Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 365 The Dragon's Treasure
Her Majesty the Queen came to watch the spectacle and left, but Li Wei had to stay and clean up the mess.

Specifically, it refers to dealing with the dragon's treasure.

"In all my years, this is the first time I've ever seen a real dragon's treasure."

Standing on the high platform, gazing at the mountain of gold coins below, the old steward sighed with emotion. The area was no longer shrouded in darkness; the lights of civilization and technology illuminated the night, revealing the entire mountain of gold coins in full view.

"It would be a lot of fun to swim in there."

By the way, Levi and Katie have already swum there, and it was really great.

If we had cell phones in this day and age, we would definitely take a picture and upload the video to show everyone.

Right now, these gold coins naturally need to be transported away. MI7 agents and soldiers brought by the Queen are currently sweating profusely, pushing carts full of gold coins out of the cave and transferring them to the outside world. Clearly, this proves that Her Majesty the Queen indeed intends to make all of this public, so she is not worried that these soldiers will spread rumors.

However, Li Wei could understand why everyone was so excited. After all, it was a small mountain of gold coins. Many people had heard stories of dragons' nests and treasures, but to actually witness it with one's own eyes, and even be able to participate in moving the wealth inside, was something to brag about.

As for these gold coins... well, it might be a bit of a mood killer, but Her Majesty's idea is to keep some in the treasury for safekeeping, and if the rest are confirmed to be all gold, then melt them down.

if not?
These are gold coins from thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago, making it impossible for them to circulate in the current world. They might have collectible and research value, but they certainly wouldn't have any value as currency. The Queen wouldn't allow these gold coins to circulate elsewhere, so it's more convenient to melt them down and remake them.

The Queen even suggested to Li Wei that after the gold coins were melted down, he would receive an equal amount of Imperial Gold Coins in exchange for them. Li Wei naturally agreed to this. To be honest, he was even a little curious about how much money so many gold coins would be in Imperial currency, even at a 1:1 exchange rate.

Speaking of this, Li Wei couldn't help but recall when he played fantasy games. There were small mountains of gold coins in the dragon's lair, but players could only take a little bit, and the rest couldn't be interacted with at all. It was just for show... This is clearly not realistic.

Logically speaking, the profit a player makes from killing a dragon should be enough to buy all the legendary weapons in the black market merchant's hands, but it's still not enough money.

Isn't that ridiculous?
Looking at the gold coins below, Li Wei realized that, putting everything else aside, he was now truly wealthy enough to buy any piece of noble territory in the empire at will.

Regardless of whether the other party is willing to sell or not.

However, Li Wei was too lazy to be a lord; there were too many things to do, and it was too much trouble.

Of course, Li Wei wasn't staying here to supervise the construction. The old steward and MI7 personnel were specifically assigned to monitor the entire process to prevent anyone from smuggling gold coins out. After all, there were so many gold coins here that the loss of one or two would go unnoticed, not to mention that no one even knew how many gold coins there were in total.

A little more or a little less, there's no real answer.

However, Li Wei wasn't concerned with the gold coins. Just like in movies, novels, and games, the protagonists don't slay dragons for gold coins (at least not entirely), but rather for the various magical equipment collected by the dragons.

The same applies here; Li Wei can see whether there is any magical equipment inside, although he's not entirely sure.

However, this place is indeed quite unusual.

Looking at the underground city before him, Li Wei couldn't help but sigh. He had felt the same way before, but at that time his attention was mainly focused on the giant dragon. Now that the threat had been eliminated, Li Wei had the energy to observe the underground city before him.

Although Li Wei wasn't an expert in architecture, he could sense that this city was somewhat different. It was like the human capital and the dwarf capital in a fantasy game, each with its own distinct style. Even with similar buildings, one could immediately recognize them as creations of different civilizations.

This was the feeling that the city gave Li Wei. At first, he thought it might be a creation of the Golden Age, since the size and volume of the buildings here were as extraordinary as those Golden Age buildings that Li Wei had seen before. However, Li Wei always felt that the specific construction style seemed to be somewhat different.

As for what exactly is different, Li Wei couldn't say for sure; perhaps only experts who study the history of architecture during the Golden Age could answer that.

However… it seems there really aren’t any special magical equipment here.

Li Wei sat in a chair in front of the high platform, sipping tea and yawning. Under his Soul Vision, the surroundings were bustling with activity, with souls coming and going. However, those were all the souls of soldiers transporting gold coins. Apart from that, Li Wei didn't see anything else strange.

By the way, Katie is still swimming in the Coin Mountain right now, diving in from one side and coming out from the other, having a great time.

Li Wei thought this made sense, after all... he really wanted to play too.

If it weren't for the fact that there are so many people here...

The chance to swim and play in Gold Coin Mountain might only come once in a lifetime.

Besides gold coins, there were also some gems and various gold and silver items, such as cups and plates. If there was any problem, it was that these items were all much larger than normal people. For example, someone gave Li Wei a stemmed wine glass that had been found in the mountain of gold coins, and it turned out that the glass was so big that it could fit Li Wei's head inside. If you drilled two holes in it, it could be used as a full-face helmet.

Considering that a dragon wouldn't be drinking from a cup for no reason, the question arises: how big was the original owner of this cup?

Coincidentally, based on the knowledge he gained from the Necronomicon, Li Wei did know that there was indeed such a tall race... If it were them, this wine cup would not only be small, but could even be described as a small glass for holding baijiu (Chinese liquor).

"Ah, Mr. Li Wei!"

Just then, Katie emerged from the mountain of gold coins once again, but unlike before, this time she was holding something in her hand and excitedly ran towards Levi.

"I've discovered something interesting!"

"what?"

"Hehe, it's a magic wand! Look!"

As she spoke, Katie handed the things in her hand to Levi.

After taking a look, Li Wei immediately understood why Katie thought it was a staff. Even for Li Wei, his first thought upon seeing it was that it was a staff. It was about the same length as the Heavenly Punishment Greatsword, but it was made entirely of wood, or rather, it looked like a tree branch that had been cut off and carefully polished.

The top of this branch, unlike the staves in many games which are inlaid with gems, is instead adorned with a white flower that stands out against the backdrop of green leaves.

If this were Li Wei's time, it would be easy to create lifelike artificial flowers using plastic. However, there is no such technology in this era, and considering the dragon's situation, it is clear that it wouldn't go out to buy flowers.

Li Wei reached out and gently poked the flower. It didn't have the rough texture of plastic; instead, it felt like a real flower and leaves. If anything, it was much harder. Li Wei tried to tear off the petals, but he couldn't budge them.

"What? Mr. Li Wei, do you want to pluck a petal from this flower?"

Seeing Levi's gesture, Katie immediately raised her hand with great interest.

"Then I'll do it..."

"Uh, no, I'm just looking."

Li Wei quickly stopped Katie's actions, knowing that with Katie's strength, she might actually be able to tear it down.

However, what exactly is this...?

Thinking of this, Li Wei stared at the cane in his eyes, and then activated [Soul Vision].

The next moment, a faint azure blue appeared in Li Wei's eyes.

Is it really a magical artifact?
Looking at the staff emitting a faint blue glow, Li Wei was somewhat surprised. After all, for anyone who has played games, a magic wand carries a rather absurd and romantic connotation. And obtaining magical equipment from a dragon's lair is a stereotype—well, not exactly a stereotype.

After all, it is reality.

Thinking of this, Li Wei paused slightly, and then he saw the specific information about the staff.

[Identification: Staff of Nature (The wielder can freely wield the power of nature)]

The Staff of Nature—that name itself has a fantastical feel to it.

Li Wei deactivated [Soul Vision] again and looked around at himself.

Yes, they were still wearing the hunter's leather armor, and the soldiers next to them were carrying gold coins. They weren't wearing any knight armor, nor had they been transported to some Dungeons & Dragons world.

But how do you use this thing?
Thinking of this, Li Wei gripped his staff, and then a thought struck him.

Just as Li Wei had this thought, suddenly, the scene before him changed rapidly.

Li Wei could feel as if his vision had been detached at this moment. He could sense every blade of grass and every tree in the surrounding forest, as if each one was his monitor. He could easily shift his gaze to any plant, and even manipulate the vines to sway and swing in the air...

Hey, this is actually pretty fun.

Just as Li Wei was having a great time, he subconsciously glanced at the lifespan indicator above his eyes and was shocked to see that his lifespan was dropping rapidly! It was like a water meter with the valve left running!
not good!

Li Wei quickly pulled himself back to reality. The next moment, his attention returned to his body, and his lifespan, which had been rapidly declining like a broken meter, resumed its normal rate of loss. Li Wei silently calculated that he had squandered more than a year of his life in just one minute of this.

This is even more terrifying than my own skills.

Li Wei looked at the staff in his hand with lingering fear, unable to imagine who had possessed it or how it had been used. However, this made it easier to understand how the giant dragon had manipulated the forest.

"Katie, where did you find this?"

"Hmm? It's over there, just below."

Katie pointed inside the Gold Coin Mountain, which, if Levi remembered correctly, was where the dragon had been sleeping.

It seems the legend was indeed true; the dragon lay there guarding its treasure. And it used this staff to manipulate and kill those who invaded the forest.

However, dragons shouldn't need to sacrifice their lifespan to do this like I do... Could it be through magic?

Thinking of this, Li Wei opened the character status bar again and took a closer look.

Okay, I didn't see any MP value, not even an SP value.

Could it be that I am a Muggle without magic? So all I can do is wait out my life?

"What's wrong? Is there a problem, Mr. Li Wei?"

"Oh, it's not a big problem, it's just that this thing is a bit dangerous..."

As Li Wei spoke, he turned to look at the old butler, who smiled slightly.

"In that case, Sir Levi, please accept it."

"…………………Why……………?"

"His Majesty has decreed that if it is dangerous, it is best to entrust it to Sir Levi for safekeeping."

"………………All right."

For Li Wei, this thing wasn't unusable, it was just that the aftereffects were too great... But since the Queen said so, he would accept it.

Anyway, it was my own spoils of war, wasn't it?

(End of this chapter)