Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 94 Coincidence and Anomaly

The study was neither big nor small, but it didn't matter to Li Wei.

He stared at the ground, examining it inch by inch, measuring it meter by meter, exploring it step by step.

Luckily, there was no carpet in the study, otherwise it would have been even more troublesome to find.

Olivia didn't know what Levi was doing. She just poked her head in from the hole and looked around curiously, without coming in—Levi told her to wait outside, so Olivia obediently waited outside.

"……………Um?"

However, just as Li Wei was groping his way to a certain spot, he suddenly felt a heat in his fingers.

Li Wei looked down and saw that the red ring on his right hand was now emitting a faint red glow.

What kind of radar capability is this?
Looking at the ring on his finger, Li Wei was completely bewildered. He knew that there was a similar radar scan in the game, just like finding something. You would circle around, use the instrument to find the direction with the most noise, lock onto it, and then keep correcting until you found your destination.

This pattern often appears in games, but this is the first time Li Wei has encountered it in real life.

"…………………"

Li Wei shook his arm and felt the heat from the ring fluctuate. Then he slowly swung his arm around the ring, making a large circle, like checking direction in a game, and finally locked onto the hottest part of the ring.

Then Li Wei slowly walked forward.

"——————"

The ring gradually became hotter, but not to the point that Li Wei couldn't bear it. At the same time, the brilliance emanating from the gemstones on the ring grew brighter. By the time Li Wei stopped, the ring's brilliance was almost comparable to that of an LED light bulb, emitting a soft and bright glow.

right here.

Li Wei twirled the ring, turning it towards his palm, before squatting down and carefully staring at the floor in front of him.

On the surface, this floor looked no different from the rest of the floor, but upon closer inspection, Li Wei noticed that the dust here was less evenly distributed compared to other areas, and…

Li Wei reached out and gently swept away the dust on the floor, carefully stroking along the cracks in the floorboards. Then... his fingers sensed that a corner of the floorboards was loose, and then Li Wei pressed it down with a "click".

"Rumble..."

The next moment, the floor made a deep sound. Li Wei looked up and saw the floor in front of him slowly move away, revealing a stone carving inside.

"What is this, Detective? May I come in and take a look?"

Seeing the mural, Olivia couldn't contain herself either. This time, Levi didn't stop her, but nodded instead.

"come in."

With permission granted, Olivia hurriedly entered, came to Levi's side, and stared at the stone carving on the floor.

The carving depicts a knight wielding a sharp blade, battling a dragon. The knight beheads the dragon, while the dragon pierces the knight's chest.

"Ah, this painting is..."

"you know?"

Seeing Olivia's knowing expression, Levi asked curiously, and Olivia nodded.

"This is a very famous legend from our ancestors. It is said that when Emperor Arthur was leading his army to war, he passed through a mountain range. It turned out that the mountain was inhabited by an evil dragon. So our ancestor volunteered to slay the dragon. The two sides fought a great battle, and our ancestor finally cut off the dragon's head, while the dragon's claws almost pierced through our ancestor's heart. This is also a myth about our ancestors that has been passed down through generations of our Baskerville family."

"oh……………"

In the past, Li Wei might have simply thought that his ancestor was lucky, but after learning that his ancestor was a woman, his opinion changed—maybe it was because that ancestor's breastplate was thick enough?

After all, there have been rumors of silicone blocking bullets in modern times.

Thinking of this, Li Wei subconsciously looked at the knight's chest in the stone painting, and saw a small indentation there—it couldn't be that his ancestor's chest was concave, could it?

"What to do now?"

"Um……………"

Staring at the stone slab in front of him, Li Wei stroked his chin.

"Generally speaking, in this situation, blood is used to trigger it..."

"I understand."

Olivia nodded, and then Levi saw a flash of light before his eyes. The next moment, Olivia extended a finger and placed it on the stone slab, while in her other hand, a dagger appeared out of nowhere.

"???"

Noticing Li Wei's questioning gaze, Olivia smiled sheepishly.

"I prefer hunting, and I'm quite familiar with it. At least I'm not as delicate as ordinary young ladies."

“Oh, really… um…”

Li Wei nodded without saying much, not because there was anything wrong with Olivia's action itself, but because her movements were so fast that they startled him. While Katie was strong, her speed wasn't particularly fast. But Olivia, this young lady, was quick and swift in her attacks. If that knife had been aimed at Li Wei's neck, he probably wouldn't have even had time to react before being struck.

"…………………"

Well, now Li Wei understands why mages in fantasy novels are afraid of thieves.

Even with the ability to teleport, I couldn't react to that speed.

Of course, he could see clearly if he activated his Death Eyes, but Li Wei couldn't keep his Death Eyes open 24 hours a day.

Actually, to be fair, Katie's strength was also outrageous. Now it seems this young lady is no less impressive.

I doubt many of the nobles in the empire are normal people.

Li Wei inwardly cursed for a moment, then saw Olivia's blood drip from her finger, settling steadily into the indentation of the stone slab. Then, the blood disappeared.

"Kara la la la—!"

The next moment, the ground began to tremble, and the hard stone carvings scattered like building blocks, revealing the treasures inside.

It was a wooden box.

"……………Box?"

Olivia reached out in confusion, picked up the box, and opened it. Inside, she saw a necklace.

Upon seeing the necklace, Li Wei's eyes widened slightly.

The necklace in the box appeared to be made of silver, with a medium-sized gemstone encased in the center. But the problem wasn't the gemstone itself; rather, it was that the inside of the gemstone, illuminated by the light, seemed to dance like flowing water!

That's right, just like the ring on Li Wei's finger! It looks like a solid on the surface, but upon closer inspection, it looks like a liquid!

And they are all red!

Is this a coincidence?

Of course not!
The thought flashed through Li Wei's mind, but he immediately dismissed it. What a joke! There are no coincidences like this! He'd never seen another gem like this before—well, well, here it is now.

Could there be some connection between my ring and this necklace?
Levi carefully examined the necklace in Olivia's hand and noticed that the carvings around it were quite elaborate, using the Baskerville family crest and representative plant. Moreover, it seemed to be quite ancient, and judging from its placement here, it must be some treasure of the Baskerville family.

So why didn't Sir Baskerville take it?
Could the reason be related to the Baskerville family tradition? For example, is it that only a woman's blood can activate the slab and open it, while a man's blood cannot?
"Mr. Li Wei, what is this?"

Li Wei was thinking rapidly, while Olivia looked at the necklace in her hand with a puzzled expression. She had seen quite a few jewels, but this was the first time she had ever seen a necklace with such strange gemstones.

"This should be a treasure belonging to the Baskerville family. Perhaps old Mr. Baskerville couldn't find it, so he sealed this room away."

Perhaps he doesn't even know what he's looking for.

"In short, this must be very important, so you should keep it safe."

"Ok."

Olivia nodded; she could also tell that the necklace was definitely not ordinary. As for whether it was possessed by any evil spirits—Levi had already checked it with [Soul Vision], and like his own ring, it emitted only a red glow and nothing else.

Although the exact reasons behind what happened to the Baskerville family are still unclear, Levi is certain that they are getting closer and closer to finding the truth.

After that, the two left the room and locked it again. Both were covered in dust and grime after all that commotion, so they decided to go back to their rooms to shower, change clothes, and have a meal before continuing their investigation.

Just as Li Wei was about to return to his room, Ms. Gladys came looking for him.

"Ah, Mr. Levi, I was just about to look for you. Chief McMillan just got through and said he has important intelligence to share with you."

"Ok, alright, Thanks."

After thanking Ms. Gladys, Levi went to the living room and picked up the handset.

"Hello, this is Li Wei."

"Ah, Detective! It's me, McMillan."

Soon, Chief McMillan's loud voice came through the receiver.

“I actually found the file for that case you mentioned. Hey, I never imagined that Sir Baskerville would do something like that…”

"What did he do?"

"According to the records, on the Feast of the Lord, Sir Baskerville the Elder—who was only sixteen at the time—was playing with some of his cronies at a nearby villa. They then took a liking to a young girl who was in a hurry to go home and forcibly took her to the villa to attempt to assault her. However, the boys were probably drunk and had fallen asleep, and the girl was frightened and ran away, then went to the police station to report the incident."

At this point, Chief McMillan's voice was quite smug.

"Hey, I never expected that the clan chief had this side to him."

"And then?"

"At the time, the police sent people to the villa and arrested all the drunken guys. Later, after negotiations with the Baskerville family, they chose to provide the girl with a sum of compensation so that they could move out, thus causing the girl to drop the charges against old Baskerville."

"Oh? I see..."

Li Wei was not surprised by this outcome; after all, it's normal for nobles to settle things with money.

"But that's not all. I investigated further and found that the situation might not be as simple as the girl said."

"What does it mean?"

"According to the records, the girl said that after they took her to the villa, they locked her in a room, and she heard the group of people shouting and yelling outside, which terrified her. After the noise stopped, she desperately jumped from the second floor to escape. But you know, if a group of young men were going to assault a girl, why would they go through all that trouble? They could just drag her into the room, tear off her clothes, and do it, right? So when I saw this, I found it strange, and then I investigated a bit... Hey, guess what I found?"

"Please keep it brief."

"Well, after my investigation, I found out that a large portion of the others who were in that room with old Baskerville later participated in Luddite terrorist activities! Hey, that's interesting. Do you think they were planning to assault that girl when they grabbed her that night in that villa? Or were they planning something even more outrageous…?"

"Beep beep beep—!"

However, before Chief McMillan could finish speaking, the communication was suddenly cut off.

what happened?

Hearing the busy tone in his ear, Li Wei's expression hardened. He hurriedly dialed the Delicat Police Department's communication machine again, but it still went unanswered.

Could it be that something happened at the police station?

(End of this chapter)