Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 229: Hunter and Prey

For Theresa, the sudden investigation caught her completely off guard. She had received no prior warning, and the team was led by Levi…

Thinking of this, Theresa's eyes darkened. She certainly knew of Levi's reputation, and although it wasn't unreasonable for him to be performing political duties now that he was a knight, the cases he had solved over the years truly worried Theresa.

Is this just a coincidence? Or is the other party targeting me?
Theresa took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her inner unease, then reached out and took a necklace from her neck, clutching it tightly in her hand.

Then, Theresa closed her eyes.

“My teacher… a survey team has come to the nursing home, saying they’ve reopened an administrative investigation, but I’m worried they might have discovered something…”

Theresa silently recited the mantra, and a moment later, an aged voice appeared in her ear.

"Don't worry about it..."

"But……………"

“The Holy Book is now in my hands. Their arrival is just the right time to offer sacrifices for the ritual… Rest assured, Theresa, this time… you will surely gain eternal life.”

"Yes, my teacher."

Upon hearing this answer, Theresa's tense nerves immediately relaxed.

She walked to the window and looked out again, where she could see the vehicles parked not far away.

Those civil servants... if they don't find anything, fine, but if they do find something, then... don't blame me for being impolite.

With that thought in mind, Theresa clenched her hands tightly and made a decision.

Theresa, now 40, led an ordinary yet painful life. Having grown up without a father, she deeply craved his love. This longing fueled her pursuit of love, but each relationship ended in disappointment.

After being betrayed and hurt by men several times, Theresa finally became heartbroken and chose to spend the rest of her life in a nursing home.

But Theresa never imagined that her decision would change her destiny.

In the nursing home, Theresa met an elderly man who, on the surface, seemed no different from the other seniors. However, Theresa soon discovered that this man spoke with extraordinary eloquence, unlike any ordinary person. And this old man even revealed a secret to Theresa.

In fact, this old man was not an ordinary old man, but a wizard. Moreover, the old man claimed that he had discovered the secret of life and death and had achieved immortality!

According to the old man, he was born over a hundred years ago and was a descendant of an alchemical family. His family possessed a codex called the "Book of Dijan," which described the secrets and knowledge hidden in the darkness of this world. The old man was determined to pursue this knowledge and attain immortality.

However, his good fortune was short-lived. Just as the old man was researching the secrets of the book, his wicked and blasphemous experiments aroused the anger and resentment of the locals. They stormed into his house, just as they had done to Dr. Victor, the creator of Frankenstein, and tried to burn him alive.

Faced with this life-or-death crisis, the old man finally decided to initiate the ritual. He used the incantation recorded in the Book of Dijan to summon the great being known as the Great Old Ones and prayed to him to grant him eternal life!
Unfortunately, the summoning was not perfect. Everyone except the old man turned into an old man within seconds and died of old age. The old man himself was the same; although he gained immortality, he also became a hunched old man.

This also means that although he has gained eternal life, he can only be trapped in this old, sick body forever.

But in the end, the old man gained immortality. Although he was hunched over and old, he had infinite life and could never be killed.

Bewitched by the secrets of the dark myths the old man described, Theresa quickly submitted to him and became his assistant.

And it is clear that Theresa also desires the power of immortality.

Initially, they tried to test the technology on patients in nursing homes, but problems quickly arose. It even alarmed the city council, which sent in an administrative investigation. Theresa spent considerable effort to suppress the matter.

After that, the two began conducting their experiments with greater caution. This time, Theresa chose illegal immigrants from abroad. Using her intelligence network, she contacted human smugglers in Chongqing who specialized in finding jobs for illegal immigrants. She indicated that her nursing home needed staff, preferably young, healthy women.

When these people arrived at the nursing home, what awaited them was not a job with free room and board and three meals a day, but cruel and terrifying experiments.

One young woman after another died, but their deaths were not in vain. The old man told Theresa that this time, he would atone for his mistakes. He had sacrificed the lifespans of these women to that great ancient being, so that it could fully manifest itself in this world, at which point it could grant Theresa the power of eternal life.

And it won't make her grow up to be an old woman like me.

But what to do with the women's bodies was a real headache for Theresa. Although she had been very careful, the others at the nursing home seemed to have sensed the sinister secret between the elderly women and her. They began to become neurotic, even somewhat abnormal. Therefore, Theresa dared not risk being discovered by them by hiding the women's bodies near the nursing home.

But the old man helped Theresa solve the problem. He summoned a terrifying, horrible, and bizarre creature. It was entirely black, with a winged monster that resembled a raven's beak, a vulture's head, a mole's tail, and ant limbs.

The old man called them "Bayaki," monsters from an indescribable abyss in the distant outer universe. They would take away the women's corpses and then discard them.

This reassured Theresa considerably, and the evil, filth, blasphemy, ugly and twisted monsters she witnessed only strengthened her belief in seeking dark power and yearning for immortality.

Everything is going smoothly now. The great Old Ones are about to descend, and we absolutely cannot let these ignorant insects ruin this sacred ritual! They'd better be sensible and leave as soon as possible, or else... they won't be so polite.

Li Wei, of course, had no idea what Theresa was thinking at that moment, but he was certain that something unsettling was lurking in this nursing home—as someone who had dealt with and fought against mysterious creatures several times, Li Wei could instinctively sense that aura.

It's as if the entire nursing home is built on the body of some kind of monster that can't be described or put into words, or even that the nursing home itself is part of that monster's body.

Moreover, the staff and elderly people here are all a headache.

Or she's just emotionally fragile; she might burst into tears while talking, and I have no idea why she's crying.

Or they just spout nonsense. Some claim to have seen their deceased spouse here, while others say they have heard enlightenment from the abyss of darkness. In short, what they say is illogical, unclear, and incomprehensible.

Is this place a nursing home or a mental hospital? It seems like there aren't many normal people here.
In fact, Li Wei wasn't the only one with this idea.

Katie is the same.

"This place looks so eerie and strange..."

Walking down the corridor, Katie frowned and muttered to herself as she looked around. A strange, sour stench permeated the entire nursing home. Not only that, but black mold covered the corners of the pristine white walls. Katie even found a greenhouse in one corner, but almost all the plants inside were completely withered, making it look rather unpleasant.

"Although Mr. Li Wei said he wanted to find something strange here, in my opinion, there is nothing here that is not strange at all."

Katie muttered to herself, then turned to go back to the hall.

"Kala la la la—"

Just then, the sound of a wheelchair rolling came from not far away. Katie then saw an elderly man sitting in a wheelchair, struggling to move the wheels deeper into the corridor. Seeing this, Katie quickly ran over and took the wheelchair's hand. "Grandpa, you look like you're having a hard time by yourself. Let me help you. Where are you going?"

"Haha, thank you, miss."

The man in the wheelchair was an elderly man with long white hair and an extremely thin appearance. He smiled weakly at Katie from his wheelchair.

"I want to go back to my room to rest."

"Room?"

“That’s right, it’s at the far end over there…”

As he spoke, the old man stretched out his hand and pointed to the other side of the corridor. Katie looked in the direction the old man was pointing and saw that the depths of the corridor were dark, as if it had been completely swallowed by shadows.

"Why is it so dark there? I can't see anything."

"Oh, the light is broken... I'm sorry, could you help me with that?"

"Okay, of course."

Without a second thought, Katie pushed the old man's wheelchair deeper into the corridor. The further they went, the darker the corridor became, but thankfully, a sliver of light coming in from the window was enough to barely illuminate the outlines in front of them.

"We're here. Is this the place?"

"Yes, thank you so much, miss, you really have a lot of energy..."

"Hehe, that can be considered one of my strengths."

As she spoke, Katie pushed open the door and ushered the old man into the room. The old man coughed and handed her a box of matches.

"Excuse me, could you please turn on the light over there? My legs aren't very strong..."

"Well, of course no problem."

Katie went into the room, took out a match, and lit the candle on the table.

"Alright, grandpa...wait, this doesn't look like a place where people live."

Katie looked up and realized that what she was seeing didn't look like a bedroom at all, but rather more like an empty warehouse. Just then, a soft sound came from outside.

"Boom."

Katie turned her head in confusion, only to find that the door that had been open was now closed. The white-haired old man who had been sitting in the wheelchair was now standing there, staring at her with a cold smile.

"Hey? Grandpa, you can walk by yourself?"

"Yes... It's a pity I can't jump around like you... Youth is wonderful; your vibrant and abundant life force is truly dazzling..."

As he spoke, the old man stretched out his hand and made a gesture in the air.

"Now, for the sake of this great being, offer up your life force..."

As the words fell, the old man's gesture was completed, and a dim yellow light appeared in the air, while Katie simply stood there curiously, watching all of this.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?"

"How is that possible? It didn't work?"

The old man was also taken aback when he saw Katie standing there, completely unaffected. Generally speaking, as long as he used this witchcraft, the other party would immediately lose consciousness and be completely controlled by him.

But why did it not work on this girl?

Never mind, since that's how it is...

The old man's expression hardened, and a fierce glint appeared in his eyes. Then, to Katie's surprise, the old man's back suddenly swelled up, and several tentacles tore through his clothes and emerged, spreading out layer by layer and aimed at Katie!
"Grandpa? Are you a monster?"

"Be good and listen to me!"

Looking at the girl whose face had changed drastically, the old man was now full of confidence. As long as he sacrificed her, he would have enough life force to summon that great and eternal being.

This time, my plan will definitely not fail again!
Moreover, this is a warehouse with no windows and the door is blocked by itself, leaving this little girl with no way out but death!
"Listen to me obediently, or I'll kill you right now!"

Looking at the girl, the old man snorted coldly. He was certain that the girl must have been completely terrified by what she saw!

Next, all we need to do is...

Before the old man could figure out what to do next, an unexpected scene unfolded.

Suddenly, Katie turned around, aimed at the wall next to the old man, and rammed her head into it.

Before the old man could react, he saw the brick wall suddenly explode with a loud "bang," leaving a large hole.

"…………………"

What just happened?
Even the old man was completely bewildered. He remained in the position with his tentacles outstretched, staring blankly at the large hole in the wall not far from him. His mind went blank for a moment, as if he couldn't understand what had happened at all.

Just then, Katie's voice rang out from outside the wall.

"Mr. Li Wei, come quick! I've found the bad guy!"

　Thank you to the patron who loves collecting books for the generous donation! Welcome to the new patron. By the way, I've written almost 10,000 words today. Although it's only two updates, it's still equivalent to four updates, so I guess you could call it a super update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)