Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 101 Learning Makes Me Happy
Upon returning to the Fog City, Levi naturally wrote a report on the entire affair and submitted it to the old butler. However, he somewhat glossed over the issue of the Baskerville family's succession, refraining from giving a direct answer. After all, this was a secret of the Baskerville family, and Levi was unsure whether he should reveal everything, so he only wrote down vague speculations.

If Olivia wanted to tell the Queen, she would naturally do so; if Olivia didn't intend to tell the Queen, then Levi wouldn't be the one to tattle.

He wasn't particularly loyal to the Queen. Work was work, but he wasn't willing to dedicate himself to the Queen to the point of dying for her.

Moreover, since this was just speculation and Li Wei didn't have enough evidence to prove that his idea was correct, he presented it in a relatively objective way.

As for what the Queen thinks, that's her business.

The old butler also looked grave after reading the report.

"you sure?"

"Of course... I can't be sure."

Li Wei helplessly spread his hands.

"These things happened decades ago. The people involved are either dead or dead. I can't exactly dig up a dead person's bones from their grave to question them. I can only say that this is inference and speculation based on existing information and intelligence. Duchess Baskerville is currently conducting a large-scale investigation and crackdown on Luddite remnants in the Delicat region. Perhaps she can still find some clues or something."

"Yes, Luddism was indeed rampant at the time."

Upon hearing Li Wei's answer, the old butler nodded, a nostalgic expression on his face.

"The invention of the steam engine at the time made us all think that we had found the key to human progress and civilization. Of course, we knew that this would come at a cost. But for the sake of the empire, we had to do it."

"Perhaps you should have paid more attention to those groups affected by the steam engine at that time."

"Hehehe."

The old butler chuckled in response to Li Wei's suggestion.

"Believe me, Mr. Levi, that's exactly what we thought, and that's exactly what we intended to do at the time."

"But you don't have any?"

"Because the Luddite movement broke out."

At this point, the old butler's expression turned serious.

"The royal family is beyond question and cannot be desecrated. The empire must never bow to thugs!"

"Oh ho."

Li Wei shrugged and remained silent; he understood what the old steward meant. Perhaps the royal family had indeed considered how to properly resettle the workers replaced and affected by the steam engine, but with the outbreak of the Luddite movement, they immediately abandoned the idea.

Just as the old butler said, in this era, the dignity and glory of the royal family are supreme. Do you think you can subdue the royal family by smashing a few steam engines, burning down a few factories, or killing a few people? Absolutely not!
Ordinary people in this era had virtually no human rights, while for the royal family, dignity and honor were clearly more important than thousands of mobs.

Moreover, from the royal family's perspective, they weren't wrong in doing so—making our own decisions and making decisions under duress from the Luddite riots are two completely different things. Even if the royal family had plans to accommodate those workers before, they absolutely could not make the same plans after the Luddite movement broke out.

Otherwise, wouldn't this prove that the royal family is afraid of those commoners? If the latter were to engage in looting, arson, and other unethical activities, would the royal family then have to obediently listen to them?
What a joke! This is outrageous! Absolutely not!
Therefore, even if the royal family were to completely abandon these workers and watch them die, they would never leave the impression that they had succumbed to the Luddite movement.

Of course, in Li Wei's opinion, things weren't that simple; there might be a lot of political calculations and conspiracies involved. But... he couldn't be bothered with such things. He was just a detective; he only needed to do his job and didn't want to concern himself with anything else.

"However, we are indeed facing many problems right now."

The old butler quickly changed the subject and also stopped dwelling on past events from his childhood.

“According to our investigation, the Empire is currently facing an unprecedented threat. In fact, the cases you have experienced before are all part of this.”

At this point, the old butler lowered his voice.

“We have reason to believe that the Holy Catholic Church, together with the remnants of Luddism, is attempting to create turmoil and panic within the Empire through these bizarre rituals and monsters. Moreover, the Franciscan Republic may very well have also been involved.”

"Oh?"

Li Wei wasn't too surprised by this, after all... the bishop who turned into a feathered monster was a Franciscan.

"And in a while, there may be a major operation that requires your assistance."

"A major operation?"

"Yes."

The old butler placed a newspaper in front of Li Wei—not one of their own, but the Daily News Mail. Li Wei curiously took it and glanced at the headline.

"Imperial trade suffers setbacks; tea industry in the Melesia region faces a predicament?"

Li Wei glanced at the newspaper headlines; the contents were quite interesting. In short, the Melesia region was refusing the Empire's tea trade, which had even led to demonstrations and clashes. Moreover, the conflict had escalated to a fever pitch, with some Melesians even boarding merchant ships and dumping all the tea onto the sea.

Hmm...it looks kind of familiar?

"This conflict appears to be caused by the dumping of tea, but it is not that simple. According to the intelligence department's investigation, there is currently a hidden movement in the Melesia region, attempting to break away from the Empire and seek independence."

At this point, the old butler's expression also turned serious.

Unlike the world of Livy, the empire in this world is a powerful nation encompassing both land and sea. It doesn't possess vast colonies like the empire of Livy's past. Instead, it prioritizes land power, with the sea as a secondary focus, and its main territory is its own land. Previously, during the empire's decline, there was a period of division and independence, but at that time, the empire was too weak to address these issues.

However, the empire is currently on the rise due to the steam revolution, and such a thing cannot be tolerated if it happens again.

"The so-called tea dumping is just their excuse. They openly claim that drinking the empire's tea is equivalent to being exploited and oppressed by the empire... The meaning of this is already very clear."

"But this has nothing to do with us, does it?"

MI7, to put it bluntly, specializes in dealing with mysterious incidents. Melisia's attempt to gain independence is indeed a big deal, but in Levi's view, it's none of his business. It should be more of an intelligence department or military issue.

"Logically, that's how it should be. However, during this period, Imperial officials in the Melisia region have been dying one after another. On-site investigations show that they either died in accidents or from sudden illnesses. But clearly, this is not enough to explain the problem. Therefore, we suspect that it is very likely that someone there used some mysterious power to cause this."

"I see."

Hearing this, Li Wei immediately understood. Indeed, whether the other party was independent or not was none of his business.

But if they're using some kind of mysterious power, then it'll be related to me. "We've already dispatched two investigation teams to the Melesia region. Once they make a discovery, it'll be time for you to step in."

Li Wei is now practically an ace in MI7, much like those famous detectives. Ordinary petty theft cases are no longer their responsibility; when they do take on a case, it's a major, serious one. Li Wei is aware of this and actually thinks it's a good thing.

After all, he was only one person; he couldn't possibly handle all the cases in the entire empire.

"So I hope you stay in Chongqing during this time and don't leave, so we can keep in touch."

In this day and age, there are no cell phones. If things aren't clearly stated and confirmed beforehand, someone might just disappear and become impossible to find.

"No problem, I'll be staying at the Imperial Library for the time being."

What are you doing at the Imperial Library?

"Read more books and study more."

"It's not wrong for young people to be diligent and eager to learn."

The old butler nodded, then spoke again in a low voice.

"By the way, I should let you know in advance that because of your outstanding performance at the Imperial Bridge and the Baskerville family, Her Majesty the Queen has decided to award you a medal at the New Year's banquet at the end of the year."

Every year at the end of the year, when the royal family holds a New Year's banquet, the Queen awards honors to outstanding citizens of the Empire. These honors may include medals or titles of nobility.

"Is there such a good thing?"

Li Wei was somewhat surprised.

"Of course, the empire will not mistreat its meritorious officials. Keep up the good work."

Li Wei chuckled in response to the old butler's words.

This is just empty promises; it's true that no matter the era or the world, what humans do remains largely unchanged.

Of course, despite the complaints, Li Wei wouldn't give up, after all, he earned it with his life.

After that, Li Wei chatted with the old butler for a few more minutes, then left the editorial department and went to the office located in the underground MI7 headquarters, where he found... Benjamin.

"Oh? So, all my guesses were correct?"

Benjamin was quite excited. He had already read Levy's report on Little Red Riding Hood and the Baskerville family incident. He cared nothing for the other details; he only cared whether the weapons he had designed had worked. Now it seemed that the bullets he had designed hadn't been wasted, which greatly excited Benjamin.

"So far, they're all quite useful, but I think we could further enhance their armor-piercing and penetration capabilities."

Li Wei also made his own request. In his view, the biggest problem with those monsters was their thick hide and tough flesh, making them difficult to penetrate. Therefore, he hoped that Benjamin could focus on armor-piercing techniques. After all, once their defenses were broken, the rest would be no problem for Li Wei.

But if you can't break through the defenses, then all the fancy stuff is just like setting off fireworks—completely useless.

"Armor-piercing... um... are we running out of armor-piercing rounds?"

"It's still a bit lacking in power."

"But as far as the caliber is concerned, adjusting the power is really a bit... um... I can see if I can start with the rifle bullets and make some adjustments."

"Then please."

After talking with Benjamin, Levi went to check on Mr. Richard and Ms. Windsor. Mr. Richard was engrossed in his books, researching various legends and records from the Melesia region. Ms. Windsor wasn't there; she had apparently gone back to teaching today.

After wandering around MI7, Li Wei arrived at the Imperial Library to begin his... scholarly endeavors.

The Imperial Library is one of the most famous buildings in the city, resembling a sacred, enormous church. The symbol of the All-Seeing Eye is carved at the top of the building, signifying God's bestowal of knowledge upon humanity.

Inside the Imperial Library, tens of thousands of books are neatly arranged on bookshelves that reach three stories high. Many citizens of the Empire even proudly declare that the Imperial Library possesses the most comprehensive collection of books on the entire continent.

The heavy desks were polished to a shine, and the entire library was bright and airy, truly resembling a temple of knowledge.

Li Wei chose to start with the folklore and mythology section, since his current work inevitably involved dealing with various local myths and legends. While he could simply ask the locals, wouldn't it be more convenient to prepare beforehand?

These books were also quite interesting to Li Wei.

Folklore and mythology are inherently strange and fascinating, but the problem doesn't end there. Li Wei discovered that every time he finished reading a book, its contents would appear verbatim in his mind.

Just like the "library" trait granted by his special skill, Li Wei felt that his brain was now a library. When he read a book, he would memorize it in his brain's library. And as long as Li Wei could retrieve that book from his brain, he could easily recall all its contents.

He could even remember which page and which line it was.

Learning like this is so enjoyable!

As Li Wei flipped through the book, he sighed with emotion. In the past, when he heard people say "learning makes me happy," he always thought they were just showing off. After all, learning is such a painful thing, how could it possibly be enjoyable?

But now it seems that if you can remember everything you see, even every single word in every line, and memorize it completely without the pain of rote learning, then learning really is all about enjoyment.

Of course, mathematics is still an exception ┓(`)┏.

"Feel sorry."

Just as Li Wei was completely absorbed in the joy of reading, a clear, cool voice rang out. Li Wei turned his head and saw a girl wearing glasses standing beside him.

"Could I borrow this book?"

"This one?"

Li Wei glanced at the "Records of Mysterious Species of the Empire" lying beside him.

"of course can."

　It's so hot, I'm writing slower and slower, sob sob sob.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)