Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 150 Daily Affairs
After considering Olivia's invitation, Levi agreed, and the two agreed to travel to Bismarck to attend the Steam Machinery Exposition a week later.

After all, Li Wei also needed to rest, and he still had some things to take care of in the foggy city.

For example, his investment results.

When Li Wei returned to Iron Felt Street, it was almost unchanged from before, though not entirely. At least Li Wei noticed that the number of factories bearing the "Kailida Steam Machinery Technology" sign had increased from one to three, and the familiar car models constantly moving around the street indicated that they were doing quite well for now.

"Ah, Mr. Li Wei!"

Uncle Hank was still dressed in his usual worker's style, wearing oil-stained work clothes, and warmly welcomed Levi inside.

"Long time no see! How have you been?"

"It's not bad. It seems like your business is doing quite well now?"

"Yes, as you can see, Mr. Levi."

Uncle Hank was very excited.

"Following your suggestion, we've divided our vehicles into two categories: high-end and low-end. The high-end cars are mainly for the elite, while the low-end public vehicles are being marketed to various government agencies, and so far, it's been quite successful. Of course, this is also largely thanks to you driving the Phantom back and forth in the Fog City, which has led to frequent inquiries from people..."

At this point, Uncle Hank rubbed his hands together. Although they had done a lot of advertising, in Uncle Hank's opinion, their most famous advertisements were still Levi and the Phantom. After all, Levi frequently piloted the Phantom around Fog City, naturally attracting a lot of attention.

Among them were many wealthy and idle rich kids, who were excellent customers for Uncle Hank. They were generous spenders, willing to pay for anything that pleased them. Moreover, large items like steam cars were not easy to hide, meaning their parents could easily spot them.

If they liked it too, then his company would have opened up sales channels to the upper class... In fact, just as Uncle Hank thought, although these rich kids had many demands and some of them were quite troublesome, through them, Uncle Hank's company did receive some orders from the upper class.

After all, compared to those contraptions of steam locomotives and tractors, Uncle Hank's steam vehicles were more noble and luxurious, and more in line with the aesthetics of high society.

In addition, following Levi's advice, Uncle Hank developed another group of clients: public institutions.

The entire empire is now undergoing mechanization at the Queen's request, and public institutions are no exception. More importantly, since it's not their own money being spent, these institutions will place orders generously as long as they follow the right path.

Based on his memories from before his transmigration, Li Wei also designed some special vehicle appearances for Uncle Hank, such as police cars, prison vans, ambulances, and transport vehicles. These vehicles, tailor-made for special units, naturally piqued their interest. Furthermore, the Queen was currently demanding that the entire Fog City become mechanized, completely abandoning horse-drawn carriages, and there was dedicated funding for this. Uncle Hank also agreed with them to give them a small rebate on the price—and so, he quickly and easily secured orders from these public service units.

“We are currently operating at full capacity, and of course we will ensure quality and quantity. I think your bonus this year may reach eight hundred to one thousand pounds! And it will only be more in the future!”

Uncle Hank was getting more and more excited as he spoke. He had set a goal for himself: not only to conquer the steam car market in the Fog City, but also to become the steam car tycoon of the entire empire!

"Oh, right, I haven't told you yet, have I? We plan to take our latest steam engine to the World Steam Machinery Exposition. There will be steam engines from various countries competing at this exposition, and I think our steam engine will definitely come out on top!"

"Steam car races..."

Listening to Uncle Hank's excited words, Li Wei's eye twitched as he recalled his only experience of going to watch a race but ending up experiencing a sauna.

"Well, in any case... safety comes first. Our customers don't want to see the car they're in explode into the sky."

As an original shareholder who only received dividends, Levi's demands weren't high; he just wanted Uncle Hank to keep the place from going to ruin. So after chatting with him for a bit, Levi left Iron Sheet Street and went to the police station to meet with Inspector Lestrade.

It happened to be lunchtime, so the two found a place to sit down at a restaurant across from the police station to eat and talk. Levi also gave Lestrade a gift, a small trinket he'd casually bought at a stall in Melisia. Incidentally, he also gave Eileen and Katie similar little items.

"I looked into that case on the Arctic Star, what was the final outcome?"

Everyone has different priorities, and for Inspector Lestrade, he was clearly more interested in the murder that occurred on the North Star.

"Actually, it's not that complicated. It's the same as what was said in the newspaper."

"What about the back?"

"The rest is not hard to understand..."

Levi briefly explained the part about the vengeful spirit causing the murder to Inspector Lestrade, and Inspector Lestrade nodded after listening.

“I just thought that report was a bit strange. How could a criminal commit suicide out of shame after killing someone, let alone when the other person committed suicide? Of course, I'm not saying that such people don't exist, but it's strange that two of them appeared at the same time. But if it were always like that, we police wouldn't have to arrest criminals anymore. The grievances would be settled, and whoever killed the person would be killed by their vengeful spirit in return, and then there would be no problem.”

"Things haven't been going well lately?"

Levi took a sip of tea and asked curiously, while Inspector Lestrade shook his head.

"It wasn't too bad. I set up that scientific investigation team you suggested, and I have to say, they were actually quite useful. But I think that to investigate a case, you still need to go to the scene. Besides, those researchers are all so bookish and don't understand human nature at all. They're always spouting nonsense about cases, saying things like, 'I think this and that'... Are you kidding me? If they thought someone was a good person, then they'd be saints!"

At this point, Inspector Lestrade also complained, which made Levi chuckle.

"It's easy to make a change, just don't let them know."

"Don't let them know?" "Ultimately, you only need their knowledge to solve cases, not to train them into qualified police officers, right? So you don't need to tell them anything about the case or the murderer. Just give them the evidence from the crime scene and ask them to test it. They don't need to know anything else, do they?"

Levi could understand Inspector Lestrade's predicament. After all, ordinary people and police officers are different. Police officers often encounter all sorts of criminal suspects, including those who are good at using their advantages to cheat and swindle.

Inspector Lestrade also complained to Levy about a case where a woman committed a crime and then threw a tantrum in front of the police in public, looking pitiful as she was heavily pregnant. The tech-savvy officers felt sorry for her and thought Lestrade and the other officers shouldn't have been so harsh with her.

And what happened? This heavily pregnant woman was a murderer who had committed several robberies and murders. She was taking advantage of her pregnancy to avoid the death penalty, so she threw a tantrum.

The judge, not one to be trifled with, sentenced her to imprisonment, then ordered her to take the child to an orphanage after it was born, and subsequently hanged the woman.

Ordinary people might feel sorry for this woman, but aren't the people she robbed and killed also pitiful? That's why the police are extremely ruthless and merciless towards criminals.

But to an uninformed person, the other person seemed so gentle and weak, and it was clearly wrong of you, a police officer, to be so aggressive towards him…

Inspector Lestrade was frustrated by this: those who conducted scientific investigations were undoubtedly skilled technically. However, their intelligence was appalling; they would readily believe someone was innocent if they knelt down and begged them for a few words, and would go through fire and water for them.

This left Inspector Lestrade quite exasperated, unsure whether these people were clever or stupid.

Levi's suggestion, in fact, opened a window of opportunity for Inspector Lestrade. Indeed, his task wasn't to turn these tech-savvy idiots into excellent cops; he simply needed their skills to assess the evidence at the crime scene. Therefore, these people didn't need to know the details of the case or the killer's information. It was his own foolishness to assume they were cooperating and therefore share information.

As a result, problems arose from the sharing process.

but……………

"Speaking of which, you really are a detective."

"How to say?"

"Normally, people don't just die wherever they go, right?"

"What are you saying? I haven't gone anywhere and people are dying there."

Li Wei stated that he is not the Grim Reaper and absolutely will not take the blame for this.

"I travel all over Chongqing every day and eat at different restaurants all the time. What? Are there more murders in Chongqing now?"

"Haha, that's not what I meant. I was just saying. After all, it's not common for a murder to happen on a luxury cruise ship."

"That is indeed a rare sight."

"You're not going on any long trips anytime soon, are you?"

"I plan to go to Bisubaru to check out the World Steam Machinery Exhibition..."

"Young people are indeed full of energy. If I go on a long trip, I won't want to move for ten days or half a month after I come back."

As he spoke, Lestrade patted his round belly and drank the last sip of coffee.

"Bisubaru isn't close at all. How do you plan to get there? By boat?"

"I plan to take the Orient Express; I've already booked my ticket."

"Ah, I've heard of it. If I remember correctly, it's the most luxurious train in the empire. Tsk tsk tsk, the rich really know how to enjoy life. If I were to take a ride, it would probably cost me a year's salary."

As he spoke, Lestrade laughed heartily.

"Of course, if any cases happen at the higher-ups, I might be able to go on a trip on public funds."

"I don't think that train is in your jurisdiction."

Li Wei shook his head helplessly.

"Besides, I don't think any cases will happen."

"It better be this way."

Inspector Lestrade chuckled.

"Well then, I wish you a pleasant journey."

(End of this chapter)