Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 95 A Shocking Change in the Dead of Night
"Beep...beep...beep..."

The busy tone echoed through the receiver before disappearing. Li Wei gripped the microphone, frowning.

In movies, what he hates most is plots where the conversation is interrupted halfway through, but now the problem isn't that the conversation is interrupted halfway through, but rather... why the conversation is interrupted?
In this era, handsets required a cable to make a call. Could it be that there was a problem with the cable?
With a thought, Levi quickly summoned the doll-like bird that had been perched on the roof of the Baskerville house, and it took flight into the sky. Levi then swiftly activated [Soul Vision] to begin surveying the surroundings.

Then, Li Wei saw something... well, quite troublesome.

That's really troublesome.

“Ms. Gladys”.

Li Wei put down the microphone and looked at the maid who had been following him.

"Summon Duchess Baskerville immediately, it's urgent."

"Huh? But the young lady is now..."

"Go quickly and tell them I have something very important to tell them!"

"Ok."

Although Ms. Gladys didn't know why Levi was in such a hurry to find Olivia, she nodded and then hurriedly left.

A moment later, Olivia rushed over.

"What happened, Detective? What have you discovered this time?"

How many people are there in the manor now?

"Hey?"

It must be said that Li Wei's question was indeed somewhat beyond Olivia's expectations. She thought about it for a moment before giving her answer.

"Twenty people."

"so little?"

It must be said that this was quite unexpected for Levi, and Ms. Gladys quickly provided an explanation.

"Because the owner has changed, there are many things that need to be reorganized, and some people have resigned. Now only the butler, cook, gardener, groom, and six maids remain..."

"Where are the police officers that the police sent?"

"Eight."

"Tsk... Is it even possible to gather everyone together?"

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"We were attacked."

"Attack?"

This answer truly surprised everyone. It's understandable, though. Delicat is an inland region; even if the Empire is at war with other countries, they wouldn't be the first to be attacked. In fact, Delicat is mostly peaceful. While murders and other crimes do occur, the idea of ​​an attack on a noble's manor is absurd.

This is practically tantamount to rebellion!
"Contact Chief McMillan immediately..."

"Communications have been cut off."

Li Wei waved the microphone in his hand at Olivia, whose expression changed upon hearing the answer. She then took the microphone, listened for a moment, and her face darkened.

"Ms. Gladys, find Mace immediately and have him ring the bell to summon everyone to the main gate immediately, quick!"

"Okay, sure, I'll go right now!"

"I'll go and get ready too."

Li Wei left the house, went to the parking lot, took out spare ammunition from the car, and checked his cane pistol. Just then, the clock on the roof began to chime rapidly.

"Clang... clang... clang..."

It must be said that the Baskerville family's rules were quite good. When Levi returned, all the servants were already in place. Even the police officers who had been patrolling nearby curiously gathered around, wanting to see what had happened.

"Just these people?"

Li Wei glanced at the servants and frowned. Most of them were maids, and the rest were an old steward, a coachman, the old gravedigger he had met before, and two young and strong gardeners—the two unlucky guys who were being ordered around by Olivia.

Then there were the four guards responsible for guarding the courtyard.

A group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people, with few capable of fighting, frowned at the sight of Li Wei.

It's really just bad timing. Olivia inherited the position of clan leader, and with her predecessor missing, many servants were either dismissed or resigned. If Olivia had been given some time, she could have recruited more people. But unfortunately, she doesn't have that time now.

"Detective, please explain to everyone."

Olivia gathered everyone together and spoke when she saw Levi return. Levi nodded, then walked up to the group and glanced at them.

"I hope you can listen to me calmly. According to the information I just received, this manor is about to be attacked."

"Attacked?"

Upon hearing this, not only were the servants taken aback, but even the police officers responsible for guarding the area were equally surprised.

"Who was the attacker? We should contact the chief immediately..."

"The communication lines have been cut off, and we are unable to contact anyone."

Li Wei interrupted a young policeman's timid speech.

"Now I order you all to assemble and return to the house. Close the doors and windows tightly, grab your weapons, and prepare for battle! Also, light all the lights around you. Board up the windows and doors, just in case, understand?" "Wait."

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, a guard quickly spoke up.

"This is basically just passive defense... What if the enemy manages to trap us inside..."

"I said we would be attacked, but I didn't say the attackers would be humans."

"???"

It has to be said that everyone was quite surprised to hear Li Wei's answer, even Olivia looked at him in astonishment.

"In short, let's get started. According to my calculations, the enemy should appear after sunset. We don't have much time left!"

Li Wei glanced at the distant horizon. The sun had already set behind the mountains, and in at most an hour, it would be completely dark.

"………………………"

Faced with Li Wei's order, everyone hesitated and looked at Olivia. Olivia looked at Li Wei, then gritted her teeth.

"Do as the detective says. Open the storeroom. All men, go and get the weapons and ammunition. The rest of you, lock the doors and windows tightly and close the doors!"

Upon hearing Olivia's order, the others stopped arguing and quickly began to act as she instructed.

The male servants, along with the police, went to the warehouse to retrieve ammunition, rifles, and shotguns, while the maids quickly began checking the doors and windows and locking all the gates. Fortunately, as descendants of one of the Twelve Knights, the Baskerville family's manor had a long history, and the house itself had certain military architectural features.

If it's a villa that's all about luxury, with floor-to-ceiling windows and domed corridors, and where you practically want skylights to let in all the light, then you're doomed. There's no way to protect yourself from that.

Night falls.

The entire manor was brightly lit, with gas lamps illuminating every corner. The men, weapons in hand, stood idly by the first-floor windows and second-floor balconies, gazing around with boredom.

"Hey, what do you guys think? Is that detective reliable or not?"

A guard, holding a shotgun, yawns and chats with his companion.

"They've gathered us all here as if it's some kind of dangerous place. There's no danger here at all. Besides, even if it's an animal, so what? Wild beasts do come and go occasionally, don't they? City people are just being dramatic, making a big fuss over nothing..."

"Awooo——————!"

Suddenly, a wolf howl rang out, particularly clear in the night, interrupting the guard's complaints.

"Wolf?"

The guard paused for a moment, then quickly raised his gun and looked ahead, but continued talking.

"City folks are so ignorant. They make such a fuss over just one or two wolves. They might even think something terrible has happened..."

However, before the words were finished, howls of wolves rose and fell from all directions.

"Awooo—!"

"Awooo—!"

"Awooo—!"

At that moment, everyone's expression changed.

"What... what's going on?"

The guards stopped laughing, their faces turning serious. They often accompanied their masters on hunts, and they never really took a few wolves seriously. But almost none of them had experience fighting a pack of wolves, let alone now, with wolf howls coming from all directions, making them feel as if they were surrounded by wolves.

How many wolves are there exactly?

"If it's over a hundred, the wolves from the nearby mountains might come running."

Lying prone on the rooftop, Li Wei gripped his cane gun with its stand extended, glancing at the minimap in the lower right corner. A dense array of glowing dots stood out prominently. Above him, a puppet bird was soaring, dutifully displaying the battlefield below like a battlefield drone.

Li Wei now feels like he's playing a shooting game, in first-person perspective, with a gun in his hand and a mini-map in the corner of his eye. He's basically one-way transparent on the battlefield and fearless.

Players have complained on forums before that the protagonist's minimap and health regeneration in shooting games are so bad that if they were transported to World War II, they could probably fight their way from Dunkirk to Berlin. They'd be pure elite soldier equipment.

Li Wei doesn't have a breathing-based health regeneration ability, but the minimap is sufficient.

Night had fallen, and all the lights in the manor were on. Beyond the lights, pairs of gleaming eyes peered into the darkness. If this were in the wild, a pack of wolves like this would be enough to wipe out the entire group, but now… well, thankfully, building houses is a testament to human ingenuity.

Fortunately, the house wasn't made of straw or wood.

Levi pulled back the bolt and stared ahead. Behind him stood Olivia, who also held a hunting rifle and stared intently at the wilderness outside.

Normally, this place is a beautiful scene of cattle and sheep grazing amidst the swaying grass, which Olivia quite enjoys.

But when what appears in the grass is not cattle and sheep, but a pack of wolves, that's a different story.

The wind is getting stronger.

The distant wheat fields rippled and swayed like ocean waves, occasionally revealing the silhouettes of wild beasts hidden within. They crouched low, lurking in the wheat, their eyes fixed menacingly on the brightly lit farmhouse before them. Inside the houses, the people, guns in hand, waited in silent hushed tones.

"Everyone get ready. No one is allowed to fire without my order!"

Olivia stood at the second-floor window, shouting loudly. Since the other party was a beast, not a human, she no longer needed to conduct any secret communication.

"roar-----"

The wolves lowered their bodies, staring fiercely at the house. Then, like arrows released from a bow, they leaped out and raced forward!

(End of this chapter)