Mystery: From the Shadow World

Chapter 3 Shadow World
The warm firelight shone on Philip's face, reflecting a light in his sapphire eyes. He had already stood up and looked around with some confusion and worry, his brows gradually furrowed.

"Strange. Where is this?"

Beyond the flame that was burning in the pitch-black scorched area, which was half the height of an adult, was an endless shadow where one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. Looking upward, the sky, which seemed to be flowing like a black abyss, tempted the hidden throbbing in his heart.

"Hiss" Philip lay on the ground, and the crimson full moon emerged from the depths of his memory, as well as the madness that was difficult to suppress due to the curse during the "madman" stage.

However, as his mind trembled, the flame suddenly burned fiercely, and the darkness that had quietly invaded the surroundings retreated again. Philip was surprised to find that he no longer felt strange.

He stood up, without hesitation, and moved closer to the flame according to his almost subconscious instinct. He sat next to it, stretched out his hand a few centimeters away, and gently stroked it from a distance.

As the burning light continued to shine in his eyes, Philip's whole body suddenly relaxed, his eyelids closed, and he fell forward and disappeared into the flames.

In the last moment of consciousness.

Mad whispers filled with resentment, malice, and intense desire seemed to come from the end of the endless darkness, and two words were clearly audible:
Shadow, world.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself still lying in the coffin. The thin blanket on the bed, which had no effect on keeping warm, was normal, except that the bowler hat was gone.

This is stealing, right? Philip pulled the corner of his mouth and recovered immediately from his previous state. He was speechless and relieved about this. After all, the money he had was enough to buy countless hats. Fortunately, the other party did not dare to go any further.

The scattered people around had already stood up, covering their foreheads to relieve their sleepiness, then looked at each other, not daring to stay, and stepped out of the coffin and started rushing outside.

There are almost no stable jobs in the East District. If you want to work every day, you have to run faster and earlier than others. If you go too late and there is no work, let alone a shelter, it is hard to say whether you can have food to eat all day and all night.

Of course, there were still many people lying curled up in their coffins. Some were trembling and coughing from time to time. Some sat up listlessly, as if they would lie in the coffin forever in the next moment.

Okay, I should be on my way.
Philip, who had been feeling a little relaxed, was frightened by this. Without stopping, he threw off the blanket on himself and walked out quickly.

At the same time, he complained helplessly: "What the hell, I remember I was there for less than two minutes, and when I woke up it was already daytime, it was like I hadn't slept at all."

The rows of benches in the hall were now empty. In the "rope rooms" on the left and right, there was a policeman respectively. They used scissors to cut the ropes very skillfully and neatly.

Those who were still asleep fell to the ground one after another quickly, being woken up in a very painful way, but they dared not complain. They wiped their faces with their hands, stood up, and prepared to look for work.

Philip's gaze lingered on both sides for a few seconds, then retracted. However, he didn't even know what words to say to express the unknown emotion in his heart, so he could only walk out of the shelter in silence.

The morning sun was obscured by fog, and workers and poor people were running around in the gray sky. They lowered their heads and couldn't even see the detailed facial features of the people around them, but they numbly knew how to walk.

Da, da
A two-wheeled hired carriage was moving slowly along the street, seemingly heading for somewhere else from the East District. Philip noticed it and immediately trotted forward, saying, "Wait, wait!"

Hearing this, the driver turned around and looked at the blond, blue-eyed boy walking towards him and said:
"Sir, do you want a ride?"

Philip breathed a sigh of relief, then got on it directly. "Yes, go to the nearest steam train station."

"Sir, you're lucky." After hearing that there was a job available, the originally relaxed groom straightened up and smiled:
"I'm not like some of my colleagues who charge random prices, but this place is quite close to the train station. You can pay two soli for this carriage for an hour and trust my speed."

He didn't ask why the other party didn't take a cheaper option—like going to the nearest subway station, taking the subway, and then walking half a kilometer. Not only would that be nosy, it would also likely affect the two-solier bill. Two soli was 2 pence, or 24 to 72 yuan. A carriage ride was a real luxury, while a bus was only two yuan. Philip pulled two silver soli from his coat pocket, handed them to the other party, and then leaned his head against the carriage.

The scenery outside the window kept passing by, and his body leaned back slightly, successfully blocking his visual contact with the outside world with the help of the compartment. Then he closed his eyes and began to sort out the information.

He believed that he had a good psychological endurance, but now faced with such a shocking fact, he couldn't help but ponder whether he had done something unscrupulous in the past.

Time travel, the death of both parents, the endless pursuit of the internal temperance faction by the Rose School, the shadow world he dreamed of last night, and where he would go next. Philip rubbed his brows and finally made a decision after a moment.

Stop thinking and refuse to waste your energy.

Whatever happens, the original body is hiding in this big city with a population of five million, living like an animal every day, but can still be inexplicably found by the indulgent faction, as if a full-map cheat has been activated.

Philip was not usually interested in detective novels and spy films. Even if he did read them, he didn't think what the authors and screenwriters wrote would be of any use to him. It was better to leave it to fate.

Then the boy closed his eyes, relaxed his whole body, and waited quietly for time to pass.

I opened my eyes several times along the way, just to make sure the driver had no bad intentions and was not driving the car on the wrong road.

The carriage was moving along the street, and the irregular bumps kept Philip awake. When he opened his eyes again, he heard the coachman say, "Sir, we've arrived."

"Well, thank you." Philip pressed his forehead with his wrist, thanked the other party, and naturally tightened his hand on the bag, then got off the carriage.

The sky was still not bright at this moment, but the gas lamps hanging in the steam train platform in front were still on, dispelling the gloom and darkness for people.

After watching the driver gradually disappear into the distance, Philip turned and walked towards the steam train platform ahead. He spent a penny to buy a copy of the Backlund Daily. After unfolding it, he learned today's date:
Thursday, June 1349, 6.

He patted his stomach, resisting the urge to walk back to the restaurant. He went to the ticket office and politely asked the staff, "Hello, um. I'd like to buy a ticket for the earliest train to a remote small city."

The ticket seller was a blonde girl. She looked up at Philip and said, "From Backlund to Tingen City, first class is 15 soli, second class is 10 soli, and third class is 5 soli."

"Second class, then. Thank you."

Because of his experience in the shelter last night, Philip almost wanted to buy the best first-class seat directly, but he changed his mind after realizing it and took out a gold coin from his bag that was not covered by the white shirt.

Tear!

The girl tore up a second-class ticket, then found two 5-sol notes and handed them all to him.

Philip took it, walked into the waiting room and found a seat in the back corner. He leaned over, supported his knees with his elbows, and held his chin with his fists, waiting for the time to pass in a somewhat agonizing manner.

Woo——!
The sound of the whistle echoed in every corner of the platform. A huge black monster stretching for a hundred meters rushed into the platform with great momentum and slowly stopped with a roar.

(End of this chapter)