Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 439 The Next Case
In an empire this vast, it's impossible for Li Wei to handle mysterious cases by himself alone. In fact, MI7 has several special agent teams dedicated to dealing with such incidents.

The corresponding methods for each squad are also very different.

They conducted a thorough investigation into the whole story and then devised a countermeasure.

Some just charge in headfirst and solve the problem purely with firepower.

But regardless of which one, there is a problem: they don't have a system like Li Wei does to confirm whether the task has been completed.

This leads to a problem that is often encountered in horror movies.

That is, at the end of the movie, something that had been dead for a long time suddenly resurfaced and started—the second movie.

The case that Li Wei has just received from the old housekeeper is just like this.

The case itself is also very complex. The members of the mysterious incident investigation team, the special squad Gamma, were all found dead not long ago. The time of death was late at night. At the time of the incident, each member of the squad was in a different place: some were drinking in a bar, some were being intimate with their girlfriends at home, and some were resting alone in their rooms.

And their manner of death was exactly the same: their limbs and heads were twisted off by something while they were still alive.

MI7 immediately launched an investigation, but so far they have found no useful leads. The only thing they can confirm is that the deaths of these individuals did not implicate anyone else, even if someone was near them at the time.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the members of this team were very likely cursed by something.

Originally, the case was intended to be reported to higher authorities, but since Li Wei wanted to investigate, the old butler entrusted the task to him.

Li Wei was clearly quite interested in the case.

It's clear that, based on the current situation, these people are very likely to be cursed, but... before that, Li Wei still decided to conduct an investigation.

He quickly located the eyewitnesses who were at the scene with the victim and listened to their testimonies.

"That's terrifying, I've never seen anything like it before."

The bartender at the "Tiger Whale" bar began to tell Li Wei his story while wiping his glass.

"Hank was drinking when he suddenly made a strange noise. I thought he was drunk and went to check on him. But then I saw—Hank just stood up straight! It wasn't like a human standing up; it looked like something grabbed his head and lifted him up!"

The bartender shuddered as he recalled what had happened.

"Hank just stared at me like that, and then his head just... God, by God's grace, it was horrible... His limbs were twisted up like a wrung-out towel, he opened his mouth and let out a piercing scream, but we could only stand there, dumbfounded, unable to do anything. Finally, his head twisted behind him..."

As he spoke, the bartender shook his head again, looking terrified.

"It's unbelievable, God bless us, it's truly terrifying."

Was anyone trying to do something at the time?

"No, sir, we were all terrified and couldn't do anything."

Upon hearing this, Li Wei remained silent for a moment.

"Was there anything wrong with Hank before this? Or did he undergo some kind of change?"

"Now that you mention it, something does seem a bit off."

The bartender thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Hank has recently started drinking heavily."

"alcoholism?"

“That’s right. He used to come to the bar just to have a few drinks, but lately he comes here and drinks himself into a stupor, clinging to the bottle. We all thought Hank was in a bad mood because he got dumped by a woman… He’s never drunk like this before.”

Did he say anything?

"this……………"

The bartender was stunned.

"To be honest, he did say things like 'Forgive me, forgive me' when he was drunk, but we don't know who he was talking about, so we all think that he might be drowning his sorrows in alcohol because he broke up with his girlfriend."

If the bartender is just an outsider and the evidence is not convincing enough, then Cole's wife is a different story.

"I really, really don't want to recall what happened back then."

The blonde woman wiped her swollen, red eyes and shook her head repeatedly.

“I never imagined that Cole would die such a horrible death…”

"I hope you can still recall what happened back then."

Levi gazed at Cole's wife and spoke softly.

"This might help us solve the mystery."

"Ah, um..."

Looking at Li Wei and listening to his gentle voice, Cole's wife blushed slightly. After a moment of silence, she began to speak softly.

“Actually, I knew Cole was acting strange during those days. He used to be a very lively and cheerful person, but during this period, Cole never went out, and he didn’t even want to leave his bedroom. And he had to sleep with me every day, otherwise he couldn’t sleep.”

When did this situation begin?

"About a week ago, after he came back from his business trip, he was really unwell. He seemed very anxious, very uneasy, and very neurotic. Sometimes, even the meowing of a stray cat outside would startle him so much that he would jump out of bed..."

"Tell me about what happened on the day of the incident."

“Okay, that day… Cole seemed more nervous than usual, not letting me leave his side for a second, but I always have to cook for him, so we went to the kitchen together. Cole held me tightly, and we made a few harmless jokes. Cole seemed to be feeling a little better than before, and then…”

Cole's wife clasped her hands tightly against her chest.

"Then, he seemed to see something and suddenly screamed. I quickly turned around and saw... I saw..."

At this point, Cole's wife couldn't continue. She covered her face with her hands, and Levi reached out and gently patted her shoulder, whispering in her ear, "Madam, it's all in the past. Don't overthink it. Just treat it like a dream..."

"Ah, um... a dream..."

Upon hearing Levin's gentle voice, Cole's wife's eyes gradually began to mist over.

“Yes, that was just a dream… a nightmare…”

"What do you see?"

“His…his body was twisted and deformed like a rag…I could hear the bones cracking and popping. He looked at me, his eyes filled with terror…”

As she spoke, Cole's wife paused for a moment.

"Finally... his head also turned... I fainted at that moment... When I woke up and saw the body on the floor, I realized... this wasn't a dream..."

Li Wei gently comforted Cole's wife for a few more moments until she calmed down, and then continued to ask questions.

"Was there anything strange about him before this?"

“He said… he wants a divorce…”

"What's the reason?"

He wouldn't say.

As for Cole's wife, she was clearly also puzzled as to why her husband suddenly wanted to divorce her.

Although by now, she should have guessed a little bit.

But Jackson's parents had absolutely no clue what to do.

"Please avenge my child, Sir Levi."

Jackson's father, a robust rancher, was also holding Levi's hand tightly and wouldn't let go.

He had quite a bit of strength; if Li Wei's strength hadn't increased to 70, he might not have been able to hold on.

"I will definitely do my best."

Li Wei nodded, then looked at Jackson's father.

"Is there anything you can say about Jackson? Like, was there anything strange about him?"

"This child has always been like this."

Jackson's father sighed with a troubled expression.

"He rarely interacted with others, and he didn't confide in us. He spent most of his time reading in his room. However…"

"but?"

"After returning from this business trip, he has been locking himself in his room and won't even come out to eat, which is quite strange. He used to at least eat with us."

"Moreover, he burned all his books!"

Jackson's mother, standing nearby, was also wiping away tears as she added to the story.

"Book?"

"Yes, this child loved books more than anything. He bought so many books, and then he burned them all! We only realized something was wrong when we smelled smoke. When we went into his room, we found that child... my child...!"

After completing his investigation of the eyewitnesses at the scene, Li Wei returned home.

By this time, Katie had naturally arrived early as well.

"So? Any findings, Mr. Levi?"

"It's almost certain that there was a problem with their last mission."

Li Wei sat back down at his desk and picked up the information about the Gamma Squad that he had obtained from MI7.

"That is, the case they investigated last time."

"What case?"

"The monastery is haunted."

"…………………"

Katie suddenly fell silent.

"Let me see. According to their final report, the case was confirmed to be the work of an evil spirit. It has been cleansed according to procedure. During the cleansing process, team member Susie Taran died unexpectedly. The other three survived, and the investigation report was submitted by team leader Hank Castin."

"Someone died?"

To be honest, Katie was somewhat surprised to hear the report. In her memory, no one had ever died when she went out with Levi—of course, it was one of their own.

"Yes, Susie Taran is a medium and the only member of the Gamma Squad with mystical powers. They have carried out several missions together and performed quite well."

Li Wei frowned after reading the investigation report.

"Based on the current investigation, I suspect that Susie's death may not be so simple, at least not just an accidental death, otherwise the behavior of these three people would not be so abnormal."

With that, Li Wei made a decision.

"Let's start our investigation with the monastery."

(End of this chapter)