Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 60 Fierce Battle in the Rain

"Boom, boom, boom!!"

Thunder roared.

Inspector Lestrade shuddered, abruptly raising his head to look around.

The restaurant was quiet, but everyone was still there. After Inspector Lestrade's persuasion, everyone decided to stay together that night. The hotel manager's death was frightening enough, but then the little girl went missing, which only added to the panic.

So everyone decided to stay together tonight and not go anywhere.

The newlyweds were leaning against the sofa against the wall, while the parents who had lost their child sat on the other side of the dining table. The mother, perhaps exhausted from crying, was also leaning against her husband in silence. The two maids and the medium were asleep on the table. Everyone was present; nothing was missing.

Inspector Lestrade checked the headcount and breathed a sigh of relief. He was getting on in years, and staying up all night was simply too much for him. He'd just closed his eyes for a nap and fallen asleep. If it weren't for the thunder, he might have slept soundly until dawn…

"Thump thump thump—! Thump thump thump—!"

No, it wasn't thunder.

Inspector Lestrade immediately tensed up, perking up his ears and gripping the gun at his waist.

The sound was coming from outside the door!
"Thump thump thump—! Thump thump thump—!"

Someone is banging on the door!

Inspector Lestrade, a veteran police officer with extensive experience, reacted almost instantly. He immediately tensed up, his earlier drowsiness vanishing completely.

It was raining late at night when someone was banging on the door.

Nobody would believe this is a good thing!

Inspector Lestrade stood up and cautiously walked towards the restaurant entrance.

"Officer?"

Only the girl's parents were still awake, and seeing Inspector Lestrade's tense appearance, they also became uneasy.

"In some situations, wake up the others! Quickly!"

Inspector Lestrade didn't dare to call out himself; his shout might alert the other party and also cause panic among his own men. Therefore, Inspector Lestrade signaled to the two men to quickly wake the others. Hearing this, the two men understood, nodded hastily, and began waking the sleeping men one by one.

Everyone had just woken up and hadn't yet realized what had happened. When they heard the noise coming from outside, their expressions changed slightly.

"Could it be that gentleman has returned? Or perhaps he was injured?"

The young maid asked anxiously. Inspector Lestrade had told them that Levi had gone to find the missing child, and everyone was somewhat worried about him. After all, Levi wasn't the Rambo type of muscular hunk; his physique was actually relatively slender. Such a build might be a regular at high-society parties, but it made the police feel a bit unsafe.

"It can't be him."

Inspector Lestrade was quite certain, because the person currently banging on the door was very persistent. Based on Inspector Lestrade's understanding of Levi, he wasn't the reckless type. He certainly wouldn't be so persistent in banging on the door, and besides, banging on doors is physical work, and Inspector Lestrade knew that Levi didn't make a living through physical labor.

He's been banging on the door for so long, he might just exhaust himself to death.

The question now is... should we open the door and go in?
Inspector Lestrade gripped his gun, hesitant. The problem was, if he opened the door himself… Inspector Lestrade thought for a moment, then decided to assess the situation first.

"Don't you want to go take a look?"

The husband in the newlywed couple seemed uneasy. He walked over to Inspector Lestrade and whispered something while drawing his gun.

"let me help you."

"You'd better forget it."

Inspector Lestrade glanced at the gun in the other man's hand, his face full of disdain, and immediately retorted. In this era, there weren't strict gun control laws, and in some remote areas, there were often gangs and similar groups. Many people therefore bought guns for self-defense, especially men; these days, even if not everyone carried one, it was rare to see a man out in the world without one.

However, having a gun and knowing how to use a gun are two different things. Inspector Lestrade could tell at a glance that the newlywed husband was just a show-off, probably the kind of person who wouldn't even dare to fire a gun.

If a shot is fired, hitting one's own people is more dangerous than hitting the enemy.

"Boom boom boom!"

The banging on the door started again, louder and louder, but this time Inspector Lestrade remained calm. He was now certain that something was wrong with the banging; it might be a deliberate attempt to lure him into opening the door.

"Everyone, stay away from the door and windows!"

Instead of opening the door, Inspector Lestrade took a few steps back and pointed his gun at the entrance. He then gestured for the others to move to the other side. They obediently moved aside, knowing they weren't capable of doing it themselves, and besides, the presence of an officer provided a sense of security.

"Thump—!"

Just then, the banging on the door suddenly stopped, and the entire restaurant fell into a deathly silence.

But this only made everyone more nervous.

Even the most clueless person would instinctively sense that danger was imminent.

"boom-----!"

Suddenly, the restaurant doors, which had been tightly shut, burst open. At the same time, the bright lights around the restaurant went out instantly, plunging the entire place into darkness. The windows, which had been closed, also seemed to be working in concert, suddenly swung open, and a howling wind, the sound of rain, and lightning rushed in, dispelling the last vestiges of tranquility in the restaurant.

"ah----!"

"Wow—!"

The others had never seen anything like it before, especially the women, who were now dutifully providing the background screams from a horror movie, their volume so loud that even the rushing cold wind trembled.

But Inspector Lestrade had no time to care about any of that. He stared wide-eyed at the wide-open restaurant door in front of him. As a veteran police officer, Inspector Lestrade had been through countless battles and had a strong instinct for danger. Although it was pitch black and there seemed to be nothing in front of him, Inspector Lestrade still felt his hair stand on end and his blood run cold.

The last time he had this feeling was when he was chasing a fugitive who tried to kill him.

Inspector Lestrade reacted in the same way he had before. He raised his gun, didn't aim, but pointed it at the direction he felt was most dangerous and pulled the trigger!
"boom!"

"Ahhhhhhh!" Just as Inspector Lestrade pulled the trigger, a scream suddenly rang out in front of him. Then, Inspector Lestrade saw a figure that was glowing all over suddenly appear in the previously empty darkness. His eyes were wide open, his mouth was agape, and his chin was almost hanging down to his chest.

And it was none other than the former hotel manager!

What the hell is this?!
This was the first time Inspector Lestrade had ever seen such a thing in all his years of service, and he was so frightened that he pulled the trigger again.

"Bang bang bang bang!!"

A series of gunshots rang out, bullets raining down on the strange figure. Its body was sent flying like a tattered wad of cotton, then torn apart in mid-air, vanishing without a trace.

At the same time, the lights came on again.

But there was no one in front of Inspector Lestrade.

"call…………………"

Seeing this scene, Inspector Lestrade wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and then looked at the gun in his hand. He certainly remembered that it contained the silver bullets that Levi had given him, which Inspector Lestrade had loaded in just in case.

did not expect………

"This actually works..."

Looking at the gun in his hand, Inspector Lestrade muttered to himself, secretly resolving that when he returned this time, he would definitely ask Levi for a few more silver bullets.

Consider it a talisman against evil spirits.

Of course, Levi was unaware of the situation with Inspector Lestrade, or rather, even if he had known, he wouldn't have had time to care.

After all, the immediate danger is deadly.

"boom!"

Li Wei pulled the trigger for the third time, then threw the cane-gun aside and sprinted forward. At the same time, the flow of time returned to normal, and the three bullets fired from the muzzle arrived at the Ghost Knight almost simultaneously.

The latter roared and raised his longsword, slashing it hard, instantly sending one of the bullets flying. The longsword itself swung aside due to the impact.

The other two bullets evaded their mark and continued forward. But at the same time, the enemy raised their shield to block. The second bullet struck the shield, which finally gave way and shattered.

The last bullet continued forward along the path cleared by the first bullet, striking Ghost Knight's helmet squarely. The immense impact sent Ghost Knight's head flying backward, and he involuntarily staggered back two steps.

When he looked down again, the helmet was broken in two, revealing a scruffy, ugly face underneath.

Li Wei didn't recognize this face, nor had he ever seen it before, but he saw something in it!
After losing the cover of the helmet, Li Wei could clearly see that a bright red dot of light was floating in the middle of the head!
This immediately reminded Li Wei of that big-headed doll from before, which had something similar inside its head!

Find the weakness, and you'll find the opportunity!
Li Wei raised the Persuader and aimed it at the Ghost Knight's head—the opponent's shield had been broken, his longsword had been deflected, and he had just regained his balance, leaving his defenses wide open. There was no better opportunity than this!
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

Li Wei fired all the bullets in his gun in one go, then quickly reloaded and activated [Eye of Death] again, unleashing another wave of attacks—Li Wei had now learned how to use [Eye of Death], and instead of using this opportunity to slow down the passage of time and eliminate enemies with precise sniping, he preferred to unleash a burst of high damage, crippling them even if they weren't killed!
Firepower is justice!

Time passed and things returned to normal.

This time, the Ghost Rider abandoned its longsword and shield, stretching out its hands to block in front of it. However, against Levi's high-burst attack, its resistance was barely worth mentioning.

The first volley of bullets shattered Ghost Knight's hands, and the subsequent second wave tore its head apart. Even so, Ghost Knight did not give up the struggle; it kicked out, aiming directly at Li Wei, attempting to disrupt his attack.

Unfortunately, it's too late.

A dark shadow silently appeared behind the Ghost Knight. The tail of the black cat doll suddenly thrust forward, and the extremely sharp silver blade at the tip of the tail pierced straight through the Ghost Knight's head from behind, also piercing the bright red light floating in it.

"—————————!"

The next moment, Li Wei heard a painful roar, followed by an explosive shockwave that crashed towards him like a raging tidal wave. Without hesitation, Li Wei activated [Shadow Movement] again, disappearing into the shadows once more.

When he came out again, the Ghost Rider was gone; only the little girl was still lying on the ground.

However… at this moment, in Li Wei’s eyes, he could still see that the little girl’s body was tightly bound by something bright red, like tentacles, just like a cicada pupa.

How to do this?
Seeing this, Li Wei frowned. Could this really be some kind of curse? If so, he couldn't handle it. Should he contact the Holy Lord Church to see if they had a way to remove the curse?
Thinking of this, Li Wei stepped forward, reached out his hand to the little girl, and wanted to see if he could take her back.

Then, something amazing happened.

Just as Li Wei reached out to the little girl, he felt a burning sensation in the ring on his right hand again. Then, Li Wei saw a red light suddenly shoot out from his ring and hit the little girl!

The light was somewhat like the beam of a flashlight, and then Li Wei saw the eerie tentacles that had been wrapped around the little girl begin to writhe frantically, as if struggling. But the next moment, they shattered completely, disappearing swiftly into his ring as if sucked up by a vacuum cleaner.

"…………………"

Li Wei looked at the ring, unsure of what to say.

The ring reacted when the Ghost Knight appeared before, but it didn't show any particular aggression. Now that I've almost killed the Ghost Knight, is it jumping out to steal my kill?
What the hell is this?

Li Wei examined the ring more carefully, even using his [Soul Vision] to check it, but could see nothing except a burst of red light.

Could it be like some fantasy novel, where an old man is hidden here, restoring his power by consuming the things he kills? And is he planning to give away spiritual treasures? Cultivation techniques? Or perhaps he's planning to possess someone's body?
In any case, the matter has been resolved for now.

Li Wei knew, of course, that things weren't over yet. The big-headed doll's body contained a red light, and so did the Ghost Knight's head. Even without any knowledge of the occult, Li Wei could guess that this red light was probably what caused them to turn into monsters. And his own ring also emitted a red light… and it could devour the other party… um…

They're all red, so they're related; at least logically it makes sense.

Li Wei snapped out of his thoughts, went to the little girl's side, and quickly gave her a "diagnosis".

There were no external injuries, breathing was normal, and heart rate was normal. It seemed that he was simply unconscious or asleep.

Thinking of this, Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief and turned his gaze back to the ruins before him.

He can't handle this place by himself; let MI7 deal with it later.

(End of this chapter)