Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 2: The Choice Without a Choice
The shadowy figure moved with unexpected speed.

As Li Wei turned around, gripped the gun handle, and raised it, the scene before him was completely enveloped in darkness. He could even smell a foul and pungent odor. It felt as if his life would end there at any moment.

At the same time, Li Wei pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

A loud gunshot echoed through the alley, the reverberation almost deafening. The shadowy figure trembled, pausing for a fleeting moment—about a half-second—before taking advantage of the chaos. Levi rolled and slammed into Inspector Lestrade, both landing awkwardly on the ground. A sharp whooshing sound swept past them, and when Levi and Lestrade looked up again, they saw the shadowy figure leap up once more, scaling the walls like a gecko.

"Bang bang bang!"

At that moment, Inspector Lestrade hurriedly drew his pistol and pulled the trigger at the dark figure. However, the figure was much faster than Lestrade had anticipated. Before the gunshot echoing in the alley could completely disappear, the dark night swallowed the strange figure whole.

"Damn it, he got away!"

Inspector Lestrade gritted his teeth in exasperation, staring at the night sky above. Just then, accompanied by hurried footsteps, young Fletcher arrived.

"What happened?"

"We may have encountered a social butterfly killer."

As Lestrade spoke, he glanced at Levi.

"You wouldn't mind coming back to the police station and talking to us, would you?"

Li Wei could only nod in agreement; could he possibly refuse?
But... it was really exciting.

Li Wei lowered his head, feeling his chest. His heart was pounding violently, so hard it seemed it might burst out of his chest. But for Li Wei, this was a rare sensation. During those days lying in the hospital bed, he couldn't even feel the existence of life. At that time, Li Wei was like a mere shell, kept alive by various medicines and IV drips. He could do nothing, he had no way to do anything, and could only let the doctors examine and treat him repeatedly.

It was as if he wasn't a person, but rather a teaching tool. In short, perhaps theoretically he was still alive, but in Li Wei's own view, he had absolutely no sense of being alive.

It's different than now.

The police questioning went unremarkable. Lestrade inquired about Levi's situation again, then coughed.

"Mr. Levi, I'm very curious, how did you find that guy?"

Hearing Lestrade's question, Levy finally looked away from the instrument on the table—a strange device resembling a landline telephone, with a tall base, and a rectangular card inserted into a slot on its side. Levy's memory told him that this was called a phonograph, a steam-powered machine similar to a tape recorder. It functioned like a tape recorder; as people spoke, it punched holes in a long cassette tape to record their conversation, which could then be played back simply by inserting it again.

It's amazing and interesting.

Levi withdrew his gaze and stared at Lestrade.

"It was purely coincidental. In fact, if I hadn't found that guy, it probably wouldn't have attacked us."

"Oh?"

"Inspector Lestrade, didn't you place the gas lamp over the victim's head to examine the body? At that moment, I noticed a dark shadow wriggling behind us in the reflection of the victim's pupils. Perhaps it was trying to leave the scene while we weren't looking, but when I turned around, it realized I'd spotted it..."

"So it wanted to kill us to silence us."

Lestrade's face darkened.

"But no matter what, this guy has finally shown the tip of the iceberg. Can you believe it? The Herald even said it was some kind of divine punishment or curse... Now we can be sure that this is indeed a murder case! There are victims and murderers, and we have indeed seen the murderer!"

"I only saw a glimpse of it."

Levi offered a reminder, but Lestrade paid no attention.

"In any case, at least we know that we are not dealing with some vague curse or ghost."

"…………………"

Li Wei didn't answer. Indeed, it wasn't a ghost, but Li Wei didn't think it was human either. At least, that guy's wall-climbing speed was much faster than Li Wei had imagined... But who can say for sure? In the games he played, there were also characters who were good at scaling walls.

Moreover, Li Wei was still not entirely sure what the current situation of this world was.

Can you provide any other clues?

“I’m sorry, Inspector Lestrade, I’m afraid I can’t be of much help.”

Li Wei shook his head.

"I basically didn't see anything at the time, just a dark shadow, and then the smell..."

"odor?"

"Yes, the smell of blood, probably from that poor victim. And then there's a pungent odor... well, I'm not sure what it is, but it smells like some kind of chemical..."

“This is enough to help us pinpoint some suspect areas.” Inspector Lestrade reached out and pressed a button next to the phonograph. The phonograph quickly stopped punching holes, and after a series of sounds similar to a printer printing paper, a rectangular punched card popped out of the slot and landed in Inspector Lestrade’s hand.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Li Wei. I hope we will have the opportunity to work together again."

"I also wish you all the best in catching the murderer soon."

Li Wei picked up his top hat and put it on, then stood up and nodded to the police inspector. However, at that moment, something unexpected happened to him.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared before Li Wei's eyes, and then a line of information appeared in front of him.

[Activate the quest "The Mystery of Chongqing"]

[Mission Objective: Investigate and locate the socialite killer, and bring him to trial]

[Task Rewards: Random skill reward, Lifespan +30 days]

Upon seeing this, Li Wei was stunned.

"...Is there anything else, Mr. Levi?"

"Oh, it's nothing..."

Inspector Lestrade's voice brought Levi back to his senses. He smiled and nodded to Inspector Lestrade.

"It's just too late, and I'm a bit tired..."

“I understand, the subway has stopped running at this time. How about I have Fletcher drive you home?”

"Thank you very much."

Levi naturally wouldn't refuse Lestrade's kindness. After all, he'd encountered similar things all along—for example, being inexplicably upgraded on a plane, receiving a whole box of gifts from a supermarket salesperson, getting extra meals at restaurants, and even receiving meticulous service from nurses in the hospital. So, accepting Lestrade's offer wasn't strange to Levi.

Moreover, he used to try his best to reciprocate these kindnesses, since giving and receiving is very important.

But now, having almost been reborn, Li Wei is more concerned about his quality of life.

Lestrade was in a good mood at this moment. The socialite killer had always been elusive, with countless speculations circulating on the radio and in the newspapers. Even within the police department, there were moments of unrest and unease. But now, at least they knew the socialite killer wasn't just a legend, but a real person who could be shot, so there was nothing to fear. He had already deployed more officers to cordon off the area and search for any traces the killer might have left behind.

Compared to his previous aimless wandering, this clue was like a ray of dawn in the darkness for Inspector Lestrade, enough to make him look forward to the coming of day.

Therefore, Inspector Lestrade, who was in a great mood at the moment, found Levi increasingly pleasing to the eye and naturally didn't mind giving him a little perk.

But Fletcher wasn't so happy.

He was outside at the time, busy comforting the woman who was terrified after seeing the corpse. She was clutching herself, stammering, and couldn't even form a complete sentence. This annoyed Fletcher greatly. He had already heard Inspector Lestrade's account of the situation, and Fletcher couldn't help but think that if it had been him, not this detective, who had discovered the socialite killer's trail…

He would inevitably be seen as a promising rising star by Inspector Lestrade, and might even be able to make a great contribution by arresting the murderer. Then he would appear in media interviews, newspaper articles, receive awards from the city hall, be received by the Queen, and become the police chief... Unfortunately, for now he can only drive the old, dilapidated carriage in the police station, serving as the coachman for this man who is taller and better looking than him.

Li Wei didn't care about this. In fact, he was sitting in the swaying carriage, staring at the system task that had popped up earlier.

Li Wei didn't care about attributes for now; what he cared about most was lifespan.

Previously, Li Wei's attribute panel showed that he had ten days left to live, which he did not doubt. After all, the doctor had told Li Wei that, given his current condition, he could only hold on for a few more days.

However, completing this task will add 30 days to your lifespan.

Is there such a benefit?

Of course, Li Wei knew this task was no simple matter. It wasn't just about helping an old lady cross the street or tracking down a murderer, especially a serial killer. Even though he was a detective, it didn't mean he was an invincible superman. In fact, just a few seconds earlier, Li Wei would probably have been killed on the spot.

Fortunately, the gun was both accurate and fast within seven steps.

But next time, they might not be so lucky.

Li Wei currently has two choices.

Either stay here, enjoy ten days of peaceful life, and then close your eyes in tranquility.

Either you chase after the criminal, struggling in the shadow of life and death, succeeding to live another thirty days, or failing to die on the spot.

Even so, Li Wei knew that he actually had no choice.

After all, he had had enough of lying in a hospital bed, waiting to die in pain and despair.

Therefore, he has already decided what he wants to do.

(End of this chapter)