Mystery: The Silver Key

Chapter 6 Robbery

Less than half a street away from where the public carriages were parked, Cyril and Owen, who had taken a shortcut from Backlund University, were blocked at the crossroads by several tall, highlanders.

"Hey~, are you two kids from Intis? Sneaking into alleys in broad daylight, how open-minded~"

"Hehe, I know that, those Intis people are really good at playing games."

"Don't you know this is Blood Axe Gang territory? We're not like you open-minded Intis people. You've polluted this pure air. Tell me, how are you going to compensate us?"

Owen's face paled slightly, and he subconsciously took two steps back. The Highlanders were not exactly a good example in Backlund; the vast majority of them who mingled in the city were either thugs or hooligans.

Although I don't know why they insist on calling themselves Intis, they must be robbing me.

Xi Ruien's expression was also not good. There were three people on the other side, while there were only two on his side. They were outnumbered. In addition, the people of the highlands were generally stronger than ordinary people. The two students who had never done physical labor probably couldn't even handle one of them, let alone three.

Damn, is the security in Backlund really that bad? Or has the East District expanded to cover half of Backlund, so you can get robbed just by going out the door?

The three people from the plateau kept urging, "Stop dawdling like a woman, hurry up and speak! How are you going to compensate us for the air pollution?"

"And compensation for our emotional distress."

"And there's also the lost wages for the time we've wasted."

Irving glared at them and shouted, "This is robbery!"

The highlander standing in the middle looked at him like he was an idiot: "You're only just realizing that?"

"....."

Irving fell silent, somewhat unwilling. Although he was resentful, in terms of physique, the other party could teach him a lesson with one hand.

Cyril reached into his pocket and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out two banknotes and handing them over.

"Two pence? Are you trying to give that to a beggar?"

Although his tone was disdainful, the man from the highlands opposite him still reached out and took the two-pence note.

"You can't expect two students who haven't even started working to have much money, this is my money for breakfast that I haven't had yet today."

Cyril answered calmly, then reached into his pocket again, his eyes quickly scanning the three people opposite him.

As he focused his attention, the pale white spiritual radiance emanating from the three people opposite him became clearer and more detailed.

He then observed that the distribution of spiritual energy on the other person was neither even nor smooth, like an old machine that had broken down. Although it appeared to be functioning normally on the surface, it would immediately stop as soon as a weak link exceeded its capacity.

This is... I can see the weakness?

He paused, then his gaze subtly swept over Owen beside him, comparing the spiritual radiance emanating from the other man with that of the three people opposite him.

In terms of spiritual intensity, Owen was even stronger than the three strong and robust highlanders, but his spirituality had a dark tinge, as if it had been disturbed in some way.

As for those three people from the plateau, they seemed to be all bark and no bite. They had been injured not long ago, which is why they came to this place to rob students who liked to take shortcuts.

"What are you touching? Why are you so slow? Don't you want to lose money?"

His fumbling in his pockets annoyed the highlanders opposite him. The highlander who had taken his two pence earlier stepped forward, put one hand on his shoulder, and reached into his pocket with the other.

"you..."

He stopped abruptly, his eyes wide with astonishment, and he looked down in disbelief.

Cyril had his other hand on his lower abdomen, holding a silver dagger. The other end of the dagger was embedded in his body and was being twisted around.

The crimson blood spread rapidly, and the sudden stinging pain and blood loss made his head spin, leaving him powerless. His body uncontrollably fell towards Sirion.

"Hey shorty, what are you doing? When did you develop this kind of hobby? But now's not the time to enjoy yourself."

A question came from his companion behind him, and the not-so-short highlander in front of Cyrien opened his mouth:

"Heh~"

bang~

Before the other person could speak, Sirion drew his dagger and kicked him away with a knee strike.

The other two highlanders reacted quickly. One caught his companion, while the other clenched his fist and charged at Sirion, who expressionlessly raised his dagger and swung it at the opponent's weak point.

boom!

"Hmm..."

Before the dagger could even touch its target, Cyril was sent flying by a punch, crashing into the wall behind him with a heavy groan.

Damn, I overestimated myself. I can see my weaknesses, but it's useless if I can't hit them. Even if I'm injured, the physical fitness of people from the plateau is far superior to that of a weak student like me.

"Kid, you've got guts, daring to launch a sneak attack."

The highlander, who had just been sent flying by Cyril's punch, charged back, his bandaged fist slicing through the air.

boom!

Cyril ducked in time, and the other man's fist slammed into the wall with a dull thud, kicking up some dust.

With that kind of power, he had no doubt that if that fist landed on him, he would die on the spot.

"paralysis!"

A strange voice suddenly rang out. It was not a language commonly used on the North and South continents, but Cyril was amazed to find that he could understand its meaning.

The voice came from Owen, who was holding a dark blue square talisman.

With the incantation he had just recited, the square talisman instantly turned to ashes in his hand. A strange, visible wave burst forth from where the talisman had disappeared, quickly sweeping across the surroundings, and the three highlanders froze in place.

"Hurry up, the spell's effect won't last long!"

Upon hearing Owen's voice, Sirion did not hesitate at all. He bypassed the highlanders in front of him, grabbed Owen, and ran towards the street outside the alley.

Murder is out of the question. It's not that I'm afraid to kill, but I don't want to be caught and taken to the police station or the church basement. The former might get me bail, while the latter might alarm the "God of Steam and Machinery" and send me to my death.

Okay, actually, there's a little bit of fear about killing someone.

.....

32 Wildy Street, South of the Bridge, is the home of Irving Garcia.

Cyril sat on the sofa in the living room, holding a cup full of tea in his right hand, while Owen applied medicine to his injured shoulder beside him.

After taking that punch from the leader of the plateau men, he felt as if his entire left shoulder blade had cracked, and he was in excruciating pain.

"Hiss~" He turned to look at Owen, who was still applying ointment to him, and hesitated before saying:

"Is your medicine reliable? Should I go to the hospital instead?"

The injured area was initially just painful, but after Irving applied ointment, it now not only hurts but is also very itchy.

An indignant Owen, questioned, retorted, "This is an extraordinary potion! This one bottle cost me 10 pounds! 10 pounds!"

"Okay... then..."

Cyril nodded slightly, reluctantly believing the other party.

After applying the medicine, Irving sat down on the other side of the sofa and asked with some curiosity:

"Why did you pull me away just now? We had already subdued those people from the plateau, shouldn't we have taught them a lesson?"

Cyril looked up at the clearly still unsatisfied young man and said, somewhat speechlessly, "Do you want to be thrown into a police station cell or go to the church basement?"

"Although they are gangsters, killing someone in the street will definitely implicate us. Besides, two ordinary students killing three gangsters from the plateau, even a fool can tell there's something fishy going on here."

Irving belatedly realized what was happening and said worriedly, "They'll definitely be thinking of retaliating against us."

Cyril nodded and continued, "But they can't find us. At most, they'll stake out near Backlund University, but we've taken leave and don't need to go to school for a while."

Irving: "What if they keep staking out the school and waiting for us?"

Cyril: "If they keep camping out of here, how will they afford to eat?"

"Um...you're right."

Irving nodded blankly. This was a perspective he had never considered, but he had to admit it was very real; even gangsters needed to make a living.

As the conversation ended, the two suddenly fell silent, unsure how to start a new topic.

Although they were classmates and members of the same club, the current Cyril is not the same Cyril as before. His fragmented memories lack details of his interactions with Owen.

After his parents passed away, Irving became estranged from his classmates and club members at school. The long period of solitude has made him less comfortable interacting with others.