Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 239 Arrival
This inquiry was very fruitful for Li Wei.

Although the old man said he was too young to have witnessed many things firsthand, only heard about them, Livy was fortunate to possess the "wisdom of Solomon." Therefore, when the old man recounted the priest's actions, he immediately retrieved corresponding details from Solomon's memory.

Séance ritual.

As mentioned before, Solomon lived during the time of Emperor Arthur, and in Arthur's time, the continent was not yet fully unified, with many regions adhering to different religions and deities. In many countries, the practice of "spirit possession" existed.

The process is simple: first, believers build a statue of the deity, then offer sacrifices and call upon the deity to descend. The deity will then descend into the statue and display its divine power for a very short time.

Incidentally, this ritual is not a religious ceremony, but a means of warfare. How long a god can remain in the world and how much power he can exert depends on the sturdiness of the statue and the preciousness of the offerings.

Of course, Solomon was unsure whether the being that descended in this "divine intervention" was actually a god, but he was certain that it was some kind of extremely powerful being.

Is this the reason why the Church of Jesus Christ is forbidden from creating idols?

Solomon ultimately did not participate in Arthur's expedition, and his knowledge dates back to a time before the empire and the Holy Bishops were even established. Therefore, even if King Solomon were asked, he probably wouldn't know the answer, which became Livy's speculation.

After all, if creating a statue and offering sacrifices could indeed summon a powerful being to descend to the mortal realm, then that would be quite troublesome.

However, for Li Wei, there is another problem.

Why doesn't the Holy Bishop, as a religion, use this method? Just think, if they create statues of God in all churches, and then summon God to descend when danger arises, wouldn't the Holy Bishop's prestige be overwhelming and unparalleled?

But instead of doing so, they listed it as a prohibited item?

Is it that they don't want to? Or that they can't?

If that's not possible, oh dear... that's a serious problem...

Of course, now is not the time for Li Wei to indulge in the friars' melons; he should focus on the immediate issues first.

To be honest, after confirming that this was very likely a séance, Li Wei had to face a problem.

So... should we call for reinforcements?

Generally speaking, enemies in horror movies fall into two categories.

One type is monsters that can be easily killed by physical attacks, such as zombies, aliens, and monsters hiding in burrows. As long as there is a well-organized army and relatively heavy firepower, it is not a problem to deal with them.

Another type is things like ghosts, monsters, gods, etc... not-so-normal things.

No matter how many people you bring, it's useless against something like this. On the contrary, you might end up giving them all to the enemy, making them even stronger.

Li Wei still remembers King Solomon. If anyone in reality truly possessed the power of King Solomon, the army of this era would probably have a hard time defeating him.

As for the so-called god in Death Valley, we don't even know what it is. If we rashly bring too many people in, we might end up as food for the other side, which would be like catching our own trap.

After all, the fact that the other party could get a priest to perform a séance meant that this thing must have existed since at least the time of Emperor Arthur and King Solomon. Li Wei didn't know the strength of Emperor Arthur, but he knew about King Solomon. If there really was a monster like King Solomon hidden inside, the more people went, the more they would lose.

So Li Wei decided to go in first and see what was going on. If the other side was simply relying on numbers, then he would come out and call for reinforcements.

If the other party isn't, then... you'll have to see if you can take it down.

Of course, finding Alice is the most important thing, provided that the girl is really here.

However, just in case, Li Wei used the town's post office to send a telegram to MI7, briefly explaining that he was going to Silver Valley for an investigation, specifying the time, location, and number of people. He also told the riders that if he and Katie did not return within three days, they should call for help.

The rider initially wanted to go in, but considering the conditions inside, Levi ultimately refused his request. After all, the rider was just an ordinary person, lacking even basic shooting skills; his presence inside would only make things more difficult for Levi and Katie.

Furthermore, Li Wei isn't really worried about a lack of firepower anymore. Thanks to his [Storage and Compression] ability, he now carries the equivalent of a platoon's worth of firepower. Do you really think [Puppeteer LV6] is a joke? Li Wei isn't afraid of sheer numbers at all!
Of course, if there are too many enemies, it's still scary.

Actually, Levi wanted Katie to stay outside as well, but Katie insisted on going in. Considering that this young lady was even better at fighting than him, Levi agreed.

So the next morning, after resting, the two went up the mountain path again, and there they saw the old hunter standing in front of them with a hunting rifle on his back. "I want to go with you too."

Old Man Rogge stared at Li Wei and spoke.

"Uh...you don't need to do that, it's dangerous inside after all..."

"I know it's dangerous, but I still want to go."

The old man interrupted Li Wei.

"I'm partly to blame for all of this, and I can't shirk my responsibility. Besides... I've lived long enough, and I want to go back and see my parents. I wonder if they're doing well..."

As he spoke, the old man turned his head and looked into the depths of the mountains with a nostalgic gaze.

"Well……………"

Li Wei looked at the old man, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

Grandpa, don't you think you have a lot of flags stuck to your body?
"In that case, please join us."

Li Wei finally made his decision. Judging from the old man's expression, it was clear that there was no point in stopping him; the old man was determined to return to Death Valley. Since that was the case, it would be better to let him travel with them, making it easier to protect him.

It may sound harsh, but the old man was actually the weakest of the three.

"Of course, speaking of which, is this young lady also going?"

The old man frowned and stared at Katie.

"That's no place to joke around, miss."

"I know, but I'm still going."

Katie nodded vigorously and spoke, while the old man simply sighed and said nothing more.

"Alright, I suppose you have your reasons. In that case, I won't stop you."

"Well…………………"

I'm sorry, but you probably thought Katie was Alice's sister or something, but unfortunately, this young lady is just here for the fun of it.

And she's way stronger than you...

Li Wei ultimately didn't voice his complaint, and the three of them continued along the mountain path, heading deeper into the forest.

The deeper they went, the more difficult the path became, and the animal calls grew sparser. Gradually, the original wild path turned into a narrow trail overgrown with weeds, which would probably have been completely unnoticed if the old man hadn't been leading them.

The chirping of insects and the calls of animals disappeared, and the sunlight began to dim. Just as Levi and Katie were getting a little tired from climbing the mountain, the old man walking ahead stopped.

"right here."

Hearing the old man's words, the two looked up and gazed ahead.

Looking ahead along the road, one can see a straight downhill path leading down into a canyon, where a thick white fog clearly obscures everything at the canyon's entrance.

Death Valley is right in front of us.

　What's wrong with mooncakes these days? Someone came over today and brought me mooncakes, but I couldn't tell what the filling was at all. All they said was something like "gilded" or "embracing the moon," which made me have to check the ingredient list, but even then I couldn't understand the filling… Why not just write something like "five nuts and black sesame"?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)