Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 380 Full of Harvests
For Li Wei, the task itself didn't offer a particularly generous reward, but personally, he gained a great deal from it.

It's like a player exploiting a bug in the game to access a hidden map and discover the game's underlying logic and code.

Although he could only use the card once, Li Wei now had a very clear understanding of how people's rumors and gossip affected the objective world, how the world was affected by these rumors, and how his own "reality anchor" actually worked.

Incidentally, after returning to the tower, Li Wei also attempted to use [Soul Vision] to pinpoint exactly where the fire was emanating from within his tower, but to no avail. Clearly, [Soul Vision] still couldn't reveal the core of this world as clearly as it could in that lower, subconscious world.

It's a bit of a shame. If only Li Wei could find a way to get stuck in the lower levels of the map anytime, anywhere... But obviously that's unlikely.

After returning home, Li Wei finally had some free time and opened the system panel.

[Mission "Tracking" Completed]

[Time consumed: s]

Survey efficiency: S

[Impact/Effect: S]

Overall Rating: SSS

[Lifespan +100, additional +50]

Sure enough, it was just a simple little task.

Looking at the reward in front of him, Li Wei nodded, not too surprised, after all, this mission wasn't that dangerous.

[Bonus: The time flow in *Death Eyes* has been changed from 1/2 to 1/3 (You have seen the truth of the world and gained a completely new understanding of it)]

The skill "Death Eye" has been buffed.

Looking at this prompt, Li Wei was a bit speechless. As a slowing skill, [Eye of Death] was quite useful, but in Li Wei's opinion, the difference between slowing down by 1/2 and 1/3 was not significant. He would rather have [Soul Vision] enhanced to the ability to see the subconscious world of that group... Unfortunately, his wishful thinking was wishful thinking. It seemed that the system did not intend to let him exploit the bug.

However, the task itself is not important; what matters is what Li Wei gained from this brief glimpse into the world's underlying architecture.

With that in mind, Li Wei took out his notebook and began to think.

First, it can be confirmed that my guess has been correct: this world is indeed one where subjective factors can influence objective reality. However, this influence is very subtle; it should be that the subjective influences the objective, but the objective also influences the subjective. Otherwise, this world would have long since become a world distorted and deformed according to everyone's thoughts.

Secondly, this power should be ineffective against the dead.

Based on Li Wei's experience, judging from the series of mysterious events he encountered after arriving in this world, almost all mysterious beings were likely affected by similar influences before their deaths, although some only revealed themselves after death. For example, the resurrected dead man at the Red Moon Inn was later found to have the nickname "Immortal Alexander" during his lifetime, which is why he was resurrected after death.

In contrast, Brown's body in this incident, despite everyone believing he was missing, did not disappear; it remained lying obediently on the ceiling, waiting for Levi to find it. This indicates that Brown's body was unaffected.

Then there's Aitina, who, as a ghost, doesn't seem to have the authority to observe, and she herself says that being a ghost won't make her disappear.

Hmm... Maybe I should take a look and see if there are any famous psychologists or psychology books in this world. Jung can't travel here, but who can guarantee that there isn't a Jung in this world?

Next, there's the cost of [Reality Anchoring].

Eliminating this rumor cost Li Wei... thirty days of his lifespan.

There were more than I expected, but also a little less. Li Wei suspected that the reason there were so many was because he had erased the entire rumored area of ​​the Royal Academy—the Royal Academy occupied a very large area, comparable to a 985 university in Li Wei's time, about 2 square kilometers.

The description of "Reality Anchoring" also states that the level of consumption depends on the size and intensity of the area.

Actually, if Li Wei hadn't used this tactic on the school within the collective subconscious world, there would have been another way: to eliminate Aitina, who was at the core of the rumors. This way, the cost might have been less.

However, thirty days is not actually a long time in a strict sense, considering the size of the Royal Academy of Sciences... Of course, it is also related to the fact that the rumor is not very strong.

But it was truly powerful. Li Wei didn't even have time to react before he saw the light shine in his direction, and the next moment he was back in reality.

Well, this time it's about the scope. At least Li Wei can confirm that the Royal Academy's area would take at least thirty days of his life. But thinking about it carefully, thirty days for such a large place isn't too much—of course, considering that the intensity and threat level of this rumor are relatively low, it can be used as a basic value for calculation.

Next time, Li Wei plans to try it out on a mysterious creature to see how much it will cost. However, it's unlikely that a second dragon or sea monster will appear anytime soon... In addition, Li Wei has once again confirmed his guess: there is actually a positive-reward cycle between mysterious creatures and rumors.

Take sea monsters, for example. Objectively speaking, the sea monster that Li Wei encountered on the North Star, even in its shrunken form, would have been unstoppable in ancient times. Its size, strength, and fighting power were such that ancient sailing warships wouldn't have lasted a single round against it.

As a result, the ancients naturally developed a deep fear of this sea monster, and various terrifying legends about it spread. Influenced by these legends, the sea monster grew stronger and larger, so that when it was seen by fishermen again, they would have the impression that the rumors were not just rumors, but true.

This will solidify the impression.

To put it bluntly, in the case of sea monsters, it's a positive feedback loop—> sea monsters use their powerful bodies to attack human ships—> people thus create rumors of giant sea monsters—> the sea monsters become even larger—> people only believe the rumors more after seeing them—> so the sea monsters become even stronger…

Fortunately, in this era, people have begun to view things more scientifically, and many rumors have gradually disappeared because they were unreasonable.

For example, Annie's skepticism about sea monsters stems from the fact that, scientifically speaking, such creatures shouldn't exist. In short, this reflects humanity's objective understanding of reality beginning to challenge its subjective impressions and concepts.

Like those science videos on websites, why haven't we seen giant monsters like those in movies in modern times? Because the Earth's oxygen concentration has decreased, and dinosaurs' enormous bodies depended on a high-oxygen environment, blah blah blah...

Or perhaps it's due to biomechanical principles that excessively large animals have bones and muscles that cannot support their enormous weight, and their metabolic rate cannot meet their energy needs, etc.

Of course, these are all just scientific speculations. In reality, if a dinosaur were to run out and challenge your biomechanics, you really wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

However, in this world, such speculation can truly shatter subjective perceptions. Take the dragon that Li Wei killed, for example. If it were to wreak havoc outside, then according to the aforementioned rumors, it would receive infinite positive feedback, and might eventually transform into a gigantic, evil dragon thousands of meters long.

However, according to human scientific theory, the part of the dragon that was added due to the rumors would be canceled, but this does not mean that it will turn into a chicken; it will simply return to its original size of seventy or eighty meters.

This situation where subjective consciousness and objective reality are pulling against each other... well, it's quite a turbulent situation.

Li Wei's [Reality Anchoring] now seems to be equivalent to forcibly dispelling or eliminating the influence caused by subjective consciousness, similar to a warrior in a game who has become a giant due to the "Giant Form" spell being hit with a "Magic Dispel" that directly removes all the buffs on him.

Thinking of this, Li Wei recalled the lights he had seen in the collective unconscious world. The blue light must be the rumored power, and he still didn't understand the firelight on his tower. The royal palace, on the other hand, emitted a golden glow, which must be similar to the ancient Chinese belief in "divine mandate"...

Well, Li Wei wouldn't dare to use [Reality Anchoring] on the palace to see the results. That's how things are often; no matter how they look, as long as they function, don't touch them.

"Thump thump thump—!"

Just then, a burst of rapid drumbeats came from the radio, bringing Li Wei back to his senses. He turned to look at the radio, and then a female announcer's voice came through.

"Next, an urgent news briefing: At 3:28 PM today, Crown Prince Fernando of the Sasha Alliance and his wife were assassinated in Sera. Both have died from their injuries. The assassin was arrested on the spot. The Fernando couple were in Sera to inspect military exercises… The assassin has been apprehended on the spot. It is alleged that the assassin is from the Principality of Seth and is a member of a radical organization called the Death Society of the Principality of Seth…"

"Ring ring ring—!"

Just as Li Wei was listening to the news broadcast, suddenly, the shrill ring of the communicator rang out. Li Wei went to the communicator and picked up the microphone.

"Hello, this is Li Wei."

Soon after, the old butler's voice came through the microphone.

"Sir Levy, you must have heard the news by now."

"News of the assassination of Grand Duke Fernando?"

"That's right, the Eye of the Sky will arrive soon. You should board the Eye of the Sky immediately... His Majesty has an important mission for you!"

"I see."

Li Wei had already seen the Eye of the Sky approaching his tower through the window. He frowned, vaguely sensing that this emergency was related to Grand Duke Fernando, who had just been assassinated by the Sasha Alliance.

But what does this have to do with me or the empire?
Li Wei considered the matter for a moment, then collected his thoughts.

Never mind, we'll find out when we get there.

(End of this chapter)