Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 44 The Performance of Life and Death (Part 2)

Traitors! They're all traitors!
Henry gripped his gun angrily and strode down the cold, narrow corridor.

He never imagined he would be betrayed like this! The enemy on the battlefield couldn't defeat him, but the arrows shot at him came from within his own family!
His wife and children, his servants, his family! He had given them his all, but they had completely betrayed him—those damned bastards! They had completely forgotten who had given them all. And now, he would take it all back! Including their lives!
"traitor!!"

A dark shadow suddenly flashed past not far away, and Henry roared and fired a shot in that direction.

"boom!!"

The shotgun shells hit the sack and shattered it into pieces.

At that moment, Li Wei, who was hiding behind, reached out and wiped his face.

"Goodness, it looks like this is going to be a bit troublesome."

"I never expected Mr. Henry to be so fierce."

Katie huddled trembling beside Levi. They had just walked into the cellar and run right into Henry, who was searching for something with a shotgun. Before Levi could even say hello, Henry fired a shot without a word.

No matter how skilled Levi was, he couldn't withstand a shotgun head-on, so he could only lead Katie and Anthony to flee in panic.

"Is that really Mr. Henry?"

Anthony, who was hiding on the other side, reached out and took out a mirror from his pocket, then looked at himself in the corner.

"All I saw was a doll holding a weapon, going berserk."

"If it weren't for that, I would have blown his head off already."

Levi sighed helplessly. The reason he was sure that the thing that looked like a murderous doll from a horror movie was Henry was simple: Levi had used [Soul Vision]. He had used this technique before to see through the doll's control over Katie and Anthony and then rescue them.

But now...

"Come out! Traitor!"

With Henry's roar, gunshots rang out again, sending debris flying from the surrounding walls. Katie covered her head with her hands and curled up into a ball. No matter how skilled she was, she wasn't bulletproof.

"It seems Mr. Henry is deeply troubled by someone's betrayal."

Anthony made a sarcastic remark, while Levi merely raised an eyebrow.

"It's more like a puppet controlling him. Otherwise, what else would you say? Mr. Anthony, who committed suicide in grief and anger after being abandoned by his wife?"

"...I'm not planning on getting married yet...it's too early for me..."

Anthony gave an awkward laugh and then changed the subject.

“What do we do now? I think Mr. Henry is quite skilled, and there aren’t enough places for us to hide here. If we go out, we’ll be torn to pieces.”

"It's really troublesome."

Li Wei nodded. If the opponent was using a shotgun or a pistol, Li Wei was confident that he could use the ability of Death's Eye to counterattack and dodge the bullets fired by the opponent.

The problem is that Henry is holding a shotgun right now, which can take out a whole bunch of enemies at once, and there's no way Levi can dodge it.

"However, I'm not entirely without a solution, but I need the two of you to help me."

After thinking for a moment, Li Wei made a decision.

"Does anyone have a fire?"

“I have a lighter, Mr. Levi. As a gentleman, you are not quite up to par.”

Anthony took out a lighter from his pocket and looked at Levi with curiosity.

"I don't smoke."

Li Wei shrugged. He didn't have much life left to live, so he shouldn't waste it on meaningless pleasures.

"That's rare. May I know the reason?"

"Because smoking is harmful to health."

One puff of smoke takes two hours to live; even Li Wei's [special ability] doesn't last that long.

"Yeah, that's right."

Katie nodded repeatedly.

“My father likes to smoke. The smell is pungent and unpleasant. I don’t understand why so many men like to smoke.”

"This is not a problem we need to worry about right now."

Li Wei clearly did not intend to discuss the dangers of tobacco and alcohol in this situation. In fact, the church also preached against smoking and drinking, but he did not smoke or drink because of his devout faith.

“I’ll try to distract him later… Mr. Anthony, I hope you can light the lighter and cast a shadow, then place it next to Mr. Henry.”

"Ok."

"Then it's Katie's turn. I'll take care of the weapon in his hand. All you have to do is rush over and give him a good whack."

To my shame, among the two men and one woman, the one with the strongest physical attack is actually this seemingly delicate young lady.

"Okay... Be careful, Mr. Detective."

Li Wei nodded, then gestured to Anthony.

"let's start."

"clear."

Anthony moved silently, taking a few steps back without making a sound, then took out a lighter and lit it.

A glimmer of light appeared, illuminating the wooden barrel placed against the wall in front, casting a long shadow on the wall next to Henry. Just then, Levi leaped up and rushed out of the corridor!

Henry was not surprised by this action. Henry had already raised his gun and prepared to aim when Anthony lit the lighter. Therefore, when Levi's figure appeared around the corner, he pulled the trigger without hesitation!
"Bang!" At the same time, Li Wei's eyes flashed.

Death Eyes!
At that moment, the flow of time around him began to slow down, and he could even see the scattered bullets rushing towards him.

However, Li Wei did not panic; he activated another skill.

[Shadow Movement]!
The shadow that had previously been intangible, now covering Li Wei, sent a chill through him, as if the dark shadow had transformed into a cold cloak draped over him. His body seemed to merge with the shadow, and he instantly shot forward.

He walked through the bullets and came to Henry's side. Then Levi raised his gun and aimed at Henry's hand that was gripping the gun tightly.

"Bang---!!"

With the sound of a gunshot, Henry felt a tremendous impact, knocking the gun from his hand. When he regained his senses, he realized the enemy had appeared beside him. But this wasn't the end. As a soldier, he could fight even without a gun!
Henry clenched his fists and charged toward the enemy, but just then, he caught a glimpse of a petite figure rushing into his arms.

Immediately afterwards, the scenery in Henry's view rushed past.

"Boom!!"

Levi looked up and saw Katie, who had rushed into Henry's arms, reach out and punch Henry in the chest. Henry was immediately sent flying backward, crashing into the wall. A flash of light followed, and then Henry's muscular body sprang out of the doll and fell to the ground.

"call……………"

Li Wei took a breath and relaxed.

Finally got it done.

Like everyone else, Henry regained his senses quickly after he was freed from his restraints.

“I felt anger…and pain.”

Henry, who was sitting on the ground, couldn't get up for a while, which Anthony fully understood, since he had also suffered quite a bit from Katie's attack.

“At that time, I really thought everyone had betrayed me, and all I wanted to do was kill them… and then commit suicide… Fortunately, because of your arrival, I postponed my suicide. Otherwise, you would probably only have seen my corpse.”

At this point, Henry's usually resolute face also showed seriousness and solemnity.

"I still can't believe... that such a strange thing could actually happen in this world."

"me too."

Anthony nodded, while looking at Levi with curiosity.

"But I'm more curious about how you dodged that shot, Mr. Levi. It seemed to me there was no way you could have dodged it. But not only did you dodge it, you also appeared right next to Mr. Henry..."

"A little magic trick, a little trick."

Li Wei waved his hand.

"To fight against something like this, you need to have some skills. I'm not here to die without doing anything."

"Now only Miss Elizabeth is left, but where is she?"

Katie was clearly more concerned about the whereabouts of her companion, while Levi sighed.

"Is that even a question? Just think about it. Remember the case files you looked at before about this house? The victims?"

"You mean the tragic fates of those previous homeowners? Yes, that's it!"

Katie seemed to only realize what was happening after hearing Li Wei's reminder.

The second homeowner committed suicide after his wife left him, while the third homeowner killed his wife and children before taking his own life. The fourth homeowner, his family, and servants all disappeared without a trace; only large bloodstains were found inside the house. Looking back and at the current situation, it's clear that their own fates correspond to those of the three previous homeowners.

In other words, the owners of those houses were turned into dolls after they died.

If that's the case...

“What we encountered were those previous landlords… Miss Elizabeth…”

"It's obvious that she's trapped inside too."

Li Wei stood up and stretched.

"What we need to do next is find her."

Where should we look?

"Then there's only one place."

Li Wei looked at Katie and chuckled softly.

"Do you remember the story that old lady told us about the young master who was so obsessed with dolls?"

"I remember that young master always stayed in his room and never went out... You mean, Miss Elizabeth was in that room?"

"It's very likely, at least I think it's unlikely she'd be in the laundry room or the toilet."

Li Wei spoke, turning around at the same time.

"However, before that, we may face some trouble."

As Li Wei spoke, the crowd heard footsteps approaching, and then they saw pale faces emerge from the shadows.

They are also dolls, but not the kind that are dressed up and used for decoration. They are all naked, and look as if they were just made, fresh out of the oven, and not even polished. They are simply products of wooden bodies, heads and limbs, which were then gathered together with string.

The carved mouths of these puppets kept opening and closing, making a "click-clack" sound. Judging from their movements, these guys were clearly up to no good.

"What should we do next? Kneel down and beg for mercy? Or fight our way out?"

No one answered Li Wei's question.

But their actions have already revealed the answer.

(End of this chapter)