Chapter 6 Chapter 5 Dingley Valley

"Then..." Dead Boy said. "You really planned it?" "Oh, yes." "And you're not going to reveal the plan to me?" "You will be angry." "At least tell me the destination?" "If you really want to know, but..." "I wouldn't like it either?" "Probably not." "If I hadn't died, I think I must be very depressed." I couldn't help laughing, it's nice to have a funny topic.We pass through a relatively remote area, the neon lights are dim, like uninvited guests to a dinner party, and even the street lights seem to be farther than usual.This is Rotten Street, a place whose inhabitants prefer darkness.

We hiked for quite a while, and while Dead Boy doesn't tire, he gets bored easily, and when he's bored he can have a bad temper.He wants to get there in his future car, a shiny silver car from some possible future that travels through a time rift into Nightside and picks Dead Boy as the driver.It's a pity that I have to assume that Lilith has eyeliners all over Night City, and these eyeliners must be watching the movement of this car.In order to prevent Dead Boy from helping his old friend, the car of the future will be destroyed as soon as it shows up.As the heir of a biblical mythical figure, you can be forgiven for being a little paranoid.I don't plan to confront Lilith's men for the time being, the time is not yet ripe.So Dead Boy and I set foot down darker and darker alleyways in search of the legendary Victorian adventurer, Julian Advent.

I've contacted the headquarters of the Nightside Times, and the acting editor reluctantly told me Julian wasn't in the office.Even though he is now the editor-in-chief and owner of the newspaper, Julian still can't forget the days when he was the number one investigative reporter in Night City.Every once in a while, he would automatically disappear for a few days without telling anyone, to go off on a personal mission.There was no gossip at the newspaper because he always brought back the brightest headlines.Julian likes to get his hands dirty as a way to remind himself that he still has an adventurer's spirit inside him.

The acting editor-in-chief even asked me if I knew Julian's whereabouts, because the whole newspaper was so busy with the news about the Street of the Gods.He asked me if I had any inside information about the Street of the Gods incident, and I told him I did, but only with Julian.The acting editor-in-chief used intimidation, cursing, crying and other means to try to set me up, but finally gave up.He told me that although Julian had turned off his cell phone and pager so as not to be disturbed, he had mentioned a sweatshop before his disappearance. So Dead Boy and I went to the area with the cheapest rent, Rotten Street.There are fewer and fewer people on the road, and everyone we pass has a sly look on their faces.Some were ragged bums and beggars, begging for change in paper bowls made of waste paper with their filthy palms outstretched.Some are those who hide in dark alleys to avoid exposure—possessed animals with glowing eyes and sore skin; money.They are whores with bleak eyes, whores with red lips.They are drug lords, peddling all the drugs that have ever been in the world.In addition to the above characters, there are many darker monsters in the lanes, providing darker services.

Rot Street.A place where dreams die and hopes fade.Here, death is sometimes a good thing. The streets are littered with rubbish and lined with two rows of crumbling tenements.Half the street lamps had been smashed, and the railings of the sidewalks were dripping with disgusting juice.The apartment walls were grimy with soot and age-old grime, plus graffiti written in various languages, some of which were not spoken by humans, and others apparently written in blood.The windows were either boarded up or pasted with tattered paper.The door of the apartment is protected by magic, and it is impossible to enter without knowing the secret language.Many labor-exploiting sweatshops are located in the cramped rooms of these dilapidated old buildings.Wages in these factories are so low that only people who can't find other work or need to hide from the limelight end up there.Sweatshop owners squeeze the labor of these desperate people in exchange for so-called "protection."Sadly, Nightside has no shortage of desperate people in need of "protection."In some ways, Nightside is a very dark place.

Grim factory guards wandered leisurely out of the alley, deliberately letting us discover their existence.They dress up like gang members, and they don't hide the guns and knives they carry. Some even have several hieroglyphs tattooed on their faces, indicating that they are low-level battle mages.Someone leads a dog with a reinforced steel chain around its neck.Each of the dogs was enormous in size and clearly had a bad temper.Dead Boy and I swaggered to the middle of the street, so that all the factory guards could see our faces.It was the big dogs that first started to scare them.They sniffed Dead Boy, then turned around and ran away with their tails tucked.The owner of the dog glanced at me, and then backed away immediately.All the guards gathered in a small circle, exchanged some urgent words, and then pushed a representative to face us.

The guard representative walked toward us grimly and swaggeringly, and finally stopped at a respectful distance.We took our time to look at each other from beginning to end.The man was wearing a striped jacket, white tights, a fedora, two pearl-handled revolvers in the back of his waist, a mustache and several knife scars on his face.He gave both of us a hard look—if it weren't for the sweat on his body, his eyes would actually be bluffing. Besides, it's so cold tonight. "Are you here to ask for trouble?" His voice was very low, almost like a man with three testicles. "It must be." I said.

"Okay, guys!" he said back to the other guards. "Close things up, we're out of the way. They're Dead Boy and John the Damned Tyler. We're not paid enough to deal with this kind of role. Everyone go to Greasy Jo Ann's Coffee and wait for them to be busy." Come back when you're done." "Have you heard of our name?" Dead Boy was a little disappointed. "Damn it, sir. When I was enlisted, I said I could handle simple violence. No one ever said the job involved living legends and two-legged reapers." The guards behind him had all run away at this moment.I looked at the man standing in front of us, and the corners of his eyes couldn't help but twitched.

"You seem to be quite influential among your fellows," I said. "who are you?" "Union representative, sir. I take care of my companions and make sure they have health insurance. If you two don't mind, I really want to leave with them." Before I finished nodding, he turned and ran away.Having a good...or bad reputation can offer many benefits.At this time, there was a young guard standing in the middle of the street with a confused face. He called the union representative, but the latter ignored him completely. "What the hell!" the young guard roared angrily. "We should be the ruthless characters, the ruthless characters who spread fear with their eyes and frighten everyone! We can't run away with our tails between our legs just because there are more ruthless characters appearing!"

"He's still young." A voice came from a dark alleyway in the distance. "Don't understand anything. Please spare his life. Or the mother will come after me." The young guard reached for his gun, but Dead Boy was already on him.As a dead man, his body is not limited by normal human reaction times.I saw him rushing forward at a lightning speed, instantly shortening the distance between the two.The opponent was not simple either, and fired two shots in a short period of time, but both shots were missed by Dead Boy.He bumped into the young guard, wrested the gun from his hand, and slammed it headfirst into his face.Then he played with the pistol he had seized for a while, looked at the fallen guard, and then threw the gun aside.

"I don't think anyone is going to stop us?" I asked loudly to the surroundings. "Even if there is, it's not us." The voice in the dark alley said. "You can do whatever you want, sir." "Thank you." I said. "We won't be polite." I pulled the dead boy and continued to walk towards the end of the street.There was absolutely no sign of anyone along the way, but I'm pretty sure someone was spying on us anyway.I turned on my talent, opened my eyes, and figured out the right position for Julian Advent.I carefully limit my gaze and focus on finding my target, because I really don't want to see invisible beings walking in places like Rotten Street.In addition, I am also very worried about the frequency of using talents too high.My enemies are watching my whereabouts at any time, ready to send pain bearers to hunt me down.I soon found Julian's whereabouts. He was hiding in a hidden corner of an apartment not far ahead, monitoring a company called "Dingley Valley".I withdrew my talent, recalled all my psychic barriers and safety mechanisms, and told Dead Boy what I had found. "Sometimes you're really scary, you know that, John?" he said. "I mean the way you see through things. Anyway, I won't worry too much about your enemies. With Lilith and the mana of the gods interfering with the teleportation, they probably won't be able to detect your position." We walked for a while without making a sound. "Interfering with teleportation?" I finally asked. "what does that mean?" "I don't know either." Dead Boy said. "But you've got to admit, that sounded cool. Never mind that, Dingley Valley... sounds contrived, probably making lace scarves or something..." Before we stopped at the building, we took a moment to browse through the company cards next to the doorbell.The cards appear to have been affixed temporarily, apparently with companies changing their names on a regular basis.The current three-story office building houses Alfred's Button Shop, Match Girls, Miss Snuffly's Fashion House, Shrike, Stuffed Fish Company, and Dingley Valley" companies. "Attic." Dead Boy said in a bored tone. "Why is the place to look for always on the top floor? How do we get to the top floor without being discovered by other companies?" "First of all, the top floor is only the second floor." I said. "Obviously because if another floor is added, the whole building will collapse directly. Secondly, although there should be no fire escape in such a ghostly place, I'm sure there must be a secret exit at the back, in case the creditor suddenly finds it. Come to the door. So, let's go around to the back first." We walked through a narrow alley, careful not to be stinking to death by the smell of garbage and excrement inside, and careful not to step on the guy sleeping on the ground.I didn't have to be gifted to figure out the correct location for the back door because the back door was where I thought it should be. (I've been hiding from my creditors for a while myself.) Dead Boy checked the magic alarms and traps on the back door a little, which didn't take much time, as he had only to look at the devices and the devices would immediately be disabled. "My half-dead body is enough to confuse all alarm systems," he said happily. "I'm confused too." I agreed. The dead boy was about to kick the door, but I pulled it away.There might still be a mechanical alarm on the door that we didn't see, and I didn't want to attract unnecessary attention, or expose Julian Advent's surveillance operations.So I briefly turned on my talent, found a specific point above the door lock, and hit it hard with my elbow.The lock opened in response, and the door also opened.Dead Boy turned his head away, not wanting to see the smug look on my face.We enter tenements and gently close the back door. There was barely any light inside, and it stinks of poverty, misery, and clogged toilets.Most of the building's budget was spent on the structure, so the interior was full of fire traps.We tiptoed down the dimly lit corridors, keeping an eye out for anyone to see, but the building was as quiet as a tomb.The stairs are too narrow for two people to walk side by side, so I asked the dead boy to go first, because his ability to withstand injuries is much higher than mine.There were magical alarms and traps everywhere, but they all disappeared in smoke in front of the dead boy.When we passed the second floor, a large terrifying face suddenly coalesced from a crack in the plastic wall, glanced at us, cried "Oh, that's terrible," and then disappeared by itself. The next staircase widened enough for the two of us to walk side by side.Just when I thought I could relax, the steps under the dead boy's feet suddenly sank, followed by a slight clicking sound.I reacted quickly and threw myself down immediately.A metal spear shot out of a hidden hole in the wall, over my head, and pierced Dead Boy's left hand.He looked at his arm, sighed deeply, and carefully drew his spear.I got up from the ground and studied the spear with him. "Why are other traps useless, but this one works?" "It's all mechanical," I said. "You're not hurt anyway." "Not hurt? It's the best coat I've ever had! Look at those two holes in the sleeves. It's not cheap to mend. My clothes are mended by a young man on Greek Street - you can't imagine How much do I need to mend clothes—but as long as the clothes are mended, it will be different. Although he claims to use invisible mending methods, I can see through the mended traces at a glance..." "Can you keep your voice down?" I whispered hastily. "We sneaked in, remember?" He snorted a few times, then continued with me up the dilapidated staircase and into the dark hallway on the top floor.Every room here is sublet to different operators.We see many ragged people working silently for meager wages in poor conditions.In some families, the whole family is crowded around a wooden table without any space for activities, and the windows in the room are also sealed.Fathers, mothers, children, all working hard under dim lights for totally unreasonable wages.No one made a sound, they all bent their heads to work intently.We didn't see any foremen, but that doesn't mean no one was watching.Troubled characters don't survive long in a sweatshop. I have never seen such a miserable sight.A portrayal of bloody capitalist exploitation of labor.It's one thing to know that such things still exist in the world, but quite another to actually see them.I was so angry that I just wanted to demolish this damn place... It's a pity that the workers in the sweatshop will not thank me for this. They need this job, they need the meager salary, and they also need the protection provided by the factory, no matter what. What are they hiding from... Besides, I can't mess with Julian Advent's surveillance.I can't piss him off.Because I need Julian's help. Dead Boy really hates sneaking because it's not his style. "When will I be able to flatten people?" He kept asking. "You'll have a chance," I said. "Man, you're such a big kid, the next thing you start asking 'Am I there yet'." At last we came to a closed door, on which was pasted a card that said "Dingley Valley".I held the doorknob, turned it lightly, and found that the door was locked.Dead Boy raised his foot to kick, I immediately pulled him away and shook my head resolutely.I leaned my head against the door, listening for movement behind the door, but heard nothing.I stood up straight, looked around, and found a spiral staircase at the bottom of the corridor.I lead the way up the stairs, with Dead Boy bumping my back like an impatient dog, until we come to an abandoned corridor overlooking the interior of Dingley Valley.On the other side of the corridor, we saw Julian Advent, a Victorian adventurer who traveled through time and space to modern times. He wore an old-fashioned cloak, the black material so that he could blend perfectly into the shadow of the corridor.Dead Boy and I tiptoed toward him, but he heard us anyway.He turned around abruptly, in a fighting stance, but was relieved when he recognized us, and gestured for us to lie down beside him.He is tall, muscular, with jet black eyes and hair, and he is more handsome than all movie stars. The only points that will be deducted are his serious personality and ugly smile. Julian Advent was a hero, a real hero, and anyone who saw him knew he was a hero.We have worked together a few times.Sometimes he approves of my style, sometimes he doesn't.We have always had a very peculiar relationship. "What are you two doing here?" he asked softly. "It took me a lot of energy to get here without being detected, and then you two clowns... how are you sure you didn't trigger the alarm here?" "Because all the alarms are invisible to me." The dead boy said. "Not many things escape the eyes of the dead." I stared at the two holes in his sleeve and said disdainfully, "Stop praising yourself to the sky." Julian shook his head resignedly, and then, while monitoring Dingley Valley, told us the whole story.His voice was so soft that I had to strain my ears to hear it. It turns out that Dingley Valley is a sweatshop specializing in the manufacture of magic items.Common magic items like wishing rings, invisibility cloaks, talking mirrors, and magic swords.I've always wondered where these things came from...a dozen or so shivering little guys stood around a big trestle table at the bottom, looking like undernourished children, but with big eyes and pointy ears .They are goblins no more than two years old, haggard, with dry wings, suffering from hunger and cold, and their bodies are covered with signs of abuse.They picked up the daily necessities placed on the table and poured magic power on them with focused eyes until sweat dripped down their slender faces.They channel their own mana onto items, crafting magic items out of sheer willpower.Every time mana is infused, the brilliance of their lives will be more attenuated, and death will be closer and closer to them. Each leprechaun had heavy iron chains on its feet, and the other end of the chain was fastened to an iron ring on the floor. According to Julian, these goblins are refugees from another dimension who fled to our world to escape a horde of demons.They desperately need a place to hide and are afraid of being discovered by anyone.Upon closer inspection, I saw many old wounds, as well as new bruises and cuts, all over their bodies.They wore worn sacks, and a big hole was cut on their backs, revealing their wrinkled wings.Occasionally I can still see a fleeting gleam in their faces, seeing the wildness and beauty they once had. At this moment, a goblin exhausted all the magic power in her body and disappeared from our eyes immediately.His clothes fell slowly, and his empty anklets also made a dull thumping sound on the ground.I can't remember the last time I've felt this angry, burning inside of me, constricting my guts and suffocating me. "This is simply perverted!" I was furious, staring at Julian Advent and said, "How can you still sit here and watch? Why don't you take action to rescue them?" "Because I'm still thinking about how to deal with that thing." Julian said. "Their overseer, Bid." Dead Boy and I followed his fingers and saw a huge shape coming out of the kitchen at this moment.He was at least eight feet tall, with his head propped against the ceiling, shoulders wider and more muscular than a human could possibly be.He is a man-made product, made up of human limbs. The only clothing on his body is a lot of belts, which may be used to fix his limbs, or to provide a sense of security.He held an oversized burlap bag in one hand and a roast chicken in the other.He took a big bite of the chicken breast, then waved the greasy roast chicken in front of the goblins with a big smile on his face. Two wild boys stood beside him, naked and smudged with grime and dried blood.A boy and a girl, both are only about ten years old, but their bodies are still more than enough to bully goblins. "There is a strong enough supervisor." The dead boy said. "Quiet," Julian said. "I should be able to beat him, but for the sake of the little goblin's safety, I don't want to do something unsure." When the supervisor walked to the table, all the goblins immediately became tense, and some even cried silently. "Now, are Santa's little helpers obediently making small gifts?" the overseer shouted. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Looks like another one has escaped... But don't worry, dear children, we have plenty of new blood to replace the old ones." He grabbed the magical items piled on the table and stuffed them casually into the sack.A goblin accidentally cried a little louder, and the supervisor immediately turned around. "You! What are you crying about, you bastard?" "Please, sir," said the goblin softly. "I'm thirsty, sir." The supervisor slapped the little goblin on the back of the head, and the little goblin's whole face hit the table on the spot. "Everyone has to reach a certain amount before they can drink water! Only after the shift is over can we eat! You know the rules." He stopped suddenly in the middle of speaking, held a dagger that was blooming with magic light for a closer look, and then dismissed it With a grunt, he broke the dagger in half with his bare hands, and then threw away the fragments of the dagger that were no longer shining. "Trash! Rotten stuff! It's all because someone doesn't want to concentrate! Don't think you can fool me! Tighten the skin a little bit, and if anyone makes a mistake again, I'll catch him and feed him pet!" The wild child screamed and jumped, and kept teasing the little goblins next to him, scaring them out of their shit.Wild Children laughed at them silently, looking like two dogs. "Enough," said Julian Advent in a calm but dangerous tone. "I've seen enough." He gracefully jumped down the corridor, the cloak on his back expanded with the wind, like a pair of wings of an avenging angel, and lightly landed in front of the surprised supervisor, causing him to jump back in fright.The two wild children retreated while shouting.Dead Boy jumped off and landed heavily on the ground, crushing the floor under his feet, smiling at the overseer with ease.The supervisor threw away the cloth bag and roast chicken in his hands, and clenched his fists tightly.Because of my self-knowledge, I didn't jump with them, but slowly climbed down the corridor step by step.Julian Advent loomed over the scowling overseer, his voice and eyes blazing with fury, forcing the gigantic man-made monster to back away. "I thought the sweatshop thing was wiped out by me back in the Victorian era. It's an insult to humanity as a whole to see such cruelty in modern society. Killing innocent people for profit, killing so helpless people This little life is really unforgivable! This is where it all comes to an end!" The overseer stood firm and stopped backing away, staring at Julian disdainfully, with a cunning and cruel look in his eyes. "I know you, old stubborn. You're a pompous editor, a sleazy slob, a dashing adventurer, a man in the top social circle. If I told you the names of the owners of this sweatshop and others like it , I bet you must know them. Maybe they are good members of the high society club you belong to. They know the real side of Night City, and they know that everything is based on power and money, as long as they don't get caught You can do whatever you want.” "One day I will bring them all to justice," Julian said. "But you are here now," said the overseer. "This is my territory, not a place for you to be presumptuous. Here, no one cares about being a gentleman. I have the power to deal with all intruders by any means, so... let me show you what I can do... " He uttered a spell, and the two wild children immediately began to transform.Thick hair grows on the skin, the bones make bursting sounds, the body continues to elongate, the snout protrudes outward, and the fangs emerge from the corners of the mouth. In the blink of an eye, they have changed from two children to two wild wolves.The overseer laughed wildly and drove the pet forward.The goblins screamed helplessly, pulling their anklets desperately, trying to escape the claws of the wild wolf.The two wild wolves approached arrogantly, and the dead boy pulled out two silver daggers from the calfskin boots, and went forward without fear. "No!" I shouted immediately. "Don't kill them. I think they're as much victims as goblins." Dead Boy looked at Julian, then shrugged, and stepped back again, but still held the two silver daggers in his hands.Standing in front of the two wolves, I secretly hoped I was right.Their transformation is caused by the Overseer's spell, which means that the two wild children were not born werewolves, but were forced to change shape.I activated my talent, found a spell to control transformation, and easily dispelled it. The two wild wolves immediately returned to their original forms, and became two children again, a man and a woman.They feel that they are free, and they know who set them free.They rushed up to me, dawdling at my feet, expressing their gratitude strongly.The overseer shouted orders and repeated incantations, but they just turned and glared at him.I patted their messy hair, tried to calm their emotions, and finally calmed them down. Meanwhile Dead Boy, Julian Advent, and I turned our attention to the Overseer.He glanced at the only exit, knowing that he would not be able to escape in time, so he stretched all his muscles, trying to bluff people with his size and strength.He held out a fist bigger than our heads, and a contemptuous smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "It doesn't change anything! You can't beat me at all, even if you fight together. I will eat your flesh and blood, drain your marrow, and stick your heads outside the door to let everyone know that the hot overseer is What's the end. Don't think your magic will be useful, my body can resist all magic attacks." "Fortunately, I am not a product of magic." Dead Boy said. "I'm just dead." He waved the dagger in his hand and rushed towards the supervisor.The supervisor turned around and ran, but unfortunately, he was chased by the dead boy before he took two steps, and two daggers were inserted into his kidneys on both sides.The overseer screamed and fell to the ground, and then the dead boy cut off the patchwork pieces of his body piece by piece, and it didn't take long for him to be mutilated.The overseer struggled and screamed for a long time, Julian and I watched silently, the two wild children jumped for joy, and the goblins applauded happily. Dead Boy's knives are proficient, comparable to professional butchers, and all that remains of the supervisor is disgusting blood and writhing pieces of meat.When it was all over and the overseer's eyeballs stopped rolling, Julian picked up a leather belt from among the wreckage, removed the key ring that was attached to it, and with my help unchained all the goblins' feet.The goblins couldn't stop thanking them with tears in their eyes, and their voices were as melodious as the singing of birds.Freed from the chains that had branded their ankles, they still sat on the bench, cuddling each other for solace.One of the goblins looked at Julian and raised his small hand hesitantly. "Please, sir, we're all hungry." "No problem!" Dead Boy said happily, and then carried a pile of body parts and internal organs into the kitchen. "I can make super delicious chowder!" Julian looked at me and said, "Is he serious?" "Sure," I said. "Fortunately, I'm full." In order to facilitate a private conversation, we moved a few steps to the side.The goblin and the two wild boys looked at each other uneasily at first, but finally the boy advanced slowly, bending over the closest goblin, and stretching his neck, expecting the goblin to pat him on the head.After a while, the goblin stretched out her little hand and gently touched the boy's fluffy hair.The boy grinned like a puppy, and the girl followed him.I breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to Julian. "What are we going to do with them?" I whispered. "We got them free, good. But they still have to figure out a way to survive. They can't go back to their own world, and there's nowhere else to go. If they stay in Nightside, they'll be eaten alive in no time." "Well..." Julian thought while thinking. "They're doing a good job, why don't they just take over the business? Somebody has to produce magic items...they can make a living off of it. I'm sure these two wild kids could be good bodyguards. I can help They maintain their initial expenses and then get someone to represent them in the deal so no one knows they exist." "It's very kind of you," I said heartily. "But what about the other sweatshops in this building? What about the other people who were enslaved for meager wages? There are countless buildings like this in Nightside." Julian looked at me calmly and said, "I know, there are many places like this, but in Nightside, the first thing people learn is that we can't save everyone. We can only... Do what you can to help those who can, and learn not to be too hard on yourself." "What about the original owner of this factory?" I asked. "Won't they come to the door?" "It won't happen after I expose it in the Nightside Times," Julian said. "I will change some details to protect the rights and interests of the goblin, but this report will definitely arouse widespread discussion. At that time, the other party will not dare to admit that he is the owner of this factory. Can I quote you and the dead boy's name?" "I don't care." Dead Boy said briskly.There was a smell of cooking food coming from the kitchen, and the aroma was overflowing. "If you think it's helpful," I said. Julian Advent considered for a moment, then said, "Maybe I shouldn't mention you, John." "I understand." I said. "A lot of people feel that way about me." "What did you come to see me for?" Julian asked. "Ah!" I said. "You probably won't like it, Julian, but..."