Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 464 System Notification
Now that Her Majesty the Queen has given her permission, Li Wei can officially begin his investigation into the matter.

There is only one question he needs to figure out first.

How did Baron Hanklis from that world come to his own?

Judging from the contents of the letter, Baron Hanklis himself did not have any superpowers, and the Baron Hanklis on their side was completely unaware of them.

However, after reviewing the development of events, Li Wei had a guess.

The reason why Baron Hanklis from that world traveled to his own world was likely related to the masked man he killed.

Because Baron Hanklis himself wrote in the letter that he only began to experience various strange phenomena after killing that man.

According to him, only he can see the man; no one else can. Also, no matter how many times he throws the man away, the man will reappear.

Li Wei strongly suspected that... this might be a bug.

Players who have played the game know that if you use cheats or methods that the system does not support, you may get stuck and encounter bugs.

To put it simply, it's like a cutscene at the beginning where the player is guaranteed to die once, their HP drops to zero, they die once, and then they are resurrected in the graveyard to start a new life.

However, if a player doesn't want to die and uses a cheat to lock their health, then various bugs may occur after that cutscene.

The opponent might keep attacking you, or when you wake up again you might find yourself not in the graveyard where the game started, but in the BOSS room where you were killed. Things like these are all possible.

This is common in games, but who says it can't happen in real life?
Suppose the masked man used a similar method to appear at Baron Hanklis's house, intending to assassinate him, but was instead killed. Then he might also develop a "bug" as a result, ultimately affecting Baron Hanklis and granting him similar abilities.

So why did he come to his own world?

Li Wei felt that this might be some kind of coincidence, that his memories were mixed up with those of Baron Hanklis in this world, and that at the same time he became aware of his own existence, that he wanted to come and see him, and then he just... well, a bit hasty, isn't he?

But it's not impossible, since according to him, he obviously didn't pass through any stone door, nor did he carry any strange pendants or the like.

He simply followed his usual procedure, first arriving in Grida, and then taking an airship from Grida to the Fog City.
This raises a question.

When did he first come into this world?

If it's an airship, shouldn't everyone on the airship travel through it together?

If he's the only one who can travel through time, then what's the problem?
Regardless, Li Wei decided to conduct research first before making a decision.

The solution was simple: he planned to take the body of Baron Hanklis and board the Sky Eye to travel the route in reverse.

Incidentally, the other Baron Hanklis has decided to stay in the Fog City for the time being and not go anywhere else. Clearly, he's also afraid of ending up like his counterpart, possibly being transported to another world at any moment.

After making preparations, Li Wei boarded the Sky Eye with the body placed in the coffin. Before departure, he explained the situation to all the crew members. Because it was somewhat complicated, Li Wei took some time to explain, and everyone seemed quite surprised after hearing his account.

"It's unbelievable, another world? Mr. Li Wei, are you sure this is real? Does that mean I might encounter another version of myself?"

Katie jumped around excitedly, looking like she couldn't wait to leave, while Levi shrugged.

"Maybe, you're really looking forward to it?"

"Of course, it would be even better if the other me wasn't afraid of ghosts."

It seems that this is the main reason.

Li Wei turned his head and looked at Lieutenant Horn.

What are your thoughts?

"this……………"

Lieutenant Horn and several other officers exchanged glances.

"To be honest, sir, what you're saying is very hard to believe. Assuming such a world really exists, where exactly is it? How did it come about? And why is it so similar to our world?"

"Even specialized scholars probably can't answer this question."

Li Wei shook his head.

"So, assuming we go to that world, can we come back?"

"I can't guarantee that either."

Li Wei looked toward Lieutenant Horn.

"That's why I explained this to you in advance. Of course, personally, I definitely want to come back. But right now, how to cross between these two worlds is still a mystery to me. It's possible that we'll go and then come back. Or it's possible that we'll go but not come back. So I want to ask for your opinions and thoughts. If you think this mission is difficult to complete, then I'll drive there myself."

"We are soldiers, sir."

Lieutenant Horn smiled.

"The day we put on our uniforms, we were prepared to sacrifice ourselves for our country. And if, as you say, that place is also an empire, then perhaps it won't be too difficult for us to get used to it."

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

Li Wei looked at the others, whose eyes were also firm, so Li Wei didn't say anything more.

Often, pre-battle mobilizations are full of high spirits, but only when the real difficulties arrive can their true thoughts be revealed.

"Then let's disband and get started."

Everyone quickly saluted and then returned to their posts. Then, the Sky Eye slowly rose into the air and began its journey.

Li Wei arrived at the warehouse and looked at the coffin containing the corpse. Under the [Soul Vision], the corpse showed no reaction and no strange aura; everything seemed normal.

I hope to gain something from this.

Li Wei muttered to himself, then reached out and patted the coffin.

“If you hear me, I intend to take you home, back to your home, and I hope you know where it is.”

After saying this, Li Wei looked at the coffin again.

Nothing changed, well, that's normal. Li Wei stretched, then stood up and returned to his cabin, staring out the window, hoping to see something strange.

But there was nothing there; everything seemed perfectly normal.

Next came afternoon tea. Levi went to the restaurant and had afternoon tea with Katie. Katie was clearly very interested in parallel worlds and asked Levi many questions.

"So, how is that world different from ours?"

"It's probably just a possibility."

"possibility?"

"That's right. For example, you're faced with a choice. In this world, you choose A, but in that world, you choose B? Something like that."

"But wouldn't that create countless parallel worlds? After all, there are so many people in this world, and everyone is making choices almost every day."

"That's why I said it's just a deduction, and I'm not really sure if it's true."

"I think it would be more interesting if we could meet someone who isn't afraid of ghosts. Then we could act together! Mr. Li Wei would become two people too, right?"

"That's hard to say."

Li Wei vaguely glossed over the topic, suspecting that he might not even be in that world. Because if that were the case, then Baron Hanklis wouldn't have come to this world to find him.

As for why he came...

"Sir."

Lieutenant Horn entered, saluted Levi and Katie, and reported.

"Something happened."

"what's up?"

Li Wei looked at Lieutenant Horn and asked.

“We are about to arrive in Grida, but…”

"but?"

"Something's not right. Please come and take a look."

"Ok."

Li Wei nodded and then went to the bridge. He looked down and saw a city not far away—however, unlike ordinary cities, this city looked like it had been ravaged by war, with ruins everywhere, and even thick smoke and flames.

"It seems something really is wrong."

Li Wei sat back in his chair, then picked up his observation glasses and focused intently on the ground. He then saw vehicles coming and going throughout the city, as well as large groups of monsters that looked like jackals.

Moreover, the flagpole also bears a red and black double-headed eagle emblem.

The flag of the Kingdom of Krant.

"It seems that Grida has fallen into the hands of the Kingdom of Krant."

Li Wei raised an eyebrow and then spoke, and everyone was taken aback by what he said.

"The Kingdom of Krant attacked the Empire? How is that possible?"

"It's impossible in our world."

As Li Wei spoke, he turned his head again to look towards the cargo hold, but under the [Soul Vision], there was still no reaction there.

"But it's hard to say in another world."

Then, Li Wei spoke, and then he looked at Lieutenant Horn.

"Lieutenant Horn, have you noticed anything unusual?"

"No, sir. I followed your orders and advanced at a cruising altitude of eight thousand meters. Then, as we approached Grida, we descended and passed through the clouds... and this is what we saw."

"Is there anything strange about the middle? Has anyone else noticed anything?"

The group exchanged glances and shook their heads.

"No, sir."

"Change destination."

Li Wei made a decision quickly.

"Let's go straight to Baron Hanklis's house and see how things are going there."

To be honest, although Li Wei had prepared himself mentally, he still couldn't help but feel nervous when he actually found himself in such a world.

After all, there were absolutely no warning signs, and he hadn't noticed or reacted at all along the way.

So, how exactly did they get to another world?

Li Wei has not yet offered an explanation for this.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang in Li Wei's ears, and then, unexpectedly, a system notification popped up in front of him.

[Activate the quest "Two Worlds"]

[Mission Objective: Unravel the secret connecting the two worlds]

Upon seeing the mission objective, Li Wei paused for a moment, then frowned.

Generally speaking, unless it involves events involving mysterious forces, the system will simply remain unresponsive, like a dead person.

And now... could this be considered an event related to mysterious forces?
(End of this chapter)