Chapter 603: Tourists
While Wayne was still in Tax Officer Quinn’s study, trying to teach him in advance how Inessa discovered the secret station, a cargo ship was quietly docking in the Dock Area.
Before the gangplank could even be extended, a figure leaped directly from the ship’s side, arms raised high: “Wow, New World, here we come!”
At that moment, a line of people was already standing on the dock to greet the cargo ship. Besides the busy dockworkers, there was an almost equal number of personnel guarding the surroundings from near and far.
The man in formal attire at the front of the line showed no emotion on his face. “Please don’t be too high-profile. Not everyone in America welcomes your arrival.”
The man who first jumped onto the dock felt that the other party was a bit dull. After his cheer, he lowered his arms but didn’t back down: “I’ve encountered this kind of thing in the Old Continent’s southern continent. Baboons are always reluctant to see a pride of lions intrude on their territory.”
The man in formal attire was merely acting on orders tonight. His nominal task was to receive steam machinery from the ship, but what would actually be transported were naval cannons produced in the Windsor Kingdom, along with some accompanying personnel who shouldn’t have been there.
Steel products are like this; with the same displacement, their volume is often smaller, allowing the ship more empty space to accommodate personnel.
Thus, he felt neither aversion nor particular friendliness towards these “tourists” from the Old Continent:
“Carelessness is not a good habit. The highest-ranking among you seems to be an unstable Tier 8? During the War of Independence back then, the Hunter Association actually had more senior Hunters of even higher tiers. Including the Holy Spirit Church, Americans are not lacking in experience dealing with a small number of high-tier Extraordinary People. And as far as I know, there have been quite a few ‘guests’ arriving in America recently, and you are just one of those groups.”
An invisible spiritual pressure spread across the dock, and some in the queue had already adopted a defensive posture, ready to counterattack.
The foreigner dressed like a sailor stood in silent confrontation with the man in formal attire who greeted him for more than ten seconds, then burst into laughter: “Hahahahaha, you’re also someone who’s seen blood. I like talking to people like you.”
The man in formal attire shrugged in response. When the cargo ship was steady and the gangplank was in place, a coffin was carried down by dockworkers, surrounded by nearly ten people.
He then bowed slightly, “Welcome, Count.”
There was a dull thud from inside the coffin, but the lid did not open.
The man in formal attire did not continue with pleasantries. He turned slightly to the side, and the queue behind him immediately parted:
“Inside the boxes are some clothes for changing, weapons, and ammunition, as well as bank notes totaling 10,000 US dollars for your daily use. As agreed, we will put you on a train to Kankakee soon. Please remain low-key until you reach your destination.”
Someone had already walked through the queue as if unconcerned, beginning to inspect the items in the boxes.
The man in formal attire, following instructions, continued to relay the information he was meant to: “Please also abide by the agreement. Once in the West, do not attack personnel from the Southern States. Moreover, you are not without adversaries in the West; at least there is a group of guys calling themselves ‘Overseers,’ whose leader’s tier is at least comparable to the Count’s.”
“Boom!”
The coffin, being laboriously carried by six dockworkers, crashed to the ground. Blood thorns, like thorns, shot out rapidly and had now pinned them to the ground, expanding and retracting, taking away more blood than before they shot out.
A slightly aged voice muffled from inside the coffin: “Is the person you were asked to investigate currently in the so-called ‘Kankakee’?”
The man in formal attire nodded without changing his expression, “According to the records we found, that renegade Hunter named Inessa was captured by the Exorcist Association shortly after landing. She then voluntarily accepted ‘binding’ and was sent to Kankakee. We haven’t obtained more detailed records yet, just as we described to you, our relationship with the Northern is not close.”
The voice in the coffin seemed to be getting younger: “If the information you provide is accurate, then I will abide by the agreement.”
“You can rest assured on that point.” The man in formal attire smiled, “At least the West of America will surely be a high-quality pasture that satisfies you.”
...
The coffin was moved from the ship by the foreigners onto a carriage. Subsequently, these carriages did not follow the guidance all the way, deviating from the planned route midway and kicking out the originally arranged coachmen.
The other carriages in the convoy did not stop them from leaving, nor did they pursue them to ask for reasons. They simply silently took back their own people and then returned to the dock.
The man in formal attire’s deputy looked at the noticeably smaller convoy and shook his head: “It seems these are another group of arrogant hyenas.”
“Hmm. But some things, only they can do for us.”
The man in formal attire seemed unsurprised by this. “I heard that the lords in Congress have been deadlocked for a long time over the proposal for Kankakee’s statehood. If it also becomes a free state, it will completely overturn the advantage the Southern States still hold in Congress. Luring hyenas into the opponent’s territory can only be considered the first step of the conflict—believe me, those country bumpkin Northern will do the same.”
“Has the situation deteriorated to this extent?” The deputy’s information was not comprehensive enough, so he seized the opportunity to inquire about more high-level internal affairs.
The man in formal attire turned his head and glanced at his deputy: “Foreigners will eventually leave, just like the Frank reinforcements who helped drive out the Windsor people back then. It is said that the Northern bishops of the Holy Spirit Church, in order to cope with the ‘tourists’ from the Old Continent who might visit America, are even willing to consider cooperating with the Holy See. Their ideas and plans are far more radical than ours.”
“It seems that after the war in the Old Continent subsided, the New World is no longer an isolated world where one can develop peacefully,” the deputy sighed.
The man in formal attire did not continue to chat, instead beginning to issue orders: “There’s no need to pretend to move the goods on the ship anymore. Notify the ranks, prepare to board. Although we also have friends in Virginia, some things cannot be kept secret for too long. The cargo ship must leave before dawn and set off as soon as possible to return to South Carolina.”
“Yes!”
“Besides our own dockworkers, there’s no need to keep any others. Give the agreed-upon compensation to the local gang managing this dock; they know how to handle accidents.”
“Understood!”
...
On the other side,
The carriages that had successfully left the convoy were now accelerating calmly through Richmond’s Dock Area, guided by the team’s guide.
Inside the lead carriage, the previous “sailor” was trying on common local clothes while teasing his companion, “You Americans are really interesting. On one hand, you strictly guard against and firmly prohibit our entry, while at the same time, you secretly clear the way. We didn’t even see customs officers this time.”
The other party shook his head slightly, “Americans are not all from the same faction.”
“I knew it. A land as vast as the New World will sooner or later become like the Old Continent, turning into many mutually balanced countries. America’s land area is still too vast, which is not conducive to governance.”
The “sailor” grinned halfway, his expression suddenly becoming alert, “Stop the car! Why are the carriages behind slowing down?”
His companion had already picked up his weapon, “I’ll go check.”
“Okay.”
Not long after, by the time the “sailor” had quickly changed into a regular “American,” his companion had already returned.
The originally relatively loose convoy was now backed up in a line on the empty street at night, all queued behind the “guide car.”
His companion put his weapon back: “Nothing’s wrong. The Count ordered the slowdown just now. He said he sensed the familiar aura of a ‘death’ ritual, but it doesn’t seem to be targeting us. We just need to leave quickly.”
“Are they those gutter rats from the Silent Sect? It’s said that after they conspired with the Windsor Kingdom, they were expelled and purged by the Hunter Association during the Ireland Great Famine. I didn’t expect them to arrive even faster than us. Did the Count not order a hunt for them?”
“No. Extraordinary materials can be replenished anywhere, and it’s obviously more convenient in the West. Right now, our most urgent task is to first find the missing part of the Count’s ‘heart.’ Without a battlefield to provide enough blood food, if he falls into slumber again, I’m afraid all of us will lose control.”
The former “sailor” no longer had the mood for jesting. He knocked on the carriage’s partition, “Let’s go.”
With a flick of the whip in the air, the sound of hooves carried the convoy as it began to accelerate again.
