Chapter 374: Chapter 373: Unrest in White Stone City

“Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock!”

The courtyard door rang with urgent knocks. Richard stepped out of his room and called out, “Who is it?”

As he asked, he approached the gate, but only the “knock knock knock” of the door could be heard, with no response.

Hmm?

Richard raised an eyebrow, walked closer, and heard a faint “wooo” sound coming from outside the door. First, he paused; then, a bad feeling arose.

Could it be?

Richard’s eyes flickered as the “Eye of Gaze” activated, piercing through the courtyard door to see outside, where Alex stood with a lightbulb in his mouth, drool uncontrollably trailing down from the corners. His eyes, normally the size of green beans, were now wide as brass bells, and his facial expression was a mix of terror and grievance.

Well, it really was.

Richard couldn’t help but facepalm as he remembered a widely circulated curse from Earth: Never, ever, ever warn someone not to try swallowing a lightbulb because if you don’t, it won’t even occur to them. But once you do, there will definitely be someone who cannot control themselves from attempting it.

Those people are curious, possess a spirit of scientific inquiry, and are extremely keen to understand why something that can be swallowed, like a lightbulb, cannot be taken back out. As a result, they inevitably pay a price for this investigative spirit. Even the strongest curiosity must admit defeat before the peculiarities of human anatomy.

The human physiological structure dictates that the mouth is akin to a seesaw; when there’s nothing inside, either end can tip to its highest, allowing the mouth to easily open wide. However, once something like a lightbulb is inserted, it occupies space and prevents the temporomandibular joint from sliding forward. It’s like placing something under one end of a seesaw; the other side can no longer tip as high, and therefore, the mouth cannot open wide enough, trapping the bulbous lightbulb within.

Sigh…

“Creak, squeak,” Richard opened the door.

Outside, Alex, with the lightbulb in his mouth, became excited upon seeing Richard, as if he had seen a savior. He made “wooo wooo” noises nonstop and waved his arms and legs, gesturing wildly. After much gesturing, realizing Richard couldn’t understand a word he was saying, he quickly pointed to the lightbulb in his mouth.

“Come with me,” Richard said after a glance at Alex and walked away.

Alex hurriedly followed, walking with Richard into the laboratory.

After finding a chair for Alex to sit on, Richard grabbed some cotton and linen cloth, and stuffed it into Alex’s mouth. Securing Alex’s constantly shaking head, he took a small hammer, aimed at the lightbulb, and with a tap, “crash,” the lightbulb shattered.

“Ptui ptui ptui!”

Alex spat out several pieces of broken glass and saliva, some of it blood-stained, his expression a mixture of dejection and embarrassment. After a while, he looked up, his tongue swollen, and said to Richard, “Richard, Lord Richard, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have ignored your advice…”

“Never mind,” Richard waved his hand, handing Alex a small bottle of medical alcohol and some cotton swabs, saying, “First, use the swabs to remove the small shards, then rinse your mouth with this liquid.”

“Okay.” Alex obediently did as instructed, carefully cleaning out the remaining glass fragments from the corners of his mouth and between his teeth, then took a swig of the alcohol, gargled, and spat it out.

After a good while of treating his mouth injuries, Alex sneakily glanced at Richard, and seeing that Richard wasn’t paying attention, he shoved the remaining cotton swabs and the bottle of medical alcohol into his embrace.

“What’s gotten into you, Alex?” Richard spoke as if he had eyes in the back of his head, “Snatching such petty gains doesn’t suit you, Alex!”

“Lo… Lord Richard, you saw everything?” Alex guiltily took out the items he had pocketed, his face a picture of misery, “Lord Richard, please understand my situation. I’m a poor man…”

“A poor man, you say? Not to mention anything else, you’ve made quite a sum from me over time, haven’t you?”

It would’ve been better if Richard had not said that. At those words, Alex’s tears started flowing, and he burst into loud crying, “But, I’ve lost all that money!”

“Uh?”

“You wouldn’t know.” Through his sobs, Alex explained, “I did have a lot of money, stored in over a dozen chests in my house, safe from thieves. But… I never expected that a group of damn wizards would start brawling near my wooden building. They had their fun, and a residual wave from a spell brought my wooden building crashing down.

If it hadn’t been for Lady Amanda… cough cough, if I hadn’t reacted quickly and run downstairs with Lady Amanda in my arms, I would have been crushed to death under my building. Even though I survived, I didn’t have enough time to save even one of my money chests; they all got buried under the wreckage.

I frantically dug for several days but didn’t find a single one. Maybe that bastard secretly dug them out, I–I–I am completely bankrupt now, I can’t even afford food, that’s why I did this.”

After listening to Alex’s story, Richard silently mourned for a second, then seized on a key point in Alex’s story and asked, “Wizards fighting near your house? What’s the story there, tell me in detail.”

“What’s there to say, they were just fighting.” Alex had a pained expression as he recalled every detail, “That night… the building collapsed… my money! Those damn wizards, don’t let me find them, or else… or else I’ll make them pay.” By the end, Alex’s eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched in anger.

Richard thought deeply. The wizards that fought near Alex’s house seemed to be of a high level, and there were probably several of them. They were definitely not from the White Stone Tower, so it is likely they were members of the Mysterious Organization that Suo Men and Mu Konni belonged to.

What exactly was their goal?

Richard raised an eyebrow and looked at Alex, asking, “Has the city been peaceful lately?”

“Peaceful?” Alex’s eyes widened, “Lord Richard, you should ask when will the city ever be peaceful.

You might not have any troubles here, but near the slums it’s practically turning upside down, with wizards fighting every day, and nobody knows why. I’m so scared I dare not live in any house and only sleep in a tent now, in case another spell comes along and knocks the house down again.

I’m telling you, I’ve heard that the wizards from the White Stone Tower…”

Through Alex’s story, Richard slowly grasped the recent chaos in White Stone City, sketching out the events that had happened over the period. After listening, his eyes flickered with thought.

“It seems it’s truly not peaceful,” Richard murmured softly.

Clearly, the Mysterious Organization that Suo Men and Mu Konni belonged to had been taking action, planning something. The White Stone Tower, as the ruling force, had been clashing with them, but without any notable victories. If this continued, the situation would become grim.

So, what exactly did the Mysterious Organization that Suo Men and Mu Konni belonged to want to do?

What did they want to do?

…