Lord Hunter needs a commission

"Although it's not as tall as the Kaer Morhen Tavern in Livia City." Looking at the big house in the garden, Charlotte muttered, "But it's not at the same price..." A six-story tavern, and a A manor with its own garden is completely incomparable in terms of price.Not to mention, this garden is still in the city, and depending on the situation, it may be the best location in the city in every sense.

However, is the branch in Novigrad so well funded?

Charlotte frowned incredulously.

But without thinking too much, he walked straight to the gate, and Charlotte reached out and rang the doorbell.After waiting for a minute and a half, a figure came out from the house at the end of the garden, stepped on the cobblestone path in the garden and walked to the opposite side of the gate.

"Hello, sir." A brisk voice sounded, and appearing in front of Charlotte across the iron gate was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old blond girl wearing a simple but delicate long dress. "May I ask you are?"

"I came from the city of Livia."

"Huh?" The girl was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened, her hands folded at the corners of her mouth, and she stared at Charlotte in disbelief, as if she was looking at something very strange.

"Miss?"

"Ah! Uh, I'm very sorry sir." The girl said apologetically, "You mean, are you from the Kaer Morhen Tavern in Livia?"

Charlotte nodded, then reached out and opened the outer zipper pocket of the suitcase, took out the documents and files given by Vesemir, and handed them over through the railing of the iron gate. "Miss, is the person in charge here? This document can prove my identity."

The girl took the document that Charlotte handed over, flipped through it, and then sized Charlotte up.

Her gaze stayed on the silver griffin pendant hanging on Charlotte's chest for a few seconds. The girl bowed respectfully to Charlotte, and then she unlocked the iron door and opened the door.

"Don't you need to verify your identity?" Charlotte asked a little puzzled, but when she saw the door opened, she subconsciously stepped in.

"Ah! No need." The girl smiled, "Mr. Dantès has told me before that there will be a 'hunter' named Charlotte from Livia... The silver griffin pendant, now I'm afraid there are not many academic 'hunters', so I guess I guessed right?" As she spoke, the girl blinked her light blue pupils playfully.

"Ah." Charlotte smiled and said, "Excuse me, what is Miss's name?"

"My name is Heidi, Heidi-Tebelin." The girl tipped her hands on her skirt and replied, "Now I am the secretary of the Count of Monte Cristo's estate, and I am responsible for assisting Mr. Dantès in managing the documents."

"Hi, Miss Heidi." Charlotte nodded and returned the salute, "Excuse me, is Mr. Edmond Dantès here now?"

"Mr. Dantès is in the study." Heidi replied, "And, just worried about those 'work' that has been backlogged for a long time, I think he will welcome Mr. Charlotte very much... This way please." Closed Behind the gate, Heidi made a gesture of please, then walked in front, and began to lead the way for Charlotte.

For some reason, at this moment, looking at the back of the girl in front of her, Charlotte felt a haze cast over her heart.

Danger?malicious?Murder?

Nothing, and if anything, the clouds over the city are just too thick.Severely polluted, basically no sunlight can penetrate down.

And the girl named Heidi in front of her is just an ordinary person.Although it doesn't seem to be said to be weak, it is still very vulnerable to a 'hunter' like Charlotte, and it is not dangerous at all.

As for the manor in front of me?That's nothing more, at least Charlotte can't feel the breath of negative energy here, nor the slightest dark element.On the contrary, against the background of the garden, the four-story house shows a rare elegance.

Shaking his head, Charlotte cleared this bad feeling without any basis from his mind, and followed Heidi to the house at the end of the garden.

……

……

Edmond Dantès, the owner of the estate of the Count of Monte Cristo, is also the minister of the 'Hunter' branch in Novigrad.

He is an attractive middle-aged man with short black hair. He is dressed in a black aristocratic suit and looks elegant.If he goes to a banquet or a salon, then he will definitely be the focus of discussion.

At first glance, it is easy to bless him with good senses.

What surprised Charlotte was that this Mr. Edmond Dantès was just an ordinary person.

If it is changed to a social circle, it is not surprising that there are ordinary people, and the equivalent of power can often be measured by money and power.

However, the manager of the "Hunter" branch in a city is actually just an ordinary person who seems to have no training and no killing atmosphere, which really surprised Charlotte.

"Do you think it's weird, Mr. Charlotte?" Seemingly seeing Charlotte's doubts, Dantès spread his hands and explained, "Originally, I was just a fan of all kinds of weirdness and weird talk. So I became friends with the previous manager of the Novigrad branch."

"But ten years ago, he died suddenly due to an accident, and he couldn't manage the Vigari branch, so I offered to help." He smiled wryly, "But for some reason, there has been no dispatch from the Hunter headquarters. Managers came over, and over time, it became like this.”

Chapter 11 Conversation

According to Mr. Edmond Dantès, about ten years ago, he returned to his hometown after making a lot of money in the nautical trade invested abroad, and returned to Novigrad, which became an industrial city, and bought a manor here.

It was at that time that he met the previous head of the Novigrad Hunter Division.Moreover, since he was a sailor when he was young, and later served as a captain for a while, he was quite superstitious about the gods and gods for a long time.

"It is said that in the old days, every sailor who went to sea had to sacrifice to the goddess of the sea, Amberley." Mr. Edmond Dantès, who was sitting on the sofa, said to Charlotte who was sitting opposite him, "Otherwise , the crazy woman will bring a storm and capsize the ship."

"Oh, thank you Heidi." He took the black tea handed over by Heidi, and then said, "Although all the gods and demons in this world are dead...but how should I say it? People who go to sea are more Superstition, over time I became fascinated by this aspect of the world..."

Charlotte also took the teacup Heidi sent over, thanked the girl, then held the black tea, and listened helplessly to Edmond Dantès who seemed to be in some interest. chatter.

To be honest, when we first met, the middle-aged aristocrat in front of me, full of classical style and scholarly temperament, really made people feel good.But for some reason, he suddenly became talkative.

At the beginning, he was still explaining to himself why he was the head of the 'Hunter' branch as an ordinary person, and then he abducted to his sailing adventures when he was young, and then abducted to how he was Find the treasures of old-time pirates, get the first pot of gold, buy the first ship, and seem to be completely unstoppable.

However, considering that this person in front of him is already middle-aged, not to mention a person of blood or superhuman, it is considered that most of his life has passed, so it is not surprising that he likes to chatter with juniors.After all, in various senses, Mr. Edmond Dantès, the person in charge of the Identity Division, can indeed be regarded as Charlotte's senior - even if he has never been to the front line.

'Aren't the officials at the headquarters really stupid? '

After all, this Mr. Edmond Dantès' chatter has an end.Under the angry eyes of Ms. Heidi, who brought the black tea on the tray for the sixth time, Mr. Edmond Dantès, who had been talking about how he had engaged in a trade war with the hostile chamber of commerce for more than 100 days, finally returned God has passed.

"Cough cough."

After coughing, Mr. Edmond Dantès said embarrassedly to Charlotte, "I'm sorry, I didn't notice it for a while. Ahem... I'm really sorry, Charlotte, for wasting your time."

"No, it's nothing." Charlotte, who was full of tea, forced a smile with a stiff face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Mr. Edmond Dantès said, "When people get old, they gradually become more talkative. I'm really sorry... for taking up so much of your time listening to me talking nonsense, ahem, come on, let me say something now Talk about work problems here."

Hearing this sentence, Charlotte, who was a little tired, immediately cheered up.

"[The Abandoned Factory in Novigrad], a problem that has been on the backlog for five years." Edmond Dantès said, "I think, Charlotte, you should have understood something before you came here, right?"

"Yeah." Charlotte nodded, "an abandoned factory located outside the suburbs of Novigrad, it was still in operation five years ago, specializing in the production of various mechanical parts. I was suppressed by the boss of the factory, but I didn’t expect that various death incidents became more and more frequent, and finally I couldn’t suppress it.”

"Well, that factory belongs to a local city magistrate named Villefort." Mr. Edmond-Dantes added, "It is a little private property of this municipal manager, but since there have been many murders, this The factory was abandoned and no one wanted to work there anymore."

"Also, Charlotte, what is your deepest impression on Novigrad?"

"Hmm, messy?"

"Yes, it's very chaotic." Mr. Edmond Dantès sighed, "Beginning a few years ago, the number of gangsters in this city has gradually increased, and it has become more and more chaotic. Even the local garrison has been fighting with some gangsters." Tangled."

"You knew it before you came here. The hunters here are all 'do not do business'... Of course, who would not like an easier and more profitable life? So because of the chaos in the city, all hunters who are capable are looking for No one is willing to do the hard work if there is an 'external block'."

"But even so, shouldn't the backlog remain unresolved for five years?" Charlotte frowned and said, "If it's difficult and beyond the scope of handling, shouldn't we go out with the garrison to destroy it?"

"This is the problem." Mr. Edmond Dantès explained, "No one knows what happened. Ordinary people like me couldn't find any clues in the past. And some hunters who volunteered to take orders After entering, there was no news, and he disappeared directly.”

"Missing by acting alone? No matter how you look at this situation, it must be a joint dispatch to suppress it?"

"However, after five or six hunters disappeared, none of the rest of the hunters wanted to take over the order." Mr. Edmond Dantès shook his head and said, "Because compared to facing unknown dangers, those families who hired them in private It's better to be able to give more, and—"As he spoke, a bitter expression appeared on his face"——and, it seems that he is just a person in charge with some money, and he cannot be respected by them... until now Except for some obligatory tasks such as exterminating the kobolds and goblins infesting in the wild, they ignore other tasks and rely on my designation."

"If it weren't for the fact that I still have some contacts and face in this city, I'm afraid I might be greeted by seven or eight mentally ill gunners once I go out."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dantès." Charlotte said, "I'm from Livia, I really can't understand this kind of situation... Why on earth did the 'colleagues' here get to this point?"

However, facing this question, Mr. Edmond Dantès could only respond with a wry smile, and said in an uncertain tone, "I'm afraid, no one can suppress them with prestige... They basically look down on me, some Those who speak badly call me 'a layman's rookie' in private."

"...Okay. It seems that this is a troublesome order, no wonder it has to be sent to Livia City."

"I'm sorry, if, I mean, if you are not absolutely sure, Charlotte, it's better not to go." Mr. Edmond Dantès suddenly persuaded, "After all, several good players have disappeared, and you , heck, I mean you're still young...so think about it a bit more."

"No need, take a day off, and I'll go to the factory tomorrow night." Seeing Mr. Edmond Dantès who seemed to want to say something, Charlotte said with a smile, "I can't go all the way." Just come here to enjoy the scenery of the industrial city and breathe the 'thick' air here."

Chapter 12 The beginning of the dungeon

When night covered the entire sky, when Shar and Su Lun squeezed out Lathander's position in the sky, everything in the world fell into darkness and tranquility.Even the city of Novigrad, which is particularly socially active, cannot escape the reality that please close your eyes when it gets dark.

In the city, except for some areas, bars, pubs, nightclubs and other places that are still lit, the rest of the area has fallen into a deep sleep.

Of course, even if a city with great social vitality falls into sleep, in some corners where the lights cannot shine, you can still vaguely see those people with great social vitality, as if they never need to sleep like weeds The look that can be seen everywhere.

Obviously, it would be foolish to go out and wander the city in the middle of the night.It's just so hard to die, just on this dark street, a carriage drove out of the night and headed towards the outskirts of the city.

The lantern hanging on the carriage was shining with fire, making it extremely eye-catching in the dark environment.Those hyenas in the dark corners have already turned their attention, eager to try and prepare for a vote.

But immediately, those hyenas who were eager to try were pulled back by the old fritters.

Those who dare to go out at night are either brainless or daring, or have strong enough support to ignore the gangsters in the city.

Don't look at their gangs making the city a mess, it's because their existence is the black gloves needed by the ruling class in the city, otherwise let alone the garrison, as long as the entire security bureau is dispatched, it is enough to clean them up.

What's more, those sharp-eyed people have already seen the faintly visible coat of arms in the light of the carriage lantern.

The owner of this carriage is undoubtedly the ruling class in the city, at least a member of the upper class, and they are not something social trash like them can provoke.They are just black gloves, but they are not qualified to help those above them provoke and pick enemies.

So the garbage in the shadows retreated back into the shadows regrettably, watching the carriage pass through the streets and alleys of the city to the outskirts of the city.

In this way, the carriage drove out of the outskirts of the city without incident and headed for the suburbs located around the city.After passing through a small town for more than an hour, the carriage stopped at a fork in the road.

After the carriage stopped, the driver in a black cloak straightened and wrapped the reins in his hand, then turned around, took off a lantern, jumped off the driver's seat, walked to the door of the carriage, and creaked The car door opened with a bang.

The car door was opened, and Charlotte got out of the car with a cane.

"Thank you."

The coachman bowed slightly, thanked Charlotte, and moved a little to make way.

"Actually, Mr. Dantès and Miss Heidi." After thanking the driver, Charlotte turned around, and said to the other two passengers in the carriage with a little reproach, "I really don't agree with you I'll come with you."

"This is not allowed, Charlotte." Mr. Edmond Dantès in the carriage stretched out half of his body and said to Charlotte who got out of the car, "Although it is not very formal, I am also Novigrad. The person in charge of the city, this damn task has been backlogged under my name for five full years, and several hunters have died, so I have to come here for any reason." The words sound plausible, and the tone is extremely firm, making Xia Luo even had a headache.

To be honest, this five-year-long mission almost meant that there was a powerful monster lurking here.Moreover, the strength of this monster is still very unusual. Ordinary hunters are not opponents at all, and they died quietly without even being able to pass on the news.

In the era when gunpowder weapons replaced cold weapons and became the mainstream, most monsters were actually unable to resist the power of firearms, because their bodies, which could ignore ordinary swords and slashes, were obviously impossible to block bullets.

Even trolls who can ignore the penetration of bullets all fell under the cocktail, and the method of making a cocktail is so simple that it only needs a bottle of wine and a wet cloth plugged in the mouth of the bottle that is stained with wine.

So in this era, ordinary monsters are nothing.A monster that can really create several missing hunters is definitely not a good stubble. In the old days, it has long been a big trouble for one side. Only when panicked adventurers go to smash the scene.

For monsters of this level, ordinary firearms can no longer do much.

That's why Charlotte felt troubled by the behavior of Edmond Dantès and Heidi following them.

"Although it's hard to say that, Mr. Dantès, you and Miss Heidi are just ordinary people..." Charlotte advised, "So, you guys should go back first, and you can pick me up after dawn."

"No, absolutely not." However, Edmond Dantès shook his head resolutely, "It is my responsibility as the person in charge that you have to travel all the way when something like this happens. The friends who came here are fighting on the front line and I hide behind." As he spoke, Edmond Dantès picked up a rifle from the carriage and said with a serious expression, as if he had sensed Charlotte's worry. What's more, Heidi and I are not defenseless, even if a monster rushes out, we can resist for a while relying on the weapons in our hands."

"Okay, Charlotte, stop talking. Although Heidi and I can't enter the 'Devil's Den' with you, we will never run back with our tails between our legs." He said to Charlotte seriously, "I and Heidi Tee will be here until daylight, waiting for you to come back victorious."

Sighing secretly, Charlotte had to compromise and agreed to Edmond Dantès and Heidi's decision to wait at the intersection.

But before leaving, Charlotte repeatedly asked the two of them and the coachman not to go to the factory over there, but to stay where they were.If he didn't show up after dawn, or if he found something wrong while waiting, he would immediately set off and return to the city.

After getting the oath from Edmond Dantès, Charlotte took the lantern handed over by the coachman, and walked towards the area hundreds of meters away from the three-way intersection, shrouded in darkness and shadows. Go to the factory area.

"Charlotte." At this moment, Edmond Dantès suddenly called out.

Charlotte, who walked more than ten meters with the lantern, turned her head in amazement.

"If it doesn't work, go back, safety first." Edmond Dantès shouted, waving his arms, "Be careful, come back alive."

Nodding, Charlotte waved her hand, then turned back, holding the lantern in one hand, and slowly walking away with the cane in the other hand.

The night wind was blowing, and the buildings shrouded in darkness in the distance were extremely gloomy, as if there were countless ghosts and ghosts hidden, opening their mouths wide open, waiting for a ray of fire coming from this direction to fall into the entrance.

Chapter 13 Hunter or Prey

Under the dark night, the factory by the river was dead silent.

With the development of the industrial age, such factories spread all over the entire city of Novigrad, emitting black smoke into the sky and discharging sewage into the river.In turn, this place has become a place of death - the fish and shrimp in the river have already become one of the sundries floating on the water surface, and the vegetation has also been trampled and withered.

Human life is just a number here, and the exploitation of capital is never covered up with a fig leaf at this time, but displayed naked and bloody outside.On average, every worker working in a factory has an average life expectancy of only about 40 years old, and some even only 30 to [-] years old.

This is the inferiority of the human race. No matter how the development of society whitewashes the industrial age in the future, it is said that this is the only way for the development of human society, but it is impossible to completely clear this era of capital accumulation. Buried under the tall building called Capital, there are many bones that exist as the cornerstone.

If we say that in the world under the sun, those workers who are exhausted in the factory are only exploited by those compatriots.Then, in this darkness, there are other cold and dirty things, gliding against the night, in this city where the sky is shrouded in industrial waste gas, sneaking into the dirty backside of society and mixing in here.

For them, this city where human beings have gone crazy because of greed, this city where exploitation and crime are nakedly displayed in broad daylight, in their opinion, it is really wonderful...

Da-da footsteps sounded in this dark factory, and with a creak, the wire gate of the factory was pulled open.A figure carrying a lantern pushed open the gate of the factory, and then, a pair of leather shoes that looked like they were covered with mud traces stepped into the factory.

Charlotte looked at the world in front of her, covered in darkness, and twisted her shoulders a little uncomfortably.

"I really don't like this kind of ghostly place!" Charlotte muttered as she walked towards the depths of the factory.Although he spoke in a low voice, Charlotte's voice was already echoing around in this silent and silent environment.His voice gently echoed around, and what was creepy was that as Charlotte's words fell, a strange breeze blew past him with a whirring sound.

The weather was still a bit cold at night, Charlotte pulled the collar on her body, and continued to walk towards the depths of the factory.

Along the way, all kinds of machines showed their figures in the dark, like a group of demons and ghosts dancing wildly, waiting in the dark for lifeless humans to come to your door.

It's just that Charlotte didn't frighten the timid enough to scare the crap out of this environment, which can make the patrolling security personnel flinch without a lantern.

What's more, he has a lantern in his hand.