The fog of malice has descended upon the streets of Penza, where a most peculiar and sinister crime has come to light. A poor woman, merely a passenger in a common omnibus, found herself the victim of a calculated attack that would make even the most hardened detective shudder.

As the carriage ground to a halt and the lady prepared to alight, a stranger—a man of unknown provenance—approached her. With a gesture that seemed, at first glance, a mere courtesy, he touched her shoulder blade, as if to nudge her toward the exit. She paid it no mind, thinking nothing of the gesture. But alas! Soon after, a searing agony bloomed upon her skin, a fire that no water could quench.

When the surgeons examined the wretched wound, the truth emerged: a chemical burn! Some aggressive, corrosive substance had been secreted upon the rogue's hand, burning through the lady's garments to sear the very flesh beneath. The poor soul has since sought the aid of the constabulary, though the villain has vanished into the smog like a ghost.

But mark this: this is no isolated misfortune. Another unfortunate damsel, frequenting the nocturnal revelries of a local club, tells a hauntingly similar tale of a sudden, caustic burn.

Indeed, the shadow of this chemistry-driven cruelty stretches far. Not long ago, in the grey mists of Saint Petersburg, a woman suffered a similar torment. She claimed her backside was scorched while riding the omnibus, suspecting that some devilish scoundrel had deliberately spilled a hazardous liquid upon the seat to ensnare the unwary.

One can only wonder what manner of madness drives these criminals to employ such invisible weapons, turning a simple journey into a descent into agony.