Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 372 The situation really took a sharp turn for the worse.
It has to be said that this was truly beyond Li Wei's expectations.

Li Wei originally thought that Professor Andrew was just hiding somewhere that no one else could find, but he was sure he could find him with his [Soul Vision].

But now, in this vast campus, there isn't even the slightest reaction of spiritual brilliance?
Well, something's not quite right about this...

Li Wei scratched his head, somewhat annoyed. To be honest, as a detective, Li Wei felt he was more troublesome than Sherlock Holmes or the like, because those detectives didn't need to consider supernatural issues at all. No matter what rumors or ghost stories the other party used to conceal their methods, in the end, it was just ordinary people committing crimes.

In a typical detective novel, Professor Andrew's disappearance would mean he either died, was kidnapped, or left the school through some means—it would definitely be the work of a human.

But for Li Wei, he really had to consider all sorts of strange and supernatural scenarios, such as being sucked into another dimension, being killed by a ghost, and so on...

So, what exactly happened this time?
Li Wei was completely baffled by this, but it still piqued his curiosity. If Professor Andrew had indeed secretly left the school through some means, that would be one thing. But assuming he hadn't left, then in this situation, he was either dead or missing... Well, judging from the current situation, he was definitely missing.

So let's start with an investigation.

Although Li Wei was also curious about what was going on, he knew he had to take it one step at a time, so he left the campus and returned home.

Then I found... Qi Ya.

"Yo, Qiya."

Upon arriving at Qi Ya's room, Li Wei greeted her. Qi Ya was currently typing away at the keyboard in front of the difference engine, much like a modern-day child engrossed in a computer. However, Li Wei thought that not many modern children would be so obsessed with a difference engine—after all, he couldn't even understand what was displayed on it.

Moreover, computer games didn't exist in this era.

"Ah, Brother Li Wei."

Hearing Li Wei call her name, Qi Ya turned to look at him and then smiled.

"Is there something you need this late?"

"Well, there's something I wanted to ask you about regarding the school."

"Master's program?"

"Yes."

Li Wei nodded. He now realized that the best way was to ask Qi Ya.

Have you heard any strange stories about the Master's program?

"story………?"

"That's right, like legends of people suddenly disappearing?"

After much deliberation, Li Wei decided to start the investigation with this part. After all, if there's anything in a school that teachers don't know much about but students do, it's usually something like the school's ghost stories. These kinds of things are always widely circulated among students, but teachers aren't particularly interested in them.

Li Wei can only assume for now that Professor Andrew has been affected by supernatural phenomena. If not... well... there's no way to save him anyway. It will be easier to find him once the body starts to smell (shrugs).

After all, finding living people is urgent, but finding dead people is not so urgent.

"Strange legends about the school?"

Qi Ya tilted her head, put her finger to her chin, and began to think.

"Ah, speaking of which, I have indeed heard about this topic at school... uh, is Brother Li Wei interested in this?"

"There's some truth to it, can you tell me about it?"

"Hmm... okay, let me think... right, it's said that there was a student in the old school who died. But that student really wanted to come to the Master Academy, so he was resurrected and blended in with the students, enjoying the school life with everyone every day. From the outside, that student is no different from an ordinary person, but once someone discovers that that student is not a real person, then that person will disappear... um, that's roughly the story."

After listening to Qi Ya's description, Li Wei thought for a moment.

"So, there's a living dead person in the school? And the person who discovers that guy's true identity will disappear?"

"That's not wrong... I'm sorry, I only heard the gist of it, and I'm not very interested in this kind of thing..."

That's true. Qi Ya is like a typical computer geek, only interested in things related to difference engines, and not interested in anything else.

"Ah, but some of my friends really like this kind of story..."

"Could you introduce me to him? I'd like to investigate this matter."

"Ok."

It must be said that Li Wei was indeed very interested in this story. Although he had not found any unusual soul radiance when he scanned the entire school with [Soul Vision], Qi Ya's brief description made Li Wei suspicious.

After all, Li Wei knew that many mysteries could change according to the rumors. In this strange tale, the person was dead, but lived like a living person, and no one around them realized that they were dead. So, it was possible that the power of this rumor could become some kind of disguise, thus escaping his [Soul Vision].

But everyone who discovers the true identity of the dead person disappears… Well, in short, this is the only topic related to disappearances at the moment. Assuming Professor Andrew truly suffered a supernatural fate, it's highly likely he accidentally discovered the dead person's true identity under some circumstances and then disappeared.

Of course, this is a fairly good guess.

The worst-case scenario is that he's completely dead, utterly finished, so what's the point of looking for him? Anyway, let's check it out first.

The next day, through Qi Ya's introduction, Li Wei met her friend and classmate, Etina Lawrence.

Aitina is a cute brown-haired girl. Although she wears glasses, she doesn't look quiet at all; in fact, she seems quite lively.

The evidence is……………

"Eh? Lord Li Wei! I actually met Lord Li Wei!!!"

When they first met, she was so excited she almost foamed at the mouth and fainted. Her fanatical fangirl behavior nearly startled Li Wei, while Qi Ya was unfazed. According to Qi Ya, Aitina was the naturally curious type. She first met Qi Ya because Qi Ya entered the Royal Academy at the age of ten, which aroused everyone's curiosity. Aitina wasn't just curious; she went straight to chat with Qi Ya, and that's how they became acquainted.

After finally calming her down, Li Wei was able to get more information about the rumor from Aitina.

"Ah, that story about the student who died? Lord Li Wei is interested in that? No problem! I will tell you everything!"

Subsequently, with Aitina's enthusiastic explanation, Li Wei learned the details about the rumor.

A long, long time ago… well, actually not that long ago. Anyway, once upon a time, there was a student, let's call him Student A. Student A was a very smart and hardworking student. However, at that time, Student A's family was quite poor and couldn't afford to send him to those top universities.

Later, with Her Majesty the Queen's educational reforms, the Royal Academy began to admit talented people from the common people and awarded them scholarships. Student A passed the exam and entered the university campus of his dreams.

However, fate is unpredictable. On his way to school for his first day, classmate A was caught in a steam accident and died. Everyone who knew classmate A was deeply saddened by this. But at the time, the matter was simply forgotten.

However, a few years later, one of the professors in the master's program suddenly discovered that there was an extra person in his class. The class roster originally had 35 students, but there were 36 in the graduation photo. Strangely, no one knew who the extra person was. In the students' memories, everyone was their classmate whom they had spent every day with, and there was no outsider.

Later, everyone discovered that the class was the very class that student A was originally supposed to be assigned to…

"...And so, rumors spread that the 'extra person' was actually classmate A, who wanted to go to school with everyone, and thus unknowingly became a living person, spending every day with everyone..."

After listening to Aitina's story, Li Wei frowned.

"But in that case, wouldn't student A's wish be fulfilled? And there wouldn't be any disappearance or anything like that, right?"

"Hehehe, Lord Li Wei, what I just told you was the background story. The important part is coming up next."

Aitina chuckled and then continued her story.

"There was another student, B, in that class. He was... a good friend of student A. After graduation, student B chose to stay at the university as a teaching assistant and remained at the Royal Master's School. Then, a year later, student B heard a strange rumor from his advisor's class: there seemed to be an extra person in the class. Student B immediately remembered what had happened back then. Because he was a good friend of student A, he wanted to find out what was going on. Who was this 'extra person'? So student B went to investigate, and then... he disappeared!"

"So that's why the rumor spread that people who know the true identities of the dead disappear?"

"Yes, that's what everyone thinks. It must be that classmate B found out classmate A's real identity, and then he disappeared."

"But why would student A do that?"

Li Wei raised a question in confusion.

"B is A's good friend, right? Even if B discovers A's true identity, so what?"

"I don't know that."

Aitina shook her head.

"After all, that's what the rumors I heard said..."

That's true. Most similar ghost stories have parts that don't make sense on their own. If you really seize on every doubt and ask why, then the whole story will be full of loopholes.

But Li Wei still had a question to ask.

"If she's missing, how did word of her disappearance get out?"

"Hmm... I heard that classmate B told his best friend about this before he disappeared... Later he disappeared, and his best friend told the story, and that's how the story spread."

"Um... okay, I understand, thank you."

After gathering all the intelligence, Li Wei took his leave, satisfied.

Although it sounds like a rather strange story, the fact that the person is missing remains unchanged, and even though it's just a story, it provides clues.

Classmate B's friend is the source of all the rumors.

To continue the investigation, we must find this friend, but before that, we must first find out the true identity of classmate B.

This shouldn't be too difficult for Li Wei, since the story mentions that classmate B stayed on as a teaching assistant after graduation and then disappeared. Such a person would definitely have a record in the school's archives.

You'll find out if you just look for it.

(End of this chapter)