Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 100 A great harvest
After that, the people in the manor also saw the smoke and sent people to search for it. They met up with Levi and Olivia and brought the two back to the manor.

Li Wei went back and had a big meal, took a shower, and slept. Only then did he leisurely sit in the outdoor pavilion, drinking tea and opening the system to check his gains this time.

[The Mystery of the Curse Completed]

[Time consumed: s]

Survey efficiency: S

[Impact/Effect: S]

Overall Rating: SSS

[Lifespan +200, additional +100]

The rewards this time are quite generous.

Li Wei was somewhat surprised. Although he knew that high-difficulty cases usually came with generous rewards, this case's reward was clearly excessive. In fact, in terms of severity, Li Wei felt this case wasn't even as good as the Imperial Bridge case, but upon reflection, he could understand it.

The Imperial Bridge incident involved prior intervention, and Her Majesty the Queen herself was not in danger. However, this time, Olivia herself was facing a life-threatening situation, which is indeed different from the emergency situation.

Hmm, it seems Li Wei has grasped another systemic pattern. Clearly, the difficulty of a case is directly related to the degree of threat posed by the target mission itself.

Of course, it also has to do with their status. The socialites and students of the Imperial Academy are clearly not as prestigious as Her Majesty the Queen and the descendants of the Twelve Knights.

I never expected that your system would also be so materialistic and prejudiced against the poor.

Li Wei silently complained to himself before continuing to read on.

[Special Reward: Choose any physical attribute and increase its value by 10 (maximum cap 90)]

This reward is far more important than Li Wei realized.

In Li Wei's system, attributes are divided into [Physical Attributes] and [Skill Attributes]. [Physical Attributes] are obviously the numerical values ​​of Li Wei's own physical attributes. [Skill Attributes] are the numerical values ​​of the skills Li Wei knows. Then there are [Special Skills], which are similar to superpowers, such as [Death Eye], [Soul Vision], [Shadow Movement], and [Puppeteer].

Special skills can be improved through repeated use, and skill attributes can be enhanced through self-learning. However, improving physical attributes is much more difficult. While constitution and strength can perhaps be improved through persistent training, how can physical stats like agility, intelligence, and perception be improved?

Despite experiencing so many events and going through so much hardship in this world, Li Wei's physical attributes haven't improved even slightly.

It's worth noting that such a good reward didn't even appear in the Imperial Bridge quest, yet it came to Olivia... Hmm, it's possible that only beings of the Twelve Knights' caliber can obtain this reward. Assuming other Knights' descendants also trigger the quest, the Empire currently only has six, so they'd get a maximum of 60 points.

Therefore, in Li Wei's view, this bonus should be used well.

There are two ways to use this bonus right now.

One approach is the "weakest link in a barrel" principle: address the shortest section.

Another approach is the extreme skill point allocation commonly used by gamers, where all points are allocated to the maximum level without considering anything else.

Li Wei's lowest physical attributes are currently [Strength] and [Constitution]. In Li Wei's view, [Constitution] is probably related to one's own defense—or to put it more directly, one's ability to withstand blows.

For example, Katie's punch used to reduce his life by five days, but after adding [Constitution], it might only reduce it by three days... That's roughly the situation.

The same applies to [Strength]; it's basically related to close-range striking ability.

However, neither of these two options would significantly improve Li Wei's performance.

He has now realized that unless one possesses strength comparable to Katie's, close-quarters combat with those monsters is virtually impossible to inflict any damage. And for him to reach Katie's level of power, it's probably... not a possibility for the foreseeable future.

Or rather, he won't need to think about it for a long time. Li Wei's previous skill choices were all about playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses, relying entirely on mid-to-long-range attacks, so the [Constitution] bonus wasn't very meaningful for him.

[Appearance] has reached its limit; it's basically capped. Adding [Charm] doesn't seem worthwhile to Li Wei, especially considering his previous failed attempts at persuasion, which taught him that most bosses, especially those at the end of a level, are likely immune to charm. Furthermore, [Charm] is currently at 85; even if he raises it to 90, it will only add 5 points, a waste of those points, which is pointless.

The remaining options were [Agility], [Intelligence], [Willpower], and [Perception]... Li Wei pondered for a moment, drank another cup of tea, and finally chose — [Intelligence].

The reason is simple: who wouldn't want to be a little smarter?
Intelligence attribute increased by 10, up to 80.

[Gain additional skills — Library]

[Library: 60 (For you who are immersed in the ocean of knowledge, learning is a joy) (Adds the trait "Photographic Memory", with a certain chance to learn and improve other skill values)]

Hmm, that's a good skill.

Looking at the improved skill attributes, Li Wei nodded in satisfaction. After all, he had seen those academic superstars with photographic memories before; things that ordinary people had to painstakingly memorize, they could remember at a glance. Back then, Li Wei especially envied the abilities of these academic superstars, even though he himself was considered to have outstanding grades and ranked among the top students in school.

But... if learning could be so easy, who would want to spend day and night memorizing and reciting?

This thing, like good looks, is something you're born with. But at least good looks can be enhanced with plastic surgery, while brain surgery can't give you the ability to be a genius, right?

Li Wei has decided that once he returns to the Fog City, he will go to the Imperial Library and thoroughly enjoy the pleasures of being a top student. Moreover, for a detective, knowledge of history, geography, and natural sciences is always welcome; the more, the better. Memorizing it all will only benefit Li Wei.

Of course, math is an exception. If you don't know math, you just don't know it, no matter what (┓(`)┏)
Li Wei waved his hand, and the system, understanding the situation, disappeared on its own. He then sat down, drank another cup of tea, and picked up a scone. The maid beside him hurriedly stepped forward and carefully poured Li Wei another cup of tea, all the while watching him with a thrill of excitement.

Livy was having brunch, but Olivia was still busy cleaning up the mess—the matter was indeed over. But over didn't mean it was over. While old Baskerville was undoubtedly the murderer, according to Livy's deduction, the Luddites were the real masterminds.

Given Olivia's personality, it would be a sign of madness for her to let these people go!

So Olivia began to promote the mechanization of agriculture with steam, and at the same time, she began to investigate Luddites. In particular, she investigated the man who had previously guarded the cemetery; if old Baskerville was not lying, he had buried the baby's body under a tree, and then it was moved to the ancestral tomb.

Only the head of the family and the tomb keeper possessed the keys to the ancestral tombs. Therefore, either the tomb keeper's key was stolen, or the tomb keeper was a Luddite and in league with those who had misled Sir Baskerville.

But Olivia didn't care about that. She wanted to investigate thoroughly!
The person who guarded the tomb back then is long dead, but his family members are still alive!
These local lords were basically local emperors, far removed from the central government, and could do whatever they wanted. Following this lead, they actually uncovered a few die-hard Luddites, which was somewhat of a relief for Olivia.

The Baskerville family had many matters to attend to, and as an outsider, it wasn't appropriate for Levi to remain. So, after bidding farewell to Olivia, he left. Olivia was extremely grateful to Levi; after all, he had helped the Baskerville family resolve the curse and even uncovered a nearly lost family secret.

This kind of credit certainly can't be repaid with just a meal.

So Olivia directly expressed her feelings.

Ten thousand pounds!

And it's after tax!
It must be said that Levi was quite surprised to receive this money. He could only conclude that she was truly wealthy. Of course, in this era, for a powerful noble family like the Baskervilles, an annual income of twenty or thirty thousand pounds was considerable. Olivia's ability to produce so much money at once clearly demonstrated that the Baskervilles were indeed very rich.

Li Wei readily accepted the money. The local system differed from the foggy one; previously, the money Li Wei received had to go through official channels. For example, the bounty for the socialite assassin was offered by the city hall. Later, the reward for the Imperial Bridge was a royal gift, so it couldn't be much.

However, for local lords like the Baskerville family, a large portion of their annual income comes from real estate, not including profits from their investments in trusts and factories—all of which are entirely private property. Therefore, Olivia can give them as much as she wants without needing to report to the city hall or consult with the council for permission.

So from this perspective, it's much easier for local nobles to spend money than for the royal family. If the royal family were to give Livy 10,000 pounds, the procedures alone would probably take a year—some people are just jealous of others making money, so what's wrong with them blocking you?

As for the money Li Wei received, he wasn't afraid to take it. Li Wei and MI7 already had a cooperative relationship; publicly, he was an advisor, but his primary profession was detective work. The money Olivia gave Li Wei was simply payment for a detective's services, which was perfectly reasonable and logical.

After that, Li Wei bid farewell to Olivia and then drove his car back to the Fog City.

He couldn't wait to experience the power of a top student.

　It's getting hotter and hotter these days. How's the weather where you are?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)