Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 27 Unexpected Discovery
When Li Wei heard Eileen's answer, his first reaction was... what the heck?

How did that psychopath become a social butterfly killer?

I killed that socialite killer myself, how come I didn't know she looked like that?
If Emilia knew how others perceived her, she'd be furious without even lifting a finger.

"What do you mean?"

Li Wei looked at Eileen curiously, and she hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"When the story of the socialite killer first started circulating, many people said that he was a terrifying and vicious madman. He wore a mask, a black cloak, and carried a sharp knife with a blood-red lining. He wandered the streets of the foggy city at night like a ghost, hunting lone girls, tearing out their organs and eating them alive, letting them die in agony..."

"…………………"

If the socialite assassin's body hadn't been cremated, Li Wei would have really wanted to ask Emilia how she was feeling.

"But the newspapers have already stated that Dr. Dolittle is the socialite killer."

"Ah, um... but... I don't know him either."

Yup!

Upon hearing Eileen's puzzled answer, Li Wei suddenly realized that he had fallen into a self-evident vicious cycle.

He killed Emilia with his own hands and knew very well what kind of person Dr. Dolittle was and what he had done. But Levi overlooked one crucial point: most people neither knew nor cared about the difference between the socialite assassin and Dr. Dolittle!
In their minds, the socialite killer was that crazy, masked man in a black cloak. Now, that crazy man just has another name: Dr. Dolittle!
At the time, no photo of Dr. Dolittle was published in the news because most people had no idea what he looked like!
In other words, for most people, the equation Dr. Dolittle = socialite killer = cloaked and masked psychopath holds true!
Previously, Li Wei only thought the dream was inexplicable, but after listening to Eileen's description, he immediately felt that the dream probably had a deeper meaning.

In other words, he was actually killing the socialite assassins again and again in his dreams?
In this way, those cries for help can be understood.

After all, Li Wei's most famous identity as a detective is because he solved this case. So, if those young girls encountered a socialite killer, they would definitely think of him first.

It's like solving a problem. You come across a question that asks you: 2+2=?

Then you know the answer is definitely 4 without hesitation!

Similarly, who should you turn to if you encounter a social butterfly killer?

It was naturally the detective Levi who killed it!

Okay, one problem is solved, but a new one has arisen.

If the socialite killer were still alive, these dreams would be understandable. But the problem is, the socialite killer is dead, and for most people, this is a thing of the past. So why would anyone still dream about it? And so frequently?

Moreover, judging from Li Wei's previous feelings, it didn't seem like a simple dream.

However, Levi had a pretty good idea of ​​why Katie didn't have the same dream as him. Katie was fast, and her identity seemed to be somewhat confidential, so no one knew that Levi had such a detective assistant, and naturally they wouldn't summon her into their dreams.

This is getting stranger and stranger.

Li Wei ate his breakfast with an unchanged expression, while his mind raced with various thoughts. The socialite assassin, who was supposed to be dead, was alive and kicking in his dream, forcing him to act like a firefighter, constantly putting out fires wherever they occurred, and passively at that. He didn't remember having this ability, and the system hadn't yet demonstrated it. So what exactly was going on in this dream? And how should he resolve the trouble he was facing?
So far, the system hasn't popped up any new tasks. Is it because I haven't found enough clues, or is the system assuming that everything I've encountered is included in the task of Mrs. Clarty's true purpose?

This mission is much more difficult than the previous ones.

After thinking for a moment, Li Wei decided to investigate the vampire case first. As for the socialite assassin, well, the other party can only exist in dreams now, and not for much longer.

But vampires are different, after all...

Li Wei looked at the newspaper in front of him, the front page headline reading: "Vampires Reappear? A Shocking Mystery at the Royal Academy"...

[According to our reporter's investigation, this case has been assigned to Detective Li Wei, a special investigation consultant for the police department. He previously assisted the police in solving the well-known case of the socialite killer. It remains to be seen whether this detective can use his extraordinary intellect and wisdom to solve this terrifying case and find the real culprit.]

So, these reporters are really annoying. Luckily, they didn't know that the victim had turned into a zombie in the morgue and attacked others, otherwise Li Wei doesn't even want to imagine what the newspapers would look like today.

After reading today's newspaper and eating breakfast, Li Wei got up and left.

This time, he planned to go to Edwards' house to see if he could find any clues.

Edwards' home is an apartment located at 23 Chestnut Street.

This is a very ordinary three-story building, which is also a rental apartment. It mainly rents out rooms to people who are not particularly wealthy, but are not very poor either.

Li Wei stood at the apartment door, his expression complex.

When he first saw the address, Levi only felt it was somewhat familiar. But when he arrived at the place and saw the three big characters "Durex" on the apartment building's doorplate, Levi remembered that he had seen this address before. It was when he was investigating Mrs. Clarty's real estate purchases. In addition to the Pink Lady, she had also purchased a factory, a warehouse, and an apartment building.

And the apartment building is the one right here.

Is this a coincidence?

No, it can't be a coincidence.

Levi stared at the apartment, lost in thought. He realized that he might have underestimated Mrs. Clarty.

Because the mastermind behind the scenes killed Lady Clarty without hesitation, Levi got the impression that Lady Clarty was just a pawn that could be easily sacrificed. But in fact, Levi couldn't confirm whether Lady Clarty was really just an insignificant pawn. In fact, although Lady Clarty was dead, all the clues he had found were still related to her.

Including this apartment building in front of us.

Okay, let's go in and take a look first.

Just as Li Wei reached out to push open the door, the apartment door suddenly opened, and a young girl walked out. When she saw Li Wei, she was also taken aback.

"Huh? Detective?"

"Miss Betty? What are you doing here?"

Looking at the blonde, blue-eyed girl with a bit of baby fat in front of him, Li Wei was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Betty to be in this apartment building.

“Me? I’m here to ask Maggie to have afternoon tea together… Ah, Maggie is my friend, you’ve met her before…”

"oh………"

Li Wei immediately recalled the girl with brown curly hair and freckles on her face.

"She lives here?"

"Yes."

Betty nodded, while looking at Levi with curiosity.

"Detective, why are you here?"

“I’m here to investigate the unfortunate victim; he also lives here.”

"I see..."

Betty was clearly surprised, while Levi glanced at her.

"Why are you the only one here? Where is Miss Maggie?"

"She's not home."

Betty looked disappointed.

“We had made plans beforehand, but when I arrived, she wasn’t home.”

In this era, there's no such thing as something you can just decide to do on a whim, because most people don't have a phone at home. So, if you want to visit someone's house, you usually have to make arrangements in advance, otherwise you'll end up in the awkward situation of excitedly arriving only to find that the person isn't there.

Conversely, it is very impolite to make an appointment in advance but then stand someone up.

"Well then, I'll be going now. I wish you success in your investigation, Detective."

Betty bowed to Levi and then left the apartment. Levi watched Betty's retreating figure in silence for a moment before entering the apartment.

As before, Levi didn't pick the lock; instead, he used the key he'd found on Edwards's body to open the door… Hmm, as a detective, not knowing how to pick locks does seem a bit of a hindrance…

After all, you can't always take the key from a corpse.

What kind of person is this?

After silently sighing, Li Wei opened the door and entered Edwards' room.

The room looked very ordinary, like the room of an average college student. The desk was covered with all sorts of utensils, and a large pile of books with incomprehensible titles were scattered around. Li Wei also found Edwards' unfinished graduation thesis, titled—"On the Feasibility Study of Brain Transplantation."

Yeah, it's better that guy is dead.

Then, Levi found Edwards's diary.

After coming into this world, Li Wei finally understood why so many people like to write diaries.

The reason is actually quite simple: it's just too boring!
This world had no television, no radio, and very little nightlife. Especially for the educated, it was impossible for them to go clubbing, surfing the internet in internet cafes, or watching movies in theaters like people do today. And because of their social status, they couldn't often spend their time in places like the Pink Lady.

Therefore, writing a diary became a rare form of leisure for these people with a certain level of education when night fell.

Moreover, it can also be used to vent one's feelings. After all, in this era without the internet and so many platforms, even if you encounter something in life, you can't post something online or write a short essay to vent. So, writing a diary is a very good way to vent emotions.

Even Li Wei now has the urge to write in his diary when he has nothing to do at night, but considering how many people have exposed their secrets through their diaries, Li Wei still restrains himself.

He enjoys reading other people's diaries, but he doesn't like others reading his own.

Li Wei pulled himself out of his thoughts and picked up the diary to read it.

(End of this chapter)