Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 438 Hitting the Little One
Frankly, the sight of a fly the size of a bus, buzzing and running towards you, is enough to give you nightmares.

Without saying a word, Katie turned and ran.

This is also the tacit understanding between her and Li Wei; there will never be any time-wasting scenes like, "You go, I'll hold them off here!" "I don't want to! I want to live and die with you!" "Go away!" "Waaah... I'm leaving..."

So there's a reason why Levi likes to bring Katie along; having a well-coordinated partner is always comfortable.

As Katie ran away, the fly monster pounced on Levi. Without hesitation, Levi raised his flashlight and threw it at the fly monster. At the same time, Levi flicked his left hand and threw out all the remaining exploding spiders!

The swirling flashlight hurtled straight at the fly monster's face, causing it to slow down. It had never seen anything emitting a light different from a torch before, and it felt quite unfamiliar. So, the fly monster instinctively slowed its pace, and then—the flashlight struck its head.

Yes, naturally there was no harm done.

However, Li Wei hadn't originally planned to blow the fly monster's head off with the flashlight. All he wanted to do was draw its attention for a fleeting moment. Just as the fly monster's attention was focused on the flashlight, the self-destructing spider scurried up to it, leaped up, and its steel claws gripped the fly monster's abdomen. And then…

"Bang bang bang!!"

The exploding spider's explosive charge wasn't large, its power roughly equivalent to a regular hand grenade, but the combined explosion was still quite powerful. Soon, the fly-like monster howled and straightened up, its several fly legs flailing about. At that moment, a large hole had been blown open in its abdomen!
In the blink of an eye, Li Wei flashed and swapped positions with one of the exploding spiders, appearing in front of the fly monster. He then took a deep breath, pulled out the oxygen tank hanging from his waist, and shoved it into the fly monster's blasted wound. Afterward, Li Wei flashed again and swapped positions with the exploding spider once more.

Almost simultaneously, the fly monster swung its thick, huge, hairy long legs down at Li Wei's location, but only swept away a patch of air!
Li Wei also raised the Punisher, and time around him began to slow down!
1 seconds.

Li Wei pulled the trigger, and the bullet spun out, flying towards the fly monster.

At the same time, the flow of time returned to normal.

2 seconds.

The bullet struck the oxygen cylinder that Levi had inserted into his wound, causing it to explode instantly. A torrent of scorching white flames erupted, like bolts of lightning formed from condensed fire, mercilessly tearing apart the fly monster's charred, thick body. Its form appeared as if glass had been shattered in the middle, revealing crack after crack.

3 seconds.

The fly monster tilted its head back, letting out a piercing and eerie scream, before collapsing heavily to the ground. But it didn't end there. As it fell, its body began to swell like an inflating balloon, before bursting open.

4 seconds.

Countless flies emerged from it, forming a dark cloud. They flapped their wings incessantly, emitting a deafening buzzing sound. A dark yellow, eerie-looking gas also emerged from it, like clouds enveloping clouds.

At that moment, Li Wei raised his hand and pointed at the fly monster.

[Reality Anchoring] Activated.

5 seconds.

The buzzing stopped.

The flies that emerged from the fly monster's body gradually began to melt, sprinkling onto the ground like putrid, gelatinous rain. The fly monster's body also began to decompose rapidly; in moments, its obese body, covered in black down, completely decayed into a pool of black, murky liquid, which, along with its bones, began to gradually vaporize.

At the same time, Li Wei threw an incendiary bomb, watched the explosion, and then snapped his fingers.

The next moment, the world spun around him, and he reappeared behind the stone gate. Without hesitation, Li Wei turned and rushed out of the stone gate, then into the barrier formed by the solidified water.

Cool water swept over his body, bringing a refreshing coolness that felt comfortable from the outside in. Then, Li Wei rushed out of the water shield, took off his gas mask, exhaled all the air from his lungs, and then took a deep breath of air mixed with fishy smell and slightly humid.

Phew, I'm alive again.

Katie had already run out by now, and when she saw Levi, she hurriedly went up to him and asked him what was wrong.

"How is it, Mr. Li Wei?"

"nailed it."

Li Wei glanced at the system notification, then quietly spoke.

After that, Li Wei used [Soul Vision] to scan the area again and finally determined that the monster hidden below had been completely eliminated.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving this answer.

Of course, that's not all. Next, MI7 will send people in to thoroughly disinfect the underground temple, and then plant explosives to completely destroy it.

That's the end of it.

Okay, that's all for now.

Li Wei knew it wasn't that simple. The quest description called the boss the Son of Plague.

That means there must still be a plague.

I hope it won't be like in the novels I read, where after beating the younger one, the older one comes along... that would be even more terrifying.

Of course, while everyone else was busy working, Li Wei could also take a break and collect the rewards for this mission.

[Mission "Purification" Completed] [Time Elapsed: S]

Survey efficiency: S

[Impact/Effect: S]

Overall Rating: SSS

[Lifespan +300, additional +150]

It added a lot, but for Li Wei, it was practically negligible, because he directly reduced the lifespan of that fly monster by 300 days by using reality anchoring. This is why Li Wei deduced that the Plague Father was more difficult to deal with than the Plague Kid, even after he had crippled the fly monster.

It is foreseeable that if Li Wei used [Reality Anchoring] on the Plague God, even under the same conditions, the lifespan he consumed might directly reach four figures.

Sure enough, we have to save our trump cards and not use them recklessly.

【Strength +5】

[Physique +5]

Disease resistance +5%

Following [Mental Resistance], here comes [Disease Resistance]. Could it be that, just as I thought, there will be something like elemental resistance in the future?

To be honest, Li Wei's [Strength] has increased to 70, but that's only slightly more than an average person. In any case, he still can't beat Katie in an arm wrestling match, so it's practically useless.

However, the rewards for this mission were all physical attributes, with no increase in spirit or mystery. This indicates that the monster itself is a pure physical entity. Apart from the plague infection, which is relatively difficult to deal with, the others should be easy to take down as long as there is sufficient firepower.

So from a certain perspective, monsters with a flesh-based attack are actually relatively easier to deal with than those with a mental or mysterious attack.

If I were to encounter the plague again, I hope it wouldn't be in a cave. I'd much rather it be in a spacious place so I could easily blast it to smithereens.

Of course, Li Wei would rather not encounter it.

It would be best if this guy were in another country, then let that country have a headache. Anyway, as long as he doesn't appear in the Empire, he won't have any problems... Hmm, probably not.

Of course, in Levi's opinion, it would be best if it happened in Francis.

Although I killed the Plague Boy myself, if Francis hadn't sent people to try and awaken it, I wouldn't have discovered it, much less killed it. So ultimately, it's all Francis's fault. If the Plague Boy wants trouble, he should go find Francis, not me. Thank you for letting me go.

Li Wei didn't have any bad intentions. The wronged should have their culprits, right?

The follow-up to the case was no longer Li Wei's concern, as it mainly involved espionage, so Anthony was put in charge of the investigation. Of course, Li Wei didn't care much about what results he could find out. However, it was certain that the Holy Bishop definitely knew something about this "Son of the Plague," otherwise he wouldn't have sent Curly-haired Man here to carry out this targeted operation.

After that, Li Wei stayed at the manor for two more days, then took his leave with the maids and returned to the misty city.

While this place is nice, it's too laid-back. Li Wei has also realized that the stronger the boss, the more life he has to expend using [Reality Anchoring]. So he plans to find a few weaker bosses first to accumulate some lifespan, so that he can cope if he encounters any tricky trouble.

To put it simply, it's just like depositing money in a bank to avoid unexpected events. If something unexpected happens and you need money, having enough savings as a safety net always gives you a sense of security.

Otherwise, if there's no money, they'll be completely overwhelmed.

On the battlefield, Li Wei was constantly losing money because the system only recognized mysterious cases; it ignored ordinary battles. No matter how many merits Li Wei accumulated on the battlefield, the system offered no rewards. Furthermore, using abilities like [Soul Vision] and [Death Eye] also consumed his life force, though the individual costs weren't large, they added up over time.

In addition, this encounter with the Plague Child allowed Li Wei to experience firsthand the depletion required to defeat a minor boss. Therefore, he decisively decided to solve a few mysterious cases and save up some money. That way, if he were to encounter a boss of the Plague Kid or Plague Father level in the future, he could at least use money to overwhelm the opponent, right?
If I don't save up, I won't have the ability to take out a loan for advanced consumption... It seems the system doesn't lend me any money for my lifespan either.

If you have to pay interest on a loan for a lifetime, that would be even worse.

"You mean, find some cases?"

The old butler was somewhat surprised after hearing Li Wei's request, while Li Wei nodded.

“That’s right. This case shows that other countries clearly don’t intend to let us off the hook, and may even be trying to take advantage of the situation. I think similar things will definitely not only happen in Delicat, but may also happen in other places.”

"Yes, indeed... We need to pay close attention to this aspect."

The old butler nodded in agreement. During wartime, it was necessary to guard against enemy sabotage behind enemy lines, let alone sabotage using clandestine methods.

This is even more troublesome than ordinary spies causing sabotage.

"I will send someone to sort out the cases we currently have and then see how things go."

The old butler agreed to Li Wei's request, but Li Wei was, after all, the sharpest knife; good steel should be used where it's needed most, and you can't use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. You can't just give him cases that any ordinary agent could handle; that would be a huge waste of resources.

"I'll contact you once I've made up my mind."

"Then I'll wait for your message."

(End of this chapter)