Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 157 The Prelude to the Night

Next, the train conductor finally confessed to his crime.

It's actually quite simple. The train conductor initially said he went to remind the victim of afternoon tea time, but when no one answered the door, he opened it. He then saw the victim with their back to him, rummaging through a suitcase. Seeing so much money in the suitcase, the conductor was immediately overcome by greed. Then he noticed the victim wasn't paying attention to him, and there was no one else around…

Of course, according to the train conductor, he didn't intend to kill the man; he just wanted to knock him unconscious and then steal some money. He shared the same opinion as the other passengers: the man seemed suspicious and probably had ulterior motives, so even if the money was stolen, they wouldn't dare make a scene.

As a result of his lack of skill, he accidentally killed someone. So, he decided to go all the way and take all the money.

The next step was to write a statement, sign it, and put your fingerprint on it. After that, the train conductor was locked in the storage room of the baggage car, and the body was put in a box and thrown into the regular baggage car. That was the end of the matter.

But Anthony couldn't hold back any longer.

"That's why I said I hate these guys who are even worse than newbies."

As he searched through the victim's room for any possible "secret information," he muttered a complaint to Li Wei.

"Even a professionally trained spy wouldn't die so ridiculously. Robbery and murder? If such an idiot could be a spy, why would I be stuck in a third-class carriage?"

Anthony's resentment had reached its peak; it seemed that the third-class carriage was indeed unbearable.

"That reminds me."

Li Wei stroked his chin, looking at the room in front of him.

"Think about it carefully. Even you know this person isn't suitable to be a spy, so I think the other side must know that too. If that's the case, why did they still send this person to carry things over?"

"What do you mean, boss?"

"I suspect that what they want is this person, not just any intelligence."

"he?"

Anthony was taken aback by Li Wei's answer.

"That's impossible. We've investigated before. This guy is an orphan with no status. He's just an ordinary researcher at the institute, not even qualified to lead his own research group. What's the point of recruiting someone like that?"

"It could be that he's a talented person who hasn't been recognized, or that he's being suppressed. In any case, since the other party is willing to give him real money, it means that there must be something about this person that they value, right?"

"That makes sense."

Those in the know understand their own situation. No organization has unlimited funds; even Anthony himself can only afford third-class travel. Judging by his own experience, the intelligence agency on the other side, no matter how wealthy, wouldn't easily bribe a nobody. In fact, those in their line of work are truly the type who won't act until they see results.

"Then take your time looking, I'm going back to sleep."

Li Wei yawned. The murder case was solved, so it had nothing to do with him anymore. Anyway, no one dared to stay in this room, so he might as well let Anthony search there at his leisure. Anthony didn't care. Spies, after all, did all sorts of things like that. Searching through a room where someone had died was nothing; more often than not, they were searching the dead bodies…

Li Wei went back to his room to rest, and the other passengers had also returned to their rooms. The train conductor, however, had to take charge of the first-class carriage himself—he was also quite frustrated. It was bad enough that a murder had occurred on the train, but to make matters worse, the murderer was a train attendant.

Once we reach the station, this news will definitely spread, and none of the first-class passengers will give the railway company any face. At that point… getting a severe scolding from my superiors would be the best-case scenario; what if I get fired…?

Thinking about this, the train conductor felt like the sky was about to fall.

For the others in the first-class carriage, this wasn't a big problem; now that the case was solved, the matter was considered closed. However, after this incident, many people were filled with apprehension and dared not be alone anymore. Madame Bedric, for example, was unwilling to sleep next to the room where someone had died and went directly to her daughter's room.

The night is getting darker.

Nightlife these days is pretty boring. Just a couple of nights ago, people would go to the salon carriage to play cards, chat, and kill time. But after what happened today, nobody's in the mood for any social activities anymore. Basically, everyone went back to their rooms to rest after dinner.

"That's really terrible, young lady."

Olivia's maid, Anna, was clearly too afraid to be alone in her room, so she ran to Olivia's room—well, it was much safer there.

"I never expected something like this to happen on a train..."

"You still have to be careful when you're out and about."

Olivia sat in the chair, letting the maid tidy her hair, and spoke at the same time.

"Yes, that's really scary. What if that train conductor tries to rob us..."

"I'm not worried about that."

Olivia wasn't worried about that, since she had Little Black by her side. If anyone thought it was just a cute little puppy, Olivia wouldn't mind letting it become Little Black's food.

"Speaking of which, Miss, Mr. Li Wei is truly remarkable."

At this point, the maid also became excited.

"I never expected that he would find the culprit so quickly, in just one afternoon!"

"Ah, um...yes, it was indeed unexpected."

Olivia nodded in agreement. She had seen Levi handle cases before, but those were cases with a somewhat mysterious element. This was just a very ordinary murder case; Levi simply looked at the scene, questioned a few people, and then apprehended the culprit…

Moreover, he seemed quite at ease, which, to be honest, surprised Olivia.

"Alright, Miss."

Just then, the maid finished tidying Olivia's hair, and the latter looked at herself carefully in the mirror.

"Excellent, Anna, your technique is as good as ever."

As she spoke, Olivia opened her small bag, intending to make some bedtime preparations. But just as she put her hand inside… “What’s this?”

Olivia took a card out of her small bag with a puzzled look. It was a punch card, and from the outside, it seemed unremarkable. The only strange thing was that this punch card wasn't beige like the other cards; it was black.

What a strange thing.

Olivia took it out with a puzzled look. The punch cards in this world were made of a material similar to cardboard and plastic, sturdy yet with a certain degree of flexibility, and were mostly white or beige. Of course, some banks would specially coat their savings punch cards with other colors, but Olivia had never seen a black punch card before.

"Anna, what is this?"

"A black punch card?"

Upon hearing Olivia's question, the maid stepped forward to examine her closely.

"I'm sorry, Master, I don't remember..."

"This was found in my bag. Are you sure you didn't put anything weird in there?"

"Ah, so that's how it is..."

At this point, the maid seemed to remember something, but before she could finish speaking, she was suddenly interrupted by a low growl.

"roar-----!"

The puppy that had been dozing on the chair next to them suddenly stood up, stared intently outside, and let out a low growl.

"What's wrong, Xiao Hei?"

Seeing the puppy's unusual behavior, Olivia immediately became alert. She knew this wasn't a real puppy, but the guardian spirit of the Baskerville family. Ever since that incident, Olivia had kept it by her side, even sleeping with it. But she had never seen the little black dog behave like this before.

Olivia didn't have time to examine the black punch card at that moment. She put it back in her bag, then stood up and went to Little Black's side. The little puppy was staring fiercely out the window, growling softly.

"What's wrong with Xiao Hei?"

The maid Anna also walked over, puzzled.

"Are there wild animals in the forest outside?"

"Maybe..."

Olivia gazed at Little Black, reaching out to stroke it, while the creature remained hunched over, staring intently out the window—Olivia followed its gaze, but saw nothing. The bright light reflected off the glass, making it appear almost like a mirror, only reflecting the view inside the room; the outside was completely obscured.

"Anna, turn off the light."

"Okay, Miss."

The maid went to the door and turned off the light. Soon, the entire room was shrouded in darkness, and it was pitch black outside the window as well. Apart from the whistling wind and the sound of raindrops, nothing could be seen.

“Let’s go find Mr. Li Wei.”

Olivia stared out the window and quickly made a decision. She didn't know why Little Black was so vigilant, but it was clear that some danger was nearby. Levi had warned Olivia that if Little Black acted strangely, it should come to her, and now, it was clearly that time.

Fortunately, Li Wei was not asleep either. The reason was simple: Li Wei was in his room, playing with the rewards he had opened from the "treasure chest".

"Wow, I never expected to get such a good item."

Looking at the "good stuff" in his hand, Li Wei was quite excited. Just like when he solved the case on the North Star and got a skin, he got an extra treasure chest reward after solving this murder case.

Li Wei initially thought it was clothes or something, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be... a gun.

Yes, it's another revolver.

Its appearance is basically the same as the Persuader. If there is any difference, it is that this gun is pure white, with a silver gun body and an ivory-white gun handle, which forms a sharp contrast with the Persuader that has been given a new skin by the Goddess of Night.

Is the system being arrogant too? Does it really have to compete with the Goddess of the Night?
Besides the color, this gun also differs from the Persuader in its caliber.

The Persuader uses the standard .45 caliber, while this gun uses .50 caliber. Because of this, its cylinder is smaller than the Persuader's. The Persuader can hold six rounds at a time, but this gun can only hold five—after all, .50 rounds are larger.

Of course, a larger bullet means greater power.

Li Wei used the persuader to beat people, yet he could still leave one alive.

As for using this gun... well, that's up to fate.

"I'll call you the Punisher."

Li Wei was very satisfied with the gun. What man doesn't like something bigger, thicker, longer, and stronger?

Moreover, to be honest, Li Wei also felt that the Persuader was indeed a bit weak in terms of firepower at times. It was definitely fine for dealing with ordinary people, but when he had to deal with some huge non-human beings, Li Wei could only rely on the [Eye of Death] to unleash a burst of power and use quantitative change to cause qualitative change, or use the cane gun. However, the latter was, after all, a bolt-action rifle and was not suitable for close combat.

The Punisher came at just the right time, making up for Li Wei's lack of close-range firepower.

The only problem right now is that Li Wei doesn't have enough bullets; he only has the five that came with the gun. But that's okay; he can find a gun shop and buy some spares when he gets there...

Yes, that's what Li Wei thinks.

Until Olivia knocked on the door.

(End of this chapter)