Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 227 An Unexpected Discovery

The guy nicknamed "Bucktooth" lived in a squalid slum in the lower part of the city, a place filled with houses built a long time ago with almost no planning. Although the cobblestone streets themselves were relatively clean, the dilapidated houses on both sides, which looked like they hadn't been repaired in a long time, spoke volumes about the condition of the area.

"Boom!"

The door was pushed open, and Inspector Lestrade strode in aggressively, followed by Levi, who held a cane and looked completely relaxed.

"no one."

"Isn't that normal?"

Compared to Lestrade, Levi appeared quite calm.

"Assuming that guy is indeed connected to this series of cases, he will inevitably flee because of it. In fact, I'm even mentally prepared to find his body here."

As Li Wei spoke, he looked around.

"Well, judging from the current situation, it hasn't reached that point yet."

"What should we do now?"

"Anyway, since we're already here, let's see if there are any clues here."

Unlike detectives who resort to petty theft, Li Wei had the protection of a police consultant, allowing him to openly and honestly search the place thoroughly. Therefore, he appeared calm; in fact, Li Wei was quite relaxed at this moment. The fact that they hadn't found the guy's body meant that the other party hadn't yet realized their actions and only considered it an accident.

Thinking of this, Li Wei began to walk around the room.

This was a typical residential house, a one-bedroom apartment with a bed inside and a stove, along with some miscellaneous items and cabinets outside. It was clear that the buck-toothed man was very nervous; he hadn't even had time to close the open cabinet doors, and there was even an open metal box thrown on the table.

Li Wei stared at the footprints on the ground and the traces around him, and soon the scene from that time appeared in his mind.

After being beaten and running away that night, Bucktooth returned to his room panting. He might or might not know who the Black Duck Gang man was, but he was certain that the other party had discovered that he had tricked his sister. So Bucktooth decided to leave quickly and hide outside for a while.

He hurriedly pushed open the door and entered the house, then anxiously paced around, seemingly considering what to take. He made up his mind, knocked open a few stones under the bed, took what was hidden underneath, then pulled a bag from the wardrobe, stuffed a few clothes inside, and then went to the living room with the bag. He opened a nearby cabinet, took out an iron box, opened it, and stuffed the valuables inside into the bag as well.

Finally, the buck-toothed man walked to the window, looked outside to make sure the police or the man weren't chasing him, and then dashed out the door.

There wasn't even time to lock the door.

At least for now, this guy is indeed suspicious.

"What did you find?"

"There's a little, but not much. Hmm, let me look again..."

Li Wei looked down at the traces inside the room. The room looked extremely messy; the clothes piled up to the side and the blankets on the bed all emitted a foul odor, proving that the owner of this place did not care about their hygiene. But this also had an advantage: they might have left behind some things that could serve as clues.

After all, according to reasoning, if Bucktooth was the middleman who tricked illegal immigrants into going to that hellhole, then he must have been to that place, and maybe Bucktooth would have brought back something related to that place.

"Ok?"

Just then, Li Wei suddenly noticed something. He reached out and picked up a matchbox from the ground.

It was a very ordinary rectangular matchbox, and it didn't seem to have anything special about it. In fact, it didn't.

But Li Wei wasn't interested in the style of the matchbox; he was more interested in the pattern printed on it.

The matchbox was printed with a pattern that looked like a lighthouse, with a few initials below it.

On the surface, this doesn't seem strange at all.

"Inspector Lestrade, come and take a look at this."

Li Wei handed over the matchbox, which the latter took.

Is there something wrong with this matchbox?

Have you ever seen this kind of matchbox on the market?

"Ok?"

Upon hearing Levi's question, Lestrade frowned and carefully examined the matchbox.

"Hmm, I've never seen anything like it before... These don't look like ordinary matches sold in the market; they look more like some kind of custom-made ones."

Just like some hotels, restaurants, and clubs print unique designs on the things they offer, this matchbox doesn't look like the kind of ordinary matchbox that circulates in Fog City.

Although Levi doesn't smoke, as a detective, he's certainly very knowledgeable about the situation in the Fog City, and he knows a thing or two about the brands of cigarettes and matches sold in the market. Lestrade, on the other hand, is a heavy smoker, and he knows even more about this than Levi does.

"Judging from his lifestyle, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who is qualified to frequent private clubs or high-end hotels."

Li Wei looked around again and made a judgment. Everything else could be faked, but lifestyle habits couldn't be faked. Someone like Bucktooth, who was so unhygienic and probably didn't shower for a week, would be kicked out of a place like this even if he wanted to enter. So this matchbox was interesting. Although it couldn't be ruled out that this box of matches was also Bucktooth's loot, ... well, he should still investigate.

The problem is that there is no detailed information on this matchbox, only a few abbreviations. It would be a huge undertaking to find out where this box of matches was sold simply by looking at these abbreviations.

The police station's differential scanner is out of the question; I wonder if MI7's differential scanner has any opportunity to be used for investigation...

Li Wei found no other useful clues there, so he had no choice but to head back home to rest for the time being, and deal with the rest tomorrow.

After all, it's been a whole day of work.

When Li Wei returned home, it was already past midnight, and Eileen was still waiting for him.

"Ah, Master, you're back."

Seeing Li Wei step out of the elevator, Eileen, who was dozing in a chair, immediately stood up, went to Li Wei, and took his coat.

"Hmm, speaking of which, you're still waiting for me this late?"

"Yes, Mr. Anthony called earlier, wanting to contact you."

"When did this happen?"

Hearing this, Li Wei was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected Anthony to act so quickly.
"Just an hour ago, ah, but you don't need to worry."

As she spoke, Eileen handed over a punch card.

"what is this?"

"The recording card... When Mr. Anthony called, I told him you weren't here and asked him to call you back later. But Mr. Anthony said it was too much trouble. He asked if we had a phonograph, and then..."

"Oh I see."

Upon hearing this, Li Wei immediately understood. This basically meant having Eileen record Anthony's report on the other end of the microphone using a phonograph. While it wasn't impossible to dictate or leave a note, hearing the person speak was the most accurate way to convey information.

"Let me hear it."

Li Wei took the punch card, walked to the desk, inserted it into the phonograph next to him, and pressed the play button.

Then, Anthony's voice rang out.

"Hey, boss? It's me, Anthony. I've found out a bit, though not much. I had some people around here investigate, and it turns out there are indeed some people who specialize in taking people to Chongqing for work. I asked a foreign girl who just arrived here, and she said those guys charge poor souls money, then take them to Chongqing to find work, deducting a cut from their wages..."

"...As for what kind of work they do, I asked around, and most of it is manual labor or working in brothels and pubs. I've also heard that hospitals and nursing homes take in these illegal immigrants. Hey, that's the first time I've ever heard of that..."

Nursing home!?
Upon hearing this word, Li Wei felt a jolt in his heart.

Oh right, how could I have forgotten about the nursing home?
The victims grow from young people to old people, and then die of old age. What is consumed in the process is their lifespan.

Who craves the most longevity?

Those elderly people who don't have much time left must be among them!
Thinking of this, Li Wei hurriedly raised his head and looked at Eileen.

"Go get a map of the area around Chongqing this year."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, Eileen hurriedly ran to the bookshelf, then returned with a map. Li Wei then spread the map out on the table and carefully examined and searched for it.

Indeed, nursing homes are generally not built in cities. And in this era, not everyone can afford to live in a nursing home; only the wealthy can. The richer they are, the more afraid they are of death. If they learned of a way to extend their own lifespan by absorbing the lifespan of others, would they use it?

Furthermore, the fact that the nursing home employs undocumented immigrants, especially women, makes sense upon closer examination. Nursing home work is demanding, requiring the care of the elderly, and is extremely strenuous. Undocumented immigrants, in order to remain illegal, are naturally not afraid of hardship or fatigue.

Compared to other places, nursing homes located in the suburbs are relatively isolated and generally have little contact with the outside world. Even if illegal immigrants stay behind, it is not so easy to detect them.

Not to mention that many of the people in nursing homes are wealthy, and if you can win their favor, you might even be able to get a generous reward.

For undocumented immigrants who are new to the country and know nothing about the world, this is a pretty good job.

After searching for a while, Li Wei finally found the clue he was looking for on the map.

“Seaside Nursing Home…”

Li Wei stared at the names on the map, then took out the matchbox.

Yes, the abbreviations match, this is it.

(End of this chapter)