Mr. Death in the Steam World

Moen walked out of the classroom and found Phil squatting outside the door.

"Moen! How exactly did you make that Dragon's Breath Elixir?"

"No, I mean—where have you been these past few days?"

"Something happened at home."

Moen gave a perfunctory reply, which served as a perfect opportunity to elaborate.

"Hey Phil, speaking of which, have you seen Professor Leonard recently?"

"Professor Leonard?"

Distracted by Moen's words, Phil scratched his head.

"Now that you mention it, it seems like we haven't seen him for a while. The school said he took a long leave of absence."

Do you know when he last appeared?

Phil frowned and thought for a moment.

"It must have been about ten days. That night I was helping the instructor move equipment and I was leaving late when I ran into him coming out of his office."

A hint of unease flashed across his face.

"Don't even mention it. He was deathly pale and walking unsteadily. I even kindly asked him if he needed to go to the infirmary, and he said something to me..."

"What did you say?"

"Leave me alone, or don't look for me," I can't quite remember.

Phil shrank his neck.

"Anyway, it was pretty scary, so I didn't dare ask any more questions."

Moen patted Phil on the shoulder.

Thanks.

"Why are you asking this?" Phil asked, looking puzzled. "Has something happened?"

"It's nothing," Moen shook his head. "I just have some things I'd like to ask him."

Phil looked at him with some skepticism, feeling that his friend seemed to have some secrets after just a few days apart.

After saying goodbye to Phil, Moen spent several more hours wandering around the college, inquiring about Professor Leonard.

Most people knew nothing about it when asked. A few had heard about Professor Leonard's disappearance, but those were just hearsay versions.

None of the claims, such as "the pressure was too much and I went back to my hometown" or "I was poached by another school," are plausible.

Until he found an old professor with gray hair.

"Leonard..." The old professor pushed up his glasses, as if recalling something from a long time ago.

"That kid loved to tinker when he was young, always researching random things."

"A few months ago, he somehow got hold of a seed and treasured it like it was his life, watering and fertilizing it every day, just like raising a child."

Moen's eyes lit up; he felt he had discovered the key point.

"What kind of seed?"

"I don't know, I didn't look closely."

The old professor shook his head.

"Anyway, that thing disappeared later, and he became strange and eccentric."

This is getting more and more interesting. Is it a cult? Or supernatural power?

"The information at hand is still too limited," Moen pressed, asking further.

"Professor, do you know where Professor Leonard went before he disappeared?"

The old professor thought for a moment.

"The old chemistry building, I think. He kept going there during that period, saying he wanted to find a quiet place to do experiments."

Moen remembered the name. He sat on the bench and went through the information he had gathered that day in his mind.

Professor Leonard has disappeared. Before he disappeared, he received a seed.

After that, he started acting strangely, his face turned pale, and he often went to the old chemistry building to do so-called experiments.

Finally, one evening he emerged from his office acting suspiciously and disappeared.

When these fragments are pieced together, they point to a disturbing conclusion.

He needs to go and take a look at the old chemistry building.

Moen patiently waited until midnight, when all was quiet, before setting off.

The old chemistry building is at least thirty years older than the main teaching building; the walls are damaged and the windows are covered with a thick layer of dust.

A sign in front of the building reads "Dangerous Building, Do Not Enter". The main door is locked with an iron chain, but a window on the side is broken, just big enough for one person to squeeze through.

Moen looked around to make sure no one was there, then climbed through the window.

The corridor was dark, and by the moonlight and Shunlai's kerosene lamp, one could barely see the way.

As you walk down the corridor, the wooden floorboards creak and groan under your feet.

If the professor had indeed conducted experiments here before, he would surely have left something behind.

Moen searched each floor, but all the rooms were empty and there was nothing unusual.

Up to the third floor.

At the end of the corridor on the third floor, there is a door. The label on the door is no longer legible, but a faint smell wafts from the crack in the door.

The smell was faint, like something rotting, or like... the scent of flowers.

The scent of flowers?

Moen frowned and carefully pushed open the door.

The room was more chaotic than he had imagined; the table was overturned on the floor, and the chairs were broken into pieces.

There were many papers scattered on the ground with writing on them. He was just about to pick them up to read when he suddenly noticed something move in the corner.

It looks like a cat.

The cat was almost twice the size of a normal cat, with gray-black fur and eerie dark red eyes.

The strange cat crouched in the corner, staring at Moen, making a low purring sound in its throat.

Moen's hair stood on end.

The cat's gaze didn't seem to be looking at a creature larger than itself at all; if you had to describe it, it looked like a predator sizing up its prey.

Noticing his gaze, the strange cat let out a hoarse cry and pounced quickly.

Moen barely managed to dodge, the cat's claws grazing his shoulder and leaving deep claw marks on the wall.

Before he could even be surprised, the cat pounced again, and he grabbed a fallen table leg from the ground to shield himself.

The cat's paw slammed into the wood, breaking the table leg in two.

"Damn it—"

Moen quickly retreated, pressing his back firmly against the wall to protect his vitals.

The strange cat approached him step by step, licking its lips as if enjoying the fear of its prey.

He remained calm; he had anticipated that this trip to the old chemistry building wouldn't be so simple, so...

He reached into his pocket and quickly found the test tubes he had prepared beforehand.

Thanks to Professor Pip, that was the Dragon's Breath extract he extracted in the lab during the day.

Although the concentration is not high, if it is splashed on a vital spot, it will definitely be enough to make this cat drink a lot.

The strange cat shrieked and pounced again. He stared intently at the cat's movements, a mad smile creeping across his lips.

Just as the cat's paw was about to strike him, he suddenly crouched down, sliding sideways along the ground.

"Meow!?"

The cat flew in an arc over his head and crashed straight into the wall.

Taking advantage of the cat's slight dizziness, he turned around, unscrewed the test tube, and splashed the acid out.

"You like to bark, you like to bark, so you like to bark so much, I'll reward you with a big one!"

"Meow--!"

The acid splashed all over the cat's face, and it let out a piercing scream, shaking its head frantically.

Its dark red eyes were half-open, with one eye completely shut.

In its excruciating pain, it instinctively lunged at Moen again, even faster than before.

Moen had no time to dodge and, in desperation, could only barely use his hands to block the claw strikes.

With a tearing sound, the cat's claws left several deep holes in his arm.