Because he was sleeping in a strange place, Xia De woke up very early the next morning. He touched the pocket watch by the bed and saw that the time was 6:30, so he wanted to go downstairs to see if there would be a newspaper delivered. He knew that people in Tobesk generally had the habit of ordering newspapers.
The former Mr. Detective can be regarded as a middle class, and the nature of his work also requires him to read newspapers to understand the news, so it is indeed possible for the current Shade to inherit the future newspapers.
Wearing slippers, I walked up the stairs to the first-floor foyer, and looked curiously at the sealed first floor, thinking that if I had time, I could take apart a wooden board and look inside.
I turned on the gas lamp in the foyer, but unfortunately, there was no newspaper stuffed in through the delivery port on the mat in front of the door.
Shaking his head regretfully, he wanted to change his clothes and then go out for breakfast. But the slippers had just touched the first step when they heard the sound of a bell.
There is a door rope outside the door of this apartment building. After pulling, the rope will affect the gear mechanism inside the door and ring the bell on the inside. It is a simple doorbell.
"The newspaper delivery man is here? No, why did the newspaper delivery man knock on the door... Could it be that it's time to pay for the next month's subscription?"
Xia De, who had shabby savings, was thinking in horror, thinking about his remaining money, and turned to look at the door uneasily. No matter who is outside the door, it is impossible for him to know him. The possibility of collecting money is not high, and there is a high probability that he will find the owner here.
"Perhaps a new client?"
In a worse case, perhaps the rent-collecting landlord arrives.
There is no such thing as a cat's eye on the door, so Xia De can only come to the door, use the language knowledge he got yesterday in his head to translate and ask:
"Who is it?"
Immediately, I got an answer from outside the door, it was a familiar voice:
"Is it the Hamilton Detective Agency? I'm Bill Schneider, remember me? The psychologist yesterday, we exchanged business cards at the gate of the newspaper opposite the Lark Club."
On this morning that was also shrouded in fog, Xia De, one of the few people in this world who knew his name, came to visit him.
Unexpectedly, the visitor was Dr. Schneider, and Shade stood behind the door, wondering if he should open it. He only hesitated for a moment, and let the psychiatrist outside the door know the detective's defense:
"Mr. Hamilton, you don't have to think about it. Although it's strange to come to visit at this time, I don't mean any harm. After all, there is not much time. Please read this first."
The man outside the door was talking, and delivered a piece of paper through the newspaper delivery slot.
"Remember what I said yesterday? Adult education, correspondence teaching. Detective, you have a very special talent."
Xia De bent down to take the piece of paper, then raised his hand and slightly adjusted the light of the gas lamp in the hall. With this light, I saw that it was an enrollment brochure.
"Um?"
He suspected that he was dazzled, or he hadn't woken up yet.
The paper in his hand was about the size of A4, and the shape of the parchment scroll was outlined with silver borders. This was the admissions promotional document of the institution of higher learning called "St. Byrence Comprehensive College". Except for the school badge in the shape of "book locked in chains" directly above, there are not many patterns, and the printed text occupies most of the paper.
St. Byrence Comprehensive College is not taking ordinary students, they are taking "correspondence" adult students.
In addition to this point, the eleven departments of the college are also written on the paper, which clearly states the tuition fees, enrollment time, academic year system, enrollment conditions and restrictions, and the recommendation system registration process. In those respects at least, it was just a normal school.
"But why is there no school address?"
It took Xia De a long time to ask, and then he was surprised that he didn't ask the other party if he had a mental illness, but came here early in the morning to deliver the admissions documents to the stranger.
"You are very observant."
The psychiatrist outside the door praised, and then asked:
"So, at least let me go inside and talk? Maybe I can answer your questions about... the other you in your head."
The voice in his head did not appear because of being mentioned, Xia De in the door opened his mouth, but opened the door anyway.
A middle-aged doctor with a briefcase, wearing a brown coat and a silk cap, stood on the steps, and a pair of thick black boots on his feet. It is still an elegant mustache, and the blue eyes make people feel very good:
"Don't forget your milk."
He pointed to the milk crate on the left side of the door, with a standard accent, probably a native of Tobesk:
"When I came just now, the milkman had just left."
Xia De nodded hesitantly, looked at the doctor, and tried to put on a kind expression. He picked up the key on the shoe cabinet to unlock the milk box, and the psychiatrist followed him into the door of the apartment after Xia De got the milk bottle.
He was also surprised by the sealed part of the first floor, but the doctor didn't say much, but walked up the stairs to Room 1 on the second floor with the silent Xia De.
Asking the doctor to wait for a while, Xia De went back to the bedroom and changed his clothes, and then boiled hot water to entertain the guests. Although there wasn't any food in the kitchen, at least there was black tea for the client of the detective case, otherwise Xia De could only serve guests with plain water.
After everything was tidied up, the two sat down to talk.
The fabric sofa set in the living room has a sense of age, I don't know if it is an antique. Two long and two short, surrounded by a wooden coffee table from all sides, it is very suitable for discussing business with clients.
The doctor and Xia De sat on the couch facing each other respectively.
"There's no need to introduce yourself. First, I want you to trust me."
The psychiatrist Schneider with the mustache spoke first, and he thanked Shad for the black tea with a smile:
"This time, I'm really here for the promotional paper for your college just now. First, let me describe your current symptoms—"
"Wait a minute, are the symptoms school-related?"
Xia De asked, but he already had guesses in his mind. He is not a "native", has seen those crazy fantasies, and is more comfortable with this situation. The "St. Byrence Comprehensive College" mentioned by the other party is probably the same type of school as Hogwarts.
"Of course it is, please listen to me. Mr. Shard Hamilton, can you hear another voice in your head?"
Although Xia De tried his best to control his expression, he saw his failure from the smile of Mr. Schneider on the opposite side.
The doctor added:
"Is that voice saying some inexplicable words? Besides, some words are helpful to you? He will whisper in your ear and speak suddenly when you don't expect it, but he has no malice towards you."
Xia De knew that he couldn't hide it, so he nodded.
"And, Detective, your symptoms must have appeared within seventy-two hours."
"To be precise, 24 hours."
Shad said.
"That's even better. Then we still have a lot of time. It seems that luck is very good. After all, the talent awakening time is 72 hours. In this way, I have more time to explain the situation to you."
Dr. Schneider smiled and said:
"The above symptoms are similar to the manifestations of schizophrenia, but they are not actually in my eyes."
He pointed to himself, looked at Shad with blue eyes, and spoke very slowly:
"For a certain group of people, the existence of an 'other me' is a wonderful and dangerous gift. No, it should be said that it is an early manifestation of a gift. If you can channel it, then you can see the more real world, a world of mystery and danger, if not guided..."
"Return to the ordinary?"
"No, it's worse."
The doctor shook his head:
"I don't want to deceive you, at least there is no need for it now. It is clear that this is a symptom of the 'ring warlock' talent, a very rare talent, you can regard this as a gift of fate, or a curse of fate. As for the 'ring warlock', you can treat it as a special profession, a profession that can use...mystical powers. I hope you understand what I mean."
The doctor is deliberately observing Xia De's expression. This era is still an ignorant era, and people who believe in righteous gods generally do not accept concepts such as "witchcraft". But fortunately, just like the doctor's investigation, the detective opposite UU Reading www.uukanshu.com was still a person with a brain problem a few days ago, and it was only because of the awakening of his talent that he returned to normal, so he has a different concept from the normal citizens.
On the other side, the guess was confirmed, Xia De nodded hesitantly. He wanted to pretend to be surprised, because normal people would definitely be surprised, but at the moment his heart was extraordinarily calm, even a little too calm, and he thought this might be the reason why he was too stressed yesterday:
"That is to say, the strange sound heard in the ear is actually a manifestation of some... system, power system? Many people will do this? It seems that some people see farther, and some people hear more many?"
Shad asked.
"Yes, 'I am you, you are me', every ring wizard is like this. If you succeed in becoming a ring wizard, then this voice will accompany you and help you throughout your life. That voice is another you, just yours It's just a different vision, he will help you get in touch with this crazy and noisy world in a more real way, with secrets and weirdness. Knowledge, information and even words have dangerous power, and outside the safe world of ordinary people, we cannot Use your soul to directly approach those forces that can distort yourself."
The doctor waited for a while, giving Xia De time to think:
"However, the awakening time of ring warlock's talent is very short. From the first whispering in the ear to the complete disappearance of the sound, usually within 72 hours, and not every talented person can hear the sound frequently and realize the sound. It's not their own thoughts. They will just take it as hallucinations, or something wrong with their ears.
Therefore, it is very difficult for Detective Shade Hamilton, whether it is the three major colleges or the church, to recruit and train new personnel. That's why I say we're all lucky. "