The detective is dead, I did it.

Chapter 91 The Witch's Club is my home, I need to pay extra.

When Helena was brought here by Charlotte, her face clearly said, "I don't want to come."

She walked very slowly, about two steps behind Charlotte, like a large golden cat being pulled along by its owner on a leash, reluctant to go out.

Especially when she saw Li Ang leaning against the stone wall, staring straight at her, alarm bells began to ring in her heart.

"The person has been brought." Charlotte stopped in front of a cell, stepped aside to make way, but showed no intention of leaving.

Li Ang did not ask her to leave, after all, the other party also had the right to know some things.

Helena stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, and then approached, but her body was tense, as if she was ready to run away at any moment.

"Who is the witch?" Li Ang asked without any preamble or pleasantries.

Helena's lips twitched; she knew that was exactly what the other person wanted to ask.

"I have no idea."

Her answer was quick, as if she had prepared it in advance. After she finished speaking, she added a sentence as if she was worried that the two people in front of her would not believe her.

"The president didn't tell me. She just threw me in, gave me a counter's ID card, and told me, 'Behave yourself in the role I've assigned you.' That's all."

Li Ang looked at her, but did not immediately press for answers. Instead, his tone softened considerably.

"I helped you a lot at the Viscount's manor, you should remember that. If it weren't for me, if it weren't for Charlotte, you would have been in the Ministry of Security's jail long ago. You know better than I what the Ministry of Security is."

"We'll throw you in there, wait ten days or half a month, then find a day to hang you. We won't even bother writing a verdict."

Helena's body trembled slightly.

She knew perfectly well. In the century since the gates of hell opened, London had witnessed tens of thousands of supernatural disasters, both large and small.

Most cult members and superpowered criminals do not enjoy the treatment in the Association's prisons. They are thrown into the Department of Public Security's prisons, tortured for a period of time, and then hanged at some point.

After all, the association never sentences criminals to death; they are always imprisoned for hundreds of years until they die.

The specific reason is unknown, but there are rumors that it is related to the previous presidents.

Since Adler took office as the new chairman ten years ago, the rules in the prison have changed again.

It is said that a batch of prisoners who have been incarcerated for too long have begun to be dealt with, but those prisoners who have been incarcerated for less than fifty years have not changed much, and are still in single cells and given two meals a day.

As for how it was handled, no one dared to ask. It certainly wasn't going to be released again.

"You should know that sometimes when the police department doesn't have enough gallows, they skip the trial altogether, just strangle people to death in their cells and report it as 'suicide out of fear of punishment'."

Charlotte then added a comment from the side, clearly quite familiar with the methods of those in the Public Security Department, even remembering them in this special circumstance.

Li Ang continued, "It's your luck that you were imprisoned in the Association's jail. It's also thanks to Miss Charlotte's help. Not everyone has this kind of luck."

Charlotte gave Li Ang a strange look.

Did I actually help this witch in front of me?

On the other side, Helena knew that what the man in front of her said was true. She herself was a member of the Witch's Guild, and she had seen her companions who had been arrested by the Ministry of Public Security; most of them were executed on the spot.

She bit her lip, her expression extremely conflicted.

The two people in front of her, Leon and Charlotte, were decent people, at least among the detectives they had some humanity. But she also knew very well how terrifying her boss was; if she dared to betray him, she would probably die without even knowing how.

"I really don't know..." Her voice was muffled, as if it were squeezed out from deep in her throat, "And if the president finds out that I helped you, I'll definitely die a horrible death."

Li Ang didn't give up. A smile curved his lips, revealing a nostalgic expression. "Don't you really remember all those days? Back in the garden..."

"Don't you dare tell!" Helena's voice suddenly rose. "You damned bastard!"

She practically shouted those two sentences; if the place they had chosen hadn't been far enough away, it probably would have attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

This is the second time.

Charlotte stood to the side, her eyes lingering for a moment on Helena's flushed face before shifting to Leon.

She couldn't help but wonder what had happened in the garden that day.

Helena took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down, suppressing the blush on her face, and straightening her expression.

"I really don't know who the witch is." Her voice finally regained its composure, but her speech was much slower than before. "The student council president didn't tell me. But—I know the rules of this game."

Charlotte immediately picked up the conversation, forgetting her earlier curiosity, "What rules?"

"Those who die now are not truly dead." She pondered how far she should go before slowly beginning, "When the game ends, everyone will be accounted for. If you win, everyone killed by the witch and those voted out will be resurrected. If you lose, everyone dies, except for the witch."

Li Ang and Charlotte exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

"So, Bridget didn't die?" Leon asked.

"Who is Bridget?" Helena asked instinctively, then realized, "Oh, the unlucky guy who died on the first day? Yes. He's not really dead yet."

"Including those who were voted out for execution?" Charlotte asked immediately afterward.

"Yes. They're all executed after the game ends." Helena nodded. "But there are exceptions."

"What's the exception?"

"If the president personally participates in the game, the rules can be changed." She paused. "But you don't need to worry about that. The president shouldn't have time to participate in this game, after all, the whole of London is after her."

Although it might be a bit disrespectful to her own guild leader to say this, Helena had done her best to help the two people in front of her.

"What else?" Li Ang pressed.

Helena hesitated for a moment. "The witch's card doesn't say 'witch.' The president once said, 'A true hunter doesn't make himself look like a hunter.' You can't tell who the witch is not because she's good at hiding it, but because the word 'witch' isn't on her card at all."

Li Ang nodded. They had already verified this on the first day. Everyone's identity cards looked perfectly normal, except for his own, which had the words "witch" on them.

Especially now, it has completely become an identity card representing a witch.

"There's one more thing," Helena's voice lowered, "If the witch chooses to end the game herself, the trial will immediately cease. Everyone will return to reality."

"Can a witch end it on her own?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't know. It's not written on my ID card, nor in the rules. But the president said, 'Every game has ways to play outside the rules.'"

Li Ang remained silent for a moment, slowly absorbing the information Helena had revealed into his mind.

"There's another hidden rule," Helena's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Voting can be abstained from. Abstentions are not counted in the total votes. In case of a tie, no one will be executed that day; the night will proceed directly to the next.

"A tie, no one's going to be executed?" Charlotte frowned. "What will the witch do then?"

"The witch kills normally. Voting continues the next day. If there is a tie for five consecutive days, or if no one is eliminated due to voting for five consecutive days, the game enters the Judgment Day phase."

"Everyone is forced to reveal their identities, and the witch is directly exposed. However, the conditions for triggering Judgment Day are too harsh, and the voting mechanism is anonymous, so it has never been truly implemented so far."

Li Ang nodded and memorized all this information.

"There's another question," he changed the subject, "What exactly is your president, Rosalind, doing in London?"

Helena's expression changed instantly. She quickly waved her hands, her voice tinged with panic, "I really can't say anymore! Otherwise, the president really won't let me off the hook."

"All those past events, the affection in the garden..." Li Ang brought up that phrase again.

"Shut up!" Helena covered her face, her voice leaking through her fingers, muffled and tinged with despair. "I should have just killed you back then."

"Thank you." Li Ang smiled. "But you actually can't beat me, believe it or not?"

Helena looked up at him, her chest heaving violently several times, before finally covering her face again, her voice muffled in her palms.

"You don't understand... the president... she really would chop me into mincemeat. I'm not saying that, she really would. She'd use her power to chop me into mincemeat, then burn me to ashes, and then scatter the ashes into the Thames. Not even a bone would be left."

"It's alright." Li Ang's tone remained calm. "The association's prison will protect you."

Helena glared at him, annoyed. "I might as well beg the president for mercy. Maybe she'll be kind enough to let me go."

Li Ang thought for a moment, then changed his offer. "How about this? If you help us win this game, we can clear your name and remove you from the prison sentence. You can also leave the Witch's Guild and seek refuge at Holmes's house. What do you say?"

Helena's expression shifted slightly, and she blinked, as if seriously considering the possibility of the suggestion.

Charlotte frowned, looking at Leon. "Did Miss Holmes agree? Won't taking in a witch cause her trouble?"

"Then let me ask you," Leon looked at her. "If you were Sherlock Holmes, would you agree with my proposal?"

Charlotte answered without hesitation, "Of course I agree. In my opinion, this proposal is very worthwhile."

"That settles it then. Miss Holmes has already agreed."

Charlotte: ???

Helena's gaze darted back and forth between the two of them several times, her brows furrowing into a question mark. "What's wrong with her?" she asked, pointing at Charlotte and looking at Leon.

"His memories and identity are distorted," Li Ang shrugged. "What, didn't you notice?"

"I thought neither of you had been affected," Helena muttered, her expression somewhat complicated.

"So, what's your decision?" Li Ang brought the conversation back on track.

Helena remained silent for a long time. In fact, she hadn't been a member of the Witch's Guild for very long, didn't know many people, and didn't have any close friends.

Although the chairman gave her strength and a place to return to, she never felt that it was home. Instead, this home made her a wanted criminal comparable to a cult member.

Li Ang offered good terms—a new identity, a new life, no need to hide, no need to be afraid. The only thing to worry about was being killed by the enraged chairman.

But after this commotion, the president probably won't risk setting foot in London again, right? At least not in the short term.

If it happened a second time, she'd be ready to unleash a torrent of abuse on the detectives at the association. "You can't even detect someone of this caliber sneaking into London? You bunch of useless trash might as well all just kill yourselves!"

"You know..." Helena began, her voice slightly hoarse but incredibly sincere, "The Witch's Guild is my home. I can't betray my family."

Charlotte, observing Helena's hesitant demeanor, concluded in her mind: the negotiations had failed.

Sure enough, turning someone from the Witch's Guild to their side wasn't so easy.

However, Li Ang's next words surprised her.

"Then I'll give you another suitable identity."

Li Ang was not at all surprised by Helena's rejection. In his opinion, if she really had no interest at all, she wouldn't have been silent for so long.

"I'll personally go to the association president and apply for a legitimate British citizenship for you. A clean record, no one will know who you were in the past. As long as you don't commit any crimes, you'll never have to worry about being hunted down."

Helena looked up instantly, her eyes lighting up.

"make a deal."

Charlotte: ???

So you thought the conditions weren't right?

All those things I just said, like "The witch will be my home" and "I can't betray my family," are actually just bargaining.

Helena seemed to understand her expression, lowered her head slightly, and smiled with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"No matter how good the conditions are in the Association's prison, it's still a prison. Being a British citizen means freedom. I don't think anyone doesn't yearn for freedom."

Li Ang didn't dwell on the topic. "One last question. What exactly does Rosalind want to do in London?"

Helena's smile faded. This time, she didn't refuse and answered directly, "I'm looking for someone. Someone she's been looking for for many years."

"Who should I look for?"

"The child of the Mother of Truth. The offspring of the person killed by the detective sixteen years ago, who ended up in this world."

"Who is the other party?"

"I don't know." Helena shook her head honestly.

Seeing that the other party seemed genuinely unaware, Li Ang felt he had been taken advantage of.

But upon closer reflection, having an inside man wasn't such a bad deal, at least I could control the voting process.

As for agreeing to Helena's request, Li Ang felt it wouldn't be difficult to do so.

Now, this game has gathered more than a dozen detectives, all of whom are the future pillars of the association. Any normal person would know how to make a choice.

It's just giving a Sequence 7 witch a normal identity; compared to the detectives present, whose lowest rank is Sequence 7, it's utterly insignificant.

"Let's go." Seeing that the two had finished their conversation, Charlotte spoke up, "We should head back. Otherwise, they'll start to get suspicious."

Helena quickly followed Charlotte outside, but stopped at the door. "If you dare tell anyone about what happened in the garden, I'll fight you to the death."

"Sigh! What a heartless woman," Li Ang quipped, only to be met with a furious glare from her.

Charlotte, on the other hand, cast a curious glance at her.