It became even colder after nightfall. The rain kept falling, as if it was about to dump all the accumulated water in the clouds until the entire city was flooded.

It always seems particularly long when it rains. Sailors gather in the pubs and hotels in the port area to spend their time, spread rumors, and plot against each other.

"Robbery?"

Gray Gloves narrowed his eyes vigilantly. The dim chandelier above his head was still burning, but the faint light seemed even more useless at night. "You must be crazy." He has been struggling in the port area for ten years, not to mention his experience of many battles, but he has also seen countless storms. The young man's proposal made him smell the strong smell of danger. "East India Company's goods! Even if you rob it, where can you get it? Who dares to help you get it?"

"No need to take off your hands." The blonde boy sitting opposite said lightly. He came alone, making it even more difficult to figure out what the way this is.

"You know no one dares to take on this job."

"So I'll come to you," William said. "The Gray Gloves are different people every day. No one knows who did this."

Gray Glove licked his lips and stared at the expression on the boy's face: "How much are you planning to do?"

"I won't give money this time."

"Crazy!" Gray Gloves threw the chair and stood up and left. "When I didn't tie you up and throw it out, get out with your crazy proposal!"

"I agree with you if you refuse this proposal." William had no intention of getting up. He shook the cup in his hand and looked down at the small ripples. "Because it wasn't crazy enough."

Gray Gloves suddenly stopped. He heard the boy's calm voice coming from behind: "In fact, my suggestion is - to burn the entire warehouse with a fire."

"You are a complete gambler." Gray Gloves turned slowly to face William, gritting their teeth, "Just this suggestion, I can tie you to the East India Company for a good price."

William ignored his threat and continued to play with the water cup in his hand. "No one could clearly point out what was missing - things could not speak, and they would not turn into ashes. The Admiralty would not investigate this matter, I promise." He looked up at the gray gloves, with a little provocation in his eyes. "Clocks and wool are flammable products, not high-thresholds; after the wind was over, they could immediately make a large sum of money. As for guns and firearms - I heard that a gang called "Red Bird Robin" has recently emerged in the port area... They were restless and snatched business everywhere." William blinked at the gray gloves, "To make the thorns obedient, muskets can be more effective than sticks and axes."

Gray Gloves approached with a vaginal face. He pressed his hands on the back of the chair and leaned over to cover the boy. The two of them almost met. He said in a deep voice: "My brothers will hold me up and throw me to the fire and burn it."

William remained calm and elegant, and still maintained a calm and elegant noble style. He smiled politely: "If your brothers know that you have made them lose the opportunity to make a fortune and rule Plymouth Harbor forever, you will really be raised and thrown to the fire and burned to death."

"madman."

Gray Glove took off his hands, turned around and kicked hard at the chair that had just been thrown to the ground.

The blonde boy narrowed his eyes with satisfaction and raised his glass gracefully to his back.

The lights swayed, and melted into the night with the rustling sound of rain.

"You only have one hour. We will light the fire in an hour, not a minute."

The patrol whistle sounded three times, and Gray Gloves finally arrived with his sailors. He repeatedly guessed that he could never see a trace of hesitation from William. "Listen, I don't care what your Normans - or the Admiralty - have to do with them. Don't expect us to help you with your own affairs, we only need goods."

William nodded in agreement. He tightened his cloak to hide his face and squeezed in through the gap in the warehouse that the sailors pried open.

The sound of rain from outside was as if it was coming from a very distant place, and only the slow-flowing cold wind was suspended in the quiet air.

The heartbeat-like plop was still there. William traveled straight through the entire warehouse with the route in his memory, going to the deepest and most hidden place.

Compared to daylight, the sound jumped faster. Not only one, but it was like the sound of frogs on a summer night, and it was countless.

William did not dare to relax his vigilance, endured his disgust and disgust in his heart, and leaned against the slow-moving cargo box. He knew what was inside.

Suddenly, a dark figure seemed to flash past in front of him, and William stopped suddenly. He held his breath and tried to suppress the instantly accelerated heartbeat, and stood quietly against the pile of cargo boxes. After a long time, there was no more noise. William calmed down and sighed for his suspicion.

He continued to grop in depth, and used the subtle light to find the secret door hidden in the innermost part of the warehouse. It was said to be a secret door, but it was actually more like a ventilation and hidden window. Without the help of layers of wooden boxes, it would never be possible to climb such a high place with an ordinary person's height.

William pulled out a silk scarf from his arms and wrapped his mouth and nose tightly, followed the steps made of the box into the dark window. He crawled forward in the wind duct, and the wet and cold sea breeze came to stumble.

"Very good...his signs have been stable...proves that tolerance to drugs has been established..."

"I've read the pathology diary he wrote before...unbelievable...there's very accurate record of his own body changes..."

"This drug... is very close to... Sage Stone... That boy refuses to announce the formula... If Liverle is still alive... we will be moving faster..."

"Is there no way to let him go?... The board of directors is urging him very tightly... His Majesty..."

“…Alphons is too indulging in him…”

"Absurd...if they know..."

The sound of the tide and the bell of the ship entering the port made it difficult for William to hear these conversations. He approached carefully and finally found a light-transmitting gap.

A wall is separated by a closed dark room with two huge alchemy furnaces on the middle part, and several large tables are placed around it with equipment to assist in purification experiments; on the other side are hung with long axes and wide-blade swords. It seems that this laboratory is temporarily modified from an arsenal. Several alchemists in black are arguing about a couch placed in the corner. It is difficult for William to see the face of the person on the couch, but based on the information he just heard, it is very likely that this person is Anne's father, Clark, a pharmacist who is infected with the plague.

While looking for a gap that he could pass through, he was paying attention to everything that happened in the dark room. One of the men in black looked up here as if nothing had happened, and the shiny silver-beaked bird mask was clearly presented in the glimmer of candlelight.

The iron door of the dark room suddenly opened, and several patrol guards dressed in East India Company uniforms walked in, and the first one was holding a little boy struggling and kicking in his hand. The alchemists in black seemed to be surprised, and stopped the work in their hands to look at them.

"dad!"

The child's crying made William's heart sank. He rushed to the gap and looked closely. Sure enough, it was Anne in boy's clothes. I don't know how she used to bypass Marina Theis's care and pursued this place persistently.

"What should I do with this guy?" William asked angrily when he heard the patrol leader. He tried his best to control his hands that were already trembling with tension, and opened the ashes that filled the gaps little by little to dig through the space he had passed. The stone sliced ​​into his fingers, and the blood mixed with sand, but William seemed to feel no pain at all. He didn't dare to stop for a moment, and there was an anxious voice in his heart urging - hurry! Quick!

"You can't let go." The lead alchemist shook his head, "He followed him all the way, if he brings someone else over..."

The patrol chief looked around and spread his hands: "——You can't be here, right?" He shrugged and added, "Now it's time for loading and unloading outside, so it's hard to find a place to deal with it."

Several alchemists whispered and quickly reached an agreement. "Tie it up first and put it here. You can come here later and take it out for cooking."

"What's the matter-" The patrol chief was obviously quite dissatisfied with his subordinates who rushed over, but he quickly changed his tone, "What!?"

"What's wrong?" The alchemists were obviously confused, but they were still vigilant. Perhaps the murder of their companions made them now full of soldiers.

"Damn it, there are sailors fighting and causing trouble in the warehouse next door. These bastards threw wine bottles littered, and finally lit the warehouse!"

Damn, these beasts! William cursed in his heart. Gray Gloves and the others took action in advance. Once the fire spreads, the dark room will soon turn into a huge oven.

He struggled to squeeze through the gap he had just dug, and while everyone ran out to check the situation, leaned over and hid behind a row of equipped experimental potion racks. Anne was already tied up and threw it in the corner, and poor Mr. Clark was also lying on the couch and was unconscious.

William quickly sorted out a rescue plan in his mind. He had to cut off the rope on Anne's body in a very short time and send her into the air duct; then folded back and carried Mr. Clark, and Anne took him away.

I hope everything is too late. He prayed in a low voice and kept approaching Anne with the help of various laboratory benches. Anne also saw him. After a moment of surprise, she immediately moved carefully in the direction where William came.

"I'll take you up first, be obedient." William pulled out his short knife with him and cut the hemp rope, pulled Anne back to the wooden frame, and whispered. "I'll bring your dad here later, and you can help get him up with me."

"You——come!"

Two alchemists who had originally run out suddenly turned back and happened to run away William and Anne. One of them called out loudly, trying to call back more accomplices.

He must not let him continue to shout like this. "Annie, go!" William gritted his teeth, grabbed the short knife and rushed out in front of him, ready to hold them at all costs.

A crisp sound of glass, and thick gray smoke instantly filled the entire room.

William was shocked, and the alchemist opposite was also shocked. He didn't have to think too much, and seized the opportunity to knock the man hard on the head with the hilt of his hand, and simply knocked him down.

There is another one! William looked around with a knife, tightening his body and ready to rush out at any time. He couldn't see the surrounding environment clearly, but expected that the other party would have a blurry vision. What's strange is that the man neither shouted nor launched an attack.

The smoke and dust faded slightly, and a figure in a black robe appeared like a ghost. William couldn't figure out his intentions and kept his posture ready to go to confront him.

The man looked at him through the mask for a short moment, then turned around and left.

Seeing that the figure was about to sink into the smoke again, William suddenly felt like a flash of lightning flashed in his heart. He stepped forward and chased out in a low voice: "Isaac—!?"

The black figure was stuck. He did not look back, nor did he respond, but instead accelerated his pace to leave.

William wanted to catch up and ask clearly, but another restrained voice in his heart told him that he had to do something more important now.

Yes, do something more important. He stopped his steps, turned back to the couch and carried Mr. Clark, and staggered towards the wooden frame. The smoke was still disturbing his sight, but it also provided them with the opportunity to hide their bodies.

"Annie?...Annie?" William whispered the girl's name, hoping to judge the direction of the duct by her response. But the response he expected did not come.

"An--!" When he made another sound, he suddenly punched his stomach. Then his chest, calf, cheeks, and raindrop-like fists and feet poked out from the fog and landed accurately on him. A knee strike caused William to lose his center of gravity and fell to the ground, and Mr. Clark immediately loosened his hands.

He groped to find Mr. Clark, but he stepped on his palm. "Baby, you have caused us a big trouble!" The cold voice of the patrol leader sounded above his head. William tried to look up at his face, but then he stepped on his cheek.

The warm blood flowed back into his mouth along his nose, choking him for coughing loudly. There were cracked wounds all over his body, and the old wounds that had been whipped behind him also occurred. The severe pain seemed to tear him apart. William felt that his breathing was not enough, and his last thought was to find his knife.

My mother's soft humming seemed to linger in her ears again. For the first time, he resisted the comfortable Shenmian who was trapped in the white for the first time.

A cowardly boy...

The glass jar contained Mr. Gengyun's body...

No……

Draw out the sword in my heart...

Yes... the sharp sword. But where is his sword...?

In order to protect those who care about him and he cares about him, he needs a sword...

A real sword. A sword that can give him strength and help him protect his friends-

Don't fall asleep! He felt the fire, the fire. The fire that was burning in the warehouse was approaching here. If he fell asleep, he would be completely over. He couldn't sleep!

William raised his neck and supported his hands on the ground to try to stand up. Two people immediately rushed up and pressed him down, and punched him hard on his shoulder. William did not give up, and he twisted his body and broke free, and he had to get up again. He exerted force suddenly, stumbled and walked a few steps, and was immediately twisted by the people next to him.

"Let go! Let me go!" William bared his bloody teeth and a beast-like roar came out from his throat. Several adult men were pressing on him, and only one hand reached out and slapped the ground hard. "Let go!" He wiped his face, his hands were bright red, and suddenly realized that his face must be covered in blood.

The patrolmen were surprised at the sudden burst of power from the boy. He left only one arm outside and was still dragging them forward. They had the illusion that they were holding down a beast that was forced to the end.

Someone suddenly covered his hands and screamed in pain. William grabbed the gap and turned his head and bit his back, leaving deep blood marks. The patrol guards were in chaos, and the young man who was still fighting in the trap took advantage of the situation to throw them away and pounced on the wall full of weapons on the side of the dark room.

William was dizzy, blood loss and tinnitus made it difficult for him to maintain his balance. But he was driven by his thoughts and insisted on not falling down, and his hands were fumbled on the wall.

Then he held the sword.

It was a double-edged sword, almost half his body length. With his current state, it was difficult to wave it no matter what.

Even so, William still held it tightly like a drowning man holding on to the straw.

"You guys, these bastards! Come here!" He shouted at the top of his lungs almost with the sword.
To be continued...