The Deceitful One

"Riots?" Bryan was slightly taken aback, "Why so?"

"With steam-powered machinery replacing most of the manual labor, a lot of low-class workers have become jobless, leading to dissatisfaction."

He then added, "Plus, the measly wages that they are paid in return for whatever job they do get."

Bryan's eyebrows furrowed as listened to Jamie's explanation. The steam-powered machines indeed put a lot of people out of jobs.

And all this discontent had been piling up and compounding over the years.

Now with the invention and the subsequent commercialization of the steam cars, a lot of carriage drivers also lost their earnings.

It would take them a lot of time to practice and learn to become chauffeurs. In the meantime, how were they supposed to feed their family?

Most of these poor people did not believe in the idea of saving. They lived their lives from paycheck to paycheck.

The biggest reason would be that their wages were so low, to begin with, that at the end of it, they had barely anything left to save.

On top of that, the wealthy people blatantly taking advantage of the poor and giving them measly wages for working long hours did not relieve the problem one bit.

While Bryan was deep in thought, Jamie said meekly, "I've also heard another rumor but I don't know if it's true."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Bryan inquired, "What rumor?"

"I've heard some strange-looking people in the slums say that soon there will be machines that look exactly like humans that will put all the poor people out of jobs," Jamie replied.

He then added with a giggle, "But no one believed them because they were dressed funny. Everyone thought they were just another bunch of madmen spouting nonsense."

However, Bryan didn't find this funny at all. His expression became even more solemn as he thought, 'Automatons!'

Bryan had heard from Elijah a few times that the Dicentra Research Institute was working on another groundbreaking invention that would make the lives of people even more convenient.

It was the automaton. These were mechanical devices that looked exactly like humans, except they were made of steel and gear.

The most disruptive idea behind this was that an automaton could do everything a human possibly could and even more. And it would never get tired! As a machine how could it?

But what really bothered Bryan was how this news was spread in Damascus—in the slums, no less.

Although the completion of the automaton machine would take around a year or so, it was still considered highly classified information.

Elijah was only privy to this because of his teacher, Old Larry. And Bryan and Andrew got to know of this information because this one time, Elijah had divulged it in his drunken stupor.

"You said these people were dressed strangely, can you explain?" Bryan asked Jamie.

Jamie nodded, "Yes. I even saw a few of them move around in the slums more than once. They always wore black hooded robes. And from time to time, they would even laugh like they were crazy."

Bryan's eyebrows twitched as he thought, 'Black hooded robes? Could these people be any more obvious?'

Having in possession highly classified information that only people in high power would know. Moreover, wearing those hooded robes made one think that these people were definitely related to a cult.

'I must report this to the Captain as soon as possible.' Bryan sighed inwardly.

He then looked at Jamie and smiled approvingly, "Well done, Jamie!"

Bryan then took out a stack of notes from his pocket and took out two 5-pound notes. He then handed it to Jamie, "This is for your hard work."

Jamie was elated at the sight of so much money. However, he still controlled himself and asked, "Boss, isn't this a lot more than you promised to pay me?"

'What an honest kid.' Bryan thought inwardly. Then he smiled encouragingly, "But I also told you that I would pay you a bonus if you did good work. And the information you have provided today is very helpful to me."

Nodding his head gleefully, Jamie took the money from Bryan and carefully kept it in his pocket.

'I will be able to buy lots of sweets for the kids today. They'll be so happy!' Jamie thought in his heart and couldn't help but smile thinking of his cute little siblings.

He was once again reminded of how fortunate he was to meet Bryan. Before meeting him, Jamie and the kids used to struggle every night to stay warm.

They didn't even have enough money to buy proper clothes or blankets. During the daytime, they would struggle even more to find food that could fill all their stomachs.

Although the eldest of the kids—Jamie's big sister Ella—worked as a housemaid and receive weekly wages, it was nearly not enough.

Most of it had to go be given to the moneylender so that they could clear their debt.

Jamie looked into Bryan's eyes and expressed his sincere feelings, "Boss, I am very grateful to have met you. From now on, I'll work even harder."

Bryan smiled at him warmly, "Don't overwork yourself now. I'm already happy with your efforts."

The duo then chatted for a few more minutes and bid farewell as they went their separate ways.

Jamie still had to go home and look after the kids. Meanwhile, Bryan had to go back to the Silver Owls HQ and report his findings.

As Bryan was walking along the footpath, deep in his thoughts, he suddenly heard an elderly voice call out to him, "Young man, will you help this poor old woman out?"

Bryan stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the source of the voice. It was an old woman who was wearing a brown ragged robe.

She had a head full of white hair and her face was full of lines and wrinkles. One could easily guess that this old lady was at least sixty-five to seventy years of age.

Currently, she was crouching down by a building as she looked at him with a gentle smile. And in front of her was a small wooden table, upon which a deck of strange-looking silver cards was kept.