Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 228 The Mysterious Nursing Home
Once the target was identified, investigating it became much easier for Li Wei.

Through MI7's intelligence network, he quickly obtained information about the seaside nursing home.

The seaside nursing home, built half a century ago, primarily provides care services for lonely elderly people with a little spare money. The current director is Dr. Theresa Andres, a 40-year-old woman.

Although this doctor is the director of the nursing home, her private reputation is not good.

Intelligence indicates that Dr. Andres frequently purchases addictive drugs and narcotics from the black market for unknown purposes.

In addition, she has hired undocumented immigrant workers on more than one occasion.

Furthermore, Dr. Andres also posted a bounty in the underworld, offering five thousand pounds to anyone who could bring her an ancient book called "The Book of Dijon".

Furthermore, according to records, five years ago, the government launched an administrative investigation into the seaside retirement home due to rumors, but the investigation was later "suspended for some reason."

These records alone were enough for Li Wei to suspect that there was something wrong with the nursing home and its director.

What deepened Li Wei's suspicions even more was the location of the seaside nursing home.

Despite its name, "Seaside Nursing Home," this nursing home is actually not located by the sea at all. Instead, it is situated deep in the mountains north of Chongqing, a five-hour drive away.

More importantly, the seaside nursing home is located just one mountain away from the forest where the body was found.

For humans who cannot fly, the mountain alone is enough to deter them from venturing into the distance.

But for something that can fly—it's as simple as throwing trash over the wall to your neighbor's house.

Perhaps for those who dispose of bodies, there is no essential difference between the two.

Next, it's Li Wei's turn to appear.

In a horror movie, the protagonist usually has to infiltrate alone to investigate, only to be beaten up by the other side.

But Li Wei didn't need that. Did he really think MI7 was just a bunch of useless bums?
They even came up with a reason.

Wasn't there an administrative investigation into the seaside nursing home, but it was "suspended for some reason"?

Why not just reopen the investigation and be done with it?

So, a day after gathering this intelligence, Li Wei led the agents of MI7 in a grand procession to the seaside retirement home.

Li Wei was still driving his Phantom, with Katie accompanying him. Behind them was a black minivan, naturally manufactured by a factory owned by Li Wei. As for its appearance—a Wuling Hongguang, the eternal legend!

So Li Wei drove the Phantom, leading a large group of bread-bread men, to the "Seaside Retirement Home" deep in the forest.

The seaside retirement home is located in the Black Forest north of Chongqing, a five-hour drive from the city. It has a cruciform shape and is two stories high. The once white exterior walls are now filthy, the garden in front of the building appears abandoned, and the plants inside have all turned yellow and withered.

"To be honest, I don't think this is a good place for recuperation."

Li Wei got out of the car and started complaining about the nursing home in front of him, while Katie nodded in agreement.

As its name suggests, the Black Forest is surrounded by dense pine forests. The towering pine trees encircle the entire nursing home like a city wall, their massive trunks even blocking out the sunlight, shrouding everything in a dim and cold shadow. Judging from the outside alone, the nursing home clearly appears to have been abandoned.

At this moment, the agents in the van behind them had also gotten out of the car. They were all wearing black suits, which looked a lot like the clothes worn by an organization that deals with aliens in a movie.

Of course, this can also be considered a civil servant's uniform.

"Alright, I think you've all seen the mission briefing, so I won't waste any more time on small talk."

Li Wei glanced at the group. The team that had come with him was a special agent squad trained by MI7 itself (after all, MI7 did not have an army). Like Li Wei, they were responsible for investigating all sorts of strange incidents, and the three squads that came here this time were the best of the best.

"Squad A, stand by and prepare all weapons in case of emergencies. Squad B, go to the back and keep watch, look for any back doors or secret passages. Squad C, come with me."

Li Wei quickly issued the order, and no one else objected—after all, Li Wei was a veteran of MI7, and his orders were not for these young people to question.

Soon, one team returned to their vehicle to prepare for a standoff, while another team attempted to circle around to the back of the nursing home from the left. The third team followed Levi and Katie, entering the nursing home with them.

"Squeak."

The heavy wooden door creaked open, and Li Wei pushed it open and strode inside.

The inside of the nursing home wasn't much better than the outside. Although it looked clean, it had a very oppressive atmosphere. Even though the lights were on, the view seemed dim, as if a filter had been applied to it.

The corridor reeked of a nauseating stench. While it's true that elderly people in nursing homes do sometimes have an unpleasant odor, this clearly indicated that the hygiene conditions of this nursing home were not good.

If this were to become a formal administrative investigation, it would be enough to shut down the nursing home.

Although this is indeed true.

"Excuse me, what can I do for you?"

Standing behind the front desk was a young nurse. She had been lying on the table, but when Li Wei and the others came in, she hurriedly raised her head, wiped her eyes, and looked at them anxiously, asking questions.

It's no wonder she was so nervous. Seeing a group of people in suits walking in with an imposing air would definitely make her feel uneasy.

"Hello, I am Li Wei. I am here on behalf of the city council to conduct an administrative investigation."

Li Wei stepped forward, took out the documents from his pocket, and waved them at the nurse.

Can you answer my question?

As Li Wei spoke, he carefully examined the nurse in front of him. She looked quite young, and her eyes were slightly red, as if she had just been crying. Moreover, the nurse's face was thin, and she seemed listless, not like someone who was living comfortably here.

Hmm... If even the staff at the nursing home are like this, how good can the elderly living here be?

"Ah, okay..."

The young nurse seemed completely stunned by Li Wei's sudden attack, nodding blankly.

"Very good. So, how many staff members and how many elderly residents does this nursing home have?"

"First, there are three doctors, six nurses, five cleaners and two cooks... There are thirty-nine residents in total... No, thirty-eight."

Hearing the nurse's reply, Li Wei glanced at her.

"Thirty-eight? Or thirty-nine?"

"Thirty-nine... no, it's thirty-eight people..."

"Is there a list?"

"The list...is in the Dean's office..."

"take me."

"Okay, okay..."

The nurse nodded hesitantly, then turned and walked inside. Li Wei and the others followed the nurse deeper into the nursing home.

“Ugh… Mr. Li Wei.”

Katie leaned close to Levi and whispered.

"I feel really uncomfortable in this place."

"Indeed, it was quite unpleasant."

Li Wei nodded, sharing Katie's sentiments. From the moment he arrived, Li Wei had felt an indescribable, unpleasant, and irritating feeling. It was like playing a game with a hazy, gray filter applied, making everything appear dull, lifeless, heavy, and oppressive.

Moreover, the people here gave off the same feeling. As Li Wei walked through the corridor, he saw elderly people sitting in the lounge. Logically, they should be enjoying a leisurely and happy time. But those elderly people just sat listlessly on the sofas, either reading newspapers, muttering to themselves, or staring blankly.

"Lisa!"

A woman in a white coat came out, her face serious, and she looked at Li Wei and the others with displeasure.

"who are they?"

"Doctors, they're from the city council, they say they're going to conduct an administrative inspection of the nursing home..."

"examine?"

The female doctor turned her head and looked at Li Wei again. The coldness and mania in her eyes lessened considerably when she saw Li Wei, and her tone, which was originally aloof, softened.

"I have not received any notification."

"This is a surprise inspection."

As Li Wei spoke, he took out a document and handed it to the female doctor.

"We adopted this approach to ensure the daily living conditions of the nursing home."

"so……………"

The female doctor took the document, glanced at it, and then sighed.

"So, as you've all seen, this godforsaken place is pretty much what it is, and it's about time it all collapsed!"

After speaking, the female doctor handed the document back to Li Wei, and then glanced at the nurse again.

"Looks like I can pack my things now!"

After saying that, the female doctor turned and walked away.

“………………………?”

Seeing this, Li Wei and Katie exchanged a puzzled look. Generally, when faced with such administrative inspections, people would try to say nice things. But judging from this female doctor's appearance, she didn't seem alarmed at all; instead, her tone carried a hint of relief, as if she had long wanted to leave. It seemed the problem here was more serious than they had imagined.

Next, the group followed the nurse to the end of the stairs and went up to the second floor.

"————!"

But just as Katie was walking up the stairs, suddenly, a hand reached out from around the corner and grabbed her. Startled, Katie instinctively clenched her other fist and swung it forward forcefully.

The small fist sent a whooshing sound through the air as it slammed forward, then abruptly stopped in front of an elderly man with white hair. The force of the punch ruffled the old man's white hair, but his eyes suddenly widened, fixed intently on Katie. His thin, twig-like hand gripped Katie's left hand tightly.

"Little girl, why are you back again? Oh dear, I told you, get out of here quickly, or you won't be able to leave! The demon will eat you...!"

"Madam, Madam..."

Just as everyone was stunned by this sudden scene, a plump nurse rushed over and pressed down on the old man's shoulder.

“You’ve mistaken her for someone else again. She’s not the child you know…”

While pulling the old lady away, the fat nurse glared fiercely at the young nurse.

"What are you all standing there for? Get them out of here! Aren't you tired of this mess? You're all useless!"

"Ah, yes, please follow me..."

Hearing the fat nurse's angry roar, the young nurse was also stunned, and then hurriedly led the others away from the stairwell.

"………………………"

Li Wei withdrew his gaze and remained silent.

Is this a nursing home?

Why does it look like a mental hospital to me?
In fact, something is definitely not right here.

Li Wei has already used his [Soul Vision] to check, and everyone here has a problem with their soul.

To put it simply, under the [Soul Vision], the souls of ordinary people are white, the color of a blank sheet of paper.

But the souls of the people here are like a sheet of white paper covered with a layer of gray, making them look less white.

Although Li Wei wasn't sure what was going on, a comparison would at least confirm that the people in this nursing home were not in a normal condition.

Finally, the group arrived at the door of the dean's office. The young nurse knocked on the door, and then an impatient female voice came from inside.

"who is it?"

“Yes, it’s me, Lisa… Director, government investigators have arrived. They say they’re conducting an administrative investigation into the nursing home…”

"what?"

Before the young nurse could finish speaking, the door to the dean's office opened, and Li Wei saw a woman in her forties wearing a white coat walk out.

She is the director of this nursing home and also Li Wei's target of investigation.

Theresa Andres.

Theresa seemed very nervous about the arrival of Li Wei and the others. She glared at Li Wei with wide eyes.

"I haven't heard of any administrative investigation being conducted."

"This is a surprise inspection."

Li Wei lowered his head and looked at Theresa.

"It seems this nursing home has many problems now. What explanation do you have for that, Director Andres?"

"...This is not our problem."

Theresa's expression twisted for a moment, but she quickly returned to normal.

“We have been working very hard to keep the nursing home running, but we don’t have enough funds…”

"We can talk about that later."

Li Wei waved his hand, interrupting Theresa's explanation.

"We're going to conduct a full investigation of this nursing home now, is that alright?"

“……………………………”

Theresa stared at Levi, who noticed that although she was trying to remain calm, her hands were clenched tightly inside her sleeves. At this moment, Theresa's inner world was not as calm as her outward appearance suggested.

Finally, Theresa sighed.

"Of course, no problem. We hope you can report the difficulties we encounter."

"We will report the facts truthfully."

Li Wei nodded, then turned to the C team members behind him and made a gesture. The latter quickly understood Li Wei's meaning and began to investigate the staff and residents of the nursing home separately.

"Sir, would it be possible to speak with you privately?"

Theresa glanced at Katie, then turned to Levi and asked him a question. Levi nodded, gesturing for Katie to stand outside. He then followed Theresa into the dean's office.

Inside the office, the stench of filth had lessened slightly. Theresa took out a glass of wine from the cabinet and poured it for Levi, but he refused.

"I do not drink."

"That's it."

When Theresa saw that the wine she poured was refused, she didn't mind. She went back behind her desk and looked at Levi.

“Sir, this administrative investigation has caused a lot of trouble for my nursing home. I won’t hide it, as you may have seen, our current situation is very bad. But I hope you can understand that many residents have no choice but to live here. If you close this nursing home, they will have nowhere else to go.”

As she spoke, Theresa opened a drawer and took out an envelope.

"This is just a small token of my appreciation, and I hope you will accept it."

Theresa placed the envelope on the table and stepped back toward Levi, who took the envelope, opened it, and found it full of banknotes.

Yes, it's about five hundred pounds.

"I understand."

Li Wei put the envelope back into his pocket, and when Theresa saw this, a smile appeared on her face.

But the next moment, Li Wei asked a question that Theresa hadn't expected.

"Based on a tip, we learned that your nursing home is employing undocumented immigrants? Is that true?"

"This... existed before..."

Theresa gritted her teeth and opened the drawer again.

“As you know, our nursing home is currently short of funds. If we were to go through the normal hiring process, we wouldn’t have enough wages to pay. But those illegal immigrants only need a place to live and three meals a day, and they’re willing to work hard… So… we have no choice but to do this.”

Theresa took out another envelope and pushed it in front of Levi, who opened it and looked inside.

One thousand pounds.

What about the illegal immigrants?

"They've all left..."

"left?"

Li Wei looked at Theresa with a half-smile.

"Where have you gone?"

"Sorry, I don't know either..."

Theresa's expression was a stiff smile, while Levi simply looked at her, carefully scrutinizing the dean. Then he stood up and put the envelope into his pocket.

"Okay, I understand what you mean. But it's my duty, so you shouldn't mind if I wander around and check things out, right?"

"Of course... I don't mind."

Although that's what she said, Theresa's eyes didn't show the slightest hint of indifference.

However, Li Wei pretended not to see it. He nodded to Theresa and then turned and walked out of the room.

"Click."

The door is closed.

Theresa stared at the closed door, clenching her teeth and gripping her hands tightly.

Then, she snorted coldly.

"Damn bastard..."

(End of this chapter)