Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 378 The tip of the iceberg

The world before my eyes changed in an instant.

When Levi came to his senses again, he was still standing in the same spot, but Etina and Katie were nowhere to be seen. There was no one else around except Levi.

However, this is not the original building.

In Li Wei's vision, the surrounding buildings emitted a faint blue glow, as if outlined by lines. Simply put, it reminded Li Wei of scenes in certain cartoon-style 3D games. Black edges and colors delineated a completely new world, and this was exactly what was happening here.

So, what exactly happened?
As Li Wei pondered this, he retraced his steps. When he jumped down into the hole Katie had opened earlier, he encountered an unexpected presence.

On the floor of the previously empty secret room, a coffin now lay.

???

Li Wei stepped forward, curiously examined the coffin before him, and then opened it—inside lay a man, seemingly fast asleep. His expression was serene, his eyes closed, and he remained silent, like a sleeping beauty.

Too bad it's a man.

He was none other than Professor Andrew.

"Professor Andrew? Professor?"

Li Wei reached out and nudged him, but the latter remained motionless, like a puppet. However, Li Wei could at least feel that the other person did have body temperature, a heartbeat, and breathing, though it seemed as if he had lost consciousness.

How is this going?

Looking at Professor Andrew in front of him, Levi was completely puzzled. However, just as he was about to think about what to do next, the scenery outside the window suddenly caught his attention.

"Ok?"

Li Wei raised his head and looked out the window, observing the scenery outside with surprise.

Outside, the scenery was naturally that of the Fog City, with a pitch-black sky and Fog City's buildings on the ground. Of course, this was a scene that Li Wei was already used to seeing every day.

However, in this world, they appear to be completely different.

The first thing Li Wei noticed was his own home—after all, as a tall tower, it was quite conspicuous in the entire Fog City. But this time, Li Wei noticed it not just because it was eye-catching, but because of its light.

Indeed, in this world, Li Wei could see that his tower was like a lighthouse, or a large candle, its shimmering light rising from the top and illuminating most of the foggy city. And the buildings in the lighthouse's glow looked no different from ordinary buildings.

But in the places where the light doesn't reach, it's a completely different story.

Just like the Royal Academy in front of him, it was enveloped in a light blue hue. In addition, Li Wei also saw a group of buildings in the distance that radiated a golden glow, as if they were cast in gold—yes, if Li Wei was not mistaken, that should be the location of the royal palace.

In addition, Li Wei saw a few places shrouded in blue, but apart from that, most of the fog was covered by the radiance of its own towers.

What does this mean?
What kind of place is this world?
Li Wei activated [Soul Vision] to survey his surroundings. However, to his surprise, the world was essentially the same whether or not [Soul Vision] was activated. There was nothing unusual, or rather, this in itself was quite unusual.

This is very strange.

etc……………

Li Wei turned around and looked at the coffin where Professor Andrew was lying, and an idea popped into his mind.

Could it be...?

Thinking of this, Li Wei hurriedly left the secret room and went to the stairwell.

I remember Aitina saying that when the security guard saw her, he screamed and fell off the building…

Li Wei muttered to himself as he walked down the stairs, but when he reached the first floor, he saw another coffin lying quietly on the ground.

"………………………"

Looking at the coffin in front of him, Li Wei remained silent for a moment, then stepped forward and opened it. Inside, he saw a young man in a guard uniform lying in the coffin, in the same condition as Professor Andrew before him.

Therefore, it can now be concluded that the disappearance of these two people was due to their being transferred to this world, just like themselves.

So here's the question: we know why they were transferred here, but why were they transferred here in the first place? Or rather, what exactly is this place?
Aitina seemed to know nothing about it either.

Li Wei stared at the coffin in front of him and began to think.

The rumor originated from Mr. Brown's disappearance. Etina also learned of it, and it spread widely throughout the Royal Academy, at least among many students. Levi already knew that rumors could influence reality, but he didn't understand the underlying mechanisms.

Just like in a computer game, Li Wei knows how to use the skills in the game to kill the BOSS, but that doesn't mean he understands the underlying code of the game.

But now… Li Wei has a vague premonition that he seems to have found the “underlying code” of this world.

Why are the two of them in this state?
Are they alive or dead?
Isn't this precisely what "disappearance" is all about? Not life, not death, but disappearance. Perhaps alive, perhaps dead. Like Schrödinger's cat, until the box is opened and observed, no one can be sure whether the cat is alive or dead, and this world is that box!

So Andrew and the guard are now in a state of being both alive and dead!
Thinking about this, Li Wei suddenly remembered a concept he had seen in a game before—the collective unconscious!

This is a concept proposed by Jung, who believed that personality structure consists of three levels: consciousness (ego), the personal unconscious (complexes), and the collective unconscious (archetypes). In Jung's view, the conscious mind that a person can perceive is like an island on the surface of water, the part below the surface is the personal unconscious, and finally, at the bottom of the island, the foundational seabed, is the collective unconscious. This also explains why myths and legends from different regions, countries, cultures, and ethnicities around the world often feature stories, legends, or characters with similar themes or plots. This is because the deepest, most fundamental consensus of humanity is consistent and clear.

For example, the word "missing" may be used differently, but people all over the world understand what the concept of "missing" means and what kind of existence it is.

Similarly, freedom, honor, justice, evil, life, and death may have different interpretations in each civilization, but the understanding of their essence is the same.

This brings us to another of Jung's ideas about subjectivity and objectivity. For example, you're thinking about someone, and then that person appears. This is what's known as "speak of the devil and he appears"—a truly wondrous coincidence, isn't it?
However, Jung believed that this was not simply a coincidence, but rather that the process was connected because people had given "meaning" to it.

Therefore, people influence the objective world with their subjective feelings!
Take the idiom "speak of the devil and he shall appear" as an example. Suppose you think of someone, and that person comes, but you don't see them arrive; then it's not "speak of the devil and he shall appear." This raises a problem: objectively speaking, if you think of someone and they come, it's a coincidence and chance. But if you don't see them, don't notice their existence, then subjectively you won't consider it a coincidence, and therefore the coincidence and chance don't exist.

From this perspective, the saying "speak of the devil and he shall appear" is only valid if an observer witnesses the entire event taking place. Therefore, this is an inevitable result of subjective influence on objective reality.

For example, imagine someone has a close online friend, and one day they casually ask about it and discover that the other person lives next door to them and was even born on the same day, month, and year. Isn't that an incredible coincidence?

But does it mean that if he doesn't ask, the other person isn't born on the same day, month, and year as him?

Of course it's impossible, but if he hadn't asked, then this "coincidence" wouldn't exist.

Therefore, these "coincidences" and "accidents" are not real "coincidences" or "accidents," but rather the result of human subjective attribution of meaning.

A similar theory applies to this case as well.

Mr. Brown is missing; no one can find him, so he is missing.

But did he really disappear? Now we know that Mr. Brown's body has remained motionless on the ceiling above the classroom, so objectively speaking, he was dead from the beginning, and there is no such thing as him disappearing.

However, since no one observed this result, they attributed Mr. Brown's disappearance to "missing," which is the same concept as "accident" or "coincidence."

That said, what does "missing" mean? It means that no one knows whether he is alive or dead, or where he is.

Therefore, in this matter, Mr. Brown's disappearance is the result of everyone's subjective influence on the objective situation. However, from a completely objective perspective, there is no such thing as a disappearance, because he simply died.

As for why Li Wei wasn't imprisoned, the reason is simple: on the one hand, Li Wei's magic resistance was maxed out, and on the other hand, Li Wei had an observer.

Katie watched Levi disappear, so it wasn't "missing" but "disappearing".

As for Atina, since she is a ghost, she probably no longer falls into the category of human.

Here, I'd also like to mention another phenomenon known as the "hundred-eyed ape phenomenon." Scientists discovered that on an island, one monkey accidentally dropped fruit into the sea and found that the fruit tasted better after being soaked in seawater. So, the monkeys consciously started doing this, and eventually, all the monkeys on the island followed suit.

However, an unexpected thing happened after that. Scientists discovered that monkeys on another island also exhibited the same behavior. However, the two groups of monkeys were on different islands, and they could neither swim nor row. Logically speaking, it was impossible for them to share information like this.

If I had to pinpoint the exact reason, it would be that a monkey on another island "accidentally" dropped a fruit into the sea and got the same result.

However, as mentioned before, from the perspective of Jungian psychology, "chance" is just a subjectively assigned meaning. If all living things in the world really share a collective unconscious, then even if a monkey on the second island "accidentally" drops fruit into the sea, wouldn't it have subconsciously recognized that "the fruit tastes better after being soaked in the sea" under the influence of the collective unconscious, and thus subconsciously dropped the fruit into the sea?
In games and animations, the collective unconscious is mainly used by the final boss to modify and rule humanity. Of course, whether this can be done in reality is another matter, but this reminded Li Wei of the series of events that had happened before.

Socialite assassins, vampires, holy bishops' angels, sea monsters, phantom assassins...aren't these all perfect examples of "subjective influence on objective reality"? If Jung's theories are just a theory in one's own world, then in this world, they are blatantly put into practice.

Yes, if that big shot came to this world, he would be very happy.

And Aitina delivered a perfect answer!

She herself was just a ghost, and she didn't even know she had such an ability. However, because of the "rumors" that people spread by word of mouth, this ability was given to Aitina!

That's why she developed this ability!
Betty, Levi's dog, is another example of how subjective factors can influence objective reality.

Previously, Li Wei only knew about the mechanism, but he had no idea how it worked.

That's normal; people who drive don't need to learn how to build cars, and people who play games don't need to learn programming.

But now… Li Wei finds himself seemingly having unintentionally entered the underlying code of this world.

Hmm, at this moment, should I laugh out loud three times, declare "I am the Kami of the New World!", and then start considering an evil plan to control humanity?

However, if his guess is correct, then he is still quite popular among the people of Chongqing.

Li Wei looked with satisfaction at the tower that stood in the foggy city like a birthday candle, its top ablaze with flames.

This must be all self-confidence and praise, oh dear, there's no need for that. I only did a tiny bit of work. Although I'm handsome, smart, capable, dashing, multi-talented, and a noble knight...

Yeah, I'm so smug. Let me put my hands on my hips for a bit first.

Li Wei put his hands on his hips, stared at the tower for a while, and then looked away.

Alright, now it's time to get down to business. How am I going to get these two out of this place?
Li Wei scratched his head. If this really was a world of collective unconsciousness, then how he would get out was a real problem.

However, he wasn't entirely clueless.

(End of this chapter)