Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 289 Doubts
Levi took Alice and the puppy home, then turned around and went to find Inspector Lestrade.

The latter, upon seeing Li Wei, also marveled at the sight.

"What do you want with me? I saw in the newspaper that you just returned from handling a case out of town a few days ago."

When Li Wei returned, he was interviewed by reporters, who naturally released the news the next day. Of course, the interview emphasized that Li Wei currently has no plans to continue drawing "Betty the Dog," causing many readers to lament. However, there's nothing they can do; after all, everyone knows Li Wei is a great detective, and solving cases is his job. They can only hope that Li Wei won't forget about them, his readers, when he has some free time.

"Indeed."

"Why don't you draw more? Quite a few people in the police station like your drawings. By the way, would you be interested in drawing a police dog? Our police dogs may not be cute, but they are very brave."

"Let's talk about it another time..."

Levi was completely bewildered by Lestrade's words. Although he had indeed successfully found a way to utilize the rules of this world using this method, the price was far too high. Why was everyone he met urging him to update the story?

Li Wei thinks that this is just a hobby. It's fine to draw when I like it, but if you insist on making me feel like I'm going to work, then I won't be happy.

"Don't mention that. I'm here to ask about the case of the murder of the owner of 'The Best Antiques'."

"That antique shop case? Isn't it just a regular robbery and murder case? Why are you bothering with this?"

"If only it were just ordinary..."

Upon hearing this, Inspector Lestrade's expression changed, and he immediately closed the office door.

"What? Something unusual?"

"Tell me first, what exactly is going on?"

"Oh, it's actually quite simple..."

Inspector Lestrade's account was similar to what Levi had heard from the officers at the scene: a thief had tried to steal from the store while the owner was away, but the owner suddenly returned, and when the theft failed, the thief turned to robbery. In the ensuing chaos, the owner was killed. Fortunately, a police patrol nearby heard someone shout "murder!", rushed in, and apprehended the thief.

"Has it been reviewed? What's the situation?"

"They interrogated them, huh? They were just a bunch of thugs doing someone a favor. They were told they'd steal something and get paid afterward. These guys were tempted, but they turned out to be a bunch of good-for-nothings. They couldn't even steal properly, and they wasted half the day working in the shop, only to get caught by the owner..."

At this point, Inspector Lestrade gave Levi a half-smile.

"But then again, it's all your fault."

"How did it become my fault again? What does it have to do with me?"

"Because of your anti-gang campaign, before, people would hire professional gangs to do these kinds of things. But after your anti-gang campaign, all the gangs in Chongqing were wiped out, and those professionals were sent to prison or mines to serve their sentences. Now, the people wandering the streets are just some incompetent hooligans. If they were really professional, they would come and go quietly, unlike these idiots who just steal things and make it look like a robbery, even causing a death. They have absolutely no professionalism."

So it turns out it was my fault after all.

Li Wei rolled his eyes speechlessly.

"Can I speak with them?"

"no problem."

Soon, Inspector Lestrade led Levi to the interrogation room, where Levi met the robbers and murderers.

The prisoners were quite frightened when they saw Li Wei appear.

“Sir Levi? Why would you…”

"I have some questions I'd like to ask you, and I hope you'll answer them truthfully."

Li Wei glanced at the prisoner in front of him, who was pale and trembling as he stared at him—was he really that scary?

Li Wei, of course, had no idea that his reputation had already spread far and wide in the underground society of Chongqing.

Oh, no, the underground society no longer exists in Fog City. Those who used to lord it over others are either dead or arrested. Only the thugs and hooligans with less serious crimes managed to escape unscathed.

These low-level thugs had no idea what kind of power Li Wei possessed, but they had their own simple and crude reasoning.

After all, those underground bosses are high-profile figures that are beyond their reach. For these thugs, those gang leaders are practically the pinnacle of life they can imagine.

However, even at the pinnacle of his life, Li Wei could kill or imprison you with a single word. Therefore, he must be far more powerful and terrifying than any gang leader.

If gang leaders are already that terrifying, then Li Wei, who can easily take them down, must be a ruthless demon who eats people without spitting out the bones!
Furthermore, due to Li Wei's handsome and distinctive appearance, coupled with his profession as a detective—a true nemesis of crime—he was considered a hundred times more terrifying than any police officer by thugs and hooligans. They even imagined him as a cold-blooded, ruthless demon king who would kill criminals at the drop of a hat.

Seeing Li Wei sitting behind the table, the thug was so frightened that he couldn't even walk straight.

"Sit down, I have a few questions to ask you."

Li Wei, of course, had no idea about the other person's inner thoughts; he simply raised his chin, gesturing for the other person to sit down.

"What, is there a problem, sir?"

"Tell me the whole story of what happened, in detail."

"Ah, yes..."

The thug nodded, then began to speak tremblingly.

"Actually... I didn't do it, Black Nose did it. Someone approached us, asking us to help steal a jar from that antique shop. He was very generous; normally, this kind of business wouldn't fall to us. But since all the big shots are in jail, I... no, no, Black Nose also wanted to take the opportunity to make a quick buck..."

"What kind of person is it that commissioned you?"

"Uh...we didn't see his face. He was wearing a cloak, covering himself up completely. But his accent didn't sound like a local's; he must be from out of town."

"and then?"

"Then... we found an opportunity and sneaked into the house while the boss wasn't there, but once inside we realized we didn't know what we were looking for..."

"...Didn't they give you any specific characteristics?" "They did. They said to look for a strange jar, but..."

"but?"

"But to us, the jars in that shop all seemed pretty strange."

"………………………"

This is why you shouldn't hire illiterate people.

"There must be some kind of characteristic, right?"

"Oh, he said it's made of brass, and that it has three small holes on it..."

"oh……………"

Li Wei squinted. Wasn't this the jar he had seen in the store back then?

"go on."

"Yes, yes... Later we still hadn't found it, but the shop owner unexpectedly came back..."

"Unexpected?"

“Yes, we scouted the place beforehand and knew that the owner would go for a walk in the nearby park every afternoon around that time, and wouldn’t be back for at least an hour. But we didn’t expect him to be back in less than twenty minutes…”

They even scouted the location beforehand, which means these people weren't exactly amateurs. Clearly, the boss's early return disrupted their plans, leading to the murder.

"and then?"

"Then, when the boss saw us, he hurriedly shouted to stop us. Then that idiot with the black nose rushed forward to shut him up and stabbed him to death... The guy next to the boss tried to run away, and we tried to stop him, but he got away... Before we could escape, the police patrol rushed in and arrested us all..."

At this point, the thug looked dejected, while Li Wei's eyes narrowed upon hearing this.

"You mean, the boss didn't come back alone? He had someone with him?"

"Yes."

"what kind of person?"

"Hmm... wearing a black trench coat and a top hat, looks like a rich person... but I couldn't see clearly..."

Did you hurt him?

“I made a cut on his leg…but…”

"But what?"

"Something's not right. That person seems completely unharmed and just rushed out."

"Um…………………"

After hearing the thug's testimony, Li Wei had the police take him away, and then sat there in silence.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Inspector Lestrade began to inquire.

"The police report previously stated that the shop owner was killed by the murderer, and then a passerby entered the antique shop, witnessed the scene, and went out to call the police. However, based on this guy's testimony, it wasn't a passerby; on the contrary, he should have been a customer of the antique shop, which is why he came back with the shop owner. Clearly, this guy lied about his identity."

"That's not surprising."

Inspector Lestrade seemed completely unfazed by this.

“Most people don’t want to be associated with murder cases, especially wealthy people. Perhaps the other party just wanted to buy an antique, but unexpectedly got involved in the murder of the boss. They were afraid of being traced back to themselves, so they deliberately lied about their identity.”

"Hmm, that's not wrong..."

Are you planning to take a look?

“That’s right, I want to investigate that guest; I have a feeling there’s something wrong with him.”

As Li Wei spoke, he stood up and stretched, while Inspector Lestrade looked at him and shook his head helplessly.

"You really can't stay idle. Anyway, you're a police consultant, so go ahead and investigate if you want. I thought you'd take a few days off."

"For me, investigating cases is a form of rest."

Li Wei chuckled.

It's better than being forced to draw comics; that's not rest, that's torture.

Of course, Li Wei's reasons for investigating were twofold: firstly, he felt there was something wrong with the matter, and secondly, he wanted to find an excuse.

After all, my job is to be a detective. If I investigate cases myself, others will have no excuse to urge me to update my work.

You can't just abandon the case and go draw comics, can you? That doesn't make sense.

Besides...

Li Wei silently glanced at his system.

My system isn't some kind of entertainment system... It doesn't give out tasks or rewards for painting or creation.

(End of this chapter)