Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 75 Attack Skills (I just want to lie in bed and sleep)
"Bang, bang bang..."

The faint sound of cannons could be heard outside the window, but Li Wei simply sat in his chair, looking listless.

Although today is the opening ceremony of the Imperial Bridge and the debut of the Empire's most powerful warship, it's not anything interesting for Li Wei.

After all… he really couldn’t be bothered to look.

After all the skulls were retrieved, Levi's only task was to finish up, which wasn't difficult in itself. After all, the damage to the Imperial Bridge was a very serious matter, and after interrogating the workers and engineers in charge of the area, the origin of these skulls was finally revealed.

Well... if Li Wei were to comment, it would indeed be considered somewhat creative.

At first, everyone thought the murderer had secretly stuffed the body inside and then blocked the wall when no one was looking. But Li Wei immediately dismissed this theory. The reason was simple: if a dead body were simply buried, it wouldn't decompose into bones so quickly. Moreover, if the body were to rot, the smell would be extremely strong, making it very easy for the workers to detect.

After all, in addition to construction, a building also needs decoration, furniture arrangement, and various wiring configurations. There are many troublesome things to do, and it is not always the same group of workers who are responsible for it. Therefore, if a body is directly stuffed in, it is easy to be discovered.

The investigation results also proved Li Wei's judgment. According to the workers in charge of the construction at the time, the area was indeed closed for a period of time. However, the reason given at the time was that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wanted to bless the Tower Bridge and needed to perform a blessing ceremony on the wall. Therefore, only the church's pastors were present.

That solves the problem.

Through interrogation of the priests of the Holy Lord Church, the origin of these skulls was revealed.

It's actually a very simple principle.

The church manages the cemetery, which is filled with corpses, especially those of children who died young or tragically. Others may not know where they are, but the pastors who manage the church know it all perfectly well.

People live off the land they live by. This church lives off the cemetery. They don't even need to kill anyone else. They just find a bunch of four- or five-year-old children's skulls, take them over, and bury them in the wall. That's it.

The others also didn't go to the ceremony in person, although there was a queue system. Ordinary people weren't prevented from watching from the outside, but clearly, like Li Wei, they weren't interested in squeezing into the crowds, so they all spent their time in the editorial office's lounge.

Hearing the cannon salutes coming from outside, Henry frowned, his face grim.

"I never imagined those bastards would do something so outrageous. They will never be forgiven!"

"Don't worry, those guys are dead meat."

Leaning back on the sofa, Anthony yawned.

"Desecrating a corpse is a capital offense, and for clergy to steal from a body is an even greater crime. After the ceremony ends and the representatives from various countries leave, we will soon see their bodies on the gallows."

Will the ceremony go smoothly?

Katie rested her chin on her hands, staring blankly out the window, muttering to herself. Hearing her words, Anthony shuddered.

"My dear lady, please don't say that. We hope everything goes smoothly, otherwise we're doomed! But the boss has already assured us there won't be any problems, so it should be fine, right?"

As he spoke, Anthony looked at Levi with longing in his eyes.

"I can only say it should be."

Levi nodded. After clearing away all the skulls stuffed in the wall, just in case, Levi and Katie took the boat again. This time it went smoothly without any accidents.

As for what happened between the two in another world, Li Wei simply wrote a report and submitted it. Whether they believed it or not was their problem. In any case, Li Wei had done all he could.

As for whether something else will happen... who knows?
This is one of the reasons why Li Wei and the others gathered here; after all, if anything happens, they can get to the scene as quickly as possible.

I just hope nothing bad happens.

Li Wei sipped his tea while looking at the system in front of him, fiddling with it constantly.

This mission was not only highly dangerous, but the decryption part was also very tricky. Li Wei never expected that this time the clues would be found in nursery rhymes, and he almost prepared to run away with his bucket.

Moreover, the enemy was more terrifying and harder to fight than before. Li Wei never thought that he would fight against an animated character from Disney. If it weren't for Katie, a powerful tank, he would have had a hard time dealing with her with his own limited skills.

However, effort and reward are directly proportional.

[Mission "Chasing the Secret" Completed]

[Time taken: s]

Survey efficiency: S

[Impact/Effect: S]

Overall Rating: SSS

[Lifespan +150, additional +50]

I've now reached a total lifespan of over 500 days, which is about a year and a half, and I'm becoming more and more leisurely and carefree.

[Gain additional skill — Trace Detection (LV1)]

Li Wei tried out this "trace analysis" feature and found it was basically equivalent to the famous detectives in detective novels. Like Sherlock Holmes, he could tell what someone did just by looking at them. Or, he could tell from footprints whether a person was male or female, how tall they were, their gender, whether they walked calmly or anxiously, and so on.

Furthermore, the knowledge about how these conclusions were reached will also emerge in Li Wei's mind, rather than simply giving him a result followed by a [process omitted], which would be troublesome. This skill is extremely useful to Li Wei. Moreover, it's one of only two skills Li Wei currently possesses that doesn't consume his life force. Of course, like [Puppeteer], the proficiency of [Trace Detection] increases very slowly, and at his current level, Li Wei can only obtain some very basic information at most.

He doesn't yet possess the ability of Sherlock Holmes to scan someone's entire family history with a single glance. But that's alright, this skill is easy to learn; he can just keep an eye on people anytime, anywhere.

[Mystic Resistance +20%]

I've added another layer of mystical resistance to myself. Great stuff! Ideally, I should upgrade it to 100% in the future, then I won't be afraid of magic curses or anything like that.

However, I'm still afraid of physical attacks.

Next up is the much-anticipated skill upgrade time.

[Shooting skills increased]

Piercing Shot/Bouncing Shot/Burst Shot

This was the first real attack skill that Li Wei had acquired, so he carefully examined the skill description to determine his next development direction.

[Piercing Shot] is mainly for armor penetration and piercing, specializing in surprise attacks, armor-piercing and wall-breaking.

[Bouncing Shooting] is somewhat like playing billiards, where the trajectory of the bullet is changed by bouncing and colliding, thus achieving effects that only appear in movies, such as "my bullets can curve" or "one shot can hit several people".

[Burst Shot] is basically emptying the magazine and dealing massive damage in one go, making even a pistol perform like a shotgun.

Of the three skills, Li Wei abandoned [Burst Shot] from the beginning. This was not because the skill was not powerful enough. Li Wei himself had [Death Eye], and if he combined it with [Burst Shot], the damage in one turn would be sky-high. In the game, it might even be able to deal 99999 damage.

As for why Li Wei didn't choose this skill, the reason is quite simple.

This skill consumes too many bullets.

Li Wei calculated that to meet the ammunition requirements for [Burst Shot], he would probably have to carry an ammunition box around all day like a Saint Seiya.

That's a joke.

Reality isn't a game. It's impossible for someone to carry hundreds of bullets with them all the time, right? Someone like Henry, who was a soldier, might not have a problem, but Levi is a detective. He can't possibly carry so many bullets with him every day like he's in a war. What would he do then?
Similarly, Li Wei also abandoned [Piercing Shot]. If it's just about penetrating armor and breaking through walls, he can have Benjamin get more powerful armor-piercing bullets. He shouldn't waste his precious skill tree on problems that can be solved with technology.

Ultimately, Li Wei chose [Bouncing Shot].

The reason for choosing this skill is simple. First, Li Wei can make the bullets curve by bouncing and rebounding, just like playing billiards. This allows him to kill enemies hiding in the opposite corner without even showing his face.

Secondly, reality is not a game. Just because your handgun has low power doesn't mean you can't kill someone. In reality, anyone who gets grazed by a bullet will either be completely incapacitated or be crying for their parents.

It's not like a monster in a game where shooting it in the leg only reduces its HP. If you find someone in real life and shoot them in the leg, whether it reduces their HP or not is secondary; you'll just see if they lie on the ground screaming.

If used well, the [Bouncing Shot] can paralyze a group of people with a single shot, making it extremely cost-effective and intimidating.

However, while [Bouncing Shot] doesn't consume lives, it also can't be upgraded; it's simply an advanced technique, with its range and power depending on the bullet itself. What Li Wei gained was only the method of using [Bouncing Shot], which is a minor drawback.

And then... the familiar [Skill Level +1]...

This mission was incredibly lucrative; all that fighting and risking my life alongside the Imperial Bridge was worthwhile.

Without hesitation, Li Wei added the skill to [Puppeteer], upgrading it to LV3. During the battle with the Imperial Bridge, Li Wei relied on the [Puppeteer] skill to manipulate the Imperial Bridge in reverse through the model, ultimately defeating it. Having tasted success, Li Wei decided to continue his efforts, treating it as a path to the bitter end.

Finally, there's... um...

Li Wei silently looked at the [Soul Fragment +2], still speechless.

Without a doubt, this soul fragment was the loot from destroying the two cores of the Imperial Bridge; his own ring had stolen it while he wasn't looking.

But what exactly is the use of these soul fragments?

The system doesn't say anything either...

"Waaaaahh ...

Just then, a loud ship's horn sounded in the distance. Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They knew very well that the warship had successfully passed under the Imperial Bridge and was sounding its horn in salute.

This means the ceremony concluded successfully. The Imperial Bridge did not collapse, the Queen was unharmed, and everything was fine.

"All right."

Li Wei casually swiped away the system, then stood up and picked up his hat.

"Everyone, go back and rest. There's nothing more for us to do."

At least now, he can finally get some rest.

(End of this chapter)