Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 253 Strange Paintings

Chapter 253 Strange Paintings
Wood's gallery, located in a corner of the business district, had a rather quaint and artistic feel to it. It was filled with various sculptures and paintings, at least giving it a semblance of artistic merit.

"Hmm... an art gallery? This is my first time in a place like this."

Li Wei walked through the gate with curiosity, looked at the surrounding furnishings, and couldn't help but speak.

"Sir Levy, are you not usually interested in these things?"

"Pretty much. Strictly speaking, I often can't understand art, like that kind of thing."

As he spoke, Li Wei looked up and pointed with his chin to a painting hanging not far away. It looked like a collection of geometric shapes in different colors, and it was impossible to tell what it was.

“If it were an oil painting or a landscape painting, I could take a look, but with this kind of thing, I can’t tell whether it’s good or bad, let alone see any value.”

"Haha, everyone has different preferences... I understand, please come this way."

Mr. Wood chuckled twice and quickly changed the subject.

After passing through a corridor filled with paintings and rooms brimming with sculptures and artworks, Mr. Wood led Levi to a warehouse behind the gallery. The warehouse door was secured with a massive lock.

"call………"

Seeing that the door lock was intact, Mr. Wood breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Levi and gave him a wry smile.

“I’m sorry, Sir Levi, I would never dare to take that painting out. I’ve always kept it locked in the storeroom… Please come in.”

As he spoke, the boss opened the warehouse door.

Unlike the outside, which was filled with artworks, this warehouse was empty, except for a painting covered with a cloth in the center. It seemed the artworks had originally been stored inside, but the owner had moved them all out.

"That painting... I'm sorry, I don't want to see it again, Sir Levi. Please go and see it for yourself."

"Ok."

Seeing that Boss Wood looked like a mouse seeing a cat, Levi was also quite curious. He stepped forward, grabbed the cloth covering the painting, and pulled it down forcefully.

"Wow."

The dusty cloth fell to the ground, and the painting appeared in front of Li Wei.

At first glance, Levi understood why Wood said the colors in the painting were very vibrant. In fact, the use of color in the painting was indeed quite dazzling, like a bright and clear high-definition image displayed on a modern 8K monitor.

So much so that Li Wei was immediately drawn to the colors at first glance, and only then did he begin to pay close attention to the content of the painting.

Fortunately, this isn't some abstract, incomprehensible mess; in fact, the content is quite easy to understand. Deep in a dense forest, a group of people dressed like some kind of primitive tribe, their bodies smeared with paint, are dancing around a campfire, seemingly performing some kind of ritual.

And in the night sky above them, what shone was not the moon, but a star.

Yes, stars.

The moment he saw the painting, Li Wei understood it.

That's right, it's not about seeing, it's about understanding.

The painting appears as described above, seemingly unremarkable. However, upon closer inspection, Li Wei senses a subtle liveliness. It's as if it's not a painting, but rather a moving image. The humans gathered around the campfire sway with almost imperceptible movements, constantly chanting blasphemous names, summoning messengers from beyond the heavens…

It's that star.

Li Wei stared at the star, which appeared as a tiny dot on the canvas. But what Li Wei saw was more than just a dot; it was a rusty, reddish-brown planet, lifelessly floating in the universe, emanating an overwhelming aura that was indescribable and ineffable.

At that moment, Li Wei felt as if he were in a cosmic orbit, watching the enormous planet in front of him slowly rotate—and then it turned around.

On the surface of that planet, a crimson eye silently and calmly watched him. At the same time, a torrent of knowledge surged into Li Wei's mind like a raging flood. It was something that had existed there since ancient times, and one day it would awaken and bring a new order to this world.

Like a giant eyeball floating in the universe, driving the order of all things, its name is…

At that moment, Li Wei felt his heart suddenly startle violently out of control, as if he had been startled. But the instant he realized this, his heart, which had almost jumped out of his throat, quickly returned to its usual steady state. He took a step back and came to his senses.

Only then did I realize that I was still in that warehouse.

"Sir Levi? Are you alright?"

Mr. Wood, holding a lamp, cautiously watched Levi. He handed him a tissue, and only after taking the tissue did Levi realize that he had started bleeding from his nose without realizing it.

Well, thankfully it's not some kind of nude painting, otherwise it would be hard to say.

Li Wei took the tissue, wiped the blood from his nose, and looked at the canvas again. But as he looked at the canvas, everything around him began to blur again... So Li Wei quickly looked away.

"It is indeed a bit strange."

As Li Wei spoke, he tried to recall everything he had seen before. However, to his surprise, despite possessing the ability to "remember everything he saw," when he tried to recall the information from that painting, he felt like he was looking at flowers through a fog. It was like trying to read a book through a blurry mirror; he could only vaguely make out the words, but couldn't quite make out what they were... That was the feeling.

“Cover it up.”

Upon hearing Li Wei's order, the boss hurriedly walked around to the side, forcing himself not to look at the front of the painting, and then covered it again with the canvas from behind.

"call……………"

Only then did Li Wei finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're not planning to burn this painting?"

"I'd like to burn it, but won't I be punished?"

It seems he has been struggling with this painting for a long time, but he doesn't dare to start it without permission, for fear of being cursed by it.

"Speaking of which, since this is a painting, it should have an artist. Have you spoken with the artist?"

"I did contact the author."

The shopkeeper nodded. "I've inquired about it. That person lives on Glass Street in the Lower City, but it's a dangerous place, and there are gangs around there. I was beaten up just for asking about the painter, and they threatened me never to go looking for him again."

"How could a painter get involved with gangsters?"

Upon hearing this, Levi frowned, and Boss Wood shook his head.

"I'm not quite sure either, but that's precisely why I don't dare to do anything anymore. After all, I'm just an ordinary art dealer, and I don't want to get involved with gangsters and cause trouble."

This is true.

"You mentioned before that you'd heard of other people getting into trouble because of these paintings?"

"Yes, yes..."

Boss Wood paused for a moment, then nodded.

"As you can see, after acquiring this painting, I felt that something was wrong with me. Then I inquired with other dealers and learned that several other art dealers who had acquired T. Pickman's paintings, like me, had encountered some problems, and some had even disappeared, which terrified me, so I came to you."

Do you know those people?

"Yes, I know two of them."

"Take me to see them, oh, about this painting..."

Before Li Wei could finish speaking, he pulled out the Persuader and pulled the trigger, aiming it at the painting.

"boom!"

With the sound of a gunshot, the entire painting was instantly engulfed in scorching flames. At the same time, an unbearable stench emerged. Then, the cloth that had been covering the painting suddenly expanded, as if something was trying to burst out of it. Li Wei raised his gun and pulled the trigger again.

"Bang bang bang!"

Bullets flew out one after another, passing through the tarpaulin. Then, accompanied by a shrill, eerie scream, everything returned to silence.

When Li Wei put down his gun, the painting there, along with its shelf, had already been burned to ashes.

"Okay, that's all done."

Li Wei turned his head and looked at the art dealer next to him, who was paralyzed with fear and trembling on the ground.

"Clean up the rest and put it away. Now you can take me to find someone."

"Ah, very well, Sir Levi!"

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, the art dealer seemed to snap out of his daze and got up from the ground.

"I'll take you there right now!"

And so, led by Mr. Wood, Levy visited two other art dealers whose situations were similar to Mr. Wood's. They had bought T. Pickman's paintings and then acted strangely all the time, as if possessed. Some of them even developed mental problems as a result.

Having learned from his previous experience, this time Levi didn't bother to look at the paintings they had acquired; instead, he simply burned them. Just like with Boss Wood's previous attempt, when these two paintings were burned, a strange stench and hissing sounds accompanied them. It was as if something wanted to enter the world through the canvases.

Next, this is the last one.

"This is Carney's home."

After getting out of the car, Mr. Wood explained things to Levi.

“He and I are very close friends, and I am also familiar with his family. When Carney disappeared, they even contacted me to ask if I knew where Carney was. At the time, I just thought he had gone out of town to collect paintings… Now that I think about it, the last painting Carney collected before he disappeared was by T. Pickman. He even told me about it.”

As he spoke, Mr. Wood walked to the front door and rang the doorbell.

"Ring ring—"

The doorbell rang, but there was no response.

"Strange, have their family members all gone out? Where are the servants?"

Mr. Wood muttered to himself and reached out to knock, but as soon as the back of his hand touched the door, he saw the door gently open behind him.

"They didn't lock the door? That's incredibly careless!"

Boss Wood peered into the room through the door, but it was dark inside, with no lights on.

"Jill! Jeff! It's Wood, are you there?"

"………………………"

Boss Wood's voice echoed in the corridor before disappearing into the dim, silent house.

Seeing this, Levi reached out and shielded Boss Wood behind him, while simultaneously gripping the Persuader at his waist.

“Something’s not right. Go call the police and get Inspector Lestrade. Have him send people to seal off this place.”