Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 2  The Choice Without a Choice

The black shadow moved with unexpected speed.

When Levi turned around, grasping the gun’s handle and raising it, the view before him had already been swallowed entirely by darkness.

He could even smell a strange stench, pungent and nauseating.

It felt as if, in the next second, his life would end right there.

At the same time, Levi pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

The loud gunshot echoed in the alley, the reverberation almost deafening.

The black shadow’s body shuddered, pausing for a brief moment—about half a second—before Levi seized the opportunity to roll and crash into Inspector Lestrade.

The two of them tumbled to the ground in a clumsy heap.

A sharp rushing sound tore through the air just past them.

When Levi and Lestrade raised their heads again, they saw the black shadow leap once more, scaling upward like a wall-climbing gecko.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Inspector Lestrade quickly drew his pistol and fired at the shadow.

But the shadow moved even faster than Lestrade had anticipated.

Before the echoes in the alley faded, the darkness of the night had already swallowed the strange figure completely.

“Damn it, he got away!”

Lestrade clenched his teeth in frustration, staring up at the night sky.

Just then, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps, the young Fletcher arrived.

“What happened?”

“We may have just encountered the Courtesan Killer.”

As Lestrade spoke, he turned toward Levi.

“You don’t mind coming back to the Police Station with us to talk, do you?”

Levi could only nod.

Could he really say no?

Still… what a thrill.

Levi lowered his head, feeling his chest where his heart was pounding violently—so much so that it seemed ready to burst through his ribcage and leap out.

But for Levi, this was a rare sensation.

During those long days lying in a hospital bed, he could barely feel alive at all.

Back then, he was like a mere shell sustained by potions and IV drips.

He could do nothing, had no way to do anything, and could only let the doctors flip him over again and again for examinations and treatments.

It was as if he was not a person, but a teaching prop.

Theoretically, he was alive, but to Levi, there was no sense of living at all.

Unlike now.

The questioning at the Police Station was nothing unusual.

Lestrade once again asked about Levi’s situation, then coughed lightly.

“Mr. Levi, I’m curious—how did you notice that fellow?”

Hearing the question, Levi moved his gaze from the strange device on the table—it looked like a desk telephone with a tall base, and there was a rectangular card inserted into a slot on its side.

From his memory, Levi knew it was called a Phonograph Difference Engine, a kind of steam-powered machine similar to a recorder.

It functioned much like one, punching holes into a long tape as people spoke, recording it.

Once reinserted, it could play the conversation back.

How marvelous and fascinating.

Levi withdrew his gaze and looked at Lestrade.

“Pure coincidence. Actually, if I hadn’t noticed him, maybe he wouldn’t have attacked us.”

“Oh?”

“Inspector Lestrade, when you examined the body, you placed the gas lamp near the victim’s head, didn’t you? At that moment, I saw, reflected in the victim’s pupils, a shadow moving behind us. Perhaps it was planning to leave while we were distracted, but when I turned around, it realized I’d spotted it…”

“So it tried to kill us to silence us.”

Lestrade’s expression darkened.

“But no matter what, this fellow finally showed the tip of the iceberg. Can you believe it? The News Herald still claims this is some divine punishment or curse… Now we can confirm this is indeed a murder! There’s a victim, there’s a killer, and we actually saw the killer!”

“We only saw a bit of a shadow.”

Levi reminded him, but Lestrade didn’t seem to care.

“In any case, at least we know we’re not dealing with some vague curse or ghostly nonsense.”

“…………………”

Levi said nothing.

Indeed, it wasn’t a ghost.

But neither did he believe it was human—at least, the way it scaled that wall was far faster than anything he had imagined.

Still, who could say for sure?

After all, in his games, there were characters adept at running on rooftops too.

Besides, Levi still wasn’t sure exactly what kind of world this was.

“Can you provide any other clues?”

“Sorry, Inspector Lestrade, I’m afraid I can’t be much help.”

Levi shook his head.

“I basically saw nothing—just a black shadow, and then there was the smell…”

“Smell?”

“Yes. The scent of blood, probably from the poor victim. And another pungent odor… hmm, I’m not sure what it was, but it smelled like some kind of chemical agent…”

“That’s enough to help us narrow down some suspect areas.”

Inspector Lestrade reached out and pressed a button beside the phonograph.

The machine quickly stopped punching holes, then, with a series of printing-like sounds, a rectangular punch card popped from the slot into Lestrade’s hand.

“Thank you for your help, Mr. Levi. I hope we’ll have the chance to work together again.”

“And I wish you success in catching the killer soon.”

Levi picked up his top hat, placed it on his head, and stood up, nodding to the inspector.

However, at that very moment, something unexpected happened.

A sudden glint flashed before Levi’s eyes, followed by a line of text appearing in front of him.

【Activate Mission 《Fog City Murder Case》】

【Mission Objective: Investigate and find the Courtesan Killer, and bring them to justice】

【Mission Reward: Random skill reward, +30 days lifespan】

Levi froze at the sight.

“…Anything else, Mr. Levi?”

“Oh, nothing…”

Lestrade’s voice brought him back to his senses.

Levi smiled, nodding toward the inspector.

“It’s just that it’s late, and I’m feeling a bit tired…”

“Understandable. At this hour, the subway has stopped running. Why don’t I have Fletcher drive you back?”

“Then I’ll thank you in advance.”

Naturally, Levi did not refuse Lestrade’s offer.

After all, things like this always seemed to happen to him—whether it was getting unexpectedly upgraded to first class on a flight, having a supermarket promoter hand him a whole box of gifts, or being served extra dishes in a restaurant.

Even in the hospital, he often received the meticulous care of nurses.

So, accepting Lestrade’s kindness was nothing unusual for Levi.

In the past, he had always tried to return such kindness—after all, give-and-take was important.

But now, after what was almost a rebirth, Levi cared even more about his quality of life.

At this moment, Lestrade was in high spirits.

The Courtesan Killer had always been elusive, with radio and newspapers flooded with speculation.

Even within the Police Station, morale was sometimes shaken, leaving people uneasy.

But now, at least they knew the killer was no legend—he truly existed, and could even be hit by a bullet.

That meant there was no need to be afraid.

He had already dispatched more officers to lock down the area and search for any traces the killer might have left behind.

Compared to the aimless chasing around before, this small clue was like a ray of morning light piercing the darkness, enough to make Lestrade look forward to dawn.

In such a good mood, he found Levi more and more pleasant to look at, and naturally didn’t mind giving him a small privilege.

But for Fletcher, it was far less pleasant.

At the time, he had been outside, busy calming a lady who had been terrified at the sight of the corpse.

She clung to him, stammering so much that she couldn’t form a complete sentence.

It left Fletcher rather irritated.

He had already heard Lestrade describe the situation, and Fletcher couldn’t help but think—if it had been him instead of this detective who spotted the Courtesan Killer’s trail…

Then Lestrade might have regarded him as a rising star, perhaps even crediting him with a major achievement for capturing a murderer.

Then would come media interviews, newspaper headlines, a commendation from City Hall, an audience with the Queen, becoming Police Commissioner…

But now, all he could do was drive the Police Station’s old, worn-out carriage, acting as chauffeur for a man taller and better-looking than himself.

Levi paid it no mind.

In fact, as he sat in the swaying carriage, his eyes were fixed on the system mission that had popped up earlier.

As for attributes, he could leave them for later—what concerned him most was lifespan.

Earlier, his attribute panel had shown only ten days of life remaining.

He didn’t doubt it—after all, the doctor had already told him that with his condition, he had only a few days left.

Yet completing this mission would add 30 days to his life?

There was such a benefit?

Of course, Levi knew the mission wouldn’t be easy.

This wasn’t helping an old lady cross the street—it was tracking down a murderer, and not just any murderer, but a serial killer.

Even with the profession of “Detective,” it didn’t mean he was some invulnerable superhero.

In fact, just earlier, if he’d been a few seconds slower, he might have ended up splattered in blood.

Fortunately, within seven steps, his gun was both quick and accurate.

Next time, though, he might not be so lucky.

Right now, Levi had two choices.

Either stay here, enjoy ten days of peaceful life, and close his eyes in calm acceptance.

Or pursue the killer, struggling in the shadow between life and death—succeed and live thirty more days, fail and die on the spot.

But in truth, Levi knew he had no choice.

He’d already had enough of lying in a hospital bed, waiting to die in pain and despair.

So, what he had to do… was already decided.