Chapter 7

"If this business goes smoothly, perhaps I can really try to stay here as a detective. Once my life stabilizes, I can then explore the extraordinary and try to find a way back home."

While keeping an eye on the entrance of the surveillance club, the outsider thought of his distant hometown, and Shad couldn't help but sigh.

He estimated the time again. Since Mr. Lawrence had also entered the club, it would be impossible for the two to come out within an hour.

"They have something to do. Should I find a place to rest?"

He thought to himself, looking around, and then smoothly spotted a tavern called "Screaming Hound" at the street corner.

Taverns that open on the main road and start business during the day are usually not particularly chaotic, especially since it was only two in the afternoon. Shad pinched the ten-penny note in his pocket, licked his slightly chapped lips, checked the time, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped forward.

Pushing open the tavern door, the first thing he saw was a row of gas lamps on the wall, illuminating the somewhat dim interior. The air was filled with a mixture of the smell of alcohol and fermented food, which made him, still hungry, feel a bit uncomfortable.

Shad now knew that the lamps used in this era were all gas lamps. Climbing on the walls, besides gas pipes, there were usually steam pipes as well. The gas pipes were the thinner ones, and the steam pipes were covered with insulation.

The round wooden tables in the tavern were all empty. There were hardly any people, only three customers sitting at a wooden table away from the bar, playing cards. A landscape oil painting of a snowy mountain hung on the wall beside the table.

They were three men who didn't look particularly wealthy. Although their clothes had no patches, the dark clothing was washed to a pale color, and the hats on the table were clearly well-used, wrinkled, and piled together.

Perhaps they just wanted to rest on this leisurely summer afternoon. Shad didn't disturb them and walked to the bar where the bartender stood, intending to buy a glass of iced water. But he heard one of the card players exclaim with joy:

"I won again this time!"

A middle-aged man with a messy beard stood up, proudly throwing the cards on the table:

"Look, exactly 21 points."

He looked around triumphantly, but unfortunately, there were only he and his friends. Seeing Shad just enter, his eyes lit up:

"Buy this gentleman a glass of rye whiskey!"

The man who won the game but wasn't wealthy said to the bartender. Shad turned around in surprise, paused, and nodded slightly to express his gratitude:

"Thank you for your kindness, but I think a glass of iced water is enough."

He wasn't good at drinking, and he didn't know the alcohol content of the "rye whiskey." Besides, he was still on a detective mission and didn't need to get involved with alcohol.

Clearly, the price of a glass of water was much lower than that of a glass of alcohol. The three men thought Shad was saving money for them and immediately took a liking to him. Seeing that Shad had no companions, they invited him to join their card game.

But Shad didn't know how to play, so he could only watch them. The men were very enthusiastic and taught Shad the "Rode" card game.

The cards in this world were very similar to the poker cards from his previous life, with four suits and a total of 54 cards. The four suits were the sun, moon, stars, and flowers.

The mainstream way to play cards was similar to "21 points" and was called "Rode." Other rules like solitaire, draw the joker, and comparing card values also existed, but the Rode game was popular worldwide. It was said that the inventor of this game was named Rode.

The cards were generally made with pictures on the front, with the suit and number marked in the upper left and right corners. Therefore, special series of cards issued in certain eras were particularly valuable.

A recent special series of Rode cards, called the "Fairy Tale Series," was issued in only 1,000 sets.

The three men playing cards weren't wealthy and didn't know much about the special series of Rode cards, but they could give a general idea.

They knew that some nobles were crazy about collecting rare cards. Some cards not only had special designs but also contained special game rules.

Those cards were worth a fortune. It was rumored that last year, the Biford Auction House sold a special card for 12,000 pounds.

Shad quietly converted the price and thought about the "Sun 3" card in his notebook. He didn't want to laugh but deeply doubted whether the card he inherited was genuine.

But if the card with the woman sitting and holding a silver moon was genuine, his last bit of worry about his future life would disappear.

After chatting with the three card players for an hour in the tavern, Shad got up to leave. When he returned to the newspaper office, the spot next to the mailbox was occupied by a young man wearing a brown vest and glasses.

This was probably a real journalist, so the young detective moved to stand next to the black iron lamppost.

The lamppost was generally cylindrical and used gas as its energy source. Shad was standing leisurely beside it when his eyes inadvertently saw the warning plate. The plate clearly stated, "Do not smoke under the lamppost, or you will be responsible for the consequences."

Shad imagined what might happen and subconsciously moved away from the dangerous spot.

The sun gradually set, and Shad continued to wait patiently. After the hunger reached its peak and disappeared in the afternoon, his body felt much better. He planned to wait until around five o'clock. If Mrs. Lassoya didn't appear, he would go to the "Church of War and Peace" to collect relief food.

He could also take the opportunity to see what the church in this world was like and confirm whether it possessed any extraordinary power.

"But, with that voice in my head, will I be caught as soon as I enter? And the secret of the outsider."

He was a bit worried about this, but without any information, Shad had few choices.

Perhaps noticing that Shad was thinking about her again, the woman's voice in his head spoke up:

"Observe his ring."

This sentence had appeared at noon, but the pronoun was female then, and this time it was male.

Shad immediately looked up at the club entrance and indeed saw a young man with a suitcase walk out, wearing the white pebble ring on his right middle finger, which he had seen on Mrs. Lassoya's finger at noon.

Because the design was so unique, Shad was confident he wouldn't mistake it.

Both of them wore the ring on their right middle finger, but the voice in his head didn't give any further instructions.

"How interesting, why did the owner of the ring change?"

Shad thought to himself. Seeing the man with the ring leave the club, he didn't look for an empty carriage but mixed into the evening crowd, following a fat man carrying a briefcase who was walking hurriedly, heading east along the street.

The steam city's fog blurred his figure, and if he didn't follow, Shad would soon lose sight of the man.

"Should I follow him? The voice in my head definitely isn't just talking for no reason."

He thought to himself, turned to avoid the direction of the club entrance, and unfolded one-eighth of the map in his notebook to find the direction of the "Church of War and Peace" church. The church distributing relief food was to the east of his current position, and it was already close to five o'clock.