Leisurely Days as a Factory Owner in London [Mixed Classics]

Arna Isaacs is a dedicated player of a retro farming simulation game who, while on vacation, accepts a massive new DLC expansion titled "Foggy City." The update transports players to a historically detailed London during the Industrial Revolution, promising high-freedom gameplay involving industry and theology. Arna prepares meticulously for the transition, packing high-durability golden tools and a large stock of food, confident that her maxed-out character will easily dominate the new map. Upon loading into the game, she finds herself on a train to London. The game mechanics immediately prove challenging as her currency is incompatible with the new map, and her food items begin disappearing due to bugs or theft. During the journey, she encounters a hungry ticket inspector named Charlie. Recognizing a trading opportunity, Arna sells her sandwiches at a markup, inadvertently triggering a management simulation mode that allows her to earn the local currency, pennies. She arrives at King's Cross Station and is met by Lawyer Green, who informs her that she has inherited a dilapidated factory in the dangerous East End of London from her late grandfather. Arna, viewing the world through the lens of a farming game, misunderstands the inheritance, hoping to convert the industrial site into a farm. Despite Green's attempts to correct her, she remains fixated on agricultural possibilities. After checking into an inn and failing to find her aunt's residence, she accidentally stumbles into 221B Baker Street, where she meets Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. The two famous detectives are conducting chemical experiments that cause a minor fire, which Arna extinguishes. She quickly integrates into their household, treating the iconic figures as friendly NPCs and offering them scavenged items to build favorability. The next morning, Arna begins her economic activities by fishing in the Thames and selling her catch to a wealthy lady at Covent Garden, securing a steady customer. She then visits Lawyer Green to inspect the inherited factory. The site is in ruins, occupied by squatters led by a man named Jack, who attempt to extort her for "rent." Arna responds with unexpected violence, using her golden sword and a wooden stick to defeat the thugs and recover their stolen goods. Among the squatters is a young boy named Oliver, who was coerced by the criminal Fagin into participating in the scheme. Arna spares Oliver, showing a surprising degree of compassion. Back at Baker Street, she discusses the incident with Holmes and Watson. Holmes, intrigued by Arna's ruthless efficiency and moral complexity, devises a plan to dismantle Fagin's criminal network. He proposes using Arna's factory as bait, spreading rumors that she is a naive country fool with valuable gold tools. Arna agrees to the plan, seeing it as a way to earn the capital needed to repair her factory. She also discovers a game mechanic allowing her to hire child apprentices, which she intends to use to legally exploit the labor of the very children Fagin targets, thereby undermining his operation while providing the children with food and shelter. The story concludes with Arna preparing to launch her factory business, allied with Holmes and Watson, while navigating the harsh social realities of Victorian London through the lens of a gamer.