At the center of Black Mayor Street is the Athena Drama Theater. The theater, which bears the name of the goddess, is often lit up as if it were daylight. Most of the performances are Shakespeare, Dryden, O'Neill or George Bernard Shaw's plays, but this elegant play has undoubtedly become a tool for concealing crimes. The actors on the stage performed affectionately, but the people in the audience listened playfully, and some of the transactions on the black market were carried out in this incongruous cooperation. When there was a big auction, I simply didn't even need this drama to cover up the crime, and changed the stage of art into a stage of trading. Fortunately, the name of the opera house is Athena, the goddess of wisdom, not the muse of art, so it is not too ironic.

In the corridor on the second floor of the theater, the white walls are spotless, and the colors of the decorative oil paintings are more and more vivid in the light of the crystal chandeliers, and the colorful flowers that can be seen from time to time also add a wisp of fragrance. In the blend of colors and florals, the corridor is not so deserted.

The second lieutenant walked down the crimson-carpeted corridor, led by a waiter in a suit and leather collar, followed by Sophie and Qiao Ran. But they're not here to listen to musicals. As early as half a month ago, he received an invitation from Duke Bernard, saying that the Duke had heard of the name of the second lieutenant Qingliu and was upright for a long time, and he wanted to make friends. However, this is just a polite and beautiful remark, the duke's power is all over the world, and the connection with the Authority and the army is quite deep, and it is also in the royal family, and everyone in the world is the head of the duke. Even if there are people who are dissatisfied with the duke's affairs, they dare not speak out. Originally, a second lieutenant could also become one of them, and as long as he remained silent, he could have a smooth life and a worry-free future.

However, this undoubtedly goes against the original intention of the second lieutenant. He didn't boast of being clear, but instinctively disgusted with what the Duke had done from the bottom of his heart. The Duke is behind the control of the black market, and the existence of the black market was originally acquiesced in by the three forces, and everyone is well aware of the atrocities of the black market but chooses not to mention it. But for the second lieutenant, the black market is like the biggest black spot on a white paper, and if he can't get rid of this black spot, his heart will be as painful as being cut by a knife.

Where there is black, there is white, where there is justice, there is evil, and yin and yang are mutually reinforcing. It is a universally accepted truth both in this world and in the new world. But the lieutenant did not believe in this evil, and in his eyes, all those who acquiesced in the existence of the black market regarded this theory as psychological comfort, so that they could justify their inaction with peace of mind.

I don't know for what purpose, maybe it's the second lieutenant's intention. He didn't want to go along with it, and he didn't want to deceive himself, he chose to resist, he chose to hit the stone with an egg, and even burned the jade.

How did the duke cover the sky with one hand, calling for wind and rain, from the royal family to the common people, there are different opinions. Some people say that the Duke may have been an emperor during his lifetime, and he still knew how to seek power after he came to the New World. Others believe that the duke made a pact with the devil and only reached the status of a few days with the help of the devil. Some people even said that they had seen the duke with a little girl, I am afraid that they did not support a demon girl with profound mana...... In short, the Duke's origins remain a mystery. No one knows where he came from or what he's behind it. The Authority had also tried to investigate the Duke's Book of Memories, but the Duke had already protected it before that.

Of course, the second lieutenant knew that the duke was powerful, and he also knew that the duke had long regarded him as a thorn in his side, not only blocking his way to promotion, but also tampering with his memory many times, and also knowing that the duke had not poisoned himself and Sophie Qiaoran, out of the protection of the queen. Of course, the queen's protection is not to protect her loyal ministers, but to compete with the duke.

On the surface, this queen behaves innocently harmless, pure and lovely, as if she is a marionette of the royal family, but in fact, she is proficient in the way of checks and balances, and firmly grasps the government and the opposition. The second lieutenant was deceived by the queen's naïve appearance when he first met her, but after years of getting along, he learned the queen's personality and style from all kinds of clues under the turbulent court. The second lieutenant knew that when the duke's power was in full swing, the queen would definitely choose to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight. Although he was only a small second lieutenant, in Sophie's words, a petty officer in the army, the queen did not miss the slightest chance to bring down the duke. The reason for the cooperation between the second lieutenant and the queen is just the use of two sides, the second lieutenant needs the queen to keep his family safe, and the queen also takes advantage of the second lieutenant's determination to "go against the sky".

The waiter led the ensign and his party to a stop at the door of a room, and then the waiter politely knocked on the door, and when he received a reply, he opened the door and invited them in, after which he departed.

The lieutenant walked into the room and was greeted by a huge oil painting, which took up a quarter of the wall. The painting depicts a girl about eight or nine years old, holding a black cat and smiling innocently. On the sofa directly below the painting, a handsome man sits casually, dressed in a black suit with a Poirot bow tie, and his long blond hair tied behind him with a blue ribbon. There was not much blood on his pale face, but his lips became more and more red, and his deep eyes were dark blue, as if embedded in sapphires, and the topaz on the bow tie was intertwined. The face is sharp and angular, and it has a three-dimensional effect.

Sophie held her breath as soon as she entered the room, and was quite surprised when she saw the man. She secretly approached Qiao Ran and said softly: "Qiao Ran, you don't look like a vampire written in a novel......" Qiao Ran nodded, and immediately ordered her to shut up.

The man motioned for the second lieutenant to sit across from him, and the second lieutenant did so, while Qiao Ran and Sophie stood behind the second lieutenant.

"Second Lieutenant Lin, I have admired the name for a long time, I am Bernard." The man was the first to speak, and his gestures showed an elegant aristocratic temperament.

"I heard that the duke has an excellent temperament, but when I see it today, it is as rumored to happen." The second lieutenant reined in the last bit of sharpness, but the sharp gaze betrayed his sincerity.

At this time, another attendant brought two cups of black tea. The second lieutenant took a sip of the black tea in front of him, it was indeed mellow and sweet, fragrant and pleasant. It's a pity that now is not the time to taste tea, this is the first time he and the duke have gone head-to-head.

"It's a great honor for a little person like me to be invited by a second lieutenant." The lieutenant laughed to himself, a little worried.

"Why should the second lieutenant be modest. Lin Changjun's name, who doesn't know about black and white? Even the queen praised the second lieutenant for your courage and thunderous means. The Duke also took a sip of the black tea in front of him, his blue pupils reflecting the sparse tea leaves floating in the black tea, making it even more difficult to see what he was hiding in his heart.

"The Duke is false, if I am really as rumored, I will not be just a little ensign, so it can be seen that I am not extraordinary...... If you want to say that the most famous person at the moment is you, the duke. ”

Although there was nothing out of the ordinary in the remarks of the two, Qiao Ran felt the sharp edge hidden under this seemingly harmonious atmosphere. He glanced at Sophie beside him, and Sophie, like him, was overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

"In fact, inviting the second lieutenant here to drink tea and watch the drama today, there is really a reluctant invitation." The duke put down the teacup, and the fox-like cunning in his eyes was not hidden at the moment.

"What does the Duke want to do next?"

"What I want is the key to the Tower of Babel."

"The key to the Tower of Babel?" The second lieutenant was surprised.

The Tower of Babel is a huge circular tower that rises into the sky, and it is said that there is an evil spirit in this tower, and as soon as it enters the tower, it will whisper in people's ears, reminding people of the language spoken in life, and the higher it climbs, the more it will say about the life until the person's memory is completely restored. However, even if the memory is restored in the tower, it will not disappear, and the premise is that in the tower, the person who has recovered the memory will be immediately disillusioned as soon as he leaves the tower.

In the early years, some people either accidentally crashed into the tower, or intentionally, these people were trapped in the tower for the rest of their lives, until they became white bones. That's why the Authority sealed the dangerous tower.

"I've heard that the second lieutenant and the Authority guys teamed up fifteen years ago to solve the case of human experiments, and that one of the people involved in the experiment escaped into the tower, and it was the second lieutenant who entered the tower and apprehended him. It is said that the ensign is not affected by the tower, so the key is kept in your hand. ”

Fifteen years ago, there was indeed such a vignette. At that time, the second lieutenant took the lead, but nothing happened when he entered the tower, probably because the second lieutenant's memory book was not true for a long time, and even the evil spirits in the tower could not read anything from his chaotic memory.

"This tower has long been deserted, and others are afraid that they will not dare to approach a single step, I wonder what is the use of the duke taking this key?"

"Naturally, there are important things that should not be revealed." The duke's demeanor was always elegant, and his conversation was full of high society demeanor.

"Lord Duke, forgive me for not complying with my fate."

The Tower of Babel, an attack by evil spirits colluding inside and outside the town...... The second lieutenant suddenly opened his mouth, and all the truth unfolded in his mind, and he was just the last piece of the puzzle. He caught the smell of conspiracy from it - the duke, who was plotting a huge conspiracy. And he was categorically not going to let the duke's plan succeed.

"Second Lieutenant, don't turn me down so quickly. I've got something good for you. The duke sneered, causing Sophie to shiver.

The Duke clapped his hands, and saw a man dressed as a butler push the door open, and he held a book in both hands and handed it to the Duke, who had taken it and placed it on the table in front of the ensign.

"This is a little fox's book, I hope the second lieutenant will read it at this moment. After reading it, I wonder if the second lieutenant can still reject me as decisively as he did just now......"

Outside the room, in the hall of the drama theater, the crowd was buzzing, and the auction kicked off with everyone's attention.