Backlund Steam Train Station, Platform 3.

After Alfred talked with his parents and sister for a while, he took advantage of the time before departure, left the train, came to the platform, and said to an attendant:

"Give me a East Balam cigarette."

If the experiences of these years had any negative impact on him, apart from some mental torment and pain, the only things left were a few bad habits.

After smoking too much "East Balam cigarettes" made from spices and herbs wrapped directly in roasted tobacco leaves, Alfred was no longer used to the popular cigarettes in the northern continent. He thought they were bland and tasteless, like liquor mixed with water.

As for cigars, he believes that they require a good environment to be savored slowly, which is not suitable for now.

Of course, his smoking addiction was not serious. A "Punishment Knight" had enough physical and mental strength to fight against the influence of this aspect. The reason why Alfred came to the platform to smoke was that he felt the carriage was too stuffy and his mother always mentioned her marriage problems.

When his attendant took out and lit the "East Balam Cigarette", Alfred put the burnt yellow and almost black cigarette to his lips and took a deep puff.

The strong smell permeated his body, suddenly lifting his spirits.

At this moment, he saw a blond man who looked like a classical sculpture walking towards him with his personal valet.

Alfred hesitated, smiled, raised his right hand and said:

"Hibbert, I thought you weren't going back to Eastchester."

The visitor was Lord Hibbert Hall, the eldest son of Earl Hall and brother of Alfred.

Hibbert put on a smile that was perfectly in line with etiquette and said:

"I am just a cabinet secretary, not the chief cabinet secretary. I am not so busy that I don't even have a weekend."

In fact, he will not become the chief secretary of the cabinet. His main purpose is to accumulate experience in different positions in multiple government departments, build up his own network of contacts, and prepare for entering the Senate in the future.

Alfred took another puff of East Balam cigarette and said with a smile:

"have a good weekend."

After watching Hibbert enter the carriage, Alfred vaguely felt that someone was looking over here and discussing:

"Why is there no passengers waiting for that train?"

“It didn’t seem to be full.”

"Haha, that's a special train. It was booked in advance by a big shot who spent a lot of gold pounds. I know you may not have seen similar situations, but remember, this happens from time to time in big cities like Backlund and Constantine. When those big shots go out with their families, they must be followed by hundreds of servants, and maybe even pets. How could they squeeze into the same train with ordinary people..."

“I see…”

"I wonder which big shot it is?"

Alfred looked sideways and saw dozens of people in gray-blue uniforms on the second platform, quietly looking at this side across the tracks where no trains were stopping.

The distance between the two sides was actually not small. If Alfred had not had excellent hearing, he would definitely not have been able to figure out what those people were discussing.

"Who are they?" Alfred turned his head and asked his adjutant.

He could just make out that the uniforms the men were wearing belonged to the railway company.

The adjutant immediately turned around, found the staff in charge of the platform, and asked him.

Soon, he trotted back and whispered to Alfred:

"General, they are train dispatchers from all over the kingdom, and they are receiving a short-term training in Backlund."

Alfred nodded slightly and glanced at the second platform again.

The oldest train dispatchers have gray hair, the youngest looks to be in his early twenties, and most are middle-aged in their thirties or forties, some with slightly gray hair on their temples.

…………

Sonia Sea, Bayam, the "City of Generosity".

Verdu carried a suitcase without any valuables in it, took a small boat out of the port at night, and boarded a pirate ship.

——Sequence 7 of the Apprentice Path was not very good at fighting, and although Verdu carried magical items, he was very afraid of the negative effects and was unwilling to use them unless it was a critical moment. Therefore, in order to avoid danger, he tried not to bring anything that could easily arouse others' greed as he lacked trust in the pirates.

The pirate on the deck glanced at Verdu and laughed:

"Don't be afraid. We all keep our promises. As long as you pay enough for the boat ticket, we will definitely not throw you into the sea. You are even safer here than on a passenger ship. At least you don't have to worry about encountering pirates."

Seeing that Verdu remained silent and looked a little scared, the pirate proudly threw the key to him:

"The innermost room on the second level of the deck."

Verdu took the brass key, entered the cabin, climbed a flight of stairs, and walked along the corridor to the deepest part.

This floor seemed to be specially prepared for those who boarded the pirate ship for various reasons. Along the way, Verdu met several passengers who did not look like pirates at all.

Among them were ladies with slightly revealing clothes like streetwalkers, middle-aged men with protruding bellies and greasy faces, and young men wearing cloaks and top hats, looking extremely cold.

"Would you like to stay at my place?" The girl asked with a charming smile when she saw Verdu looking at her. It was unclear whether she was planning to do some business on the way or to travel while doing business.

Verdu ignored her, retracted his gaze, and came outside his room.

The young man with deep features and cold lines also stopped at the door diagonally opposite.

…………

Backlund, West District, 9 Bellotto Street.

"Please come in." Xio straightened up from the large chair.

The office door creaked open and two MI9 members from Hugh's team walked in.

"Colonel, we have made some progress in our investigation of Utopia." One of the men in a dark jacket handed a report to Hugh.

Xio was slightly surprised and at the same time, he was refreshed:

"What is it?"

The man in the dark jacket said simply:

"In the past few days, we took advantage of the free time after the previous mission was handed over to visit the passengers of the steam train in person and through informants, all the passengers in Backlund."

No doubt he was referring to the steam train that had mistakenly stopped at Utopia.

"Yeah." Xio nodded, signaling his subordinate to continue.

The man in the dark jacket pointed and reported:

"We have preliminarily confirmed that the passengers who arrived safely in Backlund showed no abnormalities, were in good mental states, and had no cognitive problems.

"However, we discovered one thing: not everyone returned to the train at that time. According to two passengers, their seatmates chose to stay in Utopia.

“She was a lady who loved traveling and exploring. She had a deep love for unfamiliar places. After seeing the excellent red wine, desserts and unique sparkling iced tea of ​​Utopia, she decided to abandon her original itinerary and stay in this small town with unique temperament for a while to discover more beauty.

"She learned all this from the two passengers chatting with her. Not only did they sit on the same seat, but they also chose to stay in the same hotel and bumped into each other in the early morning.

"That hotel is the same one our intelligence agent stayed at. It's called 'Iris'."

Xio nodded slowly and said:

“Have you found out the lady’s current situation?

"What's her name?"

"No, we can't be sure whether she has left Utopia now." Another MI9 member with a small goatee replied, "The two passengers only know that the lady is called Monica, but they don't know her last name or her origin."

Hugh said, “Hmm.”

"Your next task is to investigate the origins of this lady, find her family and friends, and confirm whether she has returned."

"Yes, Colonel." The two MI9 officers saluted and left Xio's office.

Xio carefully read the report they submitted again and sighed silently.

Compared to her subordinates, she was actually closer to the truth of Utopia. She already knew that it was a ritual and had a certain connection with Gehrman Sparrow.

However, she couldn't report this news and earn credit.

Putting aside the issue of the source of the intelligence, what Xio needs to consider most is whether Gehrman Sparrow is willing to let the news leak out.

Perhaps he could try to contact Gehrman Sparrow and ask for his opinion... Xio tidied up the table thoughtfully and left MI9.

After changing her clothes, she returned to the East District and the Bridge District, going to different bars like a bounty hunter and collecting various information from different acquaintances.

During this process, she asked about Utopia, but no one had heard of it.

Finally, Xio entered a bar in the Backlund Bridge area, sat on the bar stool, and said to the bartender:

"Are there any suspicious people recently?"

"A lot of them are pretty suspicious, but they don't have a bounty," the bartender responded casually.

Xio began to inquire about the topic, and finally followed the procedure and asked:

“Have you ever heard of Utopia?”

"I've heard of it." The bartender replied while wiping the glass.

Xio's eyes, which were examining the bar table, gradually raised higher.

She looked at the bartender and said:

"Where did you hear that?"

"A customer came before, and he drank very moderately." The bartender said nonchalantly, "I tried to sell him our special cocktails, but he said he had things to do and could only drink a beer. I complimented him and asked him where he was from, and he said, Utopia."

…………

Wendell had just finished his breakfast when he heard the doorbell ring.

Through the peephole, he saw a policeman in a black and white checkered uniform outside, who opened the door with some confusion.

"Excuse me, what can I do for you?" Wendel asked politely.

This house was the residence assigned to him after he came to Backlund, because he would be living in this metropolis for a long time, undergoing internal review and status monitoring.

The policeman was still very young, a little green, probably in his early twenties.

He put on a smile and said to Wendel:

"Hello, I'm Byers, a police officer, and I have a case that I'd like you to testify in court."

"What case?" Wendel frowned slightly.

The young policeman named Byers said with a polite smile:.

"The Tracy Murder Case in Utopia."

"..." Wendel's pupils dilated instantly.