Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 545 An Unsuccessful Start
After a short subway ride, Father Phillips arrived at the radio station. Looking at the tall steel building before him, Father Phillips felt a pang of melancholy. He had always thought he would spend his life in the church, never dreaming that one day he would come to such a place.

“Father Phillips, is that right? Please come with me.”

The staff outside rushed over to greet Father Phillips, who then noticed a group of reporters surrounding the radio station, some with notebooks and others with cameras. Upon his arrival, the reporters swarmed around him, bombarding him with questions.

"Father Phillips, how are you feeling today?"

What are your thoughts on radio debates?

Do you think Sir Levy's statement is sensationalism, or is it based on fact?

"Did the church really intentionally conceal the truth about the devil?"

Faced with the reporters, Father Phillips seemed somewhat at a loss. He had encountered far more people when he preached in the past, but no believers had ever rushed up and surrounded him so rudely. Their questions sounded like a jumble of screams to Father Phillips, and he couldn't understand what they were asking at all.

Fortunately, the radio staff were clearly used to this situation. He parted the crowd and led Father Phillips hurriedly into the radio station.

"Sorry, that's just how these people are, but once they get to the radio station, they can't get in."

Upon entering the radio station, the staff hurriedly apologized to Father Phillips, who, still shaken, dusted off his robes before speaking.

"Thank you. I never expected the media to be so crazy these days... If Sir Levi were here, he would probably be surrounded by them too."

As he spoke, Father Phillips sighed. Although he had never met Levi, he knew about him; in fact, few in Chongqing were unaware of Levi's story. Father Phillips felt that if he himself had been somewhat embarrassed by these reporters, the young man would likely suffer the same fate.

"Well……………"

Upon hearing Father Phillips's remark, the radio station staff member's lips twitched slightly.

"Sir Levi arrived earlier; he was already waiting for you in the recording studio."

In fact, Li Wei had arrived quite some time ago, and he even drove his flashy sports car. He attracted a lot of attention as soon as he got out of the car, and he even greeted and chatted with the reporters, posing for a few photos before leisurely walking into the radio station.

Judging from their appearance, it was as if they were out for a picnic.

However, there's no need to tell Father Phillips about these things.

"Oh? Sir Levi has already arrived? Then I'd better get ready too."

"plz follow me."

Following the staff, Father Phillips took the elevator to the recording studio on the seventh floor of the radio station. The studio was filled with all sorts of equipment. Inside the studio, Father Phillips saw Levi talking to a young and beautiful woman.

"...So if you're needed to host it at that time..."

“Ah, yes, that’s how it is… I understand, thank you, Sir Levi.”

"You are welcome."

As he spoke, Levi raised his head, looked at Father Phillips, and smiled slightly.

"Ah, this must be Father Phillips. Hello, I'm Levi."

"Hello, Sir Levi, I am Phillips."

Father Phillips shook hands with Levi, scrutinizing him carefully. To be honest, although he had heard many rumors about him and seen his photographs, meeting him in person revealed that the photos paled in comparison to the man's appearance. Moreover, Levi's demeanor was very gentle, showing absolutely no hostility…

"By the way, Father Phillips."

After shaking hands with Father Phillips, Levi turned to the young and beautiful lady.

"This is Miss Dina Rost, she is the host of this episode."

"Ah, hello, Miss Rost."

Father Phillips also shook hands with the other party.

"I saw you two chatting happily just now, what were you talking about?"

"Actually, I didn't say anything."

Upon hearing Father Phillips's question, the host blushed slightly and glanced at Levi.

"Since this was my first time hosting such a program, I was somewhat unfamiliar with it. Thanks to Sir Levi's guidance, I now know more about how the program should be done."

"I see..."

Father Phillips nodded without saying much, but at the same time a question arose in his mind.

Is it okay for a host to be given pointers by someone else?
However, this question only flashed through Father Phillips's mind for a moment. After all, he was just a priest and didn't know much about radio. Sir Levi, on the other hand, was a young man and might know more about it.

"Well then, please prepare yourselves for a moment, and we will begin immediately."

After that, Levi and Father Phillips were led into the recording studio, where everything was unfamiliar to Father Phillips. A table with three black oval ornaments on it, and a button in front of it, puzzled Father Phillips.

“This is a microphone, Father Phillips.”

At this moment, Levi also smiled and began to explain to Father Phillips.

"When the time comes, we'll need to speak into it to transmit our voices to every household. Also, don't forget that you need to press this button before you speak for your voice to be transmitted. After you finish speaking, you'll need to press it again to end the call."

“Ah, I see… Thank you, Sir Levi. I’m not quite used to these new things.”

"It's okay, that's just how the world is, it's always moving forward."

Li Wei simply smiled and said something in response to Father Phillips's thanks.

"Some things will always change, and simply resisting change won't do any good. So sometimes, we have to actively embrace change."

"…………………"

Upon hearing this, Father Phillips fell silent. He wanted to say something, but at that moment the host walked in.

"Alright, please take your seats. Sir Levi, please sit here, and Father Phillips, please sit here. This is the microphone; please press the button if you need to speak..." The host kindly explained the situation to the two men again before taking his seat in the middle. Soon, someone outside held up a sign, followed by a beeping sound.

The host then pressed the button.

"Good morning, listeners. This is the 'News Highlights' program. I am your host, Dina Rost. Today, we have invited two distinguished guests: Earl Levi, Knight of the Thistle, and Father Phillips of the Holy Lord Church."

At this point, the host turned off the microphone and looked at Father Phillips.

"Father, it's your turn."

"Huh? Ah..."

Father Phillips pressed the button somewhat hastily, then took a deep breath to calm himself down and began to speak in the tone he usually used when preaching to his congregation.

"Have a nice day, everyone. I am Father Phillips."

After speaking, Father Phillips turned off the microphone, and then it was Levi's turn.

"Hello, host, Father Phillips, and listeners, I'm Levi. Welcome to this program. I'll try my best to keep you entertained."

Compared to Father Phillips, Levi's speech was clearly more humorous, and the host chuckled in response.

Then she spoke again.

"So, let's begin today's program. As you all know, Sir Levi drew a picture book called 'The Iron Legion,' which became a sensation in the Empire, and everyone loves reading it. Moreover, the situation in it is very similar to the war we are currently facing, so everyone is quite concerned. However, in the latest issue of 'The Iron Legion,' Sir Levi put forward a theory—he claims that the demons are not actually those heretics who were defeated by the Holy Lord, but a real and terrifying race."

As he spoke, the host looked at Li Wei.

"Sir Levy, could you explain to everyone why you have this idea?"

"Thank you, host."

Li Wei took over the conversation, leaning back in his chair with a rather leisurely air.

"Actually, this is also related to my profession."

"Is that right?"

"That's right. Actually, I'm going to tell you a little secret here, which is that detectives and police officers are actually very suspicious."

"suspicious?"

"That's right. Simply put, we will not believe either the suspect or the victim."

"Huh? Why is that?"

Upon hearing this, the host asked in surprise, while Li Wei chuckled.

"At first glance, this might seem illogical. Why should the victim's words be questioned? But in fact, this is the case for many victims in various cases. Let me give you an example: suppose there's a man named Xiaoshuai, and another man named Dazhuang…"

"???"

Although they didn't know why Li Wei started telling stories, the two of them continued listening.

"One day, Xiao Shuai was beaten up by Da Zhuang, and then the police intervened and naturally arrested Da Zhuang, since Xiao Shuai was the victim, right? During the questioning, Xiao Shuai claimed that Da Zhuang had provoked him first, and he didn't want to cause trouble, so he tried to leave without paying attention to him. But when Da Zhuang saw Xiao Shuai trying to leave, he grabbed him and beat him up. Just from these descriptions, don't you think Da Zhuang is a violent and reckless man?"

"That's true..."

"But Dazhuang has a different version of events. He claims that Xiaoshuai provoked him first, and he originally wanted to endure it and leave. But Xiaoshuai wouldn't let it go and even insulted his family, so Dazhuang couldn't stand it and beat him up."

At this point, Li Wei looked at the two of them.

"So, you two, who do you think is right?"

"this…………………"

Faced with Levi's question, neither the host nor Father Phillips could answer for a moment. And it seemed like both of them had a point, didn't they?
"But the truth is that Dazhuang provoked Xiaoshuai first. After provoking him, he wanted to leave. Then Xiaoshuai got angry and cursed at Dazhuang. He even tried to hit Dazhuang first, but he couldn't beat Dazhuang and ended up being knocked down by Dazhuang."

At this point, Li Wei spread his hands.

"Look, this is the truth. The fact is, both sides only said what was in their favor. Xiao Shuai didn't say that he also talked back, and that he even started the fight. Da Zhuang, on the other hand, concealed the fact that he was the one who provoked first. So you see, this is an example where neither side's account is credible."

"But... but why would Xiaoshuai lie?"

"Because people always want to convince themselves that they are right."

Li Wei shrugged.

"Everyone hopes that others are the perfect criminals and they are the perfect victims, as if the perpetrator must be vicious and the victim must be innocent. But unfortunately, that only happens in novels. In reality, the victim is not necessarily innocent, and the perpetrator is not necessarily vicious. There is a saying that goes, 'The pitiful have their hateful aspects, and the hateful have their pitiful aspects.' That's exactly the case."

"...What a philosophical statement! Did you come up with it, Sir Levy?"

"It's an old saying, not something I came up with."

Li Wei chuckled.

"But we've strayed from the topic, so let's get back to the main point."

Upon hearing this, Father Phillips sat up straight, his nerves on edge. At the same time, his palms were sweating. He wasn't unfamiliar with debate; he knew he had fallen into Levi's trap. His story about the strong young man wasn't just a casual remark. Clearly, he was using it to tell others that no one's opinion is necessarily correct—not even the Holy Bishop.

I should have spoken first.

At this moment, Father Phillips silently regretted his actions. If he had spoken first, he would have cited numerous sources and argued from various angles that Livy's statement was wrong. In that case, Livy would have had to respond to his questions, instead of being suppressed in the process.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The situation is now very unfavorable for Father Phillips.

(End of this chapter)