally emitted a dark glow.

The distant hum of the factory, the constant flow of trains at the station, and the scattered lights pieced together a vibrant night in Blood Harbor.

Alvarez rubbed his eyes, his face a mixture of confusion and surprise.

People of this era had never seen such a dazzling night view. Even though he was a duke, his imagination of the night was nothing more than a dimly lit salon and ballroom.

Before him lay the entire city illuminated, a city that never sleeps, its darkness dispelled.

Alvarez stood there dumbfounded, his massive body blocking the doorway. It took the expeditionary force responsible for escorting him a great deal of effort to push him out.

"Oh, sorry, I just... I mean, my God, this is a miracle."

The expeditionary soldier beside him, panting heavily, replied irritably, "It is indeed a miracle. I was begging on the streets a year ago. I never imagined I would be like this today. But you can't block the doorway!"

Alvarez looked the soldier up and down with some surprise, unsure if he was joking. Such a magnificent city must have taken decades to build, right?
It can take him half a year to repair a wall at his ducal residence.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my uncle is a countryman and doesn't know much."

Hunter rushed over to apologize, shoving Alvarez forward while making a few sarcastic remarks.

Alvarez was taken directly to the courthouse, which wasn't far from the station—yes, although it was already dark, the courthouse was still open.
The guards glanced at the paperwork and nodded, letting him in.

Alvarez was released after registering and submitting his case file. His crimes were not serious enough to warrant an overnight trial, but as one of the Grand Dukes of the North, he was implicated in many cases, and the case file was quite thick. Even if Chloe worked overtime to review it, it would take her a long time.

After they left the courtroom, the expeditionary force that had been escorting them had already left. Their mission was simply to deliver the people there and hand them over to the courtroom; that was the end of their task.

After leaving the courtroom, Alvarez looked around curiously. The guards who had escorted him showed no sign of following. "You... uh, I mean, where do I go next?"

"You are currently charged with a misdemeanor and do not need to be detained. You will be tried in three days. During this time, you can move freely within Blood Harbor, but you cannot leave. If you have nowhere to go, you can stay temporarily in our detention cell, but the living conditions there are rather basic, so I personally do not recommend it."

Alvarez was somewhat surprised, but Hunter had already answered for him: "It's alright, we're not going to stay in the detention center. Where's the hotel around here?"

“Go straight after you leave this street, then turn right ahead. There’s a night school over there, and accommodations are across the street.”

"Okay, thank you." Alvarez then realized what was happening and casually pulled two small bags from his pocket, handing them over.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"No trouble at all." The two guards took the bag with beaming smiles, opened it, and counted the Leo inside. "Wow, there's quite a lot."

“That’s right, Alvarez is never stingy.” The Duke puffed out his chest.

The two guards put the money bag aside and took out handcuffs from their waists: "Now you have an additional bribery charge. You can't leave now. Come with me to the detention room."

Alvarez was stunned, and was handcuffed while still maintaining his upright posture.

"This is the first time I've ever seen someone offering bribes at the entrance of a courtroom."

After some twists and turns, Alvarez was finally imprisoned. After hesitating for a while, Hunter decided to abandon his uncle and leave to find a place to live on his own.

His uncle's actions were so skillful that he didn't even have time to stop him, and he just watched helplessly as his uncle sent him inside.

Generally speaking, a duke would not do such trivial things by himself, but Alvarez often left his territory with a few attendants to travel around and it had become a habit for him to give money to the guards.

This was the first time he had gotten into trouble for sending money. Feeling somewhat aggrieved, he was escorted by the guards to the detention room. As the guard had said, the environment here was indeed not very good. He and two other people were locked in a large room together.

Alvarez sized up the two men and found that they both looked like people from the North, so it seemed they had also been brought there by train.

What puzzled him was that the two seemed to dislike each other, staring intently at each other.

"How did you get in?"

“I am a vassal of the Duke of Alvarez. I fought with the expeditionary force to defend the Duke’s territory and was sent here.”

“I opposed Grand Duke Alvarez’s cowardly surrender and his attempt to break away with his men, and that’s why I was arrested.”

The two of them turned to look at Alvarez at the same time: "How did you get in?"

"."

Alvarez's forehead began to sweat.

(End of this chapter)