Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

Upon hearing this, Alastor looked up at the ceiling, swung his toes, and asked Tom with an indifferent expression, "What did I ask you to investigate? I don't remember."

Tom the mouse's expression froze. He chuckled dryly, took two steps forward, bent over, and leaned on the counter, carefully reminding him, "Boss, have you forgotten? You said you had a friend with a bounty on the black market, and asked me to find out who put the bounty on him."

"Oh, really?"

Alastor lowered his head and suddenly stopped talking. He simply wiped the lenses carefully with a silk scarf.

After wiping it, he held the lens up to the light to examine it.

Feeling that it wasn't clean enough, he lowered his head and continued wiping.

An awkward silence fell over the store.

Seeing that his boss was not speaking, Tom the mouse did not dare to speak first, nor did he dare to move. He just squatted by the counter.

Alastor didn't seem to be in a hurry. After wiping his glasses and putting them back on, he opened a drawer and took out a brand new cigar.

After leisurely lighting his own cigarette, Alastor took a puff and exhaled a delicate cloud of smoke with relish.

The smoke carries a faint woody aroma, which, upon closer tasting, blends with notes of vanilla and roasted nuts.

It was a premium quality completely different from cheap tobacco.

Even Tom the mouse, who had never seen anything good, couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, "What a fine cigarette!" after smelling it.

Alastor slowly puffed on his cigarette, seemingly having completely forgotten about Tom the mouse in front of him.

Tom the mouse was still lying by the counter, his legs were starting to go numb, and his fingers were shaking uncontrollably.

But he just hunched his neck and slightly adjusted his position, trying to make himself more comfortable.

Time passed second by second, and a third of the cigar in Alastor's hand had burned down.

"you……"

Finally, Alastor spoke.

Tom the mouse felt like he had been granted a pardon. He managed to stand up a little straighter and moved his face closer to Alastor.

"What did you find out?"

Alastor's voice was very calm, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

Tom shuddered. He placed the damp paper on the counter and carefully peeled it off.

The text inside had become blurred due to being soaked in water for too long, but the large characters in the first line were still easy to distinguish.

This is a wanted notice.

Alastor could see the words on the paper.

He picked up the magnifying glass from the table and handed it to Tom.

Tom understood immediately and quickly held up a magnifying glass for his boss so he could examine the words on it.

"This is a bounty issued by the Black Sails. Are they after Lyndon?"

"Alastor asked."

"No, no, they're just posting it for someone else, boss."

Tom the mouse pointed to the words above and said.

"Bounties like this have been issued by almost all the medium-sized gangs in the Fog City, some even offering as much as sixty gold pounds!"

"It seems that some big shot must have given the gangs some information."

After listening to Tom's report, Alastor remained silent for a moment, then pinched the bounty between two fingers and said impatiently, "So this is the result you brought me?"

Seeing that his boss was about to get angry again, Tom the mouse hurriedly said, "Of course not, I have more information!"

Tom the mouse dared not keep things a secret any longer, and he told Alastor everything he knew.

It turns out he had a friend in the Black Sail Society, a former cellmate of his. After his release, his friend continued to work for the Black Sail Society.

The Black Sail Society wanted to seize territory, so he went to join them.

When he has nothing to do, he just does odd jobs and cleaning in the gang.

A few days ago, the third leader of the Black Sail Society asked him to buy a bottle of good wine, saying that an important person would be coming in the afternoon.

"Romanée-Conti!" Tom the mouse emphasized, rubbing his numb legs. "That wine is outrageously expensive! One bottle costs my friend half a year's wages!"

Alastor tapped his fingertips lightly on the counter, not caring about it.

"Get to the point, what did your friend see?"

"Yes!" Tom thought for a moment before continuing, "My friend told me that the man arrived in a black carriage drawn by two horses. When the man got out of the carriage, the three leaders ran up to him and respectfully kissed the ring on his hand."

Tom thought for a moment and added, "It's like meeting people in those big houses."

"church!"

Alastor tightened his grip on the cigar.

This was the first answer that came to his mind.

Kissing admonition is a traditional church custom used to express loyalty and respect.

I never imagined this matter would be related to the church.

"Did your friend hear anything?" Alastor asked.

"No, he was guarding outside the door the whole time. He only saw the man hand the paper to the third leader when he went in to get water. After the man left, the third leader asked him to print a few more copies of the paper and distribute them, which is why he has the original."

After hearing this, Alastor cut off the ash from his cigar: "Come in through the side door first. There's a bottle of wine in the inner room. Pour me a glass."

Tom followed his boss's instructions and went into the inner room, bringing out a bottle of wine with both hands.

He poured Alastor a glass of wine and then stood respectfully to the side.

Alastor swirled the liquid in his glass and then drank it down in one gulp.

"Tom."

"I'm here, boss."

"How much further can you investigate?"

"Um..." Tom the mouse looked a little embarrassed. "Boss, this involves quite a few gangs..."

Money is not a problem.

Tom had worked for Alastor for so many years that Alastor knew what Tom was thinking even if he just blinked.

All they want is money!

With the boss's support, Tom immediately and firmly stated that he would definitely get to the bottom of the matter!

Alastor nodded: "Okay, then go ahead, and you can withdraw it from the bank later."

Tom the mouse bowed to Alastor, then stepped back from the counter and left the shop.

"That bastard's always causing trouble!"

Alastor put down his glass, his eyes gradually darkening.

……

"Achoo!"

In the sewers of the foggy city, Lyndon sneezed twice.

He shook the blood off his hands and wiped his nose with the back of his slightly cleaner hand.

"Have you caught a cold?"

Lyndon stared at the ghoul corpse beneath him and plunged the knife into the ghoul's mouth.

With a cracking sound, a perfectly intact fang was held in Lyndon's hands.

"Why do these ghouls' fangs seem to be getting smaller and smaller?"

Lyndon was extremely frustrated. He gestured with the fangs in his hand, which were about three centimeters long.

Compared to the previous five-centimeter fangs, they are far inferior.

Such goods are not worth much money.

The first thing Lyndon did upon returning to the city from the suburbs was to buy a knife from a peddler.

Then, armed with a gun and a knife, he went down into the pipes alone to search for the ghouls.

Along the way, Lyndon encountered only three ghouls.

All three are still alone.

He was initially relieved, believing it was due to his good luck.

But when Lyndon saw the quality of the fangs, he was dumbfounded.

Why are they all only two or three centimeters long?

"That shouldn't be the case, right? The police have already cleaned it up?"

Lyndon tucked the fangs into his pocket and continued down the sewer with the knife in his hand.

He just hoped he would encounter a group of ghouls of similar size.

It allows him to test his abilities in the spiritual realm.

The cold sewage flowed past Lyndon's feet, and the stench of decay filled the air.

Since Nightmare was trapped inside Lyndon, his extraordinary power has caused a mutated change in his abilities.

The former "overclocking sense" has become the current "chaotic perception".

Even the "strong physique" has turned into a "mad body".

The essence of the skills has not changed, only their effects have been greatly enhanced.

If Lyndon's strength was initially comparable to that of a ghoul, now he can easily crush him.

The same applies to his senses; even though he was in the dark sewers, Lyndon seemed to have gained night vision.

Even without light, he could easily see the details of the surrounding pipes and the underwater environment.

Lyndon walked for a long time in the sewers, and when he came to a corner, he suddenly stopped.

He leaned close to the wall, his ear almost touching it.

Lyndon noticed a huge fluctuation in the air.

It sounded like a low growl from some kind of creature.

"Finally something decent has arrived!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Lyndon's eyes. He held a gun in one hand and a knife in the other, slowly moving his feet and then turning half of his head to the side.