Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 125 Fulfilling the Mission
The battle continued into the early hours of the morning. With the arrival of reinforcements to the fortress, the militia realized that the situation was hopeless and ultimately had no choice but to retreat.

Li Wei and his men returned to the governor's mansion with the reinforcements and reported the whole story to Governor Geller.

"Intelligence leaked? How could that be?"

Upon learning what had happened, Governor Geller was equally incredulous.

"This plan was finalized by me! I didn't tell anyone!"

"But the fact is, the other side did know about our operation, so we can only assume that it was an intelligence leak."

Li Wei sat on the sofa, leisurely sipping his tea, and began to speak.

"Governor, are you sure you haven't told anyone?"

"I'm pretty sure!"

"Even if it's just an idea, without any concrete measures? Are you really sure? You haven't told anyone, have you?"

"...What do you mean by that, Mr. Li Wei?"

Governor Geller stared at Levi with a grave expression.

"That's exactly what I meant, Governor."

Li Wei toyed with the teacup, his expression calm.

“I’ve handled many cases, and often the real killers are the kind of people you can never guess will commit a crime. In my eyes, since this has happened, it’s as if a case has already been solved, so there must be a suspect. So I’ll ask you again, Governor.”

Li Wei stared into Governor Geller's eyes and asked, word by word.

"Are you sure you haven't told anyone any part of this plan?"

"………………………"

This time, Governor Geller fell silent.

"...I have mentioned some of my thoughts on this to my wife."

"Oh ho."

"But she's not a rebel, she..."

Is your wife an Imperial?

"No, she is Melician."

"Yes, that's enough."

Li Wei put down his teacup.

"As a Melician, it seemed only natural for her to help her fellow countrymen fight against the empire."

"She's just a woman! She simply doesn't have that kind of ability!"

"Whether you have the ability or not is not up to you to decide, Governor Geller."

Levi clearly didn't care about Governor Geller's rebuttal.

“I’ve even seen girls who wouldn’t kill an insect turn out to be murderers, so your argument doesn’t apply to me. In my opinion, anyone who could potentially leak information is a suspect. I even suspect that your current conservative approach to the rebels might be influenced by your wife.”

"this……………"

Faced with Livy's incisive question, Governor Geller was momentarily speechless. Indeed, as the governor appointed by the council, he should have followed the council's orders and vigorously cracked down on the rebels. However, his wife, Margaret, kept reassuring him, saying that the rebels were just ordinary people who had risen up in anger because they could no longer endure the empire's tax burden.

Therefore, Margaret hoped that Governor Geller would not confront the rebels directly or engage in excessive confrontation in order to avoid further bloodshed.

Governor Geller initially thought his wife's words made sense, but after hearing what Levy said...

"You, you have no evidence..."

He himself felt that he didn't have much confidence when he said those words.

"I have no evidence, but you can."

"?"

"On the way back, I chatted with the militiamen out of boredom and learned quite a bit about their situation."

In the latter half of the night, the imperial army won a great victory, and in doing so, captured some militiamen. Li Wei, bored, chatted with them and learned about their origins.

"Most of these militiamen come from the surrounding areas, so if you want to confirm whether your wife is the one who leaked the information, you can simply tell her that this battle shows that local militia organizations have become enemies of the Empire. Then you can choose any place and say that you want to retaliate against the militia organizations there. As for the specifics of how to do it, you can say whatever you want, the harsher the better. Then you just need to send someone to check the situation there, and you'll know whether Mrs. Geller leaked the information."

At this point, Li Wei paused, looking at Governor Geller, whose expression was uncertain.

"Of course, that is, provided that you don't reveal this plan to anyone else."

"…………………"

Governor Geller remained silent, but Levi didn't care; after all, it was his business and had nothing to do with him.

But Li Wei still had his own things to do.

"By the way, there is something I wanted to ask you. Are there any indigenous tribes or anything like that in the Melesia region?"

"Indigenous tribe?"

"Yes."

Li Wei nodded. Last night, during his battle with the Phantom Assassin, the situation was urgent and he hadn't thought much about it. However, when Li Wei reviewed the battle afterward, he noticed a distinctive feature of the guy. His face was covered in strange, dark patterns, not like any cult markings, but more like the kind of paint used by primitive tribes.

That's the advantage of having a photographic memory. No matter what you see, it's like you have a camera in your eyes. When you want to recall something, you can just open the memory video and search frame by frame. You're sure to find clues.

"Um…………………"

Governor Geller stared at the map, pondered for a moment, and then clapped his hands.

"Speaking of which, I did hear from border patrol soldiers that there seems to be a tribe living in the Oren Mountains."

"The Oren Mountains?"

“This is it.” As he spoke, Governor Geller pointed to a long mountain range in the northeast corner of the map.

"This is the Imperial border, separated by the Orens Mountains. On the other side, there's only ice and snow. I once received a report from the local border patrol that there are natives living in these mountains. Occasionally, the locals would exchange goods with them, but because it's so remote, I haven't paid any attention to them..."

"It is indeed quite far."

Li Wei compared the distance between his location and the mountain range, and frowned.

"Forget it, I'll use an easier way to solve this problem."

"?"

Governor Geller paused for a moment upon hearing Li Wei's words.

"you mean………?"

"What orders did Parliament give you, Governor Geller?"

"Suppress the Melesian rebellion and immediately arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, the heads of the local council."

"Alright, issue an arrest warrant and I'll go make the arrest."

"……………Why?"

“Samuel Adams and John Hancock are suspected of treason, aren’t they? It’s perfectly normal to arrest them according to the law—so I can just go and make the arrests, after all, that’s part of my job.”

"this……………"

Governor Geller was speechless in the face of Li Wei's words.

“You may not realize the gravity of the situation, Mr. Levy. According to my intelligence, these two have already fled to Ferhart City, where they are about to hold the Second Continental Congress. That’s the heart of the rebels’ territory. Do you really intend to just walk into the Continental Congress and announce their arrest?”

"That's what I think, is there a problem?"

Levi looked at Governor Geller as if he were a fool.

"Regardless of whether they are rebels or not, Melisia is still imperial territory. They have not yet declared independence. Therefore, it is only natural and reasonable for me to arrest imperial suspects in accordance with imperial law on imperial territory. If they refuse to abide by imperial law, then it is a de facto rebellion. As the governor of Melisia and the commander-in-chief of the garrison, it is normal for you to lead troops to quell the rebellion."

"No... that's true, but..."

Faced with Livy's words, Governor Geller was momentarily at a loss for words. Indeed, if we disregard reality and only discuss theory and law, Livy's words are entirely correct; that is the very point.

The problem lies in the current situation in Melicia…

Seeing Governor Geller's hesitation, Levi remained calm and composed. The current situation in Melisia was that the rebels wanted to buy time to gain more supplies and manpower, which was why they were reluctant to officially break ties with the Empire. However, in Levi's view, delaying would only lead to unforeseen complications, so he decided to floor the accelerator and charge directly at the Continental Council.

If the other party resists arrest, it constitutes actual rebellion, and no amount of explanation will help.

On imperial territory, you don't even abide by imperial laws. What else could you be thinking if not to rebel?
If the other side is willing to swallow their pride, then Li Wei doesn't care. What can a leaderless rebel army do?
From last night's skirmish, Li Wei had realized that the current rebel army was a disorganized and undisciplined mess, making them the perfect target for dismantling. Dealing with these rebels would be a breeze for Li Wei.

After all, Melesia's rebellion wasn't like those peasant uprisings in history, where people were driven to desperation and starvation was the only option. On the contrary, Melesia had no intention of paying taxes to the empire!
He had reviewed historical records. During the Seven Years' War between the Empire and the Francis Republic—then the Francis Kingdom—the Empire demanded that each territory pay taxes to share the costs of defense. In Melicia, however, the city councils in each region still had to hold meetings and vote on the matter. The result was that some places paid the full amount, some paid half, and some didn't pay a single penny!
If it weren't for the seven-year, costly war with the Kingdom of Francis, the Empire would have loved to turn around and deal with those bastards immediately. After all, Melisia not only traded with the Kingdom of Francis during the war under the guise of an "autonomous territory," but also refused to pay military expenses.
Which side are you from?
The Queen's current actions against Melicia are somewhat reminiscent of the saying "a gentleman's revenge is never too late."

One of the demands Melisia is making in its negotiations with the Empire is to reject the Empire's current tax laws and instead continue to allow Melisia to pay its own taxes!

So you'll vote again and not pay a single penny, right? Do you think the Empire is stupid? Fooling us once is enough; you want to fool us twice?

Therefore, in Li Wei's view, the conflict between the Empire and Melesia ultimately wasn't as legitimate as a peasant uprising; frankly, it was a conflict arising from the unequal distribution of benefits. And Li Wei… unless he transmigrated to Melesia, he had absolutely no reason to side with Melesia.

Therefore, Li Wei had neither sympathy for nor concern for the lives of the rebels.

"You should know that this is a very dangerous thing."

Looking at Levi, Governor Geller spoke again. Levi's idea was good, but in Governor Geller's view, it was no different from him willingly walking into the lion's den.

In particular, Li Wei looked thin and weak, unlike those strong and mighty soldiers. He also had a pale face and didn't look like he could fight.

He even suspected that the other side could send a few strong men to beat Li Wei up, stuff him into a sack, and sink him into the sea.

"Someone has to do it, and this is my task."

Li Wei shrugged. He was well aware of the danger involved, but he didn't think the other party would make a big fuss. After all, his trip was essentially that of an imperial envoy. They might choose to assassinate him on a dark night, but they certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to actually cause him trouble in broad daylight.

Even if the other party really intended to attack him in broad daylight, with Li Wei's current abilities and skills, he could take on an entire regiment and escape unscathed, so what was there to be afraid of?
Not to mention, Li Wei still had a mission to complete.

"If you have no other opinions, then this decision is made."

Li Wei glanced at the mission information in front of him; it had been triggered during his previous duel with the Phantom Assassin.

[The quest "Shadow Blade" is activated]

Mission Objective: Completely eliminate the Phantom Assassin.

It has few words but a lot of content.

Especially that "thorough" part... well, that's quite interesting.

Therefore, Li Wei decided to go straight into the lion's den, because if he did, the rebels would likely send the Phantom Assassins again to deal with him.

This would save Li Wei the trouble of traveling thousands of miles to some border mountain range.

"What are you going to do?"

"There must be a train to Fairhart, I'll take that one and leave today."

"Strike while the iron is hot," Li Wei thought, certain that both the rebel and imperial armies were currently making reorganizations after last night's battle. Leaving while everyone was in the chaos and unnoticed was the best course of action.

"Ok."

General Geller pondered for a moment, then finally made up his mind and nodded. He went to his desk, wrote a letter, and then stamped and sealed it.

"As Governor of Melesia, I order you to immediately proceed to the city of Faithart and arrest Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and their associates on charges of treason!"

"Understood, Governor."

Li Wei took the letter, read it once, then put it away, and nodded to General Geller with a smile.

"I will certainly live up to my mission and complete the task."

(End of this chapter)