I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

There's always a foul smell in the room.

"agree."

Xia nodded.

"You two..."

As Drizzt spoke, he patted his clothes, as if trying to brush off something unclean.

“He doesn’t seem to have any reason to kill Dr. House, and according to the pattern of the case, he is the most suspicious person as the last person to see Dr. House, so the possibility of him committing the crime is the least.”

"That makes a lot of sense. Shall we go see those two patients next?"

Lu Ban asked.

"I need to go see Mrs. Martina first. Perhaps you can wait for me across the street?"

Trist instinctively touched the pistol hanging under his arm.

"No problem, we'll have a nice meal while we wait for you."

Lu Ban had no objections.

Trist touched the medical records in his pocket. He led Lu Ban and Xia to the street corner, told them to wait in a restaurant there, and then took a rickshaw, traveling through two streets before arriving at a musical instrument shop.

The owner of the music store was playing with a violin. When he saw Trist, he didn't say anything, but just pointed behind him.

Drizzt walked through the music store and came to the room behind it, where two men in suits were sitting, puffing away and filling the room with the smell of cheap tobacco.

Upon seeing Drizzt, the two men stood up slightly, stubbed out their cigarettes, and became more polite.

"This is what Mrs. Martina wanted."

Drizzt handed the file he was carrying to one of the men.

"You didn't open it?"

The man glanced at the file.

"Nonsense, how would I know this is what she wanted if I hadn't opened it..."

Trist felt that these gangsters really needed some public education.

"Oh, alright, we'll give this to Madam. As for the payment, Madam said it's here."

The man glanced at the file with feigned nonchalance, but Trist knew perfectly well that neither of them could read. It was only reassuring to have illiterate gangsters transporting documents.

He handed Drizzt an invitation.

"The charity banquet tomorrow night?"

Drizzt didn't question the two men; he knew they were just messengers.

Mrs. Martine seemed to want her to attend this charity banquet so she could personally test him. If everything was fine, she would pay and leave; if there were problems, then…

After putting away the invitation, Trist returned to the music store.

He saw the music store owner sitting in a chair, with two tall thugs standing next to him, holding the owner down and preventing him from leaving.

On the other side, the violin that was just in the boss's hand is now in the hands of a young man, who plays a classical melody.

Drizzt didn't curse or leave at lightning speed. He saw the car outside the music store and knew very well that if he made any rash moves now, he would be met with the crisp gunshot of the typewriter.

A moment later, the young man put down his instrument and glanced at the motionless Drizzt.

"Hello, great detective, I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you."

For some reason, Trist found the young man's face somewhat familiar.

Chapter 401 This is what ordinary people like.

The young man was dressed in a simple brown suit, his hair was a little messy, and his eyes were very sincere, like those of a beggar begging for food and rewards. It was hard for people to be wary or vigilant with such eyes, but Trist knew that this was the kind of person who would stab him in the back and chest when he wasn't paying attention, and might even say something like "The Catania family pays its respects to you".

"If I were you, I wouldn't be playing the violin here without chasing after the people behind me."

Drizzt spoke calmly.

"No need, that's not my goal."

The young man found a sofa and sat down, gesturing for Drizzt to sit down as well.

"You may not remember my name, but that's okay. My name is Stone now, Stone of the Catania family, and also the family's strategist."

Upon hearing the name, Drizzt suddenly remembered.

More than two years ago, during the time of "The Mouth of the Madman," they rented a car cheaply from a car rental shop in the ruined city, and this young man was in charge of collecting payments at the shop at that time.

At that time, he was called Stone.

What do you want?

Drizzt had no idea what price this young man had paid or how he had climbed up here.

The strategist of a gang is someone who assists the gang leader in handling various daily affairs. Usually, such a person must be a blood relative of the family. Stone, an orphan, is obviously not a relative of the Catania family. He must have something extraordinary about him to have reached this position.

Not to mention, the rise of the Catania family during this period is said to be related to their new strategist, who seems to be far more capable than Drizzt had imagined.

"I have no interest in what my immature older sister likes to do. I heard you're investigating Dr. House's case?"

Stone crossed his fingers and placed them on the coffee table.

"Correct."

Trist couldn't grasp Stone's thoughts and simply replied.

"Relax, I have no grudge against that doctor. If possible, I would like to talk to him about my god-sister's fetishes. I don't mean to stop you from investigating."

Stone said calmly.

"Actually, I would like to ask you to continue the investigation, but please keep me updated on the case regularly."

"Some of your men died, and in the same way as them?"

Almost instantly, Trist thought of what Lu Ban had said: a doctor, a prostitute, and probably a gang member, all of whom died at the Glass Flower.

Now that Stone, the Catania family's strategist, has come to him and wants him to continue the investigation and keep him informed of the case, he certainly doesn't want to play detective games.

Combining these points, Drizzt immediately realized this possibility.

"As expected of a great detective, amazing."

Stone gave a dry laugh, his emotions unreadable. He beckoned, and one of his henchmen handed Drizzt a paper document—a simple autopsy report and investigation.

"Glass Flower".

Drizzt immediately understood when he saw the photo of the corpse.

This gang member's internal organs were also arranged in a flower-like shape, frozen in place by the glass.

He reviewed the autopsy report. The man had died a day earlier, on the night he received the mission and met with Sia. He and a few others were playing cards in the warehouse when he went to the toilet and didn't return for a long time. When his companions went to look for him, they found him lying on the ground outside the warehouse in this position.

From the time the deceased left until he was discovered, he made no sound that would attract the attention of the people in the warehouse.

The fact that the deceased was a distant relative of the Catania family caught Stone's attention.

“Our family has expanded rapidly recently, and it’s normal that some people are unhappy with us. I would like to ask you to investigate the murderer. For the safety of the underworld, I think you will not refuse, Mr. Trist.”

Stone said in a deep voice.

"Is the underworld safe?"

Tristana gave a sarcastic laugh.

"What? Since we took control of more than 70% of the underground transactions in Black Street, don't you think Black Street has become much quieter? An evenly matched force leads to chaos, chaos leads to war, and war leads to death. Only an absolute force can bring peace to the entire Black Street, and only in peace can business be done properly."

Stone was not stingy with his words in explaining his thoughts.

"Gangs? Trying to do business properly?"

Trist felt that the gangsters described by this young man were quite different from what he knew.

“Detective, you don’t understand gangs. Those who rise to power through coercion and bribery are low-level gangs. The Catania family used to be such a gang, but I believe that these underworld methods can only alleviate the problem temporarily. What I’m proposing is a sustainable family business. We started with those illegal things, but now we also do legal business, trading with the big shots in the ruined city. We’ll establish schools to provide shelter for homeless children, and tomorrow’s charity gala will be part of our fundraising efforts.”

Stone tapped the coffee table lightly with his fingers.

"It is short-sighted to think only about making profits through illegal and high-risk means. Truly smart people know how to make their wealth clean, beautiful, and impeccable."

Drizzt looked at Stone and for a moment had the idea that this guy must get along very well with Lu Ban.

“So, Mr. Tristram, we won’t hurt you. As a detective, you’ve solved many cases in the ruins, and everyone trusts you. We also want to build a good relationship with you. This case involves a member of our family, and I hope that the person who killed him will be punished. This doesn’t violate fairness and justice, does it?”

Stone smiled.

Trist looked at the autopsy report again.

"I need to see the body on site, and also give me a record of this person's whereabouts over the past month, including who they met and what they ate..."

He provided some information needed for the investigation, and once he entered his area of ​​expertise, Drizzt became much calmer.

Moreover, this young strategist doesn't seem to be that violent, at least not towards Drizzt.

"no problem."

Stone stood up and shook hands with Drizzt.

"With a great detective like you in the ruins, I, as an ordinary citizen, truly feel incredibly safe."

"..."

Trist twitched his lips and watched the other person leave.

He thought for a moment, then went back to the small room behind the music store.

The two people in the room were still sitting there, smoking, whether they genuinely hadn't noticed the commotion outside or were pretending not to.

He glanced at the music store owner, said nothing, and left the music store.

"Things are getting more and more complicated, but at least we have another lead."

Trist sighed and prepared to go back to find Lu Ban and the others.

Chapter 402 Sweet Lips

"Behave yourself, you can go back after the questions are answered."