Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 319 Earth Rumble
In Qi Ya's imagination, the mountains should have been quiet and peaceful.

However, what they are encountering now is completely different.

"Thump—thump!"

The ground suddenly trembled and roared like thunder, causing everyone to lose their footing and fall to the ground. Even the birds were startled by the sound, screeching as they flew into the air, and the sound of trees crashing to the ground could be heard in the distance.

"Thump—thump!"

The sound rang out again, then disappeared, and the whole process lasted for nearly two hours before gradually fading away.

Only then did the members of the expedition team get up from the ground.

"Wow, such a big earthquake..."

"Are you crazy? How could this be an earthquake? Have you ever seen such a regular earthquake?"

"what is that?"

"I don't know either, but it feels more like it was artificially created..."

That's right.

Hearing the expedition team's conversation, Qi Ya felt the same way. The Steel City had many factories using large steam-powered machinery, which made similar sounds when operating. However, even the machinery in those steam-powered factories only caused the ground to tremble slightly at most.

Steam machinery capable of causing earthquakes like this... shouldn't exist, right?
"Woo... Meow..."

"Are you alright, Buck?"

Feeling the kitten trembling in her arms, Qi Ya quickly reached out to comfort it. After that, the kitten followed Qi Ya around, and everyone laughed and said that the cat had taken a liking to Qi Ya. Qi Ya didn't dislike cats, and seeing this thin kitten filled her with compassion, so she brought the kitten over and raised it as her own pet.

During the earthquake, the kitten huddled in Qi Ya's arms, trembling uncontrollably, and seemed to be in great discomfort.

Could he be sick?

Qi Ya didn't know what to do either. Should she let the soldier who kept a cat at home take a look?
But it seems much better now. Is it because I'm afraid of earthquakes?

Unfortunately, Qi Ya didn't have time to discuss things with the soldier, because an even more troublesome problem was about to arise.

"Please wait, Doctor!"

"What are you waiting for? It's right in front of you!"

Dr. Franco stared at the platoon leader with wide eyes. An ordinary researcher would probably have been scared away long ago, but the platoon leader remained serious.

"According to you, this earthquake and radio waves are very likely man-made, aren't they? So this is very likely a sabotage operation by an enemy country. We must send people to investigate and confirm the situation before making any further decisions!"

"But what if you're clumsy and break the transmitter? A device that can emit radio waves powerful enough to interfere with the Steel City from this remote mountain area is very sophisticated. Once it's damaged, it'll be very difficult to repair!"

"Under no circumstances should you be allowed in until it is confirmed that it is safe inside!"

"Enough talk, I'm going in! Nobody's allowed to stop me! Even if I die, I want to see what kind of device can do this!"

Ah... here we go again.

Hearing their argument, Qi Ya sighed silently. Whenever her grandfather got involved in mechanical matters, he became as stubborn as a child. Like a child who demands toys from their parents, throwing a tantrum and screaming on the floor if they don't get them—though it was impolite to say that about her grandfather, that was exactly how she saw him.

Ugh, this looks awful.

Qi Ya frowned, intending to go up and lecture him. When her grandfather was difficult to deal with, getting angry was still effective.

"grandfather!"

"Whoa! Kiya? What are you doing?"

Hearing Qi Ya's shout, Dr. Franco was startled and quickly turned to look at his granddaughter. He saw Qi Ya holding a kitten, frowning and glaring at him.

"You're so old! Don't you know how to restrain yourself? The soldiers are doing this for Grandpa's safety! They're willing to walk this difficult mountain road with us to get here, and you still have to be so unreasonable and curse at us?"

"I... I didn't send them here..."

"But if it weren't for the soldiers' help, would you have been able to get here, Grandpa?"

"Ugh... But, however..."

"Hmm? Come here!"

Qi Ya grabbed Dr. Franco's ear and pulled him aside, which immediately eased the tense atmosphere.

But at this very moment…

“Ah, in that case, I know a way to go around to the other side and get inside.”

The man in charge of the guide came over and offered his suggestions. He was a guide hired by the expedition team before they set off, and he was said to be a hunter who was very familiar with the area.

"From there, we can safely survey the situation below. How about we go that way?"

No one had any objection to this.

But now, when Qi Ya thinks back on it, she only feels strange.

Why didn't I find it strange at the time?

Even though the exact location hadn't been determined yet, the tour guide spoke as if he already knew where they were going.

What happened after that?
Memories began to shatter: gunshots, flashes of light, lightning, screams, running, unimaginable things, the sound of the wind, and then…

"————!"

Kia opened her eyes and found herself in a cave, bound to a metal chair. Looking up, she could see something resembling a saw and a syringe above her. Beside her, Dr. Franco was also bound and groaning in pain.

"grandfather!"

Upon seeing her grandfather, Qi Ya hurriedly called out, but just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"You're awake, miss."

It was a human voice, but it didn't sound like a human voice. Qi Ya subconsciously turned her head to look, and then her whole body froze on the spot.

Not far away, Qi Ya saw a man. He looked unremarkable, but just looking at him filled Qi Ya with immense fear. In the dim light, Qi Ya noticed that the man's face was tense and expressionless. Ironically, in this dark cave, the man was wearing a large bathrobe and reeked of a strange, foul odor. "You, who are you? What do you want with us?"

“I don’t want to do anything to you, miss. You’re the ones who broke in, but I believe you didn’t mean any harm.”

The man's voice was very refined, without any accent, but to Qi Ya, it sounded somewhat cold. Moreover, perhaps because of the lighting, she felt as if the man wasn't speaking at all, but rather that his voice was coming from inside his stomach.

"Your arrival here is indeed beyond our expectations, but it also proves that you possess exceptional abilities. Especially this gentleman... oh, his current health isn't very good, I think you've already noticed."

Just as the man had said, Qi Ya could clearly see that her grandfather's face was gradually turning pale and his breathing was becoming rapid.

"Grandpa! Are you alright, Grandpa!"

“Qi…Ya…”

Hearing his granddaughter's call, Dr. Franco slowly turned his head to look at Qiya, opened his mouth, but could not speak.

"He's going to die soon."

The man continued speaking, and upon hearing this, Qi Ya became even more anxious.

"Please, please save my grandfather! Please!"

"Please rest assured, miss, I certainly intend to save him."

As he spoke, the man walked over.

"Of course, his body is beyond repair right now, but we have other methods... We can transport only his brain and no longer need his body. In this way, he can continue to live without worrying about death."

"You, what are you talking about?"

As Qi Ya listened to the man's words, her mind went completely blank, while the man continued speaking.

“You and your grandfather both possess wisdom far exceeding that of ordinary people, and letting you die here is not in our best interest. But rest assured, we have very advanced methods to solve this problem.”

As he spoke, the man pushed a small cart over, and Qi Ya was surprised to see several jars that looked like they were made of brass on the cart.

"We can extract your and your grandfather's brains and place them in this metal cylinder. Then you can discard these fragile bodies and freely travel through time and space. Rest assured, this is simply replacing your body with a mechanical one..."

"You, what are you talking about?"

At that moment, Qi Ya's hair stood on end. She instinctively understood what the other person meant, but she felt like she was having a nightmare. This was probably a nightmare, not reality, but a nightmare... This must be a dream, absolutely, otherwise how could someone say such terrifying things...?

"Don't worry, you will witness all of this with your own eyes, and I think that should dispel your anxiety and hesitation."

As he spoke, the man walked towards Dr. Franco. With his movement, a hood-like object suddenly fell from above the chair, constricting Dr. Franco's head. Then, saw-like structures on either side of the chair began to rotate, while a thick syringe began drawing liquid…

This is not a dream!
"Grandpa! Grandpa! Let go of Grandpa!"

Qiya struggled desperately, but her hands and feet were firmly bound to the chair, and she could only watch helplessly as the man approached Dr. Franco.

However, at that moment...

"Whoosh—!"

A shadow suddenly darted out of Qi Ya's arms and pounced on the man's face!

That was Buck, the stray cat that Qi Ya had taken in before!
At this moment, Buck was no longer the weak creature that had been rolling around in Qi Ya's arms. Instead, it stretched out its two front paws, and sharp, blade-like claws shot out, grabbing the man's face tightly!
The attacked man quickly retreated, and with a flick of his right hand, sent Buck flying. Buck tumbled in the air before landing steadily in front of Qi Ya.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Unlike his usual meows, Buck now roared with obvious anger, while the man took two steps back and stared coldly at Buck.

Then, Qi Ya discovered something even more terrifying.

The man's face, though torn open with several slits by Buck, looking as if he'd been slashed with a knife, showed no trace of blood. Instead, his entire face was distorted and deformed, as if it weren't a face at all, but a mask…

However, what happened next was even more unimaginable.

"You're causing trouble again, you're so annoying..."

The man's body gradually swelled up, and the pajamas that had covered him, along with his face and hands, fell to the ground like mere clothing.

Then, the monster, who had concealed its identity with a human skin mask and its hands, finally revealed its true form.

This monster was over a meter tall, its body resembling some kind of beetle, with three pairs of tentacles and two claw-like pincers at the front. Its head lacked eyes and a mouth/nostril, instead being covered in fleshy growths. Furthermore, it possessed a pair of bat-like wings on its back.

"Alas-----!"

Even the demons described in holy books are not this terrifying.

The monster raised its claws, holding a strange black machine in its hand. It aimed at Buck, and then, in the next instant, a bolt of lightning shot out from the black machine and flew towards Buck!

"Meow—!"

Buck roared, and then the ground in front of him suddenly rose up, forming a shield that blocked the lightning attack. Buck then went around to the side and pounced on the monster again.

"Hey? Hey?"

The scene before her eyes left Qi Ya completely bewildered. The fact that the man could turn into a monster was terrifying enough, but Buck... now it seemed he wasn't just an ordinary stray cat either?
Even so, Buck's condition didn't look good either. It seemed to be weak to begin with, and it stopped performing any magical actions. It just relied on its size to move around nimbly, while the monster held the black machine in its hand and sent bolts of electricity at Buck.

finally……………

"Meow—!"

Seemingly exhausted, Buck finally couldn't dodge in time and was struck by lightning, collapsing to the ground with a scream. Even so, it still tried to raise its head and roar angrily at the monster.

The monster stared at Buck and raised the machine in its hand again, aiming it at him.

"stop-----!"

Just as Qi Ya could no longer contain herself and shouted for her to stop, a gunshot rang out.

"Bang-----!"

A bullet spun from a distance and mercilessly pierced the monster's head.

(End of this chapter)