When he heard the subordinate's words, Alfreid immediately felt as if the temperature in the room plummeted.
An indescribable chill seeped into his body, freezing his blood and bones.
When the liner docked at Utopia Port, he had actually imagined the worst-case scenario — Utopia was the headquarters of a cult, and everyone there was a potentially dangerous lunatic.
But now, the truth might be even worse.
Utopia might not even exist!
At that moment, Alfred was extremely glad that he was no longer the noble young master he was when he left Baekeland. He had already accumulated rich experience and hadn't truly entered Utopia Port.
Under the watchful eyes of the adjutant and squire, the major general paced back and forth with a solemn expression.
"Draft a telegram for me and report the matter of Utopia to MI9.
"At the same time, request the local official Beyonders to immediately take action. Contact the captain and ask for the list of people who entered Utopia Harbor. If necessary, visit them one by one to confirm if there are any problems."
"Yes." His adjutant immediately closed his legs and saluted in response.
When the adjutant walked out of the study, Alfreid said to a squire,
"Bring the typewriter upstairs. I want to write a detailed report."
His plan was to first use a telegram to report the key information, not delaying the initial operation, and then show more details in the form of confidential documents, providing a basis for the military higher-ups to make a judgment.
…
On the steam locomotive platform, Wendel pressed down on his top hat with one hand and carried a suitcase with the other as he entered the second-class carriage.
He was less than thirty years old, with dark sideburns and calm brown eyes. There was nothing memorable about his appearance, but he had a comfortable temperament.
A few months ago, he was still an intelligence agent active in Desi Bay's Feynapotter region. He had made many contributions and was now a Sequence 7 Beyonder, belonging to MI9's Internal Operations Department.
Today, his purpose was to deliver a confidential document to Baekeland and hand it over to the head of MI9.
After sitting down, Wendel bought a newspaper from the newsboy outside the window and leisurely read it.
This was only a superficial phenomenon. In reality, he began to use his Beyonder powers to sketch portraits of the passengers around him. He memorized their various characteristics and made meticulous and perfect preparations for any accidents that might happen in the future.
Wu!
The steam engine whistled, and the steam train clattered as it sped up. The scenery outside the window sped up one scene after another.
A few hours later, Wendel looked out the window worriedly. The sky was already filled with dark clouds, and a storm was about to descend.
This meant that the steam locomotive would stop at a certain station in advance and wait for the storm to pass, or even continue its journey the next morning instead of arriving at the predetermined location.
To Wendel, this would cause things to deviate from his original plan. This would undoubtedly bring about more risks.
However, he had no way of stopping it. He couldn't change the weather like the Sea God promoted by the Rorsted Archipelago's new government.
The only thing he could do was pray to the Lord of Storms.
As it turned out, praying was useless most of the time. When the sky was getting darker and darker, the platform ahead had already used lights to signal for the train to slow down and stop on the spot.
Wu!
The steam whistle sounded again, and the train slowed down. Finally, it stopped at a platform that everyone found a little unfamiliar.
In the next second, a mechanical door near the front of the train opened. The conductor stood at the entrance and shouted to the staff on the platform.
"What's going on up ahead?"
"There's a heavy storm. We can't see anything!" the station staff member, whose sideburns were already turning white, replied loudly.
Just as he said that, a muffled thunder sounded in the sky, causing everyone to tremble. They had a premonition that a storm was coming.
"Damn it!" The conductor cursed. "Which station is this?"
As it was an abnormal stop, he didn't know which station he was at. After all, the train he was in charge of didn't stop at every station along the way in the past.
"Utopia! A small station! Make your own arrangements! " The staff member shouted a few times before running to the other end of the platform with the glass lantern. "I have to signal the train behind me!"
The conductor didn't have any doubts about the staff member's attitude because this was a normal dispatching process. Otherwise, there would be a collision between two steam locomotives.
He could even conclude that the other staff members at Utopia Station were already sending telegrams to the other stations to warn them.
Of course, they must have received a telegram to know that the area ahead had been enveloped by a heavy storm.
"Utopia …" Wendel repeated the name in a low voice, but he didn't find any useful information in his mind.
Of course, he didn't pay too much attention to it. This was because there were many unknown steam locomotive stations in the entire Rouen Kingdom. This was a reflection of a country's comprehensive strength.
The conductor looked at the dark sky and muttered a few words before using the latest loudspeaker to speak to the passengers.
"A storm is approaching. The train will stop at Utopia Station until eight in the morning tomorrow."
He predicted that the storm would last until tonight.
"You can stay in the carriage or leave on your own. Head to the city and find an inn. Tomorrow, you just need to provide your ticket stubs to board the train again. Remember to be punctual." The conductor gave them two choices.
Wendel looked at the passengers in the second-class carriage and pondered for a few seconds. He picked up his suitcase and walked out of the train.
It wasn't that he couldn't accept the arduous and abnormal sleeping environment. When he was an intelligence officer, he had suffered quite a bit. He was only relying on his professionalism to judge that a carriage without sufficient passenger flow wasn't as safe as a hotel room.
Of course, he could stay up all night, but this would definitely affect his condition tomorrow. Clearly, there was still a long journey tomorrow.
After leaving Utopia Station, Wendel got onto a rental carriage by the side of the road and said to the carriage driver,
"To the municipal square."
In the Kingdom of Rouen, there was bound to be a cathedral and at least one inn near the municipal square.
"Sir, are we going to a hotel?" the carriage driver asked as he turned the horse around.
"Yes." As a Sequence 7 Beyonder, Wendel didn't hide it.
From his point of view, as long as he was in a city within the country, he could easily find a group of helpers with his identity. And his strength was enough to support him in completing this task.
"The best hotel in Utopia is the Red Boots. Do you want to go there?" the carriage driver asked in a suggestive tone that all men understood.
If he wasn't on a mission, Wendel wouldn't mind enjoying it. But now, he could only shake his head without hesitation.
"I want a quiet hotel."
"Alright …" the carriage driver replied in disappointment. "Then let's go to the Irises Hotel. No one will harass you."
As the carriage moved forward, Wendel cast his gaze out the window and observed the situation outside.
Perhaps it was because of the impending storm, the people on the road were in a hurry. Even the paperboy couldn't muster up his energy.
A very small city … Wendel made a preliminary judgment from the lack of public carriages.
He only saw one trackless public carriage, which meant that most places in Utopia could be reached on foot in a suitable amount of time.
As he expected, in less than ten minutes, the rental carriage stopped at the entrance of the Irises Hotel.
After Wendel paid the fare, he quickly walked into the hotel before the rain fell.
A crashing sound came from behind him.
After checking in and putting away his luggage, Wendel rested for a while. He carried the confidential document and went to the restaurant on the first floor to enjoy dinner.
He cautiously didn't order any alcoholic drinks. He ordered a cup of Bubble Iced Tea, which was said to be a local specialty, and a fried pork chop with apple juice.
As an intelligence officer who had been in and out of high society, Wendel didn't have much expectations for this dinner, but the outcome exceeded his expectations.
The pork chop was tender and juicy with a rich aroma. The apple juice had a slightly sour taste and eliminated most of the grease. The bubble iced tea had a refreshing taste and was exceptionally delicious …
When they paid the bill, Wendel nodded at the medium-sized waiter.
"Thank the chef for me. He gave me such a wonderful dinner."
The ordinary-looking waiter replied with a smile.
"No problem.
"In all of Utopia City, the chefs of our Irises are the best."
Wendel didn't chat idly. He quickly returned to his room and made some arrangements to prevent others from sneaking in.
Then, he fell asleep without any hesitation.
He was using the time when it was relatively safe and the potential enemies didn't think it was suitable to carry out operations to sleep, "freeing" up the night.
After an unknown period of time, Wendel was suddenly awakened by an intense commotion.
He checked his pocket watch and found that it was not yet dawn.
It's in the next room … A woman's voice … A man's voice … Wendel sat up and listened carefully.
At first, he suspected that the man and woman were flirting, but later, he realized that it was too intense. There were even fragile items that had been thrown against the wall.
A quarrel led to a fight? Just as Wendel muttered, he heard a woman's shouts, curses, and screams.
Beating up women? As a Rouen gentleman, although Wendel believed in the Lord of Storms and secretly discriminated against women, this didn't stop him from believing that men shouldn't be violent towards women.
After two seconds of consideration, he decided to knock on the door and remind his "neighbor" to be careful.
At that moment, a scream was heard.
It was clearly from a man!
Something heavy fell to the floor with a bang.
Wendel's eyebrows twitched slightly as he keenly sensed the scent of a criminal case.
He stood up, put on his coat, and went to the next room. He bent his finger and knocked twice.
A few seconds later, the door creaked open. A beautiful lady with green eyes and flaxen hair appeared in front of Wendel.
Her hair was messy, and her face was pale. Her light green clothes were stained with bright red blood, and she held a dagger that was dripping with blood.
The lady in her early twenties mumbled for a while before speaking in a dreamy tone.
"I killed someone …"
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