Mr. Death in the Steam World

Mr. Baker stopped writing on the blackboard, turned around and looked at the students below, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Students, cover your mouth and nose with your sleeves and don't cough towards others."

After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but turn her head and cough twice.

Moen frowned.

He noticed that a thin, small boy sitting in the first row near the door was coughing particularly badly, and his whole body was trembling.

Ms. Baker noticed the boy's condition, put down the chalk, walked over, bent down, and touched his forehead.

Her expression changed slightly, and she quickly walked to the door and called out into the corridor.

A short while later, a man in overalls rushed over, helped the boy up from his seat, and carried him out of the classroom.

Moen watched the boy being led away, his unease growing stronger.

This season is not the peak season for the flu.

He stood in the corridor for about twenty minutes until the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

Mr. Baker closed his textbook and announced the end of get out of class. The children rushed out of their seats, and the classroom suddenly became lively.

Clara pushed open the door and saw Moen leaning against the windowsill.

"Brother? You haven't left yet?"

"Just passing by, thought I'd check out your class." Moen reached out and patted her head. "Do you understand the math lesson?"

"Yes! I understood most of it. Mr. Baker explained it very clearly, but there are a few questions I need to go back and think about again..."

Clara was speaking when she suddenly seemed to remember something, reached out and tugged at Moen's sleeve, lowering her voice to say...

"Hey bro, haven't you noticed that a lot of people in our class are sick lately?"

Moen's heart tightened. "What do you mean?"

"It'll happen in the next few days." She counted on her fingers.

"Annie took the day off on Monday, saying she had a fever."

"Philip didn't come to school on Tuesday. His mother came to the school to get his homework, saying he was coughing so badly he couldn't sleep all night."

"You saw it today, Tommy was coughing so badly that he had to be sent home."

She paused, looked up at Moen, and a hint of worry appeared in her light brown eyes.

"Ms. Baker has been coughing a lot, and I'm a little worried about her."

"And what about you? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Is your throat itchy? Are you dizzy?"

Clara thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. My nose was a little stuffy when I woke up this morning, but it was fine after I drank some milk."

Moen reached out and touched her forehead; there was nothing wrong.

"Listen to me, Clara," he said, his tone becoming serious, "starting today, remember to cover your mouth and nose when you go to and from school."

"If someone coughs at you at school, try to stay away. The first thing you should do when you get home is wash your hands, remember?"

Clara blinked, not quite understanding why her brother had suddenly become so serious, but she still nodded obediently.

"Also, I'll take you to the hospital later for a checkup."

"The hospital?" Her face immediately fell. "But brother, I'm really not sick..."

"Even if you're not sick, you should still get checked. That's called prevention," Moen said firmly. "Listen to me."

Clara pursed her lips, but finally responded.

Moen waved goodbye, still feeling somewhat uneasy.

I must take Clara to the hospital tomorrow, no, it would be best to go this afternoon.

In case it really is some kind of infectious disease, getting tested earlier will provide more protection.

As he walked, the hair clip Phils had given him started to get hot in his pocket, and he realized that Lily's matter hadn't been resolved yet.

It was getting late, so he immediately flagged down a carriage and headed to Wonderland Paradise.

Phils stood beside the huge tree-hole archway at the entrance to the park, holding Lily's hand, and whispering something to her.

Moen jumped off the carriage and walked quickly over.

"Good afternoon, Miss Ignis. Has everything been taken care of?"

Phils changed her clothes today. Instead of the deep red uniform jacket she wore when they met in the maze, she wore a light gray casual dress with simple lace trim on the cuffs and collar.

If it weren't for her striking silver-white long hair and signature red headband, Moen would have almost not recognized her.

She pulled Moen aside and whispered in his ear:

"Well, all she remembers now is getting lost in a cave next to the amusement park, and then being found by a kind older sister, and taking a nap in the infirmary."

"It's that simple?"

"It's that simple." Her tone carried a hint of smugness.

"Saint Alice's memory processing skills are among the best in the world. Not to mention a seven-year-old girl, even a determined adult cannot distinguish between reality and illusion."

Moen glanced at Lily, the little girl tilting her head and looking him up and down.

"Lily, do you remember me?"

Lily blinked, thought seriously for a few seconds, and then shook her head.

"I don't know you, but my sister said you're a good person and that you've come to take Lily home."

Moen couldn't help but chuckle at this Phils.

"Yes, I'm here to take you home. Your mother is waiting for you at home, and she's very worried."

As soon as Lily heard the word "Mom," her eyes lit up and a big smile spread across her face.

"Really? Lily can go home now?"

"Really, let's go now."

Hearing this, Lily happily stretched out her two little arms to Moen, indicating that she wanted him to hug her.

Moen paused for a moment, then glanced at Phils subconsciously. Phils pursed her lips, looking like she was watching a good show.

He resignedly picked up Lily and found that she was lighter than he had imagined.

Moen looked a little embarrassed. It was a strange feeling; he couldn't quite put his finger on why, but it just made him feel uneasy.

Phils finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Mr. Marcus, your expression is quite amusing."

"Shut up," Moen said expressionlessly. "Lead the way and call a carriage."

Phils laughed even harder.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon when the carriage stopped in front of Coleman's house.

Martha probably saw them through the window and rushed out without even putting on her shoes properly.

"Lily—!"

Martha snatched her daughter from Phils's arms, hugged her tightly to her chest, buried her face in Lily's little shoulder, and her shoulder trembled violently.

Lily was awakened by the noise. She opened her eyes groggily, saw her mother's face, paused for a moment, and then reached out her little hand to wipe away the tears on her face.

"Mommy, don't cry, Lily is back."

Martha cried even harder.

Moen and Phils stood aside, neither of them making a sound to disturb them.

Once Martha had calmed down a bit, Moen knelt down and began to speak, using the same line that Phils had taught him.

"Ms. Coleman, your daughter was found in a cave next to Wonderland Park."

His tone was calm and confident, full of the self-assurance a detective should have.

"She probably got lost and stumbled into that cave. There are many forks in the road inside, and it took us two days to find her."

"She was a bit frightened and hasn't been eating or sleeping well these past few days, but she's physically fine and will recover after a few days of rest."

Martha looked up at him with teary eyes, her lips trembling, and it took her a long time to squeeze out a sentence.

"The cave...that cave, the police went to look for it..."

Moen answered without changing his expression.

"I'm a private investigator, and my methods for finding people are a bit different from theirs."

The cave he mentioned actually exists; it's located on the hillside east of Wonderland Park. He had heard the park's staff mention it before.

As for how the police found them, it's impossible for Martha, an ordinary factory worker, to go to the police to verify such details.

Even if someone were to be serious, the caves have a complex network of side passages, and it's common to miss things during a search; no one could really say anything about it.

Martha didn't press the matter further.

Her heart and soul were now completely focused on her daughter, whom she had just found again, and she had no time to worry about such trivial matters.

She stood up, holding Lily, hastily wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, and bowed deeply to Moen and Phils.

"Mr. Marcus, madam, thank you, thank you so much..."

She pulled a worn-out wallet from her pocket, and with trembling fingers, poured out all the money inside.

Besides the agreed-upon final payment, there were also a few crumpled coins and a few copper coins. All these odds and ends added up to more than her monthly salary.

"This is the agreed-upon final payment, and these too—all of this is yours. I know it's not enough, but I can raise more. I'll do it after I get my salary next month—"

"Ms. Coleman." Moen reached out and took the agreed-upon final payment from the pile of coins, leaving the rest untouched.

"The agreed-upon amount is the agreed-upon amount; I won't take a penny more."

Martha was stunned: "But you—"

Moen pushed the remaining money back into her hand:

"Keep this money safe. Just use it to buy Lily some good food to help her recover. The child has suffered a lot these past few days."

Martha clutched the returned money and forcefully wiped her eyes.

"Mr. Marcus, I will definitely tell everyone about your situation."

"The women in the factory, the neighbors, everyone!"

"You're a good man, and your detective agency is the most trustworthy place in all of Kansas City!"

Moen smiled slightly.

"Thank you very much, Ms. Coleman. Your words are more valuable than anything else."

He wasn't just being polite; Marcus Detective Agency had only been open for less than half a month, and what it lacked most was a good reputation.

Just as Martha pushed open the door and walked them to the side of the street, she suddenly covered her mouth and coughed softly twice.