404. Forbidden Matters

The Catania Family wielded considerable influence in the Black Street, owning numerous warehouses, restaurants, casinos, and pharmacies. Trist arrived at one of these restaurants.

"We didn't go to the wrong place?"

Lu Ban asked a question.

"I'm sure I didn't go to the wrong place, I can smell it."

Xiya walked into the restaurant and smelled the aroma of food.

This restaurant, located in a working-class area, is currently empty. The employees are eating their staff meals, which consist of pizzas topped with only minced meat and cheese. This contrasts sharply with the workers I heard about this morning who were eating animal feed and thought they were getting a good deal.

"May I have a piece?"

Lu Ban didn't treat himself as an outsider and leaned in to ask.

The employees glanced at the gangsters who brought the three men in, but dared not be angry or speak out.

Lu Ban took a piece for himself, then gave another piece to Xiya and put it in his mouth.

"It tastes good, but it would be even better with some fruit, like pineapple."

Upon hearing Lu Ban's words, the employees suddenly stood up, as if Lu Ban's words had offended them.

But upon seeing the gangsters, the employees sat back down, swallowing their anger and continuing to eat the food on their plates.

"Tasty!"

Xiya quickly finished a pizza and looked towards the kitchen.

The gangsters led the three men through the kitchen and into the cold storage.

"?"

Trist never expected that the body would actually be placed in the cold storage.

Thinking about it, the pizza that Lu Ban and Xiya ate earlier used meat in it.

Upon opening the cold storage, a blast of cold air hit him, but Trist didn't see any corpses. Only frost-covered livestock hanging there.

Lu Ban saw the person go to the back of the cold storage and open a door with a key.

Inside that door lay the corpses of gangsters.

The corpse had clearly struggled; it wasn't lying flat like Dr. House. The expression on its face was more ferocious, as if it had seen something extremely terrifying.

From the man's abdomen, a Glass Flower bloomed. Due to the low temperature, the flower was covered with a layer of frost, making it appear crystal clear.

Trist shuddered. He went to the body and examined it closely.

There were traces of paint and coating on the gangsters' bodies and clothes, indicating that the three cases were indeed committed by the same person.

Does it smell like perfume?

He asked Lu Ban.

"Have."

Lu Ban nodded.

"May I take this piece of clothing?"

Trist asked the thug, who nodded.

He then removed the piece of cloth stained with paint and examined the contents of the gangster's stomach.

"It looks like ordinary bread, meat and vegetables, but it's better quality than that of the call girl."

The examination of the body was completed quickly, and the gangster locked the door again.

"I'm a little curious, do the restaurant staff know there's a body here?"

Lu Ban couldn't help but ask.

"Have no idea."

The thug answered.

"At least the pizzas aren't made with human flesh anymore."

Lu Ban gave Xiya a thumbs up.

By the time we finished investigating these matters, it was already quite late.

The streets of the civilian district were much cleaner than those of the Black Street, at least not as smelly. The sounds of factory machines running could be heard in the distance, but it was much quieter than where Trist lived.

The people on the street at least look like human beings, and the contrast between the two highlights the difference even more.

Dinner was noodles with chicken legs. Trist couldn't eat much and only ate a slice of bread. Lu Ban ate a big bowl, and Xiya ate three bowls.

"Belch--"

She even let out a burp after finishing her meal, showing no ladylike manners whatsoever.

Why don't we investigate at night?

Lu Ban couldn't help but ask.

"The Black Street at night are not a safe place, and I don't want to get into unnecessary trouble."

Trist was still studying the paint. The paint was a pale blue color, but under the light it scattered dark green and deep red, which was very special and did not seem to be an ordinary paint.

"There must be very few factories that produce this kind of paint, so this should be a breakthrough point. In addition, I have also obtained information on this gang. He has no connection with Dr. House or Flora. When he went to the Black Street to collect rent last time, he did not go to Dr. House's clinic or the Red Dance Hall."

"Where is this perfume made?"

Lu Ban asked again.

"I can't really smell the perfume, so I can't confirm, but I can find a perfume shop tomorrow and let you smell it to compare."

"Trist said."

After finishing their meal, the three of them set off on their way back to the Trist Detective Agency.

The orange cat is still sleeping; it probably spends about 80% of its day asleep.

"By the way, you two should also attend the banquet tomorrow night. I might need your help."

Trist added.

"Oh."

Lu Ban responded and then looked at Xiya.

"We're going to have a big meal."

"Yay!"

Xiya expressed her delight.

At midnight, the distant chimes of bells lulled Trist into a drowsy state. He examined Flora's pendant, trying to discern what kind of flower it was.

Soon, in his hazy state, he saw the flower bloom, like Glass Flower blooming on a corpse. He also felt something stirring inside him, ready to burst out. He struggled for a moment, and then felt a cold gaze locking onto him.

Then, Trist felt someone shaking him.

"Wake up! Look what this is!"

He opened his eyes and saw the girl squatting in front of him. The surrounding area was no longer the stinking alley, but an old but clean house.

The girl seemed to have grown up a bit, and more importantly, she was no longer disheveled. She seemed to have taken care of herself; her face was clean, and although her clothes were worn, they were at least clothes. Their lives had improved a lot.

The girl took out something from her bosom—a sandwich wrapped in paper, with white bread filled with vegetables, sauce, and meat.

"I went to a guest's house today, and he brought back the food he didn't want to eat. Look, this is meat. We are so lucky."

She spread out the food and handed it to Trist.

From her words and current state, Trist could already guess how she made money.

"Go ahead and eat. I've already eaten. I ate a lot at his house. There's delicious food on the table, and I can eat while I work. He seems to really enjoy it."

The girl pushed the food toward Trist.

"Oh, right, there's also medicine. I bought some cheap medicine, which should be able to cure your illness. As long as you get better, our lives will definitely get better."

She then took out a small bottle of medicine and placed it on the table.

The girl drew back the curtains; the weather outside was gloomy, and there was no sunlight.

But her smile was brighter than the sunshine.

Her eyes were full of hope and anticipation for the future.

At that moment, Trist suddenly noticed a pendant on the girl's neck, between her slender collarbones.

The pendant was a small, unidentified flower carved from wood.

Just like the one I'm holding in my hand.

*

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