Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1271: Chapter 419: Xiang Liang’s Ambitions, the Dire Situation at Hongmen, and the Decapitation Ruse with the Big Heist_4

Including the two months after the port opened in July, the homicides in Hongmen conservatively estimate to exceed 1500 cases.

Thinking of this, the 239 unsolved cases don’t seem to be many.

”In the eight towns, there are suspicious individuals, fugitives and criminals from all directions, and those who dream of getting rich overnight without spending money through normal channels to buy from the Treasure Tower, only wanting to steal through might... these people are as numerous as cattle, and they are outsiders, lurking in the crowd, making it impossible for you to notice, which makes solving cases extremely challenging.”

Upon hearing Bai Shanning’s words, Xiang Liang recalled the scrolls he saw yesterday and said in a deep voice, ”It’s not just humans; there are also suspected deceitful monsters’ methods appearing, like the consecutive head-cutting cases last month, the life-taking sound case, and the cat demon theft case, none of these seem to be something normal humans can do.”

Bai Shanning immediately nodded, speaking seriously, ”I also read the Hongmen Scroll. These three cases truly seem to involve deceitful monster methods. Recently, Hongmen City transferred many solidified fire oil from Xia City, likely to deal with these deceitful monsters, but it’s uncertain if they have any clues now.”

”Suspicion of deceitful monster methods isn’t limited to these three cases. With Hongmen’s large population, lacking the divine protection of a lord like in Xia City, deceitful monsters can sneak into the city unnoticed effortlessly. However, trying to precisely pinpoint them in a population of twenty to thirty thousand is exceedingly difficult.”

After Xiang Liang finished speaking, he slightly raised his head. Despite the coal furnaces hanging on both sides of the street, illuminating it, after thinking for a moment, he still took out a piece of solidified fire oil from his bag and held it in his hand for emergencies.

Seeing this, Bai Shanning also immediately took out a piece of solidified fire oil from his chest, speaking solemnly, ”To avoid panic, the Hongmen Prison Department has been vigorously blocking case information. Initially, it was effective, but as situations arise and homicides abound, the truth couldn’t be hidden. The people of Hongmen City are panicked, affecting the business of the Treasure Tower and South City shops. If this continues, there might soon be an exodus.”

”They probably transferred the two of us over to act as firefighters, to quickly solve a few major cases to calm the people in the city.”

Xiang Liang immediately nodded, ”Even a hundred prison envoys aren’t enough; they need to keep increasing. The situation is so severe, we must quickly solve some cases and apprehend real culprits for punishment.”

Both of their pupils slightly revealed a determined glint. Solving cases is their main task, also tied to their potential promotion to Golden Order Prison Warden, and whether they can advance further in the future. Naturally, they must treat this matter seriously.

”Hurry up! I can’t wait to investigate already!”

As soon as Xiang Liang finished speaking, he immediately rushed forward.

Bai Shanning laughed and quickly caught up with him.

......

The ninth year of Great Xia, February 20, late night

Hongmen, South City street

Pedestrians come and go, the street is filled with the continual cries of merchants, bustling with activity.

With numerous coal furnaces along the street and the light from the houses on both sides, the main street of South City is brightly lit, as bright as if it were daytime.

Vendors, peddlers, travelers, residents, children walking through street alleys, patrolling armored soldiers... under the firelight, the uniquely patterned shadows on the ground seem to form a lively scene full of the bustle of life.

”Brother Zhu, Brother Li, another day... another day... I will host, the three of us... must... drink to our hearts’ content, alright?”

”Sounds good, Brother Zheng, you should head back and rest!”

”I didn’t drink too much, not too much... only a jin, too... what?”

”Brother Zheng, the city hasn’t been peaceful lately, let us escort you back!”

”No... no... you two have only been in Hongmen for five days, you’re guests, how could guests escort me? Return, return, you head back to the inn, I’ll come find you tomorrow night.”

”Well... okay! Anyway, Brother Chen doesn’t live far.”

”Alright, alright, don’t worry about me, you head back quickly.”

Beside the entrance of an alley near a restaurant in South City, three middle-aged men were pushing and shoving, one of whom spoke somewhat unclearly, obviously having drunk quite a bit.

However, he insisted on refusing assistance, forcibly sending the other two middle-aged men away, glanced at the bustling street, and then identified the direction of his home, drunkenly heading into the alley behind him.

The South City of Hongmen has only one main street, stretching 2 kilometers long and 15 meters wide, all shops and vendors, including the Treasure Tower, are gathered along both sides of this street.

The areas behind the eastern and western sides of the street are considered residential zones.

Due to the overwhelming population gathering in Hongmen in such a short time, the Civil Affairs Department strictly divided the city’s residential zones:

North City was designated for Great Xia people, except for shop operators and employees of the Treasure Tower; no exceptions for others;

South City was designated for outsiders; the houses in these residential areas can be rented monthly or purchased. Of course, rental procedures are simple and cheap; if you want to buy, you’d first apply for permanent residence in Hongmen City through the Civil Affairs Department or directly apply to join the Great Xia, then you’d have the qualification to purchase.

The middle-aged man with the surname Zheng heading towards the residential area is evidently a resident of South City.

The alley initially had shop lights, so it was as bright as the main street, but as the middle-aged man walked deeper, the light sources gradually diminished, eventually only the firelight from the houses on both sides remained, naturally reducing visibility.