The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"Dear Professor Sirius Noel:

"Please forgive me for not replying to you after nearly a month. It took me a lot of effort to get the truth from those newspaper people.

"However, I can assure you that these reports are absolutely true, and that no one but me can pry the truth out of them.

"They won't dare to tell other people about this matter, it's only because I have been friends with them for so many decades that they dare to say a few words.

"...Anyway, here's the thing. As you can imagine, after the murders in the Theater District last month, the reason why the newspapers reported the relevant news at length was indeed at the behest of someone. .

"The first time I investigated this point, it was because I was drinking with the boss of a certain newspaper. The murder was known before it happened.

"I was very surprised, and my surprise seemed to satisfy his vanity even more, so he triumphantly told me some of the details.

"He said that someone from 'above' had sent someone to contact him, saying that a big event was going to happen in the theater district, and he hoped his newspaper would report it well. If the effect was good, then his newspaper might be able to Take it to the next level.

"It sounds like a wild idea, I'll say it. He thought so at first, but when there was actually a murder in the theater district, he gritted his teeth and decided to give it a try.

"Surprisingly, his newspaper really had good sales, and he even received a sponsorship in private, which can be said to have made a fortune. So he spared no effort to report this matter.

"In fact, more than a month has passed, but newspapers can often see this matter. Even if it is only some small details, those newspapers will make a long story, so that people will always pay attention to this matter Son.

"When I first received your letter, I even doubted your thoughts, but now I am completely amazed by your wisdom... Who would have thought that there is really someone controlling everything behind this matter? Everyone Everyone believes in newspapers, but newspapers may believe in money.

"Using this person's statement, I secretly contacted some familiar newspaper bosses or other publishers. Unsurprisingly, they also encountered similar things. Some people refused, but some people were indeed moved .

"I have not received such contact, probably because my business is mainly in publishing books rather than printing newspapers.

"About the news I got later, it is roughly like this.

"They all got the news about the murder about two days before it happened, which was Tuesday during the day of that week (the young man was murdered in the early hours of Thursday morning, you know).

"Mostly the 'upper man' sent someone to look for them, but occasionally letters or messages were sent.

"I couldn't find all the relevant people. I contacted seven or eight people and got affirmative responses. So I estimate that about a dozen people have been contacted, and at least two-thirds of them agreed to this approach. .

"For them, it's just a piece of cake. So I'm afraid they won't turn down the money that comes at their fingertips.

"...Finally, it's about the identity of this 'man above'. He must be a nobleman, as far as I know. But it's unknown who the nobleman is.

"Some people who are more familiar with me, they mentioned to me some of their speculations. They thought it seemed to be someone related to the theater district, but it was difficult to say what was going on.

"After all, why would the theater district target the theater district?

"Now that all the theaters in the theater district have not reopened their doors, their business must have been greatly affected. It should be said that this matter would not have benefited the theater district in the first place.

"Also, while I'm not sure this news will help you, I think it's worth telling you that some theater owners seem to be planning to organize a protest against the police.

"They claimed that the police station in Lamifa City was extremely embarrassed and stupid in the investigation of this murder case. They have not found any clues related to the murderer so far, which is enough to prove the incompetence of the police station.

“…Of course, I think there’s a good chance this protest is just about getting the theater district back in business.

"A newspaper owner had some friendship with a certain theater owner. He heard some rumors in advance, and casually told me when he was talking to me. Maybe it will be next week.

"I hope this news can bring you some help.

"...Finally, have you been inspired by this for a new book? I'm already looking forward to printing your new novel.

"Old Benton who has been waiting for a long time."

On the morning of Saturday, September 9, Siles received a letter from the publisher Benton.

He ignored the reminder at the end of the letter, and just paid attention to some news mentioned in Benton's letter, and thought about it.

When he finished reading the letter, he raised his eyes subconsciously and glanced at the calendar next to his hand.

这是9月15日。距离上个月8月8日的那场剧院区的谋杀案，时间已经过去了一个多月。距离8月17日那个忙碌的周六，时间也已经过去了将近一个月。

In the past month, the city of Lamifa and even the entire world of Fisher have been calm, as if the "shadow" and shadow believers have disappeared.

But this is what Siles expected.After an intense month of action in August, the Shadow Cultists are bound to slow down a bit.

The time has come to September, and the hottest period of the weather in Ramifa City has passed. Recently, after class, Siles returned to No. 99 Kelly Street, and even had to put on a windbreaker.

With the arrival of Benton's letter, Siles felt as if a new storm was coming.

He sighed secretly, put the letter away, put it in the drawer of the study, and then stood by the window, staring absently at the early autumn scenery outside the window, thinking about related matters.

The papers had indeed been baited by some "someone above" into reporting the murder in the Theater District.

Under normal circumstances, even if this murder is indeed weird and unexpected, it is impossible to occupy the pages of many newspapers in the past month or so.But it really happened.

Who is this so-called person who is related to the theater district and who notified the newspaper in advance that a big event will happen in the theater district?

...the Kermit family?

The Kermit family did secretly invest in many theaters and troupes, and they were indeed quite suspicious candidates.But Siles didn't want to confirm this issue so simply.

He believes that there may be more clear clues to determine the identity of the person behind the scenes.

...Of course, it doesn't matter if you confirm or not.There is no doubt that it is the Shadow Cultists who are behind it.

And the shadow believers... They are now secretly looking for the hiding place of this group of people.

Herman Grove has given a rough list, but there are quite a lot of addresses involved in this building list.It was also the first time that Siles realized that there were so many ancient buildings in Lamifa City.

From the early period of the Mist to the present, 400 years have also shaped the long history of the Duchy of Const to some extent.

When Siles came to this world, people's lives have gradually stabilized, but earlier, when the threat of fog still made people in this world struggle to survive, many buildings were born at this time .

Underground shelters, food storage tanks, fortresses, infirmaries, armories... In the oldest city museum in La Mifa, many objects refer to the city's more distant and painful memories.

It should be said that from the period of silence to the period of fog, every inch of land in Fisher's world has such historical significance.Countless people have shed tears here, and countless people have shed blood here; the lives of countless people have condensed into this profound power of time.

...And they need to find the whereabouts of those shadow believers—those human traitors—from these buildings.

Siles actually didn't really want to use the term "traitor to humanity".Of course, these believers do not know the nature of the "shadow", nor do they know where the "shadow" comes from.

But maybe, just because the "shadow" has brought disaster to this world, they will worship him, believe in him, and follow him.Sometimes it is difficult to describe why humans believe in a god.

In any case, now Siles stands on a completely different stand than this group of humans.

On the building list sent by Herman, Siles actually noticed many familiar building addresses.

For example... er, to put it simply, the central cathedral of the Church of the Past, and the buildings of the Historical Society and the Folklore Society.He even saw the main castle of Ramifah University and the castle of the Conster family.

Herman obviously conducted the investigation with a very rigorous attitude, and he did not miss these buildings that they were already very familiar with.

The Const National Theater in the theater district is also listed (many theaters are listed, including the Lancelot Theatre, which are old buildings).Then there are art galleries, museums, galleries, schools, churches, courts, etc.

In addition, there are some buildings where banks and shops are located (such as the Baker Bank, Const National Bank they are familiar with, and the book sellers' bazaar and arcade block that Siles once visited, etc.).

There are also many buildings in the west city, such as Logan's Bazaar, and even Ernestine's Tavern-this building actually appeared a long time ago. In the early period of the Mist, this is where the soldiers left the battlefield A place to eat and drink.

In fact, there are even more buildings listed in the west city.

Although many theaters, museums, etc. are now located in the East City, the West City is the first urban area to be developed after all, and the war in the early period of the Mist Period also concentrated around the West City.

In fact, there are many ancient buildings in the West City, whose architectural history and past have even been forgotten by the residents of Lamifa City. It was not until Herman Grove's investigation that the past of these buildings was rediscovered.

Siles was particularly impressed by what is now an empty house along the lower Canla River.It was empty and dusty, and was now used by a few homeless people as a shelter from the wind and rain.

And in a more distant time, this is where the bodies of those who died in battle were stored.It used to be the last resting place of the heroes who guarded the city.

Today it is unknown, a phantom where the Kanla River flows, casually patronized only by homeless men.

Perhaps when someone passed by here, those children would curiously ask what was written on the stone tablet standing there.

But the handwriting on the stone tablet has long been worn away, and weeds have grown overgrown around, so the children's elders can't explain why, so they can only drag the children away quickly.

There are many buildings like this in Lamifaxi City.

It was hard to say if these buildings were the places they were looking for now, but at least Siles didn't want them to be.

Herman specially handed over this list of buildings to Siles when he was taking classes at La Mifah University.At that time, Herman said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "Professor, maybe this can be the topic of my graduation thesis - the change of cities and the imprint of architecture."

"Very interesting topic." Siles praised sincerely.

Obviously, during the whole investigation process, this archeology student was greatly touched.

Siles also asked him about the entire investigation process, and after confirming that they did not encounter any accidents during the investigation, he was slightly relieved.

Herman was a little curious about why they were investigating this matter, but he didn't ask.He also has certain psychological expectations for this question.

Among these buildings, there are also many buildings related to Huddoka, such as courts and prisons.

Both the east and west sides of Ramifah have courts, one in the west and two in the east.They each handle different cases.The court in the west city was newly built some time ago, and the original building was demolished because it was too old and outdated.

A court in the East City was also newly built, so their last remaining target was another court in the East City, located on Dane Street in the south of the East City, so it was also known as the Dane Court.

This is the first court to be established after the expansion of the city of Ramifa to the east, and it has remained standing for the past two or three hundred years.Today, this ancient building is also the site of many important legal amendments.

As for the prison, it is located on the outskirts of Lamifa City, at the junction of the southern and eastern suburbs, and it is a remote place.Some serious criminals are held here, and it is a very gloomy place.

However, according to Herman's investigation, this was once the place where the Consts held prisoners of war during the early war in the Mist Age.A lot of bloody things have indeed happened here, and it is also a place soaked in the coldness of death.

...In short, the courts and prisons seem to be suitable places for Hooddoka's power-at least there must be many followers of Houddoka, especially the latter.

However, they can't fully focus on Huddoka now.

Huddoka's "shadow" is a possibility, and Atkinya's "museum" is also a possibility; maybe those shadow believers are hiding in a "non-existent museum"?

They always need further investigation.

And embarrassingly, they are not just conducting this kind of investigation.

After what happened at the auction on the Saturday night of August 8, those terrified participants in the auction naturally called in professionals to investigate.As far as Siles knew, the matter was referred to the Historical Society.

. . . In fact, he was going to 18 Housewell Street this afternoon to hear from Eric Colrens about some of the latest developments in the investigation.The Second Corridor seems to have been busy lately.

The origin of the mysterious statue, why the host used the auction hammer to hit the statue, whether the followers of the old gods really mastered the means of pollution against ordinary people... These questions are very worth thinking about.

The panic of the participants is one thing, but Duke Const was there at the time, which is another important factor.The Historical Society will definitely do its best to investigate.

And what happened that Saturday was not the only thing to investigate.

The identities of the two painters who went to visit Ramifa University but went crazy for no reason have also been thoroughly investigated by the Church of the Past.

Not long ago, Siles received a letter from Knight Commander Bunyan, inviting him to go to the Sunday Church to learn about the investigation on this Sunday morning.

Knight Commander Bunyan also revealed some other information in the letter, and it seems that someone will also be involved in this meeting.

This really made Sirius look forward to it.

On the other hand, the Fillmore family remained silent after what happened on that Saturday, as if completely silent.

...the theater district, museums, painters, fairs, auctions, universities... an almost dizzying array of things to do, and that's just what's going on in the city of Ramifa.

Outside of the Principality of Constance, things are still very complicated.

After Siles and Qindo heard about the escape of "Shadow", in the past month or so, the Praia family was completely mobilized.

They sent several batches of information in a short period of time, including the recent situation of the Principality of Const, the Principality of Kansas, Middleton, the Land of Never Embers, and even those countries further west of the Land of Embers.

Especially what happened to Garrett Gielgud and the others on the Sea of ​​Folliou—by the way, Garrett and the others have successfully escaped and are currently in Middleton, helping to investigate the possible secret operations of the shadow believers .

The investigation of the Praia family did lead to many similar incidents, and Mr. Ghost also rescued many related people in the dream.In general, these things are found around Middleton, and there are also one or two cases in the countries further west of the Never Embers.

...In other words, this seems to indicate that after the "Shadow" escaped, his trajectory would be from the northeast of the Sea of ​​Furio, all the way to the west of the Land of Embers, and then disappear there.

The most recent particular event occurred in mid-to-late August, and then there was no sign of it.They were still on guard in the first half of September, but recently, Siles and Cindo have planned to let the Praia family relax a bit.

"Shadow" seems to have temporarily left Fisher's world.They're sure "Shadow" will return, but no one knows when that will be.Shadow believers will know this better.

...Therefore, their goal once again returned to the matter of "finding shadow believers".

If it can be confirmed that it is indeed what the shadow believers did that indirectly or directly caused the "shadow" to escape, then they have to focus more on this matter.

It is impossible for them to confirm the whereabouts of the "shadow" in the universe of gods, but they can indirectly understand their plans through shadow believers.

..."Thirteen Paintings".

What they can now confirm is that the painting of a man wearing a chef's hat in the Grayson Foods incident (Painting No. "The Temia method.

During his visit to the Fillmore Family Museum that Saturday, Adolphus Grant gave the Fillmore family the last painting of the painter Leon (Painting No. [-]).

The painting points to "Star" Ruthmi and "Dreamland" Akamala (but this painting has been swapped).

The huge picture frame (painting No. [-]) in the murder in the Theater District points to the "scarlet figure", that is, the "distant blurred figure" Lygardia.

After the murder in the theater district, the murder in the trading district (painting number four) failed.Not surprisingly, this painting was originally related to Menawaka.

Still on that Saturday night, what happened in the auction at No. 1 Erskine Street (painting No. [-]) obviously failed.

This painting also seems to be related to Menawaka, but considering that this auction involves the Graves family and many works of art, there may be something else hidden in it.

In any case, if the Sea of ​​Folio is the frame of Amois "The Sea", then another painting (Painting No. [-]) has already been completed.

Numbers [-], [-], [-] and [-] have all been successful.But a painting does not refer to only one god.Overall, the Shadow Cultist side has completed paintings pointing to at least six Old Gods.

If we look at the meaning of these four paintings a little further, then the gods of Erkoo, Brancani, Menawacca, Thaddeus, and Atkinia have actually been included, at least related.

...In this way, there are only the last two gods left, or, in other words, the two crucial gods.

Pessonari and Trisley.

Pessonari swallowed Trisley, so the two old gods can be regarded as one for the time being.Siles also believes that shadow worshipers may focus on creating paintings that include both gods.

Siles had considered the location selection of this group of shadow believers before committing crimes.

From the theater opposite the Lancelot Theatre, to the underpass, to No. 1 Erskine Street (an area enclosed by a square road), to the Sea of ​​Folio (nearly oval duck egg shape)... On the whole, these locations There is an element of "symmetry".

Therefore, Siles suspects... no, it should be said, sure, the Shadow Believers will probably make a fuss on the Kanla River.

Fourteen years ago, the Research Department of the Historical Society conducted an experiment near the Kanla River, and that crazy young man reproduced Trisley's power... Isn't this a ready-made focus?

However, Siles was not yet sure what the shadow believer was planning to do.

They are already paying attention to the meat, vegetables, water sources, etc. in Lamifa City.Detective Jon has traveled almost all over the city's breeding farms, feed mills, etc., and has indeed given samples of water sources from different places to Siles.

In early September, Siles checked the samples one by one.Fortunately, he didn't find any contamination in these things.

But unfortunately, this means that they have not yet investigated the plans of the shadow believers.

...However, as time passed, Siles suddenly noticed that another matter had been brewing in Lamifa City.

That is, this year's October fair.

It's already mid-September.The date of this year's October market has also been determined, and it will start from the first Saturday in October and last to this year's God's Birthday (the penultimate Saturday in October), which will take about two weeks.

This is always a big day for Ramifa City.The arcade block has already completed the repair work, wiped every window on the street, and prepared to welcome this grand festival.

Last year's October Fair left Siles with some subtle impressions... It can't be said that this fair is meaningless, but the circus, explorers from the land of no embers, etc., are also in the October Fair Apart from the excitement, it cast a faint shadow.

This year's October market is said to be more lively than previous years.

At this time last year, the Blight Wasteland development plan was still in progress, and no real results had been achieved.But a year later, residents of Ramifa City will also enjoy the rich fruits of this plan.

The renovation plan of Ramifa City has also made their lives much more convenient.Some convenience facilities have been prepared.

This will be a grand and lively market, but because of this, Siles felt a little uneasy.He has already realized that whether it is the followers of the old gods or the shadow believers, they seem to like to do something in such lively occasions.

... Siles almost forgot the existence of the October Fair.But not long ago, the businessman Ranmeer wrote him a letter, it seemed that he planned to do something at the October fair, and even made an appointment with Siles to meet this weekend.

Siles is indeed curious about what Langmeer wants to do—Recently, the new Noel card contest has been in full swing again, and Professor Lorenzo Grantham is gearing up to defend the title—About October market, what will it be?

Anyway, their meeting was scheduled for Saturday noon, at the restaurant in Atherton Square where they had always been used to seeing each other.

...yes, after a month of calm, he had another busy, busy weekend.He had a hunch that this weekend would bring him some interesting, useful news.

Siles summed up what he had to do this weekend.

Saturday noon, meeting with Ranmere; Saturday afternoon, 18 Housewell Street, and Dawn Revelation (the Dawn Revelation meeting has moved, by the way); Saturday evening, with the Finns Eat - but this one can be a little more relaxed.

On Sunday morning, go to the Church of the Past to meet the Knight Commander Bunyan—in fact, he originally planned to go to Ramifa University to read books at Dean Hearst’s underground gathering (or to the library, for his essays); a Sunday afternoon gathering with the novelists.

...well, well packed.

Siles sighed again.

And this weekend, Qin Duo is not at home.

Before the weekend came, Siles had already realized that he would be very busy; and it just so happened that the Praia family had provided clues about the incident suspected to be caused by the "shadow", and Qindo needed to go there in person.

Through Tau Tomb, Cendo can travel to and from different locations in Fisher's world.He can go to any corner of the world.

However, because the Tau cemetery is located in Qinduo's dream, it takes two nights to come and go, and there is no way to go back and forth in the same day.

Qin Duo left last night, so he probably won't be back until tomorrow.

The No. [-] puppet brought by Qin Duo left together, and at this time, Siles briefly shifted his vision to the No. [-] puppet.He noticed that Qindo seemed to be communicating with the Praia family, so he didn't pay much attention to the situation there.

He regained his senses, spent a while thinking about the next action, and roughly sorted out the content and materials of his thesis—it was already September, and on September 9, he reminded himself—and then planned to go out.

The time he agreed with Langmir was 10:30.Siles arrived about 5 minutes early and happened to meet Langmeer.

"Good afternoon, Professor!" Langmeer was obviously in a very happy mood.

"Good afternoon, Ranmere," said Siles.

They chose a place to sit down and ordered some lunch, but they didn't intend to eat right now.Obviously, they need to chat about business first.

Ranmier didn't hesitate either, and after a few small talk, he quickly changed the topic to what he wanted to say.

Siles listened silently, but soon felt a little surprised."You want to extend the delivery model to this October market?" he said.

"Yes." Langmeer said, "it's like this...the model is very mature on Dawson Street. But it's limited to one or two stores, and the customer base is very limited.

"However, if you take advantage of the October market to let more people know that they can order from home and have it delivered to their door, then the situation changes suddenly.

"You may also know that the October market or similar markets are always quite lively. Some people, especially the residents of the East City, are actually not happy to come to such a market.

"They might just wait until there are fewer people. But at that time, many items have been sold out. This means that we have lost some customers.

"I thought, maybe we could make a list of goods... Any market vendor can add their wares to this list. They can give the original price, and this time the discounted price of the October market .

"You see, I happen to know a friend who is a publisher. Mr. Benton would be more than happy to do typesetting, printing, etc. We can send this pamphlet--a list of goods to order!--for free to every in the hands of a resident!

"We can recruit a group of people to carry out the delivery work during the October market.

"Don't worry about people not wanting to go to the arcades, we can print in the brochures to remind people to go to the market to buy in person and there are other discounts or gifts.

"...All in all, for those vendors, they get more customers; for those residents, they save the trouble of running around; for those delivery workers, they have an extra income channel .

"As for me, I think - I'm sure, the product order list will be updated every day!

"So, I just need some caring people to send me some 'reference suggestions' and tell me how to arrange the order list for this day..."

Ranmire rubbed his fingers with a smile.Obviously, the "reference proposal" he mentioned refers to some advertising fees.

Siles listened silently, thinking that Langmeer's sense of making money had almost become an instinct.He may have aimed at the opportunity of the October market a long time ago.

Over the past period of time, Siles has also heard about Langmeer's efforts to promote this new shopping model.In fact, he has trained a group of mature and experienced delivery staff, and provides services for many stores in the city.

But, obviously, such a model is not enough to satisfy Langmeer's appetite.He wanted to bring his business to more people's homes.

"...To be honest," Ranmier smacked his lips, showing a slightly regretful expression, "If we can get rid of those followers of the old gods earlier, then we can promote the [Invisible Pen] ritual you invented to It's up.

"We can sell it to different families, each family has an eight-petal rose paper, and every day we update the content on the paper on time to tell people what they can buy today.

"And it would be great if this family had a revelator. However, we can also arrange one or two revelators in each block to be responsible for writing people's wishes to order.

"In fact, enlighteners with such a profession can be promoted. They can become the 'housekeepers' of a neighborhood or a community. I believe that many enlighteners with poor lives are willing to do this, just to provide services.

"Compared to those dangerous investigations in the Second Corridor of the Historical Society, or risking life and death in the Neverland with the hope of a huge fortune... This kind of security work of a service nature is obviously more suitable for many revelators.

"You see, your little metal blade, or glass bottle, can also become one of the services of those enlighteners. They will become a little helper that people can't live without."

Ranmeer kept that grinning expression, in fact, he even looked radiant.Obviously, now that he has reaped huge wealth, he has found a new direction for his career development, which makes him full of enthusiasm and ambition.

There was hardly any pause or thought process as he described what he was thinking to Sirius.This plan and blueprint had obviously been in his mind for a long time.

Apart from making money, there was a subtle hint in Ranmier's tone... that they were creating a career.

He did realize that this was an opportunity to change people's living habits; he realized that his business layout seemed to be able to change the world.As a result, he became even more excited and excited.

And Siles was keenly aware of the reason why Langmeer mentioned those metal blades at this time.

He said, "You want to put metal blades in your stall at the October Fair?"

"Yes!" Ranmir said firmly, "Autumn is coming soon. You also know how cold the winter in Lamifa City is. The attempt at the trade fair has already made many people remember your invention.

"They'll want to use this little thing in winter!

"And the October market is a good occasion to promote, isn't it? We can sell it in large quantities at a slightly discounted price during this time.

"I have already contacted some enlighteners in the city, and secretly asked their wishes. They would be happy to be that little helper. We can discuss this matter carefully later.

"In short, when we promote and sell, we can mention that we will provide comprehensive supporting services. Whether it is enlightened or ordinary people, they can enjoy the warm wind in winter or the cool wind in summer.

"I'll give you the best possible layout in that brochure... In fact, haven't we always had a great time working together? I've had many, many inspirations from you, and I have great admiration for your wit.

"... Anyway, what do you think of the idea?"

Obviously, this is the second thing Ranmeer wants to say to Siles.

And both of those things—the delivery service and the metal blades—were the inspiration for Sirius.Langmeer carried it forward and was keenly aware of an opportunity for promotion.

Siles just pondered for a moment