Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 22 Falling from the sky
The blonde girl walked through the gates of the Royal Academy, her expression somewhat excited. Immediately afterward, a brown-haired girl with freckles appeared behind the blonde girl with a grin and patted her on the shoulder.

"Betty!"

"Whoa! Maggie...you really startled me."

The blonde girl, startled, turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her friend.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

Maggie looked at Betty with a smile and walked over to her side.

"You look great today. Did something good happen? Did the professor praise your paper?"

"No, it's just... I had a dream last night."

Betty blushed slightly as she spoke, and Maggie's eyes lit up when she saw her like that.

"What dream? Did you dream about your Prince Charming? What did you do?"

As Maggie spoke, she leaned close to Betty's ear, looking at her with a grin. Although they were both the pride of the Royal Academy, they were, after all, just sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls. It was only natural for them to whisper secrets to each other.

"You could also say he's a prince charming..."

Betty hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Last night I had a nightmare. I dreamt I was in Fog City, and the whole city was eerily quiet; there wasn't a soul on the streets. As I was walking, a terrifying monster suddenly appeared, holding a dagger and trying to kill me. Sensing danger, I quickly ran away, and then… and then…”

"Then what happened?"

Hearing this, Maggie became interested and asked curiously.

"Then, I met someone who killed the monster who was chasing me, and then I threw myself into his arms..."

The more Betty talked, the redder she became, almost burying her head in her chest.

"Oh my god! The prince charming who saves the princess from danger? Who is it? Is it Harry from the Literature Department? Or Klein from the Law Department?"

Seeing Betty blushing, Maggie became even more excited, while Betty hesitated for a moment and shook her head.

"Yes, yes... that detective."

"detective?"

Upon hearing Betty's answer, Maggie paused for a moment before regaining her composure.

"You mean Detective Li Wei, the one who solved the case of the socialite killer?"

"Um………"

Although the socialite killer only killed three people, due to the unique circumstances and the advanced media in this world, almost everyone in Fog City knew about the case. Similarly, after the case was solved, Li Wei's name naturally became a household name.

On the other hand, he is really handsome.

Maggie recalled the half-body photo of Levi published in the newspaper: dressed in a well-fitting suit, with smooth black hair, a handsome face, full of confidence, and a polite smile... Well, it has to be said that he has indeed become the prince charming in the hearts of many girls during this period.

"So that's the type of guy you like..."

"Maggie, don't you like it?"

"Of course I like him! He's handsome, smart, and a young detective who can solve cases! It would be so worth it to have an exciting adventure with him... What a pity..."

At this point, Maggie sighed.

"We don't even know him."

“That’s true…”

As they were talking, the two had already reached the entrance of the Royal Academy's teaching building. At the same time, they suddenly saw a dark figure fall down in front of them and then hit the ground with a "thud".

"Hey?"

Faced with this sudden turn of events, the two girls were stunned for a moment. Then they looked down at their feet, and then... a piercing scream instantly shattered the tranquility of the campus.

When Li Wei arrived at the scene by car, it was already half an hour later.

After breakfast, Li Wei originally went to the police station to request an audit of Madame Clarty's account statements. This era was not one where personal privacy was highly valued. While nobles were naturally protected by law, someone of Madame Clarty's relatively low status could likely get an audit simply by following the proper procedures.

Just as Levi was waiting for the results, Inspector Lestrade arrested him, saying that a murder had occurred at the Royal Academy, and as the police's special investigation consultant—well, he naturally had to live up to his stipend.

So Li Wei came to the scene of the murder to investigate.

By the way, Katie didn't come today. She had arranged with Levi to call him beforehand if she couldn't make it. This morning, Levi received a call from Katie while he was having breakfast. She said she had to go to class and couldn't leave. She also reminded Levi to tell her if anything interesting happened…

Yes, this case is interesting enough.

Looking at the dismembered body parts in front of him, Li Wei silently complained to himself.

That's right, body parts.

He jumped from the rooftop and landed on the ground like a piece of tofu being smashed. Everyone knows what the consequences would be.

The same is true of the corpses right now.

However, Inspector Lestrade arrested Levi to investigate the case for two reasons.

The first reason is that the victim—Li Wei—knew him.

Li Wei stared at the barely recognizable face at his feet, and the shattered thick-rimmed glasses beside it. He could roughly recognize that the victim in front of him was none other than Edwards, the "Amelia's ex-boyfriend" he had questioned during his previous investigation.

As for the second reason…

Li Wei stared at the ground before him, silent. Logically, after such a fall, there should have been blood and gore everywhere. Yet, beside Edwards's body, not a single drop of blood could be seen!

There wasn't even a trace of blood on him!
Li Wei squatted beside the corpse, carefully examining it. The skin was deathly pale, without a single mark, and there wasn't even a trace of red in the wounds, as if all the blood had been drawn from the body out of thin air!
Could it be that…

Li Wei frowned, reached out and placed his hand on the corpse's neck, turning it slightly. Then, he keenly observed two small holes emerging from the pale skin.

Upon seeing this, a word immediately came to mind for Li Wei.

vampire!
What's going on? It's always about the Ripper and vampires. Can't I just encounter some normal cases?
Li Wei complained inwardly, sighed helplessly, then stood up and made a gesture to the police officer next to him.

"Take him for a checkup."

Upon hearing Li Wei's order, the officer nodded, and soon someone stepped forward to skillfully dispose of the body and take it away. Nothing unusual was found in the surrounding area, and the entire gates of the Master's Academy were now sealed off. The students stood at a distance or by the windows, curiously watching and occasionally whispering among themselves.

Li Wei stared at his surroundings, then his gaze sharpened.

The Vision of the Soul!

Instantly, the surroundings turned black and white, and Li Wei scanned the area but found no soul rays related to the corpse.

Well, it seems not every perpetrator returns to the crime scene.

Thinking of this, Li Wei shut down his Soul Vision and withdrew his gaze.

"Take me to see the eyewitnesses at the scene."

When Li Wei arrived at the Royal Academy's infirmary, he saw two female students sitting on the bed, wrapped in blankets, their faces pale, trembling as they held coffee cups in their hands. Only when Li Wei entered the infirmary and heard the door open did the two instinctively look up in his direction.

At the same time, Li Wei also saw the two of them clearly, which made him slightly surprised.

The reason is simple: he has seen one of these two girls before!

In that dream not long ago!
However, Li Wei quickly composed himself, looking at the two girls with a warm smile. Upon seeing Li Wei's smile, a blush rose on the girls' previously pale cheeks, and their tense and uneasy expressions vanished.

Hmm, Li Wei is quite familiar with this. Basically, when he wants to comfort someone, all he has to do is smile at them, and they will calm down considerably.

Betty and Maggie stared wide-eyed at the gentleman approaching them, their hearts pounding. In their eyes, this young gentleman was so elegant; his expression was as warm as sunshine. The girls, who had been terrified, felt their fear dissipate considerably.

"Hello, ladies, I'm sorry to bother you."

Li Wei removed his top hat, approached the two young women, and bowed to them. The two women hurriedly stood up and hastily lifted their skirts to return the greeting.

"Ah, hello, detective..."

"If it's alright, may I ask you some questions?"

"Of course."

The two exchanged a glance, and then sat down again at Li Wei's prompting.

"I'd like to know what the situation was like back then. What do you remember?"

"us……………"

Upon hearing Li Wei's question, Maggie's expression became somewhat uneasy again. After all, they were just ordinary girls who had never seen such a scene before, and now they were being asked to describe it, which made Maggie feel uneasy and afraid.

But when she saw Li Wei's smile, the unease and fear deep in her heart melted away like the first snow. She even began to instinctively recall the situation as Li Wei had instructed.

“At that time, I was chatting with Betty, and then suddenly something fell down from above…”

"Yes, that's it..."

Betty nodded repeatedly, agreeing with her friend's account.

"We looked down and saw someone lying on the ground... We screamed in fright, and then the teacher took us away..."

"So...do you know him?"

"…………………"

Maggie was silent for a moment, then shook her head, while Betty merely glanced at Maggie without saying a word.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your cooperation."

Li Wei nodded to the two girls again, and then asked.

"By the way, did you see anything unusual at the time, even if it was a hallucination?"

"this…………………"

The two girls frowned, thought for a moment, and then shook their heads.

No results.

Li Wei sighed inwardly and smiled at the two of them again.

"Thank you, you can go now. Um... Of course, this must have been very uncomfortable for you, so I suggest you go home and get some rest. Leave this to me..."

"I believe you, Detective!"

However, before Li Wei could finish speaking, he saw Betty clench her fists and stare at him with unblinking eyes.

"I believe you will definitely be able to catch the murderer!"

What could Li Wei say when he looked at the innocent girl in front of him?

He could only laugh.

"Thank you, miss."

(End of this chapter)