Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 190 Rainy Night
"Splash splash splash..."

The rain fell in torrents.

Levi lay on the bed, yawning listlessly, while Katie sat on the chair next to him, looking uneasy.

"Mr. Li Wei, shall we not conduct an investigation?"

"Let those two detectives handle the investigation. Let's get some sleep and recharge so we can get things done in the middle of the night."

"Mr. Li Wei, what do you think this incident really is? Is it truly a curse?"

Katie asked curiously, her eyes sparkling—it seemed that as long as it had nothing to do with ghosts, this young lady wasn't afraid at all.

"It's really hard to say."

Li Wei yawned again.

"If you want me to make a guess, there are many, and quite a few suspects as well."

"is it?"

“That’s right, like Mr. George.”

"Huh? But wasn't it him who asked us to come and investigate?"

“But you can’t say he’s not a suspect at all. In fact, no one can prove that the Mr. George who is here today is the same one we met at the company before.”

"?"

“You heard what the maid said. She said that the three servants here were all hired by Mr. George through an agency a month ago. Don’t you find that strange? Usually, people would hire reliable and familiar people in these situations. Not to mention that it involves inheritance, and as it stands, this inheritance is not a small amount.”

As Li Wei spoke, he stretched.

"In other words, the number of strangers in the entire Blackwood Mansion, besides Mr. George and his wife, is overwhelmingly greater than the number of people who do not know him. What does this mean? It means that if we are willing, we can persuade others to conspire to kill Mr. George and his wife and throw them into the lake. In this way, the inheritance and the treasure behind that door that may or may not exist will be ours."

"Well……………"

"You may find this absurd, but wealth can be very powerful. When an ordinary person sees a fortune that is beyond their wildest imagination, the impact and changes they experience are probably beyond your imagination."

Looking at the bewildered Katie, Levi shook his head. Although this young lady had once frequented the lower districts of Fog City, at heart she was still a young lady of leisure. To put it bluntly, she simply didn't lack money. Katie might even be tired of seeing a room full of gold and silver treasures and wouldn't feel anything at all.

"Judging from this perspective, it's even possible that the culprit behind that disaster fifty years ago might actually be Mr. Rogers."

"is it?"

“That’s right, we all think that Mr. Rogers and his team didn’t find the door back then, but what if they had found it much earlier?”

"Found it a long time ago?"

"Yes, you've seen the case records too. At the time, everyone was either in the lounge, the study, or sleeping in their rooms. Although the two detectives thought they might be discussing and searching for that door, what if they weren't? Maybe they had already found the door, discovered the treasure inside, and already agreed on how to distribute it."

Li Wei looked at the ceiling in front of him and spoke quietly.

"At the time, everyone wanted a share of the treasure, and Mr. Rogers obviously realized this as well. So he chose to first give them a fake snake to lower their guard, and then take the opportunity to poison and kill everyone else. In this way, the treasure would be all his."

"No way..."

"Why not? This place is essentially isolated from the world. If you kill other people and sink them to the bottom of the water without anyone noticing, then none of the problems will be problems."

"But didn't those bodies not sink to the bottom?"

"Well, so this brings us to another question: what is the state of Mr. Rogers himself?"

Li Wei squinted his eyes as he spoke.

"Although it's just my guess, I think that poor guy might still be suffering in that locked room. You see, when that lady came to us before, didn't she beg us to end all this?"

"Hmm, they look very pitiful..."

"It just seems like I should advise you not to believe her too much. Don't forget, she only said she hoped we would end all of this, she didn't say whether we would die because of it."

"Hey?"

Hearing this, Katie was stunned again.

"Will I...will I die?"

"It's not impossible. Maybe we'll be unlucky and die, or maybe only our deaths will end this. So you'd better not take everything the ghost says at face value. She might be playing the victim to use you. For example, she might be a ghost trapped here, and only if we become her scapegoats and take her place can she be free... That possibility does exist."

"Ugh...that sounds terrifying, Mr. Levi, you're thinking about all this...?"

"It's just that I've seen a lot and have a lot of experience."

Li Wei sighed silently. Similar tropes are endless in various movies, games, and novels. If you look beyond the surface, they are all basically the same.

"But you still came, didn't you?"

"After all, it's not certain who will win, and besides, we're just bored..."

Li Wei grumbled, casually taking out the Persuader and examining it carefully. If it weren't for the fact that the silver bullets were effective against ghosts, he wouldn't have bothered getting involved in this mess. Right now, he was just killing time out of boredom, and might even be able to start a mission to extend his lifespan.

"In short, be careful while you're here. Be careful not only of ghosts, but also of people."

"Ah, um..."

"I plan to take a nap and then get up in the middle of the night to check on things. If I'm not mistaken, they should make their move around dawn anyway. What about you?"

"I…………………"

Katie hesitated for a moment, then shrank back onto the sofa next to her.

"I'll stay here."

There was nothing wrong with it at first, but after listening to Li Wei's analysis, Katie felt even more scared being alone in the room.

Meanwhile, the rain was still falling.

"Splash splash splash..."

"This rain is really heavy."

The short, stout detective looked up, listened to the sound of rain outside the window, and frowned. "Yeah, it really gives off a bad vibe. It's a wonder those two went back to rest."

The tall, thin detective tapped his pipe. Levi had just said, "Go and rest up now. We'll check things out later tonight. Call me if anything happens," before going back to his room with Katie. The two women exchanged bewildered glances, speechless. They were clearly hired, yet they acted more like employers than their employers.

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were the client too.

“They’re different from us. People who don’t lack money come here just to have fun.”

The short, stout detective sighed.

"Did you see what that assistant was wearing? It was all high-end stuff. To exaggerate a bit, her outfit might be enough to buy this entire mansion."

"is it?"

"Of course, don't underestimate my experience in this area. Whether it's the shoes, the lace on the skirt, or the earrings and necklace, they are all excellent designs. At first glance, they are not extravagant or eye-catching, but they are very suitable for that young lady... Hmm, I think she must be a noble lady."

"The young lady is actually working as a detective's assistant?"

“That young man isn’t an ordinary person, is he? What normal detective is in the newspapers every other day? Not to mention the Melicia case…”

The short, stout detective shook his head and said nothing more. If other cases made the newspapers because they were sensational, then the Melisia case was something an ordinary detective could tell at a glance was beyond their capabilities.

Putting aside everything else, obtaining an arrest warrant personally signed by the governor was not something they could do.

Both men were highly capable detectives, so they instinctively began observing Li Wei the moment he entered. Besides his unbelievably handsome face, Li Wei's attitude was also a source of curiosity for them. They initially assumed he was a pretty boy who relied on his looks, but in reality, Li Wei remained remarkably calm and even composed throughout the entire process. After handing over the documents, he even turned around and went back to his room to sleep.

Moreover, Miss Katie was no ordinary person. Not only was her attire exuding elegance, but her demeanor and posture also clearly indicated she came from a noble family. To be honest, even two detectives would feel somewhat pressured in the presence of such a lady, but Levi remained remarkably calm, treating her as nothing more than an assistant…

Hmm, the two of them don't seem to have that kind of intimate relationship like a couple...

"Speaking of which, you seem to know so much about those things, can you even afford them?"

"If I can't afford it, can't I at least think about it?"

The short, fat detective glared at the tall, thin detective with displeasure.

"You should always have dreams. Maybe this time we can make a fortune and I can become a rich man?"

"………………………"

"On the other hand, rich people probably don't really care about these things."

The next moment, the short, stout detective became dejected again.

"what happened?"

"I once complimented Miss Katie's earrings, saying they were beautiful, and wanted to ask her where she bought them and which famous artist sculpted and made them. And guess what she said?"

"How to say?"

“'Sorry, I'm not sure about that. I just randomly picked a pair that I thought suited me. Thank you for your compliment…'”

"…………"

"…………"

"Let's discuss the case at hand first."

"Ah, um."

The short, stout detective, looking utterly dejected, refocused his attention on the paper in front of them. It contained a floor plan of the Kuroki Mansion. The tall, thin detective, meanwhile, stared at the plan with a serious expression.

"Even now, I still want to ask, is Jim Rogers really dead?"

"You suspect he's not dead?"

"It's not impossible, and he might even be hiding in the Blackwood Mansion."

The tall, thin detective stretched out his hand and pointed to the floor plan.

"As you can see, this mansion was originally a prison, designed to hold hundreds of inmates. You can imagine how many rooms there are. In fact, I just asked the maid, and she said that only the north building where we are is cleaned, and the other three buildings have not been cleaned. This is understandable, since there are only ten of us in total, and we simply cannot live in such a large house."

"So you mean, if Jim Rogers were alive, he could easily have hidden inside and evaded the police and others' searches?"

"That's it."

"But fifty years have passed. Even if Jim Rogers were still alive, he would be an old man by now. By the way, do you still have the original blueprints for this place?"

"No, but according to my information, the north building is where the main gate is located, so it's mainly inhabited by prison guards and the like, hence the better living conditions. The other three buildings are typical rooms used to hold prisoners. I also asked the maid, and she said the other three buildings were basically just emptied out, not even renovated, which means..."

"Is that place still like a prison?"

"Yes."

"I really don't understand what Jim Rogers is thinking."

The short, stout detective took a sip of coffee and sighed helplessly.

"If I lived in a place like this, I would definitely go insane."

"I don't think he's mentally sound, but what Miss Katie said is quite right."

"what?"

“In prison, even if there are secret doors, they won’t be located where the prisoners live. But it’s different where the prison guards live, especially the warden. Think about it, if the prisoners riot, wouldn’t they need a secret passage to hide and escape?”

"It is indeed possible."

Upon hearing this, the short, stout detective's eyes immediately lit up.

"Let's go check it out now."

With that, the two stood up and walked out the door.

What they didn't notice was that a huge black cat was lying motionless on the edge of the ceiling above them, staring at them intently.

Seeing the two leave, the black cat leaped down and then silently disappeared into the shadows.

(End of this chapter)