Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 446 The Flame of Civilization
When Levi brought Kitty and Elizabeth back to the surface, the outside world was no longer quiet but bustling with activity.

"Good fellow, what a good fellow."

Looking out the window, Li Wei couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Outside, the once deserted streets were now filled with people.

Oh, strictly speaking, it can't even be considered a person.

At least, not a living person.

The streets were filled with zombies and moving skeletons, so much so that for a moment, Li Wei wondered if he had been transported to the fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons.

Could it be that I'm about to face a necromancer? He doesn't know how to use the Sunfire Burst.

However, that wasn't what Li Wei was marveling at. Upon seeing these undead creatures, Li Wei activated [Soul Vision]. To his surprise, these undead creatures didn't glow red as Li Wei had expected. On the contrary, they remained completely devoid of light, resembling proper dead people.

This surprised Li Wei quite a bit. Then, upon closer inspection, he discovered that these undead creatures had bright red spiritual lines on their heads, which was quite similar to his own [Puppeteer].

However, the opponent was clearly much more powerful than his puppeteer. Li Wei roughly calculated that there were nearly a hundred skeleton monsters and zombies here, and the spirit threads that controlled them all came from the mountain.

No wonder I didn't find anything when I used [Soul Vision] to search. It's obvious that this guy usually buries the corpses underground—the real corpses. He only uses his own methods to manipulate these corpses to launch attacks when he needs them.

Thinking of this, Li Wei recalled the haunted house where he first conducted a joint investigation. The big-headed doll inside used this kind of attack method, except this one looked more like an enhanced and advanced version.

"Oh dear, what do we do now, Mr. Levi?"

Katie is Katie; even seeing so many zombies and skeletons wandering around, she wasn't afraid. Instead, she casually picked up a three- or four-meter-long bench, looking eager to try it out.

Well, if there were a female ghost in white mixed in here, that would be a completely different story.

“You stay here and guard Miss Elizabeth. I’ll deal with these guys. Don’t let them in.”

Li Wei looked at the undead army outside, his expression grave. The problem with these things was that they were completely dead, unlike the mutated zombies infected by the virus. However, the basic treatment was the same: once they were dismembered, they wouldn't get up again.

...Probably not?

Considering that the enemy he was facing this time was more of a skeleton, and that fire attack wouldn't be as effective, Li Wei didn't hesitate to pull out the long-abandoned Death Puppet!
This is the time for it to shine!

A cloaked Grim Reaper puppet emerged from the crowd, wielding a scythe, its cloak stained with blood—wait, the bloodstains are still there?

Seeing the dragon blood on the Death Puppet's cloak, Li Wei felt completely numb.

When they were fighting the dragon, Li Wei stuffed the Death God doll into the dragon's belly to play Sun Wukong and amuse his sister-in-law. After the dragon died, Li Wei casually put the Death God doll away and then forgot about it.

It wasn't until it was released today that we realized it hadn't been washed at all!

Um... let's talk about it later.

Li Wei glanced at the Death Puppet, and, confirming that it didn't seem to have any complaints or grievances, stopped paying attention. Besides, a Death Puppet is still Death, isn't it? Covered in blood, it just looks...unseemly.

Consider it a special skin.

Li Wei calmed himself down with a few words, then refocused and manipulated the puppet to rush out of the church door, charging directly towards the undead army, just like a powerful general in a game charging towards minions to mow them down.

The enemy is ashamed, I will take off his clothes!

Upon seeing the Death Puppet charging towards them, the undead creatures seemed to pause slightly, but soon they also raised their scythes and pitchforks and charged towards the Death Puppet.

Firearms aren't powerful enough to deal with these monsters; they're all skeletons, making them difficult to hit. Even if a zombie has pieces of rotten flesh hanging from its body, shooting at it won't do any damage. The best approach is to simply and cleanly chop it into pieces, then finely slice it into minced meat, leaving no fat on it.

After all, a skeleton isn't firewood; it's hard to burn.

"Whoosh—!"

A cold light flashed.

The Death Puppet seemed to fly through the crowd like a true grim reaper, wielding a scythe. Wherever the cold light touched, the undead creatures were sliced ​​in half like stalks of wheat. In the blink of an eye, a large swarm of skeletons had been wiped out.

It seems that melee combat can indeed be quite useful at times.

While manipulating the Grim Reaper puppet to unleash its full power, Li Wei inwardly reflected that ordinary modern weapons were indeed unlikely to inflict much damage on enemies who were all bones and no flesh. Even if Li Wei were to set up a heavy machine gun and spray bullets, it wouldn't do much good.

At this point, we still need to use the most primitive and ancient methods, just like...

Thinking of this, Levi glanced at Katie, who was standing in front of Elizabeth, holding up a bench. Around her, the skeleton monsters that had broken through the glass and rushed in were like old men taking a stroll in a park, steadily swooping towards the two of them.

Then, Katie shouted and swept forward with a whoosh, grabbing the three- or four-meter-long chair with both hands. Wherever she went, the skeleton monsters flew up from the ground, scattered and broke apart in the air, and then flew out like baseballs hit by a home run, crashing into the wall behind them and turning into a pile of rubble.

"………………………"

There's no need to be so primitive.

Thinking this, Li Wei silently distanced himself from Katie, afraid that the little girl might get addicted to smoking and accidentally hit him.

He can't stand this.

At the same time, Li Wei turned on the walkie-talkie. "This is Li Wei, calling Eye of the Sky."

Soon, Lieutenant Horn's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"This is the Eye of the Sky, sir. Please give your instructions."

"Prepare for ground bombing."

Li Wei once again manipulated the Death Puppet to block a group of skeleton monsters rushing towards him, while simultaneously issuing an order.

Ordinary guns and cannons are not very effective against undead creatures, but ultimately, it all comes down to the amount of firepower they can produce.

"Coordinates D3, 53.127, await my command."

Moreover, what he was waiting for was almost here.

"Roar!!"

Just then, a roar like that of a wild beast rang out, and then Li Wei saw several huge bodies fall from the sky and land heavily on the square in front of the church.

Compared to the moving skeletons, these monsters in front of them were clearly more repulsive.

Their bodies were swollen as if they had been floating corpses for three days and three nights, their entire bodies filled with an eerie bluish-white color, overflowing from the stone coffin. Their hands and feet were thin and long, like the limbs of insects, extending out of the stone coffin to support the bodies inside.

It is clear that they must be the knights sealed in the other twelve churches.

But now, they look more like monsters.

It seems the mastermind behind this really enjoys all-in betting.

Looking at the bizarre monsters before him, Li Wei's lips curled slightly. The reason he didn't immediately contact the Eye of the Sky to launch an attack was because, through the puppet bird, he saw that at the same moment he killed the priest, the other twelve churches suddenly reappeared with a crimson soul glow.

Clearly, the other side was also afraid that we would find a way to kill all these sealed knights, so they planned to strike first.

Logically speaking, with only three people on their side, no matter how skilled they are, they shouldn't be a match for the other side.

It's just a pity... times have changed.

Li Wei glanced around to make sure the targets were in position, then picked up the walkie-talkie and gave the order.

"Fire."

Then, Levi looked at Katie and Elizabeth and shouted loudly.

"Get down!"

Upon hearing Levi's command, Katie and Elizabeth immediately dropped to the ground, while Levi darted away from the window and hid in the corner.

Then came the whistling sound of shells tearing through the air.

Immediately afterwards…

"Boom boom boom boom!!!"

The entire plaza in front of the church was instantly engulfed in a hail of artillery fire, including the eerie, twisted knights. They might possess immense strength and terrifying abilities, but all of that was meaningless before the relentless bombardment. Li Wei stared at the plaza shrouded in smoke and flames, watching the red lights within vanish one by one, his heart unmoved.

Therefore, one must keep up with the times. We can't be like the boss of this place, hiding in our own little world, ignoring the technological advancements of the outside world. The result is that we're taught a lesson by the flames of civilization. This shows that isolationism is a bad thing. If you don't even know the mainstream developments outside, and you're just blindly messing around here, you won't achieve anything.

Hmm... From my own perspective, it's probably fine if I don't make any progress?

Only after the last red aura disappeared did Li Wei order a ceasefire. He then walked out of the church and looked ahead. As far as the eye could see, the street, the square, and even the houses on both sides had been reduced to ruins. The undead army that had been so arrogant just moments before had vanished without a trace.

Yes, it was indeed a wise move of mine to request the construction of an airship.

A sliver of clear moonlight spilled onto the ground, casting dappled shadows. Li Wei looked up and saw that the previously overcast sky had cleared, revealing a twinkling starry sky, a moon like a silver platter, and the Eye of the Sky suspended in the air…

Just as I thought, as long as I deal with all these sealed creatures, I can dispel the fog here.

Li Wei picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Calling the Eye of the Sky, can you see the town now?"

After a moment, Lieutenant Horn's voice rang out.

"This is the Eye of the Sky. We can see that the fog has dissipated and the target location is clearly visible."

"very good."

Hearing the answer, Li Wei nodded in satisfaction.

"Have Henry bring the assault team down and prepare for battle."

The troubles in the small town have been resolved; now it's time to deal with the real culprit.

(End of this chapter)