Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 73 Breaking the Impasse (Now Available! Please vote with monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!)

One minute ago, in the Imperial Bridge control room.

Are you sure this thing won't suddenly fall down?

Standing at the window, looking at the bridge deck rising upwards, Anthony spoke with a cynical smile.

"I can't imagine what kind of force could lift such a heavy thing... This bridge can't be made of wood, can it?"

"of course not."

The burly engineer staring at the control panel was clearly very dissatisfied with Anthony, but he still suppressed his temper and answered his questions. After all, the other party was there to investigate, and he couldn't refuse to cooperate.

"Can you tell me?"

"We use a hydraulic system, which generates high-pressure water from a reservoir, and a steam pump pumps the water from the reservoir into the hydraulic system to erect the bridge deck."

"What if the lifting device malfunctions?"

"We have a backup emergency system designed so that if the pressure is lost, the bridge deck will automatically lock in its current position until we have completed the repairs..."

"beep-----!"

However, before the engineer could finish speaking, a sharp, piercing alarm sounded and a flashing red light appeared instantly, making the atmosphere in the control room tense.

"What's wrong? What happened!"

"The bridge is automatically depressurizing, and very quickly!"

The employee in front of the control panel stared wide-eyed in surprise at the console and shouted.

"How is that possible? Is there a problem with the hydraulic system?"

"I...I don't know..."

"Close it! Lock it..."

The engineer hurriedly tried to issue orders, but Anthony didn't care about that at the moment. He simply turned on the walkie-talkie and shouted.

"Boss, run—!"

"boom!"

However, before Anthony could finish speaking, two bridge sections, each weighing thousands of tons, crashed down with a deafening roar, slamming into the river. Instantly, a torrent of water shot skyward, even spraying directly onto the control room windows, soaking Anthony completely before he could react.

But he couldn't care less about any of that now. He rushed out of the control room and took out his walkie-talkie.

"Big guy! Watch your surroundings! Find the boss and the young lady!"

A moment later, the bridge deck rose again and closed once more. The control room was in complete chaos. Clearly, they hadn't expected the Imperial Bridge to actually malfunction. However, Anthony was too preoccupied with the situation to care about them. He knew the situation would be quickly escalated, and what would happen next... that was none of his concern.

Henry's steamboat was far enough away from Levy and his companions that it wasn't affected, but even so, the waves generated when the bridge planks fell almost capsized his little steamboat. However, Henry didn't care about that at the moment; he simply wiped the water off his face and sped off towards the bottom of the bridge.

After all, anyone who swims knows that even in the water, being hit like that will either kill you or knock you unconscious, and once you're unconscious, you're likely to drown. Therefore, Henry now hopes to find Levi and Katie as soon as possible and rescue them.

But the river was unusually dark at night, and there were no searchlights around. Henry could only rely on the small lights on the steamboat to search around on the river while shouting loudly.

However, it was all for naught.

Li Wei and Katie seemed to have vanished into thin air, disappearing without a trace.

Where did they go?

If Li Wei knew what the two were thinking at that moment, he would say one thing—they are on the bridge!

That's right, right on the Empire Bridge!
As the two plunged into the river, a tremendous force swept over them. But this wasn't the end. Immediately afterward, Levi and Katie felt a powerful suction force rising from underwater, pulling them towards the depths. However, at that moment, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The two people who were sinking were suddenly thrown out of the water and landed heavily on the ground. When they opened their eyes, what came into view was the tower of the Imperial Bridge.

"Ugh... What's going on?"

Katie looked at the Empire Bridge with a puzzled expression.

"Didn't we just sink into the water? How did we end up on the bridge?"

"Perhaps it's because this Imperial Bridge is not the same Imperial Bridge as before."

As Li Wei spoke, he quickly scanned his surroundings. He remembered clearly that the surrounding banks had been brightly lit before, and the buildings of the Fog City could be clearly seen. However, now, looking from the bridge, everything around him was covered by thick fog, as if there was nothing in the world except for the fog and the bridge.

at the same time………

"The Imperial Bridge has collapsed, collapsed, collapsed, the Imperial Bridge has collapsed, my beautiful lady..."

"Alas---?"

Upon hearing the singing, Katie trembled.

"Who, who is singing?"

"You'll see when you look up."

Although Levi was also terrified, he suppressed his fear and calmly replied. Hearing Levi's answer, Katie instinctively looked up at the top of the tower, and then she was completely stunned.

The two enormous towers that stood in the river had now come to life!
Yes, it's alive!
Like anthropomorphized objects in an animated film, the searchlights on the tower became eyes, and the archways became mouths, opening and closing, emitting shouts like a little girl playing a game. "What, what is this?!"

For Katie, monsters, though ugly, were acceptable. Ghosts, while frightening, were at least stories she'd heard since childhood. But a tower coming to life and becoming like a human was something she simply couldn't comprehend! After all, animation didn't exist in this era; how could she possibly have imagined such a thing?
Or rather... what exactly is this thing?!

However, Katie soon had no time to worry about such things.

At that moment, the bridge beneath their feet trembled once more, and then the auxiliary bridges on both sides of the tower were seen raised high like arms. As for their target, it was all too obvious!
"Katie, give me the model!"

Upon hearing Levi's command, Katie instinctively handed over the model case she had been clutching tightly. Levi then opened the case and swept his hands across it. The two towering "arms" were now raised high, and with the final words, "My beautiful lady," they crashed down upon Levi and Katie!
Faced with such an attack, the two had no way to avoid it, but an unexpected scene unfolded.

Just as the two towers' "arms" slammed down, Li Wei suddenly opened his right hand and swung it to the side. With his movement, the two towers' "arms" changed direction and struck the opposite tower directly!

"Ugh...! What are you doing?!"

"I did not do it on purpose!"

The two towers immediately began to wail, like two children arguing.

Then they shifted their gaze and looked at Li Wei.

"It's him, it's him, the bad guy!"

"He doesn't want to follow the rules!"

"call……………"

Levi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, staring at the tower before him. He was extremely glad that he had the foresight to have Katie bring this model over. Now, through his [Soul Vision], Levi had discovered that the red light on the model was completely integrated with the Imperial Bridge. In other words, the model and the Imperial Bridge were mutually influencing each other!

Fortunately, as a puppeteer, he can manipulate those small objects!
Although he cannot control the entire bridge, he can influence some of the bridge's movements by manipulating the model!
As for destroying the model... Levi had already tried, but this seemingly exquisite model, which looked like it would break at the slightest touch, was actually exceptionally sturdy, and even bullets couldn't leave even the slightest mark on it.

"You bastard, get out!"

At that moment, the two towers shouted loudly again.

"This game doesn't want cheaters! We won't play with you!"

Shouting, the two towers raised their "arms" again, trying to make Li Wei "quit" the game. Unfortunately for them, being a despicable adult, Li Wei wouldn't do what these kids said. Kids need a good beating!

Staring at the two towers' raised arms again, a cold glint flashed in Li Wei's eyes. Then he opened his right hand again and stretched it forward.

As he moved, the arms of the two towers stretched forward as if pulled by an invisible hand, then intertwined like noodles, tightly entwined together!
"Huh? Huh? Why can't I move?"

"It hurts! Let go!"

"You're the one who should let go!"

Li Wei, too lazy to care about the argument between the two towers, quickly stood up and spoke.

"let's go!"

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"Go and kill those two towers."

As he spoke, Li Wei looked up at the two towers that were arguing like children.

Inside the two towers, two gleaming red dots, like hearts, were constantly pulsating.

That's their goal!

"go!"

"Ah, um..."

The two towers were arguing and had no time to worry about him, which presented the perfect opportunity. Without hesitation, Li Wei ran towards the bridge arch. Katie hurriedly followed beside him. The two passed through the bridge, which trembled like a tongue, and arrived at the constantly opening and closing arch.

The bridge arch, which should have been incredibly sturdy, was now as soft as a human mouth, constantly opening and closing, emitting piercing screams and complaints.

In an animated film, this might be a very cute scene. But Levi had no time to appreciate it at the moment; he sped up and rushed inside with Katie in tow.

"Go this way!"

Fortunately, Levi had visited the Imperial Bridge before and even used his puppet to thoroughly survey it. Therefore, he was very familiar with the tower's internal structure. After entering the bridge arch, Levi led Katie towards the emergency staircase—although there was an elevator, considering the current state of the object's animation, Levi felt it was better not to court death.

In fact, the same is true now.

"Hey, be gentle!"

“It hurts so much, it hurts so much!”

As the two rushed up the steps, the steel steps beneath their feet seemed to groan and complain. However, Levi and Katie didn't apologize, because…

"Intruder, get out!"

A giant gear suddenly leaped off the wall, hurtling straight at Levi. Katie, however, swiftly stepped forward, clenched her fist, and unleashed a powerful punch, instantly knocking the giant gear aside!
"Leave it to me, Detective!"

For the two of them, there was clearly only one way to get out of this strange situation.

　I don't really have much to say even if it's released. I hope everyone will support it. I won't post a release message, since it's been the same for so many years anyway...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)