Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 46 The truth behind it

Li Wei had previously expressed some regret that Henry had not brought in more soldiers.

Now he had to be thankful that the latter hadn't brought any soldiers in.

"Bang bang bang bang bang!!"

The four rushed out of the room at top speed, and then a series of bullets flew out from behind them, hitting the opposite wall.

"Okay, this is troublesome."

Li Wei gripped his gun and peeked inside. There were five or six soldiers pointing their guns at the door. They weren't holding pistols, but carbines. Given that the door wasn't very big, Li Wei felt that rushing out would only make him a target to be shot in a line.

Who are those soldiers?

Katie clutched her head, still shaken, and asked the question, while Anthony stroked his chin.

"Hmm, judging from their uniforms, they should be from the same unit as the soldiers outside..."

"say no more!"

Henry coldly interrupted Anthony, clearly in a very bad mood, and then looked at Levi.

"Is there any way to save them?"

"...If you think I have the ability to resurrect a disemboweled human, you are overestimating me, Mr. Henry."

Li Wei was also speechless.

"Personally, all I can do right now is express my deepest condolences to them... Run!"

Before Li Wei could finish speaking, a smoking stick flew out and landed in front of everyone. Li Wei glanced at it and immediately recognized it as a hand grenade!

"Whoa!"

Katie screamed and rolled away, covering her head, while the others hurriedly retreated. Then, a loud "boom" was heard. If they hadn't dodged quickly, this explosion would have been fatal for all four of them.

Then, accompanied by the sound of synchronized footsteps, everyone saw the soldiers walk out of the gate, weapons in hand, aiming at them again.

"boom!"

Li Wei raised his hand and fired a shot, the bullet striking the leading soldier in the head and lodging firmly in his forehead. However, the latter only tilted his head back slightly before returning to his original position. Then, the soldiers raised their carbines again and aimed forward.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"I shouldn't have brought anyone with me!"

Li Wei ran and complained, and the others weren't in much better shape. They were essentially being attacked by an entire squad of fully armed, well-trained soldiers—and their opponents were immortal!

Fortunately, I was prepared.

Li Wei flicked his right hand, and the Persuader's magazine popped out, the spent cartridges clattering to the ground, still smelling of gunpowder. At the same time, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a makeshift loader, and loaded it with red bullets. Then, Li Wei lifted the Persuader and turned to look behind him. The soldiers had reached the corner and were aiming in their direction.

To paraphrase an old saying—let the flames purify everything!

With that, Li Wei pulled the trigger again.

"Bang-----!"

The bright red bullet spun as it flew through the narrow corridor and struck the leading soldier squarely in the head.

Immediately afterwards, the bullet exploded.

White flames burst forth like fireworks, engulfing the soldier in the blink of an eye. The flames then quickly ignited, turning him into a human torch in just a few moments.

Anyone else in this situation would probably be writhing in agony on the ground. But this soldier seemed completely oblivious to the pain, letting the flames scorch his clothes and body without a care. He simply raised his gun, aimed at his target, and pulled the trigger again.

But this time, the bullet did not fire. Perhaps due to the effect of the flame, the carbine in the soldier's hand exploded the moment the soldier pulled the trigger. The shockwave blasted him away, sending him crashing into his comrade behind him before he slammed heavily to the ground.

At this moment, his body was engulfed in flames, and he looked like a wax figure melting away, clearly unable to move anymore.

However, this scene did not affect the actions of the other soldiers. They did not even look at their burning comrade, but continued to attack Li Wei and the others.

So the four of them had no choice but to continue running for their lives, rushing into a nearby room to escape the storm of attacks.

"This is really troublesome."

Li Wei frowned. He actually enjoyed the thrill of being a lone wolf on the battlefield in FPS games, but unfortunately, it seemed he wouldn't be able to experience that now—which was normal, since there was no such thing as breathing to regenerate health in the real world.

"Mr. Henry, do we have any way to deal with these soldiers?"

Anthony leaned warily against the door, listening to the sounds outside, and asked a question. Henry hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"I didn't bring many weapons, and... they are, after all, my soldiers."

"That's why you want to give them a proper end." Li Wei rotated the magazine, listening to the "click-clack" sound and slightly relaxing his nerves.

"If they trap us in this room, we're doomed."

"I do not think so."

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from the room. Everyone was startled and turned to look. Then they saw a woman dressed in an aristocratic gown sitting on the sofa.

And she is...

"Miss Elizabeth? What are you doing here?"

Katie was clearly quite surprised to see Elizabeth.

"I thought you..."

"Turn into a doll by that child?"

Elizabeth remained calm, unlike the others who were panicked.

“He would do that, but because I am his favorite ‘mother,’ I was put last.”

"You actually still have self-awareness?"

Levi was more concerned about another point. Previously, whether it was Katie, Anthony, or Henry, they all seemed completely possessed by those ghosts. Elizabeth, however, was different. Although her body seemed to be under control, her consciousness remained quite clear.

"The Holy Lord protects me, and my faith is my shield."

If Elizabeth weren't currently unable to move, she would probably have made a gesture of praise to the Holy Lord, but her expressionless face and resolute tone were rather strange.

"I can feel her sorrow, her pain, and everything she went through, all behind my confinement within this body..."

As Elizabeth spoke, she looked at Levi.

"Detective, please be careful, that child is not our real enemy."

"That's an interesting statement. How so?"

Li Wei glanced at Anthony, who was staring at the door and shaking his head. Clearly, the soldiers seemed to be planning a stalemate—so he didn't mind using this time to obtain some important intelligence.

Please get to the point.

"Ok."

Perhaps because she was a nun, Elizabeth was very good at telling stories. She explained the whole story in just a few words.

Before the Stephen family moved here, Stephen was addicted to gambling, which had squandered almost all of the family's wealth. His wife naturally tried several times to persuade him to quit, but—persuading a gambling addict is harder than slaying a god. Finally, one day, Stephen couldn't take it anymore and had a big argument with his wife. In the ensuing scuffle, Stephen bumped into their young child, whose head hit the corner of a table, and the child lost consciousness.

After that, the child remained unconscious, and the wife consulted many doctors, but to no avail. Stephen, on the other hand, remained indifferent, which gradually drove his wife to despair.

Just when she didn't know what to do, a man came to her door, claiming he could save her child, but he had one condition: his wife had to bring a Lancaster ring in exchange. That ring was in a secret room in the Lancaster mansion.

Although she didn't know who the man was or how he knew about the Lancaster family's secret chamber, which even she herself was unaware of, the wife, desperate to save her son, agreed to the condition. Following the man's directions, she found the ring in the Lancaster family's secret chamber and then handed it over to him.

After receiving the ring, the latter gave her a doll and told his wife that if she placed the doll next to their child, the child would wake up on his own.

Although she didn't know if it was true or not, the wife, who was in despair at that moment, finally decided to do as the other person said. Then a miracle happened, and her child woke up the next morning.

"However, every gift comes with a price tag."

Elizabeth sighed as she finished speaking.

After that, the wife also noticed that something was wrong with their child. He became taciturn, rarely spoke, and seldom went out. At first, the wife thought it was some kind of aftereffect, but gradually, she found that her child was becoming stranger and stranger... Finally, she realized that it was no longer her child.

But alas, it was too late.

"An interesting story."

After listening to Elizabeth's account, Levi commented that he did not doubt the authenticity of Elizabeth's story, because earlier in that room, Levi's [Soul Vision] had indeed seen something hidden behind the blood-red light, although he did not know what it was.

He suspected something was wrong at the time, after all, no matter how twisted that child was, it would be difficult for him to become a big boss.

In retrospect, Li Wei's guess was correct.

But then again, could that ring be the Blood Temptation? If Elizabeth's information is correct, shouldn't that ring have already been taken? Why did it reappear on a later guest? Could it be some kind of magical treasure, destined to be possessed by those with the right affinity?
"Let's deal with the immediate problem first."

Seeing Anthony's quick hand gestures by the crack in the door, Li Wei turned his attention back, and then he heard the sound of uniform footsteps coming from not far away.

But this time, Li Wei already had a plan.

(End of this chapter)