Wayne remembered it very clearly—the detective agency's door was tightly locked, even from the inside.

In the city of Lundan, there were many urban legends: subway stations that led to hell, the headless horseman wandering in the mist, alleys where people disappeared, underground catacombs, and more.

These sensational urban legends were only shared among the residents of Lundan at night. During the day, the city belonged to the citizens; at night, it belonged to them. Both sides coexisted peacefully, with no interference in each other's affairs. However, if someone broke the rules and trespassed into another's domain, they would vanish overnight, never to be seen again.

When the dockworkers talked about these urban legends, they described them vividly, as if they had seen them with their own eyes.

During these three months, Wayne had heard many urban legends. Although he had not seen them firsthand, he scoffed at them. But since it cost him nothing, he decided to entertain the idea.

He went along with the customs of the place and made sure to lock the door tightly when night fell, avoiding close encounters with urban legends.

After all, it was free—why not believe a little?

Knock, knock, knock—

The knocking on the door resumed, more urgent than before, as if Wayne would keep knocking if he didn't open up.

Wayne didn't open the door but quietly picked up a pry bar nearby. The other person stopped knocking and instead pushed the door open and walked in.

Draped in a black hooded robe that covered her entire body, the intruder's face was obscured. Under the light shining from above, the shadows of the black robe accentuated the pressure she exerted on Wayne. The palm of Wayne's hand holding the pry bar began to sweat.

Wayne focused his gaze and, although he couldn't see the face under the hood, he guessed from the movements of the robe that the intruder was a woman.

In business?

"Are you the owner of this detective agency? I have some business to discuss with you."

"Can we talk tomorrow? We're closed now."

Although the woman's voice was pleasant, Wayne still refused her. The mysterious attire signaled someone with a story, and he didn't want to get involved with such people.

The intruder remained silent, slowly approaching the desk. She glanced at the potatoes on the table, chuckled lightly, waved her hand, and placed a stack of banknotes on the table.

The image of the queen on the banknotes pierced Wayne's eyes deeply. Single hundred Crown notes, at least fifty of them, totaling five thousand Crowns. This amount could keep him working hard for two years.

Crown was the legal currency of the Windsor Kingdom, with Ducat as the copper coin. Twelve Ducats could be exchanged for one Crown, known as small change.

Affected by the Great Depression and the shadows of war, the purchasing power of the Crown continued to decline. However, for Wayne, this was still a significant sum.

"Can we talk now?"

"Please, have a seat."

Wayne sat behind the desk, the pry bar resting above his legs. He knew it probably wouldn't intimidate the other person, but it provided him with some psychological comfort and a sense of confidence while speaking.

The woman was pleased with Wayne's business manners. She sat calmly in the chair in front of the desk.

Wayne closely observed the intruder, catching a glimpse of the lower half of her face that the hood hadn't covered. Her delicate lips, radiant skin like pearl, and a soft and warm chin indicated a superior beauty.

Judging by her appearance, Wayne guessed she was not much older, maybe between sixteen and eighteen, certainly not over twenty.

At this age, with such beauty, breaking into a single man's house late at night was either foolish or daring.

Judging by her lavish gestures, it was likely the latter.

The woman's silence left Wayne uncertain. He put on his official smile and politely asked, "Have you eaten? Would you like some potatoes?"

"Red tea."

"Just a moment."

Wayne put away the five thousand Crowns on the table, stood up, and went to the kitchen to make tea. It was a mystery where the locals got tea leaves since there wasn't even maritime trade in this world.

A moment later, Wayne returned and saw the woman placing her hands on the edge of the hood, as if about to reveal her true face. He hurriedly interrupted her.

"I understand the rules. I don't want to know what you look like. After tonight, we won't know each other, so please don't take off your hat." Wayne shielded his eyes with his hand.

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It was useless; the woman did as she pleased, showing no regard for his opinion.

The young woman had golden hair and blue eyes, with well-proportioned facial features. Her fashionable and icy beauty was highly versatile, able to embody innocence and sweetness as well as a cold and aloof demeanor.

For instance, now, with her golden hair swept back and her cold, deep-set eyes, she lifted the tea cup to her nose, sniffed it, but didn't taste it, placing it back on the table.

What's wrong, can't stand the finer things in life?

Although the woman didn't express it verbally, Wayne sensed a thick barrier of class difference. His premium tea leaves, acquired with significant investment, seemed worthless in her eyes.

Well, that's good; it probably means this is a big deal!

Due to habits from his past life, Wayne never complained to wealthy clients, at least not visibly. He maintained his smile and asked politely, "Respected miss, could you tell me about the business you wish to discuss?"

"I lack a job, you lack an assistant."

"..."

Wayne was shocked, he pointed to his own office, "As you can see, small business, can't afford..."

"I'll pay to work, give you a thousand Crowns a month, applying for the position of assistant at the detective agency."

"..."

"If not, forget it."

"Welcome, Miss Assistant, you are hired by this detective agency."

Wayne nodded readily, adding another five thousand on top of the initial one, a total of six thousand Crowns.

Perhaps this made him seem shameless, but six thousand Crowns and shame have no comparison; hesitating for a second is leniency towards potatoes.

Wayne warmly extended his hand, the other party did not take it, he withdrew his hand and shook it himself, not awkwardly saying, "Your resume and identification documents... Oh, I can make this up myself, I am Wayne, the owner and chief detective of this detective agency, how should I address you?"

"Veronica."

Veronica said a name of unknown authenticity, and then told a story of unknown authenticity; she came from a foreign land, loved detective novels since childhood, and aspired to become a great detective.

She wouldn't stay at Wayne Detective Agency for too long, nor would she cause trouble for Wayne, as long as the latter asked fewer questions, there would be endless profits for her during her tenure.

Casual lies, severely lacking in sincerity, but sufficient.

Wayne nodded, at this point, it was clear that Veronica had other motives, specifics unknown, only that it wasn't directed at him.

He had nothing, no leverage.

"I will stay at the detective agency during my tenure; do you have empty rooms here, I need two, I will pay the rent separately, is that okay?"

"No, you can move in anytime."

Wayne sighed repeatedly; as the ancient saying goes, when you meet a good person, start a family; when you meet a noble person, start a business; when you meet a rich woman, start a family and a business. He didn't believe it before, now he understood, he had never met a rich woman before.

Money paves the way to success; Wayne had already forgotten Veronica's ulterior motives, only knowing that money equaled attractiveness, attractiveness equaled justice. A girl who is rich and beautiful embodies double justice; Veronica surely wasn't a spy assassin sent by an enemy country, she traveled far to a foreign land just to fulfill her childhood detective dream.

Quite nice, unlike Wayne, who had many dreams as a child, but now only one.

Being able to afford a house.

"The first floor is the office area, the second floor consists of my bedroom, archive room, studio, warehouse, bathroom; if you don't mind, there is a partition on the third floor, usually no one goes there, with a simple cleanup tomorrow, you can move in."

"I will move in tonight."

Veronica looked towards the stairs, took out a stack of Crowns from her wallet, handed them to Wayne one by one, "Your bedroom belongs to me as well; I want to rent the entire second floor, you have an hour to move your things out."

"Half an hour is enough."

"Also, my luggage is outside."

"I'll go move it now."

The landlord's daughter, rich and unreasonable, Veronica's money was enough for Wayne to renovate the detective agency again; he couldn't find a reason to refuse.

However, when he arrived at the gate of the detective agency, he was stunned by the scene before him.

Two large doors wide open, trembling in the dark background.

A two-meter-tall strong man stood in front of the gate, guarding three large black boxes, with broad shoulders and waist, rugged and deep features, dense body hair on his strong arms.

In Lundan, where winter had not yet departed, the strong man wore only white shorts and a sleeveless vest; even from a distance, Wayne could feel the vigorous heat emanating from him.

He seemed like a practical man of reason.

Seeing Wayne, the strong man smiled slightly, his muscular hand extended towards him, "William, let's be friends."

"Hello, I'm Wayne."

The burly man had a fierce look on his face, but surprisingly he was very polite. Wayne, not wanting to be impolite, extended his hand. As their hands touched, he felt the heat in William's palm, sending a shiver of cold down his spine.

This chill shot straight from the soles of his feet to his tailbone, not continuing up to the crown of his head, stopping at a localized area.

No wonder something felt off. Wayne now noticed William's golden hair tied up in twin ponytails, and his sleeveless vest was a blue and white striped sailor shirt.

Oh no, he didn't let go, and he kept on smiling!

William's smile was particularly unsettling, and he was about to give his new friend a warm embrace. Wayne struggled desperately, but couldn't match the other's terrifying brute strength. In his line of sight, the blue and white stripes drew closer, with many curly golden threads on them.

Chest hair, the symbol of William's masculinity.

"Meow~~~"

A cat's meow interrupted William and saved the endangered Wayne. It was a black cat with golden eyes, nestled on top of a black box, its sleek fur blending into the darkness of the night, almost invisible when it closed its eyes.

Upon hearing the meow, William decisively abandoned Wayne and lifted the black cat up, saying, "Monica, up high."

Wayne: (一`′一;)

That was close, he almost got crushed by those chest muscles.

William lifted the black cat high, the two-meter tall burly man bouncing around, creating a beautiful scene that shattered Wayne's pleasant fantasies about the golden-haired ponytail.

A noble lady, a muscle man, and a black cat; frankly speaking, he couldn't make sense of this combination.

Well, maybe he could rephrase that; a noble lady eloping with her black cat pet, accompanied by a muscle man who serves as both butler and bodyguard, suddenly made sense.

"William, what are you doing? Quickly put Monica down."

Veronica emerged from the office and, seeing the situation, immediately joined in the struggle with William. Under Wayne's speechless gaze, the muscle man stood no chance against Veronica and she effortlessly took away the black cat.

Veronica held the black cat close, glaring fiercely at William. "Your room is on the second floor. Hurry up and move your luggage upstairs with Wayne. You'll be staying in his room from now on."

This doesn't seem right!

Wayne shuddered, silently swearing to move out all the bedsheets, blankets, and clothes from the bedroom, not leaving a single piece of fabric tainted with his scent.

To Wayne's surprise, William also looked unhappy. "This doesn't seem right. I don't want to..."

"Shut up, it's decided."

"What about Monica?"

"Monica will stay with me on the third floor."

Veronica stated matter-of-factly, "A cat and a lady in one room, smelly men are not allowed."

"Tsk, up to no good."