The Lead

"I need you to explain the entire case to me in detail!"

Looking at the extremely simple description of the side quest, Qin Ran spoke slowly.

"Aren't you looking for Hunter's daughter? That guy who treats every cop like his own servant!"

Sheriff John glanced at Qin Ran and gave a disdainful snort, expressing his dissatisfaction with Hunter.

However, he still proceeded to tell Qin Ran everything he knew.

"The body was found by a drunk this morning, near the train station!"

"It was tossed into a corner like garbage!"

"I've dealt with plenty of vicious criminals, but none of them ever treated a corpse like that!"

Mentioning the murder case before them made Sheriff John irritable again. He subconsciously lit a cigarette and offered one to Qin Ran.

However, Qin Ran declined.

He picked up the pipe in his hand and gestured to John.

Even though it was an empty pipe without tobacco, and he did not have any matches.

It still convinced Sheriff John.

"Pipes are too troublesome. They're nowhere near as convenient as cigarettes, especially Ship Cigarettes. They're pretty good. You should try them!"

Sheriff John muttered, lit his cigarette, and began to puff away.

Only after taking two drags did he continue.

"I'm badly short-handed right now. If you're willing to help, I'd be grateful!"

"This is a certificate I signed. It'll allow you to enter the church school Hunter's daughter attends. I hope you find something!"

As he spoke, Sheriff John picked up a pen and wrote something on a sheet of paper.

A dozen seconds later, he handed the paper to Qin Ran.

It read as follows—

Qin Ran, police consultant, specially hired by the police department.

Sheriff: John

Chief: Patrick

1861.4.1

Below the signatures was the police department's seal.

Seeing the chief's signature, Qin Ran looked at John in surprise.

"That bastard went on his honeymoon two weeks ago and dumped everything on me. Then this headache happened!"

John took a fierce drag on his cigarette as he spoke.

"I thought you'd send someone to help me find her!"

Qin Ran waved the letter of appointment in his hand.

"I told you, I'm short-handed right now! Extremely short-handed!"

John replied irritably.

Faced with the man's emphasis, Qin Ran shrugged.

Clearly, this was the limit of the help John could provide—if he wanted more assistance, he would have to complete the side quest.

This differed somewhat from his previous guess, but the essence had not changed.

"Whether the side quest was triggered or not, I should still receive the letter of appointment!"

"However, players who didn't trigger it would choose to head directly to the school Artilly attended!"

"If something happens there, I need to hurry!"

With that thought, Qin Ran immediately stood up.

He needed to hurry to the body disposal site near the train station and have a look.

Afterward, whether he found anything or not, he should quickly head to that church school just in case—Hunter had mentioned that Artilly took a carriage to school punctually every day, and spent the rest of her time, including weekends, within sight of him and his wife!

Thinking of the box beneath the missing Miss Artilly Hunter's bed.

Qin Ran believed the school would be a very important place.

There might not be any direct clues, but at the very least, he could find out who had taught the missing Miss Artilly Hunter.

And that might be the next clue to finding her.

"See you around!"

Qin Ran waved at John.

Without waiting for a response, he walked outside.

Leaving the police station directly, Qin Ran raised a hand and hailed a carriage.

"The train station!"

Qin Ran instructed the driver.

Noisy crowds, chaotic crowds, foul stench, filthy ground.

The moment Qin Ran stepped down from the carriage, he witnessed another side of the city.

There were no well-dressed people or peaceful smiles.

There was only the hardship and endurance required to survive.

People struggling to make a living were everywhere.

Young men earning their living through manual labor, middle-aged women selling sundries, shouting newsboys, and beggars.

There were also some people who blended in with those around them, yet upon closer inspection were completely different.

They wore shabby clothes, but their hands were exceptionally clean and nimble. They either squatted or stood in corners, observing passing travelers. Once they spotted a target, they quietly followed, using those clean, nimble hands to obtain their haul.

Under Qin Ran's gaze, these people had already completed several thefts.

There was no need to question their identities any further.

Thieves!

However, Qin Ran did not meddle. He had more important matters to attend to.

Qin Ran swept his eyes over the area.

Very quickly, Qin Ran found his target.

A uniformed policeman was still quite conspicuous here.

Even if he was standing in a corner.

Qin Ran walked over.

"Stay back! You can't approach here for now!"

Seeing Qin Ran approach with a long case on his back, the policeman on guard immediately shouted.

He was a young man. Even while guarding the place alone, he stood perfectly straight.

Serious and responsible, and probably full of justice as well.

That was Qin Ran's guess as he took out his letter of appointment.

"You're Mr. Qin Ran. I've heard your name before. Hello, I'm Karl!"

After carefully inspecting Qin Ran's letter of appointment, the young policeman smiled.

The identity arranged by the game had once again served a purpose.

Of course, what ultimately allowed him through was still the letter of appointment in his hand.

Qin Ran put away the letter and asked.

"Hello, I'm Qin Ran!"

"Can I go in and take a look now?"

"Of course!"

The other man gave an affirmative answer and stepped aside.

Qin Ran walked in.

This was an alley even dirtier and smellier than outside.

The alley was narrow, extremely cramped, and at its end stood a tall wall that appeared to be the rear wall of some building.

Ordinary people would not come to a place like this.

If that drunk had not discovered it by accident, the body might have rotted and stunk before anyone found it.

Qin Ran examined the ground.

The moment he entered the alley, the skill Tracking activated.

Chaotic, indistinct footprints.

Traces of blood.

They appeared before Qin Ran one by one.

But they were of no further use. The footprints were too disorderly and had been repeatedly covered over, making them impossible to distinguish.

And aside from indicating where the body had been placed, the bloodstains were utterly useless.

Qin Ran frowned subconsciously.

This was not what he wanted.

His gaze turned to the walls on either side, and he discovered a smear of red on the wall to his left.

Blood!

Qin Ran walked over and looked at the bright red stain.

His mind began racing.

"There are no drag marks on the ground. The murderer carried the body in here on his shoulder!"

"To conceal the body, he must have put it inside something like a burlap sack!"

"But some of the blood from the body must have seeped through, which was why it left a bloodstain like this!"

"However, not much seeped through. Otherwise, there would have been drips on the ground!"

"This means the murderer killed that woman not far from here!"

"And in order to conceal her identity, the murderer deliberately destroyed her face!"

Then, Qin Ran measured the height of the bloodstain with his hand.

"The culprit wasn't tall, but he should have been strong. Otherwise, he couldn't have carried a female corpse!"

"And he brushed against the wall on the left, which means he carried the female corpse on his left shoulder. His left arm should be more muscular and stronger. He's left-handed!"

"He disemboweled that woman, so he must harbor intense hatred and possess some butchering skills!"

"Setting aside the possibility that he was showing off, why didn't he use safer methods like burying or burning the corpse?"

Qin Ran asked himself.

A corpse had been abandoned here. Even if this alley was well hidden.

It was still nowhere near as secure as burying or burning it.

Unless...

Doing it this way was more convenient and concealed for the culprit!

It would arouse absolutely no suspicion!

Qin Ran looked outside the alley. Even from its depths, he could clearly see laborers in the distance carrying loads of goods.

It seemed that those people struggling to make a living in the distance perfectly fit his deductions.

"Karl, I found something!"

Qin Ran called out to the young policeman.

"What did you find?"

The young policeman looked astonished. Even though he had heard Qin Ran's name, he found it difficult to believe that Qin Ran had discovered something so quickly.

"The murderer should be slightly shorter than you, but very strong and left-handed—go ask around over there about anyone recently seen with a red-haired woman, especially someone who used to be a butcher or butcher's apprentice. You might find something unexpected!"

Qin Ran pointed at the laborers in the distance.

A policeman would be more persuasive than him when asking questions.

And more intimidating—that was what Qin Ran wanted.

If the murderer really was a laborer, that intimidation would be enough to make him panic and reveal a flaw.

"Uh... all right!"

The young policeman hesitated, but he still did as Qin Ran said.

Undoubtedly, the reputation of Qin Ran's game identity had once again played a role.

And everything unfolded exactly as Qin Ran expected.

A moment later, a disturbance broke out where the laborers had gathered.

A short but powerfully built man suddenly pulled out a dagger and took a skinny man hostage.

People hurriedly scattered.

The young policeman confronted him, but he failed to bring the situation under control.

On the contrary, the man became increasingly agitated, and the dagger in his hand had already cut the hostage's neck.

As blood flowed out, cries of alarm erupted around them once more.

Qin Ran prepared to act.

Using Karl's identity to lure the man out had achieved its purpose. There naturally should not be any casualties next.

However, in the next moment, Qin Ran's brow furrowed slightly.

A hand was taking advantage of the chaos to reach toward the pocket of his coat.