When Li Wei heard Erin's answer, his first reaction was... What the hell?
How did that lunatic turn into the Courtesan Killer?
I killed the Courtesan Killer myself. How come I never knew she looked like that?
If Amelia knew this was how other people imagined her, she would probably die of anger without him having to lift a finger.
"What do you mean?"
Li Wei looked at Erin curiously. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"When stories about the Courtesan Killer first started spreading, lots of people described him that way. They said he was a terrifying, vicious madman who wore a mask and a black cloak lined in blood red, and carried a sharp knife. He drifted through the streets of Fog City at night like a ghost, hunting girls who were alone, tearing out their organs while they were still alive and eating them, leaving the girls to die in agony..."
If the Courtesan Killer's body hadn't already been cremated, Li Wei would have dearly liked to ask Amelia how she felt about that.
"But the papers already said the Courtesan Killer was Doctor Dolittle, didn't they?"
"Ah, yes... but... I don't know him, either."
Of course!
Hearing Erin's puzzled reply, Li Wei suddenly understood. He realized he had fallen into the trap of taking his own knowledge for granted.
He had killed Amelia himself, and he knew exactly what kind of person Doctor Dolittle was and what he had done. But Li Wei had overlooked one thing: most people neither knew nor cared about the distinction between the Courtesan Killer and Doctor Dolittle!
In their minds, the Courtesan Killer was that deranged freak in a black cloak and mask. Now that freak simply had a name: Doctor Dolittle!
The news reports hadn't included a photograph of Doctor Dolittle, so most people had no idea what he looked like!
In other words, for most people, the equation Doctor Dolittle = Courtesan Killer = masked freak in a cloak held true!
Before, Li Wei had simply found the dream baffling. After hearing Erin's description, however, he immediately felt that there might be far more to it.
So I've actually been killing the Courtesan Killer over and over in my dreams?
That would explain the cries for help, too.
After all, solving this case was what had made Li Wei famous as a detective. If those girls encountered the Courtesan Killer, he would naturally be the first person they thought of.
It was like solving a problem. If you encountered a question asking 2 + 2 = ?
If you knew the answer, you would choose 4 immediately, without hesitation!
Likewise, who should you turn to if you encountered the Courtesan Killer?
Naturally, Detective Li Wei, who had shot her dead!
All right, one problem solved. But now a new one had emerged.
If the Courtesan Killer were still alive, these dreams would be understandable. The problem was that the Courtesan Killer was already dead. Most people had moved on, so why would anyone still dream about this? And so frequently, at that?
Besides, judging by what Li Wei had felt earlier, these didn't seem to be ordinary dreams.
Still, Li Wei had more or less guessed why Katie hadn't shared his dream. Katie was a fast runner, and her identity also seemed to be somewhat confidential. People didn't know Li Wei had a detective's assistant like her, so naturally they wouldn't summon her into their dreams.
This was getting stranger and stranger.
Li Wei ate breakfast without any change in his expression, while all sorts of thoughts churned through his mind. The dead Courtesan Killer was alive and kicking in dreams, and he had to rush over like a firefighter whenever someone dreamed, putting out fires against his will. He didn't recall having any such ability, and the system hadn't indicated that he possessed one, either. What exactly was going on with these dreams? And how was he supposed to deal with this problem?
Even now, the system hadn't issued a new quest. Had he not found enough clues, or did the system consider everything he had encountered part of the quest concerning Lady Claytie's true objective?
This quest was much harder than the previous ones.
After thinking for a while, Li Wei decided to investigate the vampire case first. As for the Courtesan Killer, she could only run rampant in dreams now, and even that wouldn't last much longer.
The vampire was different, though. After all...
Li Wei looked at the newspaper before him. Its front-page headline read, "A vampire returns? A shocking mystery at the Royal Academy of Medicine"...
[... According to our reporter's investigation, Detective Li Wei, the Police Station's special investigative consultant, has taken charge of this case. He previously assisted the police in solving the widely known Courtesan Killer case. Will this detective once again use his extraordinary intellect and wisdom to solve this terrifying case and uncover the true culprit?]
Honestly, these reporters were a real nuisance. Fortunately, they didn't know the victim had turned into a zombie in the Morgue and attacked someone. Otherwise, Li Wei hardly dared imagine what today's newspaper would look like.
Li Wei finished reading the day's paper and eating breakfast, then got up and left.
This time, he intended to visit Edwards's home. Perhaps he could find some clues there.
Edwards lived in an apartment building at 23 Chestnut Street.
It was a very ordinary three-story building with rooms rented mainly to people who weren't particularly well-off, but weren't desperately poor, either.
Li Wei stood outside the apartment building with a complicated expression.
When he had first seen the address, Li Wei had merely thought it looked familiar. But once he arrived and saw the large name "Durex" on the building's sign, he remembered where he had seen it before. While investigating the properties Lady Claytie had purchased, he had discovered that, besides the Pink Lady, she had also bought a factory, a warehouse, and an apartment building.
And this was that apartment building.
Was this a coincidence?
No. It couldn't be.
Li Wei stared at the building, lost in thought. He realized he might have underestimated Lady Claytie.
Because the mastermind had killed Lady Claytie without hesitation, Li Wei had come to regard her as a mere pawn who could be sacrificed at will. In reality, however, he had no way of confirming whether she truly was just an insignificant pawn in all this.
The fact was that, despite Lady Claytie's death, every clue he had found so far was still connected to her.
Including the apartment building before him.
Forget it. I'll go inside and take a look first.
Just as Li Wei reached out to push open the door, it suddenly opened, and a girl stepped out. She froze when she saw him.
"Oh? Mr. Detective?"
"Miss Betty? What are you doing here?"
Looking at the blue-eyed blonde girl with her slightly chubby cheeks, Li Wei was rather surprised. He hadn't expected to find Betty at this apartment building, too.
"Me? I came to invite Maggie out for afternoon tea... Oh, Maggie is my friend. You met her before..."
"Oh..."
Li Wei immediately recalled the freckled girl with curly brown hair.
"She lives here?"
"Yes."
Betty nodded, then looked at Li Wei curiously.
"Mr. Detective, why are you here?"
"I'm investigating that unfortunate victim. He lived here, too."
"I see..."
Betty was clearly a little surprised. Li Wei glanced at her.
"Why are you alone? Where's Miss Maggie?"
"She isn't home."
Betty looked disappointed.
"We arranged this beforehand, but when I came over, she wasn't home."
In this era, people couldn't simply decide on a whim to drop by for a visit. Most households didn't have telephones, so visits were generally arranged in advance. Otherwise, you might eagerly turn up at someone's door only to find them out, leaving you in an awkward position.
Conversely, making an arrangement beforehand and then standing someone up was very rude.
"Well, I'll be going, then. Good luck with your investigation, Mr. Detective."
Betty curtsied to Li Wei, then left the apartment building. Li Wei watched her retreating figure in silence for a moment before heading inside.
As before, Li Wei didn't pick the lock. Instead, he opened the door with the key taken from Edwards's body... Hmm, being a detective who can't pick locks really does seem a little inadequate...
After all, I can't get the key off a corpse every time.
What would that make me?
After that silent reflection, Li Wei opened the door and entered Edwards's room.
The room looked perfectly ordinary, like any university student's room. All sorts of vessels covered the desk, and piles of books with incomprehensible titles lay scattered everywhere. Li Wei also found Edwards's unfinished graduation thesis, titled "A study of the feasibility of brain transplantation."
Yep. This fellow really was better off dead.
Then Li Wei found Edwards's diary.
After coming to this world, Li Wei had finally understood why so many people liked keeping diaries.
The reason was simple: they were far too bored!
This world had no television, no radio, and very little nightlife. Educated people, in particular, couldn't go clubbing, visit internet cafés, or watch films at the cinema as they could in the modern world. Their social standing also meant they couldn't regularly pass the time at places like the Pink Lady.
As a result, keeping a diary became one of the few diversions available after nightfall to people with some education.
It also gave them an outlet for their feelings. After all, there was no internet in this era, nor all those platforms. If something happened in your life, you couldn't vent by making a post or writing a long rant online. Keeping a diary was therefore a good way to express your emotions.
Even Li Wei now occasionally felt the urge to write a diary when he had nothing to do at night. But considering how many people had exposed their secrets through their diaries, he had restrained himself.
He liked reading other people's diaries, but he didn't like the idea of other people reading his.
Li Wei put those thoughts aside, picked up the diary, and began to read.
Before you continue