Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 267 Cursed Land
The road to the Great Salt Lake is difficult to travel.

There's only one reason: there are basically no roads.

Indeed, in the desolate wilderness, it's impossible to even see if there's a road, and there aren't even any road signs or anything like that around, giving one the illusion of venturing deep into the wilderness.

Or rather, it's not an illusion at all.

If it weren't for the compass and map, we would probably have gotten lost long ago.

But the current situation was not much different from being lost. Looking around, the scenery was almost identical—a desolate wasteland—making it impossible to distinguish east from west. Levi had long since stopped looking at the scenery and was now discussing their next move with Katie.

However, at that moment, a sudden change occurred.

"So if problems arise at that time..."

Just as Levi and Katie were discussing the situation, suddenly, the sunlight outside the window vanished instantly, plunging the car into darkness. Simultaneously, with an emergency stop, the Phantom II, which had been moving forward, came to a rapid halt.

what's the situation?
Li Wei turned to look out the window and was surprised to find that the sky, which had been clear just moments before, was now completely covered by night. A silver moon quietly appeared in the darkness, illuminating the earth before him. Seeing this, Li Wei frowned, then walked forward to the front of the carriage and opened the window leading to the driver's cab.

"what happened?"

“We don’t know what happened either, sir.”

When Li Wei asked them questions, the two people in the driver's seat also looked shaken.

"We were just driving along, and suddenly..."

"You mean, nothing unusual? You didn't see anything?"

"No, sir."

"Then let's reverse first and see if we can get out of there."

"Yes."

With Li Wei's command, Phantom 2 began to reverse. However, even after reversing hundreds of meters, they were still in the wilderness shrouded in eerie darkness.

Well, that was to be expected.

"The plan remains unchanged, let's move forward."

"Huh? But..."

"Don't forget, this is why we came here, and as things stand, if we don't sort this out, we might be stuck here forever. Alright, let's move on."

"Yes."

As expected of someone with a military background, Phillips quickly and decisively carried out the order, and then the Mirage II continued to move forward.

"Huh? What happened? What happened? Why did it suddenly get dark?"

Katie, on the other hand, was incredibly excited. After all, the journey had been through wilderness, and she had been utterly bored. Now, suddenly finding herself in this situation, the young lady quickly felt a thrill. Li Wei briefly explained the situation to her and then made a decision.

"Anyway, let's get ready first. It might be time for us to make our move."

"Ok!"

Judging from her excited and joyful appearance, you'd think she was going on a trip.

A little while later, Anna's voice came from the driver's seat.

"Sir, a town has been spotted ahead."

"We'll talk about it later."

"Yes."

Levi opened the skylight and looked ahead. Just as Anna had said, the outline of a town could be faintly seen in the moonlight. Dots of lights and streetlights were also visible. If Levi was right, this town should be their destination.

"Rumble rumble rumble..."

In the desolate wilderness, only the roar of the steam engine could be heard. After passing through this dark wilderness, the group soon arrived outside the town.

"Waaaaah..."

Katie stared wide-eyed in surprise at the town before her.

"Well... it's so different from what I imagined."

"Yes, me too."

Hearing Katie's sentiments, Levi nodded in agreement.

Along their journey, they mostly saw simple mud-brick buildings in the Northwest, with very few stone or brick structures. To put it bluntly, the architecture here felt relatively old-fashioned and dilapidated. It was like city dwellers accustomed to skyscrapers visiting the countryside and seeing only mud and straw huts.

However, this town was completely different.

It features numerous tall stone buildings, almost all topped with pointed towers, exhibiting a magnificent yet eerie beauty reminiscent of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. Even the streetlights lining the cobblestone roads are adorned with ornate patterns and carvings.

It must be said that this gave everyone a real sense of returning to a civilized city.

"Why does this feel... completely different from the Great Salt Lake I imagined? This place looks amazing!"

Katie, like Levi, had assumed this place was only inhabited by a few small creatures, and was surprised to find such a beautiful town.

"It seems that the ancestors of the Krant family did make a lot of money selling stories back then. Health products are indeed extremely profitable."

Looking at the town before him, Li Wei couldn't help but sigh. Even after so many years, the town still looked so magnificent and exquisite, which showed that it must have cost a lot of money to build it.

At the same time, he also had doubts. Previously, Li Wei only thought that the other party was selling stories to swindle money, but this town looked so exquisite that it must have cost a lot of money to build. It wasn't a one-off deal that could be made by simply making up stories about health products.

Could the water here really have some magical properties? Of course, even if it did, Li Wei didn't think it was anything special; just look at this world shrouded in darkness. Since this world has become so bizarre, the people living in it… probably won't have a good ending.

"Alright, Katie, get ready, let's go."

"Okay, Mr. Li Wei."

The path ahead was no longer accessible by Phantom II; the main road used for carriages was half-covered by collapsed stone walls, and a carriage lay overturned nearby. Given the current situation, continuing to venture deeper by vehicle was clearly impractical; they would have to explore on foot.

Katie went back to the car to change, and Levi also opened the system wardrobe and changed into the hunter outfit. After all, this outfit was lightweight, comfortable, windproof, and rainproof, and changing into it was also very simple.

One-click outfit changing is truly a man's dream.

After getting ready, Li Wei went to the driver's seat and looked at the two logistics agents.

"Katie and I are going inside to investigate. You guys stay here and guard the Phantom. Remember, if anyone gets close, warn them first. If they don't listen, you can shoot them directly. If you encounter any serious trouble, fire a signal flare. Then you can choose to disengage or hold your ground, depending on the situation. Understand?"

"Yes!"

"Also, according to the original plan, if I fire a signal flare, it means that artillery support is needed. You understand what I mean."

"Yes, sir! Don't worry, I'm an artilleryman."

"I can rest assured that."

Li Wei would never abandon the tactic of superior firepower under any circumstances, so a mortar was also placed inside Mirage II. The reason for using a mortar is simple: it is an indirect fire weapon that can bypass most obstacles, and its power is not weak. In addition, it can be deployed anytime and anywhere, and its range is more than two thousand meters, making it very useful.

Of course, Li Wei added this not to target people, but primarily to deal with monsters, especially those enormous ones. He certainly didn't want to encounter a Tyrannosaurus Rex-sized creature in this town; that would be troublesome.

However, having mortars makes things much easier; if they can't win, they can just drop dead from the sky—simple and direct. Li Wei simply refused to believe that any monster could withstand the bombardment of high-explosive shells.

Well, that's assuming Phillips is accurate enough and doesn't hit himself in the head. But he's a professional, so he probably wouldn't make that kind of mistake.

"I'm all changed, Mr. Levi!"

After Levi finished explaining the precautions to Phillips and Anna, Katie skipped and hopped out of the car. She had completely changed out of her usual long-sleeved shirt and trousers for battle, and was now wearing a hooded cloak, looking quite excited.

Li Wei also checked the cane sword he was holding, as well as the Persuader and Punisher at his waist.

But then again…

"What are you doing carrying that suitcase?"

Li Wei looked curiously at the suitcase Katie was carrying; it looked no different from the suitcases women usually use when traveling long distances.

Or rather, there's only one difference.

This thing is made of iron… well, it's a completely iron suitcase, with all the corners thoughtfully padded. But to Levi, it looks more like a giant sledgehammer—especially when Katie is holding it, it gives off a feeling of wanting to smash anyone in its path.

"Hmm? Of course, it's food and tea, I've prepared everything! And desserts are all in there too."

Katie patted the box in her hand with a grin.

This thing looks like it weighs several tens of kilograms... By the way, are you really planning to go on a picnic?

That makes sense, though. In reality, we still have to consider supply issues; it's not a game...

No, many games nowadays have also fallen victim to the addition of a realistic hunger stat.

"Although I don't think it will take us that much time..."

Li Wei looked at the town before him; the undulating rooftops stretched almost all the way to the mountains at the edge of his vision.

Okay, it might indeed take a lot of time.

"let's go."

Levi and Katie left Phantom II and headed into the town. They first climbed over the collapsed wall ruins and then saw a carriage overturned on the ground not far away.

“Mr. Li Wei, there’s a carriage here.”

"Yes, I see it. I'll go take a look."

Li Wei stepped forward and examined the carriage closely; it was overturned. Judging from the remaining marks, the carriage had overturned not long ago, meaning…

Looking at the overturned carriage and the tracks on the ground, a scene quickly came to mind for Li Wei.

In the pitch-black night, two horses pulled a carriage at breakneck speed, rushing into the city and onto the streets. Suddenly, a wall of a nearby house collapsed, and something burst forth, crashing heavily into the carriage, which collapsed to the ground. Then the carriage door opened, and a person hurriedly scrambled out. She didn't even have time to grab her belongings before the driver took her away.

Li Wei reached out and took out a small suitcase from the carriage. The suitcase looked a bit worn, and the word SK was embroidered on the handle.

"Whose box is this?"

Katie curiously peeked out, while Levi shrugged.

"It must have been the clients. They were attacked here, the carriage overturned, and then the clients were rescued."

"Attack? Who attacked us?"

"I don't know either, but the other party must be very ruthless, after all, they didn't even spare the horses."

Li Wei looked up and saw, not far from the carriage, the carcasses of two horses, their bellies ripped open and their deaths gruesome.

Li Wei gripped his cane and sword tightly.

"Be careful, who knows what we might encounter here."

Then, he spoke.

(End of this chapter)