“Very well, since both the direction and time are appropriate, let’s follow. If I can’t catch up, I’ll just go directly to the church. After all, I can’t let myself starve on the first day in this new world. Otherwise, I might start to feel somewhat pitiful.”
With such ‘simple’ thoughts in mind, Shard packed up his belongings and moved along the low wall by the street, following the man ahead.
To avoid being discovered, Shard knew he couldn’t follow too closely, even though the city’s evening fog was becoming thicker. He was well aware that he lacked the skills to trail someone effectively.
As expected, after about ten minutes, when they turned past the back wall of a milk delivery company and into an alley, Shard completely lost track of the man.
“Ha~ should I have said, I knew I’d lose him?”
Standing in the alley and looking around blankly, he confirmed he had indeed lost his target and shook his head, giving up the search. Without dwelling on it, he decided to go and collect the ‘relief food’ instead. However—
“Where is this?”
In an unfamiliar city, trying to follow someone without being noticed, Shard didn’t have time to remember his route. Now, he found himself in a foul-smelling narrow alley.
On the left was the outer wall of the milk delivery company, and on the right was the side wall of a three-story apartment building. The walls were covered with rusted pipes connecting in different directions, messy graffiti, and foul words. The ground was littered with garbage and excrement.
Near the alley entrance, there were two or three rusty, large-diameter steam pipes abandoned by someone.
“Let’s check the name of the milk delivery company and find our current location on the map.”
Having made up his mind, Shard no longer cared about the person he wanted to follow.
He turned back along the alley, carefully avoiding indescribable filth. Just as he was about to exit the alley, he had to dodge quickly as a group of police officers in uniform ran past the street in front of him.
One of the officers at the back, a tall middle-aged man with a stubbled face, glanced at Shard. Shard returned his gaze innocently, and the officer did not pay him any more attention.
“What happened over there?”
Standing at the alley entrance, Shard looked in the direction the police were running. Since he had no idea which street he was on, he couldn’t discern what lay in that direction.
“It’s none of my business.”
He muttered, clutching his notepad as he walked towards the milk delivery company’s entrance. This wasn’t a factory, just the distribution department’s office building. The yard enclosed a two-story yellow building, and an old dog lay lazily by the entrance.
The dog gave Shard a glance but seeing that he didn’t come any closer, it lazily moved to a spot where the setting sun could reach and lay down.
The milk delivery company’s name was ‘Silver Parrot,’ a strange name, but the map indeed had it marked. The former detective had even noted that a murder had occurred here three years ago.
The murder case had nothing to do with Shard. As he walked, he held a quarter of the unfolded map, checking his position constantly.
The street wasn’t crowded, and walking with his head down, he didn’t bump into anyone. Unknowingly, he followed the white steam-exhaling pipes along the walls through the evening mist and twilight to the end of this street. Ahead was an intersection with five branching roads. According to the map, taking the one with the sweet shop to the left would be a shorter route.
But the intersection was almost blocked by a crowd. Near the eastern mailbox was a silverware shop, with its sign scrubbed clean. Something seemed to have happened there. The police team Shard had seen earlier was maintaining order, preventing people from getting close.
As Shard observed from a distance, more four-wheeled carriages arrived from behind and other directions. Within minutes, more police appeared, and some academics looking individuals stepped out of the carriages, their purposes unknown.
Shard didn’t intend to join the commotion. Getting relief food was his priority. But as he tried to pass through the crowd, he was unknowingly pushed to the front.
Wanting to retreat, he found people behind unwilling to let him through. The officers in front were yelling for the crowd to disperse, saying there was nothing worth seeing here.
Seeing Shard being pushed forward but not trying to approach further, a young officer with a pen in his chest pocket kindly reminded him to watch out for pickpockets.
Shard nervously checked his pocket, ensuring his ten-penny note was still there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another police team escorting three men in plain clothes into the silverware shop.
The tallest of the men was exceptionally strong, the one in the middle had a scholarly demeanor, and the last man seemed familiar. It looked like the preacher who had handed out pamphlets in the afternoon.
“Do preachers in this world also moonlight as police?”
Dismissing his own unlikely conclusion, Shard clutched his pocket watch and money, intending to leave before he got late.
Just as he turned to squeeze back, a strange warning surged within his mind. Before he could grasp its reason, a sound reached his ears—
Boom!
The explosion caught everyone off guard, an ear-splitting noise that caused the crowd to scream. Though no flames were visible, the silverware shop’s windows shattered immediately, and the wall tilted slightly, causing metal pipes attached to it to emit a screech.
Fortunately, the police hadn’t allowed the crowd to cluster near the shop’s entrance. Thus, despite the chaos, no one was injured in the initial blast.
The crowd quickly scattered like a breached dam, but Shard, trying to stay calm, saw a brown-haired middle-aged man run towards the store:
“I’m a journalist! What’s happening here?”
Holding a notepad in one hand and waving credentials with the other, the man rushed forward excitedly, only to be swiftly held back by a young officer:
“A gas pipe explosion, sir. Please stay away.”
Shard didn’t believe the explanation for a second. How could a gas pipe just—
Boom!
Another explosion, more intense than the first, erupted from the silverware shop, almost stopping hearts and pushing the crowd with a forceful air wave.
This time, even the glass on the second floor shattered, and falling shards forced the officers to temporarily retreat. As Shard stepped back, he saw through a window that two figures seemed to be fighting amidst the white mist on the second floor, with one’s fist glowing.
The distance and gathering evening fog hindered his view, especially as twilight descended.
“Supernatural?”
He thought to himself.
[Yes.]
The woman’s voice startled Shard, but knowing she wouldn’t elaborate, he quickly left, avoiding any more delay.
“Those three men must be from the church, and their entry triggered these events. It seems the churches in this world are likely supernatural forces deeply intertwined with the kingdom’s order. Thus, the likelihood of the regular Church being trustworthy greatly increases. If only I had a chance through the church channels…”
This presented two options: consulting the psychologist and having access to the city’s five churches, providing Shard opportunities to encounter the supernatural and understand the voice in his head.
“But how did I manage to stumble upon such events?”
As he moved along with the dispersing crowd towards his original destination, the woman’s voice echoed a previously spoken phrase:
[Observe his ring.]
Although Shard still didn’t understand what the voice in his head was, he did recognize its lack of apparent malice. Heeding its instruction, he observed his surroundings and spotted the young man with the pebble ring and suitcase walking ahead.
“What a coincidence… too coincidental. Wait, could the explosion have something to do with him? Why do I think that? There’s no evidence.”
With this in mind, Shard hesitated to follow. If the man was capable of causing explosions like those in the silverware shop, trailing him might replicate the tragic fate of the former detective.
“No, no.”
Shard slowed his pace, intending to let the man naturally vanish from his sight. But to his surprise, the young man also stopped, taking out a map just like Shard had, then entered a nearby alley.
“Follow or not?”
The woman’s voice had warned about the ring three times, suggesting it was not idle chit-chat. Yet Shard, knowing little about the world, had to ensure caution.
Following his original plan, as he passed the alley where the man had turned, Shard glanced inside and saw the man disappearing around a corner.
“To follow or not.”
He asked himself again, realizing that the decision would significantly impact his future.
“To follow, or not?”
He asked the woman in his mind, hearing laughter followed by a whispered reply:
[The path of destiny unfolds before you, foreign guest. Do you seek ordinary existence or crave immortality? The world is like an ocean; do you have the courage to explore the horrors beyond the safe islands? The path of destiny unfolds before you, one leads to the extraordinary, and the other—]
“Follow!”
Gritting his teeth, Shard pressed against the wall and entered the alley.
