Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 113 Speed ​​of Life and Death

It must be said that the lookouts on the North Star are very responsible.

The moment he saw the iceberg, he immediately sounded the alarm. The crew reacted swiftly, almost instantly!

"Hard to right! Full speed reverse!"

Upon hearing the alarm bell, the captain went up to the deck, glanced at the distant iceberg, and issued orders as quickly as possible.

Given the current distance between the iceberg and the North Star, it is clearly possible to dodge it if handled properly.

However…………

"It won't turn!"

The helmsman's answer, however, made the captain, who was in command, gasp.

What does "can't turn" mean?

"I don't know, it seems like something... is stuck!"

The helmsman was also covered in sweat, desperately trying to turn the helm, but the helm in his hands did not move at all, as if it were carved from stone!
"Damn it, what's going on! Let me handle this!"

The captain shoved the helmsman aside and took the helm himself. To his surprise, no matter how much force he used, the helm wouldn't budge an inch! The helm, which should have turned smoothly, remained completely still and couldn't be moved even slightly!
Not only that... the captain was surprised to find that the Arctic Star's speed had not slowed down at all and was still moving forward at full speed!
At the same time, the communication bell behind me rang rapidly, sounding like a chilling suona horn beating down my spine.

"Engine room! What's going on? Didn't I tell you to slow down?!"

"The valve is malfunctioning! It can't release pressure!"

"What!?"

While everyone was busy and flustered by this sudden incident, Li Wei followed the second mate down the stairs and headed to the mail bay as fast as possible.

"Why not take the elevator, Detective?"

As they descended the stairs, the second mate asked loudly.

“We have a dedicated elevator for employees; we can get down there quickly…”

"Do you believe that as soon as we get on the elevator, that thing will trap us inside and kill us?"

Li Wei followed closely behind the second mate, and asked in return.

"Uh, you mean..."

In the past, the second mate might not have understood what Li Wei was trying to say, but he had also experienced strange events in first class earlier that night, and coupled with Li Wei's words at this moment...

"You wouldn't be suggesting that this is the vengeful spirit of Lady Porto at work, would you...?"

People who make a living at sea are already terrified of all sorts of superstitions, and coupled with the previous eerie ghost incidents and the strange happenings in the cabin now, the second mate was immediately thrown into a panic. Thinking about it, it was obvious that things couldn't be that simple; after all, how could the ship suddenly have so many malfunctions? And all this just when an iceberg appeared ahead?
Could it be that this ship is truly cursed?
"If you don't want to die, do as I say. Hurry, there's no time!"

"Yes!"

At this moment, the second mate was also desperately swinging his legs, running downhill at top speed.

The mail compartment was located at the very bottom of the ship. Since it was used for transporting goods, its status wasn't much higher than that of fuel and supplies. From the deck to the bottom, it was only about four or five stories high, and the two of them reached the bottom of the compartment in no time.

"It's just ahead; the mail compartment is just past this door!"

The second mate, silently calculating the distance between the Arctic Star cruise ship and the iceberg, was filled with fear and unease. He opened the cabin door as quickly as possible and rushed into the corridor with Li Wei. However, the next moment, the second mate involuntarily stopped in his tracks.

"What, what's going on?"

In front of the second mate, on the path leading to the mail compartment, stood dozens of people. They looked like workers from the lower compartments, but at that moment, these workers were holding steel pipes, shovels, and other implements, blocking their way.

“You…are not allowed…to go…”

The leading man stared at the second mate and spoke in a low growl.

"Get out of the way! That's an order! Get out of the way immediately!"

As the second mate spoke, he picked up his whistle and blew it loudly. Logically, as the second mate, blowing the whistle meant an emergency, and everyone had to obey his orders. But to the second mate's surprise, the workers, upon hearing the whistle, not only did not back away, but instead turned to look at them and raised their tools.

Then, they walked towards the two of them in silence.

"You, what do you want to do!"

Seeing the strange behavior of the workers in front of him, the second mate also frightenedly pulled out his pistol and aimed it at them.

"Don't come any closer! That's an order! Do you hear me? Or I'll shoot!"

Even facing the dark muzzles of guns, these workers showed no sign of flinching. Like fearless robots, they continued forward. Seeing this, the second mate trembled, completely at a loss for what to do.

"Get out of the way, I'll do it!"

Seeing the second mate's trembling appearance, Li Wei didn't hesitate. He reached out and grabbed the second mate's shoulder, pulling him behind him and raising the persuader. At the same time, the workers, as if they had discovered something, screamed and rushed towards them with their tools!

At that moment, the world before Li Wei's eyes began to slow down dramatically. Simultaneously, the trajectory of the projectile appeared in his field of vision as a tangible orbit. [Eye of Death]!
[Bouncing Shot]!
"Bang bang!!"

Gunshots rang out, and whistling bullets flew from the muzzle, grazing the workers' bodies and hitting the deck behind them before bouncing off course again.

"Whoa—!"

In just a moment, the workers who had been so aggressive and wielding tools were seen screaming and falling to the ground, clutching their arms and wailing in pain.

"This, this is..."

"Don't worry, they won't die. Let's go!"

Li Wei pulled the second mate along and ran forward again. In shooting games, the protagonist can be hit directly by a bullet and not even fall down, but in reality, even a graze from a bullet is serious for many people. Not to mention that Li Wei was using a revolver; even a graze would be enough to incapacitate the opponent for a short time.

Of course, injury is inevitable, but in the current situation, it is obvious which is more serious: injury or death!

Soon, the two passed through a group of workers wailing and rolling on the ground, arriving at the mail compartment. The second mate quickly took out a key, opened the mail compartment door, and then Li Wei darted inside. Simultaneously, he activated [Soul Vision] to search for the mysterious item hidden there… Found it!

Li Wei quickly identified one of the iron chests that looked about the size of a treasure chest. He swiftly approached the chest, and without hesitation, fired a shot to break the lock, then opened the chest.

Then, Li Wei saw what was inside the box... a ship in a bottle?

That's right, inside that metal box was a ship in a bottle. Li Wei had seen this kind of artwork in his own world. It was a ship inside a bottle, which looked quite magical and interesting.

As a work of art, it's quite good.

But right now, it has become the ship's nightmare.

Li Wei stared at the ship in the bottle and raised his gun without hesitation—he didn't even need to consider whether he had the wrong target; apart from the burning sensation from the ring on his finger, the shape of the ship was enough to explain everything.

It looks almost exactly like the Arctic Star!
Facing the gun barrel, the boat in the bottle seemed to sense some kind of danger. The waves inside continued to surge, as if in a death throes... Before it could make any further move, Levi had already pulled the trigger.

"boom!!"

The bullet pierced the bottle mercilessly, shattering it to pieces, and the model inside was also completely destroyed. Immediately afterward, Li Wei felt a red light emerge from his ring, enveloping the model fragments. Then, a bright red dot flew out from the model and silently entered Li Wei's ring.

There's one too?

Li Wei glanced at the ring beside him, a question lingering in his mind, but he quickly composed himself and turned to the second mate.

"Notify the deck immediately, the ship should be under control now!"

"Ah, yes!!"

The second mate also hurriedly turned on the communication bell in the mail compartment, and the communication was established a moment later.

"This is the mail bay. We've solved the problem, and we can now steer the ship!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Hurry up, there's no time!"

Upon hearing the second mate's words, the captain was completely bewildered, but he still hurriedly issued another order—after all, the iceberg was almost upon them!

"Hard to right, slow down, let's try again!"

"Yes!"

The helmsman naturally heard the conversation in the communication bell, and at that moment he gripped the rudder again—and then forcefully turned the ship.

"It's ready to operate!"

After turning the rudder to its lowest point, the helmsman reported loudly. At the same time, the captain also sensed that the North Star was rapidly slowing down!
Can you make it?

Gazing at the iceberg in the distance, the captain clenched his fists, his eyes fixed intently on the approaching iceberg… He had already given the orders; now it was all up to them. No matter what, they had to save the ship! If they were lucky, they might escape unscathed!
The massive bow of the Arctic Star slowly turned, slowing its pace as it drew closer to the iceberg. At the same time, its bow did indeed change direction, and then…

"———————!"

The ship rocked slightly as it passed the iceberg.

"call……………"

At that moment, the captain also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Immediately check the condition of each cabin! Proceed at one-quarter speed!"

"Yes!"

As the iceberg whizzed past the ship, the captain felt a surge of relief at surviving the ordeal, followed by a wave of doubt.

What the hell is going on?

(End of this chapter)