Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 40 Joint Operation (It's so hot, I'm too lazy to move, meow)
In the movies and games that Li Wei had seen, there were often scenes like this: a group of people knew that a house was haunted, but they still insisted on going in to find the ghost. After a lot of people died, the surviving protagonists decided to burn down the house and destroy it completely.

Whenever Li Wei sees this kind of scene, he has an idea: can we skip all those boring steps and just burn the house down in one go?
it is a pity…………

"We can't do that."

The old butler looked at Li Wei, speechless.

"Why? That house is now ownerless, and we have enough evidence to prove its danger. Can't we just set it on fire and say it was an accidental fire?"

Li Wei took a sip of tea and calmly said, "By the way, Katie went home to rest. Tonight's experience was clearly a serious blow to this young lady's spirit—well, Li Wei could understand. In Li Wei's opinion, if she were to transmigrate into the world of Resident Evil, she might be able to fight the tyrant."

But if you put her in Sadako's world, she'd probably be trembling in fear in front of the TV.

Actually, Levi was also a little scared. Like Katie, he didn't care about problems that could be solved physically.

However, things that cannot be solved by physics are another matter entirely.

So Li Wei isn't afraid of any serial killers or vampires.

But if it's a curse, a ghost, or something like that... well, Li Wei thinks that one should really follow one's heart.

I'm not a lonely single person; I have a government job and a government-affiliated organization. Why should I resort to fighting monsters in the wild to solve my problems?

“The house still belongs to a certain family, but they don’t intend to live there. Although we do have the authority and the right to do so, it is clear that we cannot do so.”

The old butler rambled on and on, but Li Wei still understood what he meant.

It just won't work.

"Then I would like you to send a small team to work with me."

Now that he's officially part of the organization, Li Wei will adhere to the principle of "better to die than see myself die," since he certainly won't go himself. More people means more hope of survival, right?
If it's about gathering intelligence, Levi prefers to do it alone or with Katie.

But this has now gone beyond a simple investigation; it's like entering a dungeon to fight a boss. So what Li Wei needs to do is find people to form a team.

"no problem."

"Furthermore, I believe the procedures for these investigation teams should be standardized."

"specification?"

"Yes."

Through this investigation, Li Wei discovered that this fledgling department indeed had many problems. For example, no one knew what to do and they were acting entirely based on their own experience, doing whatever they pleased. Of course, if their opponents were gangsters or foreign spies, granting them some autonomy might be a good thing. But clearly, the enemy they were facing was not someone that could be dealt with simply by guns and cannons.

So Li Wei also thought about it, and on the way here, he made some adjustments to the process. Now he took out his notebook and handed it to the old butler. The latter took it and carefully looked through it.

"...First, we search for rumors to determine the target's value, then we report back. The core department then assesses the target's danger before taking action..."

"That's it."

Li Wei nodded.

"Currently, the existence and manifestation of these mysterious events are closely related to people's deep-seated impressions of them. This means that by collecting rumors about mysterious events in the surrounding area, we can roughly classify the danger of our targets. If no one has died and it's just some pranks, then the danger is not high. However, if there is enough evidence to prove that not only have people died around these mysterious events, but many people have died, then we should consider sending more people or having a higher-level investigation team take charge."

"So, the more people die, the higher the danger?"

"For now, we can make this conclusion, which is why I think this incident might be more dangerous than the socialite killer and the vampire. After all, not many people died in those two cases, but regarding the 'House of Death'... the official records alone show double-digit deaths, not even counting the missing persons."

"indeed so."

The old butler's expression also turned serious. He carefully reviewed the official records, his expression tense.

"Yes, indeed. Because so much time has passed, it hasn't attracted much attention. But if we're focusing on this house... now it seems there is definitely something wrong with it."

"So, can we just burn it?"

"No, Mr. Li Wei."

Li Wei smiled again and made the request, and the old butler smiled again and refused.

"All of this is just your speculation and reasoning; there is no evidence to prove it. That's why you need to go and investigate in person, and it would be best if you could produce some evidence. This will help us persuade other departments to assist us in carrying out some—mass destruction operations—in the future."

"Okay, although I guessed that would be the case."

Although the old steward rejected Li Wei's request once again, Li Wei wasn't particularly discouraged. He knew very well that the old steward wasn't deliberately making things difficult for him; after all, that's how bureaucracy works. Especially for a newly established organization like MI7 with excessively large authority, just as the old steward said, they had to provide some "real evidence" to ensure that other departments were genuinely willing to cooperate with them.

While it's not entirely wrong to issue orders directly using one's own authority, well... being outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant or dragging one's feet are also considered one of the drawbacks of bureaucracy.

Getting subordinates to work wholeheartedly for you is not as simple as just relying on rank.

"I understand."

The old butler thought for a moment and nodded. "Give me two days."

"No problem at all."

Li Wei was happy to steal two more days of leisure. It was like a final exam; the later it came, the better, even if it was just one day later.

However, the final exams will eventually come.

So two days later, Li Wei had to come to MI7 to see the old steward again, but this time, the old steward had a few more people with him.

Katie… well, Levi knows her, no need to explain. The latter's eyes lit up when she saw him, and she waved and greeted him. It seems the psychological trauma from that night has faded for this young lady; of course, it's possible she's just carefree.

"Hello, Mr. Li Wei."

The next person to greet Li Wei was a blond, blue-eyed young man who looked slightly younger than Li Wei. He was dressed quite fashionably and flamboyantly, and his appearance was also quite good, although of course, he was still not as good-looking as Li Wei.

“I’ve heard so much about you. I am Anthony Blunt, and I will be working with you on this investigation.”

"Hello, Mr. Anthony."

Li Wei looked at the young man in front of him, shook his hand, and the latter smiled slightly and stepped aside. Next, a burly, middle-aged man in military uniform appeared in front of Li Wei.

"Hello, I am Henry Custer, from the Royal Marines."

“A true soldier, I am delighted to have you on board, Mr. Henry.”

Levi was quite satisfied with Henry; he needed a tank like Henry who looked big and easily attracted aggro.

And the last one……………

"Hello, sir."

A woman dressed in a nun's habit quietly stepped forward, holding the All-Knowing Eye in her hand, and bowed to Li Wei.

“I am Elizabeth Delaney… from the Puritan Order…”

“Hello, Miss Elizabeth.”

Upon hearing the other person's self-introduction, Li Wei was taken aback. Since arriving in this world, Li Wei had read many books about the empire and was very knowledgeable about its history.

This naturally includes religious history.

The world is largely dominated by the Church of Apostles; however, as time goes by, any religion inevitably develops various divisions, and the Church of Apostles is one of them.

All of this begins with the Holy Bishop himself.

In the beginning, this world followed the path of divine right of kings, just like the previous legend of salvation. The coronation of any king had to be recognized by the Pope of the Holy Lord Church.

However, as mentioned before, the empire experienced a long period of decline, while the Francis Kingdom rose to power, partly due to the machinations of the Holy Lord Church.

The Holy Lord's Church headquarters is located in a separate region within a neutral country. Previously, the Pope would personally attend the coronation ceremony of each new king or queen of the empire. However, during the empire's decline, the Pope excused himself from attending several coronation ceremonies, sending only the archbishop instead. His own attendance at the coronation ceremony of the Franciscan Kingdom inevitably led the populace to believe that the empire had been abandoned by God, and that the Franciscan Kingdom was the true chosen one.

It's hard to say that this wasn't a contributing factor to the subsequent fragmentation of the empire's territory.

It's impossible for the Empire to have no grudges against the Holy Bishops, especially now that the Industrial Revolution, brought about by the steam engine and the difference engine, has arrived. The Empire is aggressively trying to reclaim its former position, and of course, it wouldn't leave a grudge unavenged. Thus, the Empire chose to strike at the Holy Bishops from within.

So they chose the Puritan Church.

Strictly speaking, the Puritans are more like an ascetic sect. They believe that since God created this world with his own flesh and blood, each of us is His child and spiritually connected with Him. There is absolutely no need for the Church to overstep its bounds and impersonate God's will. Therefore, the Puritans advocate abolishing episcopalism, reducing religious holidays, and believe that everyone can pray freely, making it completely unnecessary to go to the Church.

As the saying goes, cutting off someone's money is like killing their parents. The Puritan sect's propositions naturally aroused the Holy Bishop's wrath. If everyone listened to the Puritans and stopped coming to church, who would they ask for money from? Where would the Holy Bishop's authority be?

Originally, under the suppression of the Holy Bishop, the Qingli sect had almost disappeared. However, the Empire stepped in at this time and supported the Qingli sect.

As a result, the empire has become the stronghold of the Puritan Church, with roughly two-thirds of the population being Puritan believers. The reason is simple: people don't need to waste time going to church; they can simply pray at home to the All-Seeing Eye. Furthermore, the Puritan Church's arguments are logical and convincing, giving the impression that not going to church is perfectly acceptable…

Therefore, churches are now rare within the empire; only a few places still symbolically retain them. In some large cities, churches have even been converted into public spaces like train stations…

This infuriated the Holy Lord Church, but they were powerless against the Empire. The current Empress was no soft-hearted little girl who loved playing with dolls; she was an iron-fisted ruler. The Holy Lord Church had tried to incite its followers to rebel against this treasonous act, but the bishops either disappeared or died unexpectedly, and the Holy Lord Church's protests ultimately failed.

This proves once again that the title of "Iron-Blooded Queen" is well-deserved.

The fact that this nun is here means... well, never mind, what does it have to do with me?
Li Wei silently put the thought in his mind aside.

Life is short, so enjoy it while you can. Let Her Majesty the Queen and other important figures worry about such things. As a detective, he just needs to do what he's supposed to do.

At this moment, Li Wei also understood why the old butler needed two days to prepare.

This is a joint operation by various departments; it's going to be a big undertaking!
(End of this chapter)