I control the AI ​​empire thanks to the geniuses in my group.

"Join what?" The young man stared at Su Zhou with a bewildered look, feeling that this extraordinary-looking Easterner was a bit strange.

"Let me ask you first, do you hate Gibbons?"

"Yeah! I wish he'd go to hell soon!" the young man retorted bluntly.

Su Zhou narrowed his eyes: "Then you killed him?"

"Of course not! I came back from unloading cargo at the dock early this morning, and more than a dozen of my men can vouch for me!" The young man waved his hands anxiously, afraid of being accused of a crime.

Su Zhou said in a low voice, "That's right! You hate evil and we need a helper like you. Join our team, and I guarantee you'll earn more than at the dock, and you can also take care of those bullies who prey on the weak."

The young man was stunned, scratching the back of his head: "Earn more than at the dock? I need to ask first. I can earn two pence a day. I need to save money to get married. If you ask me to do something illegal, I won't. I can't afford to go to jail."

"Illegal? We're helping Sir Isaac Newton investigate a case, a legitimate job. Gibbons is dead, there must be something fishy going on behind the scenes. You're familiar with the underworld of London, so you can lead the way for us. As for the pay... I'll give you five pence a day, double if you do a good job. And as for getting married, I'll take care of that."

Su Zhou patted his chest shamelessly, completely forgetting the fact that he was only in junior high school and didn't even have a girlfriend.

The young man's eyes lit up, but he still hesitated: "Five pence... that sounds good, but you're not trying to scam me, are you?"

Su Zhou pulled the young man around and pointed to where Newton was standing, saying, "See that? That's the supervisor of the mint, Mr. Newton."

Upon seeing Newton's imposing appearance, the young man immediately bowed in respect.

Su Zhou brought the young man to Newton and briefly recounted their conversation.

Newton's lips twitched.

He looked down at the young dock worker, whose face was full of admiration and whose back was bent so low it was almost touching the ground, then turned to look at the Asian man next to him. He took a deep breath and swallowed back the words he was about to say: "When did I say I wanted to hire someone?"

"Mr. Newton, this man is familiar with the ways of the common people. We can use him. We only need to pay him five pence a day," Su Zhou said, stepping forward.

"You..." Newton was about to speak when the young man straightened up and excitedly interrupted, "Mr. Newton! You're that... that exceptionally learned Mr. Newton?"

"My God, I... I may not understand it, but I've heard people say you're a remarkable scholar!"

"Yes, it is indeed me." Newton tried his best to keep his voice dignified.

Su Zhou chuckled and patted the young man on the shoulder: "See? I wasn't lying to you, was it? Working for Mr. Newton, how could that be illegal?"

The young man was stunned, but after looking at Newton's serious face, he thought it should be fine.

After all, this is Mr. Newton. Surely such an important figure wouldn't take him to rob a place?

"Then...then I'll do it!" the young man gritted his teeth. "Five pence a day, you mean it?"

"I keep my word," Su Zhou patted his chest. "In this world, I, Su Zhou, rely on my integrity."

Newton finally couldn't hold back any longer and pulled Su Zhou aside, whispering, "Where did you get the money to pay him five pence a day?"

Su Zhou blinked and said matter-of-factly, "Didn't you give it to me?"

"...Why should I give it?"

"Because he was hired by you," Su Zhou said innocently. "I don't have the authority to approve the budget. You're the big boss, you make the decisions."

Newton took a deep breath, then another.

"Think about it, when you're very busy, you can delegate tasks to him. After all, you can't be out and about every day, can you?"

"Alright." Newton finally compromised, because he did need someone familiar with the lower classes to inquire about One-Eyed Thomas.

Five pence isn't expensive.

He turned to the young man, his face stern, and said, "You only need to do some simple chores, can you do that?"

"Of course!" the young man nodded vigorously. "Then... what should I do now?"

Before Newton could answer, Harold arrived.

"Mr. Newton, this young man is behaving very suspiciously. I would like to take him back for questioning."

Newton glanced at him and said, "If it's just a routine questioning, Mr. Harold can ask it now."

Newton's words were polite, but they carried weight.

Harold glanced at Newton, then at Su Zhou, and finally gave the young man face, asking him on the spot, "What's your name? Where do you live?"

The young man shrank back noticeably when Harold glared at him, but still answered with his neck stiff, "My name is Tom. I live in the shantytown across the river, the third alley by the dock. I go there every day to unload cargo and beg for a living."

Harold then asked Tom when he arrived at the docks, who he worked for, who he moved goods with, when he heard that Gibbons was dead, and why he came to curse him.

Tom answered quite fluently.

It turned out that Gibbons had stolen two of his chickens, and he was furious, but since Gibbons was a Whitehall man, Tom didn't dare to take revenge. So when he heard that Gibbons was dead, he rushed over to confirm it.

After asking the question, Harold waved his hand and said coldly, "Don't wander off. If we need to find you later, you'll have to be there whenever we call."

Tom nodded quickly: "I know, I haven't done anything wrong."

Out of respect for Newton, Harold only asked the dock witness's name twice more before waving him away without giving him any further trouble.

"Let's go to the Leaky Cauldron first. That's where the best information comes from. I want to find out about Thomas the One-Eyed," Newton said after getting into the carriage.

Tom perked up immediately: "Leaky Cauldron? That place is a mixed bag. One-Eyed Thomas is a regular there. I heard he's been doing dirty work lately. We need to be careful. That guy has a terrible temper. He's blind in one eye, but his temper has only gotten amplified."

"You know him?"

"I've only heard of it, but I've never had any experience with it."

Tom then tilted his head and hesitated before saying, "However, the clothes worn by the two gentlemen are probably not suitable for Leaky Cauldron."

Newton was clearly aware of the problem, and his brow furrowed slightly.

"That's easy," Tom rubbed his hands together. "I know a place where I can get a new outfit, and it won't cost much."

"Where?" Su Zhou asked.

"The petticoat rental shop in Petticoat Lane," Tom said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "It's not far from here, just two turns away. Poor people who want to save face and make a scene all go there to rent clothes. I know the owner well, so I can get a good price."

Seeing their expressions, Tom was a little puzzled: "You didn't know?"

Su Zhou coughed lightly and said, "I just didn't expect that the business dealings with the poor in London would be so meticulous."

Tom curled his lip: "You can't be careless. For poor people, face is just as important. Sometimes life is worthless, but face can buy you two days' worth of food."

Newton raised an eyebrow, seemingly weighing whether renting clothes was appropriate for his status.

But in the end he nodded and told the driver, "Go to Petticoat Lane."

The carriage bumped along the narrow road for a while before stopping in front of a row of crooked wooden houses.

Tom jumped out of the car and led them into a narrow alleyway that could only accommodate two people side by side.

At the end of the alley hangs a faded wooden sign with a picture of a jacket on it and the words "Jim's used clothes for rent and sale" written below.

Pushing open the door, a whiff of old fabric and camphor wafted out.

The room was filled with clothes, from sailor's coarse cloth shirts to aristocratic coats with lace trim, layered up like cured meat hanging on a rope.

An old man was sitting behind the counter.

"Hey, Tom," the old man grinned, revealing a few yellow teeth, "don't give me counterfeit money!"

"Don't talk nonsense, I don't have any counterfeit money!" Tom said confidently, slapping the few pennies Newton had given him in front of the old man.

Then he led Newton and Su Zhou inside.

As Tom picked through the clothes, he said, “Here you go, Mr. Sue, wear this grey cloak with the brim pulled down. Mr. Newton wears this old coat with the collar turned up, just like a dockworker.”

Su Zhou didn't know how to put on a cloak, so Newton went to help her.

Looking at the two of them, Tom suddenly thought of a rumor, and a blush crept onto his face.