The Baker Street Squad was one of Holmes's trump cards in the original novel.
They were a group of unkempt street children, recruited by Holmes to track targets and collect intelligence. Because of their age and identity, no one would be wary of them. They were like invisible people in the city, and no one would suspect them even if they swaggered behind someone.
"Instead of letting them wander the streets every day, it's better to give them something to do. Don't underestimate them. Sometimes, one person is better than a dozen police officers. They can sneak into any place, and they can hear everything." Holmes then took out the violin and asked Zhang Heng, "Anyway, we have nothing to do after this. Do you have any songs you want to listen to?"
"Please help yourself."
"Sarasati's Primer and Tarantella then." After saying that, Holmes placed the violin on his left collarbone and started to play it.
According to Zhang Heng's estimation, Holmes' violin skills were between Lv.1 and Lv.2, slightly worse than a professional player. However, the average person probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. When he played with all his heart, he could still bring a lot of pleasure to the listener.
Holmes then completely immersed himself in the ocean of music, and Zhang Heng took the opportunity to read the case records in his hand.
To be fair, this was quite interesting.
Especially considering that he had spent a lot of time learning programming and communication in the last quest, at least the current cases were more interesting. Many of the newspaper clippings read like an emotional story, and the plot was more bizarre than the previous one.
Zhang Heng could now understand why Holmes was so obsessed with solving cases. It was like doing a crossword puzzle, where you needed to mobilize all your stored knowledge and attention. Finding the answer itself would bring you satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
Of course, Zhang Heng had more important things to do now. After Holmes finished playing the violin, Zhang Heng asked, "Do you have any ways to make money?"
"Why? Are you short of money recently?" Holmes raised his eyebrows. "It's not normal for someone to be short of money when they send half a quarter's rent as a deposit before even meeting you."
"I said that an elder friend paid for me after I found a house. In fact, I don't have much cash left," Zhang Heng said calmly.
After the quest started, Zhang Heng checked his pocket. There were only five pounds and seven shillings in it. Although he had paid the rent in advance and could eat three meals a day at home, it was obviously not enough to support his daily expenses.
Holmes shrugged. "I'd love to hire you as my assistant to solve the case with me. We worked well together in the textile mill, but I might not be able to afford your salary. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to find someone to share the apartment with." "That's right. You're right.
"I'm very interested in solving cases, so you don't have to pay me any salary. But now it seems that I have to find another job. It would be best if it doesn't take up too much of my time," Zhang Heng said.
Although there was still a long time before the quest started, it wouldn't be easy to beat Holmes. Zhang Heng was ready to devote himself to the task. He didn't really need much money, as long as he had enough to spend. No matter how much money he had, he wouldn't be able to bring it out of the quest.
In fact, Zhang Heng had many ways to make money in this era, but most of them were time-consuming. Most importantly, he had to explain the source of his income to Holmes.
"Well … I do know a way to make money," Holmes rubbed his chin. "I did it for a while. Although I didn't aim to make money at that time, it did bring me a lot of income, and it perfectly meets your requirements. It won't take up much of your time. All you have to do is take a night out when you're free. But …"
Holmes paused for a moment. "This money is not easy to earn. You have to show me that you have the ability to earn it."
After that, he stood up from the sofa. "Come with me. You don't have to wear a hat or coat. We'll be back soon."
The two walked out of 221B Baker Street and came to an empty space. Holmes stopped, turned to face Zhang Heng, and without a word, raised his fist and threw a punch at the latter.
Heng's reaction was also very fast, and he dodged the punch sideways.
"Not bad," Holmes praised. "Judging by your figure and appearance, you must have practiced martial arts. That's great. I won't hold back anymore."
As he spoke, he began to move his feet frequently, making it difficult for Zhang Heng to see where he was going to attack next.
Zhang Heng stood quietly in the same spot, not moving at all.
The next moment, Holmes gave up trying to test Zhang Heng's strength and suddenly threw another punch. Zhang Heng stopped dodging and reached out to block the punch. Sure enough, whether it was strength or speed, it was much stronger than the previous time.
"Good defense." Holmes wasn't surprised when the punch was blocked. Instead, he was delighted. It was obvious that he was excited, and his desire to win had been aroused. Then, he became even more focused.
In all fairness, the strength of his punches wasn't too outstanding. However, his moves were swift, clean, and without any flourishes. In a sense, his fighting style was very similar to Zhang Heng's.
However, Holmes' boxing and his violin skills were both top-notch amateurs. It was enough for a detective, but it was still far from Zhang Heng's, who had spent more than a decade honing his skills in life and death battles. Even without a knife in hand, Zhang Heng's strength was reduced to a certain extent. Relying on his footwork, he could dodge most of Holmes' attacks.
"I'm going to start fighting back," Zhang Heng reminded after a minute.
Holmes hesitated. At this point in the test, he could already feel that Zhang Heng was stronger than him. However, it also made him more and more curious about the extent of Zhang Heng's skills. Since he had already reached this point, he might as well continue.
So, five minutes later, Holmes covered his eyes and returned to his residence with Zhang Heng.
"Do you want me to find some ointment for you to apply?" Zhang Heng asked.
"No, it's just a small injury," Holmes said. "When I was a boxer, I got hit harder than this every day." But as soon as he said this, he realized that it was nothing to be proud of.
"In short, I can introduce you to a few underground boxing arenas. But if you really want to make money from this, you'd better go easy on me. Don't win too easily. Otherwise, the game will lose its suspense, and it'll be hard for you to be the banker."
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