Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 271 This is really troublesome.
In RPGs, it's almost a basic requirement for players to collect several items before they can open the gate to the Demon King's castle. This is a feature that infuriates and frustrates players.

To be honest, this setting is already annoying enough in the game, but seeing it in real life would only be more annoying.

However, upon closer examination, it's not entirely without merit. After all, this cumbersome setup is designed to prevent people from having the opportunity to open it, or to make it very difficult to open. Similarly, the doors of important locations often have two keys, held by different people, to prevent accidental activation or other problems.

But it's still so troublesome...

Li Wei's expression of annoyance was almost blatantly obvious on his face.

On the contrary, Katie looked excited and thrilled, and even took out a small notebook to record what the strange man was saying.

“…Is it the church in the fishing village on the east side of the lake? Hmm, and the other one is in the college on the west side as a historical exhibit…”

That's great, it reminds me of when I first started playing games.

Looking at the excited Katie in front of him, Levi couldn't help but feel emotional. It reminded him of when he first started playing RPGs as a child, he would carefully write down the clues in a notebook.

Of course, the main reason was that many games at that time were quite "kneeling to reality". NPCs would give hints in their dialogue, but there were almost no other hints. Sometimes you even had to find the destination of the mission yourself, and you couldn't find it at all if you didn't take notes carefully.

But things are different now; those hardcore games have long since disappeared from the market. Modern RPGs not only thoughtfully tell you the location of quests, but they also plan the route to the location and provide hints to unlock the quests... So players are just like emotionless delivery machines running around.

So Li Wei tossed Katie, who was diligently recording NPC information, aside and gestured for Sophia to come over.

"Miss Krant, please come here for a moment."

"Oh? Yes, what can I do for you, Lord Li Wei?"

"I would like to hear your full account of why you are here."

That's right. Although that strange man talked a lot of nonsense, Li Wei actually didn't believe a single word of it.

Detectives and police officers often have this problem: they only believe half of what witnesses say, but they're lucky if they can believe even a tenth of what suspects and victims say.

As for why this is the case, there's a joke that illustrates the point: A teacher warns students not to fight, and gives an example: "According to research, 99% of people who die in fights are the ones who start the fight. Do you know what that means?"

Then a student quickly answered, "Because those who survived all said that the other side attacked first!"

That's pretty much what it means.

People always try to absolve themselves of their own mistakes and exaggerate the mistakes of others. So don't just accept everything the victim says because she's crying her eyes out and looks like a female protagonist in a drama, assuming that the victim is an innocent white moonlight and the perpetrator is an unforgivable villain.

This is why the law relies on evidence. In reality, people often write lengthy articles online that incite righteous indignation, only to find out from the surveillance video that the truth is completely different.

You might write "I gave him a little criticism" when you were the one hurling insults at him, and then write "He punched and kicked me" when he pushed you in anger. It's as if he beat you up and left you with a severe disability.

Some people even go so far as to claim that they stabbed someone with a knife, saying, "I just wanted to scare him, and he didn't dodge it!" making it seem as if the other person jumped in front of the knife to commit suicide.

Therefore, when the strange man claimed that he was merely an accomplice and that the deceased Deans was the real culprit, Levi simply listened and treated it as a story.

"Ah, okay..."

Compared to the strange man, Sophia was clearly more obedient and honestly explained the situation to Levi.

According to Sofia, she was indeed looking for a ride to the Great Salt Lake in the village when Harold came to the hotel and gave her a letter from her grandfather. Sofia had no other choice; she was originally just an ordinary, poor office worker. She had quit her job and sold her house to raise the travel expenses for the Great Salt Lake, and now she couldn't go back even if she wanted to. Despite feeling uneasy after reading her grandfather's letter, she had no choice but to go.

Yes, that fits the plot of a horror movie quite well. A poor person spends all their money to buy a haunted house to start a new life, so even if they find something wrong with the house, they have nowhere to go and can only grit their teeth and endure it, eventually losing their life in the process.

So that's what sunk costs are all about...

On their way here, they were attacked. Sophia couldn't quite explain what it was, but it was a huge and terrifying monster. Before she could even get a good look at it, Harold dragged her away. All she heard was the screaming of horses behind them, which terrified Sophia.

After that, Harold led Sophia to the inner city. He seemed quite familiar with it, and the two of them evaded the monsters before arriving at a secret chamber located underground. Harold told Sophia that this chamber could only be opened with the blood of a member of the Crant family…

"so what?"

"Ugh... I'm afraid of pain, but I still cut my finger with a knife and let it bleed a little. And then the door really opened. It's unbelievable."

Indeed, this is quite incredible for people of this era.

"And then? What's inside?"

"Hmm... a large stone door, tightly bound by chains, with an engraving of the All-Seeing Eye on it."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Li Wei's eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure it's the all-seeing eye?"

"I'm sure, it's exactly the same as the ones I often see in churches. Except..."

"only?"

"The eye of the all-knowing eye was hollow... Harold was very surprised when he saw this, he didn't seem to have expected this either."

"You didn't see your... grandfather?"

“Harold said that my grandfather was trapped underground with that evil being.”

"Then Harold asked how to solve this problem?" "He said we need to find the sealed relic and bring it back to open the gate..."

"Oh...did he tell me what the sacred object is?"

"It looks like two round discs with holes, and a golden sphere."

That is, when pieced together, it forms the shape of an eyeball.

"Have you never thought about leaving here?"

Upon hearing Li Wei's question, Sophia immediately looked distressed.

“I want to leave too, but I don’t know where to go… I don’t have much money left. I can only survive here on some drinks and jerky… Harold said he would figure something out…”

"Can we go there and check on the situation now?"

"I'm afraid it will be difficult. It seems that we disturbed some monster when we opened the secret room. If Harold hadn't gotten me out in time, we would probably have been trapped inside by the monster."

"Um……………"

Li Wei pondered for a moment.

What do you think of Harold as a person?

"Huh? I think... although he looks a bit scary, he seems like a good person... after all, without his help, I probably would have died here already."

Well, this guy is also the culprit who sent you here.

Li Wei mentally muttered a complaint.

"Alright, Mr. Li Wei!"

At that moment, Katie finished asking questions and excitedly came over with her notebook.

“I just asked Mr. Harold about the situation and learned that the three relics are in the fishing village church on the east side, the college exhibition hall on the west side, and the cathedral in the inner city. Let’s hurry there and retrieve the relics!”

So young.

Seeing Katie so eager to get going, Levi sighed and then asked her a question.

"So are you aware of any dangers there?"

"Huh? This..."

Katie paused for a moment, then turned to look at Harold, who shook his head.

"I'm not entirely sure either. Although those places have experienced the same changes as the city, it seems that Deans did something that made the situation there completely different from the city. Even I can't be sure what might be there. In short, please be careful."

"Hmm...I understand."

After listening to the strange man's statement, which was essentially meaningless, Li Wei nodded and then looked at Sophia.

"Then, Miss Sophia, please come with us."

"Hey?"

Sophia was quite surprised to hear Li Wei's invitation.

"Should I come along too?"

"Of course, didn't we say before that only members of the Krant family can open the secret chamber? What if we encounter the same thing where we go?"

"Ah, then let me..."

Katie was excited and wanted to raise her hand, but Levi gave her a wink, and Katie immediately shut her mouth.

"Ah, this..."

Sophia didn't notice the exchange of glances between Levi and Katie; she was deep in thought, and then nodded as if she had made up her mind.

"Alright, I'll go with you. Mr. Harold, are you coming too?"

As she spoke, Sophia glanced at Harold, who remained silent for a moment.

No, I'll stay here.

"Hey?"

"Someone has to take care of the aftermath, and I don't have any fighting ability. Going there would only be a hindrance... We can only rely on your strength. I hope everything goes well for you."

"Do not worry."

Li Wei looked at the strange man and smiled slightly.

"We will definitely protect Miss Krant."

(End of this chapter)