The next few days were relatively leisurely for Ed, and the detective agency miraculously did not receive any commissions. This may also be due to its strange location:
Rich people rarely made the trip to the East End, and poor people simply couldn't afford to hire a private detective.
But Ed is happy to see the result, at least his work is much more relaxed. If every day was as comfortable as this, he could keep doing this job until he died of old age.
The time is approaching the full moon, and his gemstone faceting skills have become more and more exquisite. It is expected that it is enough to cure Catalina's crystal malignancy.
Early that morning, Ed was cleaning the floor as usual, and the newsboy's voice came from outside the door on time:
"Sir! Newspaper!"
Mr. Eaton subscribed to a large number of newspapers, and a newsboy came to deliver them every morning. One of Ed's daily tasks is to collect potentially valuable information and make scraps.
If you think about it carefully, this is really a good idea. The reporters hired by newspapers are like flies searching for the smell of tidbits all the time, but they are much more dedicated than the police.
He took the newspaper, gave the newsboy a penny in change, then closed the door and began to read the newspaper. The front page was almost full of clichés, but it was a news item in the corner of the second page that caught his attention:
[Beast attack: On the evening of March 25, a citizen found the body of a street girl in an alley on Oak Moss Street in the East District. The body was torn and had multiple bite marks, suggesting it was attacked by a large beast. Currently, the accident has been handed over to the Eastern District Police. 】
It doesn't sound like a simple escape of circus animals...
Ed picked up the scissors, carefully and neatly cut out this part, and pasted it on the briefing paper.
After he had dealt with the remaining newspapers and completed his daily newspaper cutting work, Ed swept the remaining newspaper scraps into the wastebasket and looked through the "Overview of the Layout of Rigid Airships" found on Arthur's bookshelf.
There are many such academic books on Arthur's bookshelf. He is bored in his free time. He has been reading this book for two days and is about to finish it...
etc?
Turning to the last page, there was a stack of thin, folded drawings stuffed inside the back cover.
Ed held his breath and carefully pulled out the drawing, for fear of accidentally tearing a corner.
The drawings are also stamped with the Royal Society's golden apple seal. The content is clearly the design drawings of the one-eyed spider and several sets of corresponding upgrade plans, including a jumping device, an abdominal tool set, and even an audio processing module.
As long as you have enough materials and parts, you can further upgrade the one-eyed spider.
Sylvie suddenly appeared on the back cover:
[I didn’t expect that guy to leave such a good thing. Which module do you plan to upgrade first? 】
"You sound like you can complete the modification now..."
Ed looked disapproving. For a precision device like the one-eyed spider, the parts must be processed by a lathe to achieve sufficient accuracy.
Even if you hold the blueprint in your hand, without advanced lathes, metal raw materials, and professional training, you can't conjure up the upgraded components like magic, right?
Advanced lathes and processing technologies are controlled by the Royal Society, and even internal use requires submission of applications, let alone "idlers" like him.
[I have a way for you to make upgrade components without using a lathe. Remember that ritual instrument called the "dream catcher"? 】
"of course I remember."
[Why don’t you try to process it in your dream? As long as the raw materials are available. 】
Processing in dreams...
Ed recalled the scene where he used the strange white flames to carve the facets of gemstones. Yes, if the white flame can carve gems, why not carve parts of a one-eyed spider?
Thinking of this, he immediately started gearing up.
However, a high-quality dream catcher requires good materials: phantom moth silk, rainbow parrot tail feathers, sterling silver rings, gem pendants... these materials are also something that I cannot get in a short time.
Things fell into an endless loop for a while.
[If it is just made of copper parts, the strength requirements for the dream catcher are not so strict. You can always use the cheapest material instead. 】
Replace with cheaper materials?
Ed calculated that the silk can be replaced with cotton thread, the tail feathers of the rainbow parrot can be replaced with dove feathers, and the ring can be wrapped with thick copper wire a few more times. As for the gem pendant, it is not possible to tie a perforated coin and hang it on it. Enough.
As long as it works, that’s it!
…
Five hours later, in Arthur's room...
Ed sat cross-legged, looking at the crudely made mesh ring in his hand, and fell into deep thought.
I said...does this thing really work?
The thing in his hand is more like the junk in the hand of a beggar than a "dream catcher". Although there are no major flaws in the structure, the thick copper wire ring is crooked and uneven, and when shaken, it can make a clear ringing sound with the coins hanging on it.
[I think... let’s give it a try. 】
Even Sylvie, who has great powers, cannot give a clear assessment at this moment.
Ed took out the copper pocket watch and hung it in the center of the dream catcher as a raw material. Then he entered a meditative state and returned to the palace of thought.
The dream catcher really appeared on the moth-marked desk in the dream room, along with the pocket watch hanging on it.
He took off his pocket watch and entered the second-level dreamland again, a mysterious realm that was deep, quiet, and as dark as the deep sea.
Actuating the white flame, the pocket watch melts into spherical droplets under the heat. The blazing orange color is like a liquid fireball hanging in the sky, tirelessly emitting light and heat.
Sylvie thoughtfully projected the design blueprint in front of his eyes, and Ed divided the liquid fireball into countless small droplets according to its weight and shaped them into components.
In this space composed of personal will, he can construct all the required environments - temperature, humidity, pressure, light intensity, variables that are difficult to control or achieve in the real space, and can be perfected here. .
At this moment, every part was shining like a mirror, reflecting his black eyes.
Ed expertly assembled the parts, assembling the gears, adding spacers, riveting and aligning them. It was a perfect fit, and there were almost no deviations in the specifications - this was perhaps the most comfortable assembly in his life, as comfortable as peeling off the skin of an apple with one knife.
After completing the assembly, he hung the one-eyed spider's abdominal tool set back on the dream catcher and immediately exited the palace of thought.
It can be seen that the network structure of the dream catcher has been completely changed, and the assembled one-eyed spider abdominal tool set is entangled in the center, entangled and intertwined like moths caught in the net.
Ed was about to untie the cotton thread when he heard a "pop" sound, and the pieced dream catcher fell apart in his hands.
The accessory hit his toe, causing him to take a breath of pain, but fortunately it wasn't broken.
"This is really cheap but not good..."
He complained, threw the scrapped dreamcatcher aside, took apart the shell of the one-eyed spider, and installed the brand new tool set accessories on it.
Equipped with this multi-purpose tool set, the one-eyed spider will have a series of destruction and repair capabilities such as cutting glass windows and removing screws and rivets. If used correctly, it may produce incredible results in certain situations.
"Okay, you're done!" Ed put the shell back on and clapped his hands with satisfaction.
At the moment, he can only make the one-eyed spider's multi-tool set first: the audio processing module requires smoky crystal, and the bouncing device requires higher-strength metal as a tough spring and a power-storage transmission gear. Neither of these upgrade modules can be accomplished in one go.
After upgrading the one-eyed spider, Ed kept the drawings in a safe place and put the "Rigid Airship Layout Overview" back to its original place.
This is……?
His fingers ran across the books like stroking the strings of a piano, and suddenly stopped on an ancient book called "Full Moon and New Moon"...
