Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 435 Mine Clearance Operation
From Li Wei's perspective, this incident was both easy and difficult.

The easy part is that, thanks to the little mermaid's unexpected discovery, they knew the enemy's target early on and took certain precautions, and the curly-haired guy was also captured.

The difficulty lies in the follow-up processing.

"So we now know that there are some troubles sealed inside, and once they are released, they will spread plagues and have a very serious impact and threat on the entire region."

Li Wei stood before the crowd and explained the situation.

So... what do we do now?

Katie asked in confusion, while Levi shrugged and looked at Olivia, who remained silent for a moment.

"From the lord's perspective, I hope to resolve this problem as soon as possible."

"Can't we just bury it?"

Qi Ya offered her opinion, but Li Wei shook his head.

"It's not the theft itself that's scary, it's the thief's ambition. If the other party has a way to break the seal, they can try a second time if they fail the first time. We can't wait until they succeed the first time before we start to consider this problem."

"But if the seal is broken, the plague will spread, won't it?"

The old butler did not come, but he participated in the meeting via communicator.

"That's right, it's possible."

Li Wei spread his hands. It was good that it was discovered in time, but the follow-up would be difficult. This thing was like a biological bomb that couldn't be moved. You couldn't leave it to explode, nor could you open it rashly. Otherwise, if you managed to do what the enemy hadn't, you'd be the laughingstock.

The best solution would actually be to move it to another location... but unfortunately that's impossible.

Even the most advanced steam machinery in the empire wasn't this advanced.

If it were a regular case, Li Wei would have just led his team to investigate it himself; it wouldn't have been a big deal.

However, this case involves the entire Delicat region, and Delicat is the Empire's breadbasket, so he must proceed with extreme caution. He didn't want to accidentally create a biological crisis; that would be a real problem.

That's why Li Wei specifically called a meeting.

It's about collective consultation and collective decision-making.

Collective decision-making is a valuable asset. As long as the Queen learns about the situation through the old butler, there's something to say even if it's a mistake.

"What is Miss Olivia's opinion?"

As Li Wei spoke, he looked at Olivia, for only Olivia had the authority to decide this matter, and then Her Majesty the Queen.

Olivia remained silent for a moment when Li Wei asked her question.

"If possible, I hope to start in winter. It will be more convenient, and even if there is an epidemic, the risk will be lower."

"Ah."

Li Wei nodded. He had to admit it was a good decision. In winter, it would be much harder for things like plagues to spread. At least compared to summer and autumn, it was obviously safer.

The only problem is that winter is still several months away, so unless we can guarantee that nothing will go wrong during those months, or Li Wei will have time then.

"His Majesty means he hopes to resolve this as soon as possible."

The old butler gave the answer on behalf of the Queen.

This is understandable. The autumn harvest season is approaching, and with the empire preparing for war, food security is paramount. As the empire's largest grain-producing region, Delicat's harvest this year is under intense scrutiny. Spies from other countries will undoubtedly try to sabotage the region, and Curly-haired Man is certainly one of them; otherwise, he wouldn't have returned to Delicat at this time.

"Dong dong dong."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Anthony walked in with his usual sly grin.

"What's the result?"

Upon seeing Anthony, Li Wei raised an eyebrow and asked a question, while Anthony chuckled.

"That guy was indeed trained by Francis, but he's still a rookie with no experience. I took care of him easily."

"Ah."

Li Wei wasn't surprised by this. Anthony was the real agent and spy, while Curly Hair was just a latecomer who had learned everything and was basically powerless against professionals.

"How to say?"

"He didn't actually know much; he just received orders to broadcast this on the Delict radio station so that the Empire would suffer the wrath of the Holy Lord and pay the price for its blasphemy."

As he spoke, Anthony shrugged.

"As for Samus, he said he saw the holy scriptures in the Great Cathedral, which recorded that the plague sent down by the Holy Lord was called 'Samus's Wrath'..."

This is beyond Livy's knowledge, but Elizabeth probably doesn't know either.

"Have you noticed anything amiss?"

"Indeed."

At this point, Anthony's smile faded.

"According to that guy, he received his training at a church in Francis, which is strange. Generally speaking, intelligence agencies do try to recruit students as spies, but they don't easily reveal their own identities..."

"So you suspect this was a deliberate frame-up of the Holy Bishop? And that someone else was actually behind it?"

"That makes more sense... but I can't really explain it. Anyway, I feel a bit strange being taken to a church instead of some basement for spy training."

As a legitimate intelligence agent, this clearly defied Anthony's common-sense logic. Normally, such defection operations would either operate under the name of a company or training center, or be conducted in a basement. It's the hit-and-run tactic, designed to avoid being counter-espionaged by the enemy. But a church is different. If you set up a spy training center in a church, the church can't escape… If the Empire wanted revenge, they could easily burn the church down or sneak in to gather intelligence. In Anthony's view, this approach was highly unprofessional.

"And that guy also said that the other party promised that after the deed was done, the Pope would personally baptize him and confer upon him the title of Holy Knight. He also demanded that we release him immediately, otherwise the Holy See would not let us off the hook."

At this point, Anthony shook his head speechlessly.

"To believe such an outrageous lie...sigh...it just goes to show how stupid these students really are."

"He went to Francis to study art, what kind of brains can you expect from him?"

"makes sense."

Levi pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked at Olivia before him. After all, she was the lord of Delicat, and the queen had given her opinion. Now it was Olivia's turn to make a decision.

Olivia remained silent. For her, as a lord, this decision was difficult, especially at this stage. Although things would be easier to resolve in winter, the question remained: would the other party give her that time?
Sir Levi.

Olivia sighed and looked at Levi.

"Is there any way to minimize the spread and leakage of the plague?"

This is only natural; from Olivia's perspective, the best solution would be one that satisfies both sides. But from Livy's perspective, finding a solution that satisfies both sides is rarely so easy... Hmm?

Li Wei pondered for a moment, then tilted his head.

"I have a solution that might work."

"Then let's resolve this as soon as possible."

Olivia also made a decision. In fact, she hoped to resolve this problem as soon as possible, but she just couldn't find a good way.

"Whatever your request, we will absolutely cooperate."

"Well, I do have some requirements."

Upon hearing Olivia's answer, Levi quickly responded as well.

"What to do?"

"First, burn all the aquatic plants at the bottom of the lake."

"Burned?"

It must be said that this request surprised Olivia somewhat, but it wasn't unacceptable, and she nodded in agreement.

"Understood. I'll go find someone. And then what?"

"Then... let's add some more water to the lake."

Li Wei was a little embarrassed when he said this, because he was the one who pumped the water, and now he was the one who was going to fill the lake with water...

"Okay, I understand. I'll have someone take care of it."

Olivia didn't know what Levi was going to do, but since Levi had said so, she would just do it.

Soon, the lakeside became busy again the next day.

Burning the aquatic plants was easy; MI7 could handle it directly. They placed a bunch of accelerants at the bottom of the lake, lit them, and burned the entire lake bottom into a giant fire pit, completely destroying the aquatic plants. Meanwhile, in Ovilia, they used a pump to draw water from the river below and then pumped it into the lake.

Li Wei did not require the water to be completely filled, only that it be about one meter deep. Several pumps worked continuously, and it took even longer than yesterday to reach Li Wei's requirement.

"Hmm, that should be about right."

Li Wei stood by the lake, looking at the water. The water drawn up from the river below was clear and transparent, unlike the original murky water. The stone gate was submerged again—but at least it was certain that the stone gate was indeed sealed; the water hadn't entered the gate, otherwise, it would have been a different story.

"What's next?"

Katie was jumping and skipping excitedly on the side. Although playing with Alice and the others was also fun, Katie thought that this was the most fun.

Should we attack?

"No rush, there's one last thing to do before that."

As Li Wei spoke, he turned to look at the little mermaid sitting in a wheelchair beside him.

"Thank you for your trouble. Please do as we agreed."

"Ok!"

The little mermaid nodded vigorously, then leaped from her wheelchair and, like a professional diver, plunged into the lake with a "plop." She then poked her head out and opened her mouth.

"ah-------!"

As the little mermaid's voice rang out, a magical scene unfolded.

The water discharged into the lake began to swirl rapidly, rising around the little mermaid and forming a tall column. Then, patches of water spread out from the column in all directions, and in a moment it looked like a giant cauldron, turning the entire lake upside down.

Seeing this, everyone stared in astonishment, including Katie and Olivia. Although they knew the little mermaid was a water fairy, this was the first time they had ever seen her use such abilities.

"In this way, even if we encounter any problems, we should be able to hold out for a while."

As Li Wei spoke, he took out the Persuader and the Punisher from his pocket, examined them, and then gave the order.

"let's go."

(End of this chapter)