Just as Captain Lades had said, the gunshots only rang out once, and the clamor downstairs quickly faded away.
Xia De breathed a sigh of relief, about to continue their previous conversation, when to his surprise, gunshots rang out downstairs again.
He had expected Captain Lades to remain calm, but to his astonishment, the middle-aged man froze, his eyes wide with incredible horror as he stared at the window.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem this time?"
Xia De immediately asked for guidance.
"Point-three-four Blackjack rounds! Glass pocket single-shot pistol! It's MI6!"
The middle-aged man, who had been so calm, began to tremble as if ill, the horror on his face probably more exaggerated than if Xia De had seen an evil god again.
Xia De also tensed up and recoiled, but quickly regained his composure.
Sparrow Detective couldn't have been involved in an incident, and even if he was, it wouldn't implicate himself, so he didn't need to be nervous.
"What's wrong with MI6?"
This organization probably had some connection to Xia De, but the Captain's nervousness was a bit odd.
"They are a bunch of devils! They don't trust anyone! They will lock you up, continuously shine gas lamps on you until you tell the truth! They will lock you in a dark little room, continuously use noise to prevent you from resting! They will..."
The terrified middle-aged man stammered while trembling, and Xia De roughly understood.
Captain Lades had been rescued from Carson Rick as a prisoner, and because of his reputation as "Eight-Gun Captain" on the front lines, he was naturally suspected upon his return to the country.
He had probably been interrogated by people from MI6 and had suffered some psychological trauma as a result.
Even though the other party was clearly not looking for the Captain, the middle-aged officer still seemed to have a switch flipped, plunging into immense fear.
This emotion was almost impossible to comfort; the Captain huddled against the wall, not daring to move, as if the people downstairs could see him through the wall.
After a long while, when there was no more movement downstairs, he gradually returned to normal, but Xia De saw that his collar was completely wet.
"Captain, are you alright?"
Xia De said with concern.
The middle-aged officer shook his head, stumbled to the table, picked up a bottle of wine, took a big gulp, then choked and coughed several times before recovering.
"Sorry, I made a fool of myself."
He put down the wine bottle, panting, then slumped into the chair in front of the desk with a dejected look.
"MI6... is it that terrifying?"
Xia De probed, but also worried that his question might make the Captain uncomfortable.
However, the middle-aged man was quite resilient, or perhaps that gulp of wine had given him courage:
"The people in MI6 are lunatics who won't stop until they achieve their goals; they're probably even more terrifying than the rumored transcenders."
The Captain, who seemed to have some insight, shook his head and said:
"For the past few years, there have been rumors that Carson Rick's Gray Gloves have dispatched a batch of quite formidable spies to infiltrate Tobesk, which is why MI6 has been acting so high-profile in recent years, but what's the use of that? There are even recent rumors that the Gray Gloves are planning an operation targeting the royal family.
Oh, Detective, you'd best never deal with them in your life; the people there are all professionally trained, and I even suspect they have no sympathy or compassion at you."
It wasn't until the Captain had fully recovered from his fright and confirmed that the gunshots downstairs wouldn't resume that the two of them went out to eat.
Of course, both men argued about who would pay the bill, but ultimately, the younger and stronger Xia De got the chance to pay.
The Captain looked very embarrassed and promised to continue searching for that ornament.
Furthermore, if given the opportunity, he would help Xia De find business, as he knew many people in this City.
After eating, the two parted ways.
Captain Lades was going to the veteran's club to see some acquaintances and try to find a new job.
Xia De, on the other hand, set off back to Saint Delan Square, played with Mia at home for a while, and then translated more than a dozen pages of "The Chasing Four Elements: Wind and Fire."
Around two-thirty in the afternoon, while resting at his desk, seeing that the weather was nice today, he decided to go out for a walk.
Of course, this time Xia De brought the orange cat Mia; since coming to Saint Delan Square, apart from going out to eat, this cat rarely had the opportunity to go out due to its timid nature.
This could be considered taking the cat for a walk, but since he didn't have a suitable leash and was worried about Mia getting lost, Xia De actually held the cat the entire time, and Mia was, of course, happy not to have to walk herself.
He had seen enough of Saint Delan Square and the pigeons in the square from his window every day.
Since today was a rare good day, and even the thin mist that enveloped the City had dissipated somewhat, he walked to Tobesk's University District, which was more suitable for an afternoon stroll.
The University District was mostly an activity area for students and teachers from nearby higher education institutions.
Although it looked similar to other parts of Tobesk, stepping onto the tree-lined avenue, he instinctively felt that it was more comfortable here.
"That's your illusion; I didn't feel anything."
The Detective, holding the cat, and the cat together, looked around curiously, observing people on the tree-lined avenue, and then stopped at the Royal Delarion Academy of Mechanics to examine the academy's exterior wall.
He even got the urge to sit for a while on a sun-drenched lawn, enjoying the rare summer sunshine.
There happened to be a group of young people playing rhode cards on the lawn; judging by their attire and the books beside them, they were probably students from Tobesk Theological Seminary.
Xia De also joined the fun, walking over to watch their card game.
Listening to their conversation, the group were members of the "rhode cards Research Society" of Tobesk Theological Seminary.
"Why would a theological seminary have a rhode cards Research Society?"
Xia De found this amusing but did not join the card game.
After standing for a while, he remembered that the map indicated the Terraril River ran through the University District, so he decided to walk along the riverbank.
In a deserted place, perhaps Mia would also have a chance to run around.
But just as he left the lawn and strolled along the tree-lined avenue with dappled shadows, he noticed a carriage approaching from behind him.
He moved to this side to avoid it, but the carriage slowly stopped beside Xia De.
The window was pushed open, and the golden-haired Writer's face appeared inside the carriage:
"Good afternoon, Detective.
Oh?"
She looked at the cat in Xia De's arms and smiled:
"Are you out for a walk? Or do you have a commission?"
"Good afternoon, Miss Louisa, I'm out for a walk, and taking the cat for a stroll."
Xia De wanted Mia to greet Miss Louisa, but the small orange cat, very shy, meowed a "roar" at the Writer and then shrank into Xia De's arms, refusing to move.
"Since you're free, would you like to help me with something?"
Miss Louisa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"What are you doing?"
Xia De accepted the invitation.
Miss Louisa also got out of the four-wheeled taxi carriage, and while rummaging for change for the coachman, she explained:
"I heard a strange rumor and wanted to buy a very special thing."
Xia De suddenly realized, so she was going to collect a relic.