I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

The corpse was as hard, cold, and smooth as real glass. Surprisingly, apart from being damaged, the internal organs inside had not deteriorated due to the high temperature, as if it had just left its owner's body.

Have you heard of similar cases?

Sia held a bag of donuts in her hand, which she had bought to make up for the last cookie that had disappeared. In the morgue, which was filled with the strange smell of disinfectant, she still held a donut in one hand, eating and talking.

"No, people who die on the streets don't usually die such a horrific death. Most of them are beaten to death or die of illness. I've never seen anything like this before."

The staff member sighed.

Lu Ban glanced at the corpse through his [True Vision].

Many details are clearly visible.

He saw the calluses on the corpse's hands, which must have been caused by the doctor's long-term use of knives. There were also remnants of dinner in the internal organs: grilled short ribs, boiled potatoes, red wine, fried fish, vegetables... Lu Ban was hungry just looking at them.

"Can people with that kind of income afford to eat steak every night?"

Lu Ban couldn't help but ask.

"How could that be? Even if doctors are high-income earners, people who run clinics in Grey Alley have to think twice before eating a steak."

Tristan immediately denied it.

"So what kind of banquet did he attend that night?"

Lu Ban shared his discovery with his two companions.

"I want to eat it too."

Hia offered some guidance.

“Strange, according to the information given by the police, Dr. House should have been in his clinic that night and had not come out. His body was discovered by the newspaper deliveryman the next morning, so the time of death should have been in the early morning.”

Drizzt opened his notebook and looked at the records inside.

"This record shows his itinerary on the day of his death. He made his usual rounds in the morning, saw two patients in the afternoon, and met with a supplier. This was the last time he saw anyone else."

"So that supplier was the last person he met?"

Lu Ban confirmed it.

"Yes, we can go and ask the supplier later, or we can go to the clinic to check out the primary crime scene first."

Trist nodded.

"You just said there might be two more victims. If they all died like this, it should be easy to find them, right?"

Xia swallowed the donut in her hand, then picked up another one and ate it with relish, making Lu Ban hungry.

But thinking about how delicious it was for Xia Ya even when she ate bugs, Lu Ban felt that this donut might not be that tasty.

"Indeed, but we haven't received any similar reports yet. Perhaps people like gangsters and prostitutes might die and no one would find out."

Drizzt added.

"By the way, have you heard about that woman who recently appeared on the streets?"

A funeral home staff member standing nearby suddenly spoke up.

Chapter 394 The Kid Next Door

"what's up?"

Lu Ban and Xi Ya perked up their ears to listen to the gossip.

Xia didn't notice that another donut was inexplicably missing from her bag.

"An urban legend."

Drizzt seemed to know, and he spread his hands to explain.

"Legend has it that in the slums of the ruined capital, you might sometimes encounter a woman at night. If you kindly take her in, or if you harbor any ill intentions and try to abduct her, you will most likely meet with misfortune and be found dead in some sewer the next day, in a gruesome manner. There are many such legends, and different regions have different versions. They are all meant to scare children into going to sleep and not to go out at night."

"I see."

Lu Ban expressed his understanding.

"So, we have similar rumors where I'm from. They say if you don't sleep at night, the Night King of the forest will kidnap you, fry you in sizzling oil, add salt and pepper, stir-fry until golden brown on both sides, and then add chili peppers and dried salted fish..."

As Xia talked, it turned into a recipe for a late-night snack.

"Please stop, friend."

Trist interrupted Sia's recipe.

What is the Night King?

Lu Ban asked curiously.

"It's a legend from our area. It's said that hundreds of years ago, a monster that defeated the Winter Wolf and ruled the night was used to scare children who didn't want to sleep."

Sia said seriously.

"..."

Lu Ban thought for a moment and realized that the person who defeated the Winter Wolf was none other than himself.

Unexpectedly, his deeds from back then have been passed down and even evolved, turning him into the great demon king who stops children from crying at night?

I wonder how Xia would react if she knew that she was the Night King.

Lu Ban thought it would be better to talk about how to add chili peppers and salted fish.

"Salted fish needs to be soaked in water first, and then... I mean, so this rumor is just a rumor, not something strange?"

"Who knows? Several people die in Black Street every day. Sometimes, to cover up crimes, it's easy to make up some simple and useful urban legends to take the blame."

Tristana wanted to take out her pipe, but after thinking about where she was, she put it back.

"However, this person must have indeed seen at least one woman before he died."

Lu Ban nodded.

"How did you know?"

Sia reached into the paper bag, only to find that the donuts were gone. She was slightly confused, but still crumpled the paper bag into a ball and stuffed it into her pocket.

"He smelled of perfume. Look, his internal organs have been preserved so well, along with the surrounding scents, all stuffed into the glass."

Lu Ban's [True Vision] gave him more clues.

Were any of his patients female that day?

"Probably not."

Trist shook his head.

"A bartender from the underworld who broke his leg while drunk, and a factory worker who developed lung disease from prolonged exposure to exhaust fumes—these were the two patients he encountered that afternoon."

"Aren't there any injured prostitutes or women who have to work for their families coming to the clinic?"

Lu Ban asked.

"No."

Drizzt closed the notebook.

"Take another look at these internal organs and see if there are any other clues."

"Looking at this can have quite serious effects on your health. How can you bear to make me see it?"

"Of all the people here, you are the least qualified to say that."

Drizzt couldn't resist taking out his pipe, striking a match, and lighting the tobacco. He took a deep drag, letting the slightly pungent aroma fill his lungs, bringing a hallucinogenic sensation that soothed his nerves. He glanced again at the corpse with the glass flowers blooming on it. In the past, Drizzt might have already lost his senses and had various stress reactions, but now, he could stand in front of the corpse and chat and laugh.

All these changes originated from the Silent Land.

As he tackled more and more missions in the ruined city, Trist began to have a premonition that the pollution this world was receiving was gradually overflowing, breaking through the things that had originally bound them.

Perhaps one day, the dream created by the author of the ancient capital will become a real reality, and monsters will roam the streets of the ruined capital.

"Hmm, what is this place?"

Lu Ban took another careful look and noticed that there seemed to be a little color on the parts of the internal organs that were close to the skin.

The color is usually not obvious; it can only be seen clearly in the dark, illuminated by Drizzt's match.

"It's probably dye. There are often stains like this at the factory. The factory has been very busy lately, and many people have fallen ill. Dr. House sometimes helps some of the sick."

Trist also leaned over to take a look.

"This must have been brought by a worker from that factory?"

Sia felt that the corpse blooming with glass flowers was eerie, and more like an outpouring of some kind of emotion.

Because of the pain and surprise on Dr. House's face, he must have suffered quite a bit.

There are many types of murder, and Xia herself has killed quite a few people.

Simple killing is merely killing a person; killing is a means, a process to achieve other ends.

The perpetrator of this "glass flower" clearly intended to kill, and he killed Dr. House in this way to inflict torture and suffering.

Does he have any enemies?

Xia asked, and then pulled out a bag of cookies from a gap in her armor; she had secretly hidden them.

Crunch, crunch—

The sound of chewing biscuits echoed in the morgue, causing considerable discomfort to the stomachs.

"I'll have one too."

Lu Ban reached out and took the cookie from Xi Ya. Just as he was about to eat it, he realized that the cookie in his palm was gone.

"Dr. House has almost no enemies. He's a good neighbor to everyone. After graduating from medical school, he worked as a doctor in a hospital for a while before starting his own clinic. He charges low fees and helps the poor. Perhaps some of his colleagues don't like him?"

Drizzt explained, then added a sentence.

"Of course, it's not that good people won't die and bad people will definitely die. He might have other dark sides behind the scenes, or he might have offended someone he shouldn't have. In the ruined capital, that's normal."

“We can go to his clinic and then ask the supplier.”

"This is what the great detective of the ruined city said again."

"no problem."