A new department

As it turned out, once a case was solved, public curiosity quickly faded. Within days, reports of the vampire murders had vanished from the newspapers, replaced by Parliament's decision to phase out horse-drawn carriages on a large scale and promote steam cars, along with discussions of the measure.

And after eliminating Betty, Li Wei stopped having dreams about the Courtesan Killer... Well, that was naturally a good thing for him.

Li Wei had been busy ever since that night, first with medical treatment-fortunately, the doctor diagnosed him with only a moderate concussion and no lasting damage. That let him breathe a quiet sigh of relief. Of course, he also tried examining himself with his [Diagnosis] skill and reached much the same conclusion.

Then came writing and submitting his investigation report... Only after finishing all that did Li Wei have time to look at his mission rewards.

[Mission "Darkness and Shadow" completed]

[Time taken: S]

[Investigation efficiency: A]

[Impact: S]

[Overall rating: SS]

Compared with before, his investigation efficiency rating had dropped this time. Li Wei guessed it had something to do with the culprit committing two crimes in succession. In other words, the more crimes the culprit committed, the lower his investigation efficiency rating would be... Hmm... All right, that made sense.

[Reward received: lifespan +50, additional +10]

Since his overall rating had dropped by one rank, the bonus reward had also decreased. Still, he had gained another two months of life. Not a bad deal.

[Special ability acquired: occult resistance +15%]

Occult resistance, huh...

Seeing that reminded Li Wei of the bat monster's Sonic Attack that night. He really had no defense against that thing. He wondered whether this [Occult Resistance] could help him withstand those bizarre powers. He still remembered the mysterious figure's ability to kill enemies directly through mirrors. To him, that was far deadlier than bullets or anything of the sort.

[Agility increased to 75]

[Advanced skill selection +1]

[Shadow Movement] [Bloodlust] [Sonic Attack]

Clearly, these were more things the system had taken from Betty.

Li Wei briefly examined the three skills. [Shadow Movement] was somewhat like teleportation, except that he could only move through shadows, and its range increased with proficiency. Well-now he understood why Betty had been unable to use it to escape. The searchlights had flooded the entire alley with light, leaving her nowhere to flee.

To Li Wei, [Bloodlust] was more like a berserk ability. Put simply, it consumed some blood to temporarily boost his physical capabilities-he dismissed it after a single glance. With his constitution, he was supposed to drain his own blood? Doing that once or twice might put him in a coffin.

Li Wei did not even need to read the description for [Sonic Attack]. He had experienced it himself. It was a devastating area-of-effect weapon, pure and simple. Even at the lowest proficiency, it could serve as a stun grenade.

Unfortunately, just like before, he could only choose one of the three.

Li Wei wavered between [Shadow Movement] and [Sonic Attack], but ultimately, he chose-[Shadow Movement].

The reason was simple. [Shadow Movement] used shadows as a medium for short-range teleportation, ignoring obstacles. That settled it for Li Wei. After all, he still had not drawn the [Lockpicking] skill, so using [Shadow Movement] to pass through walls was an excellent alternative.

Li Wei had a very clear idea of his role. He had no desire to charge head-on into battle like some hero and mow down his enemies. Just as when he had dealt with Betty, he preferred to think of himself as a detective-someone who collected, investigated, and summarized information, made deductions, found clues, identified the target, and then...

Then called the police.

Fighting for their lives on the front lines was the responsibility of soldiers and police officers. Li Wei did not think he needed to take that risk, and he treasured his hard-won second life.

[Shadow Movement] would be extremely useful, whether for passing through walls or escaping.

There was another reason Li Wei had rejected [Sonic Attack]. The soldiers and Katie had all suffered that monster's attack, so they knew perfectly well what it was. If he displayed the same ability in front of them, with no way to explain his system, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.

So, to be safe, Li Wei ultimately gave up [Sonic Attack] and chose [Shadow Movement].

Staying alive mattered more than fighting.

After making his decision, Li Wei took the card floating in front of him. It quickly vanished, and he saw the [Shadow Movement] skill appear after his [Agility] attribute.

So that was how it worked.

Li Wei now realized that each of his abilities corresponded to an attribute or skill, and apparently only one. For example, [Death's Eye] was an advanced [Shooting] skill, while [Soul Sight] was an advanced [Investigation] skill, and [Shadow Movement] was an advanced [Agility] skill. By that logic, [Bloodlust] might be an advanced [Constitution] skill...

[Shadow Movement: the ability to travel freely through interconnected shadows. Maximum range: 10 meters. Proficiency: 0%. Lifespan consumed: 15 minutes/second]

Hmm... The amount of lifespan consumed probably depended on the importance of the skill. Li Wei remembered that [Soul Sight] cost five minutes of lifespan per second, [Death's Eye] cost ten, and [Shadow Movement] cost fifteen. Thinking it over, though, [Shadow Movement] really was an important skill. It could even let him relocate through shadows while someone had him in their sights and was spraying him with gunfire-with that in mind, its high cost made sense.

Of course, although the vampire murder case had been solved, matters did not end there. Franz Rebecca was still at large, yet the police investigation could not even establish his appearance. Some said he was a stern, serious old man who always had a pipe between his lips. Others described him as a kindly old woman who always wore a smile.

Neither Franz's former students nor his colleagues could accurately describe his appearance. They could not even agree on whether he was male or female. It was as though everyone saw a completely different outward image of the person named "Franz Rebecca"-Li Wei really wanted to ask whether the fellow used the men's restroom or the women's.

In the end, the police could only issue a wanted notice based on the written records left at the school. As for how effective that would be... They did not even know whether the fellow was male or female, young or old. Actually finding him would take a miracle.

But that was no longer Li Wei's concern. This was another way detectives had it easier than the police. A detective's job ended once he identified the culprit; arresting and capturing that culprit was police work. No one would accuse a detective of dereliction of duty for failing to catch the murderer, but they would certainly call the police useless if they failed to apprehend a criminal.

Clearly, actually catching this fellow would not be easy.

And in the wake of this case, the authorities seemed to have begun taking serious action.

Inspector Lestrade later told Li Wei that, with cases like the "Courtesan Killer" and the "vampire murders" occurring in such quick succession, the authorities had concluded that these were not ordinary criminal cases. They were more likely part of a conspiracy intended to damage the Empire, or even overthrow it.

The authorities had therefore decided to establish an intelligence organization called "Military Intelligence Section Seven." It would fall under the royal household and answer directly to Her Majesty the Queen. Its main task would be investigating and gathering information on strange, mysterious cases. Inspector Lestrade would serve as its representative at the Police Station. Whenever the Police Station discovered similar mysterious cases, he would screen them and pass them to Military Intelligence Section Seven.

Military Intelligence Section Seven had sweeping powers. Whenever it discovered a case or individual connected with supernatural phenomena, it could mobilize local police forces or even the army to deal with them. From this, Li Wei could tell that the royal household was indeed taking the matter very seriously.

A department with such immense powers from its inception, answering directly to the royal family... Well, it inevitably brought some unpleasant associations to Li Wei's mind.

To some extent, though, it was necessary. After all... Who knew what else these occultists might come up with?

Now that bat monsters existed, Li Wei would not be surprised if he saw Leviathan at sea someday.

Still, he had plenty of things to do.

For example... Reporting to Military Intelligence Section Seven.

To be honest, Li Wei was a little excited about that.

He still remembered the secret bases in the James Bond films he used to watch. You walked into a company, met a beautiful blonde with blue eyes, greeted her, and exchanged a code phrase. She smiled and pressed a button. Then the bookcase behind her reception desk slowly opened to reveal a hidden door.

Next, the protagonist stepped forward, spoke a password, and underwent voiceprint and retinal scans. The hidden door opened, revealing a passage filled with futuristic technology...

Wasn't that cool?

Secret bases were a man's dream!

Yet when Li Wei stepped out of the carriage and arrived at his destination, the somewhat shabby Victorian building before him left him utterly baffled.

"Welcome, Mr. Li Wei."

Had the old butler not been waiting at the entrance, Li Wei would have suspected he had come to the wrong place.

"Hello, sir."

Seeing the old butler, Li Wei stepped forward and removed his hat in greeting.

Today, the old butler was not wearing his usual butler's tailcoat. Instead, he wore a crisp suit that made him look like a successful capitalist.

"To be honest, I thought we would meet somewhere more discreet."

"Which is precisely why we came here."

The old butler chuckled and gestured to Li Wei.

"Please follow me."

Entering the somewhat shabby building, the old butler led Li Wei into the Elevator and pressed a button. With a piercing noise, the Elevator carried them upward, while the old butler began explaining in a low voice.

"The royal household has read your report. After a series of studies, we finally settled on this plan. However, our identities will need to change somewhat..."

"Ding."

The Elevator stopped on the fifth floor, and its gates slowly opened. Li Wei stepped out to find an enormous office filled with employees hard at work. Wearing ordinary uniforms, they were either poring over documents or typing.

Outside the office hung a sign reading [Mystery Explorers Editorial Department].

Li Wei gave the old butler a questioning look. The latter merely smiled without speaking and led him through the editorial department into the [Editor-in-chief's office].

Once the door closed, shutting out all the noise outside and leaving the editor-in-chief's office completely quiet, the old butler poured Li Wei a cup of tea.

"Please, help yourself."

"Thank you... So, what is all this?"

"Exactly what you see."

The old butler smiled and sat behind the editor-in-chief's desk-the name on it was Crawford Babylon.

"We carefully studied your report and consulted specialists from every field. Then we realized... The key to all this lies in controlling and screening rumors."

"But that isn't easy."

Li Wei naturally knew that rumors were not so easily controlled.

"Indeed."

The old butler spread his hands.

"So, welcome to the Mystery Explorers Editorial Department. This newspaper will soon begin official circulation in Fog City. Unlike other newspapers, it focuses on everyday matters among ordinary people, along with all manner of mysterious rumors and incidents. Anyone may write to us, recording the mysterious, strange, and inexplicable things happening where they live and sending them to the editorial department. We will then dispatch our special guest..."

At this point, the old butler smiled and pointed at Li Wei.

"The renowned detective Mr. Li Wei, who will investigate and reveal the truth."

Li Wei had to admit that the old butler's explanation genuinely surprised him.

"In other words, you intend to publish a newspaper dedicated to stories about mysterious and bizarre incidents?"

"Exactly."

Well, damn. That was really something.

The old butler's answer truly surprised Li Wei. At the same time, he had to admit that this was a brilliant move!

The biggest problem with rumors was that they were uncontrollable, unregulated, easy to spread, and far-reaching.

Yet humans naturally gravitated toward authority-perhaps people living in the internet age could not understand it, but in the past, "it says so in a book" had been practically synonymous with truth.

Likewise, even with rumors, something printed in black and white carried more "authority" than word of mouth.

And it was more readily accepted by the public!

That meant if two people shared similar rumors and one could produce a newspaper to support his account, his rumor would clearly be more credible than the other person's!

And for that fellow who liked to hide among the crowd, spreading rumors and horror stories, this would undoubtedly land a heavy blow!

After all, when faced with official authority and hearsay, people subconsciously leaned toward authority!

Of course, only the government could do something like this. Li Wei would clearly never achieve the same effect himself.

It seemed the imperial government of this world was dependable after all.

That thought eased Li Wei's mind somewhat. Then he saw the old butler reach out and ring the bell on his desk.

"Next, I will introduce you to several important members of the department."

A short while later, a knock sounded at the door, and Li Wei saw two men and a woman enter. They all had distinguished appearances, and judging by their clothes, they belonged to the wealthy class. The three paused at the sight of Li Wei, and the middle-aged woman's eyes positively lit up. Li Wei hurriedly rose and nodded in greeting.

Just then, the old butler spoke.

"This is Mr. Benjamin Thomson."

He first indicated the man standing at the front, a tall, refined-looking gentleman with a goatee.

"He is an outstanding scientist who specializes in military inventions. Here in this department, his primary responsibility is modifying weapons to make them more effective against those monsters."

Then he pointed to the other man standing beside him, who was short and stout, rather like a beer barrel.

"This is Mr. Richard Scott. His specialties are history and folklore, and he can provide you with ample information and analysis."

The stout man smiled and nodded at Li Wei in acknowledgment.

"This lady is Windsor Herson, a psychologist. She is primarily responsible for psychological assessments and examinations. Of course, her field of research-the subconscious-should prove useful to you."

"It already helped me a great deal."

Li Wei bowed to Ms. Windsor, and she returned the gesture with a slight bow.

"Of course, that is not the extent of their duties."

After finishing the introductions, the old butler spoke again with a smile.

"Once you have solved those mysterious cases, Mr. Li Wei, they will use their professional expertise to rework the accounts of what happened, turning them into something the public can understand and publishing them..."

"Hmm..."

Li Wei nodded. He understood. This way, whenever he solved another mysterious incident, these experts could explain it as some scientific or psychological phenomenon... Huh?

At that thought, Li Wei froze for a moment.

Were they sure this thing wasn't called Approaching Science?