Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 256 Appetizers
"How are those guys doing?"

Looking at the doctor coming out of the medical room, Li Wei asked curiously, but the doctor shook his head.

"The prophet seems to have suffered a great deal of psychological trauma, and the other two are not in good mental condition either. By the way, what exactly happened to you?"

"It's nothing, they just encountered a monster. The three of them didn't even fight it, they just fainted as soon as they saw it."

Li Wei was also speechless.

"For someone in this line of work, their mental resilience seems rather poor."

"can you?"

Instead, the doctor looked at Li Wei with surprise.

"Sir Levy, you may not know this, but most of the members actually develop some mental problems after the mission."

"is it?"

"Sir Levi, aren't you afraid every time you go on a mission?"

"Of course I'm afraid of dying."

"But when you see those monsters, don't you feel terrified and fearful of their appearance? The spy said he saw terrifying beings that seemed to not exist in this world at all, completely overturning his previous understanding..."

"Aren't all monsters like this? What kind of monster wouldn't look like this?"

“…………………?”

Li Wei and the doctor stared at each other for a moment.

"Okay, maybe I've seen too much of this and I'm numb to it."

"Then you must have seen it many times."

The doctor also remarked with emotion.

“That is…”

Li Wei didn't say anything more, just shrugged. Indeed, thinking about it carefully, the people in this world are different from him. Li Wei comes from a society with advanced information access, and he's grown tired of watching all sorts of ghost movies, monster movies, horror movies, and gore movies, so he's naturally developed a resistance to them.

Even if it's a monster you've never seen before, it's still a monster, not something incomprehensible.

But then again, thinking about it now, that thing really doesn't seem to be something native to this world. Could it be an alien creature?

Well, that explains why these investigators are so vulnerable, since the concept of extraterrestrial life doesn't even exist in this era.

That said, alien monsters are indeed a major subgenre of science fiction horror films.

"Then I'll leave this place to you. I'll head back now."

On the surface, the mission seems to have been successfully completed. As for the missing people, the authorities seem to be planning to give an explanation such as death by carbon monoxide poisoning.

But Levi knew this was just an appetizer; the dangers posed by the paintings were indeed not to be underestimated, but the people who created them were naturally in even greater danger. So, after leaving MI7, Levi first met with Inspector Lestrade, and then headed to the Lower City.

I think it was on Glass Street.

After some minor disguise, Li Wei took a bus to the lower city. After all, he was quite famous in Fog City now; even students in remote monastery schools remembered his face. If he didn't change his appearance a little, he would be in big trouble.

The Lower Town at night is much more lively than during the day. Or rather, unlike the Upper Town, which becomes quiet and peaceful at night, life in the Lower Town only begins at night. Workers leaving get off work, carrying their cash, either disappear into alleys with suspicious lights or head to bars to drown their sorrows. Under the dark night sky, countless suspicious transactions take place in those deserted alleys.

However, the situation on Glass Street is particularly severe.

The entire street looked dilapidated, as if it had been through a war. The police booths used for reporting crimes were smashed to pieces, and there weren't even any police officers on night patrol. However, Levi had already consulted with Inspector Lestrade, who told him that Glass Street was a notorious area with rampant gangs, making it very difficult to manage, and the police were unable to control it, so they simply left it alone.

However, Lestrade still offered Levi a small favor, suggesting that he go to a bar near Glass Street where there was a police informant. If Levi wanted to know more about Glass Street, this would be the easiest way.

"I remember it was in... Oh, I found it."

Following Inspector Lestrade's directions, Levi entered a tavern called "Turkey Head." Using his [Unconscious Control] ability, he easily bypassed the burly bodyguards standing at the door and the drunkards laughing and flirting with women in the lobby, without attracting anyone's attention. He arrived at a seat in a corner of the tavern. It was dark and unlit, and a raggedly dressed man with a bulbous nose, dressed like a vagrant, was slumped over the table, seemingly dozing off drunk.

Li Wei walked over to him, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"I was introduced by my buddy."

As Li Wei spoke, he took out a gold coin, flipped it over, and placed it in front of the man with the bulbous nose. The latter's fingers twitched slightly, and two fingers swiftly extended, seemingly divinely aided, taking the gold coin inside.

Then, the man with the red nose yawned and curled up.

"What do you want to know?"

"The current situation on Glass Street."

Why are you asking this?

Li Wei did not answer, but instead took out a second gold coin, which Li Wei accepted after a moment of silence.

"You weren't discovered, were you?"

"No."

“I think so too, but the information you need…”

Li Wei took out another gold coin, which trembled slightly at this moment.

"No! Do you want me to die here?"

"I do not mind."

“I mind… okay, you want to know the situation on Glass Street?”

"Yes, you could say that."

"Oh well……………"

The man with the red nose hesitated for a moment, then spoke rapidly in a manner that didn't sound like that of a drunkard.

"Glass Street used to be the territory of the Iron Blade Gang. They used Glass Street as their base and became a major gang in the lower city. But later, a gang called the Crocodile Gang gradually emerged. They were mostly foreigners and played very aggressively. The Iron Blade Gang swallowed up a lot of their territory. We all thought the Iron Blade Gang was finished, but we didn't expect them to survive... I heard that they used the power of the devil."

"Oh? What do you say?"

"I don't know the specifics, but I've heard some things. Apparently, a painter is being protected by the Iron Blade Gang. It's strange, considering the Iron Blade Gang is a gang that's always been a dangerous, bloodthirsty fighting group. I originally thought they were planning to switch to making fake paintings or something. But it's true that after that, the Crocodile Gang's situation became a bit bad. I heard it's because their leader suddenly disappeared, and the entire Crocodile Gang is currently in a state of disarray. There are rumors that the Crocodile Gang leader's disappearance was the work of the Iron Blade Gang, and that it was that painter who did it. That's why the Iron Blade Gang is protecting him." "Disappeared…"

Upon hearing this word, Li Wei narrowed his eyes. He had just returned from another missing person scene, but unfortunately, with a gang leader missing, it was obviously impossible to report it to the police.

"But this doesn't seem to have anything to do with the devil."

"I've only heard that the painter seems to have some mysterious power. His paintings are enough to drive people crazy, and even make them give up everything for those paintings. Actually, I recently heard that the Iron Blade Gang seems to be planning to circulate the painter's paintings and is looking for channels to sell them."

So that's how it is. That's why those art dealers were able to get the paintings.
"Are all those Iron Blade Gang members locals?"

"Hey, there are no locals here. They drove the locals away a long time ago. Now, the people occupying Glass Street are almost all Iron Blade Gang members."

"Thank you, I've learned something interesting."

Li Wei didn't ask too many questions. He knew these intelligence brokers were unreliable; they would sell information to him as well as to others. If he showed too much interest in the Iron Blade Gang, they might just sell the information away, and that would be much more troublesome once they became suspicious.

Hmm, how should we do it? Should we pretend to be a well-connected middleman and take over the Iron Blade Gang's sales channels?
But that's a lot of trouble, and the other party definitely won't believe it so easily. It also takes time and money, and there might even be some kind of loyalty test involved...

Li Wei returned home while pondering the situation.

"Welcome back, Master. What happened to you?"

"Oh, I just took a stroll along Glass Street in the Lower Town."

"Glass Street?"

The butler's expression turned serious as he took the clothes from Li Wei.

"If you're going there to investigate a case, please forgive my bluntness, but you'd better not go to that kind of place. It's a mixed bag, full of problems, and there are frequent gang fights there."

"Oh? You know that place very well?"

“When I was a child, I lived near the fruit market. Everyone hated the gangs on Glass Street, but there was nothing we could do. Anyone who could make a little money moved away early. Glass Street is a really good location. If it could be managed properly… I’m sorry, I misspoke.”

"No, it's nothing."

Li Wei smiled and then began to think.

Hmm, I think I have a solution.

The next morning, after breakfast, Li Wei quickly went to MI7 and found the old steward, explaining the situation he had investigated. The old steward's expression turned serious upon hearing Li Wei's report.

"Are those paintings really dangerous?"

"As it stands, almost everyone who has seen them will have their minds affected. Some people even say that if you look at those paintings for a long time, you will become a fanatical believer and frantically want to protect those paintings at all costs."

"This is troublesome. Is there any way to block their sales channels?"

"That's troublesome, but I have a simple solution."

At this point, Li Wei changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, I remember Her Majesty the Queen mentioned at the New Year's banquet that she wanted to expand the Fog City, right?"

"Yes."

"How's it going?"

"It's still in the discussion stage, and we haven't decided where to expand yet."

"I have an idea, how about we just renovate it?"

"Renovate? In what direction?"

"The Lower District? The Lower District has a chaotic planning and covers a large area. Isn't it only natural to redevelop it?"

"You make it sound so easy."

The old butler shook his head speechlessly.

"How do we relocate the residents there? Are we just going to kick them out? This is the Fog City, and if we do that, the whole world will know about it very quickly. Moreover, if the people in the lower city protest and go on strike, it will seriously affect the operation of the Fog City."

"I do know a place where you could drive everyone away and no one would protest. In fact, people would think you did a good job."

"Oh? Where is it?"

"Glass Street".

As he spoke, Li Wei told the old butler about the situation on Glass Street.

"...In short, that's the situation there. The locals are fed up with those vampires clinging to them. If we take this opportunity to conduct a thorough cleanup of the lower city, we can not only maintain public order in Fog City, but also enhance the royal family's prestige among the people, solve the problem of the lower city's redevelopment, and I can also use this opportunity to find the painter. Isn't that killing several birds with one stone?"

"The last one is your real purpose, isn't it?"

The old butler looked at Li Wei speechlessly, while the latter simply smiled slightly.

"I just think it's more convenient this way."

Indeed, Li Wei felt that rather than infiltrating alone and having to fawn over the enemy, it would be better to lead a large army to the border, wipe them out completely, and eliminate them completely.

I'm the Knight of Thistles, and a count at that. Is it really necessary for me to go in and out of battle seven times by myself? Isn't that crazy?

And wouldn't it be a good thing to improve the security environment as well?
People can't just do tasks; they also need to give back to society.

"Hmm... Write a proposal for me to see, and I'll report back when I get back."

"I've already written the proposal."

Li Wei took out a document and placed it on the table.

"Oh?"

The old butler picked up the document, glanced at the title, and was taken aback.

"A special campaign to crack down on organized crime?"

(End of this chapter)