Riding the steam bus to its final stop, Elias found himself in a drastically different part of Saint Rose City.
The streets were dirty, the buildings dilapidated, and the pedestrians less well-dressed than in the upper city, many in tattered clothes.
This was the old town, located downstream on the river, known as the "Lower City District."
"We're here," Isabella said softly as the bus came to a halt.
The two of them disembarked and began walking, as modern transportation didn't reach this far.
After getting out of the car, Elias sneezed immediately, feeling discomfort in his nose.
This was because there was a pungent, strange smell in the air.
The river was polluted with household waste and factory effluents, creating a foul smell.
"Can't handle the slum environment, young master?" Isabella teased Elias as he continued to sneeze.
"It's not that..." Elias replied, shaking his head. He had been to this part of the game before but experiencing it in reality was a first.
Isabella led Elias through the chaotic city, passing sewage-filled alleyways and low-rise buildings that had existed since the city's founding.
The deeper they went, the taller and more haphazardly constructed the buildings became.
They weren't skyscrapers but rather a "vertical development" out of necessity, the sparse clean spaces forcing the city upwards.
The irregular and monstrous silhouettes of these buildings, entwined with steam pipes from the factories, created a forbidding atmosphere as darkness fell.
This was the hidden side of the prosperous "Steam City" – Saint Rose City. Gangs, drugs, murderers, and cultists were rampant, a true den of iniquity.
"I really don't get it, Professor Isabella," Elias mumbled. "Do you really live in a place like this? You're not hiding from huge debts, are you?"
As he looked at Isabella's elegant figure ahead of him, he couldn't reconcile her with this squalid environment.
His imagination even conjured up a story of a fallen noblewoman, bravely facing a new life in the slums.
"What are you imagining now?" Isabella chided, playfully smacking Elias on the head.
"I'm just curious..." Elias said with a smile.
Isabella looked into his eyes and sighed softly. "It's a bit complicated. I'll tell you about it later."
Since she was unwilling to speak, Elias did not press further but shifted the topic to the cult group they were investigating.
"This cult, gathering in such hard-to-find places, it's no wonder the police haven't made any progress."
"I wonder what they're capturing people for..." Isabella mused. "Could it really be to summon some dark deity? That would be troublesome..."
Elias followed Isabella, not overly concerned about 'dark deities.' Such entities were usually just part of the game's backstory.
Besides, it was only the first chapter after the game update; how could it introduce such a significant boss?
As the night deepened, a chilly breeze wafted through the quiet alley, causing Elias, tired from the long walk, to shiver.
They were far from the lit streets, in one of the most secluded corners of the Lower City District. "A perfect place for a murder," Elias thought.
"Are you tired? We're almost there, just a bit further," Isabella urged, noticing Elias lagging.
sabella noticed that Elias was moving somewhat slowly and urged him on.
Hearing her obviously impatient voice, Elias responded with an "Oh."
But his pace remained the same, unhurriedly following behind her.
It was only when she quickened her steps and looked back at him from time to time that he slowly began to speak.
"Actually, there's something I didn't tell you, professor..."
"What?"
"It's about the analysis of this disappearance case; there are some clues that were very uncertain, so I didn't tell you at the time."
"Oh, it's that."
Isabella didn't seem to care much about what Elias was saying. She just slowed down a bit, wanting to keep pace with Elias.
But Elias deliberately slowed down even more, intentionally keeping a distance from her.
"What clue have our little detective found?" Isabella asked with a smile from ahead.
"The common factor," Elias responded, pulling out his notebook from his shoulder bag. He took out several library card photocopies with pictures, displaying them in the dim moonlight for Isabella to see.
"These are Saint Rose University library cards?" Isabella frowned slightly. "What's the use of these?"
Elias smiled. "I found these after class yesterday, thanks to my observant deskmate. After learning from the Chief that the missing girl had been spending time in the library, I got curious and managed to sneak out her library card."
"My deskmate, quite the aesthete, casually remarked how pretty the girl was and what a pity her disappearance was. That's when something clicked for me."
"So, I revisited Chief Leonardo and reviewed all the missing students' files. Guess what?"
Elias spread out the five library cards like playing cards. "Some of these missing students had been to the library recently, some hadn't. But that's not the key point. It's about their appearance."
"All these missing students were good-looking. Could it be that the perpetrator is choosing victims based on their looks?"
Hearing this, Isabella finally stopped walking and turned to face Elias, her expression changing slightly.
"Oh? That's an interesting clue, but it's hardly enough, right? "
"If it's that obvious, wouldn't the police have considered it too? "
"If the motive is as you suggest, we can't just hide every attractive student, can we? "
"What we need are more clues about the perpetrator – appearance, whereabouts, any possible traces left behind..."
"No, no, no." Elias smiled at her. "The clue is enough."
"Enough?" Isabella expressed her surprise.
Elias observed her reaction closely. In her beautiful green eyes, he saw surprise mixed with confusion, as if she truly knew nothing.
"Too ugly! I hate ugly things the most!!" He mimicked the tone Isabella had used at the time and repeated it.
"Professor" Elias asked with a faint smile, "What do you think of my looks?" The atmosphere quieted for a moment.
Suddenly, Isabella flashed a charming smile. "Elias is very handsome, the most handsome boy the professor has ever seen~"