Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 259 The Strange Painting
In truth, Li Wei didn't find the Void Ghost particularly terrifying. It was true that it could appear and disappear suddenly, which was certainly troublesome, but aside from that, it wasn't particularly powerful, and its appearance was rather ordinary.

Besides, even if it's teleportation, you still need to break through the defense.

If the defense isn't breached...

"Hey ya—!"

Katie yelled and grabbed the Void Demon's outstretched hand, dragging it out and slamming it heavily to the floor with an over-the-shoulder throw. Then, Levi raised the Persuader, aimed at the Void Demon's head, and pulled the trigger. A barrage of bullets mercilessly pierced the Void Demon's skull, blasting it to pieces. The monster then began to melt away like a wax figure, emitting a nauseating stench.

But the two had no time to complain, because at the same time, two more monsters appeared behind them, reaching out their claws to grab them.

At the same time, a flash of cold light appeared.

A death puppet wielding a scythe appeared behind Li Wei, swinging the scythe down at the monster, which screamed and retreated again before disappearing into thin air.

"This is really never going to end."

Li Wei glanced around and couldn't help but complain. They had already killed several Void Ghosts, but these guys seemed endless, constantly appearing. Meanwhile, the painter was still frantically wielding his brush as if possessed, and no one knew what he was painting.

It seems that, just like before, only by finding and destroying the painting can these monsters be completely driven away.

Thinking of this, Li Wei frowned and quickly scanned his surroundings. The walls were covered with all sorts of paintings, clearly all by this artist. Moreover, each painting had a different theme: there were colorful rainbows, huge crimson moons, and even humanoid monsters that looked like they lived deep underground... If this guy was just drawing horror comics, then it wouldn't be so bad.

But it's obvious that these aren't horror comics!
Li Wei could even sense mutterings and indescribable, eerie screams emanating from those images as he stared at them…

To hell with it, let's burn it all down!
At this moment, Li Wei was also filled with rage and made a quick decision.

"Katie, cover me!"

"Yes, Mr. Li Wei!"

Having worked together countless times, Katie naturally understood what Levi was about to do. Before she could even finish speaking, Levi suddenly charged forward, raising his gun and aiming it at the artist who was frantically painting. However, just as he raised his gun, several monsters suddenly sprang out from all directions, blocking Levi's path.

They were now in a seemingly inescapable dead end. However, the moment these monsters appeared, Li Wei suddenly flashed and disappeared into the shadows beside him. At the same time, Katie ripped off the front door and slammed it down!
"Hey ya—!"

The overturned door slammed into the horde of monsters surrounding Li Wei, instantly leaving them dazed and confused. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Wei darted out from the shadows on the other side, his hands raised, the Persuader and Punisher poised for attack!
Then, the flow of time slowed down, and then returned to normal.

"Bang bang bang—!"

Accompanied by a series of rapid gunshots, the paintings hanging on the wall instantly burst into flames. Almost at that moment, the painter, who had been painting like a madman, suddenly began to scream.

"No no no no no—!!"

He screamed desperately, his face contorted and grotesque, as if trying to escape, but his arms seemed to defy the painter's commands, continuing to flailing wildly across the canvas. The monsters' bodies, along with the painting's burning, began to dissipate, struggling in the air as if engulfed in flames, before vanishing like charred paper figures.

But it’s not over yet!

The surrounding air began to tremble, and a strange, terrifying aura suddenly surged from the already dilapidated, low-ceilinged apartment. This startled Li Wei; he had experienced this feeling before! Back in the nursing home, when that guy tried to summon some Great Old One, it felt exactly like this!

At the same time, a system activation prompt finally appeared before Li Wei's eyes!

【Mission: Before the Arrival】

Mission Objective: Stop the ritual!

"You asked for it!"

Li Wei originally wanted to detain the painter for questioning, but the current situation clearly did not allow him to do so. So he quickly made a decision, raised the gun in his hand, aimed at the painter, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang-----!"

The painter's head snapped back, blood mixed with skull fragments and brain matter spraying onto the wall beside him. But strangely, even so, the painter's right hand continued to wave across the canvas, as if the arm had gained its own consciousness, firmly holding the painter's body, which should have been dead, still in place.

After a few more moments, the hand finally fell to its sides as if it had accomplished its mission. The painter's body, now lifeless, lay on the ground like a broken doll, motionless forever.

Only then did that eerie aura dissipate.

"call……………"

Gripping his two guns tightly, Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief after feeling the aura dissipate. He then stood up and looked around. The entire house was now a mess, but thankfully, the paintings hit by the incendiary bombs had been completely burned to ashes.

"That was a close call."

Li Wei sighed and couldn't help but complain that the late arrival of this mission was also related to the difference in opinions between Li Wei and the system regarding the mission.

Li Wei felt that the most important thing right now was to capture the painter and then destroy the paintings. However, the system clearly didn't think so. It was obvious that the painter was planning some kind of ritual tonight, and Li Wei hadn't investigated this, so much so that he only became aware of it when the ritual was about to begin.

Then the system displayed the task prompt.

In other words...

I've missed a bit of the mark this time.

Of course, it was also Li Wei's fault for not investigating thoroughly enough, but there was nothing he could do. After all, there were mysterious creatures controlling this place, and compared to that unknown ritual, Li Wei was more worried about the impact and consequences of these paintings being circulated.

Actually, Li Wei had already noticed something before, after all, he had spent half a month investigating the Iron Blade Gang and the Painter, but the system remained unresponsive, as if it were dead. At the time, Li Wei felt that there must be some inside story he hadn't discovered yet, but he had thought that if all else failed, he could just activate it in person.

Once the two sides meet, Li Wei has plenty of ways to figure out what this guy is up to and what the system's mission is.

This can be considered a trick or cheating method used by Li Wei. It seems that it works, but time is a bit tight.

As long as it works, that's fine.

"Is it over? Mr. Li Wei?"

Katie joined in, asking curiously, "Almost done, I think it should be over."

Li Wei looked around and confirmed that all the paintings around him had been burned, leaving only the one in the middle that had escaped the fire.

It refers to a painting that the artist continued to work on until "after his death."

"What exactly is he drawing?"

Before Li Wei could stop her, Katie curiously ran to the canvas and peered inside.

"Hey, watch out..."

"Whoa!"

Just as Levi was about to call out to Katie, Katie, who had just looked at the canvas, let out a surprised shout, which immediately made Levi tense.

But Katie didn't faint or go insane; on the contrary, she waved excitedly at Levi.

"Mr. Li Wei! Come and look at this painting, it's so strange!"

"Weird?"

Watching Katie jump around excitedly, Levi frowned in confusion and cautiously looked at the canvas.

Then, Li Wei was also stunned.

On the canvas, a scene was clearly visible—the background was the room before them, and the paintings hanging on the walls were already being burned by flames. In the very center of the scene, Levi raised the Persuader, aiming straight ahead, and not far behind him was Katie, clenching her fists and confronting the Void Ghost.

Although Li Wei wasn't sure if that was the case at the time, it was clear that it was almost as if someone had taken a picture of them from the other side.

Not only that...

"Ok?"

Li Wei looked in the direction of the gun barrel in the painting, then frowned slightly and stared at the upper part of the wall—scraps of blood and brain matter smeared on it.

But... Li Wei's [trace evidence analysis] told him that it shouldn't have been like this originally.

Livy was standing while the painter was sitting, with the painter's head higher than the canvas. Livy shot him in the head from above. In other words, based on the impact and gravity, the painter's blood and brains should have splattered on the floor, not the upper part of the wall.

Judging from the splatter marks, the painter didn't seem to have been shot in the head by himself. Rather, it was more likely that he was shot in the head by a bullet fired from a gun that was lower than him and tilted upwards.

For example—the gun muzzle in this painting.

Li Wei looked at the painting with a strange expression, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Could this painting have any effect on reality? Did the painter kill himself while painting?

What kind of magic paintbrush is this?
"Wow, this painting is so beautiful..."

Li Wei remained silent, while Katie stared at the painting with great excitement.

“Mr. Li Wei, why don’t we take this painting back with us? It depicts our achievements! It would look beautiful hanging up here.”

"Of course not."

Li Wei silently rolled his eyes. He hadn't forgotten that this painting wasn't anything good. Although it didn't seem as terrifying or eerie as the other paintings at the moment, and even seemed to praise Li Wei and Katie's courage.

But the thought of the painter still holding the brush and desperately finishing the painting after his death sent chills down Li Wei's spine.

Even if you tell me now that there's nothing wrong with this painting, I still won't believe you.

Li Wei silently loaded the bullets, raised the gun, aimed at the canvas, and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

"ah-------"

Seeing the exquisite painting, comparable to a movie poster, being burned, Katie let out a disappointed sigh, while Levi shook his head helplessly and looked at the paintbrush lying on the ground.

Yes, that's right. He hadn't forgotten that the painter was painting until the very end, and he was painting with a paintbrush.

The paintbrush that has fallen to the ground looks harmless, just like an ordinary paintbrush.

Hmm... perhaps it really is just an ordinary paintbrush, but...

That's not what I meant by my ring.

Li Wei turned the ring on his hand, which was slightly warm, and aimed it at the paintbrush.

A moment later, a beam of red light shot out, enveloping the paintbrush entirely. Then, accompanied by a shrill scream, another red dot of light was pulled out of the paintbrush and disappeared into the ruby ​​in the ring. The paintbrush, along with the departing dot of light, quickly turned into a pile of dust.

[Soul Fragment +1]

These things are really everywhere.

Li Wei glanced at the system notification, then stood up.

The task is complete; now it's time to wrap things up.

(End of this chapter)