Chapter 1: Smoke, Steel, and Silence
The smell hit him first.
Smoke. Coal-dust. A city choking under its own hunger.
Alexander opened his eyes to a world not his own. The crooked streets of Birmingham stretched before him, lined with factories belching fire, children running barefoot, and men with dead eyes shuffling to work. His head pounded. His clothes—foreign to this era—were gone. In their place, a sharp three-piece suit, a long trench coat, gloves, and a hat shadowing his face.
And in his mind, a voice:
[System Online. Welcome, Alexander Romano. Assets: £0. Men: 0. Reputation: Nonexistent.]
He blinked.
"…The hell?"
The voice didn't care.
[Tutorial: Survive. Expand. Conquer. You have been transplanted into Birmingham, 1919. A city ruled by crime and ambition.]
Alexander's lips twitched. "Survive, huh? Great tutorial."
He wandered through the smog, drawing curious stares. Not many men carried themselves like him: tall, broad-shouldered, dark eyes sharp as knives. He had the aura of a man carved for war, though his silence made him seem colder still.
It wasn't long before he crossed paths with the name whispered in these streets— the Shelbys.
But unlike the stories he half-remembered, the leader was not Tommy Shelby. No—it was her.
Thomisia Shelby.
A woman with ice in her veins, beauty in her bones, and fire in her eyes. She stood at the center of a smoky pub, a cigarette perched between her lips, men twice her size listening to her every word as if gospel. She noticed him the moment he stepped in.
Her gaze pinned him. Calculating. Dangerous.
"You're new," she said, her voice low but commanding. "And bold, walking in here without fear."
Alexander said nothing. He simply lit his cigar, the ember glowing as he exhaled.
That silence earned him smirks from Arthur and John Shelby—her brothers—but Thomisia didn't smile. She leaned forward, her crimson lips curving faintly.
"Careful, stranger. Men who say nothing often hide too much."
Before Alexander could reply, the System intruded:
[Auto-Line Activated.]
"Or perhaps men who say nothing simply have nothing to fear."
The words left his mouth before he realized it. Smooth. Cold. Deadly.
The room went quiet. Thomisia's eyes flickered with something—curiosity, irritation, maybe even interest.
"…I see," she murmured. "Then let's see if silence keeps you alive in Birmingham."
That night, alone on the rooftop of a crumbling building, Alexander dangled his feet into the void, smoking slowly. The System chimed again:
[Update: You may now summon men for £1,000 each. Standard Issue: Sharp suit, hat, gloves, tommy gun with drum magazine.]
[Current Balance: £0.]
He chuckled bitterly. "Summon soldiers with money I don't have. Real useful."
But deep down, he felt the thrill. A spark. The beginning of something.
And so began the tale of Alexander Romano—the silent man with the devil's face, the System at his back, and Birmingham at his feet
He suddenly thinks 'wait if Thomas Shelby doesn't exist here can I actually like marry kiss or have sex with her??? Tf having sex with a genderbent Thomas Shelby sorry cilian Murphy' he grins and started to walk trough the rat infested streets of Birmingham