"Invite me for a drink?"

"Of course, is there anything better than drinking alcohol to enhance the bond between colleagues?" Watson fiddled with his bangs and said.

Presumably because he had just escaped from his dream, or maybe the guy in front of him was born with a knack for building a good impression in other people's hearts, Sherlock didn't directly refuse.

In fact, in the past 32 years of his life, there has been almost no such relationship as friends.

Childhood must have been identified as a freak, and when he went out to 'work' as an adult, he was used to being alone, and people who were familiar with him were basically reluctant to be involved with this guy who was full of weird atmosphere.

Naturally, it was impossible for someone to invite him to drink.

Sherlock looked at Watson......

Then I thought of the puzzles that had been flooding my mind lately, the dreams that I had longed to explore, and the doubts about my contract demons that were waiting to be discovered.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a kind of comfort and satisfaction that he could only understand as a detective......

"That's right...... Drinking is certainly the easiest way to bring friendships closer. He smiled approvingly, and picked up his old trench coat from the hanger: "Then what are we waiting for?" ”

So saying, he put it on, and walked out of the room.

And at this moment, a trace of surprise suddenly flashed in Watson's eyes...... But in an instant, it was overshadowed by a richer smile.

Of course, this instantaneous change in expression can't escape Sherlock's eyes.

"What's wrong?" He didn't bother to hide and asked directly.

Watson was stunned: "Huh? See? ...... I thought I was hiding it well. ”

"It's well hidden, but I'm quite observant, I'm a detective."

Sherlock said, having walked to the side of the street with Watson, lighting a cigarette himself, pulling out another and handing it to the other party.

Watson hesitated, but took his cigarette and leaned over to the gasoline lighter that Sherlock had stretched out:

"Actually, it's not a big deal, it's just that I smell a lot of blood on your clothes...... A large percentage of it is human blood. ”

There was a sudden silence;

The gas street lamp overhead flickered a few times at an inopportune time, making a 'bang' sound of air leaking...... In this way, Watson lightly stated his discovery, not caring at all about the content contained in this sentence, which made people think about it.

"Is there one? I wash it a lot, and I thought I couldn't smell anything anymore. Sherlock even took a puff of cigarette and sniffed his collar as if chattering.

"I'm sensitive to the smell of blood, I'm a doctor." Seeing the other party's indifferent attitude, Watson's eyes almost smiled and left only a gap;

Then took a puff of cigarette!

Moment! His eyes widened suddenly: "Grass! Ahem-cough-what kind of smoke is this, so choking!! ”

"Blues."

"I've never heard of a sign."

He tentatively took a sip of "Fu ————" with palpitations, carefully savoring the choking spicy sensation in his lungs, and finally pursed his lips in shock: "It seems to ...... Not bad......"

......

......

Midnight, a long street in Lower London, away from the River Thames......

Fifth Street.

This street has been quite old, there is no special name, it seems that since the first steam engine was born, this place has been called this name, and then experienced the opening of the Demon Gate, the second invasion war, I don't know how many times this place has been destroyed and rebuilt, and still no one wants to change its name, as if as long as it is changed, the whole street will change its taste.

The buildings on either side are generally low, rusty steam valves spilling out of the façade and intertwining with the intricate pipes of the long street, and some of the buildings have messy gas lamps hanging from the tops that flicker a few times for a long time, giving the whole street a sense of dying and dilapidation.

At the end of the long street, there is a very recognizable building, with a mottled rusted iron door, a wall without any layers, and a large but boxy structure that makes it look like a coffin.

Inside the iron gate, however, it was a different story.

The blurry music, the wildly changing light, the dim overall tone, the writhing flesh, the strong aroma of wine and shouting, all kinds of elements are contradictory and hard-hitting combinations.

"I'm surprised that someone like you would know about this place." Sherlock looked at the swaying wine in his glass, and occasionally swept his gaze over the unclothed women next to him, whose eyes were rolling, and it was clear that they had been immersed in the illusion of inferior hallucinogens, and a few rough men were stirring around them.

"Someone like me?"

"Yes, you are a doctor, and with such a noble profession, shouldn't you go to those fancy places where people play piano music and a glass of wine costs a few pounds...... You see you're sitting here, and it's not in tune with the atmosphere around you at all, oh, warn you, there's a couple of married women over there who have been staring at you for almost half an hour. ”

Watson was always smiling, his crooked eyes glowing with a certain charm that would attract any woman under the huge gas lamp above his head, but he didn't respond to any woman's gaze, just listened to Sherlock's words, and happily took a sip of gin from his glass:

"I used to go to the kind of place you mentioned a lot, but after a long time, I got tired of it, and I started to like it more and more...... But aren't you surprised by anything else compared to that? ”

"Something else?"

"Yes, you should be able to tell that the sales of hallucinogens here are more than ten times that of other places, and the rate of syphilis is so high that it can almost be regarded as a breeding ground for many crimes, but just a street away, there is a chapel of worship, isn't it surprising?"

"What's so surprising about that." Sherlock lit a cigarette: "It is precisely because this place is open next to the church that it exists; I dare to pack a ticket, at least 70% of this crowd are usually the most devout believers. ”

"Oh?" This assertion did not surprise Hua Shengsheng, but looked at the other party with more interest.

It is easy to understand that people's desires are either vented in alcohol, flesh, and unrealistic fantasies, or they are vented in riots, dissatisfaction with society, and hatred of life.

In such a comparison, I don't know how many times better the former is than the latter!

Therefore, this kind of chaotic place can be more reassuring to the people than those churches. ”

Sherlock wasn't in much of a mood today, so he brazenly said such disrespectful words to the Holy Light, but fortunately, in this kind of place, no one cares about you for anything.

After hearing this, Watson smiled even brighter: "You're such an interesting person, at least much more interesting than those guys at White Thorn Security, you know, every morning in the company, we have to listen to Priest Thompson read prayers for nearly an hour. ”

"An hour!! That...... It's really tough. Sherlock thought of that picture, and subconsciously took a puff of cigarette: "By the way, speaking of which, did the eye-gouging demon catch it?" ”

"Of course not, that guy is very cunning, it should be the kind of demon type with intelligence, but recently there was an order from above, saying that a big man is coming to London, let's take care of the security of the lower city as soon as possible."

"Big ......? Could it be Miss Nightingale, I heard she's coming next month? ”

"Certainly not, Her Excellency Nightingale is a public figure, and it is not a secret that she is coming to London, and she will not hide it." Watson said, then squinted his eyes and looked around, seeing that except for a few young women dressed in fancy clothes staring at him, no one else paid attention to this, so he whispered: "I guess it's likely that the [Day of Holy Love] is coming." ”

Hearing this word, Sherlock couldn't help but be stunned, thinking about this strange but extremely romantic holiday, and that ancient custom, he couldn't help but smile:

"That'...... It's going to be a buzzing city in London this year. ”