.

Observing words and looks—this wasn't what Ed was good at. But that was before, and now I don't know when it started, Ed has gradually mastered this skill, and mastered the essence of this skill. As for why, of course, the reason is also very simple, and if you think about it a little, you can understand that it is forced by life.

Unfortunately, after all, he is no longer a mercenary who only needs to carry out orders and does not have to think much about other issues than how to save his life while completing the mission. He's a detective now, and he's not just relying on his hands and fists and other professional skills, he's more dependent on his brain to eat, and if this brain is spent most of his time in the cargo hold of the wine being sent to Pluto or Ortoria on the way to the spaceship, then he would have starved to death.

In fact, this is a question that Ed has been thinking about for a long time and has never figured out - how is it that he has not starved to death until now?

The answer is varied. However, one of the results that he thinks is more reliable is that he is stupid, but fortunately, the people around him are generally more stupid than him, so it will produce the illusion that he looks like a smart person with that appearance. Thank you to the cosmic star god.

In different situations and facing different objects on different occasions, this newly learned skill will bring him all kinds of different gains, some are unexpected joys, some are reasonable, but usually he will not express his true inner reaction after receiving these learnings on his face, as for the reason, he thinks that anyone who has some similar parts to him in terms of work should understand.

For example, at this time, Ed didn't know if there would be some old friendship between the old detective in front of him and the old bastard in the bar in the past, whether good or bad, true or false, real or real, bright or dark, or something like revolutionary friendship, he had never even thought about it...... Because he was too slow to react, he didn't think of it. But when he realized it, he thought about it, and then he realized that he was slow to react, and then he realized that it didn't matter much, and then he told himself to pay attention even if it didn't matter, maybe next time it would be life-threatening. Then he knew that next time he would definitely forget the warning he had given himself at this time.

"I know he can survive", "He's a very tough man" - this is not something that strangers can say, although Ed didn't think about it before, he still understood for the first time that old Duroc and Tagyron should be old acquaintances, and their friendship with each other should not be shallow, and they should have dealt with each other a lot. Being able to build a relationship with a gangster like Taglon in the Underworld of Barblair Beach invisibly adds a bit of trust to Eddard in the reliability of his next short speech about "I think I should know why".

He thought so, and was soon stuffed into his mouth by old Duroc.

"War?"

"War."

“…… What exactly does that mean. ”

Ed frowned, and the elder Duroc put his arms folded on the table, looking at Ed with an inexplicable gaze.

"Before you come," he asked, "you should have done some knowledge of the local underworld—through your own channels and methods." ”

"Just a brief understanding." Ed pretended not to understand what Old Duroc was referring to, and nodded casually and seriously, "Except for a few small and medium-sized groups, the entire underground world of Barblair Beach has been jointly managed and ruled by the three major gangster families of 'Dark Paradise', 'Donfrie', and 'Golden Sailing', which has lasted for decades. ”

"The Great Leader of Dark Heaven is dead."

"What?" Ed's eyebrows furrowed. He really didn't know that.

"Frankie," said Duroc Sr., staring down at his thumb like a nail running through his bones, "forty-four, with a nineteen-year-old daughter named Shafatina. He came to Bablair that year and founded Dark Paradise from scratch, which is the biggest poisonous snake in this realm. I've met, spoke, and dealt with him...... An annoying guy, it's good to die. ”

"Such a big man," Ed asked, frowning, pretending not to hear the deliberately distorted private emotions in Old Duoc's tone, "and he died without any movement?" ”

The big boss behind the biggest gangster family in Barblair Beach, Ed can fully imagine what this concept is, and this Frankie can be counted as the local Albert. And the death of such a big man did not even make a wave in Bablore? This inland sea is also a little too deep.

"Don't think we haven't thought about it, detective." Old Duroc seemed to understand exactly what Ed was thinking, "but the truth is that he died, quietly, for unknown reasons, for unknown reasons. Even we police officers felt a little strange, but the Dark Paradise was a little too normal. ”

"The dark world of Bablore is not moving at all."

"Good question, to the point." Old Duroc held out a finger and stared at Ed without blinking, "After Frankie's death, his daughter Safatina came to power and succeeded him as the head of the Dark Heaven family. ”

"The nineteen-year-old girl?"

"That's her."

"Oh," Ed licked his lips thoughtfully, "Sounds like a little ...... Shake? ”

"The change of power is always accompanied by turmoil, and similar things have happened before." Old Duroc rolled his eyelids, his eyes upward, as if he had been temporarily evoked some nostalgic memory.

"I think I get it. That's why wars started? The Donfrie family saw an opportunity because of this incident and became restless? ”

"Pretty much." Old Duroc nodded, "The three major families, although the strength of the Dark Heaven is the strongest, but in terms of seniority, the Golden Sailing Ship is the real elder." They have been entrenched in Barblair for over a hundred years, and they have a rule that must not be broken, which is to never touch business on land. Even in the chaotic power vacuum of the underworld on the land of Babloir Beach before the rise of Dark Paradise and Donfrie, they adhered to this creed, did not extend their tentacles out of the sea, and did not expand their sphere of influence. Their business is confined to the sea, and at the same time, they are entrenched in the sea, dominating the sea. They don't fight against Dark Heaven and the Donflyer family, and Dark Heaven and Donflyy don't fight against them. The Golden Galleon is a neutral presence in the Barblair Beach Underworld, which means that battles can only occur on the ground. And on the ground, the territory of Dark Heaven has always been above Donfly, and it has always pressed against Donfly. ”

"Makes sense. The Donfrie family is tired of being the second child, and wants to bite it while the new leader of Dark Heaven is in power and can't manage the overall situation well, even if they can't bite it to death, they have to tear off a large piece of meat to eat it in their mouth. Ed nodded, "I think they're already in action, right?" ”

"Definitely. But things are a little different from what they imagined. "They provoked the Dark Paradise on their own initiative, and the new young leader reacted more violently than they expected. The woman named Safatina—she's not easy to mess with. After the accident, she immediately mobilized her elite and eliminated all the Donfrie family's incident participants by thunder, throwing them all into the sea to feed the fish. However, I don't know if it was annoyed and angry, Safatina's iron-blooded style caused Don Frie's violent backlash. Although the leaders of the two sides have not yet held a formal meeting and have not publicly expressed their opinions in the dark world, the two families have fought openly and secretly many times in the past month, and both sides have shed a lot of blood, which is basically the same as a formal declaration of war. ”

“…… That's not the right time for me to come, is it? ”

"It's not a coincidence."

"It's not a coincidence...... Ed rubbed his chin and chewed on the word that made him a little concerned, "Coincidentally...... ? ”

"What?" Old Duroc didn't hear what Ed was talking about.

"Nothing." With a wave of his hand, Ed looked up again, "I almost get it." But Dark Heaven and Donfrie are at war, why is Tabilon involved? Is there any relationship between him and Dark Heaven? ”

"It's related, and it's probably a lot closer than you think. Tabilon himself was once a member of the Dark Paradise. ”

"Sure enough."

"And not only that, he was also one of the few people who came to Barblair Beach with Frankie, and was a founding member of Dark Paradise, and in terms of seniority, most of the high-level leaders of Dark Paradise were brought out by him."

"That's kind of remarkable."

"It's all in the past." Old Duroc sighed and lay back in his chair, "It's just the embers of the age, with a little burning heat...... Not many people know him anymore when he is thrown into the tavern. ”

Ed was 100% sure that Old Duroc was definitely not just talking about Tabilon right now. He tilted his head, twisted his mouth to the left, and blinked twice, not knowing if it was time to continue. Then he scolded himself for hypocrisy.

"How did he leave Dark Heaven in the first place?"

"He had a quarrel with the old chieftain Franki over something – no one knew what it was – and then he quit and began to live like a homeless man on the streets of Babral, where he has remained until now."

"Don Frey came to him because he was afraid that he would go back to help Dark Heaven?"

"That's my guess too." Old Duroc got serious and stroked his beard, "Although Frankie and Tagbillon have not been in touch since they separated, I heard that his daughter Safatina has always had a good relationship with Tagbillon. In this special period, with Safatina on the throne, the Donfried family making trouble, and Babloel in turmoil, maybe Safatina will want to invite Tabilon back to the family - after all, now that she is in charge, she can say the final word. ”

"If that's the case," Ed pondered over the detective's words, slumping back in his chair and squinting his legs, "then it would be interesting...... Did the Donfrie family plan ahead, or did they get some news in advance? ”

“……”