Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 166 Tracking (This Cat is Back!)

From the outside, the Tester mansion appeared completely quiet. However, the tranquility of the street was soon shattered by the sound of sirens. People watched in astonishment as police cars sped in and surrounded the mansion. No one knew what was happening. Many curious residents came out of their homes and gathered together, watching the police officers hurrying back and forth in the distance, speculating about what had transpired.

In the crowd, a young man wearing a baseball cap watched the scene unfold, a cold smile flashing in his eyes as he saw the police enter the Tester mansion. He then turned and left the crowd, heading to the subway station on the other side, where he took the subway to the street south of Bisubaru.

The area was filled with abandoned factories slated for demolition. There was no one around. The young man looked around and then went to one of the warehouses. He reached out and knocked on the door. The observation window on the door opened, and a pair of cold eyes emerged. The eyes scrutinized the young man carefully before opening the door and welcoming him in.

"how is the situation?"

"They did call the police, and the police have arrived."

The young man said in a low voice, then glanced around.

"What about that old man? Did he confess?"

"The boss is asking around, but there's been no progress. The old man insists he knows nothing."

The man who opened the door snorted coldly and answered.

"Are you sure that signature is in that old man's hands? We turned that house upside down before, and we didn't find anything."

The young man wearing a baseball cap appeared very anxious.

"If we've made a mistake..."

"The boss wouldn't make a mistake."

Another person interrupted him.

“We’ve confirmed that the guy spent the most time in the target’s room, and he came to find this old man as soon as he got out of the car. It’s obvious he discovered something, otherwise he wouldn’t have come to Dr. Tester. We must find that card before they figure out what it’s for, and then complete our mission!”

"What if we can't find it? It's so small, they might just flush it down the toilet..."

"That's not something we should be concerned about."

"Why not!"

The young man wearing a baseball cap growled angrily.

“I’ve had enough of this city, this steel, blasphemous, filthy city. Look at these people, what are they doing? They’re here every day conducting blasphemous experiments and spouting heretical ideas. This city is hell, and we must save it from those evil mechanists. By any means necessary.”

"But you are still just an insignificant nobody."

Compared to the passionate outburst from the person in the baseball cap, the other person was clearly much calmer.

"Alright, go report to the boss. You didn't come back just to complain to me, did you?"

"………………………"

The man in the baseball cap snorted and turned to walk deeper into the warehouse. He passed through two doors and then went up the stairs into a room—it was unusually dark inside, with only a few burly, shirtless men holding torches standing around. In the center of them stood a man wearing a fur robe who looked like a barbarian.

At this moment, he was squinting, staring at the old man sitting in the chair in front of him. The old man's hands were handcuffed to the chair. He looked like the type of person you would see in a science textbook: disheveled hair, a thick white beard, and his clothes looked rather dirty, which was obviously not due to his lifestyle.

"Boss."

The young man entered the room and greeted the caveman.

"A lot of police officers have arrived outside Tester's house. It seems someone has already called the police."

"Calling the police won't help; those stupid idiots won't find any clues."

"Alright, Dr. Tester, my patience is limited."

The caveman cracked his knuckles and stared at the old man.

"Tell me, where is that black card?"

"I'll answer you one more time, kid."

The old man's voice was weak, but very steady, as if he didn't care at all about the threat from the burly man in front of him.

"I do not know what you're talking about."

"We know that the man from the Orient Express went looking for you, don't try to fool me!"

"I just asked him to bring me some local specialties."

The old man's voice remained steady, and there was even a hint of pride in his eyes.

"As for any black cards, I've never even seen one."

Stop making excuses!

The caveman reached out and grabbed the old man by the collar.

"Do you think we can't destroy this city without that card?"

"Oh? So what do you plan to do? With iron bars and stones?"

The old man chuckled as he looked at the primitive man before him, seemingly unconcerned about the man's clenched fist.

"you do not need to know."

The caveman clenched his fist, but didn't swing it at the old man. With his strength, one punch might send the old man flying.

"In fact, it was you who created it, wasn't it? Mechanists, it's really interesting that you created something that destroys you, and that's God's will. You see, you will ultimately destroy yourselves."

"I really can't understand why you're still so fixated on these whimsical ideas."

The old man looked at the primitive man and shook his head.

"Change is unstoppable and irresistible. Even if you succeed, nothing will change. Do you really think that will make us abandon knowledge, abandon the spirit of inquiry, and abandon the adventure of exploring the world? Why?"

"Because this is wrong."

The caveman stared at the old man and stretched his body.

"When God created humankind, He assigned them their place and responsibilities in this world. What we need to do is to diligently tend to this world for God, like a gardener in a garden, rather than overstepping our bounds and claiming to be the masters of this garden!"

The more they talked, the more excited the primitive man became.

"Now you've gone astray. You've been blinded by arrogance, abandoned the guidance of the gods, and presumptuously tried to change the world. Look at what this world has become: morally corrupt, chaotic, devoid of warmth among people, replaced by cold indifference and brutality! Is this right? Aren't machines destined to bring only destruction to humanity?"

The old man sighed and remained silent. He had met these Luddites when he was young, and he couldn't understand them then, and he couldn't understand them now.

"What exactly do you want to do? You think you can destroy the entire Steel City with just one card? You know that's impossible."

"nothing is impossible."

The primitive people seemed very proud of this.

"You have no idea that we have enough comrades throughout the Steel City. You're so engrossed in your lofty discussions that you're completely ignoring this. The moment this city ceases to function properly, that's when we'll act. At that time, we'll utterly destroy it." "………………How foolish."

"What did you say?"

"I say, you guys are still so stupid."

The old man raised his head, and his cloudy eyes now appeared so calm and clear.

"You think machinery is some kind of curse, a gift from the devil, but that's not the case. Humanity studies and explores the world; everything we create is based on our understanding of knowledge. And this understanding of knowledge doesn't appear out of thin air, nor is it some sudden divine revelation. Rather, it's knowledge accumulated by generation after generation through their understanding of the world and nature. Everything we've gained is simply standing on the shoulders of our predecessors..."

"Shut up, I don't want to hear your nonsense!"

The primitive man roared, interrupting the old man's words, perhaps because his brain was not capable of processing the information the old man was saying.

“You’ve crossed the line, that’s it! This world shouldn’t be like this! It must return to the past! That era of birdsong, fragrant flowers, idyllic countryside, incomparably beautiful and vibrant! Not like this world now, tainted by steel and smoke, utterly filthy!”

"Then you can go to the countryside and enjoy the rural scenery there."

The old man chuckled, while the primitive man glared at him angrily.

"You think I'd run away? Like a coward? No, we won't! We'll take back this world! We'll make it as beautiful as it was before..."

At this point, the primitive man paused for a moment, then he grabbed the tear off the old man's collar and stared at it closely.

Although it looks like just a button from the outside, it's a different story when you turn it over and see the densely packed, rotating gears inside.

"What is this thing? What have you filthy mechanists come up with this time?"

"Hehehe, it's just a little gadget."

The old man smiled as he looked at the primitive man before him.

“I usually like to wander around and often get lost, so in order to help my family find me, I designed this wireless transmitter… Ah, sorry, I don’t think you can understand what it is at all.”

"speak English!"

"Simply put, they can find me through this thing..."

"Boom! B ...

However, before the old man could finish speaking, a sudden booming sound came from not far away. Hearing this strange booming sound, everyone looked around in surprise. But in the next moment, the wall next to them suddenly cracked open, and then a steam-powered mech that was three meters tall emerged from it!

"What, what is that thing?!"

Everyone was taken aback when they saw the steam-powered mech emerging from the dust. They quickly grabbed their weapons and opened fire on the mech.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Gunfire erupted continuously, but it had no effect on the mech. It swung its arms and charged straight into the warehouse, at which point a childish voice rang out from within the mech.

"Grandpa, I'm here to save you!"

"………………………"

Upon hearing this voice, the old man's expression froze, and the primitive man immediately came to his senses, turned around, grabbed the old man, and held a dagger to his throat.

"Stop right now, or I'll kill him!"

"…………………"

Faced with the threat of the primitive humans, the mech that had been baring its teeth and claws immediately fell silent. It remained motionless, maintaining its offensive posture.

"Get out of there!"

"………………………"

With a "whoosh" sound, everyone saw the mask in front of the mecha open, and then a fourteen-year-old girl sat inside, glaring angrily at the caveman.

"No, shameless scoundrel!"

Although the girl appeared angry, it was clear that she had no choice but to obey the caveman's threats. Soon, the girl was forced out of the cockpit and then tied up along with the old man.

“Hey… Qiya, you…”

Looking at the dejected girl, tied to him, the old man was speechless. At that moment, the primitive man walked up to the old man, laughing, and looked at the captured girl.

"This is your granddaughter? Dr. Tester?"

"………………………"

"That card, could it be hidden on her?"

"………………………"

"It doesn't matter if you don't tell me."

The primitive man looked at the old doctor and gave a cold smile.

"Search them! Search them naked!"

"you!"

Hearing this, the old man finally lost his temper. He glared at the caveman, wanting to shout at him.

However, the old man soon realized that it was unnecessary.

The caveman suddenly stopped, and the old man and the girl stared in astonishment as they watched the caveman's face crumble before them like a broken puzzle. They could even see the caveman's teeth spinning in the air before falling to the ground.

At the same time, gunshots rang out.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The piercing gunshots made the two instinctively close their eyes. All they could hear were the gunshots and the screams and cries of people nearby. No one knew what was happening, and they dared not do anything but huddle together in fear, instinctively trying to get away from the dangerous-sounding noise.

But this didn't last long. Soon, the gunfire subsided, and then an elegant voice rang out.

"Alright, you two, you can open your eyes now."

Upon hearing the voice, the grandfather and grandson cautiously opened their eyes. They then saw a very well-dressed young man standing in front of them, leaning on a cane in one hand and holding a black revolver in the other, staring at them.

"To be honest, your actions didn't surprise me much, Miss Qiya."

Looking at the girl in front of him, Li Wei smiled and spoke.

　Let's resume updates. Actually, this cold is the mildest I've ever had, all thanks to loratadine. Before, when I caught a cold, my nose would get inflamed first, then antibiotics wouldn't be very effective, and then it would quickly turn into a combined nose and throat infection, leading to a fever and requiring me to stay in bed for a week. This time, after taking loratadine, my rhinitis symptoms were much milder. It was almost completely gone after three days, and it didn't spread to other areas. One more day, and I can stop…

　　It probably wasn't contagious. I caught a cold from my grandma turning on the air conditioner at home, which made me catch a chill and then I started sneezing... It seems you really shouldn't use the air conditioner too much.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)