Keeper Program

Colonel Curus Harken, the old beggar's boss?

It was a small world, and Ed couldn't help feeling that way.

The old man walked forward with open arms, smiling all over his face:

"Thirty-three years, thirty-three years! My old chap—you don't look changed at all."

"You too, sir." Rowan also smiled, and this was the first time Ed saw him smile.

The two old men hugged each other sincerely like brothers.Not flesh and blood, but better than flesh and blood—at least Dylan would definitely not hug Eaton like this.

"I really didn't expect to see us grow old, Rowan. I thought that sooner or later I would be hit by a cannonball, and then I would be shrouded in horse leather and return to my hometown, but who would have thought that I would be 65 years old?"

"You look in good health. As long as you keep exercising and eat more fruits and vegetables, you may live a long life."

"Ha, there is no hope for a hundred years old. I just want to take a stroll around the world and see my old friends while my legs and feet are still moving."

"Is everyone else doing well?" Rowan's eyes shone slightly.

"Not very well. Our 'glorious' country abandons those loyal people like a dog. Many of them are poorly clothed and hungry, and I have been trying to find something to do for them .”

Colonel Harken shook his head, as if he had some complaints about this.He turned to look at the two people beside Rowan, pointed to Ed and asked:

"Is this your child or grandson? Are they all this old?"

"Oh, no, his name is Edgar Waikolo, and he works in the police station. I haven't been married yet." Rowan said with some embarrassment.

"Oh... hello, kid. Sorry for the misunderstanding."

Colonel Harken stretched out his palm to show his kindness to Ed, and Ed responded politely:

"Hello, Colonel."

His palms were covered with bark-like rough lines, as hard as a piece of steel, indestructible.

"Why don't you get married? Rowan. With your handsome appearance when you were young, there must be many girls who are crazy about you."

"I can't sleep with people around me..."

The smile on Rowan's face gradually dissipated:

"When the night is quiet, the red valley will haunt my eyes. Those fuzzy faces... I have to kill them one by one again, so that I can wake up and see the morning sun."

"I feel . . . cursed. Do you feel that way, Colonel?

"No, that's not a curse, Rowan, it's your mind torturing yourself."

Harken commented.Unlike Rowan, his old, lion-like face is full of shame:

"...I don't feel guilty. The order I received was to guard the mountain pass and not let any enemy go. If I did it all over again, I would proudly kill all those sharp ears."

"I don't care if they live or die, because I know what I should care about. Why pity your enemies? Think about the brothers who are still alive, the people you should really care about—"

"They dedicated their lives for the whole country, climbed out of the mountain of corpses and blood, but they will grow old in hopeless days. No one is grateful for their efforts, and no one is responsible for the rest of their lives."

"We did terrible things..." Rowan said.

"It wasn't us—Leria and Blackheart did it all!"

The colonel interrupted Rowan, and he spoke faster and faster, with an expression like a roaring lion:

"These soldiers are still as sharp as bayonets, but they can only beg and wander in the streets. People call Richard II the father of the country, but which father would do such a thing to his children?!"

The Black Heart King...that is a derogatory term for His Majesty Richard II.

Ed's face changed slightly, and he looked around. Fortunately, there were no other outsiders in the church.The old nun who was sweeping the ground buried her head deeper, pretending nothing happened.

The sudden silence also awakened Curus Harken.He sighed, took out his handkerchief and wiped his cheeks:

"I'm sorry... I let you hear the crazy words of a bad old man. As compensation, please allow me to be the host and take you to the restaurant for a sumptuous lunch."

Ed hurriedly waved his hand: "Don't bother me, I just had lunch, and I happen to have something to talk to Father Dylan about."

"I won't bother the two of you to reminisce about the old days." Dylan said wittily.

"In this case, Rowan... shall we find a warm place, eat some charred, fat and juicy barbecue, and drink a glass of brandy?"

Seeing Rowan nodding in agreement, Haken drew a wrinkled smile, patted him on the shoulder, held up his umbrella and turned to the two of them, saying:

"Then let's say goodbye."

"Bon Voyage."

Seeing the two walk out, Ed turned his face, pulled out the envelope from the inside of the coat lining and handed it to Dylan:

"Here are the medical expenses of Mr. Quinn and Mr. Kuntu. Mr. Bernard Eaton asked me to forward them to you. I wish you...'happy life'."

When he said the last sentence, Ed raised his eyebrows playfully.

……

"I'm back. I've given Dylan the money—"

Putting away the umbrella under the eaves, Ed just wanted to push open the green door of the detective agency, but found that the door was locked.

What's the matter, everyone is out?

He took out his key and opened the door, but there was no one there.All that was left on the table was a handwritten note and a map—

The transport airship of the West Coast Company crashed on the outskirts of the city, and it arrived as soon as it was received.

On the side map is a circle drawn with a pencil, which is obviously the exact location of the incident.

Come on, another job to do.

Ed wrapped the gun pouch and tied the crow's cane to his belt.Stretch the muscles and bones a little, and the soreness still remains in the muscles.

Generally speaking, he seldom brings a white crow cane when he brings an umbrella on rainy days. After all, he looks like a gentleman with one stick, but looks like a disabled person with two sticks.

But the white crow cane is a key weapon, and he had to wear it, so he had to tie it on his belt as a sword.He also put the blank crystal pendant given by his grandmother in his pocket, which can be used as the casting material of "Blade of Secret Binding" at critical times.

Rushing to the scene in a hurry, the airship was left with only a smoldering ruin, the heat was slowly transpiring, and there were still dots of fire on the steel frame.The rain has stopped, but you can still feel a wave of heat when you walk forward.

The airship crashed in a forest suburb. Fortunately, due to the rain, the soil and trees were moist enough, and the fire did not spread further.The surrounding land was still scorched and mottled, giving off a rare, strange smell like flames burning raindrops.

Since the accident happened outside the city, in addition to the members of the Eastern District Team, there were also members of the Shenzhou Investigation Bureau from other regions investigating the scene.

"Am I late?" Ed's face was filled with guilt.

"It's okay. Let Quinn tell you about the situation."

Mr Eaton was speaking to another investigator, who was wearing a mask.He stopped talking and motioned Ed to find Quinn to find out the situation first.

"Ok."

Quinn was leaning against a nearby tree, like a bored child next to an adult talking.Seeing Ed approaching, she finally put away the rotating butterfly wing knife in her hand, opened her eyes and waited for him to speak.

"Have you figured out why?"

"Probably, I heard that the rescued people said that it seemed to be caused by the rain."

"A component failure caused by rain caused the airship rotor to catch fire and crash?"

"Yes, that's what you said. It's not bad at all." She rolled her eyes and agreed with Ed.

"Are there many victims?"

"There was none. They abandoned the carrying container as soon as the incident happened, and then floated away in an escape hot air balloon."

"Huh..." Ed breathed a sigh of relief. This is a relatively standard self-rescue process, and strict compliance with the rules and regulations can improve the survival rate of air crashes.

"It doesn't sound like a serious accident. If that's the case, why are there so many people here?"

He glanced around secretly, there were at least a dozen people wearing beak masks, it was definitely a luxurious lineup.

"That's the problem," Quinn pointed to the direction of the airship. "That container contains a lot of active equipment, enough to arm a battalion of soldiers."

A battalion of soldiers?

The voice and appearance of Colonel Curus Harken suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. For some reason, Ed had a bad feeling.