Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 207 Deep in the Snow Mountain
After enjoying a sumptuous dinner and a comfortable night's rest, the group boarded Olivia's airship and flew into the depths of the mountains early the next morning.

Fortunately, the weather was quite good today; there were no strong winds or snowstorms, the sky was clear, and the airship traveled smoothly. If we were hiking into the mountains, it would probably take at least half a month to reach our destination, but now it only takes a few hours, and the airship has already entered the depths of the mountains.

“We’ve arrived, Mr. Li Wei.”

Standing by the porthole, Olivia spoke, and the others curiously crowded around to watch. Before them, not far below, lay a canyon nestled among the mountains. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only an exit on the east side. In the canyon, Levi could barely make out a building covered in snow.

In fact, if Olivia hadn't specifically pointed it out, Levi would probably have had a hard time spotting the monastery amidst the white expanse.

Incidentally, Levi and Anne had already seen the map that Olivia had obtained from those Luddites. Unfortunately, it didn't mention anything about this place, only drawing a circle around the location of the monastery and writing a word in haste next to it—Dedication.

What exactly to offer was not written down, nor did the Luddites say so. Of course, some Luddites who could not withstand torture said that within the organization, some people would indeed pack their bags and go into the deep mountains after a period of time, and then they would never appear again.

No one knows where they went or what they did.

Only the leader of this group probably knew, but before the guards and police came to arrest him, he set the house on fire and then shot himself.

Where should we land?

"there."

Olivia pointed to a clearing not far outside the canyon, and just then, the airship began to descend. Then, Levi felt the airship shudder suddenly, followed by a jet-black, pillar-like object shooting down and plunging directly into the thick snowdrifts and soil.

This is standard equipment on Imperial airships, and the reason everyone likes to use them. It's essentially similar to an anchor on a warship; if an airship wants to land, it's aimed at the ground and launched, causing it to burrow underground. Then, the airship can retract its cables, descending while maintaining a stable direction.

Some might ask how to pull this thing out of the ground. Actually, it's quite simple. Because this device has a recoil mechanism, once everyone is on the airship ready to leave, simply activate the recoil mechanism, and this thing will re-emerge from underground and be retrieved into the airship.

Of course, military airships with their own landing craft are a different story.

This is why airships are so prevalent in the Empire. Aside from being slightly slower, they have virtually no drawbacks, and they can land anywhere they want, making them far superior to helicopters. In this situation, a helicopter would likely have no chance at all.

Soon, the airship slowly landed on the platform. Then, the staff rushed out and began securing the airship's anchoring cables to the surrounding trees to further stabilize it. Only then did Li Wei and the others emerge from the airship and enter the snow-covered forest.

"call……………"

Stepping out of the warm cabin, Levi was immediately hit by a biting wind. Fortunately, the snow wasn't too deep, and for ease of movement, Levi had worn a warm fur coat and comfortable boots. Most people were dressed similarly; Annie even wore goggles.

As for Katie, she wrapped herself in a thick dress and looked like a fluffy little bunny.

Besides Levi, Katie, Olivia, and Anne, there were two other archaeological team members and a team of fully armed guards—after all, Olivia was now a lord, and for whatever reason, it was impossible for her to travel without guards.

Of course, these guards' current job is to move various supplies, including food, tents, and medical supplies.

Of course, a teapot and tea leaves are also essential.

These supplies were placed in boxes and then carried by the guards onto sled-like vehicles, which were then pulled by horses across the snow.

Incidentally, the horses were also transported by airship, a perfect blend of modern and ancient.

Fortunately, according to Olivia, the snowfall has not been heavy recently, so the snow accumulation on the mountain is not thick and there is no risk of avalanches.

The group then left the airship and headed towards the canyon.

The snow was difficult to walk on, but thankfully there were horse-drawn sleds. Li Wei and the others sat in the sleds, leisurely and not too tired. As for the soldiers, they could only trudge along behind the sleds.

When the horses reached the mouth of the canyon, they all stopped, pawing restlessly, refusing to go any further no matter how much the grooms scolded them.

"It was the same last time."

Olivia didn't seem to care and stepped off the sled to say to Levi.

"When we arrived here, the horse I was riding refused to go any further and even tried to run away. I don't know what they were sensing."

In horror movies, this is definitely not a good omen.

Li Wei mentally grumbled to himself, then got off the sled and looked up at the road ahead.

"Then let's walk over there."

Soon, the group tied their horses to nearby trees, leaving four guards to watch over the supplies and maintain order, while the others continued onward.

The canyon entrance before him wasn't narrow, but it was surprisingly deep. Li Wei looked up and saw towering cliffs on both sides. This reminded him of a scenic spot in his world called "A Line of Sky," which was similar to this place, except that the path there was much narrower.

There were no tracks on the snow, only some small animal footprints, which looked like those of foxes or something. Li Wei carefully examined the ground around him and quickly realized that no animal had entered the canyon. All the animal tracks had tacitly avoided this area, as if there was no path at all.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak."

There was no sound along the way, only the clatter of footsteps on the snow, which sounded rather unpleasant. Li Wei gripped his cane tightly, staring ahead, but all he could see was a blinding expanse of white. This whiteness seemed to stretch across the entire world, with only the dark stone walls on either side standing out like two black lines on a white canvas, clearly demonstrating their presence.

After walking for about ten minutes, the group finally passed through the narrow passage, and then Li Wei saw the building that Olivia had mentioned.

It has to be said that when Li Wei saw it, he was also stunned. The building was simply too large. He could now understand why Olivia said she felt like a dwarf. In fact, Li Wei felt the same way. Although the building was still some distance away from Li Wei and the others, it was so tall that Li Wei even had the illusion that he had shrunk. The white snow had not completely covered the building. Li Wei could still see the vines winding around its walls. Perhaps due to the passage of time, the dense vines almost covered the entire wall. What Li Wei found a little strange was that, despite it being the dead of winter, these vines remained a lush green, as if they were not afraid of the cold wind outside at all.

He used his [Soul Vision] to look at the building, but gained nothing; all that met Li Wei's eyes was a deep, dark void.

"This is the camp of the previous investigation team."

When the group arrived at the foot of the massive monastery, Olivia pointed to one of the camps where tents were still set up and several wooden crates were placed nearby, presumably supplies left behind by the survey team.

“When we arrived here, the camp was deserted, and the campfire had been out for a long time. We called out their names everywhere, searching for their traces, but we couldn’t find even a trace of them.”

"At least now we don't have to search outside."

Li Wei looked around. The ground was covered with snow. If he wanted to find clues here, he would have to shovel snow. Just thinking about this made him feel overwhelmed by the endless and constant snow-shoveling memories he had from elementary school, middle school, and university.

It's really terrible.

Climbing the steps here was also a problem. Just as Olivia said, the steps were almost a meter high and there were dozens of them. Levi and the others used their hands and feet, climbing and pulling themselves up, before they finally made it to the top.

To be honest, at this moment, Li Wei really had the illusion that he was an adventurer in the land of giants.

Then, what stood in their way was this heavy door.

"I think you probably didn't bring your keys."

Li Wei looked up at the gate, which was about two stories high, and spoke to Olivia, who rolled her eyes.

"Even if I had the key, I wouldn't know how to open it, there's no keyhole on it."

"makes sense."

Li Wei reached out and pushed the door hard. The entire door was made of stone, and the icy cold air could be clearly felt even through his fur gloves.

The door looked incredibly heavy and couldn't be pushed open at all.

"What should we do? Blow it up?"

Li Wei glanced at the supplies carried by the guards behind him; they also contained explosives—or rather, Li Wei was quite convinced that one bomb could solve all his problems.

"If all else fails, it seems like this is the only option."

Olivia was no exception, while Anne frowned.

"Are you really going to do this? These are buildings from the Golden Age, each one a historical treasure..."

"So we're just going to stand here and freeze to death? Or do you, Miss Anne, have a better way to open the door?"

"…………………"

When asked by Li Wei, Annie remained silent for a moment, then shook her head.

Clearly, she didn't have any good solutions either.

Or rather, when it comes to things like blowing up tombs, aren't you archaeologists the ones who are best at it?

"Mr. Li Wei, do you want to open this door?"

At this moment, Katie also came over, looking at Levi with curiosity and asking him a question.

"Of course, otherwise we'd just have to sleep on the floor outside, wouldn't we?"

"I understand, let me give it a try!"

As Katie spoke, she walked to the door. Levi saw her raise her hands, place them on the door, and then…

"Hey-----!"

The next moment, the previously tightly closed door began to sway slowly and open inward, with ice shards and dust falling down. With a low thud, the heavy stone door was pushed open halfway by Katie. Then, the girl took a breath and turned to look at Levi.

"Mr. Li Wei! How is it? Is everything alright now?"

"Yes, thank you so much..."

Li Wei looked at the stone gate in front of him, then at Katie who was watching him with a grin, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

However, in the blink of an eye, at that very moment, a hand suddenly reached out from the darkness inside the door and grabbed at Katie!

(End of this chapter)