The Mysterious King

Chapter 3 Melissa

Having determined the plan, Zhou Mingrui immediately had a backbone, panicked, wandering, and uneasy, all curled up in a corner.

It wasn't until then that he had the mood to carefully examine the remaining memory fragments of Klein.

Zhou Mingrui habitually stood up, closed the pipe valve, watched the wall lamp slowly dim until it went out, and then sat down again, unconsciously stroking the brass wheel of the pistol while holding down the side of his head, quietly "savoring" in the crimson darkness, like the most attentive audience in the cinema.

Perhaps due to the impact of bullet penetration, Klein's memory is like shattered glass, not only losing coherence, but also noticeably missing content in many places, such as where the exquisitely crafted revolver came from, whether it was suicide or homicide, what does the sentence "everyone will die, including me" in his notebook mean, and whether he participated in any strange events two days before the incident.

Not only have these specific memories become fragmented and incomplete, but even the knowledge they have mastered is the same. From the current state, Zhou Mingrui believes that if Klein returns to university, he may not be able to complete his studies, even if he has only been away from campus for a few days and has not relaxed at all about himself.

Two days later, I will be interviewing for the History Department at the University of Tyngen

There is a tradition in the universities of the Kingdom of Wayne that graduates do not directly stay on campus. The supervisor gave a recommendation letter to Tingen University and Beckland University

Amidst Zhou Mingrui's silent "observation," the red moon outside the window tilted westward, gradually sinking until a faint light shone in the east and the horizon was stained with gold.

At this moment, there was noise coming from the room inside, and soon footsteps leaned towards the isolation door.

Melissa woke up and she was as punctual as ever, "Zhou Mingrui smiled slightly, feeling a sense of looking at her own sister influenced by Klein's memory.

However, I didn't kiss my sister and he immediately roast.

Melissa, unlike Benson and Klein, did not complete enlightenment education at the Sunday school of the Night Goddess Church. When she reached school age, the Kingdom of Wayne enacted the Primary Education Act, established a Committee for Middle and Lower Education, and provided funding specifically to increase investment.

However, in three years, with the inclusion of many church schools, numerous public primary schools were established, strictly adhering to the principle of religious neutrality and not involving disputes between the Church of Storm God, Night Goddess, and the God of Steam and Machinery.

Compared to Sunday schools that only use one copper penny per week, public elementary schools charge a relatively high tuition fee of three pence per week. However, the former only studies one day per week on Sundays, while the latter has to attend classes for a full six days per week. Overall, the price is as low as almost free.

Unlike most girls, Melissa grew up liking gears, springs, bearings, and other things, and aspired to become a steam mechanic.

Having suffered cultural losses and understood the importance of education, his elder brother, Benson, supported Klein's dream just like he supported Klein's college education. After all, Tingen Technical School can only be considered a secondary education, and there is no need to go to grammar school or public school to accumulate knowledge.

Last July, at the age of fifteen, Melissa passed the entrance exam and became a member of the Steam and Machinery Department at the Tingen Technical School. Her weekly tuition fee also increased to nine pence.

At the same time, due to the impact of the situation in the southern mainland, the import and export company where Benson works has significantly reduced both profits and business volume, forcing him to lay off more than one-third of the workforce. In order to maintain his job and maintain his livelihood, Benson can only accept heavier tasks and must work overtime regularly or go to places with harsh environments, just like in the past few days.

Klein wanted to help his brother alleviate the burden, but he was born as a commoner and admitted to a regular grammar school. As soon as he entered university, he felt a strong sense of his own shortcomings. For example, as the source language of all countries in the Northern Continent, Gulfshak, which was something that aristocratic children and children from the wealthy class had to learn from a young age, he only got to know it for the first time until university.

There are many similar aspects, and Klein has almost exhausted all his strength, often staying up late and getting up early, only to barely catch up with others and graduate smoothly with an average score.

The memories of his older brother and younger sister jumped in Zhou Mingrui's mind. As he turned his hand, the door inside the room creaked open, and he suddenly woke up, remembering that he was holding a revolver in his hand.

It will scare children!

Also, there's the wound on my head!

Seeing that Melissa was about to come out, Zhou Mingrui hurriedly opened the desk drawer while holding down his temple and threw the revolver in with a bang.

What happened? "Melissa looked over in confusion as she heard the commotion.

She is in the most youthful stage, even if she cannot eat anything good, her face is thin and slightly pale, and her skin is still full of radiance, emitting a girlish aura.

Seeing his sister's brown eyes probing, Zhou Mingrui tried to calm down and picked up the object close to him. He then calmly closed the drawer to cover up the existence of the revolver, while the touch of his other hand in the temple confirmed that the wound had healed!

He took out a silver white pocket watch with vine branches and leaves patterns from the drawer. With a gentle press on the top, the watch cover popped open.

It is the most valuable item left by the father of the Royal Army Staff Sergeant, but second-hand goods are still second-hand, and problems have occurred from time to time in recent years, even if they have been repaired by a clock craftsman. This has made Benson, who likes to wear it to elevate his identity, repeatedly lose face and simply leave it at home.

It must be said that Melissa may indeed have a talent for mechanics. After mastering theoretical knowledge, she began to use the tools of the technical school to tamper with this pocket watch, and recently even claimed to have repaired it!

Zhou Mingrui watched the watch cover bounce open and saw the second hand stop moving. He instinctively turned the top and planned to string the pocket watch.

However, after twisting a few times, there was still no sound of the spring tightening,

It seems like it's broken again, "he looked at his sister without saying anything.

Melissa gave him a expressionless glance, quickly walked over, and took away the pocket watch.

She stood in place and first pulled out the button at the top of the pocket watch. After only a few turns, there was a clicking sound of the second hand moving.

Normally, shouldn't pulling it up be an adjustment of time? Zhou Mingrui's expression suddenly became dull.

At this moment, the sound of the bells from the distant cathedral rang out, six times in a row, distant and ethereal.

Melissa listened attentively, then pulled up the button at the top of the pocket watch a bit, and then continuously twisted it to adjust the time.

Alright, "she said briefly without any emotion, then pushed back to the top and returned the pocket watch to Zhou Mingrui.

Zhou Mingrui awkwardly and politely replied with a smile.

Melissa took another deep look at her brother, turned around and walked towards the cabinet. She grabbed her toothbrush, towel, and other items, pulled the door open, and went out to the public bathroom.

How could her expression just now have a hint of disgust and helplessness

Concerned about the eyes of my intellectually disabled brother

Zhou Mingrui shook his head and smiled low, closing the watch cover with a snap and then pressing it open with a snap.

Repeating this action, his mind diverged and he thought of a question.

Without a silencer, Klein committed suicide. Well, for now, let's call it suicide. His suicide voice was definitely loud, and Melissa, who was separated by a wall, was unaware of it.

Is she sleeping too soundly? Or is the fact that Klein committed suicide itself full of mystery?

Pop, open, pop, close. When Melissa returned from washing, she saw her brother's unconscious movements of constantly opening and closing the lid of her pocket watch

Her gaze was once again mixed with helplessness, and her voice sweetly said:

Klein, take out all the remaining bread and remember to buy new ones today, as well as meat and peas. You're about to attend the interview, and I'll make lamb stewed with peas for you

During the conversation, she took the stove out of the corner, lit a fire with leftover charcoal, and boiled a pot of hot water.

Before the water was about to boil, she opened the bottom drawer of the cabinet and, like a baby, took out a can of inferior tea, sprinkled about ten pieces into the pot, pretending that it was real tea.

One person poured two large cups, while Melissa and Zhou Mingrui shared two loaves of rye bread with tea.

There was no mixed sawdust, but it still didn't taste good. Zhou Mingrui was weak and hungry, relying on tea to swallow the bread forcefully.

After a few minutes, Melissa finished eating and gathered her black hair hanging from her vest, looking at Zhou Mingrui and saying:

Remember to buy new bread, only eight pounds. It's hot and too much can easily spoil, as well as lamb and peas,

Okay, "Zhou Mingrui smiled and nodded

Regarding the pound of the Kingdom of Lun, Zhou Mingrui, based on Klein's memory and his own comparison, believes that it is close to his customary pound, which is 0.5 kilograms.

Melissa didn't say much, got up and tidied up, packed the last loaf of bread for lunch, put on the old gauze hat left by her mother, picked up the backpack she had sewn for books, stationery, and prepared to go out.

Today is not Sunday, she has to attend class all day.

It takes about fifty minutes to walk from this apartment to the Tingen Technical School. There is a public carriage, which costs one penny per kilometer, with a maximum limit of 4p in the city and 4p in the suburbs. To save money, Melissa leaves early and walks over on her own.

As soon as she opened the door, she paused and half turned her body, saying:

Klein, don't buy too much lamb and peas. Benson may not be back until Sunday. Well, remember that bread only costs eight pounds

Okay, okay, "Zhou Mingrui reluctantly replied.

At the same time, he silently recited the word "Sunday" several times in his heart.

In the northern continent, the year is also divided into twelve months, ranging from 365 to 366 days per year, with seven days per week.

The achievements of the heavens ahead made Zhou Mingrui suspect that this was a parallel world, while the latter originated from religion, as there were seven orthodox gods in the Northern Continent: the Eternal Sun, the Lord of Storms, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, the Night Goddess, the Mother Earth God, the God of War, and the God of Steam and Machinery.

Watching his sister close the door and leave, Zhou Mingrui suddenly sighed and quickly shifted his focus to the transfer ceremony.

Sorry, I really want to go home