Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 188 Puzzle
After leaving the room, Levi and Katie went to the lounge on the first floor.

The decor here is very old-fashioned, giving one a feeling of traveling back in time. A fireplace burns in the lounge, with stacks of firewood piled beside it. The hall is covered with a fluffy red velvet carpet, which feels comfortable and warm to walk on. On the sofa, two men are chatting.

One of them was tall and thin, while the other was short and stout. The tall, thin man wore a well-fitting suit, lit a pipe, and kept smoking. The short, stout man had a mustache and was smiling as he chatted with the tall, thin man.

“I was lucky this time. You know it was a good horse, but that day, the Lord told me that I should buy number eight! That’s right, number eight! That’s how I got the revelation! Everyone else thought I was crazy, but it turned out I was right. Oh my… that was a wonderful victory.”

"Then you're really lucky."

The tall, thin man responded with a chuckle as he smoked, while the short, stout man nodded.

"That's really good, so I've decided that I won't go to the racetrack again until I've spent all the money I earned this time. You see, the Holy Lord only favors those who have nowhere else to turn..."

"Perhaps you should take on more work?"

"Hey, it's not so easy to get work these days..."

As the short, stout detective spoke, he turned to look at Levi and Katie, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Aha, look, we have new friends."

"Hello, gentlemen."

Li Wei gripped his cane and nodded to the two men.

"I am Levi, and this is my assistant Katie."

"Ah, you must be that famous detective... Haha, you're quite handsome, no wonder you're so famous."

The short, stout man chuckled.

"My name is Fred, and I am also a detective."

“Brest”.

The tall, thin man raised his pipe and gave Li Wei a casual greeting.

Levi and Katie were sitting on the sofa on the other side when a woman with light freckles on her face, dressed in a maid's outfit, came over and asked them in a low voice if they needed anything.

Li Wei ordered a cup of tea and sat down, continuing to listen to the two chatting. But soon, they turned the conversation to the current case.

"Speaking of which, what are your thoughts on that case from fifty years ago? Was Jim Rogers really the culprit?"

"It's hard to say."

The tall, thin detective shook his head.

"It could also be an accident."

"Accident?"

"That's right. According to the police investigation at the time, most of the deceased did not have any external injuries, right? Therefore, it is also possible that they accidentally ate some kind of poisonous plant or animal at dinner, which led to their death. As for the horrified expressions on their faces, it may have been due to hallucinations caused by poisoning."

"What about Jim Rogers himself, who has disappeared?"

"It's very likely that he saw that unexpected scene and panicked, trying to escape, but because he was poisoned and lost his senses, he fell into the lake and drowned."

"Speaking of which, that gentleman really had guts. Most people would be terrified just by seeing this place."

The short, stout detective turned and looked around.

"Judging from the design and layout, this was originally supposed to be where the prisoners gathered for meals. Sigh, I really don't understand what these rich people are thinking... What do you think, Miss Maid?"

"Hey?"

The freckled maid, who had just served tea to Li Wei and Katie, was taken aback when the topic suddenly turned to her.

"Me, me?"

"That's right, cleaning a place like this must be very troublesome, and it's not very convenient to come and go normally. Do you usually do this much work?"

"Ah, actually..."

The maid was somewhat surprised by the short, stout detective's words, and then whispered something.

"Actually, we've only been working here for less than a month..."

"Less than a month?"

“That’s right. My mother, the butler Mr. Walter, and I were all hired recently through an agency. The owner said we only need to help out for a month, clean the place, and prepare for the banquet.”

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Li Wei was somewhat surprised. These days, most people with a little extra money would hire servants. The richer a person is, the more servants they naturally have. In Li Wei's experience, wealthy bosses like George Rogers usually have their own personal servants and secretaries to help them with these matters.

"This is really interesting."

The tall, thin detective also became interested.

"Can you tell me more specifically?"

"Well... it's nothing. The owner paid a high price to hire the three of us. He said he inherited this house and wanted to hold a banquet here. Our job is to clean this place and wait for everyone to arrive."

How interesting. As a wealthy person, instead of sending his own trusted confidants to entertain guests, he hires several servants outside.
"By the way, has Mr. George Rogers arrived yet?"

"Yes, he and his wife arrived here early this morning."

"I haven't even seen them yet."

"They are staying in their rooms and will meet everyone at the dinner."

"Ok."

The short, stout detective shrugged and gave a wry smile.

"Perhaps spending time with one's wife is indeed a great way to relax. But then again, what exactly is that mystery? Do you know?"

As he spoke, the short, stout detective glanced at Levi and the tall, thin detective.

"Our mission is this: to solve the puzzle and find the answer. But what exactly is the puzzle? How do we know when it's solved? Can I just pick a book off the shelf right now and claim it's the answer?"

"Please rest assured on that point."

As soon as the short, stout detective finished speaking, a clear, cold voice came from the doorway. Everyone turned to look and saw a woman with brown hair, probably in her early twenties, standing there. She was wearing a smart suit, and black stockings covered her legs, revealing her long and beautiful curves.

Seeing this, the short, stout detective's eyes widened, and the tall, thin detective also seemed slightly nervous. This was not simply because they were lustful, but because of the prevailing social norms—in this era, women were not allowed to show their legs and generally wore skirts.

Of course, it wasn't the miniskirts of today; it was generally a skirt that reached just to the ankle. Katie usually wore skirts like that. That's why she dressed like a teenager when she wore pants. In that era, it would be considered quite indecent for a girl to run in the street wearing men's pants. To draw an analogy, it was similar to seeing a man running in the street wearing stockings.

A few years ago, this woman's current attire would have been considered no different from going out naked.

It's no wonder that these two elderly detectives reacted this way; for them, it was practically the same as seeing a stripper.

Compared to the two detectives, Li Wei was much calmer. He merely glanced at them silently before looking away. After all, Li Wei came from an era where it was perfectly acceptable to plaster lingerie advertisements on the streets, so this kind of ordinary attire... really wasn't anything special to him.

"Excuse me, who are you...?"

“Emma, ​​Emma Batra, I am a representative from the Frank Law Firm, responsible for overseeing the execution of this will.”

She turned out to be a female lawyer.

This surprised Li Wei, and the tall, thin man was also quite astonished.

"A female lawyer? Now even women can be lawyers? That's surprising..."

This is normal, after all, in this world and in this era, women didn't have many jobs to begin with. Most women's task was to find a man to marry and have children after growing up, or to do some low-level work to supplement the family income. However, with the development of productivity, the improvement of people's education level, and the arrival of the steam mechanical revolution, women inevitably joined the ranks of the working class.

No wonder she was sent to do this.

This lawyer is probably not very popular in the firm, which is why they sent her to handle this inheritance issue.

"Hello, Miss Batra."

The short, chubby detective's earlier overconfidence had vanished; he smiled awkwardly and looked at the female lawyer.

What did you mean by what you just said?

"That's literally what it means."

The female lawyer walked over and sat down on another sofa next to her.

“We don’t know what Mr. Jim Rogers said at the banquet, but he did specify the conditions for solving the puzzle in his will.”

"What are the conditions?"

"He who opens the gates to the dark abyss will gain everything."

"?"

"These are the words left in the will, of course, we don't know what they mean."

At this point, the female lawyer glanced at the three of them and smiled slightly.

"I think this is probably the time for you detectives to step in."

"Um……………"

The tall, thin detective took a puff of his pipe.

"The meaning of this sentence is quite clear: all you need to do is open a door."

"But it certainly wasn't an ordinary door."

The short, stout detective continued.

"I think it must be a secret door, and it's very well hidden, otherwise the police would have found it long ago."

"It won't be easy to open it either."

Li Wei silently took a sip of tea.

"It might require finding some key, password, code or something... I hate these boring puzzle games the most."

"That really surprised me."

Hearing Li Wei's complaint, the female lawyer blinked in surprise.

"I thought detectives all enjoyed solving mysteries."

"In my opinion, a puzzle is something that the puzzle creator pulls you down to their level of intelligence and then uses their rich experience to defeat you."

Li Wei put down his teacup.

"That's why I've never liked decryption."

In fact, this often happens in detective novels, movies, and games. Because the person who sets the questions is good at astronomy, the clues are astronomical; if they are good at geography, the clues are geographical; if they are good at humanities, the clues are humanities.

This leaves readers completely confused. The detective may be knowledgeable about everything from astronomy to geography, but the readers and players are not.

So this kind of puzzle made Li Wei very uncomfortable, as if he were playing on an away turf.

"But speaking of which, isn't this a prison? Could there really be a secret door?"

Katie then asked her own question out of curiosity.

"Isn't this island surrounded by water and impossible to get out of? Then what's the point of having a secret door? Is it for escaping?"

"Indeed, this young lady's question is quite interesting."

The tall, thin detective nodded in deep agreement.

"If it were an ordinary villa, it wouldn't be surprising to have a secret door; perhaps it's a wealthy person's preference. But for a prison to have a secret door is indeed a bit strange. There's no way to escape from here, so what exactly is that secret door for?"

"Could it be that Jim Rogers built this himself after he took over?"

The short, stout detective offered his own deduction.

"While it's not impossible, I think it's unlikely. After all, if that were the case, why would he have held that banquet? And why would the person who solved the mystery be able to inherit all of his wealth? Since there's already a notarized will from a law firm, it means he didn't do it on a whim. I suspect he did this to find that secret door, or even open it... Perhaps, he bought this prison for that very reason."

"It is very likely."

Li Wei nodded. After all, generally speaking, no normal person would want to buy a prison to turn into a villa.

But if Jim Rogers came for the secret door... then it means that the secret hidden behind that door has a value far greater than his wealth.

The others present seemed to have thought of this as well, and the atmosphere became somewhat somber for a moment.

Just then, the door suddenly opened, startling everyone. They turned to look and saw the freckled maid reappear at the doorway.

"The dinner is ready. Please proceed to the dining room. The host is waiting for you."

(End of this chapter)