Varina rushed back to his lodgings, the first thing he did being to retrieve the items he'd hidden under his bed.
On the way back, he'd already considered it:
the Dead Eel Gang had tracked him down, and he definitely couldn't continue that job. To be on the safe side, he'd better find a new place to live and disappear completely from the Dead Eel Gang's sight.
Varina felt a pang of sadness.
He wasn't prepared to abandon his current life, yet he had no choice but to leave as soon as possible.
John, Susan, and his once-dreamed-of accounting career like Mr. Luca's—all had vanished like smoke in the face of this raid.
"How did things turn out like this in just one week?"
Varina sat on his bed, unable to stop himself from pondering this question:
Was it because the theft was discovered? Or because of that misleading information? Or perhaps he shouldn't have canceled the engagement?
If he'd been more cautious, would things be different now?
No, that wasn't right.
This ending was predetermined from the start.
From the moment he awakened another set of memories, each step he took was a step towards a different life trajectory, a path completely different from his current one.
Now, he faced the inevitable end, bidding farewell to the past.
Perhaps…
perhaps being cautious in the past few days could have delayed this ending.
But it was ultimately unavoidable!
Realizing this, Varina felt somewhat incredulous.
This was simply fatalism, even more bizarre than how a small trajectory could mislead a gang shootout.
Fatalism?!
A thought flashed through Varina's mind—"
Was this the result of my choice, or… a logical plot?"
He immediately shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind. This question shouldn't be considered, nor could it be considered; he believed everything stemmed from his own choices.
Varina pulled his wandering thoughts back, took off his coat, put on the gun holster under his arm, then cut strips of cloth and tied the dagger to the outside of his left forearm, finally putting his coat back on.
He folded the checks and pounds and put them in his pocket, completing his preparations for departure.
Finally, it was time to arrange an ending for himself.
With the surprise attack at the café that evening, Varina already had a near-perfect reason for his disappearance.
Now, all he had to do was complete the final piece.
He turned the bed upside down, threw his clothes on the floor, overturned the coal stove, and opened every cabinet door he could, creating the illusion that the room had been searched by gangsters.
After leaving, he glanced back one last time, his gaze suddenly sharpening as he noticed two introductory language books on the table.
Varina hesitated for a moment, then turned back a few steps, put the two books in his bag, and left again.
This time, he didn't look back.
…
Around 8:30 p.m., Varina arrived at the Brave Ones bar on Iron Gate Street.
Passing through the patrons cheering him on around the boxing ring, he reached the bar and tapped the table:
"A Southvale beer."
The bartender looked up at him, recognized him after a slight pause, and asked, "Not 'half and half'?"
"A new beginning, a new choice," Varina forced a smile.
"Five pence,"
the bartender continued, turning back to pour the drink, "If you're looking for Kaspass, he's in pool room number 3."
"Thanks."
Varina placed the five-pence coin on his plate, picked up his wooden mug, and took a sip.
Bitter, that was his first impression, but the taste wasn't just bitter; there was also the aroma of malt, and a hint of sweetness at the end.
It was alright, but next time he'd choose "half and half."
He picked up his wooden cup, walked around the two most crowded, busiest, and most sweaty playing tables, knocked to warn others, and then pushed open the door to room number 3.
Kaspass, seeing that it was Varina who opened the door, immediately raised his voice and said, "Not today."
However, contrary to his expectations, Varina didn't nod and leave upon hearing the answer; instead, he walked in.
Kaspass gestured, and the man he had been playing with naturally left on his own, considerately closing the door behind him.
"Is there anything else...wait, what happened to you?"
Only when he got closer did Kaspass notice a swollen lump on the back of Varina's head and several abrasions on his face.
"It's nothing, just a few petty thieves in the East District," Varina said casually. "It's been taken care of. Don't worry, it won't affect you."
Kaspass nodded and asked again, "Is there anything else?"
"I'd like to stay here for the night and leave tomorrow morning, is that alright?"
Varina had all his belongings with him and really didn't want to go looking for a place to stay at this time. Most importantly, there were no hotels in the Bridge District.
"Are you sure you've taken care of things without leaving any loose ends?"
Hearing Varina's request, Kaspass looked at the bump on his head again.
"They could only find my place in the East District at most. I came here because I didn't have any other accommodations nearby."
"Who are they?"
"The Dead Eel Gang from the Dock District."
After a few questions, Kaspass made his decision.
"This billiard room is yours tonight."
He said this and limped out.
After Kaspass left, Varina sat on the sofa, contemplating his future amidst the noise of the tavern.
There were two main issues to consider—where to rent a place and how to make a living.
His choices were actually limited.
While Backlund was large, after considering his existing circumstances, only two places remained that were truly suitable for Varina to rent: the Georgewood district and the Bridge district.
The Bridge district was cheap; rent was similar to that of the East End, with rooms like Varina's previous accommodation costing around 5 sulphurs per week. Its disadvantage was also obvious: finding suitable work there was difficult.
As for Georgewood, its advantage was the abundance of small companies, naturally leading to more job opportunities; the disadvantage was significantly higher rent.
Varina briefly considered renting in Georgewood and becoming a private investigator like Klein in the original story, but ultimately decided against it.
This is because he's neither good at logical reasoning, making him unsuitable to be a traditional detective; nor is he skilled in divination, preventing him from becoming a metaphysical detective.
His forte is probably committing murder under the cover of darkness.
Of course, murder is manageable, but that's something to consider after becoming a true "assassin."
Thus, Varina ultimately decided to rent a place in the Bridge District, putting his income considerations on hold. After all,
even if someone gave him the "assassin's" potion recipe for free, he wouldn't have enough money to buy all the extraordinary ingredients.
In other words, he'd have to pull off at least one more heist, or even more.
Therefore, finding a legitimate job became less meaningful.
At eight o'clock in the morning, at the Xilun Textile Factory,
John and Susan were surprised to find that Varina, who was always early, was late this time.
Susan casually asked, "Did you two switch shifts again?"
"No," John replied, equally puzzled. "He said he'd treat me to coffee today when he left work yesterday. He can't just skip it because of that, can he?"
"That's strange...did he oversleep?"
Susan said, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Hey, do you think we should tell Mr. Luca about this?"
"Don't,"
John advised. "There's no need to punish him. We can make it up to him when he gets here."
"Hmm, that works too," Susan nodded.
As noon approached, they had a feeling that Varina would probably be absent today.
They planned to wait until the afternoon, and if Varina still hadn't arrived, they would tell Mr. Luca.
At noon, they went out for lunch together.
The waiter at the café recognized them and asked, "Gentlemen, do you have a colleague who didn't come to work today?"
"How did you know?" John and Susan asked in surprise, speaking at the same time.
The waiter glanced around instinctively, then lowered his voice and said,
"Last night, he came here for dinner, and some gangsters started causing him trouble."
"Those guys chased him out. Don't ask me anything else, I don't know anything." After
saying this, the waiter turned and quickly walked away, seemingly unwilling to get involved.
John and Susan exchanged a glance, both seeing the doubt in each other's eyes—"When did Varina get involved with the gangs?"
This explanation was truly hard to believe.
Back at the factory, the perplexed two went to Mr. Luca's office and explained what they knew.
Mr. Luca nodded to indicate he understood and then told them to go back to work.
...
At eight o'clock in the morning, Varina woke up on the sofa in the bar.
He opened the door to the billiard room and saw that the bar was already open, with several maids cleaning up the mess left by the previous night's guests.
A thought struck Varina, and he approached a middle-aged maid who was sweeping the floor.
"Hello," he asked, "do you know where the 'Working Class Housing Improvement Association' is in the Bridge District?"
She seemed surprised by Varina's sudden question, stammering a few times before replying, "In the middle of White Rum Street, about three or four blocks from here."
"Is it near the subway station near the East End?" Varina pressed for confirmation.
"On the same street."
Varina nodded, thanked her, and left the bar.
His current rental options mainly consisted of
newspapers, housing improvement companies, the Working Class Housing Improvement Association, and privately posted signs outside properties.
However, considering cost-effectiveness, the Working Class Housing Improvement Association was clearly the most suitable option.
After a trip to White Rum Street, Varina found a new place to live before noon—a one-bedroom apartment sharing a bathroom with three other households, similar to his previous place.
After having lunch at a restaurant, Varina went to several shops to buy new household items and clothes. It wasn't until 2 PM that he finally had a private space, similar to his previous one but more simply furnished.
Sitting on the bed, Varina suddenly felt a disorienting emptiness.
He was used to the busyness of his daily workdays; even on his rare days off, he had many things to do, such as purchasing supplies and tidying up.
This was the first time he had no tasks to complete.
He had intended to use this time to read, but he couldn't concentrate,
so he went out to do something he hadn't originally planned to do right now—find Hugh Deercha. This "Judgment" lady from the original story was the only way Varina could think of to access another circle of extraordinary individuals.
In Backlund, there were roughly three gatherings of extraordinary individuals mentioned in the original story.
The gathering hosted by the "Eye of Wisdom" was one, and Mr. A of the Aurora Society also hosted one.
Besides these, there was an even more exclusive circle—the channel through which the future Miss Sharon would obtain the "Gatekeeper's" magical items.
Varina wasn't sure if the "Eye of Wisdom" had the "Assassin's" potion recipe, but he was certain Mr. A did.
He went out and bought a copy of the *Backlund Post*, then followed the advertisement to a small detective agency in the Joewood district.
Varina adjusted his baseball cap to cover the bump on the back of his head, then pushed open the door and entered.
"Hello, I'm Detective Ron. How can I help you?"
Upon seeing a customer, the detective, who identified himself as Ron, greeted him personally, his attitude very enthusiastic. As he led Varina to the reception area, he habitually sized up his employer's features.
"I'd like to hire you to find someone. How much will it cost?"
"About four pounds," Detective Ron explained. "The usual fee for finding someone is around four pounds, but it can vary slightly depending on the difficulty."
"What are the characteristics of the person you're looking for, or a sketch or something?"
Varina tried to recall keywords and describe the person clearly:
"She's a short but very imposing woman named Hugh Deercha. She's probably a bounty hunter, quite well-known in the East End, and has dealt with several gangs."
"That's about it. I want to find this woman and hire her for something."
"Very good, quite a clear description."
Detective Ron stroked his short beard, quickly jotting down the characteristics on a piece of paper, and confirmed, "So, after finding the woman, should I arrange a meeting for you?"
"Yes," Varina nodded, "and I hope we can meet as soon as possible. I can come to your place every day to check on things."
"Since the other party is a bounty hunter, there shouldn't be any problem,"
Detective Ron said. "If your description is true, finding her shouldn't be difficult; the timing will depend on a bit of luck."
After agreeing on their plans and signing the standard contract, Varina gave a pound advance payment and left with the contract.
…
Eight o'clock that evening, at the Brave Ones' Bar.
Varina, holding a "half and half" drink, found Kaspass in the card room.
Perhaps due to prior arrangement, Kaspass didn't participate in the boisterous gambling, but simply sat to the side, resting.
Varina stepped forward and slapped the man awake, getting the answer he wanted:
"The party's started, I've already told them, I'll take you there now."
He limped ahead, leading Varina from the bar's kitchen through the back alley, and around to a dark house.
"Two pounds, it's a deal."
Kaspass handed over an iron mask that only covered the upper half of his face, while demanding payment.
Varina readily paid, then put on the mask, pulled down his hat brim, and pulled up his collar.
Seeing that he was ready, Kaspass knocked rhythmically on the door.