Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 295 Investigation Direction
"Are you sure that detective... he really went to the hotel?"

Director Victor sat behind his desk, his face grim.

"Yes, boss, we followed him all the way and found that he went to the Diamond Hotel and even booked a first-class suite... What do we do now?"

"...What about the editorial department?"

"All dead."

"died?"

"Yes, Chief, there isn't a single survivor."

Standing in front of Director Victor was a man with a pointed face and a monkey-like appearance who didn't look like a good person. He gasped as he spoke.

"What do you think? Should we just arrest that guy?"

"No."

Director Victor shook his head.

"We shouldn't take any further action until we catch him at the crime scene."

As a local strongman in Cairo, Chief Victor noticed Levi as soon as he entered the city, since Levi hadn't bothered to conceal his presence. A renowned detective of the Empire would be easy to find if he didn't intend to hide himself.

The case involving the editorial department of the "Explorer" newspaper had nothing to do with Director Victor. However, while they were investigating, they offended some people they shouldn't have. The latter wanted to teach these guys a lesson, so he gave Director Victor a heads-up beforehand.

This kind of thing is all too common in Cairo, and Chief Victor didn't pay much attention to it.

As for framing Li Wei, that was something he did on a whim. After learning that Li Wei was going to the editorial department, Director Victor felt this was an opportunity. If he could catch him at the crime scene and lock him up for a few months, that would be ideal.

Some might doubt that Director Victor is not afraid of dying quickly by doing this, since Levi is the Knight of the Thistle and a favorite of Her Majesty the Queen.
Ah, that's right. If Levi weren't a favorite of Her Majesty the Queen, Director Victor wouldn't have taken this job!

As mentioned before, after the Queen ascended the throne, she turned Caesarblanca into a bloodbath, killing countless nobles and servants, and even many of Caesarblanca's citizens were caught up in the carnage. Therefore, if you were to ask which part of the Empire hated the Queen the most, Caesarblanca would definitely be number one.

Even Melicia can't compare.

Melicia opposed the Empire only because of her own interests, while the people of Caesarblanca and the Queen had a blood feud.

While in other places people might see it as a good thing that Her Majesty the Queen had eliminated all the corrupt elements that were harming the empire after ascending to the throne, and that the empire was becoming increasingly prosperous under her leadership.

But for the people of Caesarblanca, their peaceful lives were suddenly shattered. The queen, also born in Caesarblanca, seemed to have gone mad, destroying everything they had, killing their families, and even stripping them of their status as the capital. They were reduced from once high-ranking citizens of the imperial capital to rats in a stinking ditch.

That queen is a traitor! A traitor to Caesarblanca! Has she forgotten how the people of Caesarblanca rejoiced and eagerly awaited her birth?

And now, is this how she repays the people of Caesarblanca?

That bitch!

So in other places, officials would think twice before offending the royal family, but in Caesarblanca, they didn't have that thought.

The chance to spit in the Queen's face is rare, so I'm going to do it. Go ahead and kill me if you dare!

Hey, let's see if you have the skills!

Cairoblanca had its reasons for doing this. As the saying goes, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Cairoblanca was, after all, an old capital. Even though the Queen had slaughtered many of its people, it still had some strength. On the surface, it was a business of culture and entertainment, but in reality, Cairoblanca had become the crime capital of the entire empire.

Li Wei still only thought of it as a place where scoundrels colluded and conspired. But in reality, many officials throughout Cairo were actually gang members. Chief Victor was no exception; in other words, if you didn't join a gang, it was absolutely impossible to rise to the top in Cairo.

This is the source of Caisa Blanca's confidence to confront the Queen.

If you've got the guts, go ahead and slaughter everyone in Caesarblanca, or we'll keep harassing you. If you push us too far, we'll launch an internal rebellion and see if the current empire can handle it.

Don't even mention the Thistle Knight. Even if you were an imperial envoy, I could make sure you died in a ditch the next day, and then claim you drank yourself to death.

You want me to go to the capital? I won't go. If you're so capable, come and capture me in Caesarblanca.

No matter how many people you bring, they will all die here!
Caisablanca has the confidence to do so, but... there are rules to follow.

If Li Wei had obediently been arrested at the crime scene or beaten to death, that would have been fine.

But the fact that he killed all the men sent by Chief Victor is another matter entirely.

What does this mean?
This shows that this detective is someone who isn't afraid of making things worse.

Chief Victor was certain that if he dared to send men to arrest him again under the guise of apprehending a suspect, Levi might actually dare to start a fight in broad daylight. If things escalated, the situation would be dire. His gang would certainly not allow such a thing to happen; they might enjoy provoking the Queen, but they couldn't afford to give her any leverage.

If Levi has the ability to escalate the situation, then a conflict between the two sides would provide the Queen with an excuse to intervene in Cairo. This is something the underground gangs controlling Cairo absolutely do not want to see.

If things really develop to that point, they will most likely choose to sacrifice pawns to save the king.

Well, based on Chief Victor's experience, he's very likely the one who'll be thrown out.

Since we've failed, and the other party has proven they're not someone to be trifled with, then... let's give up.

"Never mind, let's stop here."

Chief Victor shook his head. Although he hadn't managed to bring Levi to the police station to cause trouble, he believed that Levi already knew who was in charge in Caesarblanca—at least as an outsider, he should know to be careful with his words and actions.

But what exactly is he doing in Caisablanca?
"Send someone to keep an eye on him. No matter where he goes, report to me immediately if anything seems amiss."

"Yes."

At the same time that Director Victor made his decision, at the Diamond Hotel, Levi had just finished taking a shower and was resting.

It must be said that the standards here are indeed high and quite enjoyable. You can even have a beautiful masseuse give you a massage while taking a bath, and you can lie on a chair and drink juice and eat dessert. It has everything you could want, and the servants coming and going are all pretty maids.

It can be said that it is no worse than a modern five-star hotel.

Moreover, Levi's superior suite also has a private balcony, offering a panoramic view of the entire Cairo Blanca skyline at night.

So right now, Li Wei is lying on the balcony, looking at the starry sky outside, enjoying a massage from a beautiful masseuse, while thinking about what will happen next.

Originally, Li Wei's plan was to first go to MI7's outpost in Cairoblanca to inquire about the city and find out what was going on before contacting the Brain to see what it wanted to do after tricking him into coming here.

Yes, it's a lie.

The reason for saying this is very simple.

The fake alien ID has been verified; the person is indeed from Caesarblanca. Regarding the thugs who hired them to steal, Levi and Inspector Lestrade interrogated them again, bringing in several people with out-of-province accents to speak with them. Ultimately, the thieves unanimously confirmed that the person who hired them to steal the jars also spoke with a Caesarblanca accent.

The brain wants to come to Cairoblanca on its own; the alien's disguised identity is Cairoblanca; and the person who hired thugs to steal the jars also speaks with a Cairoblanca accent.

It is almost certain that this case is inextricably linked to Caizablanca.

The question now is whether the attack on the MI7 branch is related to this case?

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be a problem. Before Li Wei left, headquarters had contacted them, but they only said that Li Wei was coming to investigate a case and that they needed to cooperate. The old butler didn't say anything about the specifics of the case.

After all, they are an intelligence agency, and they must always guard against leaks. The location of this investigation is Caesarblanca, and if the secret is leaked, it is very likely that the other side will find out.

Moreover, Li Wei felt that this approach was not quite like the style of the aliens, because according to the brain, these aliens were very cowardly.

When they discovered that the brain had detected their secret, they deliberately set a trap, invited the other party over, drugged it, and then cut up the brain to make liquor.

Someone who's this cautious when dealing with a single person probably wouldn't do something like forcibly breaking in during broad daylight.

He is more inclined to believe that the force behind the thugs was behind it.

The reason is simple: snakes have their dens, and rats have their paths. Since the other party knew how to hire thugs to steal (although it's because all the tech experts were caught by Li Wei), it means they have experience in this area. Otherwise, if you randomly picked someone on the street and asked them to get something for you, most people would be clueless and wouldn't know what to do.

At most, it's buying it with their own money; the next worst thing is stealing it.

Hiring someone to steal is a tactic that most people wouldn't normally consider.

Even if they did think of it, they wouldn't know who to turn to.

Furthermore, judging from the traces left by the editorial staff, there were mostly shotguns, followed by pistols—a combination typically found only in the hands of gangsters. Li Wei had previously raided gangs in Chongqing, so he was very familiar with this kind of situation. After all, it's rare to see a large number of shotguns appearing simultaneously, and this wasn't some remote mountain forest where a group of hunters would be out hunting rabbits.

Then it's just gangsters.

Let's start from this point.

Li Wei planned to investigate the editorial department again when he had time, to see if there were any overlooked clues. If not, he would investigate the gang directly. He believed that given their lawless attitude—daring to break into the editorial department and commit mass murder—they certainly wouldn't tolerate him loitering around under their noses.

If we can provoke these guys out, the subsequent investigation will be much easier.

Anyway, it will take time to coordinate with MI7, so I'll just do some preliminary work first.

(End of this chapter)