Bang! Bang! Bang!
Klein held the revolver he had rented from the Quelaag Club with one hand and continuously pulled the trigger, accurately hitting the target. The worst was at least eight rings.
After being fed with many bullets, coupled with the control he had over his body after becoming a Clown, his marksmanship was quite good.
If I continue practicing like this for a few more months, I can be called a sharpshooter … Klein opened the cylinder in satisfaction and shook out the shell. As the shells clattered to the ground, he turned his head to look at Talim Dumont and asked with a smile,
"Are you satisfied?"
"Very good." The equestrian teacher, Talim, had already taken off his black tweed coat and light gray sweater. He assumed a boxing stance and said, "Come on, let me get to know your fighting standards. I can honestly tell you that I've been training as a trainee knight since I was young, and I've never neglected it."
As a Beyonder, if I can't even defeat an ordinary man who has only received training, then … then I'm not human anymore! Klein lampooned. Without taking off his double-breasted frock coat, he put away his revolver, took two steps to the side, and gestured to Talim that he could begin.
Initially, he wanted to beckon with his finger to spice up the atmosphere, but when he thought of the other party's strength, he couldn't be bothered to waste his energy.
Talim was a little excited about this. He jumped a few times on the spot, took a few quick steps forward, and threw a right punch.
Klein blocked and grabbed with his left hand. He bent down and twisted his waist, stretched out his right palm, and smoothly performed a back throw.
Thump. Talim flew out and landed on his back. In the end, Klein didn't exert any strength. He only used inertia to throw Talim off his body.
"Amazing!" Talim quickly stood up and gave a thumbs up. "As expected of a famous detective. Your marksmanship and combat skills are excellent."
I only defeated a weakling like you. How can you tell that my fighting level is very high? Klein cursed inwardly and asked with a smile,
"Now that we understand, can you tell me what commission your friend wants to do?"
"Hehe, he'll be at the club soon. You guys chat amongst yourselves." Talim rubbed his back. "I don't know what the commission is exactly. By the way, he's a reporter, Mike Joseph of the Daily Observer. He probably wants short-term protection."
"Alright." Klein didn't ask any more questions. He continued to practice with his gun, but not only with the revolver, but also with the hunting rifle, the single-shot rifle, and the repeating rifle. He hoped that he would be able to quickly master all the firearms around him in the future.
When it was almost 12 o 'clock, he returned to the first floor and entered the cafeteria. He took a roast chicken and a fried steak, as well as the club's limited supply of cream cheese lobster.
After putting these things away, Klein took out Feynapotter paella, fruit salad, oyster clear soup, and Marquis black tea.
In the face of this sumptuous lunch, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva and praise the goddess in his heart.
If I were to eat outside, this meal would probably cost me three soli … Klein alternated between a silver knife, fork, and spoon as he ate contentedly.
Just as he was about to finish the food on the table, Talim Dumont led a man in a heavy coat and half top hat over.
"Detective Moriarty, this is the friend I mentioned, Mike Joseph. Mike, this is the famous detective, Mr. Sherlock Moriarty." Talim smiled as he introduced both parties.
"Nice to meet you." Mike took off his hat and bowed.
He looked to be in his thirties. His eyebrows were relatively sparse, his skin was rather rough, and his pores were abnormally obvious.
However, his facial features weren't bad. His blue eyes were especially charming, and with his beautiful mustache, he had a mature charm.
Klein couldn't help but touch the stubble around his lips that had thickened. He got up and invited the man to sit down.
He smiled and said, "Today's cream cheese lobster isn't bad. You can give it a try."
"Alright." Mike Joseph didn't decline. He took the tray, circled around, and took out a lot of food.
"He was in a hurry and hasn't had lunch yet," Talim explained on his friend's behalf with a smile as he placed a stack of newspapers on the dining table.
"I can tell." Klein put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and leisurely drank his black tea.
He was very satisfied with the meal he had just had.
At this moment, Mike Joseph walked back with two plates of food. He quickly ate a few mouthfuls to fill his stomach before looking up at Klein.
"Detective Moriarty, have you heard about the recent serial murders?"
"The ones who removed the organs?" Klein's heart stirred as he asked briefly.
Talim nodded and sighed with emotion.
"Sure enough, every detective is paying attention to this serial murder case."
Mike took out one of the newspapers and pushed it to Klein. "This is the latest report."
Klein took it and saw that it was from the Daily Observer, where Mike worked. Their headline read:
“11！ Another lady had been killed! Sivellaus Yard is helpless! "
The headquarters of the Baekeland Police Department was on Sivellaus Street at the edge of Queens, so they were also nicknamed "Sivellaus Yard."
11？ It's the 11th case? Klein resisted the urge to frown and continued reading in puzzlement. He found that it was indeed the same as the one he had encountered. The target was a woman wearing a gorgeous dress and had her organs removed by disembowelment.
This was a case with obvious traces of devil worship. Sivellaus Yard must've handed it over to the Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers, or Machinery Hivemind teams. They have divination, spirit channeling, and all kinds of strange and effective Beyonder means. Why haven't they solved the case and caught the criminal yet? That fellow has rich anti-detection abilities and destroyed the souls of the deceased? Or could it be that the souls of the deceased were taken away along with their organs, as required for a devil ritual? Hmm, he can definitely interfere with divination … That's right, if a Beyonder of the Devil pathway doesn't have such abilities, how would they dare to commit serial murders … Klein thoughtfully said to Mike Joseph,
"You want to do a private investigation?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't take over. Without an invitation from the police, I can't take over. I have to maintain a good relationship with them."
The so-called good relationship is the relationship of inviting me to the police station for tea … Klein lampooned himself.
The real reason he refused was that it was easy to encounter official Beyonders if he was involved in the investigation of the serial murders. Among them might be the Nighthawks of the Church of the Goddess's Baekeland diocese.
"No, it's not an investigation. No, to be precise, it's not an investigation to find the murderer. I just want to complete my report," Mike Joseph explained after swallowing the prawn meat.
"Report?" Klein asked leisurely as he put down the white porcelain teacup and clasped his hands together.
Mike Joseph said, "Yes.
"If you buy the Daily Observer tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, you will see my in-depth report on this serial murder case. The most important part of it is to reveal the commonalities of the victims and remind similar groups of people to pay attention."
"Oh, what commonalities do they have?" Klein asked curiously.
Mike took a sip of his coffee and said, "Apart from being female and wearing colorful dresses, there's another very important commonality. I did an in-depth investigation of the victims' occupations and discovered something interesting. "
"Some of them are maids, some are textile workers, some are tailors, and some are female teachers. On the surface, there's no overlap, but in fact, they were once street girls."
"Street girls? Female teachers? "Klein asked in surprise.
In the Kingdom of Rouen, teachers were part of the middle class. The lowest salary was two pounds a week, which was enough for a lady to live a pretty good life. There was no need for her to be a street girl.
Mike twitched the corner of his mouth and sighed.
"It was in the past. Before they found a job that could support themselves, they might have had a very difficult time."
"I previously did a survey. In Backlund, one-sixth of women between the ages of 15 to 55 are or have been street girls in the past. Heh, this is our country. All foreigners will be surprised when they come here. It's a very conservative country, a bustling metropolis, but it's filled with street girls." (Note 1)
Th-this number is a little exaggerated … If it's true, it can only be said that reality is more exaggerated than fiction … This darn world … Klein clicked his tongue.
After some thought, he deliberately said, "The next question is, how did the murderer know that the victims were once street girls? They didn't have any labels on them, so you would need to do an in-depth investigation to discover it. "
"As expected of a great detective. This might be a clue," Mike Joseph answered, unsurprised.
No, if it's a Beyonder of the Devil pathway, then the standard he chooses might be those who appear to have fallen but haven't completely fallen. And they should have a keen intuition when it comes to corruption. They might even be able to directly see the corresponding deep "color." Coupled with the colorful dress as a trigger, the target is basically locked onto … Klein answered himself inwardly before asking, "What's wrong?
He then asked, "Then, what else do you want to investigate?"
Mike nodded.
"In these eleven cases, ten of the ladies were once street girls, but there's one who isn't. She's still a prostitute. Yes, it's the youngest, the sixteen-year-old Sieber. This seems very strange, very strange. I want to go to the Golden Rose, which is her, uh, the place where she works, to do an in-depth investigation to see if I can discover anything."
"I'm worried that my inquiries will anger the people there, so I plan on getting you to protect me temporarily. You don't need to teach them a lesson. All you need to do is to protect me when I escape at the most critical moment."
"If nothing happens, I'll pay you one pound. If there's a fight, I'll raise it to five pounds. What do you think?"
Klein smiled.
"I'll give you an answer after I wash my hands."
He bowed politely and slowly walked to the bathroom. Then, he tossed a coin and received an affirmative answer.
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