Mystery: The Witch of Desire

Reeve fell silent.

No matter how much he dresses like a woman, he still has a man's body underneath!

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He spoke with some restraint:

“I refused. I wanted to prove my worth as a henchman.”

Samira chuckled softly, then her expression turned cold:

"That's not up to you."

She looked at Rowling and said:

"Lorraine, take care of her first, then slowly train her until she has the self-awareness of a kingfisher."

"Okay, ma'am."

As Rowling nodded in response, she quickly reached out and grabbed Reeves' shoulder.

Reeves instinctively tried to resist, but Rowling's fair and slender fingers were extremely strong, gripping Reeves so tightly that his bones creaked and half of his body was immobilized.

"Such strength! Is she also an extraordinary being?!"

Levi was startled and before he could make any other move, Rowling grabbed both of his arms behind his back, rendering him unable to move.

Rowling grabbed Levi's wrists with one hand and pinched the back of his neck with the other, pushing him out the door.

Samira watched all this and asked with a smile:

"Why don't we just do it here? Let me have some fun too."

"I still prefer private space."

Rowling gave a brief reply and pushed Revy out.

Leaving Samira's room, Levi felt the strength in Rowling's hands lessen, and he regained some mobility. He took a deep breath, preparing to use his assassin's agility to break free and escape.

Just as Reeves was about to act, Rowling whispered in his ear:

"Don't move, I won't hurt you!"

Levi was taken aback and did not make any rash moves for the time being. He cooperated and entered Lorraine's room on the second floor.

As soon as he entered, Rowling released him. Levi quickly turned around and took a few steps back, reaching into his inner pocket and grasping the revolver.

"What do you want to do?"

"Revi asked in a cold voice."

Chapter 16 The Truth

Rowling did not answer the question directly, but instead revealed a hint of mockery:

"Now, do you still want to join some damn gang?"

"The mob isn't some knightly arena from a bullshit novel. For money, those beasts will do anything! They'll fully exploit the value of every single person. Believe it or not, if a few thousand more gay men appeared on Iron Cross Street, Samira wouldn't hesitate to force her male thugs to stand on the street too!"

Reeves fell silent again. After a long pause, he asked:

"But you're different from them. You're a good person. What's your purpose in staying here?"

Rowling fell silent for a long while before speaking with a sorrowful expression:

“I am already burdened with sin, I have no choice but to stay here…”

"But you are different; you have not fallen into the abyss."

She thought for a moment and said:

“I can’t let you go now, or I’ll arouse suspicion. I’ll tell Samira that you’ve compromised and that you’ll have some free time before you’re officially assigned to receive guests, during which time you can find a chance to escape.”

Reeves didn't speak, but after thinking for a while, he asked:

Why are you helping me like this?

Rowling smiled:

"I don't know either. Maybe I saw a reflection of myself in you? I used to be a carefree, innocent, and beautiful girl..."

As she spoke, a sorrowful expression appeared on her face, as if she were recalling some painful past events.

"You can stay in my room for now. I'll spread the word that you're my mistress, and that way those thugs won't dare touch you. There are bandages and alcohol over there; you can treat your wounds."

Rowling sighed and left her room.

Reeve stood there, momentarily at a loss for how to react.

After a long while, he shook his head, somewhat amused and exasperated.

"At least, I've successfully joined the Hyena Gang..."

He quickly treated his wounds and wandered around Rowling's room. The room had a large window facing the street, which would be easy for an assassin to jump out of with his Assassin's Ascension ability, but it would be too conspicuous during the day... There were quite a few things in the room. Levi explored the room without disturbing the original placement of the items, but he didn't find much.

This house was probably just where Rowling slept; there was nothing of importance in it.

Rowling is undoubtedly an Extraordinary: that terrifying power is something a slender woman could never possess. But Levi isn't sure which pathway Rowling belongs to.

Currently, the known ways to significantly enhance strength are: warriors, prisoners, and corpse collectors. Assassins and hunters can also enhance their physique, but the increase in strength is not as dramatic. The strength that Rowling displayed was overwhelmingly superior to his abilities as an assassin, so Levi believed that she was not an assassin, but rather a more powerful warrior or corpse collector... As for prisoners, Jason's notes contained too little information, only mentioning that extraordinary individuals through this path might have stronger physiques, so Levi did not consider this aspect for the time being.

The murderer who killed Jason was a Corpse Collector, so Rowling might also be a Corpse Collector, but judging from her appearance, Rowling doesn't have that sinister aura...

Of course, she could also be an extraordinary being at a higher level than Sequence 9, or belong to a path that Levi is not yet aware of.

After thinking for a while, Levi didn't find many clues, so he decided to rest for a while and wait until night to take action.

He removed the butterfly of vanity, opened Rowling's wardrobe, found a clean set of clothes, then went to the bathroom to take a shower and change.

It was then that Levi realized that, dressed in ordinary women's clothing without any special design, his figure looked quite ordinary, a far cry from his original appearance in women's clothing.

Reeve had no choice but to remove the pads and other items from his own clothes and painstakingly assemble them onto Rowling's clothes, barely managing to make himself look less strange.

"This is troublesome. Looks like I need to go to the mutual aid society and get a few more outfits..."

Levi sighed helplessly and lay down on the double round bed to take a short nap.

After an unknown amount of time, the sky outside the window gradually darkened.

Reeves found a pen and paper and quickly wrote a letter, telling Emily that he would be working overtime at the company for the next few days and would not be able to go home for the time being. He also enclosed four 5-sol notes with a large denomination express stamp.

Then, he opened the window, used his ability to ethereal to leap into the shadows, and dropped the letter into the mailbox. After doing all this, he quietly slipped back into the shadows, using the protrusions on the exterior wall of the house to return to his room on the second floor.

Not long after, there were rustling footsteps outside the door, and Levi instinctively gripped the pistol in his pocket.

The sound of a key being inserted into the lock was heard, and Rowling unlocked the door and came in carrying a tray.

"Are you hungry? I've brought you dinner."

Rowling walked to the bedside, glanced at Li Wei's appearance, and said with a smile:

"You really have no manners, wearing my clothes and sleeping in my bed? It seems you really intend to become my mistress?"

Reeves said irritably:

"You've locked me up here and won't let me go home. What other clothes am I supposed to wear? Do you think I like wearing your clothes?"

Rowling smiled, put down her plate, and sat down at the other end of the round double bed.

What do you want to do?

"I asked, a little nervously."

Rowling looked Levi up and down, and after a long while, she asked with a smile:

"You are an extraordinary being, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

Levi pretended not to understand.

Rowling continued:

"I received news that a textile workshop belonging to the Black Scorpion Gang was attacked today, and a total of seven or eight gang members, including Luca, died."

She looked at Reeves:

"Did you kill all of these people?"

Reeves shook his head:

"I don't know what happened to the others, I just quietly took care of Luca and then slipped away."

"Is that so?" Rowling looked regretful. "I was planning something with you, but since you're not an extraordinary one, let's forget about it."

With that, she stood up and walked outside.

"Wait!" Levi called out to Rowling. "Why don't you tell me first, what are you plotting?"

Revere was intrigued by Rowling's scheme; she must have some purpose in staying in the gang alone. Therefore, even though he knew Rowling was testing him, Revere willingly took the bait.

Rowling smiled, but didn't continue answering; instead, she changed the subject.

“Our soon-to-be top star, Miss Livre, please come downstairs with me. Business has already started for the evening.”

Levi was a little confused and asked:

"Are you really going to send me to pick up clients?"

Rowling said in a gentle tone, "We still need to put on a show. Besides, you can see this Kingfisher Bar for yourself."

Levi nodded, then slipped into the bathroom under the pretext of putting on the vain butterfly and tidying up his appearance.

Then, he followed Rowling downstairs.

Chapter 17 Sacrifices

Compared to the daytime, the Kingfisher Bar is less noisy at night and more alluring. Glamorously dressed women stand in various parts of the bar, waiting for customers to come up and quote prices.

Once the price is agreed upon, they will proceed to the guest room area behind the front desk to complete the transaction. The more expensive "high-class" ladies will have private bedrooms on the second floor, offering guests even better service.

The beautiful and graceful Revy quickly attracted attention upon her appearance, but with Lorraine standing beside her, it was clear that Revy was very expensive and not something the average person could afford. So many people cast longing glances at her and uttered vulgar remarks, but no one actually came over to ask the price.

Reeves' impression of these drinkers was that they were more fervent, more thirsty, and more lustful than the patrons he had encountered before. They were rarely locals of Iron Cross Street; most were well-dressed and had come from elsewhere specifically to seek pleasure.

In every corner of the bar, there were gangsters standing, some with their arms crossed, others with one hand in their pocket, watching the drunkards who were causing trouble and the women who weren't taking their jobs seriously.

A gangster saw Rowling and hurried over to greet her, whispering in her ear:

"Lorraine, that bitch Pinkie Pie hasn't come back for three days. We can't find her anywhere. Should I issue a rape and murder warrant in the underground market?"

The rape-murder order was a ruthless measure against women who dared to run away; those caught suffered extremely tragic consequences.

Rowling glanced at him:

"Wait two more days."

"But……"

Before the thug could say anything more, Rowling spoke again:

“Bichie is the top girl in the shop. Issuing a rape and murder order would have a bad impact. Let’s wait and see.”

The thug shook his head noncommittally and returned to the corner to stand against the wall.

Reeve looked at Rowling and asked:

"Did the top girl at the store run away?"

Rowling said with a complicated expression:

"To be precise, they've disappeared. Girls often disappear from the store."

Reeves looked somewhat enlightened:

"So, that's why Samira wants to groom me to be her top performer and fill her void?"

Rowling nodded:

"Perhaps."

Just then, a scream rang out. Levi turned his head and saw an ordinary-looking girl, who looked to be only a teenager, being dragged by the hair by a thug to a guest room in the back. Soon, pitiful screams and pleas for mercy were heard.

Reeve clenched his fists and looked at Rowling.

Rowling sighed and slowly said:

"That girl was just bought by Samira. She didn't want to work as a prostitute, so she deliberately quoted a high price, but obviously, the thugs wouldn't allow that to happen..."