Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 258 The action begins

"The action begins."

The commander glanced at his watch and looked at his colleague beside him. The latter had a serious expression, but did not seem too nervous.

After all, their orders were to raid and arrest a branch leader of the Iron Blade gang and his men located in this apartment. The Chongqing police department had done this kind of midnight raid quite often before. However, this was the first time they had conducted one on such a large scale.

Unfortunately, each group only knew their own objective and didn't know where the others had gone or who they were going to catch.

But one thing is certain: this is a major undertaking.

"set off!"

The commander spoke in a low voice, drew his gun, and then led several other police officers quickly into the apartment building. Following the information they had received, they went up to the second floor. At that moment, at the top of the stairs on the second floor, a guard was standing watch, but because it was already late at night, the guard himself was so sleepy that his head was nodding as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

"on!"

At a command, two policemen quickly leaped forward and pinned the dazed guard to the ground. One of them stuffed a cloth into his mouth, while the other hurriedly took out handcuffs and tightly cuffed his hands.

The poor guard didn't even have time to realize what was happening before he was pinned to the ground and grabbed.

At the same time, the others rushed up to him, and the lead policeman kicked open the door and rushed in!
"Police, don't move!"

With shouts, police officers poured into the room, pointing their guns at the still-sleeping gang members and their leader. The gang members were completely bewildered by the sudden appearance of the police; they hadn't done anything particularly noteworthy recently and hadn't expected the police to come to arrest them.

For the Iron Blade Gang, guarding against being double-crossed by the Crocodile Gang is quite important.

Similar situations occurred in other parts of the Lower City. Li Wei's two weeks of running around hadn't been in vain; he had figured out the locations of each gang leader and their key subordinates, and provided detailed intelligence. This was something the police would have a hard time obtaining, and wouldn't bother to do.

Moreover, they couldn't move around those gang strongholds as freely as Li Wei, as if the other side didn't even see him.

While there were indeed some bad apples in the police force who colluded with gangs, the majority of officers were clearly very competent. Li Wei had noticed that some gang members were prepared, even planning a counterattack. Unfortunately for them, it was all in vain, as MI7 agents would soon arrive under Li Wei's guidance.

Then they launched a fierce offensive against it.

The police might still care about and consider some necessary rules, but the agents don't need to. Li Wei has already told them that if these people resist, no matter what their reasons are, they should be regarded as cult members and killed on the spot.

If you don't want the police to arrest you, then wait for the armed police and special agents to deal with you.

For Inspector Lestrade, this scene was truly bizarre.

He simply watched as Levi stared into the reconnaissance boat's ground observation scope, issuing commands from time to time, almost accurately stating which people had been arrested, which had escaped, where the situation was dire, and where it was relatively good—frankly, Inspector Lestrade felt he would rather believe Levi could predict the future.

After all, if Levi were to sit there with his eyes closed, meditating over a crystal ball, and then claim to have seen something, Inspector Lestrade would find it understandable.

But now that he's staring at the ground and describing its condition, Inspector Lestrade can't understand him.

After all, he had looked, but the lower city area in the observation mirror was pitch black. Although there were streetlights on the streets, other places were dark, and many places didn't even have lights.

So how did he see it?
Inspector Lestrade felt he couldn't understand it at all.

More than an hour later, Li Wei finally raised his head and took a breath.

"Alright, it's almost all done."

Only then did Inspector Lestrade notice that Levi was also covered in sweat.

"Are you this tired?"

"Of course, you think it's just as simple as looking?"

Faced with Inspector Lestrade's curious question, Levi rolled his eyes helplessly. He hadn't simply been using [Soul Vision] to observe the ground; he had also been using [Death's Eye] to slow down time so he could see more.

Li Wei isn't some Skynet AI; he can't monitor 1,800 cameras simultaneously. Even with his "photographic memory" trait, he still needs to think things through to reach a conclusion. But that takes time, so he must use the [Eye of Death] to slow down the passage of time, giving himself more time to think and observe.

Of course, this cost Li Wei a considerable amount of his lifespan, but he already had plenty of life left, so a little more wouldn't make a difference. Besides, what Li Wei was doing now was the model he planned to implement on his future flagship—conducting high-altitude reconnaissance and transmitting information to ground units.

So it's good to take this opportunity to get familiar with it sooner rather than later. Even if it takes a lot of effort, it won't be in vain; just consider it as leveling up your skills.

I'll get promoted sooner or later anyway.

With that thought in mind, Li Wei pulled himself out of his thoughts.

"Prepare for landing, I'm going down."

The reconnaissance boat slowly landed in a plaza next to the glass street. Li Wei slid down the rope and landed steadily on the ground. There, a fully armed police squad (actually agents in disguise) was ready.

Of course, one familiar figure to Li Wei was also among them.

"Mr. Li Wei, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting anxiously."

When Katie saw Levi appear, she jumped and skipped around, looking like she couldn't wait to go on a picnic.

"I thought you couldn't make it, after all, staying up late isn't a good thing."

"Hehe, I begged for a long time before I was finally allowed to come."

"That's fine."

Levi nodded to Katie, then looked at the MI7 agents disguised as police officers. Their mission was to arrest or kill the Ironblade gang leader. MI7 was handling this part because they needed the records of the paintings being sold.

Based on his previous investigation, Li Wei had determined that the records of the paintings for sale were located in the artist's studio and the Iron Blade Gang headquarters, but he didn't directly retrieve them. Li Wei had sensed that both places were protected by mysterious entities, and he didn't want to test whether his [unconscious control] would be effective against them.

This is another reason why MI7's special agent team was tasked with dealing with the Iron Blade Gang's hideout; ordinary police officers lack the experience and ability to deal with mysterious entities.

Thinking of this, Li Wei looked at the special agent team next to him.

"As planned, I'll be in charge of the workshop. Your target is the Iron Blade Gang's stronghold. They haven't detected anything unusual outside yet. Set off immediately!"

Wow, it's so good that we don't have cell phones anymore. If this were modern times, such a large-scale raid would probably be detected immediately.

However, there were no cell phones in this era, and as for communication devices, no communications administration employee would come to a place like this to install them. Therefore, most of the lower city was still in the most primitive stage of communication, relying on shouting. Not to mention, Li Wei had already ordered the streets outside the Iron Blade Gang's hideout to be sealed off, so even if someone managed to escape from the police, they would definitely not be given the chance to tip off anyone.

The special agent team quickly left, and Levi packed his things and looked at Katie.

"Are you sure you want to go? Don't forget what I told you, this artist can summon some terrifying monsters. The MI7 agents who went with me to investigate before were all traumatized after seeing those monsters."

"Huh? So timid?" Katie's reaction was basically the same as Levi's.

"It's just a monster, is it really that scary?"

"They found it quite terrifying."

"And what about you, Mr. Li Wei?"

"I think... it's just so-so."

In Li Wei's opinion, the monster called the Empty Ghost was neither good-looking nor bad-looking; it was just an ordinary monster. He'd say it wasn't as cool as the Xenomorph, which was full of power and beauty.

"That shouldn't be too scary, and if you ask me, those agents are too cowardly. If Miss Anne were here, she certainly wouldn't be afraid."

“Hmm…that is…”

Levi agreed with Katie's statement, as he couldn't imagine Annie having a mental breakdown after seeing such a monster.

I can only imagine her eyes shining as she dissected the monster.

So it really does depend on an individual's mental fortitude.

"let's go."

Li Wei looked at the target not far away and quickly walked towards it with Katie.

The painter's studio was located upstairs from a printing shop; clearly, this was his territory.

Yes, it's time to crack down on illegal printed publications.

The gate was locked with iron chains and sturdy padlocks. To my shame, Li Wei had been in this world for over a year and still hadn't mastered any useful lock-picking skills.

Fortunately, he brought an automatic lock pick.

"Katie, open it."

"Okay!"

Katie stepped forward, reached out and grabbed the iron lock, which was as thick as her palm, and pulled hard.

The latter is like a piece of chocolate, easily snapped in two with a "crunch".

Look, with such a useful lock pick, why bother learning lock picking at all?

Li Wei mentally scoffed, then pushed open the door and went inside.

The room was dimly lit, with only the light from the streetlights streaming in through the windows. The printing shop looked quite normal, with a printing press against the wall and various printed materials piled up next to it. Li Wei walked over to take a look and found that most of them were theater posters and advertisements; it seemed this was the printing shop's "side business."

As for the main business...

Li Wei glanced up and saw a white soul corrupted by red sitting in a chair, swaying back and forth, perhaps painting. There were two people standing guard outside.

Yes, the same as before.

Li Wei quietly walked up the stairs, then pointed upwards, made a "two" gesture, and made a hand signal to Katie.

Katie nodded, and then the two of them bent down and stared upwards.

Three, two, one!

Li Wei suddenly darted up the steps, with Katie close behind. As they stepped onto the floor, they could see two gangster-looking men dozing in front of a door not far away. Perhaps hearing the hurried footsteps, the two gangsters opened their eyes, looked at Li Wei, and then hurriedly reached into their pockets…

"boom!"

As the gunshot rang out, bullets grazed the wrists of the two men, causing them to loosen their grip and drop their weapons. Katie seized the opportunity, lunging forward and punching the man in front of her in the chest, sending him flying.

The latter flew into the air like a bowling ball, hitting its companion. Then the two of them crashed into the wall and fell still.

Then, Katie aimed at the door and slammed it shut!
"Boom!"

The locked door was suddenly kicked open, and Levi and Katie rushed into the room.

Inside the room, a blond, blue-eyed white man was sitting in a chair, painting something on a canvas. His expression was incredibly crazed, as if he were possessed by an evil spirit. He didn't even notice the loud noises from Levi and Katie, his eyes fixed intently on the canvas.

But the problem doesn't end there.

Looking around, the room was filled with paintings, about a dozen in total. They were all brightly colored and dazzling, each depicting a different subject. Yet, at this moment, these paintings seemed to bring an eerie atmosphere to the room…

"———————!"

Li Wei suddenly stepped back, and almost at the same time, a claw swung out from the void, grazing Li Wei's clothes and grabbing the ground. Then, a strange and terrifying monster emerged from it.

Empty ghost…………

Li Wei looked at the monster he had already met once before, then glanced at Katie beside him and noticed that she wasn't mentally deranged or unconscious like the other agents. On the contrary, she was staring at the monster with unmistakable disgust in her eyes.

disgust?

This was quite rare for Katie. Levi usually saw her as innocent and romantic, and even when facing monsters, she was mostly curious. He rarely saw her so disgusted by the existence of something.

"Mr. Li Wei, is this the monster you were talking about?"

"Yes."

"Ugh... For some reason, I think I really hate it."

Katie frowned, looking very unhappy. It was clear she didn't like the empty ghost. The reason was unclear—was it because it was too disgusting? But Katie wasn't afraid of monsters even more repulsive than this one, so why was that?
"I saw it too."

Li Wei raised his twin pistols and aimed them at the empty ghost in front of him.

"Anyway, let's take it down first!"

(End of this chapter)