Welcome to Forge Town

Allen heard Jill's every word very clearly and with great concentration.But those strings slipped past his ears, without any intention of stopping.There was too much information in it to be clarified, so he couldn't understand what Jill meant for a while.

She said that Brandon's original name was not Brandon Kirkclough, but Vincent Davis.And he is not a vagrant, but a qualified police officer, and even once wore a brass police badge and red and white checkered sleeves (#Note)?

Well, Allen had to admit that his empty head couldn't imagine Brandon wearing a high helmet.Because he was even more convinced that before putting on that cute hat, Brandon would first cut the guy who called the shots to pieces!

Thinking of this, he would rather believe that it was the bedtime story Brandon made up for Jill.After all, anyone may believe in the legend of Santa Claus, and it is normal for the innocent Jill to be deceived because of this.

Therefore, he decided to put the matter on hold for the time being and ask Brandon for confirmation later.At this time, Allen noticed the book Jill put on her lap, which was a brand-new "New Moon Collection", another book by Tagore.

Keen Jill quickly noticed Alan's gaze. "Ah, Mr. Pearson gave it to me. He knows that I like "Wandering Birds." She anxiously put the book aside, as if she wanted to declare her hardcore stance on "Wandering Birds".

Allen couldn't help laughing. "Hey, don't be nervous. It's good to read more books." He reassured her and asked her to put the books back.But looking at that book, Allen immediately thought of one more thing. "By the way, Jill, the news that you just removed the oxygen mask should not be known to many people, right? Maybe we should tell Simon and Nicole, they will definitely be very happy!" He said with a smile.Alan knew that they were also concerned about Jill's condition, and they would be very happy to know that Jill has clearly improved!

But at this moment, there was a loud "Boom!" sound from the door.

Standing outside the door was Brandon, who was looking at Allen in astonishment, as stiff as a huge and stern black plaster statue.There was a wet puddle at his feet, on which a kettle filled with hot water had collapsed, rolling on the ground looking for nowhere.

Regardless of the possibility of getting wet leather shoes, Brandon walked towards Allen directly through the stagnant water.A hand yanked Alan's arm, and no matter how Nicole yelled, she walked quickly to the corridor with a sullen face.

Brandon didn't stop until he reached the bottom of the corridor, where Jill couldn't hear the sound. "Tell me, what did you eat last night." He let go of Allen's hand, turned his head and said with a straight face.

Looking at Brandon's solemn face, Allen stuttered for a moment: "Uh, two tablespoons of vegetables, half a potato, an egg, two slices of meat... If you want to count drinks, maybe there are apples Juice. Is there a problem with that?" He didn't understand Brandon's sudden behavior, as if he had done something wrong and had to be questioned.But the content of the question is so nonsensical.

On the other side, Brandon didn't answer directly, but continued to throw down another question just like conducting an interrogation. "And besides that, do you remember what color the plate was?" he asked, taking a step closer to Alan.Allen was suddenly shrouded in shadow, and a cramped sense of oppression hit him instantly.

"Color? Different every day. Purple last night, yellow this morning, purple this morning—oh! Brandon, if you just want to test me for dementia, I can tell you for sure, I even remember They forgot to give the fork last night!" Allen said angrily, pushing away the person in front of him.He couldn't figure out what Brandon was doing.Is there a problem with the food?he guessed.He has never been able to keep up with Brandon's leaping thinking, and is extremely annoyed by Brandon's attitude.

"So, do you remember what happened on Christmas Eve?" Brandon still didn't answer directly. "Also, when was the last time you saw Simon Pearson?" Although he didn't care about Alan pushing him away, as the number of questions increased, Brandon's face became more and more serious.

"On the night of Christmas Eve! My God, didn't you go too? Since you disappeared inexplicably, I stayed at the venue and chatted with Simon for a while. Later, I got drunk after drinking a glass of wine, so I had to Walking home alone along the dark alley...Ah! There was an extremely thrilling robbery at that time! Fortunately, nothing happened!" He said loudly.That experience was extremely critical, even if he recounted it now, it still made him feel terrified.

But Brandon suddenly interrupted him. "No, Alan, you misremembered, that was obviously the first time we met!" He took a deep breath and whispered to himself: "——this is too weird, you clearly remember all the recent boring details, but forgot... well, one last question, do you remember why you were hospitalized?"

Allen looked at him. "Uh, isn't it...assassinated?"

But at this moment he also froze.Indeed, if the encounter with Brandon had taken place weeks ago and he had no other trauma to his body at this time, what had happened to him three days earlier that led to his hospitalization?Could it be that he forgot something during this period, or for some reason, his memory was confused or reorganized?

At this time, he suddenly thought of Officer Ron again—it wasn't that Allen wanted to question the sincerity of Peter's visit, but he thought that he really had no further friendship with Peter, let alone the value of letting him sacrifice his rare rest time.So maybe Peter, like Brandon, just wanted to extract useful information from himself.

But... what kind of information will it be?

Thinking of this, Allen's thoughts suddenly went blank, and he didn't know what bad incident he was involved in.Suddenly, his head began to tingle, more violently than ever. "My God..." He squatted down and hugged his head, humming.Every inch of his scalp was pierced by thousands of needles, and he felt that he was about to die in the next second!

Brandon looked at him with lowered eyebrows and stood silent for a while.The hands hanging by his side opened and clasped, as if they were suppressing some strong emotions.After a while, he bent down and hugged Allen's shoulder. "Forget it, let's go back and talk about it." In the empty corridor, Brandon patted Allen on the back and whispered.

■

Although it is said to "go back and talk about it".But after returning, Brandon didn't ask any further questions, but returned to his room, or the room that once belonged to Allen, and stayed quietly for the past few days.

Even though the door is not really locked, Allen knows that it symbolizes the spiritual defense built by Brandon, which blocks communication with the outside world and refuses all conversations.So after a whole day, except for a short meal time, the two of them have no intersection.

A few days later, the white cordon along with Simon's house next door was also withdrawn.For a moment, it seemed that the chaotic life of this period was back on track.The three-week Christmas holiday also continued, and the sun was still shining outside. The relationship between Allen and Brandon seemed to return to the previous mode of getting along.

But Allen knew in his heart that certain things had finally deteriorated quietly over the passage of time, so he knew that he could not keep silent forever.For example, Simon, whom he hasn't seen for a long time, still doesn't know his whereabouts, but his subconscious tells him that his disappearance has a special connection with his hospitalization.

So occasionally, Allen would climb on the window and look at Simon's house, and it lasted for a long time.He was always thinking about which memory fragments he had lost, but those fragments seemed to disappear out of thin air, no matter how he deduced, he insisted on not revealing the slightest trace.

Finally, on the No. 12 day of the Christmas holiday, Allen couldn't help but speak.He wanted to ask about Simon's whereabouts.So after serving the meal, he also sat down on the other side of the table. "So, Davis is your surname?" He bit the bread and asked casually.This was their first conversation in the past few days, and also the first time they sat at the same table.

Brandon paused slightly with his fork. "Yeah." He responded, his head kept lowered, and his thick eyelashes were like two sets of fans, casting shadows on his cheeks.Holding the relatively small cutlery with his huge hands, he continued to send potato fries into his mouth in big mouthfuls, until he stuffed the last bite, before he chewed hard with puffed cheeks.Seems like trying to get this meal as soon as possible.

Alan sensed his intentions and was a little helpless.He was really afraid that Brandon would choke to death, so he thoughtfully poured him a cup of tea.Then, he looked at Brandon's ear temples, quietly waiting for his next words.From his perspective, one can clearly see that Brandon's ears have black hairs standing straight up, connected to the Hu Qing that has not been completely eradicated on his chin.They are obviously very different from their own soft hair, just like its owner is tough and rigid, not easy to bend.

But after waiting for a while, seeing that Brandon had already cleared the food on his plate, and still had no intention of talking, Allen could only take a deep breath, and took the initiative to say: "Okay, Mr. Vincent Davis, you now Can you tell me, why did you hide your name at the beginning?" He said, while slowly finishing the food in front of him.He secretly observed the other party's expression from the corner of his eye, trying to see a flickering look in those sea-blue eyes.

In fact, to be honest, Allen is not sure why he is so aggressive today.After all, he has always understood that respecting each other's privacy is the foundation of friendship management.He shouldn't be chasing after every suffix and torturing a confession like a damn bitch.But he really didn't like the feeling of being kept in the dark, or rather, he had had enough of the overly depressing atmosphere these days, which made his head a mess and he could hardly breathe.It seemed that everyone knew the context of the incident, but he was the only one who was kept in the dark, like being locked on the screen of "The Truman Show", and all the frightened reactions were a ridiculous show.

Brandon put down his knife and fork. "I was just saying it casually. Alan, don't tell me you really think someone has such a stupid last name? Kirclough, it's like saying a spell, I'm not a wizard." He picked up the tissue next to him and wiped it Wiped his mouth, and then grinned at Allen: "Although I don't know who told you this, I can tell you exactly that 'Brandon' is not a pseudonym, but my middle name—by the way, Mention, I'm full. Thank you for the hospitality." He stood up, did not take the tea on the table, and was about to turn around and go back to the room.

But Allen grabbed him. "That's your explanation?" he said. "Your name is all I know, and you lied to me, and you're going to pass it off like that? Mr. Davis, I know next to nothing about you. I even found out that you are a policeman a few days ago! A policeman from the Municipal Police Department!" Alan looked up at him and said through gritted teeth.

He was really fed up with the attitude of the other party coaxing the child, so alienated, indifferent, and full of distrust.Since this month, they have clearly lived in the same building and enjoyed the food they prepared together, but Brandon has always acted like a complete stranger, drawing a line and insisting on not revealing more information or warmth.Let yourself look like a fool for repeatedly caring.

At the beginning, he was grateful for Brandon's life-saving grace, so he half-pushed and let him live under his roof. After a long time, he got used to having such an older child in the family who needed someone to take care of him, and every contribution was extremely sincere.

And with so many deaths recently, they happened frequently around Allen.When everyone questioned Brandon's existence, Allen never raised any doubts. Regardless of Brandon's more confusing identity, he insisted on defending him.However, until today, Brandon actually told him that even the name was just a "casual talk" from beginning to end?

Allen couldn't bear this anymore, he had to speak clearly.

"Listen, sir. I never charged you rent, and I'm not your landlord. I thought we were at least friends, but you lied to me about your name... Brandon, please tell me Well, what else do you have that I can trust?" He asked, grabbing Brandon's hand firmly, as if he could convey his struggling state of mind to him through temperature.

In fact, it hurts Allen's feelings to speak so bluntly.He has never liked to blackmail people with affection, as if all emotions are just quantifiable numbers.But the man in front of him really harbored too many secrets, just like the thick fog that shrouded Fogg Town.When you are lucky enough to grasp the only truth that you think you can see through, you suddenly realize that everything is just an illusion fabricated by the other party, an illusion that only you firmly believe in.This kind of trust that can be broken at the first drop is far more hurtful than quantified emotions.

Hearing Allen's half-questioned dialogue later, Brandon's originally tense muscles gradually relaxed.He opened his tanzanite eyes, and Alan's sincere eyes were reflected in them.He tried to analyze all the emotions hidden in it, and at the same time felt the heat of his wrist.It's so hot, unquestionable, like the way Alan makes people feel, always trying to pour all the love on others.No matter how much I dodge and turn a blind eye, I can't really keep it out.

That's why Brandon still couldn't believe it. The information Peter provided a few days ago-the evidence from many death cases vaguely alluded to the information that Alan Walton was the biggest suspect!

#Note: This is a different characteristic of the London Police than other districts.

The author has something to say:

Finally, the emotional scene is going to be inserted XD. From the next chapter, I will focus more on the role of Brandon. As the end draws to a close, the mystery will finally be solved~