Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 265 Departure
Li Wei was always one to leave on a whim. The day after receiving the mission, he left the Fog City and headed to the Great Salt Lake.

Alice was naturally very reluctant to part with Levi, and she hugged him with tears in her eyes, begging him to come back soon. Levi also said that he would bring her a gift back... Well, I have to say, this feeling was not bad.

"But Alice is really pitiful. Why not just take her with us?"

Sitting in her chair, looking out the window at the scenery, Katie couldn't help but sigh.

"How could that be? She's only five years old. It'll be fine when she's older. What can we do with her now?"

Li Wei rolled his eyes. He had naturally considered taking Alice to crime scenes in the future to see if this little girl with a peculiar soul was different from ordinary people. But at least that would be after he taught her some self-defense skills. Taking a five-year-old girl out would be too much.

"Haha, you're right..."

"You just want a playmate, don't you?"

"Hehe...it's not very lively when everyone's together, but this vehicle is really interesting, it's practically like a train that can run on the road!"

Katie looked excitedly at the scenery rushing past the window and spoke up.

"It only looks like one, but it's actually much slower than a train."

Li Wei shrugged.

Incidentally, although it's designed like a motorhome, the Phantom II has some differences. For example, because the carriages are narrower than trains, the beds aren't laid horizontally in the carriage, but rather placed vertically against one side of the wall. Of course, to avoid instability, the other symmetrical side is mainly used as a storage area for water tanks, fuel, supplies, weapons, etc.

In addition, the Mirage 2's hull uses steel plates designed for mechs to protect against attacks, ensuring its sturdiness.

With this weight, it naturally can't speed like a sports car, and without tracks, 50 kilometers per hour is its limit.

However, Li Wei's original requirement for Phantom II was that it be a mobile fortress, and speed itself was not something he cared about.

Of course, if the speed is slow, it will take longer, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

Incidentally, it wasn't Li Wei driving; he has very little patience for long drives. The driver this time was an agent from MI7.

Of course, while they were called agents, they were more like general errand boys. This time, MI7 sent a man and a woman, both in their thirties. The man's name was Phillips; he was a former soldier who later joined MI7 after his discharge. He was a very serious, unsmiling man, perfectly suited to the word "soldier."

The woman's name was Anna, and she was also a former soldier working in logistics. Unlike Phillips, she was cheerful and skilled at cleaning and cooking; she was basically in charge of providing meals for Levi and the others on their journey.

Li Wei chatted with the two men for a while and discovered that their main role at MI7 was to provide assistance. This included tasks such as sealing off a building, transporting victims, and handling cleanup tasks like removing evidence. Li Wei was quite curious about their work, since he was always the one causing trouble at crime scenes, then leaving the cleanup to MI7, which was always the ones handling the aftermath.

It has to be said that Li Wei learned quite a few interesting things from them. For example, these logistics agents changed clothes the most frequently. When they needed to clean up the scene, they would disguise themselves as cleaners or repairmen. If they needed to cover up wrongdoings, they would disguise themselves as police officers and spread false information. Sometimes they would even disguise themselves as reporters.

It seems quite interesting.

Of course, these logistics agents do not have the combat capabilities of regular agents. They can use guns, but only in combat with ordinary people; they have never fought against mysterious creatures.

However, this wasn't a big problem for Li Wei. Often, those with ability are the most dangerous. Take that prophet from before, for example. I heard she's still undergoing mental treatment. If her hands aren't restrained, she'll gouge out her own eyes. Li Wei can't understand what she saw that made her like this.

The other two aren't doing much better. I heard they're still under observation in a sanatorium and have to take a bunch of psychiatric medications every day... Is it really necessary?

You guys are already this devastated after just one glance at that empty ghost?
Katie and I killed a whole bunch of them, and we were still in great shape, ate well, and slept soundly until dawn.

However, according to the old butler, this kind of thing is actually quite common. Many low-level agents suffer severe mental trauma after one or two missions, and some even need cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs to calm themselves down. It's not uncommon for some to have a complete mental breakdown after only two or three missions.

Therefore, the attrition rate of junior agents is quite high. There are currently dozens of junior agents in the sanatorium who died in the line of duty.

However, Li Wei's rank is too high, so such things generally don't affect him.

I feel like I haven't seen enough of them.

Li Wei shook his head and sighed helplessly, but he could understand. After all, he had seen too many horror movies in the place he came from, and he had developed a resistance to them.

However, most people in this world do not have this understanding.

So, should we imitate our own world and release a bunch of horror novels and comics to test their courage?

How could I dare! Given the nature of this world, Li Wei might write a monster novel one minute and then monsters might storm into the Fog City the next.

It wasn't the kind where the Giant of Light came to the rescue.

That would be a disaster.

Oh well, let's just consider it survival of the fittest. There are bound to be a few who are just as abnormal as Katie.

Oh, thinking about it carefully, Olivia and Annie were able to face monsters calmly, which means there are still people in this world who are resistant to monsters.

If I encounter someone like that on a mission in the future, I'll just recommend them to MI7. Having ability is less valuable than having resistance. Look at those three from before; they had the ability, but they were stunned the moment they saw a monster. What good is that?

"By the way, Mr. Li Wei, what kind of place is that Great Salt Lake?"

"Oh, right, I have some information here."

Li Wei took out the documents at hand.

"Yes, according to the records, the Great Salt Lake region was established during the Third Dynasty after the death of Emperor Arthur. It was probably the last time the empire explored uninhabited areas. At that time, the Crant family explored the area and then obtained the title of pioneer noble and the sovereignty of the Great Salt Lake region."

At this point, Li Wei shrugged.

"They call them lords, but according to the Empire's current intelligence, the entire Great Salt Lake region consists of only one small town and two villages. The two villages and the town haven't paid taxes for many years, and they've been abandoned in official records. The taxes collected from the Great Salt Lake region each year are less than those from a single block in Fog City. If there's a lord here, he's the most miserable lord ever."

"Waaaaah... Is it that bad?"

Katie looked surprised when she heard Li Wei's answer.

"So how do they make money?"

Every territory needs to make money to survive; some rely on agriculture, some on mining, and others on industry and trade.

However, the Great Salt Lake area has no mineral resources, and the arid wasteland is unsuitable for farming. This sparsely populated and inconveniently located environment is even less suitable for industry and trade.

To be honest, it's quite a miracle that I've survived until now.

"Um……………"

Li Wei flipped through the records again.

"Oh, I found it. It says that the Krant family seems to have developed the Great Salt Lake as a health resort."

"A health resort? Isn't that the wilderness?"

Katie was completely bewildered. Generally speaking, people go to places with beautiful mountains and clear waters for health retreats. Who would go to such a desolate wilderness for a health retreat?
"According to records, the ancestors of the Krant family ventured deep into the wilderness, facing starvation and thirst, and were nearly driven to despair. But one day, they saw a meteor fall from the sky, crashing into the barren plain with a tremendous roar. The Krant ancestors then went to the spot where the meteor had fallen and discovered that a large, clear lake had appeared on the former wilderness. People believed that this was a miracle created by God, who could not bear to see them suffer. Thus, the place was named the Great Salt Lake."

"Oh... so that's where the name comes from?"

"That's right. After that, the ancestors of Krant settled down at the Great Salt Lake and spread the word that the water of the Great Salt Lake was a gift from the Holy Lord, which could strengthen the body, prevent all diseases, and cure all kinds of difficult diseases... They talked about it like a traditional Chinese medicine doctor on the street."

What is a traditional Chinese medicine doctor?

"It's something that sounds impressive. Anyway, by selling this story, the Great Salt Lake area did indeed thrive for a while and developed for some time. It seems they made a lot of money during that period and paid quite a lot of taxes."

"and after?"

"The scam has gone bankrupt and is finished. There's no such thing as water that can cure all diseases. After all, it's too easy to verify. If you get sick and drinking the water doesn't help, then it proves that the water is false advertising."

Hearing this, Katie blinked curiously.

"How did the Great Salt Lake come about?"

"It's most likely that a meteor hit the ground, broke through the groundwater, and then the water gushed out and turned into a lake. What's so strange about that? I just hope it doesn't cause any weird or unpleasant things."

In science fiction horror movies, meteors bring various viruses or monsters, and now Li Wei is worried that this might be the case.

However, it's unlikely to be a virus, since if it were, it would have already broken out elsewhere.

It could also be an alien monster... Hmm, that's more troublesome.

Of course, if what fell was not a meteor but a UFO, then it would be even more troublesome.

If it's a monster, he could fight it, but if it's a UFO...

Our own airship isn't even finished yet.

Sigh, I don't know when it will be finished. They said they need to verify a lot of new technologies, so it might be delayed again.

Once the airship is built, we can take the Mirage II anywhere. Then we'll have everything that flies in the sky and runs on the ground.

Hmm? I remember seeing a similar setup in a tokusatsu show I watched before, like a small armored vehicle inside a large spaceship…

(End of this chapter)