Mr. Smith was a little curious, but only a little, and now he had some headaches and was full of doubts and puzzles, and he didn't want to snoop too much on things that had nothing to do with him for the time being.

However, the appearance and appearance of that Mr. Holmes were quite eye-catching at first glance, the kind that was impressive at a glance.

He was about forty years old, dressed like a gentleman, wearing a tall black felt hat, holding a cane and a pipe, and was a full 1.8 meters tall, and his body appeared unusually thin and extraordinarily long.

This man's gaze is very sharp, and the slender hooked nose makes his appearance appear particularly alert and decisive, and his jaw is square and prominent.

Troublesome guys......

Inexplicably, when he saw this person, Mr. Smith had such a thought in his heart, as if his intuition was telling him that this person would become his biggest obstacle.

However, he himself felt inexplicable about this inexplicable thought, so naturally he didn't take it to heart.

As for Mr. Holmes's companion, he was another middle-aged man, slightly shorter, about 1.7 meters tall, with a relatively strong body, plump and well-proportioned, with sideburns and beard, and a more amiable appearance.

Could it be a detective?

Knee-jerking this guess, Mr. Smith vaguely remembers that in the early 19th century, a few years before the Victorian period began, Scotland Yard was born in a small courtyard in Whitehall because of the chaos in London for centuries.

However, the nascent modern security system had only about 3,000 police forces, and they were facing the security of London, the capital of the United Kingdom, the center of the world empire at that time.

This is a drop in the bucket, not to mention the uneven quality of the police force, which is poorly paid, lacks training, and has become an essential quality for the police. So much so that at the time, the police department was regarded as the most ignorant, corrupt, and inefficient department.

The original police force of 3,000 people was less than one-sixth in less than four years.

Because of the lack of police force in the city of London, the quality of the police is worrying, the criminal investigation methods are backward, and the criminals' unstoppable criminal instinct, the crime that breeds in the dark is becoming more and more popular, so the government later established the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

But with a team of more than 100 official detectives to protect the city of London, which has a population of 5 million, this joke is a bit of a joke.

But it is probably precisely because of such market demand that private detectives can mix?

Mr. Smith didn't pay much attention to this nonsense, but although he didn't listen carefully to the conversation of the group of three people who had already walked away in front of him, he still heard what these people were saying clearly.

Probably last night in the mixed East End of London, there were a number of murders one after another, and it is suspected that the victims were not only killed, but also stripped of a piece of human skin, and the murderer was extremely brutal.

This almost collapsed the already overwhelmed Scotland Yard, so the Sherlock Holmes detective had to be called in...... This detective seems to be famous?

Mr. Smith thought so, but he didn't pay much attention to it, he had only been here for a few days, and he had only fully confirmed and accepted the reality yesterday, and it was normal that he didn't know much about some things.

He only knows some of the general and macro background of this era, and in terms of details, he can only look at the fate, how many books he has read in the school library before, and how many materials he can remember now, are all prerequisites for determining his knowledge and skill points in this area.

The most important point is that it is not certain whether it is the real history that happened on Earth or not, and it is very likely that there is a big difference in the case of a parallel universe.

……

……

When Holmes and Watson arrived at the scene, they found that there was already a circle of people at the entrance of the alley, and many people couldn't help but stand outside the blockade, tiptoe to look inside, and watched strongly.

They talked a lot, especially the people who lived nearby, and they all described what happened here last night—

In the dark alleys of the gloomy night, the cold ground where the drizzle drenched the blood, and the shadows that the gas lamps on the streets outside could not illuminate, the cunning and ruthless criminals began a carnival of blood feasts......

Everyone swears by it, and speaks eloquently, as if they have witnessed or even experienced it with their own eyes, but most of them are brain supplements, or should they be said to occupy all of them.

After all, when the crime happened last night, when they heard the voice, they didn't dare to come out to take a look, what can they know just by listening to the voice, isn't it brain supplement, is it still a martial arts master who can listen to the voice and defend the position?

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that it was dawn now, the sun was out, and the police had arrived at the scene one after another, they wouldn't have had the courage to come out and watch.

I will only shrink at home like last night and dare not make a sound, for fear that if I make a noise, I will attract the attention of the criminals, and then suffer an unjustified disaster.

Several policemen maintained order at the entrance of the alley, and it seemed that they were used to such a scene, so they did not intend to stop the crowd from watching and discussing, and only opened their mouths to scold when some people crossed the line.

It's human nature to see the excitement, and it's hard to put an end to this kind of thing, especially since it's still a mixed East End of London, where all religions and nine streams gather, and don't expect much from the quality of the people here, it's unrealistic.

After Holmes and Watson arrived, Inspector Lestrade brought the two of them into the murder scene, complaining that the police were not enough, but they suddenly did it again last night.

“…… A total of five such murder scenes have been found so far, basically all of them took place from the night of last night to the early hours of the morning, and the last one is that three people were killed at the same time, and strangely all of them don't seem to be good people......"

“…… The rain covered up too many traces, and even the time of the crime was roughly determined by questioning nearby residents, and according to the information obtained, it seems that they were killed in the process of committing the crime......"

“…… It's like this scene, in addition to the blood of the deceased, we found the blood of another person, but we couldn't find any more clues other than that, and the deceased seemed to have traces of a struggle with people before he died......"

Amid Inspector Lestrade's complaining commentary, Holmes scrutinized the scene and observed the corpse, then frowned deeply.

Dr. Watson also examined the corpse, which had been accustomed to this scene by years of medical practice, and to be honest, the scene was not very bloody, and the body of the deceased was quite well preserved except for a large piece of human skin that had been cut off.

Moreover, when he was in the army in Afghanistan, he had seen even more tragic conditions, and those unlucky people who were blown up by shells and were all over the ground were really tragic.

However, things can't be simply looked at the surface, everyone knows that people who die on the battlefield, no matter how tragic the death is, there is nothing worth exploring, and there is no need to delve into the truth behind the cause of death...... The word war is enough to explain everything.

But now, what he found was worth exploring.

"Sherlock Holmes?" Without hastily stating his opinion, Dr. Watson looked at Holmes with a look of surprise.

"There are so many suspicious places that I can't confirm ......," Holmes said, picking up his crutches and walking out, "I don't think last night's rain covered up many things, and left a lot of traces, but there are quite a few suspicious places." ”

"What?" Inspector Lestrade asked, puzzled.

"Let's go, let's go to the other murder scenes first, and maybe find more clues."

Holmes did not answer, and directly asked to see the other places where the incident occurred.

"Also, you said earlier that the people in the neighborhood said that it was a wandering warbler who was attacked last night because they heard her cries for help...... But when the police arrived after dawn, they only found the scene where a man was killed, right? ”

"Uh...... That's right. ”

"Then let's check it out from this clue first, and see if there is anything strange and suspicious about the warblers on the street nearby, and the woman who will pass by here at night should live nearby......"

Holmes said thoughtfully, also frowning, feeling a little puzzled.

The great detective is not a god, and he cannot directly understand the ins and outs from the perspective of God...... Superb wisdom and keen insight, coupled with the collection of enough clues and evidence, can piece together the whole picture of the whole case.

Wisdom is not a revelation, but a painstaking search.

But now, the great detective only felt a little puzzled for the time being, and didn't pay too much attention to it, in his opinion, this time the case was actually no different from usual.

The reason why he is puzzled is because he has not found enough clues to understand the truth behind it, and many of the cases he has handled, the criminals have "outstanding first-class methods in this century".

Before the truth is detected, just looking at the appearance will make people feel unbelievable and incomprehensible, but after the truth is detected, you will find that in fact, it is nothing more than that...... It is always necessary to follow the objective laws of this scientific and rational world.

……

……

The popularity of the "peeling case" rose for a few days, and slowly began to fall, as if it was just a flash in the pan.

In fact, since the beginning of the 19th century, all kinds of bizarre true crime news began to explode, and it was the daily routine of Victorian London to read all kinds of case details, crime solving anecdotes and murder gossip from newspapers.

Compared to the rest of the UK, London, with its 16,000 "criminal class", sees new cases almost every day...... In this ancient city, sin is like a raging undercurrent hidden beneath the timeless and quiet surface of the Thames, silent but real.

The popularity of the "skinning case" could not occupy the precious news page for a long time, and after a few days of no movement, it was quickly squeezed down.

Until this day, it was another night with cold drizzle and fog filling the city—

In the mixed East End of London, in a particularly remote and chaotic, slum-like place, in a dilapidated low bungalow, under the dim kerosene lamp, the doors and windows were completely sealed by wooden planks.

Five dirty, scruffy, muscular men, or men with vicious faces slowly woke up from their stupor.

"Where is this ......?"

"Where am I?"

"Why are you here?"

Their consciousness gradually cleared up, and they looked at their accomplices in front of them with some confusion, and then some people gasped and touched the back of their heads, feeling a throbbing pain.

After a little communication, they found that they and the others had been slapped with a slap for some reason, and they were here when they woke up again.

The closed room was full of foul smell, and there were several kerosene lamps hanging on the roof, and the dim light illuminated the space to a certain extent, and the faces of several people suddenly changed wildly, and it was like an abandoned public toilet.

The floor and walls were covered with disgusting stains, dirty and smelly, and on the opposite side against the wall, there was a blackened toilet......

They were so sick that they didn't have time to think about it, and they tried to get up and leave this damn place first, but they didn't take a few steps before the sound of chains rubbing against each other sounded.

The five of them subconsciously looked down at the same time, only to see that one of each person's feet was shackled, and the chains locked them tightly to this side.

At this time, suddenly something strange rustling sounded -

They turned their heads to see a three-legged stool on the ground in the far middle of the enclosed space, on which a strange machine was placed.

A punched cassette was constantly pouring in a special player, transforming into a voice, as if a man had begun to speak, in a very flat, soothing tone.

"Good evening, everyone, you don't know me, but I know you. I want to play a game, in the toilet across from you, there's a key to unlock the shackles on your feet, all you have to do is put your hand in and take it out......"

"But be warned, the toilet is not what you think is disgusting, but an acid that I have specially configured, which will not only corrode your arms, but will also dissolve the key in three minutes, and the time you hear this is from the time you hear it, so be quick......"

"I know it's hard for you to make up your mind to put your hand in under three minutes, but that's okay, there's a hacksaw on the back of the toilet that you can use to cut your legs...... As a word of caution, you have to get out of this house within ten minutes, because I've added some gadgets to the room and in ten minutes it will be activated......"