On the fogbound streets

Am I still alive?

Li Wei stared blankly at his surroundings. He was certain that a moment ago, he had still been lying in a hospital bed, the cold, frantic alarms of medical equipment ringing in his ears. Perhaps he had also seen several blurry figures in white coats gathered around him. But Li Wei had cared about none of that. He could feel the flame of his life about to gutter out, like a candle burning down to its end.

But Li Wei did not think this was heaven or hell, either. He was standing here perfectly unharmed, feeling the solid cobblestones beneath his feet. Dim, towering buildings surrounded him. In the hazy lamplight, a thin fog filled the entire street, like steam in a sauna. Cold moisture washed into his nose and filled his lungs.

It was just like a dream.

Li Wei could not even remember the last time he had breathed this easily. Since his diagnosis, his condition had steadily deteriorated. Even the slightest movement, even a breath of air, had brought unbearable, tearing pain. Yet his body now felt so light and healthy. At the very least, he could feel no trace of illness tormenting him.

But what on earth is going on?

Is this a dream I'm having as I die? If so, it's far too real.

Li Wei walked over to a nearby window, but the reflection in it startled him-although it was unmistakably him, his current attire was beyond anything he had imagined. A three-piece formal outfit, a waistcoat, a jacket, an overcoat, a white shirt, and a top hat.

Li Wei found this strange. Why was he dressed like this? Rather than everyday clothes, it looked more like a cosplay outfit at a convention.

But where exactly is this? Am I dreaming? Is this a hallucination before death, or have I crossed into another world? Li Wei had certainly read novels about such journeys, but he did not understand why it would happen to him.

Think carefully. What exactly happened...

Li Wei closed his eyes and began recalling what had happened earlier. All he remembered was being in the hospital, with little time left to live. Then... yes, now he remembered. He had had a dream.

In the dream, Li Wei had not been sick. He had still been working in his old profession as a streamer. Sitting in front of his computer and camera, he had played a new game while providing commentary for his viewers. He could no longer remember what game it was. All he remembered was creating a character, after which several random cards had appeared on the screen for him to choose from. Then Li Wei had picked one at random...

"Huh?"

Only then did Li Wei notice that he seemed to be holding something. He looked down and saw a black, rectangular card, like a tarot card, resting quietly in his right palm. Its back was pitch-black, bearing the image of a golden skull, while its front...

Before Li Wei could turn the card over for a proper look, it suddenly burst into flames. In the blink of an eye, it vanished completely, leaving not even a speck of ash.

"Ugh..."

As the card burned away, a sudden pain stabbed through Li Wei's brain, as though a needle had pierced it. Then a series of strange messages appeared out of thin air before him.

[Class selection complete]

[Generating character data]

[Li Wei]

[Class: Detective]

[Attributes]

[Strength: 40 (You are not suited to earning a living through physical labor)]

[Constitution: 35 (Your constitution is somewhat weak)]

[Dexterity: 60 (Your reflexes are better than those of the average person)]

[Intelligence: 70 (Though not a genius, your extensive reading has given you a far broader knowledge base than most people)]

[Willpower: 75 (Even illness could not break you)]

[Perception: 75 (No anomaly can escape your eyes)]

[Appearance: 90 (Women will faint with excitement simply by coming near you)]

[Charisma: 85 (Your outstanding looks, proper manners, and refined speech easily win people's favor)]

[Skills]

[Shooting: 90 (For you, hitting the mark every time is no exaggeration)]

[Disguise: 55 (You must disguise yourself to avoid standing out)]

[Investigation: 70 (You can keep your eyes and ears on everything around you)]

[Psychology: 70 (For someone as skilled as you at reading people, this world holds almost no secrets)]

[Charm: 85 (Few can resist your charm in the face of those gentle whispers and dazzling looks)]

[Details]

[Lifespan: 10 days]

[Credit: 45 (Your assets are reasonably substantial)]

[Address: 312 White Oak Street, Filler District]

What is this?

Li Wei stared dumbfounded at the thing before him, which looked like a character stat sheet from a game. For a moment, he even wondered whether he was dreaming. He did have some idea of his own abilities. Before falling ill, he had spent some time streaming shooter games and had competed in tournaments. His looks were fairly decent, and combined with his skill, they had earned him a little fame online. He had also taken part in training sessions at shooting ranges while traveling abroad. But Li Wei had never imagined that these activities of his could actually be translated into numerical stats.

Tap, tap, tap...

Just as Li Wei was about to investigate what had happened further, he keenly picked up the sound of footsteps. Not only that, he also heard a faint clinking. Along with those sounds, an image gradually formed in his mind.

Two people, one tall and one short, one stout and one thin. They wore police uniforms, with truncheons and handcuffs hanging from their belts. Li Wei could even retrieve information from his mind confirming that the clinking came from truncheons knocking against handcuffs.

Almost as soon as that image formed in Li Wei's mind, he saw figures emerge from the fog ahead. The short, stout man in front had a bulging beer belly and two neatly groomed tufts of mustache beneath his nose. His face had a comfortably prosperous look.

The tall, thin man beside him was young, looking like someone who had only just entered the workforce. He carried a gas lamp and glanced nervously from side to side. At the sight of Li Wei, both men froze briefly. Then the tall policeman hurriedly drew the pistol at his waist-fortunately, the stout, mustached man beside him stopped him from going any further.

"Good evening, sir."

A smile appeared on the mustached man's face when he saw Li Wei, and he asked a question.

"May I ask what you're doing here at this late hour?"

"I..."

Li Wei stared at him, his mind racing. So far, he still had no idea what situation he was in. But he understood that the circumstances were unfavorable: a well-dressed man wandering the streets alone late at night, being questioned by the police. What should he say?

Although the mustached officer looked cheerful and friendly, Li Wei's experience told him that people like this were the best at investigating. He had encountered such people during his travels abroad. Compared with those who looked unapproachable, people who hid a knife behind a smile were the ones to be most wary of. Otherwise, they might uncover everything about you before you even realized it.

At that thought, Li Wei immediately recalled the thing that had appeared before him earlier, resembling a character stat sheet from a video game.

"My name is Li Wei. I'm a detective."

He gave his answer decisively.

Since the system had assigned him the identity of [Detective], Li Wei decided he might as well say so.

"Ah, I see."

The mustached man nodded at Li Wei's answer.

"Are you after the reward as well, detective? Perhaps I should remind you that this is no easy undertaking... but before that, please let me see your identification and citizen number."

Li Wei reached out and, almost instinctively, took a wallet from his overcoat pocket. He pulled out a card slightly larger than a business card, made of something resembling plastic, and handed it over. The whole sequence flowed smoothly, as though he had repeated it countless times.

The mustached man took the card, examined it carefully, then compared it with Li Wei. He took out a notebook and wrote something down before returning the card. Li Wei accepted it and, suppressing the urge to examine exactly what it was, put it back in his wallet.

"It's far too dangerous for you to be alone this late. How about we escort you part of the way, Mr. Li Wei?"

"Of course. I'd be honored."

Naturally, Li Wei would not refuse the offer. After all, he had only just arrived in this world and still had not worked out what had happened. Besides, a police escort would make things a little safer.

So Li Wei joined the two men and walked along with them. Through their conversation, he learned that the mustached policeman was named Lestrade, and the young man beside him was his partner, Fletcher. Lestrade was clearly a chatterbox. Even as they walked, he kept finding things to talk about.

"So, detective, have you found any clues?"

"Not yet."

"I thought as much. It wouldn't be that easy."

Lestrade laughed at Li Wei's answer, walking ahead with his belly thrust out and his body swaying from side to side.

"The Courtesan Killer isn't easy to find, you know. Those reporters think we're useless, detective, but what can we do? It's not our fault we're understaffed. And those gentlemen would rather post a reward in the papers than allocate funds to our station. Thanks to them, nowhere has been peaceful lately. Every day, someone reports seeing the Courtesan Killer, but they can't even tell us what the Courtesan Killer looks like..."

The Courtesan Killer.

Hearing those words seemed to trigger a keyword in Li Wei's brain, and information about the killer quickly surfaced.

A series of women had been murdered on the streets of this city late at night. Their throats had all been slit, their bodies cut open, and their internal organs removed. Since the victims were all courtesans soliciting customers on the streets late at night, the murderer responsible had become known as the Courtesan Killer.

This reminded Li Wei of a similar case in his own world. Just as in that case, no one knew whether the Courtesan Killer was male or female, young or old. But several murders had already occurred, causing public panic. The city council had therefore posted a reward in the newspapers, promising a substantial sum to anyone who could provide clues about the Courtesan Killer or bring the killer to justice.

A rich reward always brought out the brave. Afterward, some people had indeed plucked up the courage to search everywhere for the Courtesan Killer. Others had called the newspapers and police stations, claiming they had leads. Unfortunately, none had produced any results. Instead, they had wasted a great deal of police time and effort. No wonder Mr. Lestrade was so disgruntled and full of complaints.

"Aaaah!"

Just then, a woman's piercing scream suddenly rang out nearby. Almost at the same instant, Lestrade and his partner Fletcher shot forward like arrows. Li Wei froze at the sight, then hurried after them.

Inspector Lestrade looked potbellied, like a ball on legs, but Li Wei had never expected him to run so fast. His legs pumped at a pace Li Wei had never imagined possible, propelling that ball-like body forward. Even the tall, thin Fletcher could not keep up with him. They raced through the fogbound streets, where everything looked dreamlike beneath the dim gas lamps.

Before long, they saw someone collapsed on the ground, sitting there and trembling.

"Miss, what happened?"

Lestrade approached her. She was a young woman in a somewhat shabby coat, with dry, yellowish hair and a deathly pale face. Even before Li Wei drew near, the pungent smell of cheap perfume assaulted his nose. She did not so much as look at Lestrade, merely staring blankly into the dark alley ahead without saying a word.

"Stay here."

Lestrade gave Fletcher the order, then stood and walked forward with the gas lamp. Li Wei hesitated before following him-he was not sure whether it was his instinct to watch drama unfold, a simple desire to see what was happening, or the curiosity everyone possessed. But to Li Wei, that dark alley did seem to hold a certain enticing allure.

One step, two steps, three steps.

On the main street, the yellow glow of the gas lamps drove back the darkness. Perhaps that was why the alley seemed even darker, as though all the banished darkness had gathered in the depths of corners the light could not reach. Even the gas lamp in Inspector Lestrade's hand seemed much dimmer here, barely illuminating a small patch of ground ahead.

In the lamplight, the first thing they saw was the black, hard roadway paved with small stone slabs. Then came blood-a great, thick pool of blood, still spreading. Like a river bursting its banks, it flowed in every direction, covering everything around it in a dull red.

Finally, there was a corpse.

It was a young woman, her eyes wide and her mouth open, her eyeballs almost bulging out of their sockets. Her contorted expression was proof enough that she had seen something horrifying. A deep cut had opened her throat, leaving her head attached by little more than a layer of skin. Like a slaughtered pig, her body had been sliced open, her organs removed, and she had been left there to bleed...

"Damn it..."

Lestrade cursed under his breath while Li Wei stared at the corpse. It was the first time he had seen a dead body in real life, yet, unexpectedly, he felt remarkably calm. He had watched plenty of television, read plenty of novels, and played plenty of games. They all said that many people felt frightened, uneasy, or even agitated the first time they saw a corpse. But Li Wei felt none of that. Looking at the body was like looking at a word problem on his college entrance exam.

Now he needed to break down the equation, solve the problem, and arrive at the final answer. It was not difficult. The body showed no signs of disarray or struggle. Judging by her expression, she had died almost instantly. She had seen something, then been killed so quickly that she had not even had time to change her expression.

The cuts were clean and sharp. They had not been made with an ordinary dagger or kitchen knife. Such blades might slit a throat, but they could not slice open a body so smoothly. So what exactly was inside...

"Mr. Li Wei."

Lestrade's voice beside his ear brought Li Wei back to his senses. Only then did he realize he had moved right up to the corpse and was craning his head to look inside it, like a student unconsciously widening his eyes and leaning closer to an exam question.

"I understand your perspective as a detective, but please don't disturb the scene."

"Sorry."

Li Wei took two steps back and straightened his clothes, but his mind could not stop working on how to solve the problem. In fact, he already had a fairly clear idea. This woman had followed someone into the alley. That person had revealed his true face, and the sight had terrified her. Before she could scream, the killer had struck-the evidence lay in the very incomplete pattern of blood sprayed on the wall. In other words, the killer must have been standing in front of her when he attacked.

Then... the victim fell, and the killer laid her on the ground. After that...

Li Wei pulled his gaze away and looked at the woman's face again. Her expression was contorted with terror, frozen at the moment of death. What exactly had she seen then?

Just then, Inspector Lestrade came over to the woman's side. He gazed at her, murmured a few words of prayer, then set the gas lamp beside her. In its hazy light, Li Wei suddenly saw a writhing black shadow flash across her cloudy, dim eyes.

Over there!

Almost instantly, Li Wei turned. His right hand reached to his waist and gripped the handle of a gun-he had never noticed the weapon's presence before, but just as earlier, the movement was incredibly practiced, as though he had repeated it countless times. The hard, cold ivory grip felt both unfamiliar and familiar in his hand. Li Wei raised the gun, aimed overhead, and pulled the trigger.

At that very instant, a black shadow dropped from above, lunging at Li Wei and Lestrade!