Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 260 Ending
For the people in the lower city, every day is almost the same.

The owner of the Minotaur Tavern thought so too.

So when he opened the door and saw a large, dark crowd outside, he was immediately startled.

"Whoa, what are you doing? It's morning, not night, it's not time to drink yet!"

"Who cares about drinking, boss!"

Compared to the bewildered owner, the customers seemed impatient.

"Quick, quick, let us in! You have that… radio in your shop, right? Turn it on right away!"

As he spoke, customers swarmed in, while the shop owner stared at them, utterly bewildered. He did have a radio in his shop, but strictly speaking, it was stolen goods. His nephew had found it while arresting a criminal; the report stated it was damaged, and then it was secretly brought to the shop owner, who claimed it would attract customers.

In Chongqing these days, radios are no longer a rarity, but they're not something everyone in the lower city can afford. The shopkeeper cherished this radio, afraid it would be damaged. If it weren't for his nephew being a policeman, it probably would have been stolen by gangsters long ago.

Seeing so many people come in, the owner nervously went back behind the counter, first protecting his precious radio behind him, and then turning it on. Only then did he see that the customers who had rushed to the bar relaxed a little.

"What's wrong with you all? Why aren't you at work this morning? What are you doing listening to the radio? There's only news in the morning, nothing good to listen to."

"Hey, I'm listening to the news!"

"?"

"You still don't know, boss?"

Seeing the owner's puzzled expression, a regular customer took advantage of the fact that the business hadn't started yet and spoke to the owner.

"Something big happened last night! Lots of police cars came!"

"Last night? When? How come I don't know anything about it?"

"I heard there were still gunshots late at night, and this morning, many districts were sealed off, and there were heavily armed police patrolling everywhere!"

"Police? In the downtown area? Armed?"

The bartender thought it was a fantasy. There were practically no law enforcement in the lower city; the police mostly just patrolled the edges. The area where his bar was located was already quite dangerous; no one dared to go any further in, calling it a lawless zone.

Of course, "no order" doesn't mean there's no order at all; it just means the order is controlled by the gangs. The people in the lower city suffer greatly at the hands of these gangs, but there's nothing they can do. After all, they can only live here, and they don't have enough money to move. Where could they go?

Now the police have arrived... They don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

"Clang clang clang—"

Just then, music came from the radio, and the patrons in the tavern immediately lowered the volume. Then, a female voice came from the radio.

"Good morning, this is the Imperial morning news. The first news item is that at four o'clock yesterday morning, a special operation to crack down on organized crime, proposed by Earl Levi, Knight of Thistle, passed by the council, and approved by the Queen, officially began. The police launched a full-scale crackdown on the gangs mainly based in Crystal Street, and have so far arrested 1372 gang members and killed 523. This operation aims to completely eradicate the criminal forces entrenched in the Lower City and restore order to the area. It proves that in the Empire, no corner can escape Her Majesty the Queen's majesty…"

"Really...?"

Hearing the news report, everyone was stunned and speechless. They knew, of course, that something serious had happened last night. But they hadn't expected it to be this big!

"No wonder I didn't see those bastards on the street when I went out this morning!"

"Me too! Yesterday they said they were going to tear my house down today, which scared me so much that I hid with my wife all night, but we didn't see a soul. Turns out they were arrested!"

The patrons in the tavern were incredibly excited, chattering excitedly. They naturally disliked the gangs, but were utterly powerless against them. The fact that the empire had so swiftly and decisively eliminated them was truly unexpected.

"Quiet, quiet, this isn't over yet!"

Soon, the tavern fell silent again amidst the owner's loud shouts, and then the announcer's voice rang out once more.

"...Currently, the police are collecting evidence and intelligence regarding organized crime. Victims are requested to report the incident to the nearest police station..."

"What do you mean?"

"If you've been robbed by gangsters, you can report it to the police!"

"What can you do if you report it to the police? Do you think you can get your money back?"

"How could that be? Those bastards have already squandered it all. But the more they steal, the heavier their sentences will be. You don't want those bastards to come back in a few years, do you? If it's proven that these gangsters stole a lot of money, maybe we can even hang them!"

Soon, the owner explained to the bewildered customers that he had a nephew who was a policeman, so he knew a little about the ins and outs of the place.

That's right, that's also Li Wei's idea.

Although their fate was sealed after these gangsters were apprehended—the empire would never relinquish the land it had swallowed—their destiny was either hanging or forced labor until death.

But a country isn't a gang; there are procedures and rules to follow. This isn't the Middle Ages, where you can just kill someone you don't like—that's not how things work.

Fortunately, whether you say these gangsters were incredibly audacious or just used to it, they actually kept a complete record of all the protection money they collected and the money they robbed.

It seems that even gangs have financial procedures; formalization is a good thing.

However, this is just a record; it only states how much money was collected, but it doesn't explain how that money was collected.

If the person insists in court that someone else was willing to give it to them, there's nothing you can do about it.

Therefore, it is essential for the victims to report the case and confirm that this was illegal money obtained by the gang under duress. This will bring these guys to justice.

The same applies to modern society. Many people feel that even if they report the crime, they won't get their money back, and the amount isn't large, so they simply don't report it. However, the perpetrator might be just a few hundred yuan short of getting a severe sentence. Many scammers exploit this mentality, relying on quantity rather than quantity. If you're too lazy to report it, someone who would have received a severe sentence might end up with a lighter one.

Ultimately, sentencing is based on the total amount involved. You might think losing a few hundred dollars isn't much, but someone might scam dozens of people out of a few hundred dollars at a time… and over time, that adds up to a considerable sum. Scammers understand the principle of slow and steady wins the race; scamming tens of millions at once is practically a death sentence.

Soon, the entire downtown area began to stir.

Long lines formed at police stations everywhere. Although the Iron Blade Gang and the Crocodile Gang maintained a certain level of order in the lower city, their infighting and fighting resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians. Even worse off, some had to pay protection money to both sides, and some even lost their families as a result.

Now that these guys have been arrested, everyone is naturally overjoyed and rushes to the police station to explain the situation. Of course, many people, in order to ensure these guys never get out again, are making up all sorts of lies, claiming that the other party stole hundreds of pounds of gold coins from them... You have hundreds of pounds of gold coins and you're living in the lower city? Who are you trying to fool?
Even when you're making up lies, you have to follow the basic law, okay? If we really calculated it according to what these people say, then the money these gangs stole would be equivalent to the empire's annual GDP.

However, the police didn't care about these guys' nonsense. After all, the gang had clear financial records. All they had to do was check the records to confirm that the money was received under duress or coercion, write a statement, sign it, and that was it.

In fact, the protection money these gangs collect is enough to send them to the gallows.

Not to mention, driven by self-interest, neither royalty nor nobility would allow them to live.

In fact, these gangs are not simply committing crimes; they also have connections with some nobles. However, Li Wei had already hinted to those nobles that this crackdown was specifically targeting crime in the lower city and did not involve other aspects.

But if they break out on their own, then there's nothing we can do.

What if they actually find out something...? You think so?
Yes, these nobles clearly understood what Li Wei meant.

In fact, they had already begun their operation before the early morning search.

Some gangsters with deep ties to the nobility were even killed inexplicably, and when the police stormed in, they found the room full of corpses.

Some places were completely burned down.

The police have classified these cases as "suicide out of fear of punishment."

As for whether it was suicide out of fear of punishment, well... as I said before, what if something is found out?
It's all just dogs fighting each other anyway, it'll only end up with a lot of mess.

However, Levi also knew that this wasn't all good news for the people of the lower city. The territories occupied by gangs would certainly be reclaimed by the royal family. As for those whose properties had been seized, they obviously had no chance of getting them back. Although Levi had suggested to the Queen that it would be best to return some properties with complete documentation or relatively remote locations to the victims, at least to rebuild public trust and reliance on the royal family, whether the Queen would do so was not up to Levi.

However, from a broader perspective, once the Xiacheng District renovation project begins, a large amount of labor will be carried out in the area centered around Crystal Street, which will also bring job opportunities and wealth to residents in other parts of Xiacheng District. Overall, it is indeed a good thing.

However, for those whose real estate has been forcibly seized, the situation will not change; only the occupants will change from gangsters to royalty.

However, nothing in this world is ever perfect. If it weren't for the benefits of the Lower City, the Parliament and the Royal Family would not have approved this action.

Li Wei had no way to deal with this.

Incidentally, after that, Li Wei also successfully recovered several other paintings. The painter had painted thirty paintings, and had already sold ten. Three of them had been destroyed by Li Wei beforehand, the remaining twenty were destroyed in the battle, and the last seven paintings that were sold were eventually recovered.

Incidentally, one of the paintings was sold to a nobleman's family, who seemed to be addicted to it, staring at it all day and losing their appetite. Li Wei also made up a reason, saying that the paintings were used by the mafia to hide and transport drugs, and that the paint on them was an addictive toxic substance. This frightened the nobleman's family, who stopped the nobleman and let Li Wei take the painting away.

As for the nobleman, he was sent to a mental hospital for treatment.

Whether it can be cured... well, I don't know.

Anyway, it has nothing to do with Li Wei.

Of course, Li Wei also took a break from his busy schedule to collect the mission rewards.

[Mission "Before the Arrival" Completed]

[Time consumed: s]

Survey efficiency: B

[Impact/Effect: S]

Overall Rating: S

Well, this investigation was inefficient, since Li Wei genuinely didn't realize what kind of ritual the other party was trying to perform.

[Lifespan +100, additional +10]

That's really low. This is probably the most unprofitable mission for Li Wei. He used up most of the lifespan he gained on the airship in the early morning.

[Mystic Resistance +5%]

Mystic resistance has finally increased to 60%, and it's not far from 100%.

[Gain additional skill (Art)]

Art: 60

Ah, so you're giving them art skills because the enemy is a painter, right...?

Li Wei rolled his eyes speechlessly.

It's not bad, and the attribute values ​​are quite high, so it's better than nothing.

However, if I were to draw, I probably wouldn't draw anything like monsters or demons.

Incidentally, the group never got an answer regarding the painter's background. The special agent team did manage to capture and interrogate the Iron Blade gang leader, but he didn't know much about the painter either. He only knew that the painter was a foreigner who had committed a crime in his own country, which was why he had come to Chongqing.

The Ironblade gang leader believed the painter was a sorcerer because he could use strange methods to help the Ironblade gang eliminate their rival, the Crocodile Gang, so he chose to cooperate with the painter. The painter, however, constantly talked about how one day his paintings would become famous throughout Fog City, and his art would be renowned throughout the empire. The Ironblade gang leader thought the painter was a bit delusional and didn't associate with him much.

The leader didn't know how the painter created those paintings, because the painter kept his secret very closely. Anyone who tried to find out would be met with a furious and scathing rebuke.

Unfortunately, this guy didn't have the habit of keeping a diary, so Li Wei couldn't find any information about his experiences in it.

But no matter what... things have finally come to an end.

Li Wei stood up and looked out the window at the distant downtown area. There, the once dilapidated slums were being demolished, and in their place stood clean and well-planned new buildings.

Seeing this, Li Wei sighed silently.

I guess you could say I did a good deed.

　Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone! A relative came to visit and gave me mooncakes, which gave me diarrhea after I ate them. Later, I discovered the mooncakes didn't even have a production date or expiration date—completely counterfeit products! Speechless…

　　
　
(End of this chapter)