Chapter 191: The Second Victim

“Err… it happened 24 days after the first murder case…”

“24 days? No no no!” Chen Xiaolian quickly said. “The time given by the system is 48 hours! In other words, I believe that the system will let Jack the Ripper’s story repeat itself within 48 hours. Within these 48 hours, the murderer will continuously commit murders! It will not involve so many days. That is the time limit given by the system!”

“So, within these 48 hours, we need to catch Jack the Ripper before he could finish completing his work. Otherwise, we will fail the quest,” the smart Phoenix was quick to understand Chen Xiaolian’s meaning.

“The matter is now clear,” Chen Xiaolian slapped his right fist into his left palm heavily. “We need to catch Jack the Ripper as soon as possible. The fastest way to do so would be to get to the scene of the second murder! This is the best opportunity for us! Mr Colombo, is there an accurate record on the time and location of the second murder case?”

“The second murder case is also near Whitechapel. The location is… Whitechapel’s merchandise storage area,” Colombo inspected the present-day map and said, “Err, the place had been demolished. It is now… a park. As for the time… 24 days after the first case… 3.45 in the morning.”

“There is no need to consider the number of days. The time… 3.45 in the morning? Are you certain?”

“The time was a deduction made by the police through the inspection of the deceased’s corpse. Although it cannot be said to be very accurate… it should not be too far off from the correct time.”

“Damn it!” Chen Xiaolian glanced at the clock in the room.

It was now 3.21 in the morning!

Clearly, the same thought had occurred to Phoenix and she said, “You mean…”

“The date might not be the same, but the time may likely be the same!” Chen Xiaolian had already jumped up. “No matter what, there is no harm is checking it out!”

Everyone there understood the intentions of the two Guild Leaders.

“There is still 20 minutes. Will we make it?” asked a frowning Chen Xiaolian.

“We’ll have to try!” Phoenix stood up. “Let’s move out! What are you waiting for?”

Chen Xiaolian looked at Colombo and suddenly said, “Mr Colombo… I want to ask you to come with us. We may need your expertise… however, I will not force you. After all, there is the possibility of encountering danger…”

“What a joke! I cannot give up the opportunity to be part of the scene where we capture Jack the Ripper!” The forensic expert was excited and he continued, “I have been researching this case for more than five years!”

By then, he had already grabbed a coat that was hanging on the wall. “Do I need to drive?”

…

The two cars raced through the night streets of London. They were clearly going over the speed limit. However, this was not the time to worry about that!

If Roddy had participated in the instance dungeon, Chen Xiaolian would certainly have Roddy summon out the Mech! The Mech’s lowest speed of flight was at least higher than the subsonic speed!

Even so, the car throttle was pressed down until it reached the bottom!

The city of London was actually not too big and there was no traffic jam at night. Their two cars sped for less than 10 minutes before re-entering the Whitechapel area.

Following Colombo’s instructions, the cars were parked by a street located not far away from a park.

Several years ago, the London government built the small park to add more greenery to the city as part of the initiative to welcome the Olympic Games. It looked relatively new and the maintenance done on it was also fairly well done.

It was then 3.36 in the morning.

They got off the car and ran toward the park.

“Split up! Surround the park!” Phoenix’s suggestion received Chen Xiaolian’s approval.

The Titan brothers headed east while Monster and Dagger headed west. As for Lun Tai and Bei Tai, they headed south and north respectively.

The four of them waited in ambush.

The two Guild Leaders, Chen Xiaolian and Phoenix brought Dr Mu and Colombo with them as they entered the park.

“Later, no matter what happens, do not panic and do not run around! Remember to follow close by and not get left behind. I will endeavour to ensure your safety,” Chen Xiaolian glanced at both Dr Mu and Colombo. “Naturally, this woman will also do her best to protect you two.”

Phoenix revealed a faint smile and she suddenly forwarded a question, “Mr Colombo, what is the name of the second victim?”

“Mary Ann Nichols,” Colombo answered quickly, “Likewise, she was a female prostitute. In fact, all of Jack the Ripper’s victims were female prostitutes.”

…

London itself was not that huge. As for the park, it was not as big as those parks found in China.

The surface area of the small park was only about two to three acres. Converting the measurement into China’s domestic units, it would be around tens of mǔ [1].

If not for the fact that the park was planted with an abundant amount of trees and had some buildings built within it, they would have been able to spot the corners of the park with just a glance.

By then, it was already 3.40 in the morning. There was roughly only about 5 minutes of time before the murderer made his move.

The group with Chen Xiaolian, Phoenix walked quickly through the park’s road.

Although it was early in the morning, the park was not devoid of people. They encountered a suspicious woman at the entrance of the park.

She wore heavy makeup and a leather coat that was obviously cool when worn. When Chen Xiaolian was walking past her, she opened up her coat to reveal a body wearing sexy *** [2]. She smiled and said, “Mr, are you looking for some fun? I can do anything. For twenty pounds, we can do it on the bench in the park. If you are willing to pay an additional 10 pounds, I have an apartment nearby. There is hot shower available.”

Chen Xiaolian took one glance at the woman and ignored her – she was a black woman. Clearly, she was not the target.

“This was once a slums area after all. Some street girls will come here at night to look for business… the police couldn’t do much against this situation,” Colombo said with a wry smile. “However, it is rare for any of them to be here at this time. At this hour, those female prostitutes would usually have gotten off work or having returned after scoring a transaction.”

“Shh!”

Chen Xiaolian suddenly made a gesture to shut him up.

Chen Xiaolian was able to see a woman sitting on a bench in the park some distance away.

The woman had blond hair… there was a high possibility that she had dyed her hair.

She was a Caucasian, not too tall and dressed in very gaudy clothes. The same was true about her make up.

Most importantly, the woman’s age was not small. She was likely over 30 years old, perhaps even 40 years old.

From the way she was dressed, she too, appeared to be a streetwalker.

“Could that be her?” Chen Xiaolian pointed to the distance as he asked Colombo in a low tone. The four of them hid behind a clump of bushes.

“I don’t know…” Colombo strained his eyes to look – he was an ordinary person whose eye sight was not as good as Chen Xiaolian’s. He said, “She should be a streetwalker… these females will compete for business. The younger ones with better business will seize a good spot by the street while the older ones with less business will be relegated to low quality areas.”

Chen Xiaolian thought about it and was about to take a step forward when –

“What do you want to do?” asked Phoenix. She frowned and stopped him. Phoenix whispered, “It would be better for us to wait here. She is the only one inside this park! It has to be her! If that is the case, Jack the Ripper will appear soon. We’ll just wait for him to arrive and catch him. If you going up there end up beating the bush to startle the snake [3], then what?”

Chen Xiaolian’s eyebrows were raised and he said, “All right.”

Quietly, the four of them moved forward until they were at a distance of 30 m from the woman. They hid inside a clump of bushes… unfortunately; they were unable to get any closer. They were no other place for them to hide.

Chen Xiaolian looked at the time. It was already 3.44 in the morning!

The cold wind of the night caused both Dr Mu and Colombo to shrink their necks. That was especially true of Colombo who was only wearing a trench coat. The temperature was also very low. Colombo’s entire body was trembling. It was unknown if he was trembling due to the cold or excitement.

The four of them waited patiently in the bushes… …

However, after ten minutes had passed, everything remained silent. Nothing abnormal occurred.

“It is already 3.55 in the morning,” said a frowning Phoenix. “The time has passed.”

“Perhaps the time recorded in history is just an estimate. There could be errors. Let’s wait some more,” said Chen Xiaolian.

However, after a quarter of an hour passed… it was already 4.10 in the morning…

Traces of brightness had begun to appear in the sky above.

The woman sitting on the bench stood up and shook her leg. It appeared that she too, felt very cold.

She paced around for a bit before lighting herself a cigarette.

“Bloody Hell, it’s almost 4.30…” said Colombo as he shivered.

From the looks of it, the woman too, was able to wait no more. She tossed the cigarette down the ground and stamped on it. Cursing out in a whisper, she then left with an unwilling expression.

The direction she took happened to lead her toward them.

“What should we do? She is about to leave,” asked Phoenix in a low tone.

Chen Xiaolian thought about it for a moment. Then, he suddenly pulled Colombo up with him and the two of them walked out from the clump of bushes. They walked toward the woman.

Seeing the two men coming over, the woman’s eyes lit up and she immediately stopped walking. In an instant, she put on what she considered to be the most sultry appearance as she deliberately pulled back the skirt of her coat, exposing one bare leg out.

“Gentlemen, looking for some fun? In such a cold weather…” said the woman. Her eyes were fixed onto both Chen Xiaolian and Colombo as she continued, “Or… we can do a threesome, I can do that.”

Chen Xiaolian purposely halted, Colombo as well. He then looked at the woman.

Looking at her up close, he could see that the woman’s face was aging. Not even the thick makeup could cover the wrinkles on her eye area.

Chen Xiaolian took a step forward and spoke loudly, “Woman! We are the police! Now, we want to check your credentials!”

“… …what?”

Chen Xiaolian forcefully nudged Colombo, surprising him. However, Colombo reacted quickly and produced something from his pocket, which he quickly flashed before the woman. There was something that looked like a metal badge on it.

“See?” Chen Xiaolian deliberately spoke out in a cold voice. “Do you have any credential that can prove your identity? Please cooperate!”

“Damn it! I did not do anything!” said the woman. She appeared somewhat timid and she vigilantly stepped back, seemingly wanting to escape. However, she looked at the two men in front, and looked at the high heels that she was wearing and bit her lips. “I… ... I did not do anything! Don’t try to scare me! I know my rights! I am a citizen! I am a taxpayer!”

“Enough! Show us your credentials!” shouted Colombo.

The woman was livid but there was nothing she could do. She could only dig through her handbag. “I… I brought my driving license.”

Chen Xiaolian was quick to grab over her driving license. He looked at it before handing it to Colombo.

Colombo’s eyes turned wide.

Name ...

Mary Ann Nichols.

The second victim in history!

…

1 One mǔ is one fifteenth of a hectare.↩

2 The *** is what is in the Qidian raws. Maybe the author wants you all to use your imagination. ↩

3 ‘Beating the bush to startle the snake’ means to act rashly and alert the enemy. It is also sometimes used as a strategy to force the enemy to make a move.↩