Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 96 This city is sick.
The few signs of life in the town of Eckham are concentrated in the west, just as Walker said, the town's miners mostly live in the western area.

It's almost six o'clock in the afternoon.

According to Walker's previous description, mining operations in the southern part of the town continue until after sunset, so even in the inhabited western part of the town, there are hardly any people to be seen in the alleys. Milo walked through nearly three or four alleys before seeing one or two miners sitting in front of their houses smoking.

Those who were not involved in the work were all injured workers.

Ikham's mining method is purely manual excavation. In the rugged mountains and mines, falls and bumps are inevitable. Unlucky miners may fall to their deaths in the mine if they are not careful. So it is normal for there to be injured workers. Milo did not think much of it.

The one or two dark-skinned miners looked surprised when they saw the law enforcement officer in the black trench coat appear in the alley.

In their minds, the town of Ickham had only one law enforcement officer, Walker Brier.

Apart from the miners, few other locals of Galid City were willing to come into this cursed town, and even some homeless people were unwilling to live in these abandoned buildings.

Milo could clearly feel those strange gazes sweeping over him.

It's about as uncomfortable as being surrounded by dozens of buzzing flies.

Many locals in Galid seem to share a common trait: when they see a stranger, they stare at them intently, making no attempt to hide their aversion and showing no regard for politeness.

Before Milo could even ask a question, a burly worker sitting in front of his house, smoking a pipe, called out to Milo in a rough voice:
"Hey! Stranger, what are you doing here?"

He did not get up because his left calf was immobilized by bandages and a wooden splint, and it appeared to be fractured.

The man spoke in a very aggressive, questioning tone.

Such a situation would be impossible in Nanwei City; no one in Nanwei City would dare to speak to the law enforcement officer like that.

However, Milo didn't feel offended, just a little strange.

The hostility the man displayed was not entirely directed at Milo's status as an outsider, but rather at the black trench coat Milo was wearing.

Milo stopped and glanced at the man.

"Just take a walk."

"Lost?" The man lowered his head, bit the mouthpiece of his cigarette, and took a puff of his pipe.

“It’s not that serious.” Milo examined the wound on the man’s calf and couldn’t help but think of the wound he had found on the old madman Mogot earlier that day. However, the two injuries were different, so Milo didn’t think much of it.

"Are you here to investigate the mine, or to replace that perverted law enforcement officer?"

The man exhaled thick smoke.

Even from a distance, Milo could smell that pungent tobacco odor.

"What? You won't let me check?" Seeing that there were no other living people around, Milo simply stopped in front of the man's house.

"What are you investigating? I advise you not to come to the mine and cause trouble. Hundreds of workers here are counting on the mine to survive. If the mine shuts down, everyone will starve to death." The man's tone was unfriendly, and his words carried a strong sense of threat.

Milo immediately understood why the miners were so hostile towards the man in the black trench coat.

The reason is simple: in their eyes, law enforcement officers are there to interfere with their normal lives.

The mines in Iqum were the source of livelihood for the miners.

If any problems arise at the mine, the workers will spontaneously step forward to maintain it, without even needing the mining company to intervene. They believe in one principle: without the mine, their families will go hungry.

That's why Milo's appearance in a black trench coat elicited such a strong reaction from men.

"What a good employee." Milo raised his hand to adjust the mask on his face, pressing the edges down to make it more secure, because the secondhand smell of the man's tobacco was really unpleasant.

"Is this why people frequently go missing from your mines but never report it to the law enforcement?"

"Don't talk nonsense! No one's gone missing!?"

Upon hearing Milo's question, the man instantly became agitated, like a mad dog whose tail had been stepped on.

If he hadn't had a leg injury, he probably would have jumped up on the spot.

“I just guessed.” Milo shrugged calmly.

Since the Solomon mining company moved into the town of Ickham, there have been constant disappearances, but no case has ever been filed. This was information that Milo had already received before arriving in Galid.

At first, he thought it was due to inaction by the Galid law enforcement system.

But now he understands that it's not entirely like that.

Rather, the miners themselves tacitly accepted the disappearances. They didn't care about their fellow miners, who lived and worked in the same town, mysteriously disappearing. Maintaining the mine's operation was more important to them.

To take a darker stance, perhaps for them, fewer workers actually present an opportunity to increase their wages...

...

The man's hostility grew stronger.

Milo casually changed the subject:
"Then let me ask something else. Is 'pervert' a term of endearment used by locals for law enforcement officers?"

"Hmph, everyone knows what that bespectacled kid in town has done. You law enforcement officers all protect each other, so don't pretend you don't know." The man took another puff of his pipe.

Milo raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, looks like this trip wasn't a waste."

He stood calmly in his pockets, looking at the man before him:
"You've already said I'm an outsider, so how would I know what your law enforcement officers are doing?"

"Come on, I think you're just here to cause trouble." The man sneered, "That kid has a few pampered kids, and everyone in town knows what he does to them every night. Many workers who pass by the main road at night have heard the noise. He's a complete bastard. If you have any conscience, instead of keeping an eye on the mine, you should arrest that kid. All the workers in town will praise you."

Milo frowned.

Although what the man said was exactly what he wanted to verify on this trip, and it was also similar to what he had guessed before.

But this testimony only made Milo feel worse.

He didn't actually want the truth to be like this...

Milo lifted his eyelids and saw a fly perched on the brim of his hat above his field of vision, leisurely rubbing its two forelegs.

He curled his fingers and flicked the prisoner's fly away from the brim of his hat.

"You didn't report your coworker's disappearance, and you won't report this either?"

Milo stared coldly at the man.

The man, however, didn't think he had done anything wrong. He stared back at Milo with an air of self-righteousness, gripping his pipe, and loudly retorted, "Those are children you city folks don't want! What good is reporting them to the police station? And who are you to stand here so arrogantly and act like a fool?!"

"..."

Milo was speechless.

This is absolutely fucking ridiculous.

He remained silent for a long time before finally turning away quietly.

Perhaps Walker was right about one thing—the city is sick.

This includes Walker, as well as these miners who are just trying to make a living.

For the first time, Milo felt the difference between Galid City and Nanwei City. It wasn't that Nanwei City was much better than Galid City; it was just as full of all sorts of disgusting filth. But at least it didn't make Milo feel as cold-blooded.

The man's words, "Those are children you city people don't want," lingered in Milo's mind, leaving him with mixed feelings.

In a fleeting moment, he suddenly remembered the faces of the children playing happily in the orphanages under the Golden Rule Church.

Although Milo has always been a religious critic, he has never hidden this fact from others.

But now he must admit that perhaps the church did the right thing in adopting orphans.

maybe.

……

"Actually, they should have just hung Walker up and tortured him for interrogation."

Milo rubbed his temples.

Since entering the town of Icom, both he and Rebecca have been much more cautious and timid than before, to the point of being somewhat hesitant.

Rebecca felt she had to ensure Milo's safety, because in her view, Milo was still a newcomer with little field experience.

As for Milo, he was mainly confident because he knew that Karl had died in Icom and that most of his combat skills were inherited from Karl. To be honest, he didn't have much confidence.

But this is not normal.

Milo shook his head.

He planned to turn back the way he came.

Dusk was approaching, and since Ikham was located in a low-lying area in the deep south, the town would fall into darkness faster than the city center under the same angle of the setting sun.

Milo walked along the narrow paths between the scattered abandoned houses and buildings.

The surrounding area is overgrown with weeds, and some houses, which are mainly built with wood, have been completely wrapped and entwined by vines.

As night fell and the temperature dropped, I always had a strange feeling when walking alone on the narrow road, as if something was quietly watching me from the open doors and windows of the dilapidated houses on both sides of the road.

Milo is not the type of person who would actively make terrifying associations.

The desolate atmosphere of the town of Ikham is perfectly natural. It lacks human presence. It's alright when the sun is shining during the day, but after dusk, the chirping of insects outweighs human voices, which is chilling.

……

Milo wandered back and forth through the winding alleyways.

Gradually, he discovered something very embarrassing.

Looking at the abandoned houses that were both familiar and unfamiliar, Milo stopped in his tracks:
"Could it be that we're really lost?"

(End of this chapter)