Legend Management Bureau Chapter 120

[ … words ]

The immortals stared blankly at the large text floating across the screen, finding it rather intriguing. Coupled with Master Shen constantly fanning the flames from the side, rows of bullet comments began drifting across the screen.

“Britain’s operator is no good.”

“Our own country’s operator is still much more pleasing to the eye.”

“Speaking of which, is ‘Jack the Ripper’ really her husband?”

“Hurry up and advance the plot, we can’t wait anymore!”

“Is the streamer single?”

This method of sending anonymous bullet comments seemed to strike right at the hearts of the immortals. Everyone could speak freely without worrying about their status.

Shortly after, a barrage of small tipping gifts also came pouring in. Several sound-transmitters were overwhelmed; these were individuals with special abilities that Du Yu had arranged the night before. They were incredibly busy, constantly casting spells to project images and text onto the screen.

Meanwhile, the legendary Du Yu and the rest of the group were completely unaware of this.

“Well? Do we have a deal?” Du Yu asked. “Give me a straight answer, yes or no. We value efficiency in our business; you don’t haggle, and we won’t rip you off.”

“Then… alright.” Lizzie nodded slightly. She had not expected this hat-wearing man before her to be so eloquent; it only took him a few words to sway her.

“It’s settled,” Du Yu said, turning his head toward Chada. “Hurry up and tell ‘Mrs. Jack’ your news.”

“Sir,” Chada said, looking somewhat displeased. “I hope this is the last time. I do not need your help.”

“I didn’t want to help either, but I was afraid the audience wouldn’t be able to stand the wait.” Du Yu sighed faintly. “Go on.”

“Hmph.” Chada shot Du Yu a cold glare before turning to Lizzie. “Ma’am, I know you have been unable to conceive, and your husband has always minded this deeply.”

Lizzie froze slightly at those words and said, “Miss Detective, that is my private business.”

“Yes, forgive my rudeness,” Chada replied. “I am a detective. To me, privacy is merely a commodity. Now, I will tell you where your husband is.”

“Where is he?”

“Your husband often wanders around the adjacent alley. Right now, he should be with Martha.” Although Chada smiled, her voice was completely devoid of emotion.

“Oh! My God!” Lizzie gasped. “I know that name! Martha is a prostitute!”

“Yes,” Chada nodded. “You understand.”

Du Yu was stunned. ‘Wait, doesn’t Jack the Ripper kill prostitutes?’

‘Sister Qianqiu!’ Du Yu shouted in his mind.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘What was the name of Jack the Ripper’s first victim?’ Du Yu asked.

‘Hold on, let me check.’ Dong Qianqiu flipped through the materials Xiao Qi had prepared in advance and said, ‘The first victim was named Martha Tabram. She was forty-one when she died and suffered thirty-nine stab wounds; her throat alone was slashed nine times. This Martha Tabram… should be the very Martha you’re discussing right now.’

‘A doctor… an expert with a scalpel. Disembowelment would indeed be a piece of cake for him. No wonder the later victims had their abdomens slashed open; the killer was a surgeon,’ Du Yu said. ‘This is bad. He must be committing the murder right now. I suddenly have the urge to go save that woman.’

‘I suggest you don’t do that.’ Dong Qianqiu shook her head. ‘Doing so would prevent the British Empire’s legend from forming and cause a terrible impact. See what Chada has to say first.’

Du Yu felt deeply frustrated. Knowing the identities of both the victim and the killer, and knowing the crime was happening right this very moment, yet being completely unable to go and mount a rescue—it was an incredibly suffocating feeling.

“The information has been delivered. Where are my fifty pence?”

Lizzie seemed lost in a daze. Chada had to call her name several times before she snapped out of it. “I will go get it for you right now, Miss Detective.”

Lizzie retreated to the back room and rummaged around. Du Yu heard the clinking of metal, sounding like a tin box being opened. A moment later, the box clattered shut, and Lizzie emerged holding a few coins.

“Miss Detective, here are your fifty pence.” Lizzie placed the coins into Chada’s hand, then pulled out another coin and said, “Here is another five pence as a deposit. I would like to…”

“I understand, ma’am.” Chada accepted the fifty-five pence and nodded. “If there is any other information in the future, I will return to tell you. I will require another fifty pence then.”

Lizzie nodded, stood up, and put on her coat. “Miss Detective, I will go check on Martha immediately. If what you say is true, then you have done me a great favor. But if you are lying to me… you have no idea how dire the consequences will be.”

“I certainly do, ma’am,” Chada said, also standing up. “The information has been sold. I wish you a good night.”

“Eh?!” Du Yu was taken aback. “We’re leaving just like that?! I feel like you haven’t done anything at all.”

“No, this is enough,” Chada said. “Let’s go.”

After speaking, Chada walked out the door, and Du Yu’s group quickly followed. Du Yu whispered, “You’ve got to be kidding me, British sis. Are you really just going to let her face Jack’s murder scene all by herself? Don’t end up outsmarting yourself and getting her killed too.”

Shiranui Asuka nodded in agreement from the side. “Senior Chada, let’s go help! She’s a woman; her strength and speed can’t match a man’s. She might really end up as another victim. Even if we’re not helping Jack kill, it would be good to at least save that woman.”

Chada walked straight down the dark street and said softly, “When I say it’s enough, it’s enough.”

She weighed the fifty-five pence in her hand, pondering something unknown.

Du Yu hastily asked Dong Qianqiu, ‘Sister Qianqiu, this “Mrs. Jack” from just now, her full name should be Lizzie Williams. Could you check if she was a victim?’

Dong Qianqiu reviewed the documents in her hand and said, ‘I checked. She isn’t. The victims shared two common traits: first, they were all prostitutes; second, they were all middle-aged women. This Lizzie Williams is just an ordinary woman. In theory, she falls outside of “Jack’s” kill zone.’

Although Du Yu felt relieved, he still cursed inwardly. He thought to himself that if his own country had such a horrific serial killer case, they absolutely wouldn’t turn a blind eye to it—let alone use the killer’s name to make a profit. Could one really have a clear conscience after earning money like that?

They thought Chada would take them to find an inn, but she didn’t. After leaving the alley where Lizzie lived, the group stopped at a street corner.

“What’s wrong? Are we working the streets here too?” Du Yu asked in confusion.

Chada pulled a cigarette from her pocket and offered it around. Discovering that she was the only smoker, she didn’t stand on ceremony. She placed it between her lips, struck a match, and lit it.

“Senior Chada, when Miss Lizzie asked if you wanted to smoke earlier, you refused.” Asuka asked, puzzled. “Were you just too embarrassed to smoke then?”

“No, I never smoke while working,” Chada said with a serious face. “Now that things have come to a close, I’m relaxing for a bit.”

“Wait, I don’t get it.” Du Yu shook his head. “Our work has come to a close? What exactly did we do?”

Chada swallowed a mouthful of smoke, exhaled slowly, and then looked at Du Yu. “Well, operator from Hua Xia, have you learned anything?”

“Learned?” Du Yu almost laughed out of sheer exasperation. “Learned how you earn this dirty money?”

“Heh.” Chada continued smoking and said, “Putting profit aside, just look at my method of ‘correcting’ the legend.”

“You ‘corrected’ it?” Du Yu paused. “Oh, you mean correcting it from the sidelines without needing to see Jack himself?”

Chada smiled but didn’t say a word.

“I get it…!” Asuka suddenly exclaimed. “Senior Chada, after you informed his wife, she is bound to go cause a scene. Then the three of them will get into a brawl, and they’ll accidentally kill that prostitute… Although a crime was committed, from then on, Dr. John will discover the thrill of murder and spiral out of control! He’ll roam the streets all day, specifically targeting middle-aged prostitutes! He’ll transform into the urban monster—Jack in the shadows! Right?”

“Good lord!” Du Yu cast a sideways glance at Asuka. “Are you a psychopath, girl… How is your mind so terrifying?”

Although Du Yu said that out loud, he knew deep down that Asuka’s theory made a lot of sense. There were indeed killers who had taken their first life through manslaughter, only to become addicted to the thrill of murder. He just didn’t know if Dr. John was one of them.

Chada still didn’t speak. She took slow drags from her cigarette, her eyes fixed intensely on the passing pedestrians.

In the dark of the night, everyone wore trench coats with their hats pulled low, making it impossible to tell them apart.

Finally, after a certain person walked past, Chada stubbed out her cigarette and took two steps forward.

“What’s wrong?” Du Yu asked, seeing Chada’s sudden shift in behavior.

“Sir, did you see that man just now?”

“I saw him…”

“That is Dr. John,” Chada said.

“Eh?!” Du Yu looked in the direction the man was heading. “Isn’t he walking toward his home? Could he be ‘done’ already? Did he kill that prostitute?!”

“Do you still not understand?” Chada glanced at the group. “Remember what I asked you before: why has Jack never been caught?”

“Are you saying…”

“Follow me,” Chada said. “I’ll take you to meet Jack.”

Chada took the lead, and Du Yu’s group quietly followed. It was past midnight now, and the streets were growing increasingly deserted, even the streetlamps dimming somewhat. Chada turned down two narrow streets before arriving at a pitch-black alley. She waved at the group, signaling them to hide behind the wall.

A squelching “squish-squish” sound came from the alley, like water-filled balloons bursting.

“Oh my God!” Shiranui Asuka looked into the alley, unable to suppress her fear. “It looks so dark in there, so terrifying…”

Ramula also peered into the depths of the alley and said slowly, “May Apollo bestow light upon us, and may the light radiate across the earth.”

Hearing this, Du Yu looked at Ramula. “To put it bluntly, you’re scared of the dark too, huh?”

“At this very moment, Jack is inside committing murder,” Chada said. “Let’s go meet him.”

“Eh?!” Du Yu was startled. “Isn’t ‘Jack the Ripper’ that Dr. John? He already went home… Then who is this Jack?”

Chada was about to step forward when Du Yu grabbed her arm.

“Wait, that’s not right, there’s another problem!” A drop of cold sweat trailed down Du Yu’s forehead. “Did you just say he is ‘currently’ committing murder?”

“Yes.”

“Then is it really a good idea for us to go ‘interrupt’ them right now?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Chada slowly walked forward. “As long as it’s ‘business’, it can be ‘negotiated’.”

The group walked slowly through the pitch-black alley. The person inside seemed to have heard something, as the squelching sounds came to a halt.

Reaching a certain spot, Chada stopped. Du Yu stared intently ahead, but it was still so dark he couldn’t see his own fingers in front of his face.

Chada slowly pulled a flashlight from her coat, pointed it forward, and with a “click,” flipped the switch.

Du Yu instantly drew a sharp breath.

Where the beam of light fell, a person stood—Dr. John’s wife, Lizzie.

She was holding a scalpel, completely covered in blood, staring coldly at the group. Had Chada not stopped walking, they would have bumped right into her. At her feet lay a completely naked woman. It was impossible to tell how many times the woman had been slashed; her body was entirely dyed crimson with blood, presenting an incredibly gruesome sight.

“Good evening. We meet again, Ms. Lizzie,” Chada said with a smile.