Old Newcastle

After leaving the clock and memory watch store, Poi straightened her clothes a bit and put her hands in her pockets.

"Hm!"

Then, she walked away from the alley, entering the bustling main street.

"Steamed buns, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, freshly made soy milk, all piping hot!"

"Just baked bread, fresh milk!"

"Rice with raw eggs, miso soup."

A mix of Eastern and Western cuisines, combined with flavors from the neighboring country, set up breakfast stalls on both sides of the street, filling the entire street with a delightful aroma.

Poi looked around, feeling a bit hungry from the enticing smells, but after hesitating for a moment, she decided not to have breakfast there and simply walked away.

By the roadside, a vendor selling wontons glanced at the direction Poi was leaving, then gestured to two other customers who were eating wontons nearby.

The two customers nodded silently, finished their wontons quickly, and one of them followed Poi.

Meanwhile, the other customer went in the opposite direction, crossed two streets, and arrived at the largest hotel in the St. Martin Kingdom, the Rose Hotel.

Passing through the luxurious hotel lobby, the person went to the second floor and entered one of the innermost rooms, then quickly disappeared into the bathroom.

"Click!"

After pressing a few times on the bathroom wall, the toilet suddenly made a mechanical sound and began to descend.

A bright light appeared.

They had arrived in a massive hall, easily the size of a football field.

The bright and tidy decoration, the strict guards, and the busy staff all indicated that this place was far from ordinary.

This was the headquarters of the Passerby!

Since its inception, the Passerby had rapidly grown from a small organization that gathered information about the surrounding kingdoms into a large organization with several departments.

Their main tasks had evolved from gathering information about neighboring kingdoms to espionage, counterintelligence, protecting important figures, and more. Apart from assassinations, their activities were almost identical to those of the world government's CP organization.

As for assassinations?

No way!

Wasn't the Misfortune Gem the perfect assassination tool?

Moreover, it was completely without side effects and impossible to detect!

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The innermost room of Passerby's headquarters.

"Thud, thud!"

"Come in!"

A fierce-looking middle-aged man with a bald head walked in.

"Lord Devin!" The bald man respectfully saluted.

"Yabuki, what's the matter?" Devin asked casually without even looking up from the documents he was handling.

"Just now, Number One suspected that he had contact with Number Nine!" Yabuki reported.

"Oh!?" Devin put down the documents in his hand, frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Increase the surveillance level by one grade. Report back if there are any further discoveries!"

"Yes!" Yabuki nodded respectfully and then exited the room.

What's the most difficult part of counterintelligence?

It's not apprehending spies but rather identifying and confirming their identities!

As a fledgling intelligence organization, Passerby managed well in counterintelligence, mainly due to Arthur's expertise, acquired from various movies and TV shows before he traveled back in time.

Through various methods and after eliminating many suspects, Passerby had compiled a list of dozens of individuals suspected to be spies.

As time passed, some individuals were ruled out, and finally, twelve remained. These dozen people were ranked in order of suspicion, labeled as Number One to Number Twelve. Poi was the most suspected individual, labeled as Number One, while the watch repairer from the Time and Memory Clock Shop was labeled as Number Nine.

Originally, it was expected that Number Nine would be excluded after some time.

However, unexpectedly, today he had contact with Number One!

Although the reason was unknown, Devin heightened his suspicion and surveillance on both of them.

"The Doctor and the clock shop owner," Devin leaned back in his chair, hands resting on the back of his head, gazing at the ceiling with a vacant expression, murmuring.

The next day.

"Waves upon waves… waves upon waves…"

This morning, after finishing his work in rough linen clothes, Old Newcastle sang a song as he walked to the familiar clinic. Despite his advanced age, his heart was still young. After work, he enjoyed singing, dancing, and having a little drink, living a carefree life.

Perhaps it was his positive mindset that kept him relatively healthy, even though he suffered from minor ailments, he had never had any major health issues!

Soon, Old Newcastle arrived at a small clinic that was only fifteen square meters in size.

Above the door of this small clinic, there was a sign with a red cross and the words "Poi Clinic."

The clinic's doors were not closed; both doors were open, but Old Newcastle still politely knocked on the door.

"Knock, knock!"

"Come in!" Poi said softly.

"Good morning, Dr. Poi!" Old Newcastle greeted with a smile as he skillfully pulled out a chair in front of the table and sat down.

"Good morning, Old Newcastle!" Poi smiled and said, "Is it the same old problem again?"

"Yes, the same old problem. Just a slight backache," Old Newcastle confirmed with a nod.

"Alright! Wait for me a moment; I have something to do now. Can I make a phone call first? Is that okay?" Poi smiled and asked.

"No problem at all, Dr. Poi, go ahead and make your call!" Old Newcastle quickly waved his hand in agreement.

He had great respect for doctors!

In fact, in any world, doctors held relatively high positions!

Especially in this world!

Just like pirates, who fought and got injured daily, and injuries were as common as eating. In such a situation, without a ship's doctor, pirates would have perished long ago!

On a pirate ship, regardless of a doctor's skill level, they held a higher status and seldom engaged in violent acts. Most ship's doctors would patiently wait until the pirates were done with their fighting, then claim their fair share of the spoils.

Even someone as foolish as Valpo wouldn't exile so many doctors.

If they were with Arthur, they would be considered treasures!

However, although Valpo was foolish, he wasn't so foolish as to disregard his own life. That's why he still had twenty doctors under his command.

Seeing that Old Newcastle agreed, Poi picked up the Den Den Mushi next to her and made the call.

"Purupurupurupuru!"

Soon, the call was answered.

"Hello!" came the voice of the clock shop's repairman from the Den Den Mushi.

Poi said seriously, "The medicine for Hugmore is ready; hurry and come over! Also, bring the watch I had you repair yesterday!"

"Alright, no problem. Dr. Poi, I'll be right there!" Christian Hugmore, the clock shop's repairman, answered in a deep voice.

Poi hung up the call and looked at Old Newcastle, saying, "It's done! Old Newcastle, let's continue with the treatment!"

"Sure, thank you, Doctor!" Old Newcastle nodded and, as usual, took the stethoscope from Poi and placed it on his chest to let her listen to his heartbeat.

This time, Poi listened with the stethoscope just like usual and nodded after a while, "As usual, your health is relatively good, no major issues, just the usual problem!"

"Hoo--" Hearing this, Old Newcastle breathed a sigh of relief. Although he visited the clinic regularly, he still didn't want to hear any bad news.

At this moment, Poi suddenly said, "By the way, a few days ago, I learned a new treatment method, massage, which can invigorate the muscles and bones. However, I haven't used it yet. Today, you're here, so I'll give it a try for free and see how effective this treatment is! Is that okay?"

"Sure! No problem!" Upon hearing the word "Free", Old Newcastle immediately agreed happily.

"That's good. Follow me to the back!"

Saying that, Poi pulled aside the curtain behind her, revealing a small compartment of less than five square meters at the back of the clinic. Inside the compartment, there was a bed.

On the other side, after receiving the call, Hugmore hurriedly left his place and headed towards the clinic.

Soon, he arrived at the clinic's entrance.

At this moment, he hesitated for a moment, seemingly noticing something, but quickly feigned ignorance. While entering the clinic, he called out, "Dr. Poi, the watch you brought for repair yesterday is fixed. I've brought it for you!"

Hugmore spent about half an hour inside the clinic before coming out again and leaving the place.

"Waves upon waves… waves upon waves…"

Half an hour later, Old Newcastle also came out, wearing a smile, seemingly unchanged on the surface!