I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Drizzt asked again.

"Follow me."

The woman led the three people upstairs and pushed open the door to the room at the end of the corridor.

There are eight beds in total, bunk beds, and barely enough room to stand. Several women are still sleeping and remain unmoved by the woman opening the door.

The room was damp, dark, and stuffy, making for a harsh environment. In contrast, the room next door, which was for guests to enjoy, was much cleaner and tidier.

The woman pointed to a bed.

"This is Flora's bed."

"What's up with her?"

A call girl asked, half asleep and half awake.

"died."

The woman answered.

"So, can I take her clothes now?"

The call girl's first reaction was to divide the inheritance.

"Dream on."

The woman grabbed the clothes and blankets from the bed, revealing what was on the mattress.

There wasn't much there; the prostitutes had hidden all their money. There were only some clothes on the bed. Trist found a pendant-like object, a wooden flower carving, which wasn't worth much.

"Can I take this?"

Upon hearing this, the woman examined the pendant carefully, even scratching its surface with her fingernail to confirm that it was just a piece of wood before handing it to Trist.

Leaving "Good Times," Drizzt glanced at the necklace, unable to discern what the flowers on it were.

"That store doesn't have that perfume scent."

Lu Ban said.

"You can smell it?"

Trist instinctively asked a question in return.

"Of course, I have a very keen sense of smell."

Lu Ban said again.

"There was no paint or coating on them or in the shop."

"So, the person who killed Dr. House and Flora was a woman who wore perfume with a distinctive scent and worked at a paint factory?"

Xia summarized the information about the two people.

"He might be a man who works in a paint factory and likes to wear perfume. The smell of paint in a factory is so strong, it's not good to meet people there."

Lu Ban proposed a new approach.

"...Being able to wear perfume already means you're very rich. Look at the women in this red dance hall, none of them wear perfume. I think they might be the owners of a paint factory."

Trist didn't know why he had a problem with the paint factory.

"Forget it, let's go check on the bodies of those Catania gang members first."

Chapter 404 Prohibited Matters

The Catania family wielded considerable influence in the underworld, owning numerous warehouses, restaurants, casinos, and pharmacies. Drizzt arrived at one of these restaurants.

"We didn't go to the wrong place?"

Lu Ban asked a question.

"I'm sure I didn't go to the wrong place, I can smell it."

Xia walked into the restaurant and smelled the aroma of food.

This restaurant, located in a working-class area, is currently empty. The employees are eating their staff meals, which consist of pizzas topped with only minced meat and cheese. This contrasts sharply with the workers I heard about this morning who were eating animal feed and thought they were getting a good deal.

"May I have a piece?"

Lu Ban didn't treat himself as an outsider and leaned in to ask.

The employees glanced at the gangsters who brought the three men in, but dared not be angry or speak out.

Lu Ban took a piece for himself, then gave another piece to Xi Ya and put it in his mouth.

"It tastes good, but it would be even better with some fruit, like pineapple."

Upon hearing Lu Ban's words, the employees suddenly stood up, as if Lu Ban's words had offended them.

But upon seeing the gangsters, the employees sat back down, swallowing their anger and continuing to eat the food on their plates.

"good to eat!"

Xia quickly finished a pizza and looked towards the kitchen.

The gangsters led the three men through the kitchen and into the cold storage.

"?"

Drizzt never expected that the body would actually be placed in the cold storage.

Thinking about it, the pizza that Lu Ban and Xi Ya ate just now... the meat in it...

Upon opening the cold storage, a blast of cold air hit him, but Trist didn't see any corpses. Only frost-covered livestock hanging there.

Lu Ban saw the person go to the back of the cold storage and open a door with a key.

Inside that door lay the corpses of gangsters.

The corpse had clearly struggled; it wasn't lying flat like Dr. House. The expression on its face was more ferocious, as if it had seen something extremely terrifying.

From the man's abdomen, a glass flower bloomed. Due to the low temperature, the flower was covered with a layer of frost, making it appear crystal clear.

Tristana shuddered. He went to the body and examined it closely.

There were traces of paint and coating on the gangsters' bodies and clothes, indicating that the three cases were indeed committed by the same person.

Does it smell like perfume?

He asked Lu Ban.

"Have."

Lu Ban nodded.

"May I take this piece of clothing?"

Drizzt asked the thug, who nodded.

He then removed the piece of cloth stained with paint and examined the contents of the gangster's stomach.

"It looks like ordinary bread, meat and vegetables, but it's better quality than that of the call girl."

The examination of the body was completed quickly, and the gangster locked the door again.

"I'm a little curious, do the restaurant staff know there's a body here?"

Lu Ban couldn't help but ask.

"do not know."

The thug answered.

"At least the pizzas aren't made with human flesh anymore."

Lu Ban gave Xia a thumbs up.

By the time we finished investigating these matters, it was already quite late.

The streets of the civilian district were much cleaner than those of the Black Street, at least not as smelly. The sounds of factory machines running could be heard in the distance, but it was much quieter than where Trist lived.

The people on the street at least look like human beings, and the contrast between the two highlights the difference even more.

Dinner was noodles with chicken legs. Trist couldn't eat much and only ate a slice of bread. Lu Ban ate a big bowl, and Xia ate three bowls.

"belch--"

She even let out a burp after finishing her meal, showing no ladylike manners whatsoever.

Why don't we investigate at night?

Lu Ban couldn't help but ask.

“The dark streets at night are not a safe place, and I don’t want to get into unnecessary trouble.”

Trist was still studying the paint. The paint was a pale blue color, but under the light it scattered dark green and deep red, which was very special and did not seem to be an ordinary paint.

“There must be very few factories that produce this kind of paint, so this should be a breakthrough point. In addition, I have also obtained information on this gang. He has no connection with Dr. House or Flora. When he went to the Black Street to collect rent last time, he did not go to Dr. House's clinic or the Red Dance Hall.”

"Where is this perfume made?"

Lu Ban asked again.

"I can't really smell the perfume, so I can't confirm, but I can find a perfume shop tomorrow and let you smell it to compare."

"Trist said."

After finishing their meal, the three of them set off on their way back to the Trist Detective Agency.

The orange cat is still sleeping; it probably spends about 80% of its day asleep.

"By the way, you two should also attend the banquet tomorrow night. I might need your help."

Tristan added.

"Oh."

Lu Ban responded and then looked at Xi Ya.

"We're going to have a big meal."

"Great!"

Hia expressed her delight.