A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 34: Kane Steelworks (Part )
On March 3, after the strange and short rainstorm half a month ago, Ashwell welcomed rainy days after a long absence.

This is the last rain of spring. In a few days, the ocean monsoon will sweep across the coast of the southern continent, ushering in a summer rainy season that lasts for half a year.

The sky was gloomy, and a steady drizzle had been falling since before dawn, continuing throughout the morning. Looking out the carriage window, the streets of Sewell were shrouded in a hazy, curling curtain of rain. Occasionally, lightning illuminated the cumulus clouds, and the sound of thunder rose at the right time, but was blocked out by the carriage and could not be heard clearly.

Elon looked at the street. Once it started to rain, the beggars in Sewell would run around in a panic, carrying dirty luggage or nothing at all. They would gather under bridge piers or eaves like rats that suddenly popped out.

The beggars were also staring at the carriage silently. They didn't know what the gold-plated Branson family crest meant, but they knew that the two handsome black horses pulling the carriage did not belong to Sewell. Such a luxurious carriage should not have appeared on the muddy road that had been in disrepair for many years.

Elon sat upright, maintaining his composure even when no one was paying attention. He had been tilting his head for a long time since arriving in West City, his eyes dark as a rainy day, neither sad nor happy.

Xia Dai'er, who was sitting opposite, was much more casual. The girl, wearing a beige cashmere cloak, curled up on the sofa, her smooth legs folded together, and her embroidered lace stockings outlined her small feet. An ugly pug was lying at her feet, being teased by the bored girl.

"Hakimi! Meow? Come on, repeat after me—meow~"

Xia Dai'er's voice is very nice, like a flute played in the sky, and when she imitates a cat's meow, she has a lively and cute feeling.

The pug looked at her helplessly, occasionally whimpering dryly, its dark eyes seeming to say, "Sister, a dog's vocal cords can't make that kind of noise."

"Brother, how come Hakimi, such a smart dog, can't learn to meow like a cat?"

Xia Daier reached out and rubbed the dog's head hard.

Elon didn't bother to pay attention to her.

Hakimi is a stray dog ​​that Elon picked up when he was studying in Bavaria. Compared with the various ferocious beasts raised by rich kids, Hakimi looks really ugly. The dog is small and ugly, like a dirty rat that sneaked into a rich family's house.

But Hakimi has one advantage: he is smart.

This dog seems to understand human language and can comprehend various instructions without being taught, so Xia Daier likes it very much.

She always felt that Hakimi and her brother had some indescribable similarities, perhaps in their expressions, movements, or habits. It was not appropriate to use the word "habit" to summarize a dog's behavior, but Hakimi lying there was not like an ordinary dog ​​at all. He held his head and chest out like a military dog, and sat upright like Elon.

"Brother, why did you name it Hakimi?"

Elon continued to stare out the window, silent.

The scenery kept flashing in his eyes.

The rain hitting the ground seemed to drown the spirit of the city, leaving only the busy crowds surging numbly. This was different from the top of the mountain. Eastwell should be more elegant, and umbrellas would be like flowers held up in the rain.

"Brother, brother, brother, brother--" Xia Daier poked Elon with her cane.

".what?"

"Why did you name your dog Hakimi?"

Elon was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.

"When I first found it, I thought it was as ugly as a freshly dug carrot, so I wanted to call it carrot. But then I thought of another word - 'Hakimi', which also means carrot, which is a more lovely name."

Hakimi gave a short woof, thinking it was too much for his master to compare him to a carrot.

"Hakimi? Radish? What language is this?"

Although Xia Dai'er is not as knowledgeable as Elon, she has received the best education and is not shallow in knowledge.

But she had never read a root word similar to 'Hakimi'.

"Hmm..." Elon said seriously, "Many, many years ago, in the far east, a group of horses were cursed by a wizard and turned into women with horse ears and tails. Their raison d'être was running, because running races could earn them carrots. 'Hakimi' was the nickname those horsewomen nicknamed the carrots."

".Children wouldn't even laugh at this kind of story."

Elon smiled happily.

At around ten o'clock, the carriage stopped in front of a steel plant.

This is the largest industrial area in Westville, hosting the coal mining and steel industries of Ashwell. Hundreds of factories and warehouses are crowded on both sides of the railway. Locomotives pull coal and crushed iron ore and roar past. Chimneys point to the sky like a forest of white smoke.

Inside the carriage, Elon gave his sister his final instructions:

"I'm here to investigate. Either stay with me or Hakimi. If you dare to run away, don't even think about me sneaking you out again."

Hakimi also barked seriously, as if to say, "I will hold you tightly."

"Yes, yes, thank you for your great kindness, brother—"

Xia Dai'er clasped her hands together, sat on the sofa and bowed: "I also thank Hakimi for his great kindness. Wait, what do you mean by holding the corner of my skirt? The dog is walking the owner and the other party is the opposite of Tiangang..."

The brother and sister stepped out of the carriage and saw a huge sign that read 'Cain Steelworks'.

The iron-smelting blast furnaces and the factory buildings with flickering flames stood under the dark clouds. Even the rain could not disperse the thick black smoke. The closed iron gates were like the open mouths of a giant beast, swallowing people into the high walls and then regurgitating piles of gold.

A guard stood at the gate. Compared to the old man guarding the apartment building, who was better than nothing, the security here was much more reliable. Both steel and coal were valuable commodities. Westville was rife with gangs and a large population, so one couldn't rely on law enforcement officers who didn't care about West City's security.

Elon and Xia Dai'er did not bring any bodyguards on this trip. The only one they could count on when they encountered danger was Hakimi. This pug, which was not even as big as a rugby ball, sniffed the ground, its nose twitching constantly, as if it was looking for something.

Elon knocked on the security room window and handed over a document stamped with the Ashwell Tax Bureau seal.

"Tax Bureau, random inspection."

The orc security guard inside looked at them in confusion, as it was obvious that these two people were not the pot-bellied officials from the tax bureau.

Elon was wearing a beautifully tailored single-breasted black suit, a silver-trimmed cane, and gleaming black leather shoes that looked handmade. He was tall and straight-shouldered, and his clothes didn't even have a wrinkle. The security guard had only seen him in newspapers. He had the authority and competence of a politician, yet he wasn't overbearing and had a very trusting demeanor.

The girl holding the umbrella behind him was even more stunning. The most beautiful woman the security guard had ever seen was Mrs. Kane, but she had died in the jewelry store tragedy two days prior. The security guard had even observed a ten-minute silence in mourning. But upon seeing the girl before him, his regrets vanished immediately. Compared to her, the proprietress was a mere vulgarity, unworthy of his sexual fantasies.

Elon knocked on the window twice more, and the security guard came back to his senses and turned his eyes away from Xia Dai'er. He said flatteringly: "I need to notify the leader, please wait a moment."

You can tell at a glance that he is a big shot.

After saying that, the security guard trotted away with the documents.

Almost at the same time, seeing the security guard leave, a limping woman came running from the side.

She suddenly stopped in front of Elon, huddled in a place out of sight from the security room window. After glancing around to make sure no one was around, she cautiously asked, "Are you a government official?"

Elon looked at her, and after a moment, his eyes passed the calluses on her shoulders and noticed a child, only five or six years old, peeking out from the corner of the wall behind her.

"Yes, ma'am, what can I do for you?"

The woman knelt down without saying a word.

It was a chilly March day, and she was only wearing a thin cloth dress. Her body was shivering slightly in the rain, perhaps because of the cold, or because of crying.

"Please help me," she choked, leaning over Elon's black leather shoes, "Cain Steelworks killed my husband, Borso!"

The umbrella shielded the woman from the rain.

Xia Dai'er pulled the woman's arm and tried to help her up.

"Sister, if you have something to say, you can just talk to me. Why are you wearing so little?"

The woman froze to the ground, her voice trembling. "To improve efficiency, they added alchemical potions to the still-uncooled molten steel. The steel, the molten steel exploded, exploded! It soaked Borso! He, he had only been working for fifteen hours and was almost off—" She kept looking into the steelworks, speaking rapidly and hurriedly, even a little incoherently. "My husband was burned to death, and our boss, Kane, not only refused to pay, but he fired me, saying that the explosion was caused by Borso! He threatened to sue us for damages—"

"You guys?" Elon frowned slightly. "Is the child at the back yours?"

The woman looked back and nodded while crying, "Yes, he's all I have left. Kane kicked us out, and I just want my salary back. Otherwise, my child will starve to death. He will starve to death."

Her voice was so thin that it was almost sad. The one who needed to eat more than her child was the mother. Her cheeks, which were sunken from hunger, were reflected in her leather shoes, making her look like a starving corpse.

"Please help us! Please help us—"

Before Elon could say anything, Xia Dai'er squatted down with a look of heartache. She fumbled for her wallet, took out a clean gold pound, and stuffed it into the woman's rain-soaked and muddy hand. "Don't talk so much for now, go buy something to eat! My brother is a congressman, he will definitely help you. This is too bad, this steel mill should be closed down!"

"Xia Dai'er." Elon frowned and grabbed his sister, pulling her up. He said in a deep voice, "Have you forgotten what you promised me?"

"Can--"

Xia Dai'er puffed up her little face, looking very indignant.

Elon calmly said to the woman kneeling on the ground, "I'm an official from the tax bureau. I only handle taxes. I can't help you. You should go to court or let the sheriff investigate the cause of your husband's death."

The woman raised her head in despair: "No, no, I've looked for it, I've looked everywhere! They saw that I was from the Western Continent, they ignored me, they said I was lying -"

"It looks like security is back." Elon interrupted her: "Perhaps you could talk to the security?"

The woman shuddered.

She looked around in horror and saw the ferocious Lupert man walking quickly towards her with a supervisor.

She seemed to be grasping at the last straw and looked at Elon desperately, but Elon remained silent, his umbrella covering his face and his suit was not stained by a drop of water.

Finally, the woman gritted her teeth, held the gold pound in her arms, kowtowed three times to Xia Dai'er quickly, whispered "Miss, thank you", and then limped away in the rain.

That clumsy leg seemed to explain why the woman was so afraid of the security guard.

"Elon!!"

Xia Dai'er glared, not even calling out to her brother. "Even Hakimi knows what pity is. You're worse than your dog! Why did you lie to her and say you couldn't do anything? Are you still a Branson man like that?!"

"Oh, if it were family tradition, I'd invite a bunch of reporters, do my hair in advance, stuff a piece of bread into that woman's mouth in front of the cameras, then announce a thorough investigation. Then, tomorrow morning, even the East Country across the sea would have me on the headlines."

"you--"

Elon sighed. "What do you mean? How do you know that woman is telling the truth? What if she made it up?"

"But, but," Xia Daier pinched the corner of her clothes in grievance, "How could she lie when she's like this?"

He took out the handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped his sister's hands. "You've been on the mountaintop for too long. You don't know that what Xiweier lacks most is poor people like this. We need to investigate whether she is a scammer or not, but you are harming her by giving her so much money."

Xia Dai'er was stunned, her big eyes looking a little bewildered. ".Harm her? But, but it's not much. Just buy some food."

“Just not much for us.”

Elon glanced at the street across the street. In the corners where people were hiding from the rain, pairs of dejected eyes were looking at them greedily, and many of them could no longer contain themselves and moved towards the mother and child.

"Hakimi."

"Woof!" The dog barked and then disappeared in a flash.

Security and the steelworks supervisor finally arrived.

"Damn it, your deputy director never told me about tax spot checks." The supervisor approached cursing, but when he saw Elon's face clearly, he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"You...you are Mr. Councillor Elondai?"

Elon tapped the ground with his cane, causing ripples in the rain. Lightning flashed above the clouds at that very moment. The previously low-key and gentle man seemed to have been an illusion. His sharp eyes were intimidating without anger, and he was superior: "—Call me Senator."

"Sorry, sorry Mr. Congressman!"

The supervisor bowed and trotted over to open the door for Elon. "Why are you here? Are you looking for the boss?"

"Didn't you read the documents?" Elon brushed past him. "It's a random tax inspection. Get ready."

"This this"

The supervisor cursed inwardly, then forced a smile and followed. "Of course, no problem. Come into my office with me and have a seat and some tea. Boss Kane is here too, and it's lunchtime, so you and the boss can have a nice lunch together and chat while we eat."

Elon didn't respond, he looked around the steel mill.

Warehouse, blast furnace, ironmaking workshop, steelmaking workshop, continuous casting workshop. The farthest building is four stories high. Clothes can be vaguely seen hanging in the room. It should be the staff dormitory.

A pug the size of an American football also came in through the doorway and shook its fur violently, splashing water all over the supervisor.

"Where did this stinky dog ​​come from?!"

The supervisor was furious and ordered the security guard, "Kick it out!"

"This is not a stinky dog, this is my dog." Elon said with a cold face: "His name is Hakimi."

"Oh, oh—" the supervisor's expression changed rapidly: "The little thing is quite unique."

Hakimi had a gold pound in his mouth, and no one knew how he got it. He spit the gold pound to Elon, then hid under Xia Dai'er's umbrella, wagging his tail.

Elon casually threw the gold pound to the orc security guard beside him.

"There's a mother and son outside. I think you know who I'm talking about. Go buy them some food and some clothes, and the rest is your tip." Elon narrowed his eyes, his gaze cold. "Make sure there's some money to keep them well fed. Understand?"

The security guard nodded ecstatically. Not to mention the oil and water, even if he let them eat as much meat as they wanted, the remaining money could be enough for his weekly salary.

Hakimi has been walking around since entering the steel plant, and Xia Dai'er follows him holding an umbrella for him. If you don't pay attention to the dog, you would think she is a girl who is very curious about the steel plant.

"I'm not busy checking taxes."

Elon's mouth curled up, and Hakimi's short tail began to shake violently. It stopped walking around, but chose a direction, with its nose pressed to the ground, as if it had discovered something.

"That's great—"

The supervisor was overjoyed. It would take at least a whole afternoon to cook the books, so the most urgent thing was to stop Elon. "How about I book a restaurant for you? The boss is entertaining clients. I'll go up and tell him to come down immediately and accompany you to have a lunch worthy of your status."

"Do not."

Elon grabbed the supervisor and followed Xia Dai'er and the dog.

"Don't go anywhere. Just hang out with us for a while."

"Walk around for a while?"

"My sister is planning to write a book called 'How the Steel Was Tempered' and she needs some material - how does that phrase go?"

Elon thought about it, smiled and said, "Vadasi, ki Ninarimas."

(End of this chapter)