20demayo Chapter 37 Sewer
Chapter 37 Sewer
"Pull and pull, the part that was pulled out never seemed to end. When it was almost as long as my little finger, the white roots of the hair finally came out."
"A small hole appeared on the mole and bled a lot. My friend put gauze on it, and the bleeding stopped the next day. He relaxed and felt that the problem was not too serious."
"Then came the third day—you can probably guess what happened next."
The man chuckled bitterly. "The hair has reappeared. It's gotten even longer, and when straightened, it's almost the size of my friend's palm. You might ask my friend why he insisted on plucking it out instead of letting it stay in his body."
"But ladies and gentlemen, imagine that something strange and unfamiliar has grown into your abdomen. You are quite certain that it is inside you and may continue to grow. Every time you change clothes and take a shower, it will be staring straight out of your abdomen at you. I believe no one can stand it."
"As you might expect, my friend pulled it out again."
"This time there was a lot of bleeding, and my friend had to use burning charcoal to cauterize the edges of the wound to stop the bleeding, but the feeling of emptying his abdomen still made him feel relieved."
"But unfortunately, something else happened again."
"A day later, that hair reappeared on that mole."
The man sighed heavily. His face was sallow, his cheeks were sunken, his nose was prominent, and he had two heavy dark circles under his eyes. "My friend had no choice but to ask me to seek advice from Viscount Hammond."
After he finished telling his story, the reception room fell silent.
Winston gradually realized that Viscount Hammond was actually London's "Odd Jobs Shop," a place that specialized in solving unusual events.
Did he start this job when he was fifteen, so that every prime minister after him would ask him how to get along with Queen Victoria?
However, there are some things that don't seem right.
If Viscount Hammond was doing a good deed, how do you explain the eccentric Countess and Margaret's unusual behavior?
As Winston pondered these thoughts, he absentmindedly chatted with the others. His public identity was that of a member of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and the owner of a small factory, and so far, no one had suspected him.
After chatting for about two hours, the maid finally appeared in the reception room and said to everyone:
"Mr. Ackerman's speech is over. Next up is Ms. Thompson."
Winston was getting hungry, but clearly the maid had no intention of serving them food, and the others also lacked the appetite. After Ms. Thompson went to the study, Winston called to the maid who was turning to leave:
"Hello, may I move around the house a bit?"
The maid lowered her head, staring at the floor, and said stiffly, "No."
"How about we go and have a chat with the Viscountess?"
"Madam has already gone to bed. If your matter is not urgent, please discuss it tomorrow."
Winston thought for a moment, then decisively spent 150 Authority Points to upgrade [Whisperer] from Lv.1 to Lv.5. Skill level five brings a significant change, therefore the skill description of [Whisperer] became:
[Your voice, combined with your charm, can influence the listener's mind. The effect depends on the listener's willpower, mental state, and relationship with you. Each use consumes 3 points of magic.]
The word "slight" in "slight impact" has been removed, and a charm criterion has been added.
Winston is quite charming!
There's nothing I can do about it; she's naturally beautiful.
He activated his skill, causing the maid to look up at him, and slowly said:
"It's too boring to sit here and wait. I'd like to take a walk around the house without disturbing the Viscount and Viscountess."
The maid stared at him blankly for a few seconds before blushing.
The effect is outstanding!
"Okay," she said softly. "You can walk around between the first and third floors, but you can't go to the basement or attic."
Winston hadn't expected that the Whisperer's upgrade would cause such a complete change in the Viscount's maids' attitudes. He couldn't help but tentatively ask:
"May I see the Viscountess?"
"I'm sorry, sir," the maid refused again, "the Viscountess has gone to bed."
It seems she is more determined on matters related to the Viscountess and is less easily swayed by skills.
Winston regretfully abandoned the idea of using his skill on the Viscountess, since the chances of success were slim anyway—that was precisely his initial thought. In addition, the Viscountess didn't seem like an ordinary person, and Winston was worried about alerting her, which was why he didn't use the system.
Having been granted permission to move freely, Winston left Eileen with Margaret Lisa while he returned to the empty second floor.
He gazed out the window at the somewhat monotonous 19th-century London nightscape, and mentally connected it to v1888:
"How's the setup going over there?"
[Reporting, sir, everything is normal.] v1888 said, [It's past ten o'clock now, but the police officers in the sewers still haven't shown any discomfort—nausea, fear of the dark, and claustrophobia shouldn't be considered.]
Winston breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The idea of hiding people in the sewers to avoid the "night" was inspired by Inspector Angus.
The detective said that he once lost track of time and accidentally stayed outside past 10 o'clock. He had a memory lapse, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself squeezed into a sewer grate, having survived unharmed.
Winston had never imagined that the sewers could be considered a shelter.
Legend has it that "monsters that prey on people are born in places where the moonlight shines directly, places where the moon cannot reach, near rivers, and in the shadows of trees." Sewers are dark and full of water, so they are bound to be accident hotspots!
As a result, the heroic Inspector Angus proved the feasibility of this folk remedy with his life...
So when Winston decided to meet Viscount Hammond, he thought of London’s sewer system to ensure his personal safety.
In the previous era, the sewers of ancient Europe were always a source of much criticism.
In medieval England, especially London, there was almost no drainage system. Residents dumped sewage directly into the streets or simple ditches. Wealthy families would dig septic tanks underground, which were cleaned regularly by specialists. Rainwater mixed with sewage and flowed slowly through the streets and alleys, eventually flowing into the Thames River.
The turning point came in modern times. After the 18th century, with the surge in urban population, the old sewage disposal methods began to get out of control. Epidemics broke out in London one after another, and people gradually realized the connection between the environment and disease. After the Great Stink Incident of 1858, this crisis directly gave birth to the modern urban sewer system.
In the late 19th century, London's sewer system consisted of massive brick-built main pipes laid along the river to intercept and drain urban sewage. These main pipes were spacious and had sturdy arched structures, making it feasible to allow people to enter them for maintenance and inspection.
Winston didn't know if the sewer system in this world was similar to that in his previous life.
But when v1888 crawled into a sewer and said there was enough space inside, he knew his plan could be carried out.