Chapter 5

Of course, in the end, Shade did not run. The three-month task left by Mr. Hamilton seemed suspicious, and since Shade had already been involved, it was even more impossible for him to leave now, especially since he had not left before his death.

But investigating that task and uncovering Hamilton's secrets were matters for later. The key now was to get enough money to survive for a week before making any other plans.

He packed the investigation report and the map, and did not forget the compass and pocket watch in the desk drawer. For safety, although no firearms were found, the cane could serve as a weapon, and he also brought a fruit knife.

For clothing, he chose unobtrusive black button-up coats and trousers, which were in line with the dressing habits of Tobask City as summer approached.

Room 1 on the second floor had two bedrooms. Shade found suitable clothes for his current physique in the other room. Unfortunately, the room that seemed to belong to the original Shade had no diaries or any small notes written by the original Shade with his limited literacy, which would have made life easier.

After doing all this, the grandfather clock in the corner of the living room was already approaching eleven in the morning.

Shade found the keys to the room and the front door in a bowl on the cabinet by the door. He carefully locked the door, took a deep breath, and bit his lip as he pulled a hair from his head. He lay on the floor between the door and the stairs, placed the hair in the gap under the door, squinted his left eye, and confirmed that the hair was aligned with the left corner of the bedroom door.

The windows in the stairwell were closed, and the first floor was sealed off. All the windows in the room were closed, so there was no need to worry about the hair being moved by the wind. As long as Shade did not take large steps at the door and was careful when opening the front door, the position of the hair would indicate whether anyone had passed by or entered the room.

He wanted to stand up but looked at the locked door of the neighboring Room 2 on the second floor. After some thought, he painfully pulled another hair and placed it in the gap at the level of the lock.

Since Mr. Hamilton had left so many secrets, it was always better to be cautious.

He descended the spiral staircase, and the sound of his footsteps in the quiet space made him nervous again.

There was no dust on the staircase railing, and the decorative oil paintings on the walls looked well-maintained. The closer he got to the ground floor, the faster his heart beat.

He knew there was no reason to be anxious, but this was his first step into this world, truly stepping into this world.

He put on his boots by the door, grabbed the black top hat from the stand, and took a long time to grasp the doorknob and push the door open.

His heart beat faster as he opened the door. The feeling of thoroughly entering a strange environment and accepting the reality of his穿越 was truly unbearable.

He stepped over the threshold but did not immediately look outside. Instead, he quickly lowered his head, walked out, and turned to lock the door with the key.

He closed his eyes, then slowly turned to face the street, leaning back against the door, his head touching the cold metal doorplate "No. 6."

"There's nothing to be nervous about, it's just stepping into another world, and I probably won't be able to return."

He said to himself, trying to suppress the urge to breathe heavily. He lifted his head, opened his eyes, leaned against the door, and looked at everything in front of him—

The air was filled with smoke, and the weather was even more overcast than in the morning. But the bustling square was still crowded with people: gentlemen in formal attire with top hats, ladies in dresses with powdered faces, porters carrying wooden boxes, barefoot newsboys shouting, shy flower girls soliciting customers, four-wheeled carriages passing by, and plump housewives with paper bags and lace hats.

The air had a burnt smell, and people of all kinds mixed on the smoky streets at the edge of the square. The cries and noise almost completely overlapped. On the other side of the square, there were three-story buildings like the one behind him, with dense metal pipes climbing the walls like vines or spider webs, gleaming in the weak midday sun.

In the center of the square stood a fountain with a statue of a girl holding a water bottle. The fountain was not spouting water, but the statue was already somewhat yellowed. A patrolling police officer with a badge on his cap looked curiously at Shade, and the middle-aged man's eyes asked if he needed help. Shade quickly averted his gaze.

A newsboy passed by, the sound of his feet scraping the gravel-covered ground making his hair stand on end. The jingling of the four-wheeled carriage passing by the door and the inquisitive gaze from the carriage window made Shade's heart beat faster.

Feeling his heart pounding, he spread his hands on the door behind him and instinctively leaned back, startled by the reality in front of him. His blood pressure rose, his heart beat faster, and the sudden tolling of a distant bell almost made him faint, as if a bomb had exploded in his head.

So real, so incredible, so contrary to the common sense of the past twenty years. This was another world, he had really left his homeland and come to a completely unfamiliar world.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!"

Shade repeated in his mind, but his body's instinct could not be suppressed.

"It's okay, I will get used to this, I will integrate here!"

He kept telling himself, but his body still leaned back against the door, his back already drenched in sweat.

Suddenly, the woman's murmuring voice sounded again. Although it was also a voice from another world, it seemed to bring Shade back to reality, making him face everything. The murmuring voice, like a recitation of poetry, announced:

"You have gained 'Enlightenment.'"

His heart rate slowed because of this voice, and his high blood pressure gradually returned to normal as the murmuring echoed in his mind.

"What enlightenment?"

He had heard it clearly but did not understand the meaning. "Enlightenment" was one of the four mysterious elements vaguely mentioned by the detective before his death, but Shade needed further explanation. He was now fully certain that the voice in his head was not a system; it was likely a part of the mysterious system of this world.

"You are me, and I am you. Stranger, you manipulate the course of fate on the stage, and fate unfolds because of you; I touch the truth of the world behind the scenes, and you become powerful because of me. Even if you are suspicious, we are one, and there is no difference between us."

The woman's voice did not directly answer his question, but Shade was not angry; instead, he was somewhat happy.

His guess was right. In the mysterious system of this world, the voice in his head was likely a part of accessing and using the mysterious. The worldview of this world seemed somewhat similar to the Cthulhu and the unknowable, where the extraordinary and the mysterious had power, and their existence itself influenced the mundane, so another force was needed to help the mundane access those strange and dangerous things.

"You are me, and I am you. Although you say that, you are definitely not the same as ordinary situations."

He wanted to verify his thoughts with the murmuring voice in his head but received only the woman's light laugh.

Regardless, he had at least touched the mysterious elements of this world. Even if he understood nothing, he was standing here with his own goals.

The panic gradually subsided, and he felt closer to this steam-powered era shrouded in smoke. The solid feeling under his feet made Shade more steady. He told himself to gradually accept everything rather than panic uselessly:

"Earn money from a commission, investigate Hamilton's story, gather the four elements, study the voice in my head, and move forward without panicking."

He repeated this in his mind, finally letting his back leave the door. Abandoning the idea of changing clothes, Shade carefully, very carefully, walked down the three steps at the door and stood on the street at the edge of the square, looking up at the world with wide eyes, letting the world reflect in his eyes:

"Whatever happens, move forward."

He said to himself, paused for a moment, and then, following the plan he had made in the house, he stepped along the circular street around the square, heading towards the entrance of the street that led away from the square.