Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 72: Try it and you'll know.

"game?"

When everyone was summoned by Li Wei with a single phone call, they were completely dumbfounded.

When they heard Li Wei talk about the game, they were even more confused.

Are there many people playing it?

"Perhaps all the children in Chongqing are playing this game."

"this………"

Hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded. They had searched for so long, investigated so many rumors and information, only to be told by Li Wei that the culprit this time was actually a game played by children on the street?
No wonder everyone has been investigating for so long without any results. Who would have thought that the games played by street kids would be related to this?

Those children probably never imagined it themselves.

"This game is really interesting."

Anthony tried it out, and his eyes immediately lit up.

“I remember Her Majesty the Queen will be traveling by boat through the middle of the Empire Bridge on the day of the ceremony, right?”

"Because we want to showcase the design essence of the Empire Bridge to the public."

Henry began to speak.

The idea of ​​raising the bridge deck sounds simple, but seeing it in person is truly awe-inspiring and evokes a sense of national and ethnic pride in the public. Since it's an opening ceremony, it's natural to let the public witness the bridge's unique features firsthand.

"In other words, the game's designers were very likely aware of this."

Li Wei frowned.

"And the wording is also very professional."

Anthony tossed the note with the lyrics written by Li Wei.

"Bricks and mortar are things that most kids wouldn't think of."

"And all of them are materials used to build the Imperial Bridge, and none of them are missing."

Henry examined the lyrics again carefully, and his expression immediately turned serious.

Although the Empire Bridge was a classified project, the materials could not be kept secret. With the constant transport of materials, anyone with the right intentions could easily find out.

"The game also has a corresponding launch ceremony, right? When was the ceremony's procedure finalized?"

"Six months ago? A year ago? That must be a long time. Go ask the secretariat."

The opening ceremony is something that can't be brought up when the project is almost finished; it's all prepared in advance so that it can be used directly when needed.

Nobody working in MI7 is a fool. Once Li Wei found the clues, everyone naturally sprang into action and began investigating the intelligence.

However, Li Wei didn't care about any of that.

"We can investigate the source of the intelligence later, or we can simply hand it over to someone else."

Li Wei prefers to go to the scene; he's too lazy and unwilling to do this kind of internal investigation.

"Our current problem is figuring out exactly how the other party wants to turn this song into reality."

As Li Wei spoke, he pointed to the model again.

"From what we can see, this nursery rhyme is clearly for the opening ceremony, and the ceremony's procedures match up—right, Henry?"

"Yes."

Henry nodded, holding another document.

"According to the opening ceremony procedure, Her Majesty the Queen will sail out of the Thales River aboard the newly launched battleship 'Throne Blade'. When she arrives at the Imperial Bridge, Her Majesty the Queen will stand on the deck to conduct the opening ceremony. Then the bridge will open and the warship will sail out. That's roughly the procedure."

"Ambassadors and guests from various countries will watch the ceremony from the side bridges on both sides."

Anthony added.

"So, according to this game, if Her Majesty the Queen were crossing the Imperial Bridge in that warship, and the raised sections of the bridge suddenly collapsed..."

Li Wei raised his arm, then lowered it.

"Okay, that would be fun."

"Then it won't be fun at all."

Hearing Levi's words and imagining that scene, Henry felt a cold sweat break out all over his body. If it really happened, it would be a disaster. Not to mention that it would be in front of everyone; if the other side actually succeeded, the Empire… the Empire would truly be destroyed.

"So, can the ritual be changed?"

Li Wei turned to look at Anthony.

"Let the Queen conduct the ceremony on the shore? Then she shouldn't be on the ship?"

"Now? I'm afraid not. This was all discussed with all the guests in advance, and it has already been announced. Changing it would cause even bigger problems."

Anthony shook his head, rejecting Levi's suggestion.

"Is it too late for me to resign now?"

Li Wei was serious about what he said.

"It's too late. The reporting process will take a week."

Anthony was serious.

"It seems it's too late then." Li Wei sighed. There's no compensation for resigning without following the proper procedures, and no pension either... Of course, he still has tasks to complete.

"Then let's go through the process."

With that in mind, Li Wei made his decision.

"What do you mean?"

"Rehearsal, do you understand? We'll take a boat and walk along the route of the ceremony that day. Let's see how this works."

At this point, it seems Li Wei has no other options.

"But weren't there people patrolling under the bridge all along? Why didn't it trigger?"

"Because they're all men, that song was clearly aimed at the Queen."

In this era, superstitions certainly existed, such as the belief that it was bad luck for women to board ships. Of course, the Queen was an exception; she was the Queen, and all the land belonged to her, allowing her to go wherever she pleased. But for ships on the lower levels, those undergoing maintenance or transport, they generally wouldn't be so idle as to bring a woman along to increase the difficulty.

The song clearly considered this point, so each verse ends with "My beautiful lady".

Leaving aside passenger ships and cruise ships, there are clearly only a handful of women qualified to board warships.

So it's obvious who this segment is aimed at.

"I'm going, I'm going, I want to go too!"

Katie excitedly raised her hand high, looking like she was hoping the teacher would call on her to answer a question.

"Then come on."

Li Wei couldn't possibly find anyone else, especially since this young lady was even stronger than him in terms of combat power.

As a special department, MI7 certainly has the authority, especially when it comes to very important cases. Soon, Anthony, as their representative, coordinated with the construction team of the Empire Bridge. They certainly wouldn't mention any rumors or mysterious events; they simply said that, just to be on the safe side, they wanted to go through the procedures beforehand to check for any oversights.

The bridge construction team didn't object; they were also afraid of things going wrong, but they didn't have the authority to propose such things. Now that MI7 had offered this way out, they naturally agreed without hesitation.

"Tap tap tap..."

The small steamship couldn't compare to the towering warships, but it was enough as a decorative piece. The only thing to note was that it was already evening—Levi hadn't even had lunch, and Eileen had to regretfully cancel her dinner as well.

The Thales River was pitch black at night, but thankfully there were gas lamps all around, though they still couldn't illuminate the situation in the middle of the river. Levi steered the steamship forward, while Katie stood on the deck at the bow, mimicking the entire ceremony.

"This bridge is really beautiful at night."

Looking at the Empire State Bridge in the darkness before her, Katie couldn't help but murmur a sigh of admiration. The entire bridge was brightly lit, even the two massive towers in the river were illuminated, making it appear from afar as if the bridge were formed from solidified light, a truly romantic sight.

"Beautiful, but also dangerous."

Li Wei stared at Katie, his expression serious.

"Are you really going to do this? To be honest, I'm not familiar with the Queen, but I can tell you that this is very dangerous, extremely dangerous."

According to Li Wei's investigation of the children's games, those who are "hit" are eliminated on the spot, without even a chance to struggle; it's entirely rule-based. In other words, the only requirement to avoid this game is good luck. There are essentially no other options.

Of course, it's not wrong for someone to want to speed up or slow down, but that would be breaking the rules, and then no one would play with her.

Therefore, if Katie is unlucky enough to be "hit", then she will only have one path to take: elimination.

"I want to do it."

Katie nodded excitedly.

"Because it's really fun, even though it's a little scary, it's very exciting, isn't it?"

"It's exciting, but sometimes excitement can be deadly... Remember to hold onto that model case."

Since Katie had made her decision, Levi naturally wouldn't object. And just to be on the safe side, he also brought the model to the event, packed in a box and carried by Katie. It's always better to have it than not if it comes in handy.

As they spoke, the steamship they were on arrived at the bridge. Levi turned his head and glanced over, only to see Henry following behind in another boat, just in case. If Levi and Katie were indeed hit, he could then steer the boat to rescue them from the river.

Li Wei picked up the walkie-talkie and gave orders to Anthony, who was at the bridgehead.

"Ready, let's begin."

"Okay, boss."

"Knock knock..."

The next moment, accompanied by a deep rumble, everyone saw the heavy bridge deck in front of them slowly rise. Li Wei stared at the bridge deck, then looked at the towers on both sides. In his eyes, the two towers were like two little girls playing a game, and the bridge itself was their arms.

They are now slowly raising their arms and beginning to sing.

"The Imperial Bridge has collapsed, collapsed, collapsed, the Imperial Bridge has collapsed, my beautiful lady..."

"…………………"

Li Wei remained silent, and after the bridge rose, he steered the steamship forward. With a chugging sound, the steamship drew closer and closer to the bridge. Looking up, he saw the heavy bridge deck directly overhead, even obscuring the starry sky. This made Li Wei increasingly nervous.

The steamship sailed under the bridge and then continued on its way.

"Boss, run!"

Just as the steamship reached the center of the bridge, Anthony's voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie.

Before Anthony could finish speaking, Levi leaped out of the cockpit and pounced on Katie, grabbing her in his arms before the two plunged into the water.

Almost at the same time, the heavy bridge planks suddenly fell and crashed heavily into the river!

(End of this chapter)