Charlotte had no intention of chasing after him. He shook his head, approached Wells, and retrieved his wallet, along with a brand new Magnum revolver and a leather bullet pouch. He decided against taking the valuable-looking rapier, knowing he wasn't skilled with it, and it would be difficult to sell while on the run.
After retrieving his own Magnum revolver, he walked away. Having absorbed the life force of a second-tier superhuman like Wells, Charlotte needed to find a place to digest it.
The street gradually returned to normal as passersby reappeared. Although incidents like this were common in smaller towns and not uncommon even in the capital, Strasbourg, no one bothered to report it to the patrol guard. However, someone did notify the city's body collectors to clean up the gruesome scene.
Charlotte didn't leave immediately. He doubled back to Upper Seven District, hurried through the city center of Strasbourg, and entered the Franche-Comté District, which was far from Ma'an District. Although Charlotte lacked counter-surveillance experience, he had read enough similar posts online in his previous life to potentially mislead any pursuers.
Once out of Upper Seven District, the prison guards usually wouldn't pursue him, and the patrol force would be weaker. If he could mislead them into searching the Ma'an and Luca Varo districts, he would be even safer.
Though there was a garrison in Outer Fifteen District, they usually weren't interested in small cases like this.
Charlotte, though familiar with Ma'an District, noticed the stark contrast between the Outer District and Upper Seven District as he entered Franche-Comté. The area was dirtier and more disorganized, with lifeless expressions on the faces of the people.
He quickly found a decent tailor shop, entered, and stated, "I need a durable set of clothes for a long trip."
The shop, named Wild Lily, was run by an old tailor with no assistant. The tailor glanced at Charlotte and said, "It'll take five days."
Charlotte smiled and replied, "I need it now. I'll pay you 30% extra."
The old tailor calmly said, "I have some ready-made clothes, but they don't fit you well. They'll need some adjustments."
"Please make them quickly," Charlotte said.
The tailor brought out a few garments. Charlotte selected a pair of calfskin boots, a sturdy hunting outfit, and bought an old travel trunk. He didn't want to appear conspicuous by traveling without any luggage.
The tailor's skills were good; within half an hour, the clothes were adjusted. When it came time to pay, Charlotte traded his old clothes for a discount. His custom-tailored clothes from Upper Seven District, though not top-tier, were still more valuable than the clothes in this shop.
The old tailor, honest in his business, calculated a fair price and gave Charlotte two coppers in change. Both were pleased with the deal.
Still slightly damp despite wringing out his clothes earlier, Charlotte borrowed a towel from the tailor to dry off and changed into his new clothes, feeling much more comfortable.
With his cane and newly bought travel trunk in hand, Charlotte left the shop. He recalled a robbery that had occurred at Hangzhou Vientiane City shortly before he crossed over, where the perpetrator was caught by the police within ten minutes. Compared to Earth's efficiency, the Farus Empire's guards and patrols were woefully lacking.
Of course, Charlotte didn't wish for the Farus Empire's efficiency to suddenly improve now.
After walking for a while, Charlotte found a public carriage. He boarded and gave the driver the address of a famous estate outside the city.
He wasn't actually going to the estate; it was simply far enough away, requiring at least five or six hours to reach, giving him ample time to digest the life force he had absorbed.
The carriage driver was thrilled, as this was a lucrative fare, and immediately set off.
Charlotte adjusted his breathing and began refining the life force he had absorbed.
Several hours later, his left leg trembled as a third blood vortex formed.
Even amidst his escape, Charlotte felt a small sense of joy. Under normal circumstances, even a genius like Miss Annie would take five or six years after graduation to advance to the third rank.
He spread his hands, and the Blood Glory energy surged in his palms, now at least 30 to 40% stronger than before.
After some testing, Charlotte retracted the Blood Glory and thought, "I wonder when I'll be able to form a blood vortex in my right leg and successfully meditate on the Agile and Spiderling runes."
He chose to concentrate the blood vortexes in his legs, hoping to master these two mystical techniques. The Agile technique would grant him extraordinary speed and agility, while the Spiderling technique would allow him to climb walls, traverse mountains with ease, and even use spiritual threads for aerial movement, giving him a special sense of reflex.
Once he mastered these techniques, his movement abilities would far surpass ordinary people's, allowing him to escape even from high-level superhumans with ease.
After absorbing the life force, Charlotte finally had time to examine Wells' wallet. It seemed the detective had just received a payment from the new warden, Magru Trell, as there were a surprising five Egues inside, along with several florins in "spare change."
An Egues was worth around 18,000 to 19,000 yuan in purchasing power, so Magru's payment was indeed generous.
The wallet also contained a receipt for a rapier, which Charlotte guessed was a new weapon the detective had ordered but hadn't yet collected.
He pocketed the cash and receipt, then tossed the wallet out of the carriage window. By now, the carriage had left the city, and the wallet rolled into the grass, likely never to be found again.