Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 376 Two Cases
The room no longer resembled a classroom; it was filled with bookshelves containing school records, some useful, some not. Li Wei reached out and turned on the light. He looked down at the floor, then his expression shifted, and he stopped Katie, who was about to enter the room.

"Wait, Katie."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Mr. Li Wei?"

"We've discovered something interesting; it seems we might be able to resolve this problem faster than we initially thought."

As Li Wei spoke, he stared at the ground. Although this place hadn't been cleaned in a long time, and the floor was covered in dust, it was precisely because of this that anything left here was harder to get rid of.

For example, footprints.

Li Wei stared at the classroom and walked into the room.

"Next, we'll talk about the case of Professor Andrew's disappearance."

"???"

Although she didn't know why Levi had brought up this topic, Katie waited for him to continue.

“Let’s assume that Professor Andrew is indeed hiding in the school. Then there are several issues that he must face and resolve.”

As Li Wei spoke, he walked into the school.

"In life, we all need to eat, drink, relieve ourselves, and sleep. In other words, even if Professor Andrew can bring his own food, he still needs to find a place where he can rest, has a water source, and can use the restroom."

"Ah, um... that's right."

Katie put herself in his shoes and realized that it was indeed true.

"From this perspective, the teaching building actually meets this requirement very well. It has toilets, a water supply and drainage system, and enough rooms. Moreover, it also fits the topic of the two people's debate."

"The topic of the debate?"

“That’s right. Didn’t this disappearance initially stem from the argument between Professor Andrew and Professor Stewart, with Professor Andrew claiming he didn’t know anything about the school? I think that’s the answer. After all, in a game of hide-and-seek, once one side has given the clues, the other side has to figure out how to solve them. The question is—where is Professor Andrew hiding? And the key clue is—his level of knowledge about the school.”

As Li Wei spoke, he looked around at the rows of bookshelves.

"So, back to the original question, given these conditions, the first thing to consider is the physiological aspect. They need food, water, a toilet, and restful sleep. Ordinary archives don't have these facilities. But an archive converted from a teaching building is a different story. I don't know if Professor Stewart has considered coming here to look for Professor Andrew, but I'm now certain that Professor Andrew is indeed hiding in the West Building."

As he spoke, Li Wei pointed to the floor.

“There are still footprints here. It’s obvious that Professor Andrew must have been here before, and then he probably disappeared here. Hmm… In my opinion, it’s more likely to be a coincidence.”

"why?"

Katie poked her head out, her eyes wide, staring intently at the ground. She could indeed vaguely make out some clues from the dusty ground, but she still found the whole thing very strange.

"Because very few people have gone missing. Whether it was that guard or Professor Andrew, they just walked in here by chance and then disappeared. Yes, by chance, coincidence. It's not surprising. There are all sorts of chances and coincidences in this world, especially over such a long period of time. You see, three people have disappeared in the same room of the same building in the school over the past thirty years. That's not a lot, is it?"

"Uh...not many?"

"Of course, if you go to the police station and look at the files, the number of people who have gone missing in a neighborhood over thirty years may be more than you imagine, especially in big cities."

Li Wei shrugged as he spoke, then followed the footprints inside. He entered the room, walked forward, and then turned left to a corner.

"The footprints disappeared right here."

Li Wei looked at the wall in front of him and the mirror on it, lost in thought.

"Miss Katie, could you please come downstairs?"

"Hmm? What is it, Mr. Li Wei?"

"Count how many windows there are in this classroom, and also look at the windows next to it."

"Okay!"

Katie nodded, then ran downstairs, and came running back up a moment later.

Four windows.

"The lights are on?"

"Ah."

"Is there a window nearby that isn't lit?"

"Huh? Mr. Li Wei, how did you know?"

"hehe……………"

When Katie asked him a question, Levi chuckled.

"It's very simple, there's another secret room there."

"Huh? There are places like this on campus?"

Katie was shocked by Levi's answer.

"Most of them don't have them, but it's hard to say for the Royal Academy. However, we'll find out soon enough."

As Li Wei spoke, he walked to the corner of the wall, then reached out and groped along the wall for a moment.

"Ah, found it, how interesting."

As he spoke, Li Wei reached forward and pressed down on one of the bricks. Then, the wall next to it with the mirror silently slid open, revealing a dark room inside.

"Hey??"

Upon seeing this, Katie exclaimed in surprise.

"This is the secret room?"

"More or less, but it was more of a little joke."

Li Wei entered the room and held up a lantern to illuminate his surroundings. From the outside, it resembled a teacher's office. There was a desk near the window and a bookcase against the wall.

“He usually works here, and when he gets tired, he looks out the window to check on the students in the classroom.”

"That's strange, why would the Master's Academy build this kind of room?"

"I did some research, and I heard that this place was originally the building of a fallen nobleman, which was later confiscated by the Queen and used to convert it into the Royal Academy. Perhaps this was a little-known hobby of the nobleman; maybe it was originally a women's bathroom or bedroom, and he hid here to spy on women bathing or changing clothes..."

"Ugh...that's terrible."

Upon hearing Levi's answer, Katie's face turned ashen; clearly, the mere thought of it terrified her. "Of course, this is just speculation, but in any case, there is indeed such a room here, um... and we also found Professor Andrew's things."

As he spoke, Li Wei raised the lantern and looked at the desk in front of him. It was covered with a large number of books, some emergency food and canned goods, and even an alcohol stove and a teapot. There was also a sleeping bag for camping next to it. The weather was gradually getting warmer at this time of year, so even sleeping here wouldn't feel cold.

It's obvious from their appearance that they haven't been here for very long.

"Oh, really? Professor Andrew is here too?"

"Well, he's not here, but it's hard to say about the other person."

As he spoke, Li Wei looked around, then raised his head and looked up at the ceiling.

"Katie, could you please break down the ceiling?"

"No problem, leave it to me!"

When she heard it was her turn to go on stage, Katie was eager to try. She quickly climbed up the table next to her, then put on her silver gloves and clenched her little fists.

"Hey!"

He threw a punch upwards.

"Wow."

The next moment, a large hole appeared in the ceiling, and Levi and Katie quickly dodged to the side, avoiding the falling bricks and debris.

"What's in there?"

"Let me see..."

Katie raised the lantern again and looked inside.

"Ah, Mr. Li Wei, it seems there's a hidden compartment inside..."

"Hmm, it seems my prediction was correct."

Hearing Katie's answer, Levi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, let's go up and take a look."

The two climbed through the large hole Katie had blasted into the ceiling, which led directly to the roof. Clearly, this was a mezzanine between the roof and the ceiling; although not spacious, it was enough for a person to walk on. Levi and Katie carried their lanterns forward.

Dust and cobwebs were everywhere; it seemed as if time had completely forgotten this place. Li Wei continued walking forward, then stopped.

"It seems we've found it."

"Hey?"

Hearing Levi's voice, Katie curiously looked in the direction of the sound and saw Levi holding up a lantern. In the light, a skeleton was lying on the ceiling not far away. Its clothes were somewhat tattered, but mostly intact. The corpse was lying face down on the ceiling, like a dried frog specimen.

"This, this is..."

"As expected, this should be classmate B, who is also the missing Mr. Brown."

Li Wei, however, remained calm.

"But why did he die here?"

"I don't know, maybe it's a sudden illness... um..."

Li Wei walked to the corpse and examined the skull carefully.

"At least he wasn't hit on the head, and there were no visible injuries on his body. Although a decomposing body will emit a foul stench, this is a rooftop with good ventilation, and if I'm not mistaken, he died during the holidays. By the time the students returned to their classrooms, the stench from the body should have dissipated."

"So, those students had no idea there was a corpse lying above them while they were in class?"

Katie shuddered as she said this.

"It feels so scary."

"Actually, there's nothing scary about it. With the population density of Chongqing, there could be corpses anywhere. There might even be one under our feet at any time."

As Li Wei spoke, he thought of the crypt in the church... those are indeed everywhere.

However, the body itself is not the problem at the moment.

Li Wei walked past him and continued forward until he found what he was looking for.

An urn sits quietly on a beam at the far end of the ceiling.

Li Wei walked to the urn, took out a handkerchief, and wiped away the dust. Then, a line of engraved words appeared before Li Wei's eyes.

She left this world before she could enjoy the life of her dreams; may she have no regrets in her next life.

There was also a line of text engraved below.

Now you can realize your dream, Aitina.

"Okay, I've found what I was looking for."

Seeing this, Li Wei nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and looked into the empty, dark depths.

“Miss Atina, it’s time for you to come out... I already know your true identity.”

"………………………call……………"

As Li Wei spoke, a cold wind blew by, and then a brown-haired girl wearing glasses slowly emerged from the darkness.

That was the girl who had told Levi the rumor earlier—Aitina Lawrence.

“I specifically reminded you, Lord Li Wei.”

Looking at Li Wei, Aitina's expression was very complicated.

"Those who know the truth will disappear."

"But unfortunately, this is what I do."

Li Wei shrugged.

"Now, can you tell me where Professor Andrew is?"

(End of this chapter)