Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 87 The visitor

Chief McMillan has been having a very tough time lately.

As the chief of the DeLicat Police Department, his daily work was actually quite leisurely. DeLicat was a laid-back agricultural area, where most people worked on farms or in jobs related to agricultural products. Of course, there were occasional cases, but none were particularly serious.

Chief McMillan recalled that the only murder case he encountered after joining the police department was ten years ago. At that time, a girl was playing around with her boyfriend and accidentally pushed him down the stairs. Unfortunately, the latter's head hit the corner of a table, and that was the end of that.

How pitiful.

But now, things have changed.

The Baskerville Curse.

Chief McMillan didn't believe it, but the issue wasn't whether he believed those absurd rumors; after all, it had happened. Sir Baskerville was missing, and two of his officers were dead. All of this caused a huge uproar in the area, especially the *Dleecat Morning News*, which vehemently criticized the police department and its officers, accusing them of failing in their duties and even filing charges of dereliction of duty…

These idiots who only know how to use their pens don't know anything!

The thought of those scathing and biting reports in the newspapers infuriated Chief McMillan. He hated journalists, believing they were just looking for a big story; they talked about justice and truth, but in reality, they only wanted unsubstantiated rumors and outlandish gossip.

Just like the previous murder case, the newspapers published all sorts of unfounded speculations, from love and hate arising from a quarrel between the two parties to the woman having a new lover and killing her to cover it up. However, after the police announced the truth, the reporters lost their previous enthusiasm and had no intention of reporting on it at all.

They would rather publish lengthy articles on the front page titled "A Girl's Emotional Entanglement with Two Boys Who Love Her" than directly state that "according to the police investigation, this was just an ordinary accidental death caused by a fight."

The truth? The facts?
Chief McMillan scoffed at this.

These stray dogs are just looking for thrills; they're no different from those damn drug addicts.

However, those stray dogs have now left the police station, and the case has been handed over to higher-ups from Chongqing. In any case, he'd done what he could. Now it was up to the investigators to see if they could find a way to solve this problem he couldn't handle.

Thinking of this, Chief McMillan felt a pang of anxiety. On one hand, he genuinely hoped the case could be solved. But on the other hand, a faint, malicious smugness lingered deep within him. After all, if even the people sent by Fog City couldn't solve the case, then it meant it wasn't his fault… This made him quite hesitant, the scales in his heart swaying back and forth, unsure which way to lean.

"Boom boom boom!"

There were hurried footsteps outside the door, and then a policeman stumbled in without knocking.

"Chief, Chief!"

"What are you doing? You're all so flustered, what a mess you're making!"

Chief McMillan snapped out of his thoughts and glared at his subordinates with displeasure. Even if it was a police station in a rural area, it was still a police station. What was wrong with them?

"No, no, there's a car, a car is coming..."

"The car? What happened to the car?"

Chief McMillan looked at his subordinates with exasperation and disdain. The Delicat region was indeed somewhat backward as an agricultural area, but they had seen steam engines before. He had also heard that the higher-ups were recently considering using steam machinery to improve the efficiency of planting and harvesting crops, and yet his men were acting like complete bumpkins… what a mess!
Muttering to himself, Chief McMillan stood up and turned to look out the window.

"You lot, making such a fuss over a steam engine, what kind of future do you think you'll have? This isn't decades ago anymore, you young people... Volta!?"

As the black steam car rattled into the police station compound, Chief McMillan almost spat out a curse.

What the hell is this?

Chief McMillan was no stranger to steam engines; he had studied and worked in Chongqing when he was young before being transferred here.

But this thing in front of me is completely different from the steam car that Chief McMillan remembers!
Has the city evolved to this extent now?

"Come on, let's go down and take a look."

Upon seeing this, Chief McMillan's expression hardened, and he walked out of his office. Although he didn't know who had come, based on Chief McMillan's experience, anyone who could ride in such a car was certainly not an ordinary person.

As a police chief (in the countryside), it seems... reasonable for me to go down and see for myself.

When Chief McMillan arrived at the gate, he saw the car already parked. The door slowly rose, and a strikingly handsome young man stepped out. He wore a top hat, carried a cane, and was dressed in a suit—a picture of aristocracy. Seeing this, Chief McMillan felt a jolt in his heart.

He'd seen handsome men before, and he'd seen rich men before, but he'd never seen anyone so handsome, dressed so stylishly, and driving such a powerful-looking steam car.

"Hello."

Li Wei got out of the car, straightened his clothes, and then went to the police station. There he saw a man with a full beard, wearing a police uniform, a beer belly, and an air of authority standing there. So he smiled and went up to greet him.

"My name is Li Wei, and I am a special investigation consultant for the Chongqing Police Department."

"Hello, Mr. Levi, I am McMillan Black."

Upon hearing Li Wei introduce himself, Director McMillan breathed a sigh of relief. He had suspected that the other party might be an expert from Chongqing, but the way he made his entrance was a bit too strange and left him puzzled.

Moreover, this consultant is far too young.

Looking at Li Wei's handsome and young face, Chief McMillan couldn't help but wonder to himself, "Can such a young man really solve cases?"

"I'm sorry I'm a little late. Something came up on the way. I apologize."

Facing Chief McMillan, Levi smiled and apologized. After arriving in Delicat, he didn't go directly to the police station, but instead went to the post office first to send a telegram to MI7. He told them about the Wolfhead Village incident and asked them to handle the aftermath, and also that MI7 needed to have someone thoroughly investigate the cave.

Of course, Li Wei wouldn't say it directly. Instead, he sent it to the editorial department in a way that resembled telling a ghost story. He believed that as long as the people there saw his name, they would know what the ghost story was all about.

“It’s nothing, you arrived much faster than I expected, Mr. Li Wei.”

"After all, the situation is urgent."

Li Wei nodded to Chief McMillan.

"How about we talk about this privately?"

Chief McMillan did not object, as they couldn't very well discuss private matters at the main entrance. He then took Levi to his office and listened to his explanation.

"...You're saying this is a new type of crime?"

Director McMillan was somewhat surprised to hear Li Wei's explanation.

"Yes."

Li Wei nodded.

The explanation given for the new criminal methods was finalized after discussions within MI7. After all, in an era of rapid development driven by the steam revolution, new inventions emerged one after another, including new methods of crime.

Just like how computers gave rise to hackers, this is a magical era, with all sorts of crazy, amazing, and bizarre inventions emerging one after another.

Therefore, it is understandable that criminal methods are changing rapidly.

“Unlike ordinary crimes, criminals like to use or create various mysterious legends and stories to cover up their criminal motives and purposes. They also use certain special methods to commit crimes, making it easier for them to escape legal pursuit. What we need to do is to arrest them and bring them to justice.”

This is actually quite difficult.

The old butler also told Li Wei that after the monsters' corpses were sent up, the royal family and parliament had shown considerable concern. However, the problem was that they couldn't pass legislation to legally convict these people. The reason was the same as before: they couldn't present these bizarre things to the public. If the public knew that "someone summoned monsters to kill people" or "someone turned into a monster to kill people," it would inevitably cause panic.

Therefore, the old butler's hint was—catch them in the act, and if they resist, well…you know what I mean.

Li Wei understood perfectly well; it was standard procedure for a certain beacon of freedom.

Empty your ammo and then take a vacation, that's all.

In fact, Li Wei knew that what the higher-ups really wanted was to capture him alive for investigation and questioning, but Li Wei was unwilling to take that risk.

The reason is simple, just like the joke Li Wei saw in his own world—Cao Cao ordered his men to capture Zhao Yun, and then watched as the latter fought his way in and out of the encirclement seven times. Cao Cao was so angry that he scolded his men, and then his men said aggrievedly, "Prime Minister, we know we have to capture him alive, but he doesn't know that."

Of course, if this were the military, soldiers would undoubtedly consider obeying orders their duty, and would not hesitate to go through fire and water without hesitation.

But Livy wasn't a soldier, so why would he risk his life for the paltry sums that the royal family and parliament offered?
Wouldn't it be more convenient to just let the flames purify everything?
It's their business if others want to capture them, but Li Wei certainly doesn't. He's realized now that these monsters are incredibly resilient; they're not safe until they're completely dead, so why would you want to capture them alive?
So it wasn't you who was going to catch them? If you're so capable, go and catch them yourself.

"...That's the current situation."

Li Wei quickly explained the situation and successfully saw a relieved expression on Chief McMillan's face.

For the police, the worst thing is to be accused of incompetence, but Levi's explanation solved the problem perfectly. Delicat is a rural area; there's no internet in this era, and intelligence on new criminal techniques isn't readily available. So, giving them a way out is beneficial for both sides.

"So, you mean this is a very covert criminal method? Then, what exactly is the method?"

“I’m sorry, I can’t say right now, because it requires a high level of expertise, and I’m not sure if the Baskerville family’s disappearance is related to this. I need to investigate, confirm, and then decide whether I need to disclose the information.”

At this point, Li Wei looked at Chief McMillan and added a sentence.

"That's why I came here, precisely because this technology is so niche and rare."

Then he saw that Chief McMillan's tense expression had relaxed considerably.

Great, problem solved.

"Then let's solve the problem now."

Li Wei coughed and got back to the main topic.

"Regarding the details of the case, I have only seen the newspapers and official internal records so far... and then, I have a few questions."

Li Wei looked at Chief McMillan and asked.

"Sir Baskerville said he was going to the restroom, so why did you end up finding the bodies of the two officers in the study?"

Sir Baskerville initially played cards in the recreation room on the first floor, where there were of course restrooms, so he had no need to go to the study on the second floor.

"That's something we find strange too."

In response to Li Wei's question, Director McMillan nodded.

"We can only guess that after Sir Baskerville went to the restroom, he suddenly remembered that he needed to go to his study to get something. So the two officers accompanied him, but unfortunately, we can no longer know the answer to that question."

"You deployed a large number of police officers to guard the perimeter of the manor, yet you didn't set up any sentries inside the house?"

Li Wei was somewhat puzzled, while Director McMillan shook his head.

"Sir Baskerville rejected our offer, which I can understand. Someone in his position is naturally unwilling to let the police into his home so easily. After all, who knows what secrets he might be hiding in his house that he doesn't want others to know..."

Moreover, this secret is more important than his life.

Li Wei silently complained to himself before changing the subject.

"May I see their bodies?"

"of course."

The bodies of the two police officers are kept in the morgue in the basement of the police station. It's fortunate that they were police officers; if they were ordinary victims, their families would probably have insisted on burying them long ago.

After all, most people in this era still believe in the importance of being buried in peace, especially in rural areas like Delicat, where the power of tradition is very strong.

Upon arriving at the morgue, Li Wei quickly saw the bodies of the two police officers.

Their cause of death is obvious.

Under the stark white light, enormous, sharp claw marks tore through their bodies, leaving deep wounds on their backs that nearly ripped the two officers apart like dolls. Li Wei held out his hand to measure, realizing the remaining claw marks were almost larger than bear paws.

"He almost died on the spot."

Chief McMillan's expression was serious, though his facial expression remained almost unchanged, his tone still carried a hint of anger.

May they rest in peace.

"So, some wild beast stood behind them, raised its two claws, and slashed down at them, killing them instantly."

Li Wei stared at the wound. He was very familiar with it, after all, he had seen almost the exact same injury just a few days ago.

“There are no wild animals of that size in the Delicat area.”

"Chief McMillan answered in a low voice."

“Our biggest concern here is wolves, but I don’t think even a single wolf could cause this much damage.”

Levi didn't say much about Chief McMillan's speculation. What he was certain of now was that what was happening in the Delicat region was indeed connected to Wolfhead Village in some way.

(End of this chapter)