Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 339 The Royal Treasure Vault
"Why………………"

Li Wei stood in front of the gate, his face filled with speechlessness and melancholy.

I knew the Queen's afternoon tea wouldn't be this good.

Actually, there are advantages to being in the Empire, namely that there is not much pressure when meeting the Queen.

Li Wei had watched historical dramas, and they depicted how serving a ruler was like walking on thin ice, where a single wrong word could lead to execution and the extermination of one's entire family. In contrast, the Queen of the Empire was much more approachable; at least she wouldn't drag you out and behead you for a single wrong word.

But it's really frustrating when she keeps giving you things to do.

Like this time, while enjoying afternoon tea, the Queen thanked Levi for the rescue operation, and then the conversation abruptly changed…

"Louise said, can you spot any unusual items?"

"………………………"

So Li Wei followed the old steward here.

"This is the royal treasury, Sir Levi."

The old butler stood in front of Li Wei, smiling at him, while the latter looked speechless.

"So, Your Majesty means that I should go through the entire treasury and put away all the dangerous items?"

"Of course, if there's anything you like, you can take it."

"What use would I have for these things...?"

Li Wei couldn't tell whether the Queen was rewarding him or setting him up. According to the Queen, he could take anything he wanted with him.

But the question is, what use would Li Wei have for these things?

I can't eat or drink...

If Li Wei really wanted to say something, he'd rather give himself a raise or something. But then again, even with a raise, he still has to work…

Li Wei finally understood how the Queen had brought the empire to this state. Putting everything else aside, she was first-rate at managing people. Then again, that was indeed the most important skill for a ruler—knowing how to use people effectively… but you can't treat me like a mule.

This reminded Li Wei of some bosses in his world who made their employees work overtime until they died, while giving them huge overtime pay, leaving the employees torn between money and their lives... Her Majesty the Queen seems to have a similar idea.

Anyway, it's better than working overtime without pay.

Of course, it would be even better if we could just pay them and not have to work overtime.

However, Li Wei also knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

"Rumble, rumble—"

Just then, the treasure vault doors opened, revealing its true interior.

In Li Wei's view, this place was less a treasure trove and more a huge museum, with all sorts of things on the shelves, mostly jewelry and ornaments, but also statues and weapons.

"Some of these were obtained by Her Majesty the Queen from those nobles, and some were gifts from other countries."

The old steward gave Li Wei a brief introduction, explaining the origin of these items.

Gifts from other countries are understandable, but those from nobles... well, Li Wei won't ask how they were obtained.

He could roughly guess that the items to be auctioned at this event were probably taken from here.

Well, since we're already here, let's just treat it as watching the show.

Thinking of this, Li Wei also activated [Soul Vision] and scanned his surroundings.

"…………………"

Well, it truly lives up to its reputation as a royal treasure trove; a gathering of brilliant minds indeed!

I won't say more, because as things stand, if I don't finish my work today, I'm afraid I won't be able to go home.

let's start.

Li Wei stopped acting and walked forward along the "exhibition stand" with his hands behind his back, as if visiting a museum. He then stopped in front of a treasure. It was a crown, which looked exquisite and beautiful. If it weren't for the dazzling red light emitted by the rubies set in it, it would have been a fine souvenir.

"Is there something wrong with this crown?"

The old butler, seeing Li Wei staring at the crown, asked a question, and Li Wei nodded.

"There's a problem, should we destroy it?"

"Please find them first. Her Majesty the Queen intends to see what strange curses these things might contain."

They're quite curious; as long as they don't cause any more trouble that I have to clean up after them, it'll be fine.

Li Wei rolled his eyes helplessly. He preferred to smash the thing to pieces with a hammer rather than use it for experiments.

but……………

"Let me see, maybe I can figure out what this thing does."

With the added accuracy attribute, Li Wei discovered that using this ability to examine mysterious creations was like using the "Appraisal" skill in a game, allowing him to identify the effects of mysterious creations that were originally ???

It must be said that this ability improvement is indeed quite good. At least when Li Wei encounters mysterious creations he doesn't know in the future, he won't be left guessing.

So Li Wei picked up the crown, stared at it and fiddled with it for a while. Soon, a line of text appeared next to the crown in front of Li Wei.

[Identification: Crown of Faith (The wearer will possess a more devout faith)]

Li Wei explained the crown's abilities to the old butler, who nodded, then took out his notebook and wrote it down.

"Do you mind if I ask, who gave you this thing?"

"Holy Bishop's Court".

No wonder the old butler's expression was so strange after Li Wei described the crown's effects.

Anyone who isn't an idiot knows what it means for the Holy See to send this thing to the Queen.

Moreover, the rings, scepters, and robes beside them all have similar effects, all of which can strengthen the wearer's faith and make them fanatically believe in the Lord.

Li Wei calls it the "Four-Piece Set of Faith." I don't know if there are any additional attribute bonuses on the full set, but given its brainwashing nature, probably no one would wear it.

According to the old butler, the Church of Christ sent this as a special gift when the Queen ascended the throne. However, the Queen did not have a good impression of the Church of Christ, and she also disliked these gorgeous and splendid decorations, so she casually threw them into a corner.

Well, it's fortunate that the Holy Lord Church was dealt with by the Queen long ago, otherwise, if the Queen had found out about this, it would have been a big question how many members of the Holy Lord Church would still be alive.

To say that the Church of Christ didn't know they had this ability when they gave it to the Queen—Livy says, I just don't believe it.
In addition, Li Wei found other cursed items, including but not limited to necklaces that cause nightmares and earrings that turn people into beasts, etc. Of course, Li Wei examined these items in his hands before making a judgment.

This is a trick Li Wei learned online. It's like picking locks. If you pick a lock for 50 yuan and it opens in five seconds, the person will definitely think that the 50 yuan isn't worth it. But if you take a while to open it, the person will think that the 50 yuan is well worth it.

Similarly, this is also a way to mislead others. Even if someone finds out that Li Wei has this ability in the future, they will only think that he needs to examine it carefully like an antique before he can draw a conclusion. In this way, at most they will just not let Li Wei touch it.

They had no idea that Li Wei could tell what abilities these things possessed with just a glance. However, besides these strange and cursed items, Li Wei also encountered some other things that broadened his horizons.

That's the mysterious blue item!

That's right, this was the first time Li Wei had ever seen mysterious items emitting blue light! And they were mostly weapons, like longswords, spears, shields, helmets, and the like.

Moreover, they all possessed abilities such as "spirit enhancement" and "attack enhancement," which surprised Li Wei. Later, he asked the old steward and learned that these weapons and equipment were actually used by the ancestors of the empire, and those who wore them were all ruthless figures who had left their mark on history.

I never imagined that these pieces of equipment would possess special abilities after they died.
Or perhaps these devices possessed special abilities while they were alive?

Li Wei didn't know that, after all, those were historical figures from hundreds of years ago, and he wouldn't know where to look for them.

In short, these weapons are indeed capable, but as for whether they can be put to use... well, maybe they could have a hundred years ago, but in this world where truth is within the range of cannons... well, that's hard to say.

The range of the Crescent Moon Sky Striker is not as good as that of a mortar, is it?

Regardless, the old steward took Li Wei's words quite seriously and said he would send someone to find a new place to store the equipment left behind by the empire's martyrs. Previously, these items might have only held historical significance for the empire.

But now that we know this thing actually possesses mysterious power, and it's a good kind of power, things are different!

The Queen is just an ordinary person. Although she has ordered the formation of a similar mysterious force, she must also worry about being attacked by such mysterious entities.

However, all along, the mysterious items they encountered were either curses or curses, the kind that left no way out for them.

Now it's all right, thanks to our ancestors! With this equipment, while the Queen can't be said to be invincible against mysterious things, she at least has some self-defense capabilities and won't just self-destruct from a single curse.

And so, Li Wei searched the royal treasury, finding two types of equipment. The damaged items were mostly disposed of, while the good ones were carefully stored away to see if they could be used. Of course, Li Wei's trip wasn't in vain, because he discovered that soul fragments could actually be extracted from the royal treasury!
This unexpected joy also excited Li Wei quite a bit. You see, every time he had those soul fragments before, he had to fight a bunch of monsters, and finally kill a BOSS, and then extract them from the BOSS's remains.

Now everything's fine; this thing is right here, and he can just absorb it himself. Since no one uses these cursed items and they can't be activated, Li Wei doesn't need to worry about entering any more dungeons. He happily absorbed another seven or eight soul fragments, completing his mission.

Overall, I didn't lose out.

Although Li Wei still doesn't know what this soul fragment is used for.

But since the system has given a notification, it must be useful, right?
After all that commotion, Li Wei was finally released just before dinner. He was so eager to slip away that he was afraid the Queen would catch him and give him some more tasks... He figured he might as well touch her while he could.

However, when Levi drove the Phantom home, he received some news from his butler, Kane.

"Someone is looking for me?"

"Yes, sir, the other party is currently waiting in the reception room."

"Who is it? Is there a case?"

Li Wei handed his coat to the maid beside him, then asked curiously. According to Li Wei's rules, when he was away, guests were always seated in the reception room on the first floor. However, aside from cases, very few people came to visit him…

"No, the other person is someone you know..."

"acquaintance?"

Levi was even more puzzled. Kitty wouldn't have been so polite; she'd gone straight upstairs to play with Alice and the little mermaid. So who was left? Annie? That was possible, but he remembered Annie was currently out of town conducting archaeological research… Olivia was even less likely; how could a lord like her have time to come to Fog City?
So who will be coming?
Driven by curiosity, Li Wei entered the reception room, where he saw Dr. Franco and Qi Ya sitting on the sofa, chatting away.

"……………???"

"Dr. Franco? Miss Qiya? What rare guests."

Looking at the two of them, Li Wei was quite surprised. Why did these two come to the Fog City instead of staying in the Steel City?

Could it be that he has something to discuss with the Queen?

"Hello, Sir Levi."

Dr. Franco also stood up with the help of a cane. Although his life was not in danger, his leg... he would have to rely on a cane for the rest of his life.

Please forgive me for disturbing you amidst your busy schedule.

"That's nothing, but is there something you two have come to the capital for?"

"There are indeed some things, but... there is one thing I would like to ask Sir Levy to do."

As he spoke, Dr. Franco walked up to Levi. Just as Levi was wondering if this man was going to cause him some trouble again, Dr. Franco lowered his head.

"I have only one request: I hope Sir Levi can take good care of Qi Ya for me."

“……………………………”

What the hell?

Li Wei looked at Dr. Franco with a completely bewildered expression.

"What do you mean?"

Even if it's a granddaughter's wedding, isn't it a bit too early? Qi Ya is only ten years old.

"Actually, I have already decided to accept MI7's invitation to join them in researching mysterious items."

The old man took a breath and looked at Li Wei with a wry smile.

"My only worry is Qi Ya, so I hope you can help take care of her."

"You want to join MI7?"

After listening to Dr. Franco's words, Levi's first reaction was to disagree.

He wasn't saying Dr. Franco wasn't competent enough, but rather that, in Levi's opinion, he was really unreliable. Although it wasn't unexpected that MI7 recruited Dr. Franco, after all, he already knew about extraterrestrial life. Rather than letting this guy wander around aimlessly on his own, it was better to be honest with him and collaborate on research.

However, Li Wei really couldn't say he trusted this old man completely.

He always had a premonition that he would have to clean up this old man's messes someday.

Unfortunately, Levi wasn't the head of MI7, so his word didn't count. And if Levi were to say no to Dr. Franco joining MI7, he might just cause something even bigger…

"Yes, although they said they could let Qiya go over there, I think it's better for Qiya to stay here."

Oh, the old man is going to the Great Salt Lake.

Li Wei immediately understood. The Great Salt Lake was like the isolated Area 51; researchers like the old man could go there without fear. But Qi Ya was only ten years old; sending her to a place like the Great Salt Lake would be disastrous. And because MI7 was a top secret, it couldn't be discussed casually. Therefore, the old man ultimately decided to approach Li Wei after much deliberation.

“I don’t really care… but if Qi Ya stays here, what about her schooling…”

“I have already spoken with an old friend. If Qi Ya stays in the capital, she can study at the Royal Academy of Master’s Degree.”

"…………………"

That thing, if placed in modern times, is basically equivalent to Oxford University. Qi Ya is only ten years old. Are you sure a primary school student wants to skip a grade and go to Oxford?

However, Qi Ya's abilities... are indeed impressive.

"Of course, I would welcome it."

Li Wei didn't really mind. He already had Alice and the little mermaid at home, and Katie came here every day as if it were her own home. Adding one more Qiya wouldn't be a problem, would it?
But... why am I starting to look more and more like a babysitter?
(End of this chapter)