Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 5 Visits and Investigations

Jesse Chuck.

According to the statement in the case file, the woman who saw the victim's body last night was in the same profession as the victim. They agreed to meet in the vicinity to solicit customers and then return home together. When the appointed time arrived, Jesse, who had not found any customers, went to the agreed location but did not see the victim. She searched around and then found the victim's body in the alley.

There's no problem with that, and it matches what Li Wei and the others saw at the time, but there is one issue.

That is... why wasn't she killed?

Assuming the killer had already left the scene, then there would be no problem. However, at that time, the killer was still lingering near the scene. They might even have just removed the victim's internal organs. Since Miss Jesse arrived, the killer could have easily murdered her before she even discovered the victim's body.

But they didn't do that.

This is very strange.

The police file didn't reveal much information in the statements, but... for now, Li Wei planned to follow this lead. Fortunately, it contained Miss Jessie's address.

Pink Lady Bar, A392 Baihua Street.

Like most bars, this place is closed during the day, so when Li Wei arrived, he was unsurprisingly stopped by the doorman.

"Alright, kid, the door isn't open yet."

Standing at the bar entrance, a burly man with muscles all over his body, looking like an orc, bulged out his 40cm arm muscles, with his tattoos standing out conspicuously.

"If you want to find women, come back after 18 PM. I've made myself very clear."

"Hello."

Li Wei reached out, pressed his hat down, and bowed to the burly man in front of him—this was the etiquette he had "acquired" from his memory.

"I am indeed here to see a lady, but not to discuss business."

As he spoke, Li Wei began to speak.

"I just have some questions I want to discuss with her."

"question?"

The burly man frowned and stared at Li Wei.

“Yes, Miss Jesse Chuck, I’m here to ask her about last night’s murder…”

"Are you a policeman?"

The burly man's eyes widened again, like a German Shepherd baring its teeth, ready to pounce.

"No, I'm a detective."

Li Wei shook his head, staring at the burly man. At that moment, Li Wei suddenly had a feeling that this burly man wasn't as fierce as he appeared. On the contrary, he felt a little nervous and uneasy; he was hesitating. And the reason for his hesitation…

"I imagine you've all had a tough time lately."

Li Wei sized up the burly man and spoke, then took out a coin and placed it in the man's hand. The latter took the coin, his previous arrogance vanishing as he nodded.

"Yes, Detective, you've seen it yourself. There are hardly any customers coming here now... Alright, I'll go and let them know."

After saying this, the burly man turned and went into the bar, and came out again a moment later.

"Mrs. Clarty agrees to let you see her."

"Thank you."

Li Wei handed the other coin in his hand to the burly man, nodded to him again, and then walked into the bar.

The Pink Lady Bar has two floors, an outer one and an inner one. The outer floor is a regular bar and performance venue, which is now closed and almost deserted. The staircase leading to the second floor, separated by a curtain, is the true passage to paradise on earth.

Poor little Jesse was terrified.

Contrary to what Li Wei had imagined, Madame Clarty wasn't the kind of madam who would wave a handkerchief at the door and shout, "Come in and have some fun, sir!" Li Wei felt she was more like a refined old lady. Dressed simply and formally, she seemed more suited to drinking tea at home than running this kind of business.

"Actually, I can't blame them. After all, our business has suffered a lot since the socialite killer appeared. Everyone thinks there's some kind of monster lurking around here at night... Four girls have died in a row. They were all good girls, Mr. Levi. You might think I'm covering for them, but this is what I really think."

Mrs. Clayty sighed.

"Life is tough for everyone these days, you know that, those steam engines... they've taken away a lot of jobs, jobs that originally belonged to those girls..."

"I can understand."

Li Wei nodded. This part was no different from what he experienced in his world. The widespread adoption of the steam engine led to the loss of jobs for artisans. Textile workers were naturally the first to be affected. Their social class was already low, and they could only earn meager wages by performing repetitive labor to support themselves.

However, with the advent of the steam engine, these textile workers lost their jobs. They had to find other ways to support themselves and their families, and becoming a courtesan was almost the easiest profession to enter.

“If they could, they would like to have a decent job, but they can’t. These machines are so complicated that even we old folks can’t figure them out.”

As she spoke, Mrs. Clarty shook her head wearily.

“Do you know, Mr. Levi? Why can those metal gears just click and clack and print out so much information? There are only numbers on them, I can’t understand how they work. It’s like some kind of witchcraft, magic…”

Li Wei felt he could understand it, though he couldn't quite figure out how it was done. To be honest, that thing seemed equally amazing to him. Mrs. Clarty reminded Li Wei of those old women who lived in the countryside; they struggled to adapt to and comprehend modern technology. The women were the same; they lacked knowledge and couldn't keep up with this rapidly developing era.

Mrs. Clyde stopped in front of a door, turned around and looked at Levi.

"I know you are a decent gentleman, please don't hurt that girl, she can't take any more blows."

“I will do my best, Mrs. Clayty.”

Li Wei took off his hat and then answered in a low voice.

Miss Jessie was an ordinary-looking woman, but perhaps due to a strong shock, her face was thin and she had dark circles under her eyes, and she looked like she hadn't slept well.

"I've told the police everything I needed to say."

She sat on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a tattered shawl, her small body trembling slightly. Miss Jessie lowered her head, staring at the floor beneath her feet, as if flowers were blooming on that rough wooden floor.

“I understand perfectly, Miss Jesse.”

Li Wei reached out his hand to comfort her.

"Actually, I came here not to ask you about what happened last night, but just to know something... um, about your profession."

"What's your occupational situation?"

This unexpected question made Miss Jesse hesitate and raise her head, her brown eyes filled with doubt.

"You can think of me as a journalist investigating the current state of your professional circle."

"Ah, I've seen this kind of interview before."

Upon hearing this, Jesse sighed softly.

“I still remember that time. The boss said he didn’t need us anymore, and then he kicked us out. We were bewildered and angry. We had done so much work, so much… working more than twelve hours a day, without insurance, living in a room that was only a few square meters in size. Everyone’s hands were swollen from being soaked in water, and their nails were cracked, but we still endured it. We needed our wages to support ourselves. But, but those machines—!”

Jesse's voice suddenly rose considerably.

“Those damned steam engines! Cold steel! They took everything from us! We have nothing left! That's it…”

"…………………"

Li Wei remained silent. He had learned about the changes brought about by the steam revolution in his history books. At the time, everyone believed it was a necessary sacrifice—the development of human civilization inevitably eliminates those that are backward and unsuitable. This was a matter of course. In fact, the same is true now; with the development of the steam revolution in this world, the elimination of backward productive forces by advanced ones is inevitable.

However, this does not mean that outdated productive forces will obediently accept this change. Moreover, as the eliminated party, they naturally feel even greater pain.

"Later, we participated in a movement for a while...we wanted to smash those machines and get our jobs back..."

Luddism.

Upon hearing this, a word came to mind for Li Wei. This word originated from Luddite, the first worker to smash a steam-powered spinning machine. After that, Luddism, as a representative ideology against machinery, flourished in the Empire for a time, but ultimately disappeared under the Empire's severe suppression.

Li Wei wasn't surprised. These kinds of people had passion, but that was all. He remembered something similar happening in his own world, shortly after the resumption of the college entrance examination, in an era where a single exam determined one's fate. One student, in protest against this exam-oriented education system, angrily submitted a blank exam paper. This caused a great public uproar at the time, and that student was hailed as a blank-paper hero who declared war on exam-oriented education…

and after?
Without what followed, many people probably wouldn't even remember that such a person existed.

"Of course, the movement failed, and we couldn't get our jobs back, but we still have to live, so I did this."

Jesse gave a wry smile and stared at Li Wei.

"What would a gentleman like you like to know?"

“Some minor issues… I think that people in your profession would definitely avoid having children.”

"Oh, of course."

Once the topic came up, Jesse immediately started talking.

"I think you should know that we actually have many ways to avoid those embarrassing situations, such as using sheep intestines or something, but most customers don't like that. They always want to be closer to us, and some people even use sweet talk to deceive naive girls. This happens frequently, so we are very careful, but it's no use..."

"Useless?"

"Many girls are silly."

Jesse sighed.

"You see, women like me are quite common here. I'm old enough that I don't have any extravagant hopes. But those girls who are just starting out always fantasize that someone will take them away from here, put them in a pure white dress, stand in a sacred church, and become happy princesses in fairy tales. And these girls are always easily deceived. If a customer whispers sweet words in their ear, promising to bring them happiness, then they may be persuaded and do something irrational."

"So they were scammed?"

"I've never met anyone who wasn't scammed."

That was indeed quite tragic.

“I deeply sympathize with their plight…”

Li Wei carefully considered his words.

"But I think you'll find a way to solve this problem, right?"

"…………………"

“I understand your concerns, Miss Jesse, but please believe me, I am a detective, not a police officer.”

Li Wei stared at Jesse and spoke slowly, word by word. He understood why Jesse had remained silent; in this world, in this era, this was a crime. Once discovered, it would result in arrest and imprisonment.

"I just want to find some clues."

“I understand, I read the newspaper.”

Jesse stared at Levi, biting her thin lips tightly.

“Okay, I admit, we will try to figure out a solution. We'll find a doctor, and he'll give us some medication, you know. However, I don't think that person is the murderer.”

"why?"

Seeing Jesse's confident demeanor, Levi was somewhat surprised.

“When something like this happens, we always ask other women to bring the medicine back, so the doctor has no idea who needs it. And…”

Jesse paused for a moment at this point.

"Dr. Dolittle is a kind and virtuous man; he would never do such a heinous and evil thing."

Li Wei had to admit that he really didn't have any talent for detective work.

This is actually a very simple deduction. Since the victims all showed signs of miscarriage before their deaths, and considering their professions, someone must have known they would do such a thing. If the perpetrator's target was this, it's easy to deduce that there must be a suspect who knew about their shared situation…

However, Miss Jessie's answer directly overturned Levi's idea. Indeed, for socialites, having a child was a very serious mistake. Moreover, if the management found out, they would be punished or even have their pay docked. Therefore, these women would secretly ask their close friends to get the medication for them.

For example, in this case, the victim was a good friend of Jesse, and it was she who asked Jesse to pick up the medication. However, Ms. Jesse didn't go herself but instead asked another friend. In other words, even if that friend let slip, the perpetrator would only contact Jesse, not the victim directly.

The problem is that the victims are the ones who end up being investigated... which is very confusing.

Furthermore, Miss Jessie said that this is standard practice for socialites, which means that the others might do the same.

But this was just a hypothesis, and Li Wei felt he still needed to investigate further.

What if I guessed wrong?

However, the result was completely different from what Li Wei had expected.

"call……………"

When Levi returned to his home in the clock tower, he was utterly exhausted. This was not only because he had to climb more than ten flights of stairs (because the elevator was broken), but also because he had spent the entire day investigating the relationships of the other deceased, and the answers he received were all similar to those of Miss Jesse.

The deceased had indeed made mistakes for various reasons, and they knew they had made mistakes, so they asked others for help to bring back some medicine from Dr. Dolittle.

But those people all claimed that they never told Dr. Dolittle who needed the drugs, and he never asked, which was a very good doctor-patient relationship.

Li Wei couldn't tell they were lying.

However, the investigation must continue. Although, for the time being, this doctor named Dolittle appears to be without suspicion, Li Wei has no choice but to continue the investigation through his lead.

He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind replaying the information he had received that day about Dr. Dolittle.

He was a good man, a doctor with a clinic in the Oaks district that catered to the poor. He was a devout Catholic, kind and compassionate, and often helped those who couldn't afford medical care. By all accounts, he seemed like a good person. Moreover, he had lived in the area for over ten years and knew the locals well; he wasn't a newcomer.

It can be said to have an excellent reputation.

Of course, in detective novels or TV dramas, the more innocent a person seems, the more likely they are to be the murderer. However, that's just artistic license, and whether it's true in reality is another matter.

Although Li Wei had always been interested in detective novels and had even considered becoming a policeman, it was just a dream. Aside from the novels, movies, and games he'd read and played, Li Wei didn't actually know much about what a detective did. He also didn't understand why he'd been chosen for this profession.

"Why……………"

Li Wei reached into his pocket, silently took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and then struck a match to light it. He hadn't smoked in a long time since being hospitalized. His mind was a mess right now; maybe a cigarette would clear his head…hmm?

Just as Li Wei took his first puff of smoke, he saw the countdown to his life, which had been steadily decreasing, rapidly dropping in the corner of his eye, much like the data that appears in a first-person action game. In the time it took to exhale a puff of smoke, Li Wei's life countdown dropped from 9 days, 3 hours, and 20 minutes to 9 days, 1 hour, and 10 minutes.

"………………………"

Li Wei silently extinguished his cigarette, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

Smoking is indeed harmful to health.

Never mind, I'll get some sleep first and continue the search tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)