After that, the Doctor Rose who had been smashed to death by Lorena's book directly melted, turning into a liquid similar to oil and disappearing into the air.
As for Arthur, he was tied up and locked in a room.
Afterward, the captain finally managed to repair the radio and contacted the police in the Fog City.
Then, when the group arrived in the Fog City, Arthur was immediately taken away by the police, and Duanmu Huai also handed over his investigation report.
Thus, the matter came to an end.
Of course, he also met the representative of the Fog City police.
"I've heard about you from Chief Anthony. I just didn't expect you to be this capable—you stirred up so much trouble before even arriving."
Sitting across from Duanmu Huai was a short, plump middle-aged man with a mustache, looking rather well-fed.
He held a cigarette in his mouth and gave a helpless wry smile.
On the desk in front of him was a nameplate—
G. Lestrade.
"Alright, don't look at that."
Noticing Duanmu Huai's gaze, Inspector Lestrade sighed.
"I know what you're thinking. I don't look like a short, sturdy bulldog, and I don't have a friend named Holmes either."
"I didn't say anything."
Duanmu Huai chuckled and withdrew his gaze.
"About that U-level case…"
"Mm, that's exactly what I wanted to talk about."
Lestrade's expression turned serious.
"Before you arrived, another case occurred. Honestly, I think even if Holmes were here, it would be difficult to solve something this bizarre."
As he spoke, he pulled out a file.
"The case happened on the evening of the 12th. The witness was a plumber. He had just finished repair work and left his client's house, when he saw a corpse floating in the river ahead. He immediately panicked and called the police."
"So the problem is?"
"The problem is, according to the victim's friend, she suddenly disappeared. The two of them were shopping and got separated due to the crowd, and she never saw her friend again. From the timeline, less than three hours passed between the disappearance and the discovery of the body. But that's not the key point."
"Oh?"
"The key point is that due to the recent string of murders, we've deployed multiple patrol teams across every street—especially near the river. The street where she disappeared is popular among young women, so it was under heavy surveillance. But when I questioned the officers assigned there, they all unanimously said they had never seen this woman."
At this point, Lestrade took a deep drag of his cigarette and crushed it into the ashtray.
"You see? It's as if after separating from her friend, the victim simply vanished from the world."
"What about surveillance footage?"
"Nothing."
Lestrade frowned.
"Frankly, the situation is getting bad. Forget the newspapers—if this continues, we may have to impose a curfew… although the chief is against it."
That was understandable.
Imposing a curfew in peacetime was a major decision.
If word got out that the Fog City had to enforce a curfew because they couldn't catch a serial killer, Scotland Yard would become a laughingstock.
"I heard you previously hired some investigators. Did they find anything?"
"No. In fact, I don't even know if they found anything. At least, nothing was found on their corpses… However…"
Lestrade looked up and sized Duanmu Huai up.
"I have high expectations for you."
"Thanks for that."
After a few more exchanges, Lestrade stamped Duanmu Huai's investigator credentials.
This officially granted him permission to investigate here.
Duanmu Huai then left the police station and returned to the streets.
"Phew…"
Standing on the streets of the Fog City, Duanmu Huai took a deep breath.
The air here truly carried a cold, heavy feeling.
It wasn't just pollution—
It felt as if the entire city was steeped in an indescribable gloom and corruption.
If anything, it reminded him somewhat of Altdorf.
A dim city.
Cold air.
Though it seemed bustling on the surface, everything felt distant and detached.
As if the city had released all its darkness, letting it blanket everything in shadow…
"Sir Knight, this city gives me a very bad feeling. It's like some evil presence has taken root here…"
Even Lorena felt it.
"Yeah. I'm starting to regret opening my shop in Arkham."
Duanmu Huai sighed.
Originally, he chose Arkham because of "pilgrimage value" and Miskatonic University.
In his mind, with Miskatonic around, there would definitely be plenty of incidents.
But reality slapped him in the face.
On the way here, he had already figured it out.
Arkham was in the New World.
That place didn't even have 200 years of national history—there wasn't much accumulated civilization.
Even when Miskatonic got into trouble, it was usually because they brought back dangerous things from elsewhere.
In other words—
Second-hand dealers.
Opening a shop in Arkham was basically like doing second-hand resale of second-hand goods.
But the Old World was different.
Human civilization here stretched back thousands of years.
Add in the dark Middle Ages, cult worship, witch hunts…
To put it bluntly—
The base number of cultists here was definitely higher than in the New World.
If you're looking for rats, you go to a garbage heap.
You can find them in the desert—
but whether you succeed is another matter.
"Sir Knight, where should we go next?"
"First, find a place to stay. If things don't improve, I might have to consider relocating…"
Duanmu Huai sighed again.
He had just called back to check on the shop.
The result was depressing.
The shop downstairs got maybe two or three customers a day—
but not a single commission.
Even the phone calls were mostly wrong numbers.
Utter despair.
Thinking this, Duanmu Huai looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds loomed overhead.
Not a trace of sunlight.
Apparently, this had been the case since the Industrial Revolution.
Something had gone wrong, forming a vortex-like phenomenon that trapped smoke and dust in the sky—
creating a massive cloud cover over the entire country, like a lid.
From the airship, he had seen it clearly—
a swirling mass of dark clouds enveloping the land.
It was said that many people here had never seen blue skies or sunlight in their entire lives—
only experiencing them when traveling abroad.
…Hard to imagine.
Of course, if he were to move, he'd need to choose carefully this time.
No more impulsive decisions like Arkham.
But honestly—
having no incidents wasn't great either.
In truth, investigators were similar to detectives—but simpler.
Detectives dealt with ordinary crimes.
Criminals hid themselves and might stop committing crimes.
Like Jack the Ripper—
maybe he just got bored and stopped.
Then the police were left clueless.
And it became an unsolved mystery.
In such cases, detectives faced enormous pressure.
But cultists were different.
No matter what they did—stealing, killing, arson—
their ultimate goal was always to make a big scene.
So if players lacked Holmes-level intelligence, couldn't solve puzzles, or didn't want to pick locks—
they could just track a cultist and wait.
When the cultist finally attempted to summon an evil god—
jump out and wipe them all out.
That's why Duanmu Huai had been so calm on the airship.
As he said—
the method was crude.
It was obvious the culprit didn't intend for anyone to survive.
And sure enough—
those idiots had planned to sacrifice everyone to summon Nyarlathotep.
Which raises the question—
why bother investigating at all?
Well—
idle hands do idle things…
"Splash!!"
As Duanmu Huai and Lorena strolled down the street, they suddenly heard a splash nearby, followed by shouting.
"Mary!"
"Mary—! Be careful!!"
What's going on? Someone fell in?
They looked over.
In the river, a girl was struggling in the water—
swimming forward.
Forward?
At first, Duanmu Huai thought she had fallen in.
But that didn't seem right.
She was swimming toward the middle.
Who swims away from the shore after falling in?
That's basically suicide.
Soon, he saw her grab something in the water—
then turn back toward the shore.
"Haah… haah…"
The girl struggled, limbs flailing.
The late autumn water was freezing.
Her soaked clothes clung tightly to her body.
Her limbs were numb.
But she gritted her teeth and kept swimming.
Finally, the riverbank was close.
She raised her head and gasped, reaching for the railing—
But suddenly—
A wave struck her, pushing her backward!
Not good!!
Her heart panicked.
She was running out of strength.
That push had set her back again…
"Mary!!"
Her friend's voice rang out.
Her vision blurred.
Still, she pushed forward again.
Just as she reached the bank—
Another wave hit.
No—!!
She stretched out her hand—
And suddenly—
A massive shadow flashed before her eyes.
"BOOM!"
Water splashed.
She felt her collar grabbed—
And in the next moment—
She was lifted straight out of the river.
By the time she realized it—
She was already sitting on the bank.
"Mary!!"
Two girls rushed over and hugged her.
"Are you okay?!"
"I—I'm fine…"
She came back to her senses.
Then quickly looked down at her arms—
A small black kitten lay there, unmoving.
Seeing this, she looked up anxiously.
"Does anyone know if there's an animal hospital nearby?"
People exchanged glances.
Then—
A deep voice spoke.
"Let me see."
"Ah—okay…"
She looked up—
And froze.
He's so big…!!
"Is this your cat?"
Duanmu Huai asked.
She shook her head.
"No… I just saw it in the river… Are you a veterinarian?"
"No. But she can take a look."
He extended his hand.
"Lingnu, help out."
"Meow."
The black cat peeked out from his coat and jumped down.
It walked around the kitten—
Then placed its paws on the kitten's chest.
Everyone was stunned.
Is that… CPR?
A cat doing CPR on another cat??
People gathered, watching in shock.
The black cat pressed several times—
Then pushed firmly.
The kitten coughed out water—
Opened its eyes—
And began meowing weakly.
"It's alive?!"
"No way…"
"That cat is incredible!"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
A cat just performed CPR—
and succeeded?!
"Mmrow."
Lingnu puffed out its chest proudly.
Duanmu Huai picked it up and put it back in his pocket.
The girl hugged the trembling kitten and stood up, bowing.
"Thank you so mu—Ah-choo!"
"Take care. Don't catch a cold."
Duanmu Huai glanced at her soaked figure—
and briefly at her right eye—
then looked away.
Her friend draped a coat over her.
"Mary, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine… that gentleman…"
She turned—
And froze.
Where did he go?
That huge man—
just disappeared???
(End of Chapter)