Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 16 The Glorious Club

Golden Fish Tavern is a rather run-down, ordinary tavern, essentially a cheap restaurant. The patrons are mostly from the lower rungs of society; to use Li Wei's analogy, they're like migrant workers, making a living on cheap fast food meals costing just a few dollars.

Of course, the quality of "boxed lunches" in this era...

Disguised as a middle-aged man, Li Wei watched as the coachman stirred what looked like a large pile of heated snot in a bowl with a wooden spoon, and he had absolutely no appetite.

Let's go get some steak later.

Li Wei fiddled with the tattered wooden wine cup beside him, waiting silently. Fortunately, it wasn't long before he saw a coachman walk into the Golden Fish Tavern. The man opposite him happily raised his hand and waved in that direction.

"Hey Kent! Over here!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

A coachman named Kent walked over, looking at his companion with curiosity, while the latter looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Why are you so late? Did you go really far?"

"Hey, don't mention it."

At this point, the coachman named Kent also began to complain.

"I just picked up a passenger who made me drive around in circles, almost making me dizzy before she finally got out. When I came to my senses, I realized the place was only two blocks from the church! What a waste of time! Luckily, the kind lady gave me a good fare..."

Where did she get off the bus?

Upon hearing this, Levi asked a question, while Kent paused for a moment and looked at Levi.

"Oh, it's the Brilliant Club on Squirrel Street."

"Thank you."

Li Wei stood up, took out a few pennies and placed them in front of the other person, nodded to him, and then turned and left.

With a clue, things became much easier.

Li Wei also had his own information channels, or rather, the most effective ones.

"The Glorious Club?"

Inspector Lestrade sat behind his desk, carefully grooming his mustache with a comb while frowning in front of the mirror.

"you sure?"

“I’m not sure, but the coachman wasn’t lying, and for now, this is the only lead. In any case, let’s investigate… what kind of place is this Brilliant Club?”

While questioning the woman, Li Wei also carefully observed the coachman named Kent. Kent's expression was frank, showing no signs of concealment or lying. This meant that the woman had indeed entered the Brilliant Club, and perhaps she was a member. The next question was how to gain access and conduct the investigation.

"Private clubs require a recommendation to join... They have a good reputation and no bad records... That's all I know. Unless they're involved in any illegal activities, the police aren't qualified to investigate or manage these kinds of private clubs."

Inspector Lestrade spread his hands, indicating his inability to help. Unlike Dr. Dolittle's pharmacy, this type of club had a certain degree of privacy. Moreover, those who could organize and participate were all wealthy, powerful, and influential, unlike Dr. Dolittle, who was penniless and easily manipulated.

Therefore, even if Li Wei wanted to use the same trick again and report the crime to get in and search, he wouldn't be able to.

"Thank you, I'll think of something next."

That's what they say, but Li Wei really had no idea how to join a private club. He'd only been in this world for a little over a week, and these private clubs were all about connections, and none of the people Li Wei knew could provide him with that kind of network…

As Li Wei walked out of the police station, he sighed. For him, the best approach right now was to utilize his skills to locate the target through negotiation and observation. But if he couldn't get in, it would all be for nothing. No matter how capable he was, he wasn't capable of distorting the truth. He couldn't just walk up to the door and say he was a member of the Brilliant Club, and they would let him in.

Thinking about this, Li Wei recalled a prank he'd seen online before, where someone would carry a ladder, disguise themselves as a repairman, and go to various places. They'd almost always get caught… Of course, that trick wouldn't work in this day and age. But thinking about it, it was quite funny.

As Li Wei pondered, he returned to White Oak Street, where the tall clock tower stood not far away. Just as Li Wei was considering whether to go for afternoon tea, a pair of hands suddenly reached out from behind and covered his eyes, followed by a playful and cheerful voice.

"Guess who I am?"

"Miss Katie?"

Li Wei turned around and saw Katie standing behind him, the very person who had disappeared that day. She was dressed no differently than before, wearing a baseball cap, long sleeves and trousers, her bright blue eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled at him.

"Hehe, you guessed right! How about that? Surprised? Unexpected?"

"That's quite unexpected. Where did you go before?"

"I have something to attend to, so I'm going home first."

Katie pouted.

"As a result, my family locked me up for several days before finally releasing me."

To be honest, it would be strange if they actually let you out.

Li Wei had initially thought that the next time he saw Miss Katie, she would have to sneak out of the house on her own. He never expected that she would be released again. Was this young lady so carefree? Or did she simply not care about his life or death? But thinking about it carefully, given this young lady's courage and ability to fight monsters, it seemed that ordinary people couldn't do anything to her.

"By the way, about that bounty..."

"Bounty?"

"The city council has awarded five thousand pounds for the bounty on the courtesan killer. We'll split it in half, and your two thousand five hundred pounds is on this card."

As he spoke, Li Wei took out a punch card from his wallet—in this era, this was roughly equivalent to a bank card.

"The password is six eights, anonymous, you can exchange it at Barron's Bank."

“……………………” Katie took the punch card, looked at it curiously, and then returned it.

"I appreciate your kind offer, but this small amount of money is useless to me, and I don't usually need to spend money anyway, so you can keep it."

"………………………"

My goodness, they really are rich.

Although he had already guessed that this young lady was of noble birth, the unintentional display of extravagance still made Li Wei feel somewhat suffocated.

"correct!"

Before Levi could even put the card back, Katie excitedly came over.

"Besides this trivial matter, have you investigated any interesting cases lately? How about I join in? Consider it a way of giving back?"

Two thousand five hundred pounds, an amount many people cannot earn in a lifetime, is "such a small matter" to you.

Li Wei put away the punch card. He knew that people who weren't short of money wouldn't accept money even if offered. As for this young lady, she clearly preferred excitement and adventure to money…right.

"I am still investigating the aftermath of that case."

"The socialite killer?"

"Ah."

As the two walked along the street, Levi recounted the whole story to Katie. Sure enough, Katie immediately showed great interest upon hearing it.

"So you're planning to go into that Brilliant Club to investigate? To see if they have any connection to that magic book?"

"That's about it, but I haven't found a way to infiltrate yet."

"Hmm... I could ask someone. You said you've already installed a walkie-talkie?"

"Yes."

Li Wei nodded, then took out a pure silver business card holder from his pocket, pulled out a business card, and handed it over.

"If you need anything, you can contact me through this number."

"Ok."

Katie took the business card, looked at it carefully, and then waved to Levi.

"I'll head back now. I'll let you know if anything comes up!"

After saying that, Katie disappeared into the street like a gust of wind. After watching her figure disappear into the crowd, Levi smiled and shook his head before turning and leaving.

Back home, Levi enjoyed the dinner Erin had prepared for him—bread, a vegetable salad, roast beef, and pea soup. It must be said, Erin's cooking was quite good. Or perhaps Levi didn't have particularly high expectations for the food of this era…

As long as it has meat and bread, it's fine; consider it a hamburger combo.

It's better than heated snot soup.

After Levi finished his dinner, he picked up the newspaper and began to read, while Eileen quickly cleared away the dishes and went downstairs to her room to eat. It was a rule that maids could not dine with their masters. Although Levi didn't care about this, Eileen was very insistent on her duties as a maid.

However, for Li Wei, it was still very unpleasant to have someone standing behind him watching him eat.

"Ring ring ring—!"

Just as Levi turned to another newspaper, a telephone mounted on the wall next to his desk, about the size of a public telephone, rang shrilly. Hearing the ring, Levi put down the newspaper, picked up the receiver, and unsurprisingly, Miss Katie's cheerful voice came from the other end.

"We did it! Mr. Li Wei! Let's go to the Brilliant Club together tomorrow!"

I have to say, that's really fast.

Katie was clearly curious and interested in participating in this, and at noon the next day, a carriage arrived at Levi's clock tower as agreed.

Li Wei opened the car door and saw Katie sitting inside.

"Come up quickly."

Katie waved triumphantly at Levi, chuckling softly. Levi didn't stand on ceremony and got into the carriage, sitting opposite Katie. Only after the carriage started moving again did Levi have a chance to examine the girl before him.

Unlike before, Katie was now wearing a pure white long-sleeved jumpsuit, with a black cape trimmed with gold over it, and a felt hat. The hair that Katie had previously tucked under her baseball cap was now free, her platinum blonde hair cascading down to her waist like a waterfall, shimmering in the sunlight.

Although Li Wei had suspected before that she was a noble lady, he was never more certain of it than he was now.

It is certain that this woman is not only a noble lady, but also of very high status.

However… thinking back to that day in the secret room, when this young lady was clenching her fists and fighting with the monster, Li Wei was speechless. He wondered what kind of upbringing this young lady had received.

Never mind her identity for now; in any case, having someone to help you is a good thing.

It was already afternoon when the carriage arrived at the entrance of the Brilliant Club. This was the time Katie and Levi had agreed upon; to investigate the club's inner workings, they naturally wanted to take advantage of a busy time. Private clubs like this were busiest in the afternoon and evening. Most club members would come after work to have a drink, chat, play cards, and so on.

If it's a newcomer making their debut, this is naturally the better time.

Li Wei stepped down from the carriage, looked at Kitty, and extended his hand. Kitty smiled gently, took Li Wei's hand, and stepped down from the carriage.

"Alright, Detective, let's see what's so interesting about this place!"

(End of this chapter)