Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 233 Golden Mead
Private clubs, as their name suggests, are very "private." Unlike restaurants and hotels, they don't display signs outside. In fact, most private clubs look quite ordinary from the outside; you wouldn't guess they're places for parties, but rather like private residences.

The same is true of Baron Cohen's Golden Mead Club.

It's located on the east side of Knights Street, on the edge of the Upper Town. It's relatively secluded, but not as remote as the national cemetery Levi and Katie had visited. From the outside, it looks more like a three-story private villa, except for a small garden at the back.

From the front, it looks more like an ordinary house on this street.

Baron Cohen originally planned to organize the club in an area with a high concentration of private clubs, but he later abandoned the idea, partly due to his limited financial resources, and partly because his primary clientele was not established adults, but rather young people. He wanted to build the club from scratch and cultivate a loyal customer base.

For these young people who have not yet achieved social status and identity, being surrounded by successful people must be very stressful.

Of course, Baron Cohen also considered that some people might need connections, so he chose a location just across the street from Golden Goblet Street—where various private clubs are located, and the entire street is home to the best high-society clubs in the city.

Therefore, if young people want to get to know some big shots, they can do so by coming to the club and traveling with them.

From this perspective, Baron Cohen was quite shrewd, and because of this, his club attracted dozens of members.

Of course, although it is aimed at young people, Baron Cohen is not willing to accept just any second generation. Those who join his club are basically rising stars in various industries, including two well-known actresses and a young writer who has already made a successful debut. Her first novel has sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

Another painter, at a young age, has already held a solo exhibition at the Royal Palace Art Gallery.

These people are mostly second-generation, and the kind of second-generation who have no right to inherit.

Because they had no right of inheritance, they didn't have to worry about the family business like the eldest son, and could do whatever they wanted—and then they made a name for themselves.

So although Baron Cohen's club hosts second-generation heirs, they are all successful ones, not those who are just coasting along—the latter would only lower the club's prestige and status.

For young people, even if they cannot or do not want to use their family's power and status, they still hope to build their own network of contacts.

After all, no one is a lone wolf. Getting to know each other might lead to some help or collaboration in the future.

The social platform provided by Baron Cohen is also very much to the liking of these young talents.

However, the downside of being young is that you don't have a leader to help you keep things in check.

Although private clubs are not social organizations and don't fight for territory, they still need a signboard, right?

In Baron Cohen's view, Levi was qualified for the job in terms of status, position, and achievements.

Putting everything else aside, his feat of single-handedly storming into the Continental Parliament and arresting the rebel leader in full view of everyone had already made Li Wei an idol in the hearts of all the young people in the empire.

After joining the club, Levi could tell that Baron Cohen had put in a lot of effort for it.

He had only been to the Brilliant Club before and attended some banquets, so he didn't know much about the club. However, compared to the Brilliant Club he had visited before, Golden Mead was indeed quite different.

The Brilliant Club is decorated in a very elegant and luxurious style, clearly a high-end venue, exuding a natural sense of authority.

While the Golden Mead Club may appear similar to the Brilliant Club in its architectural style, its interior design is entirely different. It abandons the complex and opulent decorations, adopting a simple, clean, and minimalist style. Somewhat resembling modern minimalism, Li Wei has to admit that this style makes young people feel more relaxed compared to those displays of history, rules, and ancient, ornate decorations.

Moreover, Baron Cohen spoke at length, claiming that he had designed everything himself—well, Levi thought that if he were in modern times, he could definitely become an excellent designer.

There's a restaurant, a games room, a study, a library, a lounge, and a garden with a gazebo and a fountain. Levi even saw some of the things he'd seen at the Steam Technology Expo. Clearly, this club seems more interested in following trends than staying traditional.

Well, he's a young man, not someone who deals in antiques.

"The environment here is nice."

Li Wei glanced around and nodded; he still preferred quiet. Fortunately, although Baron Cohen was somewhat ahead of his time, he at least didn't intend to turn the place into a disco.

If that's the case, then Li Wei can only apologize.

"Then would you like to join my club, Sir Levi?"

Upon hearing Levi's answer, Baron Cohen became excited, while Levi pondered for a moment before nodding.

"No problem, of course I'm willing."

"Great!"

Upon hearing Levi's answer, Baron Cohen was overjoyed. He hurriedly led Levi to the desk in his study and gestured for a servant to bring over documents and a pen. This wasn't a contract, but rather an application. It contained some rules of the Golden Mead Club, mainly regarding dress, as well as recommendations, guidelines for interaction among club members, and records of annual membership fees.

Li Wei glanced at the contents, confirmed there was nothing unusual, and then signed his name. And just like that, Li Wei officially became a member of the Golden Mead Club.

Baron Cohen was thrilled to see that Levi had finally joined his club and wanted to show him around, but Levi said he wanted to look around quietly by himself, so Baron Cohen tactfully took his leave.

Perhaps because it wasn't yet time to go home and rest, only the servants were cleaning and tidying up the entire club. Li Wei walked around the club, saw no other members, and then went to the library to examine the books on the shelves.

The books here are quite diverse, covering all sorts of things, but most of them are novels and collections of essays, with very few highly specialized books.

Li Wei selected a novel called "Painful Revenge" and sat down to read it.

Although the book's title suggests pain and revenge, it's not a mystery novel; it's more like a romance. The story revolves around the female protagonist being pursued by the male protagonist, who becomes madly infatuated with her, from initial advances to eventual torment.

The male protagonist seems to distrust the female protagonist's love. He fears she will fall for someone else after leaving him, so he imprisons her and tortures her relentlessly every day, interrogating and torturing her. However, the female protagonist remains steadfast and refuses to yield. Finally, when the male protagonist beats her again, leaving her bruised and battered, and asks her if she loves him, she finally replies that even after such torment, she will still deeply love him.

This deeply moved the male protagonist, who eventually succumbed to the female protagonist's embrace, and their "love" withstood the test.

If readers think that the female lead was beaten into a daze by the male lead or was forced to submit, then they are sorely mistaken.

Because at the end of the story, the author revealed the heroine's true feelings—she certainly wouldn't fall in love with such a pervert who constantly torments her. But whenever she saw the hero suffering so much for her love, she felt incredibly excited and thrilled.

This makes the female protagonist feel that although she is tortured by the male protagonist in reality, on a spiritual level, she is the one who torments the male protagonist.

Regardless of whether she accepts his confession, the male protagonist's pain and joy exist only for himself. So, on the surface, it seems that the male protagonist is tormenting her. But in reality, it is the female protagonist who is tormenting the male protagonist.

Um……………

Seeing the ending where the two get married in a church and live happily ever after, Li Wei silently closed the book.

All I can say is that this is a perfect match – a broken pot with a broken lid.

Neither the male nor female protagonist are normal people.

Just as Li Wei was complaining about the plot of the book, he suddenly heard a sound coming from the corridor.

Good afternoon. Ah, it seems we're the first to arrive again.

A cheerful girl's voice rang out, followed quickly by a steady male voice.

"Yes, you're always the first one here."

"Hehe, because it's really fun chatting together here, isn't it? Don't you agree, Miss Lista?"

"Indeed, I am quite satisfied with this place."

This time, it was a mature and composed female voice that rang out.

"It's just that Sir Cohen said he was looking for a heavyweight guest, and I don't know if he has found one yet."

Another young, somewhat childish voice rang out.

"That must be difficult, after all, it's not easy for a club like ours to invite a heavyweight guest."

As they were talking, Li Wei saw several figures appear at the door, and they were taken aback when they saw Li Wei sitting in the chair.

"Huh? You are..."

Hello, everyone.

Li Wei stood up and smiled and nodded at the members of the Golden Mead Club in front of him.

"I'm Li Wei, and I just joined the Golden Mead Club today. I hope we can get along well."

“……………………………”

At this moment, upon seeing Li Wei, the young people standing at the door froze like statues, motionless and speechless.

(End of this chapter)