Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 24 Beautiful Miss

Now, Li Wei is almost certain that the "pretty lady" was the key figure in Edwards' death, or to put it bluntly, she was the murderer!

The Royal Academy's access control isn't very strict. While not just anyone can come and go, most people can do so with reasonable requests. Last time, when Levi came here to investigate Emilia with Edwards, he simply registered at the school gate.

However, based on the investigation of Edwards' teachers, classmates, and research colleagues, Edwards' life was very structured, basically revolving around the classroom, library, and laboratory. Outsiders would easily be detected if they approached him. Therefore, it's highly likely that the murderer is a member of the Royal Academy. If I could stake out this place for a long time, I might even find some clues.

Unfortunately, this is the Royal Academy, not a place I can just stay anywhere.

But coming every day would be too much trouble...

Just as Li Wei was pondering his next move, he walked out of the Royal Academy's gate. There, he saw a young girl looking at him with a nervous and uneasy expression. Upon seeing Li Wei, the girl immediately smiled excitedly and quickly straightened up to walk towards him.

"Hello, Detective."

"Ah, hello, Miss Betty."

Looking at the lovely blonde, blue-eyed girl before him, Levi touched the brim of his hat and nodded slightly in greeting. In the days following the incident, Betty and her friend hadn't come to school, mainly to rest at home, which didn't surprise Levi.

Anyone who encounters something like this would want to rest for a few days to recover, and it seems that Miss Betty is recovering quite well.

"Are you still investigating the case? Have you made any progress? Ah… sorry, that's not a question I should be asking…"

Betty was clearly excited, rattling off a string of words to Levi before finally realizing her mistake and lowering her head in embarrassment. Looking at Betty, a thought flickered in Levi's mind: perhaps… this was a solution?
“I’m still investigating. I have some leads, but not enough. By the way, I have a question.”

"question?"

"Yes, I've heard there's a beautiful young lady at the Royal Academy. Do you know who she is?"

"Beautiful lady? How beautiful?"

"I don't know, I've only heard about it from others and wanted to ask."

"I see..."

After hearing Levi's answer, Betty thought for a moment.

"Yes, Miss Elizabeth from the Literature Department and Miss Kleist from the Physics Department are both quite popular and admired by men..."

"Oh, I was just asking casually."

At this point, Li Wei pondered for a moment.

"If it's alright, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with, Miss Betty?"

"You want my help?"

Upon hearing Levi's words, Betty looked up in surprise at him.

"Of course, I'd be happy to... What would you like me to do?"

"It's nothing particularly dangerous."

Li Wei waved his hand, signaling Betty to calm down.

"I hope you can help me record some things about the Master's program."

"Issues?"

"Yes, I can't come to the Master's Academy every day to investigate, and that would interfere with the teaching. Therefore, I hope someone can help me record all of this, such as what happened in the Master's Academy today, or any rumors. For your own safety, I don't recommend that you take the initiative to find out anything. Just go to school as usual, listen to what happened at school today, and write it down."

"Oh, I see... Then I'm fine with it."

Hearing this, Betty breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid that Levi would give her a difficult task, which she might fail and embarrass herself by failing. But now it didn't seem strange at all. She used to write down what happened that day in her diary every day after she got home; now she just had an extra one...

“Whether something happens or not, you must write a letter every day, so that I will not only know what is happening here, but also whether you are safe and sound.”

"Okay, okay, Detective..."

Hearing Levi's words, Betty felt her heart start pounding again. This famous detective was so handsome, gentle and gentlemanly, just like the prince charming in her dreams!
"You can just send it to this address via postal express."

As he spoke, Li Wei took out a business card and handed it over; he had already subscribed to a year's worth of courier service at the post office. Because of the pressurized pipeline system used to transport mail, mail delivery within Fog City was actually quite fast, usually arriving the next day. Courier service, on the other hand, delivered on the same day. Simply put, when Betty went to the post office to mail a letter, the recipient would see the address on the mail and add it to their courier list.

Then the post office staff will take the mail directly to the distribution box deep inside the post office, and it will be transported through pipes to the post office in Li Wei's neighborhood. After a second transmission, the mail will be delivered directly to Li Wei's home.

Of course, this service is very expensive, but for Li Wei, in the detective business, information and time are life.

Regular mail is cheaper, but what's the point if the person is dead by the time the letter arrives?
"Remember, don't actively inquire about anything. Just tell me what happens at school every day. Even if you encounter something strange, absolutely do not investigate it, understand?"

Li Wei still gave her a word of advice, otherwise, based on his experience, as long as he didn't say anything, the other person would most likely take the initiative to do something they shouldn't.

"This is a very serious and dangerous matter, not child's play."

"Okay, okay, Detective."

Seeing Li Wei's gentle and warm smile disappear and his expression turn serious, Betty's heart pounded. She quickly nodded, reached out to take the business card, and carefully put it into her wallet.

“Very good.” Seeing Betty nod obediently, Levi smiled slightly.

"This is a secret between the two of us; don't tell anyone else."

"Okay, okay..."

After receiving Betty's reply, Levi gave her a slight bow, then turned and left. Betty watched his retreating figure, remaining silent for a long time.

After a day of investigation, Levi returned to the clock tower. Unsurprisingly, he saw Katie there. He told her about his findings at the Royal Academy, and Katie's eyes lit up when she heard Levi's detailed description of the woman suspected of being the murderer.

"Beautiful lady? How beautiful?"

"………………………"

Betty was like that too, women...

“I don’t know. The people I asked couldn’t tell me either. They couldn’t even describe the woman’s hair color or clothing. They only knew she was a pretty young lady. It’s really quite strange.”

"So, the murderer was a vampire? The legend is true? People she bit would turn into vampires?"

"Who knows..."

Li Wei sighed again. After all, these were just myths and legends; who knew if they actually corresponded to reality?

“Ding-ling-ling…”

Just then, the walkie-talkie rang. Li Wei put down his teacup, walked to the walkie-talkie, and picked up the receiver.

Then, Officer Fletcher's panicked voice came from inside.

"Is this Mr. Li Wei?"

"It's me, what's wrong?"

"Something's gone wrong... Edwards' body is missing!"

"……………Um?"

Upon hearing this, Li Wei frowned, while Officer Fletcher on the other end of the microphone spoke quickly.

"We originally planned to return Edwards' body to his relatives tomorrow, so we conducted a final examination tonight. Everything was fine until we finished the examination, went out to get the coffin, and came back to put the body in, only to find that the body was gone!"

"…………I understand, I'll be right there."

Li Wei hung up the phone and glanced at Katie, who was nibbling on a snack. Katie noticed Li Wei's gaze and tilted her head slightly.

"what happened?"

"You were right, the body is gone."

Li Wei gestured to Eileen to take his coat, and then strode towards the elevator.

"Huh? So he became a vampire?"

Upon hearing this, Katie jumped up excitedly.

"I don't know, but we'll find out when we get there!"

When Levi and Katie arrived at the police station by carriage, it was already late at night. There were only a few staff members on duty. Judging from their calm expressions, they didn't seem to have noticed anything wrong. Levi nodded to the guard at the door, then led Katie into the police station. He then saw Officer Fletcher pacing anxiously in the lobby.

Upon seeing Levi's arrival, Officer Fletcher breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly went to the two men, gesturing to them.

"follow me."

As he spoke, Officer Fletcher quickly led the two across the lobby to the elevator on the other side. He then pressed the button for the third basement level. Once the elevator was closed, Officer Fletcher spoke nervously.

"It's really strange. We have absolutely no idea why his body disappeared. Logically speaking, it's impossible..."

"Us? Who else is down there?"

"And forensic pathologist Coron..."

"Ding dong."

During their conversation, the elevator stopped, and then the chain door swung open with a bang, sending a blast of bone-chilling cold air into Katie's face, making her shiver involuntarily.

Under the stark white light, there wasn't a single person in the entire corridor.

Only a long trail of blood stretched deep into the corridor.

"………this………"

Seeing this, Officer Fletcher turned pale, while Levi reached out and gripped his pistol tightly.

(End of this chapter)