Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 483 A Message

“Da…Da…Da…”

Li Wei followed the masked man silently, simply walking alongside him. In Li Wei's eyes, the masked man seemed very familiar with the surroundings. Unlike Li Wei, he didn't need to travel between two worlds; instead, he could find suitable spatial fragments, seemingly able to identify which fragment belonged to this world and which didn't.

Is this the power that monster gave them? And that means they killed Baron Hanklis?
"Your failure has greatly angered the true God."

Just then, the guy leading the group spoke up again.

"Not only did you fail, you also allowed him to escape to another world, that blasphemous world of steel. How could this be? Baron Hanklis was not favored by the true god, so why did he gain such power?"

Faced with the other party's question, Li Wei quickly began to think. Although he had transformed into the appearance of Number Nine, the other party had already been a corpse when he appeared in front of him. Li Wei did not know his thought process, let alone his speaking style.

Therefore, as soon as he opens his mouth, he will definitely be exposed.

But remaining silent would obviously arouse suspicion... I've got it.

Thinking of this, Li Wei grinned and let out a low, hoarse laugh.

"Hehehehehehe..."

"Number Nine?"

As expected, the masked man stopped in his tracks upon hearing the laughter and turned to look at Li Wei with a puzzled expression. Li Wei also looked up, staring at the masked man. He stepped forward, stood in front of the masked man, and gazed into the eyes behind the mask.

"You want to know what happened to him? It's simple. Just as I was about to make my move, this guy suddenly woke up and shot me! Right here!"

As Li Wei spoke, he patted his chest, his voice becoming hoarse and even somewhat distorted.

"Here! This shot! This one shot killed me! I was trapped in the rift of the world, suffering almost endless pain! You ask me what happened? How would I know? Hahaha, maybe he killed me and gained my power?"

As Li Wei spoke, he smiled and glanced at the masked man. A flicker of emotion crossed the latter's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Your emotions seem very agitated, but your fluctuations are quite stable."

"Hehe, guess?"

Li Wei grinned again. He didn't try to impersonate Number Nine because he didn't know what the character was like. But he had his own method: claiming, for example, that he had experienced a disaster that drastically changed his personality.

So whatever he was like before, at least that's how he is now.

Of course, this is actually the most common trick used by criminals in detective novels to switch identities. For example, someone kills someone and then disguises himself as that person. He can say that he had an accident, and then after the accident, that person's personality changed drastically. His favorite food changed, and his temper changed. For most people, this kind of thing is acceptable.

Unless it's some detective who likes to doubt everyone.

However, Li Wei believed that the man in front of him did not have the skills of a detective.

As for the fluctuations the other party mentioned, Li Wei suspected that what he felt was not from his own body, but from the mask.

"………………………"

As expected, faced with Li Wei's feigned bluff, the masked man remained silent for a moment before turning away.

"It seems you've had a lot going on."

"Hehehe, you can try it if you want."

Li Wei sneered.

"I'll shoot you in the back so you won't suffer so much."

"…………………"

The masked man remained silent. Perhaps he concluded there was nothing to say to this mentally unstable "Number Nine," or perhaps he had other thoughts. But none of that mattered. Li Wei knew there were definitely many strange things about him. After all, he wasn't Number Nine, and he didn't know what kind of adjustments he had undergone.

But it doesn't matter; he can blame it all on that failed murder and adopt a "believe it or not" attitude.

If a person is certain that they are truly themselves, then they can naturally do whatever they want and do it however they want. Only those who pretend to be someone else will try their best to imitate the behavior of the real person.

However, this backfired, indicating that he was not the real person.

The two descended the stairs and arrived underground. This was not unexpected for Li Wei, as most monsters liked to burrow underground, and he had fought monsters underground more than once or twice since arriving in this world.

but……………

Well, this is a bit unexpected.

When Li Wei followed the masked man into the underground hall, the scene before him made his eye twitch involuntarily.

In the hall, which was as large as half a football field, stood a dense crowd of people, all wearing white masks and dressed in identical clothing, standing in neat rows. At the very front of them was an altar, even more magnificent than the one Li Wei had previously studied.

Above the altar sat an old man in a long robe, who looked like a kind priest. But his skin was transparent, and through it, Livy could even see the veins and muscles beneath.

As for whether there are bones... well, that's a question. But...

Okay, this is a little different from what I expected.

Levi maintained a nonchalant, swaying demeanor, but he had to admit that the oppressive feeling of having hundreds of identically dressed people staring at him simultaneously was truly unbearable. Not to mention, Levi wasn't some destined savior capable of taking on hundreds of Smiths single-handedly.

Damn.

Li Wei glanced at the masked man in front of him, who called himself Number Nine. Li Wei figured there couldn't be many people like that. At most twelve? It was a number that often appeared in stories, like the twelve zodiac signs.

But if it becomes several hundred, that's a different story.

At the same time, Li Wei felt increasingly cold inside.

There are hundreds of masked people here alone, and from what I just heard, their mission seems to be to assassinate someone and then become that person.

So, how many people did they actually replace?
Li Wei glanced around and could see that the souls within these masked figures were radiating a dark green glow.

But the brightest and most dazzling color came from the old priest on the stone bench.

Its radiance was so dazzling that it almost swallowed the entire hall. Compared to its light, the souls of these masked figures were dim and insignificant.

"The true God."

The masked man walked to the stone bench and knelt down.

“I’m back, and Number Nine is back too, he…”

The masked man didn't finish speaking, because the old priest had already shifted his gaze to Li Wei.

He didn't speak, but a voice rose up from nowhere like a muffled thunderclap.

"who are you?"

"Hello, Mr. Monster."

Li Wei's figure swayed, then returned to his original form. He stood in the crowd, completely unconcerned about the stares of those around him. He reached out, removed his hat, and bowed to the old priest. Now, Li Wei no longer cared that his true form had been exposed. The fact that he had been able to walk smoothly to the monster was already a victory in itself. What he needed to do next was simple.

"Actually, I just wanted to give you a message."

As he spoke, Li Wei reached out and flicked his wrist. A coin tumbled and leaped from his fingertip, spinning into the air. The people around him instinctively looked up at the flying coin, seemingly puzzled by its meaning.

Li Wei, on the other hand, gazed at the old priest with a calm and composed expression.

"I might not be able to kill you this time, but I might next time. So, farewell, until we meet again. By the way, I hope you like the gift I gave you, don't be shy."

After saying that, Li Wei put his hat on.

These events happened simultaneously.

Li Wei put his hat back on, and the masked men around him turned to him, letting out furious howls like wild beasts. They raised their hands and pounced on Li Wei from all directions.

The next second, the flying coin transformed into a giant bomb, crashing heavily to the ground. Li Wei's figure vanished at that moment, disappearing completely from the crowd.

The masked figures froze for a moment, then vanished abruptly, while the old priest sitting on the stone chair suddenly had a bright light in his eyes. His hands gripped the stone chair tightly, like a paralyzed person trying to stand up from a wheelchair.

Just then, an invisible light traversed space and shone upon this land.

The distortion has been fixed.

The figures of the masked people reappeared, as if they were "spit out" from the air. They fell to the ground like rain, their eyes wide with terror.

At the same time, flames appeared.

"boom-------!!!"

The palace was completely overturned by the massive explosion and flames; its heavy dome was blown away and crashed to the ground. Li Wei looked up and gazed ahead—in the dark night, amidst the torrential rain and flashing thunder, he saw a ray of light that had traveled across the world, guiding them home.

"go ahead."

Then, Li Wei gave the order.

The Eye of the Sky moved forward, passing through the curtain of torrential rain and through the dark clouds. However, with a flash of lightning, everything around it was completely transformed in the next moment.

The dark clouds disappeared, the downpour ceased, and the night sky was clear and cloudless. Below them, the city was ablaze with lights.

They are back.

(End of this chapter)