Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 382 Nighttime Murder

Everyone here is acting strangely today.

Sofia lay on the bed, clutching her rag doll tightly, feeling quite uneasy.

Although Sofia was just a child, she knew that no one liked her. Even in her own home, she was an outsider; her father disliked her, and her mother had no affection for her. Her distant relatives were the same; they treated her as "the maid's child," and even the servants disliked her. In fact, Sofia was afraid of them because they were always indifferent to her.

But Sofia had gotten used to this kind of life.

Up to this day.

Something's not right with everyone.

Sophia sensed it. Children who have been ostracized since childhood are the most sensitive. She could feel that the way others looked at her today, besides the usual indifference, also carried an unsettling quality. Moreover, the guards who used to patrol the castle had all vanished.

Dinner hadn't been prepared for today either. Sophia wanted to ring the bell to call the maid and ask why dinner hadn't been prepared, but she didn't dare, because she was afraid the maid would look at her with that disgusted look again, as if she were looking at something dirty.

So she could only go to bed hungry. The only thing that could bring Sophia warmth right now was the little dog plush toy in her arms.

These were brought from the Foggy City by her father, which she had asked for her birthday. There was also a sketchbook of her dog Betty, which Sophia had heard were made by the detective Mr. Levy. Sophia remembered the handsome and charming gentleman who had helped her during the Steam Exposition. Therefore, she was quite interested in these sketchbooks.

For Sofia, this was indeed a rare gift. She loved Betty the puppy, and if she could, Sofia would like to have a puppy too. Unfortunately, she didn't dare to do so; after all, to others, she was just "the maid's child," and being too greedy would get her scolded.

Fortunately, Sofia held the fluffy doll in her arms, which soothed the girl's anxiety. She closed her eyes, intending to fall asleep—after all, once she was asleep, she wouldn't be afraid of going hungry.

"Squeak."

However, at that moment, the previously closed door was suddenly pushed open, and Sophia looked up in surprise to see her maid enter the room. The maid turned on the light and stared coldly at Sophia. Under her serious and icy gaze, Sophia involuntarily shrank back.

"Yes, what's the matter?"

The maid did not answer Sophia's question; she simply walked to the bedside and handed her the cup she was holding.

"Drink it."

"…………………"

Sophia instinctively picked up the cup, hesitatingly looking at the liquid inside. It was golden yellow and sweet, somewhat like the honey water Sophia used to drink. However, she had never drunk honey water this late at night because the maid always told her that it was unacceptable to eat anything after dinner.

But now…

Sophia looked at her maid with a puzzled expression, wanting an explanation from her, but the maid just stared at Sophia coldly.

"Drink it!"

The maid's stern tone startled Sophia. She flinched, then raised the cup to her lips...

Just then, a voice rang out from the direction of the balcony.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t drink it, Miss Sophia.”

"Hey?"

Upon hearing the voice, Sophia and the maid were startled and turned to look in the direction of the sound. There stood a man on the balcony, dressed in a formal suit and wearing a top hat, his black cloak folding slowly behind him like a raven's wing.

Then, the man looked up and smiled slightly at Sofia.

"Hello, it's been a long time, Miss Sophia. Do you remember me?"

"Mr. Li Wei!"

Upon seeing Levi, Sophia excitedly sat up in bed, wanting to run towards him. However, at that moment, the maid suddenly reached out, grabbed Sophia, forced her back onto the bed, and then pulled a knife from her bosom, forcefully stabbing Sophia!
Seeing the maid bring the knife down towards her, Sophia felt utterly terrified. She watched helplessly as the knife in the maid's hand stabbed her, and the blood on her body seemed to freeze at that moment.

However, the next moment, a flash of silver light appeared in Sophia's eye, and then the maid who had been holding Sophia down lost her grip like a puppet with its strings cut, collapsing onto Sophia. The girl crawled out from under the maid in terror, only to find that a silver throwing knife had appeared on the maid's forehead.

At that moment, Li Wei also walked to Sophia's bedside.

"I'm sorry, Miss Sophia."

As he spoke, Li Wei reached out and helped Sophia off the other side of the bed.

"But the situation is urgent, please forgive me for coming uninvited."

"Mr. Li Wei? What exactly is going on?"

Sophia finally came to her senses and realized something must have happened. Everyone seemed strange; her maid had tried to kill her, and then there was Levi, who had suddenly appeared...

“I know you have many questions to ask, Miss Sophia. Don’t worry, I will answer them all. But before that…”

As he spoke, Li Wei glanced at the nightgown Sophia was wearing.

"Please change into some clothes that are easier to move in and pack your luggage for the long trip."

"Ah, okay..."

Sophia nodded, then went to the wardrobe behind the screen to change her clothes. Generally speaking, noble girls her age were pampered and spoiled, with everything done for them. But Sophia was already used to doing all this herself rather than leaving it to the maid, because the maid would definitely find her troublesome, and she preferred to do it herself rather than suffer the maid's disdain.

While Sophia was changing clothes and packing her luggage, Li Wei told her the whole story. Since Sophia was bound to find out the truth anyway, he figured it was better to just tell her directly and get her cooperation.

Sophia remained silent for a long time after Li Wei informed her.

"Father and Mother are dead?" "Yes, assassinated."

"Where are the others in the castle?"

"I didn't see anyone else; they must have all left."

This is why Li Wei came down so quickly. He originally wanted to play the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, but when he arrived, he used his Soul Vision to take a look and was surprised to find that there were only a few people in the huge fortress. He immediately felt that something was wrong.

Something unusual must be going on, so Li Wei didn't care about being the last one standing and just took the person away first.

"………………………"

Sophia didn't answer, but just then, Levi's eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly turned off the light and went to the screen. Sophia had already changed her clothes and was startled to see Levi appear.

"Mr. Li Wei?"

"Looks like this troublesome guy arrived earlier than I expected. Forget about clothes, have you prepared all the important things?"

“Something important…”

Sofia paused for a moment, then picked up the puppy doll that had been hanging on the ground and hugged it to her chest.

"Ready, Mr. Levi."

"Very good, come with me."

Li Wei said something, then led Sophia out of the bedroom and walked towards the end of the corridor.

"Dangdang!"

Just as Li Wei led Sophia to the stairwell, a dull thud was heard as the previously closed door opened. Li Wei peered down to the first floor and saw several fully armed soldiers rushing in. Seeing this, Li Wei raised an eyebrow, then quickly picked up Sophia and silently carried her up to the third floor.

Almost at the same time his feet touched the third-floor floor, hurried footsteps reached the second floor, rushing quickly towards the end.

Li Wei, taking advantage of the mixed footsteps, quickly led Sophia to the other balcony on the third floor.

But they hadn't run far when they heard shouts coming from below.

"The target isn't here!"

"Someone got here first, find her quickly!"

A shout was followed by the barking of dogs. Li Wei's spiritual vision also saw that several hunting dogs were rapidly approaching the third floor where he was.

Hearing the barking of the dog, Li Wei raised an eyebrow, held Sophia's small hand in his left hand, and gently pulled out a throwing knife with his right hand.

However, at that moment...

"Whoa—!"

Suddenly, screams rang out, followed by a continuous barrage of gunfire.

What happened?

Li Wei curiously switched to the monitoring, and then he saw a surprising scene.

The hall was now a sea of ​​blood, with the intruders gripping their guns and relentlessly attacking the entrance. At the entrance stood a group of burly warriors, clad in armor and wielding massive shields and spears, looking as if they had stepped out of the Middle Ages.

The insignia on their armor is...

"For the Holy Lord! Sweep away the evil!"

The leading warrior roared, and then they raised their giant shields in front of them, while striding forward towards the attackers.

Strangely enough, in theory, ordinary people wearing such heavy armor would not be able to move easily. The Empire's steam-powered soldiers could do this because they had steam power, but these knights obviously did not have a similar power device. However, even so, their movements were as fast as running a hundred meters. The invaders had only had time to fire a few shots before they were completely pierced through the body by the spears that followed and died screaming.

"For the Holy Lord!"

"Whoa, what are these monsters?!"

At this moment, the soldiers who had rushed up to the second floor also arrived on the battlefield. Seeing the scene before them, they were immediately horrified and raised their weapons to attack the knights again. However, it was clear that their bullets were useless against the thick armor and shields, and were simply deflected.

In an instant, the offensive and defensive positions were reversed.

The soldiers, who had been so aggressive just moments before, were now facing these invulnerable knights and had almost no good way to deal with them, and were retreating step by step.

Seeing this, Li Wei narrowed his eyes, his expression solemn.

Because he could clearly see that, under the [Soul Vision], a red glow appeared on the armor of those knights.

Yes, it's not blue, it's red.

In other words, these suits of armor are not as simple as the weapons in the Imperial Treasury that have been mutated by rumors...

"call-----!"

However, at that moment, a black wind suddenly rose from the ground and rushed into the castle through the open gate, instantly swallowing up all the soldiers and knights who were fighting in the middle of the battle!

(End of this chapter)