I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 786: The French Girl Trafficked [4800]

Alice d'Orleans - a very typical French name.

It is also the name of a French nobleman.

As far as Qing Deng knows, French people with the word "De" in their names are basically aristocrats.

The word "de" in French is similar to the English word "from", meaning "where from".

In order to distinguish themselves from ordinary civilians and highlight their prominent status, the nobles used the names of their fiefdoms as their surnames and added the prefix "德".

"德" is preceded by a person's name and followed by the name of a fiefdom. "XX·德·YY" means "XX from YY".

Take the name "Alice de Orleans" for example, which means "Alice from Orleans".

Qing Deng did not know the noble lady named "Alice".

—I do know a girl called Elodie Angouleme.

What a pity, Qingdeng really doesn't understand the culture and history of France.

Therefore, he had no idea what kind of place "Orleans" was.

In Europe, the size of the fiefdom and the level of economic development determine the rank of the nobility.

To be honest, when talking about "New Orleans", Qingdeng only thinks of KFC's New Orleans grilled chicken burger.

Thinking of this burger, he suddenly felt very greedy, his mouth was watering and he almost drooled.

No matter how delicious the food from the feudal era was, it cannot be compared with modern cuisine.

Apart from anything else, the quality of the condiments alone makes a world of difference.

The stranger looked at Qing Deng and Kinoshita Mai eagerly, waiting for a reply with hope on his face.

Qing Deng shook his head and replied:
"I'm sorry, we haven't seen such a girl before."

Even Qing Deng, who didn't know much about Europe, knew that "Alice" was not an uncommon name.

Its popularity is similar to that of "Xting" and "Xjuan" in China.

Ever since "Alice in Wonderland" became popular throughout Europe, "Alice" has become one of the most common and popular girls' names in the Western world.

It even led to the general impression among literary and artistic workers that "girls with blonde hair should be called 'Alice'".

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Muxia Mai asked curiously:

"Doesn't this girl have any more obvious physical features?"

I have to admit, the amount of information given by the stranger was too little - hair color, eye color, and age, that's it.

A French person with blond hair and blue eyes… this is no different than finding a Chinese person with black hair and black eyes.

There are so many French people with blond hair and blue eyes that this is not a very obvious or memorable physical feature.

"Ah! I have her picture!"

As he spoke, the stranger reached into his pocket and pulled out an old, palm-sized photo.

"Please look!"

Qing Deng carefully reached out and took it.

This photo is really old.

It is so old that it seems like it could be broken by a slight blow.

He was afraid that he might accidentally break it.

Therefore, he used the tips of his thumb and index finger to gently pinch a corner of the photo to avoid causing any irreversible damage to it.

Kinoshita Mai leaned over and looked at it closely with Qing Deng.

There were only two figures, one big and one small, reflected in the photo.

The larger figures stood straight, head held high and chest puffed out, with an upright posture, just like soldiers.

As for the smaller figure, he sat upright on the chair with his knees together and his clothes straightened.

The stranger pointed at the petite figure in the photo with a considerate hand.

"She is Alice."

His reminder was obviously unnecessary - if the short person was not Alice, then could the tall person be Alice?

Cameras nowadays are still very backward.

Not only is it huge in size and complicated to operate, but the clarity of the photos it produces is really poor.

Either the exposure is bad or the focus is inaccurate...there are so many problems.

It is no exaggeration to say that even with the most advanced cameras currently available, every photo taken looks like a horror movie, truly making people look like ghosts.

The picture quality is not high.

On top of that, the photo is really old, with some areas severely yellowed and faded.

And what was very unfortunate was that the part of Alice's face that was seriously damaged.

This makes it even more difficult to see his face.

Qing Deng narrowed his eyes and observed very hard, but he could only barely make out his figure.

Apart from that, all you can see is a pitch-black mass.

All in all, the role played by this photo cannot be said to be better than nothing, but it can only be said to be completely useless.

Qing Deng handed the photo back and said with a wry smile:

"Your Highness, your photo is too blurry. I can't see it clearly at all."

The other party seemed to have anticipated this situation and did not show any disappointment.

He put away the photo silently, then sighed heavily:

"Alas, this is the only photo of Alice I have... If only this photo could be clearer..."

Qing Deng raised his eyebrows slightly in disapproval - to be honest, even if the photo was very clear, he didn't think they could recognize the grown-up Alice based on this old photo.

Children grow very fast, and they change almost every year.

Judging from her figure in the photo, Alice was probably only about 6 years old when the photo was taken.

According to what the stranger just said, Alice is already 15 years old this year.

6 to 15 years old - this age range is really too big!
After such a long time, I'm afraid his appearance must have changed a lot.

At this time, Kinoshita Mai suddenly asked the stranger:
"Sir, could this girl be your daughter?"

The stranger nodded vigorously.

"Yes! She is my daughter!"

As he spoke, he took out the old photo again and looked at it carefully with a nostalgic look on his face.

"This is a family photo. The man standing here is me."

"What a pity... her mother passed away too early, so there are only me and her in this photo."

Qing Deng frowned slightly and asked:

"Sir, please forgive me for asking you a question. Has anything happened to your daughter?"

Although Qing Deng spoke very implicitly, everyone could hear his hidden meaning - why are you looking for your daughter?

The stranger was silent for a while, then he sighed.

"…7 years ago, when my daughter was 8 years old, she suddenly disappeared."

"According to my subsequent investigation, she was most likely abducted..."

"I heard she was kidnapped to the Far East."

"So, I went around looking for her while doing business."

"The world is so vast that even this small island country would take me decades to find."

"Although I don't want to admit it...but the chances of finding my daughter are so slim that it makes me despair..."

"But as long as there is a glimmer of hope, I won't give up!"

At this point, he paused.

When he spoke again, his tone was sad:
"Ah...time flies by so fast."

"It has been seven years since she was abducted and trafficked."

"She is 15 years old now...she is old enough to get married."

"She will probably grow up to be a beautiful lady like her mother."

It turned out to be a father who was looking for his missing daughter...

The emotional Mai Kinoshita suddenly showed a melancholy and sad expression.

She was an abandoned child.

Therefore, she has a strong empathy for such things.

Qing Deng, on the other hand, had a calm expression on his face.

It's not that he's cold-blooded.

He just habitually maintained a "cautious" mentality.

Who is this stranger?

To put it bluntly, to Qing Deng, the other party was just a complete stranger.

Qing Deng didn't know his background at all.

God knows how much truth and falsehood there are in what he just said.

Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that he has always been telling the truth.

Throughout history, from east to west, human traffickers have always emerged in an endless stream. Westerners have always been like this.

They always use nice-sounding words like "advanced" and "modern" and claim to be civilized.

But they are undoubtedly the most uncivilized and brutal group.

In the current period when "capitalism is devouring Europe unscrupulously", Westerners have taken the attribute of "talking about ideology but thinking about business" to the extreme.

At the macro level, there were governments that brazenly launched wars of aggression just to sell opium.

At the micro level, there are businessmen who break the bottom line and will not hesitate to sell the ropes used to hang them as long as there is profit to be made.

Whether it is human trafficking or opium cultivation, as long as it is a business that can make money, there will be countless businessmen scrambling to do it.

They completely disregard ethics and morals, and take the so-called "market economy" to the extreme.

Let’s not talk about the long-standing “triangular trade” and just talk about the present - the epitome of human trafficking today is the famous “Museum of Man”.

Through various means such as robbery and buying and selling, they collected dwarfs, gigantic children and other deformed children, locked them in cages, and exhibited them everywhere like exhibits to satisfy people's curiosity, and called it the "Human Museum".

There are countless similar dirty things happening at the hands of Western businessmen.

What’s even more terrifying is that they have no malicious intent when making this “blood money”.

In other words, they don't think that what they do is wrong or sinful at all.

Because of this, Qing Deng would always subconsciously remain alert and be more careful when facing big businessmen from the West - none of these guys who have been baptized by capitalism are good people!

Judging from what the stranger just said, his daughter seemed to be quite good-looking.

In this case, it makes more sense that she was trafficked.

After all, Westerners' "preference" for and cruelty to children is no longer a secret.

The most typical example is "The Godfather and the Little Boy".

If it were the 21st century, she might have been sold to an island.

When he thought of this, Qing Deng couldn't help but feel pity and cast a sympathetic look at the stranger in front of him.

If what he just said is true, then this father is really pitiful.

My 8-year-old daughter was abducted and her whereabouts and life or death are still unknown... Just imagining it makes people feel suffocated!
However, apart from "expressing deep sympathy", there was nothing else Aoto and Mai Kinoshita could do.

They really didn't know the blonde girl named Alice de Orleans.

Even if we wanted to lend a helping hand, we didn't know where to start.

Seeing that his expectations were dashed once again, the stranger sighed again.

"Sorry to bother you..."

After saying that, he stuffed the old photo in his hand back into his arms, straightened his clothes, and seemed to be preparing to leave.

Before leaving, he said to Qing Deng in a serious tone:
"Sir, please allow me to express my sincere gratitude for your help just now!"

Qing Deng nodded slightly to show that he accepted his gratitude.

"I wish your daughter peace! I hope you find your daughter soon!"

Mai Kinoshita sent her friendly blessings.

The stranger pulled the corners of his mouth and forced a smile:
"Well, I appreciate your words!"

……

……

The stranger walked at a leisurely pace.

Strangely, he did not go to the Western settlement, but went straight to the outskirts of Osaka.

Soon, all the houses and buildings disappeared, leaving only dense trees and bushes.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from his side.

"……Come out."

The stranger said calmly with a blank expression.

"…Sir, why did you go out without permission again?"

Along with a helpless voice, a tall young man slowly walked out of the bushes, moved in front of the stranger, and knelt on one knee.

Looking closely, I found that this man was not a Westerner, but a real Japanese. He was very unremarkable in both appearance and looks.

“‘Watching the bustling street scenes’ – this is one of my few hobbies.”

As the stranger spoke, he turned his head to look at Osaka behind him, which was dotted with lights.

“The bustling street scene represents stability, prosperity and peace.”

"These beautiful scenes will inspire me! Give me strength! Make me more energetic and continue to devote myself to the great cause!"

Having said this, the stranger paused for a moment, then cast a reproachful look at the young man in front of him:

"What? Don't I even have the right to go out?"

The young man said hurriedly:
"Please forgive me, sir! I am just worried about your personal safety!"

The stranger waved his hand.

"Whatever. I understand your concerns."

"In fact, I did encounter some trouble just now."

"When I was passing through the streets full of izakayas, I got into trouble with drunkards."

"Luckily I met a kind person who helped me out."

"Oh, right... I forgot to ask the other person's name."

The stranger gave a wry smile.

"Forget it... Judging from his appearance, he probably won't tell me his real name."

He spread his hands and then took another step forward.

"Let's go, go back."

He had only taken two steps when the young man spoke unexpectedly - the latter's sudden words made the former freeze in place as if petrified.

"Sir, there is news about your daughter."

"What did you say?!"

The stranger turned his head suddenly, and his sharp, fiery gaze pierced directly at the young man.

Although the young man was startled, he continued the conversation dutifully:

"It is reported that the Shinsengumi recently recruited a French girl who is proficient in mathematics to fill the vacant position of 'Head of the Finance Office'."

"The girl's name is 'Elody Angouleme', she is 15 years old, with light blonde hair and sky blue eyes."

The more the stranger listened, the more his expression changed.

First there was anticipation, then surprise, contemplation, and finally ecstasy.

"Elodie...Angoulême...is proficient in mathematics...I can't be wrong! It's definitely her! It's definitely her!!"

The stranger shouted excitedly.

"The age and appearance match! Even the special skill of 'mastery of mathematics' is very consistent. There is no such coincidence in the world!"

"Alice... I finally found you! I finally found you!"

Before he finished speaking, he couldn't wait to pull his feet and ran towards the north with big strides.

"Sir, please stay!"

The young man hurriedly called him.

"Where are you going?"

"Does that need to be said?"

The stranger said without turning his head.

"I want to find my daughter! I came all the way to this small island country just to find my daughter!"

After that, he simply ignored the young man and prepared to move on.

However, the young man added new words in time, causing him to stop again.

"Sir, new instructions have been issued from 'the higher-ups'! You are ordered to return to 'the Great Nest' as soon as possible!"

The stranger was stunned.

"Why do you want me to go back at this time?"

His face was long, his cheeks were black, and his expression was particularly ugly.

"I am just a nobody, so I don't know the details."

"But... according to what 'the higher-ups' have revealed, after years of forbearance and accumulation, we are about to make a big move!"

When talking about the word "big move", the young man could hardly suppress the excitement in his tone.

"..."

The stranger was sinking and remained silent.

After a while, he let out a long sigh.

"There's nothing I can do... Since it's his order, I can only obey it."

"I gave up the precious time to 'reunite with my daughter' and rushed back to the 'big nest' as fast as I could."

"If I'm not called back for something important, I won't let it go!"

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Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

Could it be that... Elodie is Alice? ! (豹傻.jpg)