Mr. Death in the Steam World

Moen walked to the nearest door, pushed it open, and went inside.

"Be careful!"

Emily's voice came from behind, but it was too late.

With a soft click, a teddy bear suddenly sprang from the floor and slammed straight into Moen's face.

He dodged to the side, taking two steps back, and instinctively reached out to grab the corner of the table next to him to steady himself.

But as soon as my fingers touched the corner of the table, the piece of wood suddenly turned a glaring red.

Moen's pupils contracted as he instinctively sensed danger. He instantly activated "Meow Swiftness" at full power, propelling himself backward.

The next second, a burst of fire exploded on the spot, scattering wood chips and sparks everywhere.

He fled the room, looking disheveled. Emily stood in the hallway, her hands covering her mouth, her bright blue eyes wide open.

"Miss Emily," he took a deep breath, "what's going on?"

"I'm so sorry, it was my oversight."

Emily stuck out her tongue and clasped her hands together in an apologetic gesture.

"I usually enjoy doing some crafts, so I set up some gadgets in my room."

"The room you just went into is my laboratory. It has a lot of hidden mechanisms. I forgot to remind you, I'm so sorry."

She tilted her head, then changed the subject.

"However, detective, you can't entirely blame me."

"Who told you to barge into a lady's room without asking me first? You asked for it."

Moen opened his mouth, only to find that he couldn't refute it.

"...Fine, I guess I deserve it."

"So, which rooms in this villa are your laboratories? Tell me so I can check the safe rooms first."

Emily thought about it seriously for a moment, then gave a bright smile.

"That's basically all of them."

Moen stared at her expressionlessly, while Emily returned his gaze with a grin, her eyes filled with innocence.

After a brief stalemate, he sighed resignedly.

"Miss Emily, from now on, you'll follow me and tell me what mechanisms are in each room, okay?"

"Deal!" Emily nodded vigorously.

Over the next few hours, Moen pushed open the doors one by one, carefully stepping into each room as if entering a minefield.

His caution proved to be well-founded; Emily's ingenious touches were found throughout the entire villa, and their variety was astounding.

From the feather basket hanging on the door frame, to the mechanism under the pillow that can blow the mattress away, to the tripwire in front of the wardrobe and the carpet that screams when stepped on.

Rather than searching for something, he felt more like he was navigating a meticulously designed obstacle course.

In one of the rooms, Moen crouched down to examine under the bed.

The gap under the bed was very narrow, and when the candlelight shone through, you could see a wrench stuck inside.

"Ah, that!" Emily peeked out from behind him, letting out a surprised exclamation.

"I've been looking for that wrench for ages! I guess I accidentally flicked it under the bed during the last experiment, and I just can't reach it."

"Detective, could you please get this out for me while you're at it?"

Moen glanced back at her, his face expressionless, and said:

"Sure, but it'll cost extra."

"How stingy!" Emily pouted, then waved her hand dismissively.

"Alright, alright, I'll add five more gold pounds, and you can help me retrieve the wrench."

Without saying a word, Moen bent down and put his arm under the bed.

The power of "Mouse's skillful hands" spread along his fingertips. He adjusted the angle and gently pulled the wrench out of the gap.

"Give."

Emily seemed very happy, but Moen didn't pay attention to her reaction.

His senses told him that the wrench definitely had magic.

This discovery sparked a thought in his mind: if the wrench had magic, then Emily's lost transparent dress was probably not ordinary either.

"The Eyes of Death" activated!

His vision changed in an instant; the wrench appeared as a warm, light green light in his eyes, and the flow of magic was clearly visible.

Moen's lips curled up slightly as he began to search the entire villa again with the help of the "Eye of Death".

This time, he no longer needed to search through wardrobes and drawers one by one; he only needed to stand in the center of the room and look around to see all the items that retained magical residue.

Efficiency has indeed improved significantly, but the transparent garment has still not been found.

As darkness fell, Moen spent the entire day strategizing and battling wits with Emily.

However, Emily herself remained full of energy.

She kept following Moen around, asking him all sorts of questions, until Moen couldn't take it anymore.

Finally, he took out the "Raine's Quill Pen" that the Faculty of Arts had given him and waved it in front of Emily.

He was determined to use the wonders of the contained object to completely satisfy the young lady's curiosity.

"Miss Emily, look carefully, this is a detective's tool."

After saying that, he infused a wisp of magic into the pen, and the wings at the tip of the quill pen immediately stood up.

He casually waved his hand towards the other end of the room, and an invisible force pulled his body, instantly moving him from one end of the room to the other.

"Wow!" Emily clapped her hands, her eyes shining even brighter. "That was amazing! Do it again! Do it again!"

Moen tried to swing again, and this time it went smoothly.

"Great job!" Emily gave a thumbs up. "One more time!"

Moen's lips curled up slightly, but he didn't notice that the little wings at the end of the quill were flapping several times faster than normal.

He didn't even notice that Emily, standing behind him, had a hint of a smile in her blue eyes.

"Notes on use: Continuous use within a short period of time may cause deviations in the distance and speed of movement, which may no longer meet the user's expectations."

An unexpectedly powerful force surged from the quill pen, like an invisible giant hand grabbing Moen's collar and shoving him violently toward the side wall.

Moen only had time to let out a cry of surprise before he crashed through a door and flew straight inside.

A muffled thud.

Dust flew everywhere from the impact, and he fell heavily to the floor.

"Detective!" Emily's startled cry came from outside the door, and hurried footsteps approached. "Are you alright?"

"Don't come in," Moen said in a muffled voice, clutching the back of his head.

He struggled to get up from the ground, but fortunately, after being tempered by many battles, his physical fitness was much better than when he first transmigrated.

The collision hurt, but it didn't break any bones. It just covered his jacket in dust, making him look quite disheveled.

Wait, dust?

The room had a thin layer of dust on the floor, probably because it hadn't been cleaned for a long time.

He looked down at his dusty coat, then looked up at the dust covering the ground, and suddenly had a bold idea.

"Miss Emily."

"I'm here, what's up?" Emily's curious voice came from outside the door.

Moen walked to the door and gave her a mysterious smile.

"I remember you said that garment was dustproof, right?"