Lin Jie stood before that volume bearing the dreams and ambitions of countless newcomers, "The Rookie Hunter Observation Directory," for a long time. Only after fully understanding all the valid information did he slowly close the directory.
After giving a proper British nod to Phillips who was waiting nearby and bidding farewell to William, he calmly walked out of the Underground City.
After returning to the Association safe house located in the Bloomsbury district, Lin Jie didn't rest immediately. He placed his equipment bag on the table, then took out from his chest all the tangible assets he had acquired from his Scotland trip.
One hundred and fifty gold sovereigns shimmering with an enchanting luster were piled on the table, along with that Freelance Hunter Manual recording a total of four hundred and eighty-eight Association points.
This enormous sum, which would be considered astronomical in the eyes of any ordinary London citizen, actually wasn't particularly ample for a hunter who constantly faced lethal dangers and had massive equipment consumption.
He needed to conduct the most rational and rigorous "financial planning" for his future hunter career.
He took out paper and pen, clearly listing his assets and future expenses.
First were the "fixed assets," which included his Serene Heart revolver and that Cursebreaker Vambrace possessing tremendous strategic value. These two pieces of equipment were his current foundation for survival and required the most meticulous maintenance and care.
Next were the "liquid funds." He divided the one hundred and fifty gold sovereigns into three parts: eighty pounds would serve as his "daily expenses and emergency fund" for living in London. In this era, this was enough for him to live without pressure for over six months at a decent standard of expenditure.
The final forty pounds were the crucial "research and materials fund" he reserved for his next equipment upgrade.
Finally, the most precious "virtual assets"—those 438 Association points. Lin Jie clearly understood that the purchasing power of these points far surpassed that of gold sovereigns. They could be exchanged for "Spiritual Materials" and "alchemical ammunition" monopolized by the Association that were simply unavailable on the open market.
They could even be used to hire other investigators or purchase precious "knowledge consultation" services from elites like Top Hat Barton. Therefore, he regarded these points as his ultimate "strategic reserve" and would never use them lightly.
After planning his assets, another more practical problem appeared before him—accommodation.
The safe house provided by the Association was certainly secure but ultimately just a temporary lodging. To better integrate into this era and to give his nerves, stretched taut from prolonged tension and nearly snapping, some genuine rest, he decided he must find a real "home" of his own in London.
He set several clear conditions for his future "home": It must be located in a relatively safe, respectable middle-class neighborhood with decent residents;
It must have convenient transportation, close to subway stations and main carriage routes, allowing him to deploy quickly when receiving emergency missions;
Most importantly, it must have an independent "study" where he could store materials, study maps, and even conduct some simple alchemical experiments.
After eliminating many areas, his finger eventually drew a gentle circle on a place full of legendary significance on the map.
—Baker Street.
This choice considered practical factors as it completely met all his conditions, but it also contained a trace of tribute sentiment toward that legendary great detective living at "221B"—a feeling even he couldn't clearly explain.
Over the next two days, Lin Jie rushed about this enormous city for the first time with the identity of a genuine "London citizen."
Through rental advertisements in The Times, he contacted several real estate agencies and viewed multiple apartments.
He experienced the cumbersome yet ritual-filled rental process of the 19th century, engaging in battles of wits with those top-hat-wearing, politely spoken yet nitpicking property agents.
Ultimately, he rented a quite satisfactory two-bedroom apartment with an independent study and fireplace for the "exorbitant" monthly rent of ten pounds. It was located on the third floor of a red-brick building with distinct Georgian style near Baker Street.
The price made him wince somewhat, but he felt more balanced after comforting himself that he could always take missions to earn money.
When he rode a rented four-wheel carriage carrying his modest belongings from the Bloomsbury district to his new home on Baker Street, the carriage's route happened to cross London's most famous and cruel "divide between wealth and poverty."
Just after the carriage left Regent Street's vicinity, the scene outside the window remained relatively affluent. Elegantly dressed noblewomen, accompanied by their equally well-tailored male companions, gracefully entered and exited lavishly decorated luxury boutiques.
Gentlemen wearing top hats drove private carriages pulled by purebred horses, passing each other unhurriedly on the broad streets. The air was filled with a mixture of high-end perfume and cigar scents.
Yet merely rounding one street corner, when the carriage inadvertently turned onto a side road leading toward the East End's Whitechapel direction, the world outside the window instantly plummeted from heaven into hell.
The broad streets were replaced by narrow, muddy alleys piled with garbage. The magnificent buildings turned into overcrowded, seemingly precarious cheap tenements. The elegant perfume scent in the air was overwhelmed by the pungent smell of coal smoke, cheap gin, and the stench of untreated waste.
Lin Jie saw several ragged, filthy children who looked under ten years old gathered around a garbage pile like starving dogs, seemingly searching for edible vegetable leaves. Not far from them, an equally emaciated young mother watched all this with hollow, numb eyes.
On one side was a prosperous age of extravagance, oblivious to human suffering. On the other side was a living hell struggling on the brink of death, utterly forgotten by civilization.
These two worlds with such immense disparity coexisted in the same city without any buffer, separated by just one street.
The intensely powerful visual impact made Lin Jie deeply feel the cruel "festering sores" hidden beneath the confident and proud glamorous facade of this late Victorian period hailed as the "Golden Age."
What he needed to protect wasn't just those living happily in the light, but also these people struggling in darkness for whom even basic survival had become a luxury.
The carriage eventually left that suffocating area and returned to the respectable, clean streets.
When Lin Jie opened the door to his new Baker Street apartment, a sense of stability enveloped his entire being.
The furniture in the room was still quite sparse, with only a fireplace and a few basic tables and chairs. But from today onward, this was his first real "home" in this foreign land.
On his first afternoon after moving into the new apartment, just as he was preparing to go out to a nearby market to acquire some necessary furniture and daily supplies for his new home, a familiar yet somewhat weary figure wearing gray casual clothes passed him by at the street corner below the apartment building.
Lin Jie's footsteps abruptly halted.
Although that figure wasn't wearing the worn police uniform, that unique aura of integrity and steadfastness couldn't be concealed at all.
It was precisely that stubborn yet respectable old patrol officer who had once uncovered a corner of the "Ripper's" terrifying truth—Arthur Weston.