"Alright, since the direction and timing are right, let's go after him. If I can't catch up, I'll just head to the church. I can't start off in this new world on an empty stomach... I shouldn't think like that; otherwise, I might feel a bit pathetic."
Shade, with such a "simple" thought, packed his things and set off along the low wall by the street, chasing after the man.
To avoid being discovered, even though the evening had come and the city was shrouded in thickening fog, Shade still dared not follow too closely. He was self-aware enough to know he lacked the skills to track someone.
As expected, a little over ten minutes later, when the man turned behind the wall of a milk delivery company and slipped into an alley, Shade completely lost sight of him.
"Ha~ should I say, as expected, I've lost him."
Standing in the alley and looking around in confusion, he confirmed he had indeed lost his target and shook his head, giving up on continuing the search. Since he had lost him, he would head for the "relief food," but—
"Where am I?"
In a completely unfamiliar city, Shade had no time to remember his route while trying to avoid being seen. He realized he was in a narrow alley that smelled terrible.
On the left was the outer wall of the milk delivery company, while on the right was the side of a three-story apartment building. The walls on both sides were covered with rusting pipes snaking in various directions, along with layers of dirty words and graffiti, while the ground was littered with garbage and excrement.
Only near the mouth of the alley were two or three thick, rusty steam pipes stacked together, left behind by some unknown person.
"Let's check the name of the milk delivery company and then find my location on the map."
With this idea in mind, Shade stopped worrying about the person he wanted to follow.
He turned around and retraced his steps through the alley, careful not to step on the indescribable filth below. As he was about to exit the alley, he had to sidestep a group of police officers who rushed past him on the street.
The tall, bearded man at the end of the line glanced at Shade, who innocently returned his gaze, so the officer paid him no mind.
"What's happening over there?"
Shade stood at the alley's mouth, peering in the direction the officers had gone. Since he didn't know which street it was, he couldn't identify what was down that way.
"It's none of my business."
He muttered to himself, clutching his notebook as he walked toward the milk delivery company's entrance. This was not a factory but just the office of the delivery department, surrounded by a two-story yellow building, with an old dog lying at the door.
The dog looked up at Shade as he approached, but seeing that Shade merely stopped at the entrance without coming in, it lazily stood up and moved to a spot where the evening sun could reach it.
The milk delivery company was named "Silver Parrot," a rather odd name, but it was indeed marked on the map. The previous detective had noted that a murder occurred here three years ago.
The murder was, of course, unrelated to Shade. He opened his map to a quarter of its size and walked forward, constantly confirming that his location was correct.
There weren't many pedestrians on the street, so he wouldn't bump into anyone by keeping his head down. Before he knew it, he had walked to the end of the street, following the path of white steam coming from the pipes along the wall. Ahead was a five-way intersection, and according to the map, taking the left diagonal path with a dessert shop would likely be a shorter route.
However, the intersection was almost blocked by a crowd of people. Near the eastern mailbox was a silverware store, its sign scrubbed clean, but something seemed to be happening there. The group of police officers Shade had seen in the alley earlier was maintaining order and preventing people from getting too close.
As he paused to observe, more horse-drawn carriages arrived from behind Shade and other corners, and within a few minutes, even more police officers appeared. Some scholars, presumably from a nearby school, disembarked from the carriages, though it was unclear what they intended to do.
Shade hadn't planned to get involved, as getting the relief food was the priority. However, due to the sheer number of onlookers, he was inadvertently pushed to the front of the crowd while trying to pass through the intersection.
He wanted to retreat, but the people behind him wouldn't allow it. The police officers in front kept shouting for the crowd to disperse, insisting there was nothing worth seeing here.
Seeing that Shade, who had been pushed forward, didn't seem intent on getting closer, a young police officer with a steel pen in his chest pocket kindly reminded him to be careful of pickpockets.
This made Shade a bit anxious. He instinctively reached into his pocket to check his ten-penny bill. After confirming it was still there, his peripheral vision caught sight of another group of armed police escorting three men in plain clothes into the silverware store.
Among them, the tallest man was exceptionally robust, while the young man in the middle exuded an air of a scholar. The last man looked familiar to Shade; it was the preacher who had handed him a flyer earlier in the afternoon.
"Do the preachers in this world moonlight as police officers?"
He thought of this conclusion, which he found hard to believe, tightening his grip on the coins and his pocket watch, intending to leave quickly, or he would be late.
Just as he turned to push back through the crowd, an odd premonition suddenly washed over him. Before he could grasp why he felt this way, he heard a sound—
Boom!
The explosion took everyone by surprise, the deafening sound almost tearing at their eardrums, causing screams to erupt from the crowd. Although he couldn't see the flames, the glass windows of the silverware store shattered instantly, and the wall seemed to tilt slightly, making the metal pipes on the wall emit a piercing, distorted sound.
Fortunately, the police had kept the crowd from gathering at the store entrance, so amidst the panic, no one was injured.
The crowd immediately scattered like a burst dam, and Shade, who was standing at the front, tried to remain calm as he also began to leave. He saw a middle-aged man with brown hair running towards the silverware store.
"I'm a reporter! I'm a reporter! What happened here?"
The man waved a notebook in one hand and a badge in the other, rushing towards the scene with excitement. He was swiftly stopped by the young police officer.
"There's been a gas pipe explosion, sir. Please don't approach."
Shade didn't believe the conclusion at all—how could there be a gas pipe explosion—
Boom!
Another explosion rang out from the silverware store, nearly causing his heart to stop, the reverberating air almost pushing people away.
This time, even the glass on the second floor of the silverware store shattered, sending shards of glass raining down, forcing the police maintaining order to temporarily retreat. As Shade stepped back, he caught a glimpse through the window of the second floor, where it seemed two people were fighting amidst a cloud of white mist, and one of them appeared to have a glowing fist.
The distance was too great, and the fog rolling in with the evening sunset was obscuring his view, so Shade couldn't see clearly.
"Supernatural?"
He thought to himself.
[Yes.]
The woman's voice startled Shade, but knowing she wouldn't explain further, he refrained from asking questions and quickly left the area.
"The three men from earlier were definitely church members, and this happened right after they entered... Indeed, the church in this world is likely a supernatural force, closely tied to the kingdom's order... This means the probability of trusting the Orthodox Church has greatly increased. I wonder if I might have the chance to access the supernatural through the church's channels…"
This gave him two choices: not only could he approach the psychologist, but the five churches in the city also offered opportunities to understand the supernatural and the voice in his head.
"But how coincidental is it that I stumbled upon this?"
He walked in the direction he had originally planned, following the dispersing crowd, while the woman's voice in his mind repeated a phrase she had said before:
[Observe his ring.]
Although he still had no idea what the voice belonged to, Shade at least knew it didn't carry any obvious malice. He immediately heeded the voice and looked around, surprisingly spotting the young man with the pebble ring and a suitcase walking not far ahead.
"What a coincidence... It's hard to believe it could be this coincidental. Wait, the explosion earlier... Could it be related to him? Why am I thinking like this? I have no evidence whatsoever."
With this thought, Shade found himself reluctant to follow. If the young man could cause explosions like those in the silverware store with his bare hands, following him would be akin to inviting the same tragic fate that befell the previous detective.
"No, no."
Shade slowed his pace, trying to let the young man disappear naturally from his sight. However, he didn't expect the young man to stop as well, taking out a map like Shade had just done, before heading into a nearby alley with his suitcase.
"Should I follow or not?"
The woman's voice in his head repeated the instruction about the ring, and it seemed she wasn't bored. Yet, knowing almost nothing about the world, Shade needed to ensure he remained cautious.
He decided to stick to his original plan, walking forward and glancing naturally into the alley where the young man had turned, only to see him vanish around the corner ahead.
"Should I follow or not?"
He asked himself again, suddenly realizing that his next decision would significantly impact his life for a long time.
"Follow or not?"
He queried the woman in his mind, and he heard laughter, followed by a whispering response:
[The path of fate unfolds before you, traveler in a foreign land. Will you settle for the ordinary, or yearn for the immortal? The world is like an ocean; do you have the courage to explore the terrors beyond the safe island? The path of fate unfolds before you, one leading to the supernatural, the other…]
"Chase!"
Shade gritted his teeth and slipped into the alley, keeping close to the wall.