Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 484 Completely Different (A new month begins, this cat is begging for monthly tickets!)

"That's pretty much the report..."

Li Wei stopped what he was doing, looked at the report in front of him, and let out a long sigh. Although they had returned to this world, they were still within the territory of the Kingdom of Krant, and it would take some time for them to return to the Empire. So Li Wei used this time to summarize and write up the report.

Of course, there were also some gains.

Thinking of this, Li Wei raised his head and looked at the system notification in front of him.

[Mission "Two Worlds" Completed]

[Time consumed: s]

Survey efficiency: S

[Impact/Effect: S]

Overall Rating: SSS

[Lifespan +800, additional +400]

Well... it's alright.

Li Wei curled his lips. In the last wave, in order to prevent those guys from escaping across space, he directly covered the entire palace with [Reality Anchoring], which instantly reduced his lifespan by 1000 days. Now it has been made up for, but after adding and subtracting, Li Wei only received a lifespan bonus of 200 days this time in a strict sense.

Traveling across worlds is indeed quite exhausting.

Even so, Li Wei was certain he hadn't killed the monster, because after returning to this world, he saw that the spatial rift above his palace was still there, though much smaller, but it hadn't disappeared. Perhaps this was also related to how quickly he had run.

But Li Wei had no choice. Hundreds of people were eyeing him covetously, and if he didn't run, he wouldn't be able to escape.

[Additional Skill +1]

Li Wei naturally added it to [Witcher] and upgraded it to LV3. He wondered what new skills it would bring him when it reached LV4.

[Disguise +5] [Disguise upgraded to 70] [Received additional rewards]

[Bonus: The disguise ability has a certain chance to automatically obtain information about the opponent]

Wow, this is pretty good.

Upon seeing this, Li Wei's eyes narrowed. He had used the [Disguise and Transformation] ability a few times before, and while it could be useful at times, it also had its drawbacks. Even if he could disguise his opponent's appearance, there were many things he couldn't know, requiring considerable time for investigation.

However, when Li Wei needed to use this ability, he usually didn't have the time to investigate carefully.

Disguising himself as a legion commander in Krant was relatively easy; he could solve most problems by simply mimicking the commander's tone of voice. However, disguising himself as the masked man was a bit more troublesome, since the man was already dead, and Li Wei didn't know what he looked like when he was alive.

Being able to get away with it was purely due to good luck.

Now that's good, it means that when Li Wei uses the [Disguise and Transformation] ability in the future, there is a certain chance that he can automatically obtain information about the other party. If it is private information, then Li Wei can save himself the trouble of conducting an investigation.

Of course, we'll need to try it out more after we get back to find out for sure.

And then there's one last thing...

Li Wei stood up, roused himself, and walked out of the room. He went to the cargo hold, knocked on the door, and then went inside.

"Mr. Li Wei?"

Annie, who was busy at work, heard a knock on the door and looked up at him.

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes, there's something very important."

Li Wei looked at Annie with a serious expression.

"What would you think if I told you you couldn't go home?"

"Family?"

When asked by Li Wei, Annie was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head.

"What is home? For me, I have no home anymore. I abandoned the empire and betrayed Krant. Now I have nowhere to go, just like this airship, drifting with the wind, going wherever it takes me."

"Oh, that's what I'm going to talk about next."

Li Wei shrugged.

"We are going back to the Empire, so we would like to invite you to come with us. What are your thoughts?"

"The Empire? What can I get there? Will they hang me for treason?"

Compared to the Anne that Li Wei knew, this Anne was clearly more cynical. Perhaps she had indeed encountered a lot of trouble in that empire, so much so that Li Wei could still hear the strong resentment in her words.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. They won't hang you on that charge."

“I don’t believe it, Mr. Levi.”

Annie shook her head.

“Those bureaucrats are capable of anything, and many of the chimeras I created did indeed play a significant role in the war against the Empire. You could say I killed quite a few Imperials. I think these incompetent bureaucrats will definitely arrest me, announce that they have captured the creator of the chimeras, and then hang me to satisfy everyone.”

"Um………"

Well, it's not fair to say Anne's statement is wrong. After all, as she said, she has no hatred for the Kingdom of Krant, only differing ideologies. But the Empire... Although Levi doesn't know what the Empire did to Anne, considering she's the granddaughter of the founder of Darwinism and was forced to flee, he knows the Empire must have done something inhumane.

Furthermore, Annie did create quite a few chimeras, and these chimeras participated in the Kingdom of Krant's wars of aggression. Moreover, she wasn't like those scientists in movies and games who spout nonsense like "I only did this for peace, I didn't intend to use it for war." Instead, she stated, "Survival of the fittest, the empire deserves to die because it's backward..."

Fortunately, Li Wei doesn't need to worry about these issues.

because…………

"You don't need to worry about that, because the Empire doesn't even know who you are."

"what do you mean?"

"It's very simple."

As Li Wei spoke, he extended his hand to Annie again.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Earl Livi, the Grand Master of the Thistle Knights of the Empire. On behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, I welcome you to the Empire."

"Your Majesty?"

Annie was taken aback.

"The ruler of the empire has changed?"

"No, the ruler of the empire has been the same person for decades."

"I don't understand what you mean..."

You'll understand soon enough.

Then, Levi recounted the entire story to Anne, from the assassination of Baron Hanklis to his discovery of the monster.

It must be said that Annie was quite surprised after hearing Li Wei's explanation.

"So, you mean you come from an empire in another world. And that world didn't develop Darwinism, but instead pursued the path of steel technology?"

"That's right, that's exactly it."

"No wonder I always felt something was off about this airship; it didn't seem like technology the Empire could possess, but..."

As Anne spoke, she looked at Levi.

"You don't actually think I'll believe your nonsense just because of what you said, do you?"

"Of course, seeing is believing."

Li Wei was not surprised by this.

“You will soon see an empire that is completely different from what you remember, Miss Anne.”

As he spoke, Li Wei made a gesture.

"Please come with me to the bridge, we're about to arrive in the Fog City."

Upon hearing the word "Foggy City," Annie frowned slightly, but she still followed Levi to the bridge. At this moment, the Eye of the Sky had begun its descent, and land could already be faintly seen in the distance above the sea.

"How is the situation, Lieutenant Horn?"

Li Wei sat back in the command chair and asked, while Lieutenant Horn nodded.

"Everything is normal, sir. We have obtained entry permission, and Her Majesty the Queen wants us to go directly to the palace."

"it is good."

Throughout the entire ordeal, Anne stood silently by the window. In her view, the whole thing was far too bizarre. While she could understand Levi's concept of parallel worlds, she still felt it was more like a fairy tale than reality. To Anne, it would be far more logical for the emperor to suddenly die and a new queen to ascend the throne.

As for the Fog City? It's not like she hasn't seen the Fog City before. That gloomy, dark place, hiding countless filth and sins, where even its outward splendor cannot conceal the corruption and ugliness beneath.

Although Li Wei assured her that she would see a different Fog City, Fog City was, after all, still…

As the city drew closer outside the window, Annie's eyes widened slightly.

What did she see?
what is this?
Anne wasn't unfamiliar with the Fog City, but this city before her... was nothing like the Fog City she remembered!

Within the city, countless high-rise buildings stood tall, and huge ships were moored in the harbor. Along the coastline, one could even see towering buildings connected to each other like a spider web, while airships even larger than Levi's Sky Eye were moored all around.

Not only that, Annie even saw a steel aerial fortress! It looked like a giant warship, but it was flying in the sky!
The warship flew past below and to the side of the Eye of the Sky, signaling to Li Wei at the same time.

"It's the Cyclops, sir."

Lieutenant Horn looked at the transmitted information and spoke.

"General Howe sends his regards. He says the Cyclops has just finished testing and is on its way back."

"Oh? The Cyclops is finished being modified?"

Li Wei looked at the huge warship with great interest. From the outside, the Cyclops seemed to be no different from before. If Li Wei wanted to put it, the only difference was that there were a few more gun turrets on the deck and sides of the hull.

Don't underestimate the fact that it's just a few more gun turrets; for a warship flying in the air, carrying capacity is a crucial factor.

Does this mean that Dr. Tester's research was successful?

"Reply to General Hao and wish him all the best. We'll talk again later."

"Yes."

Soon, the Sky Eye replied, and then the Cyclops turned and flew towards the dock outside Fog City, while Levi's Sky Eye entered the Fog City area.

Annie also saw more than she had imagined.

The streets were no longer filled with horse-drawn carriages, but with iron carriages that could run on their own without being pulled by animals. There were even steel giants with two legs that walked on the ground. At some construction sites, she even saw towering iron towers and cranes, as well as transport mechs constantly moving goods.

Although she still couldn't believe it, Annie had to admit that this was definitely not something that had been done recently. Everything here looked very natural and continuous, not like something that had just been developed, but more like a continuation that had been maintained for decades.

In other words, the world did not develop biotechnology, but instead, as Mr. Li Wei said, followed the path of steam technology—can steam technology also achieve this level?
Anne examined the machines with her own eyes, and then she had to admit that some of them seemed much more useful than chimeras. Of course, the biggest advantage of machines compared to chimeras was that they had no self-awareness and could be operated however humans wanted.

However, this doesn't apply to chimeras. If they develop resistance or are unable to accurately understand human commands, their efficiency and speed will decrease...

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, Annie couldn't say for sure.

Just as Anne was pondering, the Sky Eye slowly docked at its berth inside the palace.

"…In short, that's how it is."

Upon arriving at the palace, Levi and Katie quickly met Her Majesty the Queen and reported on their entire exploration trip to the parallel world. Of course, words are not enough; Levi also brought back quite a few things, including photographs of that world, books and materials he had collected, and even the imperial history and biographies of famous figures from that world.

After all, there's no point in faking something like this.

"It's unbelievable."

After reading Levi's report and listening to Levi and Katie's account, the Queen flipped through the photos and documents again, a hint of surprise appearing on her usually calm face.

"There is another world beside us... Hmm, Sir Levy, do you think it's possible for us to control that world?"

"It's probably difficult. After all, manpower is a big problem, and they are two different worlds, so there's no way to maintain a long-term connection."

Li Wei had also considered this question, and shook his head in denial.

"So, about that monster you mentioned..."

At this point, Her Majesty's expression became much more serious.

"Have you destroyed it?"

"He was most likely seriously injured, but he should still be alive."

Li Wei didn't hide anything. He knew why Her Majesty the Queen was so wary of this monster. Not only could it open passages to another world at will, but it could also cultivate a group of monsters, allowing them to kill humans and impersonate them. Moreover, the monster could completely control them.

Li Wei briefly told Her Majesty the Queen about the situation in Munneke, a situation that sent chills down one's spine just thinking about it.

“We must destroy it… We can’t count on the Kingdom of Krant, can we?”

"I think they definitely wouldn't agree."

Levi is now certain that the Kingdom of Krant's chimera technology originated from World B, which means they likely have some connection to that monster. Clearly, Her Majesty the Queen has also considered this. That monster seems to intend to continue its tactics in this world: to create large numbers of chimera soldiers, and then, once there are enough, to control them all.

In this way, it can conquer the entire world without bloodshed.

"I think so too."

As the Queen spoke, she took a piece of intelligence from the side and handed it over.

"Take a look at this."

Li Wei took the intelligence report, glanced at it, and then paused, momentarily stunned.

"Francis suffered a crushing defeat?"

Li Wei remembered that before he left this world, Francis was advancing triumphantly and even recovered the lost territory that had been ceded to the Kingdom of Krant. How come he suffered a crushing defeat after he went out for a while?

However, Li Wei soon saw the detailed process in the intelligence report.

In short, after Francis successfully reclaimed the lost territory, his morale soared, and he even issued the slogan "We will spend New Year's Eve in Delin". He marched straight in, while the Kingdom of Krant collapsed at the first touch, losing all its armor and weapons and being routed.

However, this was actually a scheme by the Kingdom of Krant. Their overly aggressive actions in a short period of time caused the supply lines of the Francis army to be stretched too long. Moreover, while the Francis army was focused on the front-line battle, the Kingdom of Krant did something else!

They dug a tunnel beneath the Invincible Line, then dispatched troops to emerge from behind and utterly crush it. They captured and occupied the defensive line that Francis had spent years building specifically to defend against attacks from the Kingdom of Krant!
At the same time, the Krant army, which had previously been like a coward, stopped fleeing and instead turned around to launch a counterattack against Francis!

With insufficient supplies, an overstretched battle line, and inadequate troop deployment, Francis was forced to retreat in haste.

But when they retreated to their original defensive line, which had already been occupied by Krant, they had nowhere left to retreat.

With wolves in front and tigers behind, what followed was a brutal massacre.

In just one week of fighting, Francis's army suffered nearly 300,000 casualties. Francis's army was completely routed, and now the Krant army has regrouped and is charging aggressively towards the City of Lights.

It seems it's Krant's turn to spend the New Year in the City of Lights this time.

The same situation applies to the Western Empire of Europe.

Initially, the Western European Empire, together with the Principality of Seth, clashed with the Sasha Alliance in Garcia. Since both sides were aiming for a quick victory, they went all in from the start, dispatching an army of nearly two million men to attack.

However, the outcome of the battle was unfavorable for both sides. The Sassa Alliance lost many soldiers and some territory. Although the Western European Empire annexed some territory, it was also severely damaged. Ultimately, the two sides fought to a draw, and neither achieved their goal of ending the war as quickly as possible.

The offensive launched by the Western European Empire against the Kingdom of Krant fell directly into their trap. The Second Army was completely annihilated by Krant, and the remaining troops had to retreat to their homeland, losing a considerable amount of territory.

It can be said that the Western European Empire gained less land from the Sasa Alliance than it lost to the Crontes; with one gain and one loss, it was completely outmatched.

"Actually, the reason I called you here this time is..."

The Queen had just finished reading the document and was about to say something when there was a sudden, urgent knocking at the door. She waved her hand, and a servant opened the door. A messenger, sweating profusely, rushed in and handed a telegram to the servant. The servant took the telegram and went to the Queen's side.

The Queen took the telegram, glanced at it, and showed a surprised expression.

Then, she looked at Li Wei.

"An urgent telegram has just arrived from the City of Flowers: Francis has officially announced his surrender to the Kingdom of Krant."

It seems Krant really will be spending the New Year in the City of Lights this time.

(End of this chapter)