Why was there a jumpscare, too?

Old Razi's words left Vanessa so stifled that her chest felt tight. Only after a long while did she nod dejectedly. "Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Lachi... Nothing will go wrong?"

"Don't worry. I've been in this business for decades." Old Razi patted his shriveled chest and let out his signature laugh, like a broken bellows, before turning and retreating into his little room.

Vanessa stood rooted to the spot, a bitter taste in her mouth.

Even deeper in debt! Those hundred and twenty Leo weighed on her heart like a boulder. She would probably have to tighten her belt in the days ahead; even her dreams of roasted sweet potatoes would be dashed.

Creak-

Old Razi's door opened again, and a heavy sack of coarse cloth was casually tossed out.

Vanessa instinctively reached to catch it, but she had not expected the sack to be so heavy. Her legs were already weak and sore, leaving her unable to muster any strength, and its weight knocked her to the floor.

"What's this?"

"Leo. A hundred and twenty. Count them."

Vanessa gaped. She opened the sack and discovered that it really did contain Leo. The copper coins minted by the royal family were only of middling quality, but to Vanessa, they seemed to gleam with a golden light.

Before she could ask why, Old Razi began speaking with a beaming smile.

"You're in the business now, too. Next time you have quality goods like these, remember to tell me beforehand! I, Lachi, value my reputation above all else. I can sell anything for you!"

After a moment's thought, he added, "Legal business, of course. Like trading corpses."

Vanessa felt as though her head were full of mush. Bewildered, she asked, "That corpse..."

"Top-quality goods infected with Mad Rat Disease. A Wild Dog Gang connection, right? Don't worry, I won't pry into how you 'source' your goods. I'm just a middleman making a margin."

Mad Rat Disease? Vanessa seemed to have heard the term before, but she remembered little about it. How could that corpse have contracted Mad Rat Disease? Had the Wild Dog Gang made a mistake?

No... Vanessa suddenly remembered the man from yesterday. His bizarre condition had left a deep impression on her. Could that man have contracted Mad Rat Disease and then passed it on to this corpse?

Wait, passed it on?

Vanessa sprang up from the floor and staggered back several steps, putting plenty of distance between herself and the drawer.

"Don't worry. Mad Rat Disease doesn't spread to living people... You don't need to worry about the rest. I'll handle it."

He patted Vanessa's stiff shoulder contentedly, then turned and went back to his room, humming an off-key tune.

Before shutting the door, he poked his head out again, a hint of warning in his cloudy eyes. "I think you've got promise... But don't get in too deep. If you go mad, I'll have to hire someone all over again."

The door slammed shut, leaving only Vanessa and a whole heavy sack of Leo in the room.

"Trading corpses... Is it really this profitable?"

"Alive, they're people. Dead, they're meat." Old Razi's words seemed to linger in her ears, but...

But he never said "meat" was worth so much!

Thinking back to yesterday's battle, and how a warm corpse had turned into cold, hard Leo, Vanessa was filled with mixed feelings.

"Mad Rat Disease... I'll have to ask Dorothea about it. Miss Crow is sure to know. She's the medical school's top student, after all."

Vanessa changed her clothes and tucked the sack of Leo inside them. Having received so much money all at once, she felt somewhat at a loss.

"Hmm, I can buy Winnie a proper present now. I can talk to her about the gang while I'm there, too."

"But..." Vanessa's gaze drifted toward the door. "I'd better check out Rosin Alley first."

Remembering yesterday's dream, Vanessa picked up her trench coat, draped it over herself, and headed out of the hospital.

Rosin Alley lay deep within the Clock Tower District, beside an old church.

The street was exceptionally tidy. There were few patrol officers and no sign of gangs entrenched there, yet it was remarkably safe.

Violence seemed to have been shut out by an invisible barrier, and even the homeless were nowhere to be seen.

It was not a wealthy neighborhood, yet somehow it had become a haven within New Scandinavia.

Hmm, it looks like a pretty nice place to live.

Vanessa pulled her hood as low as it would go to hide her face, cautiously peering around from beneath it.

To be honest, she did not have much hope... How many books could an old man own? She had spent all day, every day in Miskatonic University's library before.

There were hardly any pedestrians on the street during the day, and Vanessa found number thirty-seven without much trouble.

It was a weather-beaten wooden house, the marks of time etched deeply into every plank and every crack.

It stood there like a silent, weary old man-by the standards of wooden houses in New Scandinavia, anything over fifty years counted as long-lived. It was clearly approaching that limit, though its frame was still fairly sturdy.

Wooden houses did not last long, but fortunately, their owners often did not live that long either, so this was not much of a problem.

Vanessa did not approach recklessly.

She remembered the old man mentioning his children, who had already divided up his estate and were waiting for him to die. This house might not have escaped their covetous eyes.

Vanessa circled it a few times. The windows were tightly shut and covered in dust, while weeds overran the front yard. There was not a trace of life; clearly, no one had lived here for a long time.

Her heartbeat quickened slightly. She hesitated and glanced around. There was no one else on the street.

Vanessa took a deep breath, carefully approached, and crouched beside the mailbox.

"I remember he said the key was under a paving brick beside the mailbox?"

The paving bricks beneath the mailbox were fitted tightly together. It took considerable effort before she barely managed to pry up the first one.

Beneath it lay nothing but cold, compacted soil.

"Damn it, I should've brought a shovel." She felt around in her pocket, then suddenly had an idea and took out a folding knife.

It was the one that had belonged to Allen.

With a tool, things became much easier. Vanessa put the paving brick back where it had been and pried up the next one. Only beneath the third did she uncover a small package.

It was a tightly wrapped bundle of oiled paper, lying quietly in the soil.

Vanessa's heart gave a sudden leap! She quickly took out the oiled-paper package and peeled it open in a few swift motions. An old-fashioned brass-colored key lay quietly in her palm, its surface coated in a thin layer of verdigris.

"It was actually true..."

Vanessa quickly put the paving bricks back as they had been, then picked up the key and prepared to walk toward the tightly closed front door.

But when she raised her head, a face wearing an eerie smile suddenly appeared before her, almost pressed against her own!

Vanessa stumbled back several steps and fell onto her backside. Only then did she see that it seemed to be a little girl. She was short, just slightly taller than Vanessa had been while crouching, so looking up had put them face-to-face.

What terrified Vanessa was that the smile never left the girl's face, yet the longer she looked, the more twisted it seemed, making her break out in a cold sweat!

"Y-you, who are you!! Why are you following me!!!"

Vanessa gripped the folding knife in her pocket!