Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 47 Red
In the corridor, the soldiers raised their carbines, aimed ahead, and marched forward in perfect unison. They showed no hesitation, no wavering, and their goal was singular.

Just as the group of soldiers were about to approach the door of the target room, Li Wei's voice rang out.

"Now! Do it!"

Before the words were even finished, the wall next to the group of soldiers suddenly burst open!

Immediately afterwards...

"Haa ...

Katie burst out of the gap carrying a huge bookshelf. She yelled and threw the bookshelf at the soldiers!

"Boom!"

The sturdy bookshelf demonstrated its superior quality at that moment, smashing directly onto the soldiers and knocking them to the ground. At the same time, Henry and Anthony rushed out of the door, each holding a grenade and throwing it into the gap under the bookshelf.

At that moment, Li Wei raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

"Boom!"

Under Li Wei's control, the Hellfire bullet pierced through the gaps in the bookshelf and struck the two grenades directly. Then, everyone saw a flash of fire erupt instantly, spreading rapidly in a matter of moments and engulfing all the soldiers trapped under the bookshelf.

"………call………"

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief. Katie patted her chest and then looked at Levi.

"As expected of a detective, you were able to pinpoint their exact location just by listening to their footsteps!"

"It's alright, it's somewhat useful."

Li Wei chuckled. Of course, he didn't know anything about sound localization, but he could use a cheat. Using [Soul Vision], Li Wei could directly use a X-ray vision cheat to clearly see the figures opposite him—and they were red.

Henry watched silently as the soldiers, engulfed in flames, still waved their arms like robots, trying to get up and fight. After a moment, he turned to look at Levi.

"Will these flames burn them all to ashes?"

"Well...I'm not entirely sure either..."

Faced with Henry's question, Levi could only shake his head. He only knew that this incendiary bomb could definitely burn the opponent to death, but whether it could burn them to ashes was another matter. When they were doing experiments before, Mr. Benjamin only told Levi that this thing could burn the enemy to charcoal, but to burn them completely to ashes... that was probably only possible with fireball magic in those games.

"…………………"

Henry stared at Levi, remaining silent for a moment.

"Find the guy who caused all this, and I'll make him pay."

"I will do my best, but only if we can get out of here alive."

"Then Miss Elizabeth will be in my care."

At that moment, Antony walked up to the doll-like Elizabeth and picked her up. After all, he couldn't leave her there alone; who knew if, when they went to attack again, the enemy would turn Elizabeth into a doll and then use her against them?

Anyway, Anthony's skills are basically useless here, so he can just be responsible for guarding and cheering.

"Then let's go."

Fortunately, after the soldiers were eliminated, no one stopped them, and the three of them quickly returned to the room. The fat boy was still sitting there, with two maids standing beside him. Seeing Li Wei and the others reappear, the fat boy chuckled this time.

"So, how were those puppets? Were they fun?"

"You damned little bastard!!"

The boy's words were like adding fuel to the fire for Henry, who was already enraged. He gripped his axe tightly and strode towards the boy. Although the boy looked to be just a child of about ten years old, in Henry's eyes, he was a cruel and terrifying demon. He wanted nothing more than to immediately raise his axe and chop this damned monster to pieces to avenge his men!

That's what he thought, and that's what he did!
Henry gripped the axe tightly, raised it high, and then swung it down with force!

"What are you doing!?"

Li Wei was startled to see the sharp blade whizz past his head. Luckily, he reacted quickly and ducked into the shadows, otherwise his head would have been split in two!
"I...I don't know—"

Henry's voice sounded very surprised and astonished.

"I didn't intend to..."

However, his body language contradicted his words, for Henry had already raised his axe again and swung it at Levi. The latter could only hastily dodge, narrowly avoiding Henry's attack once more.

"Wait, Mr. Henry! What are you doing!"

Katie finally realized what was happening and rushed forward to try and stop Henry. However, just as Katie charged at him, her body suddenly spun around like a ballerina and then threw a punch at Levi.

Although Li Wei was prepared, the power of Katie's punch still exceeded his expectations. When he was hit by Katie's small fist, Li Wei felt as if he was being hit head-on by a sports car speeding at 70 miles per hour. Then, in the next instant, a violent impact and shock came from Li Wei's back, shaking him so much that he almost vomited his internal organs.

Li Wei coughed, feeling a dull ache in his arm. His diagnosis indicated that his left arm, which he had used to block Katie's punch, was likely fractured... Holy crap, those monsters are inhuman! Is this the kind of power a human could withstand? Could this young lady actually be some kind of troll hybrid?!
Although Li Wei had seen Katie send people flying more than once, this was the first time he had personally experienced the young lady's power. He even began to wonder who was using cheat codes; how could this young lady's fighting ability seem even more absurd than his own? Could she reach this level with her bare hands?

Of course, Levi's own relatively weak strength is also one of the reasons. An attribute value of 50 is that of a standard ordinary person. Levi's strength is 10 points lower than that. If Katie's strength were converted into numerical values, it might even be over 90.

Given Levi's physique and strength, it was lucky that Katie's punch didn't land a critical hit on him.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry! Detective! Are you alright?"

Katie was also visibly panicked, yet she didn't slow down her charge towards Levi. Seeing the danger, Levi immediately activated [Shadow Movement], disappearing into the shadows as if swallowed by a bottomless swamp. Almost simultaneously, Katie charged forward like a runaway dump truck, smashing the cabinet against the wall and the dolls to pieces.

What exactly is going on?

Li Wei stepped out of the shadows on the other side once more, activating [Soul Vision] at the same time. Subsequently, a dazzling red light once again filled his vision.

It seemed no different from before, but Levi keenly noticed that this time Katie and Henry's souls were somewhat different.

In the "Soul Vision," the souls of the living are white, the souls of the dead are black, and inorganic matter is also black, while organic matter such as plants is white.

Now, under Levi's gaze, Katie and Henry's souls remained white, but bright red highlights appeared on their heads, wrists, joints, and other parts.

What the hell is this?

Li Wei refocused his mind, and then the world before his eyes gradually became clearer—just like a car window that had been covered in fog gradually becoming clean.

Then, Li Wei saw it.

On their souls, there were bright red, thread-like things wrapped around them.

Is this why they are being controlled? But why not me?
Just as Li Wei was wondering, he suddenly saw a red thread hanging down from the sky and wrapping around his arm. However, at that moment, the red thread suddenly trembled and then let go of Li Wei, hanging to the side.

Could this be the "mysterious resistance"?
Li Wei felt that the biggest difference between himself and Katie and the others was this: it was obvious that this trick of manipulating other people's souls should belong to some kind of mysterious power, and his [mysterious resistance] had resisted this power.
Wait, this line is hanging down from the sky, which means...

Li Wei raised his head and looked towards the ceiling, then he was stunned.

Under the [Soul Vision], Li Wei realized that the room had no ceiling at all. It was like a small toy box, and outside the toy box, a giant doll was grinning and staring at them. Its hands were raised high, and countless red threads extended from the doll's fingertips, connecting everything in the room!
Seeing this, Li Wei was completely stunned.

How to fight this?
It must be said that before this, Li Wei had considered many ways to fight the BOSS, but the current situation was still beyond his expectations.

A gigantic puppet that controls everything here?

What the hell is this thing? I'm not some bald guy with dual swords... How am I supposed to fight this?
Before Levi could think of a solution, Henry and Katie pounced on him again, forcing Levi to deactivate [Soul Vision] and then use [Shadow Movement] to dodge their attacks once more. He couldn't continue this standoff; if the guy realized he couldn't be controlled, he might manipulate Henry and Katie into killing each other.

Well, in Levi's opinion, it's more likely that Henry will be killed by Katie.

and many more………

Just as Li Wei dodged the two men's attacks once again, his eyes caught sight of his own sleeves fluttering in the wind, and then his eyes lit up.

The red thread had tried to bind his arm, but it bounced off when it reached him. If Li Wei remembered correctly, the red thread hadn't even touched his body.

Does this mean that not only he himself, but also the things he carries possess [mysterious resistance]?
If that's the case…

Li Wei gritted his teeth.

Give it a try!

"Katie, Henry, tell me what you're going to do!"

Although their bodies were under control, their consciousness remained their own. At this moment, Katie and Henry were arguing with each other about why the other hadn't stood in front of them. Hearing Levi's words, they were momentarily stunned, but then they attacked again, charging towards Levi.

"Watch out, Detective! That's a right straight punch!"

"Mr. Li Wei, I will chop your head off from the left!"
Both of them are very skilled in combat, so even when their bodies are controlled, they can predict what they will do through their muscles.

Okay, let's give it a try.

Li Wei stared at the two men rushing towards him, narrowing his eyes.

Death Eyes!
Time seemed to slow down instantly, and so did the movements of the two. Levi lunged forward, stepping on Katie's outstretched fist, then leaped again, dodging Henry's axe, and landing on his broad shoulder. Simultaneously, Levi swiftly activated his second skill—[Soul Vision]!
The ceiling vanished instantly, replaced by a thin, crimson mist and a shadow behind it. Li Wei gritted his teeth, focusing intently on the mist, and then he saw it!
That giant doll behind the red mist!

As for whether it will work out... we'll see now!
Li Wei had already rushed out of the area where the ceiling was, and at that moment, he saw the puppet turn its head and look at him. A look of surprise appeared on his previously playful face—like a child watching a character on a computer suddenly step out of the screen and into reality.

At the same time, Li Wei also raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

"Bang bang bang—!"

He fired all the remaining bullets in one go, which whistled through the air and struck the doll directly in the face!
Then the doll opened its mouth and let out a terrifying scream!

(End of this chapter)