Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 320 Battle Against Aliens

"boom!"

Gunshots rang out, and the bullet spun through the monster's head, shattering it into pieces.

"It's now!"

Li Wei put down his gun and shouted loudly.

"Henry, you take two men and bring Dr. Franco and Kia back. The rest of you, set off flares and provide cover fire!"

"Bang-----!"

At Li Wei's command, a flare shot up, illuminating the previously dim cave. Under the blinding white light, dozens of bizarre-looking monsters could be seen, either flying in the air or climbing on the walls, turning their heads to look in the direction of Li Wei and the others.

The fleshy growths on their heads emitted a bright light, and then they leaped forward, charging towards the crowd!

“Da da da da da——!”

At the same time, the other steam-powered soldiers also raised their steam machine guns and began to attack the monsters.

Gunfire erupted, and a hail of bullets relentlessly pelted the monsters. However, these bullets, powerful enough to pierce human bodies, did little damage; the monsters merely flinched for a moment before continuing their charge!
"boom!"

The Punisher in Li Wei's hand flashed with fire, shattering another monster's body. At the same time, he flicked his left hand, and the next moment a figure wearing a cloak and wielding a scythe leaped out from the side, a cold light rippling through the air as it mercilessly slashed at the charging enemy!

Because the Silver Knight self-destructed, Li Wei hasn't gotten a backup yet. Fortunately, he still has the Death Doll that the system gave him when he was doing cases. Although this thing can't be modified and can only attack physically, it's enough for now!

"Bang bang bang!"

Li Wei fired all the bullets from the Punisher in one go, forcing back the monsters that were trying to stop Henry and the others, along with the Death Puppet. He then gave another order.

"Use explosive rounds! Fire continuously!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing Li Wei's order, the steam-powered soldiers quickly reacted. They raised their massive heavy machine guns, pressed a button, and the ammunition belts connected to the machine guns instantly fell off, retracting back into the gap on the left side of the ammunition box behind the steam-powered soldiers. At the same time, on the right side of the ammunition box, the previously sealed ammunition belts fell with a "whoosh" and were inserted into the machine guns by the steam-powered soldiers, who then pulled the bolt.

"Fire in disarray!"

"Dong-dong-dong-dong!"

This time, what was fired from the gun was not just a simple, powerful bullet, but an explosive round capable of penetrating steel and even damaging mechs. Soon, several monsters were engulfed by the explosion's flames, then turned into a pool of foul-smelling slime that scattered on the ground and disappeared without a trace.

Seeing the fate of their brethren, the other monsters finally changed their strategy. Instead of continuing to charge, they raised their right hands, and then—lightning flashed and thunder roared!
“Boom, boom, boom!!!”

A series of crisscrossing, flickering lightning bolts shot out from the monster's right hand, striking the surrounding steam engine soldiers. Several steam engine soldiers were unable to dodge in time and were immediately struck by the lightning. After trembling for a moment, they collapsed to the ground and remained motionless!

Damn it, it actually can shoot lightning!
Seeing this, Li Wei was also shocked. Although he had heard from the canned head that this kind of alien creature could fly and manipulate lightning, this was the first time he had actually witnessed it with his own eyes.

However, this doesn't seem like magic; it's more like some kind of weapon capable of firing lightning...

Good grief, has this somehow landed me in some Star Wars movie?
"Spread out! Find cover!"

Ordinary soldiers would probably be terrified by this scene, but the steam engine soldiers were indeed the most elite soldiers in the empire. Although they were a little flustered at first, they quickly listened to Li Wei's instructions, using the surrounding rocks to hide themselves while continuing to launch attacks and suppress the enemy in front of them with firepower.

Meanwhile, Henry, along with several soldiers, had rescued Dr. Franco and Kia from the strange metal chair and, under cover of fire, quickly retreated back to Levi's side.

"How's it going?"

While manipulating the Death Puppet to attack the monsters and scatter their ranks, Li Wei also shot down one of the guys who tried to fire lightning at him, and asked without turning his head.

"Miss Qiya is alright, but Dr. Franco is seriously injured and needs immediate treatment."

"You take the rest of the group and evacuate. Get Dr. Franco onto the airship! Send him back to Steel City for treatment as soon as possible! Also, check if reinforcements have arrived!"

"And what about you, Captain?"

"I?"

Upon hearing Henry's question, Levi rolled his eyes.

"I'll stay here and hold off these bastards!"

"What!?"

Henry was taken aback by Levi's answer. He had also witnessed the battle; these monsters could not only fly, but even ordinary weapons were ineffective against them. Moreover, they didn't know how many monsters there were! Although it was true that someone was supposed to stay behind to cover their retreat, lest the enemy launch a surprise attack while they were withdrawing.

But Li Wei was the only one left behind?
Logically, the reinforcements from Steel City should have arrived by now, but...

"How about..."

"Hurry up! Leave this to me, Dr. Franco is the most important!"

"……………yes!"

Henry was, after all, a soldier, and he had to obey orders. Besides, Levi was right; Dr. Franco was seriously injured and needed immediate treatment. There was no time to waste. Henry was also well aware of Levi's abilities; since he was confident he could stay, dealing with these monsters shouldn't be a problem.

Without further ado, he quickly signaled the other steam-powered soldiers to fight and retreat, while leaving Li Wei with one last barrage of attacks, which blocked another enemy assault.

"Why…………………"

Watching Henry and the others leave, Levi sighed silently. He didn't really want to play the hero. If he could, Levi would have preferred to use the excuse of protecting Dr. Franco to slip away together, leaving a few steam engine soldiers as human shields.

Unfortunately, that's not what the mission said.

[Mission "Enemy of the Universe" activated]

[Mission Objective: Completely annihilate the enemy! (I solemnly swear: I will dedicate my life to protecting humanity, from the deepest ocean to the vast cosmos. This vow remains until my death.)]

is it necessary?

Recalling the scene when the mission was triggered, Li Wei was speechless.

This is a fight to the death; we must wipe out all these monsters!

So Li Wei could no longer run away.

He wasn't worried about not being able to escape, but based on Li Wei's understanding of this alien race, "cowardice" was a very prominent characteristic of them. Li Wei was certain that if he withdrew, these alien creatures would wipe out the remaining steam-powered soldiers as quickly as possible, and then run as far away as possible.

Therefore, I must stay!

Moreover, with his abilities, even if he stayed, these guys wouldn't be able to kill him so easily!

Madhu, try your best!
Sensing that Henry and the others had already left, Levi no longer hesitated. He raised his hands, and the Persuader and the Punisher appeared simultaneously.

Then, the flow of time began to slow down.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

In a matter of moments, several alien monsters were engulfed by the white phosphorus flames and plummeted from the sky. Li Wei, on the other hand, took a step forward and rushed towards the center of the void.

As the art of war says, "Attack where the enemy must defend." Li Wei was certain that these monsters weren't staying because they were caught up in a fierce battle. After all, they could fly; if they really wanted to escape, they had a hundred ways to shake off Li Wei and flee. But there was only one reason they weren't leaving!
That's the strange thing located in the center of this cavity!

In fact, Li Wei had already seen it when he entered the cave. In the center of the cave, there was a square object, over six meters tall, shaped like a Rubik's Cube. When the battle began, some monsters attacked Li Wei and his companions, while others flew towards the Rubik's Cube, seemingly trying to take it away.

Li Wei launched several attacks in succession, thwarting the monsters' plan to take away the cube.

The fact that they're still here shows that the thing is really important to them.

With the humans retreating and only Li Wei remaining, these monsters probably want to take this opportunity to kill Li Wei and then quickly take this thing away.

However, Li Wei will not give them that chance!
As Li Wei charged toward the cube, the monsters around him seemed to get anxious. They raised their hands again, and bolts of lightning shot toward Li Wei!

"Boom boom boom!"

Fortunately, just as Levi had expected, these lightning bolts were more like the kind of weapons that shoot out lightning in science fiction shooting games, rather than magic that could be manipulated at will. With the help of the [Eye of Death]'s power to slow down time, he was still able to dodge them.

If it's magic like in fantasy novels that can track targets, then Li Wei won't be able to do anything about it.

From this perspective, it seems that magic is still a bit stronger than technology...

Li Wei's mind was wandering, but he didn't slow down. At the same time, he noticed several more monsters flying towards him. However, unlike the previous monsters, these monsters were carrying something resembling canisters and jetpacks on their backs…

Holy crap, this is going up in intensity!?

Seeing this, Li Wei was stunned. Just then, the monsters suddenly spewed out jets of pure white mist from their nozzles, rushing straight toward Li Wei!

Damn!

This thing isn't as easy to dodge as a lightning beam; it's clearly meant to cover this entire area!
Fortunately, Li Wei was prepared for this!

【Teleportation】!
Just as the white mist was about to envelop Li Wei, Li Wei flashed and swapped positions with the Death Puppet above. The latter was instantly swallowed by the white mist in Li Wei's place, while Li Wei leaped into the air, then lowered his hands to load bullets using a makeshift magazine, and simultaneously aimed at the monsters carrying cans.

"Bang bang bang!"

Clearly, the monsters had no idea that Li Wei had this trick up his sleeve. They didn't even have time to dodge before the bullets pierced through the canisters they were carrying. The canisters exploded the next moment, and the pure white gas spread out, engulfing all the monsters around them!

"hiss---!"

Even Li Wei felt a bone-chilling cold rushing towards him, as if he were swimming naked in Antarctica, feeling like his bones were about to freeze!

Without hesitation, he activated [Shadow Shift] again, throwing the doll cat in front to freeze, while he himself distanced himself from the white mist once more.

Soon, the white mist dissipated, and the monsters inside were now covered in frost. But even so, they were still able to move!

Li Wei's Death Doll had long since turned into an ice sculpture and was completely unable to move!

So next...

Just as Li Wei was pondering how to deal with the situation, suddenly, he heard a series of machine roars coming from inside the cave. Then, accompanied by flashing lights, several mechs strode out, their flamethrowers and heavy cannons relentlessly aimed at the monsters in front of them!
"call……………"

Seeing this, Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

Alright, all the fear stemmed from insufficient firepower, and now my firepower is clearly sufficient.

Then there's nothing to be afraid of.

(End of this chapter)