Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 32 No martial ethics
Betty was very fast. Levi only felt a blur before his eyes, and then the dark figure had already covered his vision.

If it were anyone else, they would probably just close their eyes and wait to die at this point.

Fortunately, Li Wei was prepared for this. He stared at the figure, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Death Eyes!

At that moment, time seemed to slow down dramatically. Li Wei raised his gun, aimed at the girl before him, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang bang!!"

Gunshots rang out, and Betty and Maggie's heads snapped back as if they'd been punched in the face. Taking advantage of the opening, Levi darted into a nearby alley.

The alley was almost completely dark. Various metal pipes lined the brick walls, humming and spewing out plumes of hot steam even in the still of the night. The surroundings were damp. Li Wei, head down and one hand on the brim of his hat, sprinted through the alley as fast as he could.

He could hear roars like wild beasts, the sound of wind breaking, and footsteps coming from behind him. But Li Wei didn't turn around to drive away; instead, he continued forward, passing through alley after alley, weaving between thick metal steam pipes.

Finally, he stopped.

Because the road ahead is a dead end.

“Really, Mr. Li Wei, this is not good.”

Betty's voice rang out again. Levi turned his head and saw the girl, as light as a ghost, gracefully descending from the steam pipes and landing in front of him. Immediately afterward, a dark figure, using all four limbs like a wild beast, crawled out from a crack in the alley and crouched beside Betty.

Without even looking closely, Li Wei knew who the dark figure was.

"To be honest, I don't understand it at all."

Li Wei sighed.

"What exactly do you want to do, Miss Betty? You and Mrs. Clarty, what exactly do you want to do?"

What do we want to do?

Betty chuckled softly.

"I think you've misunderstood, Detective. You might think that we're behind all this, that we're playing tricks, performing some strange and evil rituals... just like those cultists, right?"

"Is not it?"

"of course."

Betty shook her head.

“Detective, this isn’t something we want to do; it’s just how history is. This world is what it is, and it is you who have made it the way it is today. We are merely going with the flow, just as seagulls use the wind and waves to fly, but they don’t create the wind and waves themselves… Therefore, your accusations against us are wrong. We simply recognized the existence of the wind and waves earlier than you and spread our wings to welcome their arrival.”

"Interesting statement."

Levi stared at Betty, who stood motionless, blocking his only escape route.

"Could you explain this to me in detail? You see, I'm about to die, at least let me die knowing the truth, okay?"

"…………I would be happy to grant your request, Detective."

Betty chuckled softly.

"But unfortunately, even for me, these words are just something I've learned on the spot. That lord didn't tell me anything more. All we know is that the waves that have passed are about to return, and we will recreate our former glory and become extraordinary beings!"

Although Betty's answer was somewhat strange, for Li Wei, who had read countless online novels, watched movies and animations, and played countless games, these words alone were enough for him to pinpoint her true intentions.

"You mean...you want to become gods?"

"………………………"

When asked by Levi, Betty fell silent, then her voice became cheerful and lively.

"That's right, Detective! As expected of a famous detective! I never expected you to guess this so quickly!"

As she spoke, Betty reached out her hand.

"As I suspected, you are just as I imagined—intelligent, handsome, and a gentleman. It seems such a waste to kill you now. I will transform you into my servant… Ah, not some worthless piece of trash like Maggie. You will become a ruler of the night, just like me. Together we can rule this dark, beautiful world, commanding mortals to willingly serve us…"

"…………………"

Faced with Betty's answer, Levi remained silent, his eyes sweeping ahead before looking away.

At that moment, a notification appeared before Li Wei indicating that the mission was complete.

Sure enough, just like a detective, the culprit has to confess voluntarily to complete the mission. It's not enough to simply offer a guess—well, that's normal, otherwise, if another case were to occur, he could just use brute force to guess, and surely one of them would be correct, right? Unfortunately, the situation is tense right now, and Li Wei doesn't have time to check what rewards the system has given him; he can only silently set them aside for now. Then he took a deep breath and looked at Betty again.

"It sounds wonderful, but I refuse."

“You won’t refuse, because soon you will become my loyal servant.”

As she spoke, Betty snapped her fingers. The next moment, Maggie, who had been groveling beside Betty like a dog, let out a wild roar and pounced on Levi!

"Drink it—!"

Just as Maggie dashed out, a petite figure suddenly darted out from the shadows of the nearby steam pipes. Katie clenched her small, silver-gloved hand and punched Maggie, sending her flying. Immediately afterward, several bright, dazzling lights emerged from the rooftops, illuminating the entire alley!

"This is-----!?"

The sudden light startled Betty, who quickly backed away, trying to disappear into the dark shadows of the alley. But just as she turned to flee, a flash of light transformed into a raging inferno, filling the entire alley. With a scream, Betty vanished from the flames like a ghost, returning to her previous position.

Under the spotlight, her clothes were burned to shreds, and her entire body was charred black. An ordinary human would have been rolling on the ground by now. But Betty simply turned her head and glared fiercely at Levi.

At this moment, Maggie, who had been knocked away, also got up with a wail. She was becoming more and more unrecognizable. Her long face looked like a dog's, and her mouth even split open all the way to her ears, revealing sharp teeth inside.

"you……………"

“I’m not a fool, Miss Betty.”

Levi raised his gun and pointed it at Betty. He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to go looking for trouble alone; as soon as the theater realized they were under attack, Levi immediately contacted Katie and arranged an ambush location. His seemingly frantic escape was actually a ploy to lure Betty and Maggie towards the predetermined spot.

Now, this is a dead end, blocked by soldiers armed with flamethrowers. Soldiers on the surrounding rooftops are also fully armed, completely surrounding the area. Levi is absolutely certain that even if Betty could fly, she has no chance of escape; she's doomed.

"My personal advice is that you'd better just surrender."

"surrender?"

Betty was clearly furious at this moment. She stared at Levi with cold, icy eyes.

"Don't even think about it! I won't surrender! That lord will come to save me!"

"He won't come to save you; on the contrary, he's more likely to come to kill you."

Li Wei chuckled softly.

"Do you know how Mrs. Clarty died? I went to her club to investigate, and she noticed me. She reported to your supreme being through the mirror. And after reporting, she just died... Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. Want to guess who killed her?"

"...This, this is impossible..."

Betty was clearly shocked by Levi's answer.

"It was clearly you, Detective, who intended to investigate our secrets, that led you to kill Mrs. Claudie..."

Don't you think your statement is contradictory?

Li Wei raised an eyebrow.

“I want to investigate your secrets. Why did you kill Mrs. Clayty? I can’t communicate with the dead. It’s much more convenient to keep the living alive.”

"Because Lady Clayty refused to yield even unto death, that's why..."

Upon hearing Li Wei's answer, Betty trembled all over. At this moment, the girl seemed to wake up from a dream, her body trembling and her eyes wide with horror.

"That's right, that's exactly it, that's exactly it..."

She swayed her body, clutching her head and shaking it repeatedly, muttering softly in her sleep.

"Teacher, he...teacher said...ahhhhhhh!!!"

A piercing, eerie scream erupted from Betty's mouth. At that moment, Levi felt his heart clench, and the blood in his body seemed to be drawn away by something, as if it were about to leave his body. At the same time, his mind began to become hazy, and he even lost his balance.

Katie, who was not far away, was in no better shape. She clenched her hands and covered her ears, swaying as if she were drunk.

However, the most terrifying change came from Betty herself.

Her body began to dissolve and tear, like a wax figure melting under intense heat. Her once solid skin, muscles, and bones fused together, forming a viscous liquid-like substance. Maggie, whom Katie had knocked away, also began to undergo the same transformation. The two streams of slime gradually merged, forming a bizarre, ever-changing monster.

It resembles a giant bat, as tall as a person, except that it has no hair on its body, and you can even clearly see the pale muscles and blood vessels under the membranes under the glaring light.

Immediately afterward, the bat monster shrieked and pounced straight at Li Wei!

(End of this chapter)