Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 30: Layers of Exploration

Late at night.

Inside the morgue, there was a deathly silence.

Under the pale light, the corpse covered with a white sheet lay quietly on the bed.

There was no movement at all.

However, at this moment, the sheet suddenly trembled.

Then, accompanied by a low growl, the sheet was lifted, and Rogers’ corpse sat up, then jumped down from the bed.

His eyes were blood-red as he glanced around before stumbling toward the outside.

“Creak———”

Rogers crashed the door open and looked ahead.

Then, he stopped in his tracks.

In the corridor, several soldiers in black uniforms and masks stood holding weapons.

Behind them stood Levi, Katie, Inspector Lestrade, and the old butler.

“About fifteen hours.”

Levi took out his pocket watch and glanced at it.

“The autopsy report showed that Mr.

Rogers’ time of death was 3 a.m. yesterday. In other words, it takes more than half a day for a victim attacked by a vampire to complete the transformation. Of course, it’s also possible that it must be nighttime for it to succeed.”

“But earlier, we dragged this gentleman’s body out into the sun for half a day, and nothing happened?”

Katie tilted her head in confusion.

“Don’t legends say vampires turn to ash under the sun?”

“Maybe at that time he hadn’t become a vampire yet. Or maybe vampires simply aren’t afraid of the sun.”

Levi shrugged, then pulled out an All-Seeing Eye amulet and waved it in front of Rogers.

The latter had no reaction at all.

“Look, legends also say vampires will be destroyed by holy light upon seeing an All-Seeing Eye amulet. Or is your amulet fake?”

“This was blessed by the archbishop himself.”

Katie argued back, puffing up her cheeks, clearly dissatisfied.

Inspector Lestrade, however, paid no attention to their chatter.

He cautiously watched the man in front of him.

“Mr. Rogers! I am Inspector Lestrade! Can you hear me?”

“Uhhh………uuuuhhh……………”

Hearing Inspector Lestrade’s voice, Rogers tilted his head slightly toward him.

Then, suddenly, he spread his arms wide and lunged at Inspector Lestrade like a wild beast!

“Bang bang bang bang!!”

At once, the masked soldiers raised their guns and pulled the triggers.

With the gunfire ringing, Rogers’ body trembled violently as bullets struck him.

Yet, even so, he still charged forward, as though nothing mattered more to him than the prey before his eyes.

The old butler, seeing this, made a gesture.

Soon, a soldier stepped forward, pulled out a bag of blood, and tossed it toward Rogers.

But Rogers ignored the blood completely, continuing his advance.

Another soldier threw a chicken, but Rogers also ignored it, only glaring at them viciously.

“It seems Mr. Rogers prefers human flesh over chicken.”

Levi nodded at the sight.

“Eliminate him.”

Another soldier stepped forward, carrying a massive iron tank on his back and holding a flamethrower.

He aimed at Rogers and pulled the trigger hard.

“Whoooosh—————!”

In an instant, scorching flames engulfed Rogers, and moments later, he was reduced to a pile of charred remains.

The old butler withdrew his gaze and looked at Levi.

“Mr. Levi, has your investigation made any progress?”

“A few conjectures, but not much.”

Levi did not elaborate.

“Should we issue a curfew?”

Inspector Lestrade sounded deeply worried.

Not even during the Courtesan Killer case had he been this uneasy.

After all, those killed by the Courtesan Killer stayed dead—they didn’t crawl back to life.

But now………

“Mr. Rogers was simply sleeping at home, yet he still couldn’t escape. I don’t think a curfew would help. It would only spark unnecessary panic.”

Levi gave a negative opinion.

“If you ask me, you’d do better to control the flow of information—let the newspapers publish less of that vampire nonsense.”

Hearing Levi’s complaint, Inspector Lestrade cast him a helpless glance.

“That is beyond my authority. The media has freedom of news and freedom of reporting.”

“And also the freedom to exaggerate and spread rumors? Forget it, journalism majors are always like this anyway.”

Levi didn’t say more, only changing the subject.

“If you require it, we are willing to provide all assistance.”

The old butler bowed slightly as he spoke, his expression solemn.

“If necessary, I will.”

Levi nodded back at the old butler.

After that, Katie and the old butler departed.

The soldiers went to deal with the charred corpse, and Levi left the police station.

In fact, Levi already had certain thoughts about this case.

But for now, he wasn’t ready to tell anyone, because it was just a hypothesis—and not necessarily correct.

From the clues Irene had provided regarding the Courtesan Killer, and from Betty’s letter, Levi had pieced together a pattern.

It seemed to be some kind of ritual.

For example, the Courtesan Killer case reminded Levi of Jack the Ripper in his own world.

That case, never solved, fascinated the public precisely because the real culprit was never found.

It was retold endlessly, even adapted into films multiple times.

And in those tales, Jack the Ripper’s identity ranged from an abandoned child to a vengeful spirit, and countless more.

This fascination with the unknown, with mystery, was what the public loved most.

But what they sought was not truth—it was thrill.

The Bermuda Triangle, the Loch Ness Monster………similar tales were the same.

The rumors surrounding the Courtesan Killer and the vampire incidents were no exception.

Levi noticed that both rumors shared a common feature—or rather, a sequence.

That was filling in the blanks.

According to Irene, at the very start of the Courtesan Killer case, people only knew that someone wandered the streets at night, killing lone women.

As the second and third cases emerged, the description of the Courtesan Killer grew more detailed: he wore a mask, draped himself in a black cloak, and wielded a dagger for killing and dismembering………and from rumor, a complete image was born.

And the vampire rumor was the same.

At first, people only knew that someone had died, with not a single drop of blood left in the body, and with small puncture marks on the neck resembling bite marks, as if a vampire had drained them.

This was the idea the public formed after the first case.

Then came the second case—that unlucky second-generation rich painter.

This time, the description of the vampire was no longer vague, but more specific.

First, she was a female vampire.

Second, she moved at night.

Finally, she only drank the blood of handsome men.

Hmm, Edwards and Rogers could both be considered above average in appearance.

Through analysis, Levi found that these rumors all carried a kind of reasonableness, making them very easy for people to believe.

Take the Courtesan Killer, for instance———he wore a black cloak, so he was difficult to spot at night.

He wore a mask———so no one knew what he looked like.

He carried two daggers———used for killing and dismembering.

Of course, Levi knew it was all nonsense.

After Emilia transformed into a monster in reality, she probably hadn’t retained much intelligence.

Her choice of the scalpel was likely nothing more than habit.

But that wasn’t important, because the police could never announce to the public that the true Courtesan Killer was a mutated monster resurrected from the grave by a mysterious ritual.

So for most people, the Courtesan Killer was simply that masked maniac.

Then, could this grant him some kind of mysterious power?

The Courtesan Killer was already dead, and Levi couldn’t get answers from a corpse.

But it wasn’t without parallels.

For instance, this current case might well confirm Levi’s suspicions.

In fact, Levi strongly suspected that the “targeting handsome men” setting was deliberately aimed at himself.

After all, he had sabotaged Madam Clattie’s plan with some mysterious figure, even forcing the other party to kill Madam Clattie just to prevent Levi from digging further.

It was perfectly understandable if the other party wanted to kill him to eliminate future troubles.

And since they had been willing to kill Madam Clattie to cover their tracks, Levi didn’t think they would spare him.

So the question was, how would they kill him?

Ordinary methods weren’t impossible.

In fact, Levi had already prepared himself for the possibility that, when leaving home one day, he might be cornered in some alley by thugs or gangsters.

Then they’d pull out guns and, like in The Godfather, go “rat-tat-tat-tat” and turn him into a sieve.

But clearly, the other party didn’t intend to use such methods.

That made sense—if Levi survived, he could trace the killers back to them.

Given their caution, the best method was to make Levi die silently in a mysterious incident.

Thus, they had fabricated this rumor specifically targeting Levi: a female vampire who drank the blood of handsome men, moving through the night.

Walls, windows, and locked doors could not stop her; she came and went without a trace———Levi could already guess that tomorrow morning’s newspapers would make a sensational report of this, telling the whole Mist City that a third-rate painter had been drained of blood in his room, inside a locked chamber.

This was a trick performed by distorting reality, Levi realized—through lies, twisted information, and carefully pieced-together horror stories.

Yet, every story, at its core, required an original prototype.

The prototype of the Courtesan Killer was Emilia.

Then, who would be the prototype of this vampire?

Sitting inside a private box in the theater, watching the performance on stage, Levi yawned in boredom.

He had no interest whatsoever in this so-called “art.” If he had the time, Levi would much rather read a few more books.

Unfortunately, in Mist City at night, this was one of the few forms of entertainment available.

And if the vampire was indeed targeting Levi, then fighting outside would naturally be preferable to having his own house wrecked.

Levi wasn’t about to let his home be destroyed.

On stage, the actors shouted hoarsely, depicting the final struggles of a king at the end of his dynasty.

Levi, however, had no interest at all.

He yawned again, leaned back in his chair, and half-closed his eyes.

Just then, a voice sounded beside his ear.

“Sir, you seem rather bored?”

Levi turned his head.

Sitting in the adjacent box was a woman, smiling at him.

She wore an exquisite gown adorned with jewels, looking elegant and composed.

There was a kind of captivating charm about her—like a bright pearl shining dazzlingly in the darkness.

“My apologies, miss, for disturbing your enjoyment.”

Levi nodded slightly to her in greeting.

“I have no complaints about this play. It’s just that I’ve been somewhat tired lately, and my spirits aren’t at their best……….”

“I can understand.”

The woman smiled faintly, her smile so radiant it seemed to melt away all one’s troubles.

“Actually, I also find it a bit boring. Why don’t we………go for a walk instead?”

Levi did not refuse the suggestion.

She took his hand, and together they left the box.

The theater corridor was utterly silent, not a soul in sight.

The faint singing from behind the walls only deepened the impression, as if they had been cut off from the world and stepped into another realm entirely.

Like stepping from a bustling street into a dark, deserted alleyway, it carried a strange sense of separation from the ordinary world.

Yet Levi did not mind, nor did the woman.

She held his hand as they walked down the corridor and entered a side room.

Before Levi could see what kind of place it was, the woman pulled him inside.

Then the two embraced tightly.

It was a heat that felt like it could melt everything, yet also an icy cold that froze all things.

A mixture of languidness and comfort———like lying in a warm bed in early winter, eyes closed, savoring peace and warmth.

His once-clear mind began to blur; even his thoughts grew indistinct.

He lowered his hand, reaching for his pocket.

The woman chuckled softly, her slender, supple fingers slipping like snakes to grasp his hand.

Levi didn’t mind at all.

He simply held her hand, as though holding that of a beloved, and guided it into his pocket.

“—————————！”

In the next moment, the woman let out a silent, piercing scream.

At the same time, Levi felt a scorching heat and pain erupt from his pocket, like a branding iron.

Then Levi opened his eyes.

The soaring singing on stage had reached its climax.

The actor playing the villain was already screaming and struggling.

The audience rose to their feet, clapping thunderously, the applause shaking the theater.

Levi turned his head to the side.

The seat next to him was empty.

“Interesting.”

Levi chuckled softly and stood.

He reached into his pocket and drew out a badge———the All-Seeing Eye he had previously taken from Katie, which she claimed had been blessed by the archbishop.

Levi flicked his fingers, sending it flying into the air before catching it again.

At the same time, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

Then he put on his hat and left the box to the sound of the audience’s applause.