Li Wei took Alice and the puppy home, then headed off to find Inspector Lestrade.
The inspector clicked his tongue in surprise when he saw Li Wei.
"What brings you here? Didn't the papers say you'd only just returned from working a case out of town a few days ago?"
Li Wei had given a reporter an interview when he returned, and naturally, the news had appeared the very next day. In particular, it emphasized that Li Wei currently had no plans to continue drawing "Betty the Puppy," prompting howls of despair from quite a few readers. There was nothing they could do, though. Everyone knew Li Wei was a great detective, after all, and solving cases was his real job. All they could do was hope he wouldn't forget his readers when he had some free time.
"That's right."
"Then why don't you draw a little more? Quite a few people at the Police Station enjoy your work too. Speaking of which, would you be interested in drawing a police dog? Our dogs might not be cute, but they're very brave."
"Maybe when I have the time..."
Lestrade's words gave Li Wei a headache. True, this method had successfully helped him find a way to exploit the rules of this world, but wasn't the price a little too steep? Why did everyone he met pester him for updates?
As far as Li Wei was concerned, this was a hobby. Drawing when he felt like it was fine, but if people insisted on turning it into a job, he wanted no part of it.
"Forget that. I came to ask about the murder of the owner of Finest Antiques."
"The antique shop? Isn't that just an ordinary robbery-murder? You're getting involved in that too?"
"If only it really were ordinary..."