"The 'clear' and 'quiet' in the sky now may be a beautiful expression before the storm."

——— Steam Boy. Naib Sabeda/Fire Styx. Lu Tianyi

Nearly four hours later, the steam boy pulled a sled to the downtown area. The usual sun came out, although it was not a clear sky, there were still large clouds that had not yet dispersed, but at least it was not snowing for the time being——— in his memory, the last time it did not snow was when he first came to the city ten years ago, when the mountains and rivers around the city were beautiful, birds and flowers, unlike now they are all white and lifeless.

When the weather is clear, people take to the streets early in the morning, and the shops on both sides of the street are crowded with people. Five or six children passed by, laughing and laughing. The Steam boy smiled, he hadn't seen such a lively scene in years. Some of the young women around saw the silver badge of the adventure group reflecting the sunlight on the left chest of the steam boy, and they all cast adoring and admiring eyes at him——— which was an admiration for the hero who guarded the city with his life seven years ago; Some women's partners looked at the steam boy with disdain, but when they saw the handle of the dagger on his waist engraved with "Elite Member of the Seongnam Mercenary Association", their eyes were full of surprise and respect——— there was only one person with the dual identity of an adventure party and a mercenary in the Steam Capital: Naib Sabeda, known as the "bloodthirsty blue wolf"!

The Steam Boy had long been accustomed to the reverence of others, and he smiled indifferently in response, and then ignored it. As he walked along the sled, he looked up at the blue sky and frowned.

When the weather clears after a snowstorm, it is often a sign that an even bigger snowstorm is coming.

After another hour, the steam boy came to a bank in the city center. He paused and exhaled the white mist as he looked up, and there were four large gilded characters engraved from right to left on the door plaque made of yellow rosewood: Aesop Firm. Looking inside from the outside, the hall decorated with exotic stones is full of wealth, and on three walls are six complete ancient paintings of different styles——— it seems that the rumors are true, the banker. Aesop Carr has a hobby of collecting antique paintings. As a businessman, it's also a bit interesting.

The corners of the steam boy's mouth rose slightly, and he thought: If this is the case, then it will be easy to do, I remember that there seems to be an ancient painting hanging in the office of the regiment commander......

But soon the corners of his mouth flattened again: when he looked inside, he saw the black hand of the iron hat. Kreacher Pearson sat on a shabby bench, his eyes closed, his head in his hands against the wall, his legs crossed, a withered grass in his mouth, and his face full of appropriateness. The left collar is clasped with a black sign that reads "Doorman".

The steam boy frowned slightly, and sighed. That's the Iron Hat Regiment. Unlike the purpose of the adventure group [Protection], the purpose of the Iron Hat Group is [survival], and in order to live, those outlaws can do anything.

Moreover, if it weren't for them, she wouldn't have died back then.

The steamy boy clenched his hands into fists, took a deep breath, and exhaled again, his hands slightly loosened. He suddenly pulled out the dagger at his waist and slapped it on the cloth of the sleigh, and then stepped on the steps——— the capital of steam has been a place outside the law since its establishment, and the robbery of people's women in broad daylight has happened from time to time, not to mention theft, but with the dagger of the mercenary association, they dare not dare to take the liberty of it.

The steam boy walked in, turned right and looked at "The Last Dinner" on the wall, trying to keep his tone as flat as possible: "Hey! Is Mr. Carr here? ”

When the black hand in the iron hat opened his eyes and saw that it was a steam boy, he snorted coldly, then shook Erlang's legs, revealing a look of disdain, and said in a strange manner: "Yes, but that guy doesn't see ants." He accentuated the word "ant."

The steam boy turned his head to look at the black hand of the iron hat, his brows furrowed again, his eyes were full of anger, but he still deliberately suppressed his emotions and said, "Where is Mr. Karl?" "If it's outside, he doesn't mind beating the other person.

Stared at by the steam boy, the black hand of the iron hat suddenly swallowed a mouthful of saliva, lost the spirit just now, and hurriedly said: "In, in the office." ”

Hearing this, the Steam Boy walked briskly towards the corridor to the left.

The black-hated hand watched as it left, and only after seeing the door of the office at the end of the corridor close again, did he make a "phew" gesture in that direction.

2

"Knock knock......" A brisk knock came at the door, and the banker was writing a letter. Aesop Karl immediately stopped his pen, closed the lid of the pen and stuffed it into the drawer with the envelope, took out a black suitcase from the drawer on the left-hand side, opened it and took out the white mask and gloves inside, put them on, closed the suitcase and put it back in place, and said, "Come in." ”

"Long time no see, Carl!" The steamy boy pushed the door open and slammed it shut, strode towards it, and sat down on the black revolving chair in front of the table. He and the banker are acquaintances, but for the sake of the other party, he will call him by name in front of outsiders with a "sir", and now there are only the two of them, so naturally there is no need to be bound by etiquette. The corners of his mouth rose, and he continued: "I deliberately went to other cities to get a batch of sought-after goods back, find out?" ”

The banker first looked at him with a half-squinted expressionless face, then suddenly sneered and said, "Nothing to be courteous, either a traitor or a thief!" ”

"Hahaha, congratulations, that's right!"

"Hehehe," the banker sneered again, and continued, "Something to say!" ”

Seeing this, the steam boy put away his smile and said with a serious face: "I want ten bottles of amplifiers!" ”

"Price?"

"The cart of goods at the door belongs to you, plus a month's tax on all property in your name, and ......"

"What do the adventuring parties want to do with the amplifiers?" The banker interrupted him and asked. Amplifiers can strengthen some aspects of a person for a short time, similar to stimulants but hundreds of times stronger than stimulants, and have almost no side effects, they can be used multiple times at the same time, but they are contraband, and he doesn't have many on hand.

Could it be......

The banker suddenly thought of something, and his eyes, which had looked listless, widened a little. He immediately took out a pen and paper from the drawer, quickly wrote on the paper, and then gave it to the Steam Boy. The steam boy picked it up and looked at it——— it was written in special ink, and after a while it would disappear and could not be restored. It was written on the paper: If it is to solve it, all the amplifiers must be offered in both hands.

There is anger in the delicate font.

A hint of strangeness flashed in the steam boy's eyes, and after putting down the note, he looked up at the banker and said, "I'm sorry! Not. ”

“…… What's that for? ”

"You don't need to know this," said the steamy boy categorically, "in a word, to sell, or not to sell?" ”

The banker was speechless, just staring at the steam boy, his indifferent eyes and firm eyes confronted each other, and no one would let anyone.

After a few moments, the steamy boy got up and turned to leave.

"Wait!" The banker shouted as soon as the steamboy opened the door, "Deal!" ”

The steam boy turned his back to the banker, smiled upward, closed the door, walked upside down to the table, turned around and stretched out his right hand to him, and said with a smile: "Happy cooperation!" ”

——— original version of this article was written on 2019.07.15, and is now written on 2020.08.03, rewritten and changed several times.