After riding the steam bus to its final stop, the cityscape before Luo Wei's eyes had completely transformed.
The streets were dirty and chaotic, buildings were dilapidated, and passersby were not as well-dressed as those in the upper city, with many wearing tattered clothes.
This was the old town of Saint Callen City, located downstream of the great river, with a significant elevation drop, hence its nickname "Lower District."
"We're here," Evelyn said softly.
Modern transportation didn't reach beyond this point, so they had to continue on foot after getting off.
Luo Wei nodded and followed Evelyn toward the slowly opening bus doors.
As soon as he stepped off, Luo Wei sneezed, his nose feeling uncomfortable.
There was a pungent odor in the air.
He saw strange colors in the river water, which was covered with foul-smelling household garbage and industrial waste from factories – the source of the strange smell.
"Is the young master having trouble adjusting to the slum environment?" Evelyn teased when she saw Luo Wei continuously sneezing.
"Not really..." Luo Wei shook his head; it wasn't like he had never been here before.
Though his previous visits had only been in games – this was his first time experiencing Saint Callen's Lower District in person.
Evelyn led Luo Wei through the chaotic district, winding through alleys filled with sewage and past rows of low-rise buildings that had existed since Saint Callen City's founding. As they ventured deeper, the buildings on either side grew increasingly tall.
But this wasn't the same kind of height as skyscrapers. Clean living spaces were scarce in the Lower District, leading to constant "vertical development." The haphazardly constructed illegal buildings seemed endless, blocking what little light there was and creating an oppressively dark atmosphere.
Luo Wei instinctively looked up.
Steam pipes from the factories crisscrossed overhead between buildings, intertwining with the bizarre architecture of the Lower District. As night fell, their black silhouettes created an irregular, menacing effect, like a man-eating monster.
This was the darkest corner of Saint Callen City, the "Steam Capital" known for its prosperity and wealth.
Gangs, drugs, murderers, and cultists ran rampant – truly a den of vice and corruption.
"I really don't understand, Teacher Evelyn..."
Luo Wei mumbled, "Do you really live in a place like this? You're not actually hiding here because of massive debt, are you?"
Looking at Teacher Evelyn's gracefully curved silhouette, he couldn't reconcile her with such living conditions.
Honestly, his mind had conjured up an entire "fallen noble lady living in the slums, working hard to earn money, persevering towards a new life" inspirational story...
"What are you imagining now!" Evelyn gave Luo Wei's head a light smack.
"I'm just curious..." Luo Wei said with a smile.
Evelyn looked into his eyes and sighed silently.
"It's complicated. I'll tell you about it another time."
Since she was unwilling to discuss it, Luo Wei didn't press further and instead shifted the topic to the cult they were investigating.
"No wonder the police haven't made any progress – this cult gathering in such a hard-to-find place."
"I wonder what their purpose is in capturing people for sacrifices..." Evelyn muttered to herself, "Could they really be trying to summon evil gods? That would be troublesome..."
Luo Wei silently followed Teacher Evelyn's footsteps. He wasn't particularly worried about "evil gods" and such things.
Those beings only existed in background stories, especially since this was just after the game update.
What he was actually worried about was something else entirely...
At eight o'clock at night, the narrow sky above was pitch black.
A cold breeze swept through the quiet alley, making Luo Wei, who had been walking for hours and was covered in sweat, shiver.
He looked back; the nearest streetlight was far away. Even within the Lower District, the place where Teacher Evelyn had brought him was one of the most desolate and remote corners.
Dark night, secluded alley – perfect place for murder and silencing witnesses.
"Tired? Just a bit further, hang in there, we're almost there."
Evelyn noticed Luo Wei's slowing pace and urged him on.
Luo Wei responded with an "oh," but maintained his unhurried pace behind her.
Only when her steps grew increasingly rapid and she kept glancing back at him,
Did he slowly speak up.
"Actually, there's something I haven't told you, teacher..."
"What is it?"
"It's about the analysis of these disappearances. Some clues were uncertain, so I didn't mention them earlier."
"Oh, that."
Evelyn seemed uninterested in what Luo Wei was saying. She just slowed her pace to walk alongside him.
But Luo Wei deliberately slowed down again, maintaining a distance between them.
"Has our little detective found some clues?" Evelyn asked with a smile as she walked ahead.
"A common thread."
"Common thread?" Evelyn asked, "What common thread?"
Luo Wei smiled too, slowly pulling out his notebook from his shoulder bag.
He took out several library cards with photos and showed them to Teacher Evelyn in the dim moonlight.
"These are... Callen University library cards?" Evelyn frowned slightly, "What use are these?"
"I actually discovered this by chance yesterday after class, thanks to my desk mate."
Luo Wei explained with a smile: "After learning from the police chief that the missing senior had been spending time in the library before disappearing, I got curious and went to the library to steal her library card."
"My female desk mate, while not good at much else, has a keen eye for appearances – she's completely looks-obsessed."
"She mentioned casually to me, 'That senior was quite pretty, such a shame...'"
"At that moment, I seemed to catch onto something."
"So I went to Chief Raymond and reviewed all the missing persons' files again."
"And guess what?"
Luo Wei spread out all five library cards like playing cards.
"Among these five missing students, some had recently visited the library, some hadn't, but that's not the key point. The key is their appearances."
"These poor seniors – not a single one of them was unattractive. Do you think the perpetrator specifically targets good-looking people? Could they be looks-obsessed too?"
At this point, Evelyn finally stopped walking and turned to face Luo Wei.
She raised an eyebrow, her expression changing.
"Oh? That's an interesting lead, but it's not enough on its own, is it?"
"If you could think of this, those useless police officers probably could too. Even if the perpetrator's motive is as you say, we can't exactly hide all the good-looking students in school, can we?"
"What we need now are more clues about the perpetrator – appearance, whereabouts, any possible traces left behind..."
"No, no, no." Luo Wei smiled as he looked at her, "We have enough clues already."
"Enough?" Evelyn asked in surprise.
Luo Wei carefully observed her expression. Those beautiful dark green eyes showed surprise mixed with confusion, as if she truly knew nothing.
So.
"Too ugly! I hate ugly things the most!!"
He repeated, mimicking Evelyn's tone from before.
"Teacher," Luo Wei asked with a faint smile, "What do you think of my appearance?"
The atmosphere grew quiet for a moment.
Suddenly, Evelyn broke into a charming smile.
"Little Wei is very handsome, the most handsome boy teacher has ever seen~"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
