Based on actual experience,
Mofan Street was a magical place.
When Ronald and Claudia stepped down from the rented horse carriage, the driver took the money without a backward glance and drove away. Although he was willing to come here for work, that was the extent of it.
Watching the carriage disappear into the distance as if avoiding the plague, Ronald and Claudia finally turned to look at the street in front of them.
Although it was relatively late at this point,
standing where they were, they could still see a few people pacing back and forth on the street, seemingly accustomed to waiting for something at this time.
Meanwhile, in Mofan Street, the city’s electric lights had not yet been installed.
Instead, every few distances, old oil lamps were hung on surrounding buildings to provide lighting, the flickering light casting a gloomy and damp glow on the street, and the air was filled with a complex and foul smell.
Generally speaking, Mofan Street had this ominous and dilapidated feel.
Staring at the uncomfortable street ahead, Ronald spoke to Claudia beside him:
"Isa, are you sure we should continue going in?"
Unlike the apprehensive Ronald, the young woman seemed not to care about the scene before her at all.
Facing her companion’s question, she nodded firmly:
"I came here today to get a real look at this slum. There’s no reason to quit halfway."
Unable to persuade her one last time, Ronald could only shrug:
"Then as you wish, we shall continue."
The conversation ended, and the two headed toward the street in front of them.
As they gradually walked deeper into Mofan Street, more and more people appeared in their view.
Minors loitering at street corners at night;
Drunkards, reeking of alcohol and lying on the ground in a stupor;
And the ’local residents’, wearing tattered clothes, their exposed skin showing numerous scars...
Overall, most of these people looked unwell.
In every sense, they fit the actual condition expected of a slum.
Furthermore, after noticing Ronald and Claudia, two neatly dressed individuals entering the street, not a few people eyed them with malicious stares.
Although some quickly averted their gaze after seeing the uniform Claudia was wearing, many others had an even deeper greed in their eyes.
Despite this, neither Ronald nor Claudia said much.
They kept walking along, going deeper into Mofan Street, seeing more and more things.
A few minutes later, the situation became even worse.
If the initial people mostly looked unwell, clearly showing signs of malnutrition, from this point on, some residents were facing severe threats to their lives.
The deeper parts of the street had not been repaired for years, with absolutely no lighting.
In such an unfavorable living environment, one could see emaciated individuals curled up in corners, waiting to die, their terrible conditions compounded by the illnesses that tightly gripped them.
Moving forward alongside the young woman, Ronar could clearly see the changes in Claudia’s expression.
Her expression grew worse and worse.
Faced with the misery all around her, she was clearly very dissatisfied, yet she did not behave overly saintly and inspected each person’s condition. In Claudia’s eyes, she seemed to simply view this situation as a social phenomenon, rather than individual miseries.
She continued to remain silent.
After walking a mile deep into Mofan Street, they reached the end of the road.
It was the Wis River, which ran throughout Springs.
On the opposite bank were brightly lit and orderly streets, while the side with Mofan Street was dimly lit.
The wide river seemed to divide a city into two areas, then turned into two completely different worlds.
Standing on such a spot, Ronald turned his head to look around.
Although also close to the edge of the Wis River, unlike his riverside apartment, a factory whose function was temporarily unknown was next to this location.
Foul-smelling sewage poured directly into the river here, and though the colors in the river were indistinct in the pitch-black night, the odor wafting up was unbearable.
Quietly watching this scene, Ronald spoke first,
"Isa, there’s no road ahead."
Hearing Ronald’s words, Claudia quietly nodded, paced along the spacious Wis River for a while, carefully remembered the smell here, then turned to look at Ronald,
"Yes, our journey tonight ends here."
"Ronald, I’m really glad you could join me."
"This was really important to me."
Facing the girl’s melancholic expression, Ronald said nothing more.
At the same time, he heard some faint sounds coming from behind.
Turning around, Ronald looked in the direction they had come from.
Despite the pitch-black night being dark enough, Ronald’s excellent vision could still make out several dark figures approaching from the shadows of the street.
It was at the edge of Mofan Street.
Seven hunched men were stealthily closing in.
Feeling somewhat emotional, Ronald shook his head and said to his companion,
"Isa, looks like we’re going to have to do some overtime tonight."
With a slight turn of her head and following Ronald’s cue, Claudia also saw the scene in the dark streets.
She then huffed in annoyance.
"I want to see how they’re going to make us work overtime!"
As she spoke, Claudia moved behind Ronald, using his figure as a shield, and her barely detectable voice began searching the Britannica Encyclopedia for entries.
"Volume three, two hundred eighty-fourth page, second entry."
Listening to the faint chanting sound end behind him.
Ronald also knew that Claudia was ready for battle.
In such a scene, as a man, he naturally stepped forward towards the others.
Facing several ordinary people, Ronald was confident that he could handle them.
But when the ’locals’ in the darkness saw someone approaching them, they immediately showed a very scornful smile.
Some even brandished the knives in their hands, swinging them in ominously meaning arcs before taunting with a very provocative tone,
"Little guy, we have some business with your little girlfriend."
"If you kneel and beg for mercy now, we might kindly let you jump into the river for a swim rather than tasting the blade here."