Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 97 Extreme Pursuit
Deep in the forest, shadows flickered.

The giant, jet-black wolf, clutching Olivia in one hand, darted swiftly through the forest. Like Tarzan in the movies, it leaped from tree to tree, occasionally using its other hand, with its sharp claws extended, to grab the trunk for balance or to change direction.

From a distance, it looks like a ghost drifting in the forest, without even making a sound.

Even the most experienced hunters would find it difficult to track down.

However, for Li Wei... none of this mattered.

Standing on a cliff not far away, Li Wei stared at the forest below. In the vision of the Soul, the radiance of the soul was dazzling.

This is the dimensionality reduction attack.

Just like military camouflage, you can hide in the grass for a long time without moving, even getting bitten by mosquitoes without making a sound. No matter how carefully you look, no one will be able to find you hiding in the grass. But as soon as someone uses a drone to scan you with infrared light, no matter how determined you are or how skillful you are, you will be completely exposed.

It's the same now.

If it were a contest of tracking and counter-tracking, Li Wei would definitely be no match for this werewolf.

But why does he want to compete?

Why would someone with such a useful unmanned reconnaissance aircraft just blindly follow the other side around? Li Wei had no interest in that.

Besides, she's not exactly a beauty.

Li Wei was able to keep up with the werewolf, and he naturally had his own methods.

He controlled two puppet birds.

One of them was constantly tracking the werewolf, while the other served as a tool for Li Wei's [Phantom Transformation]. This allowed Li Wei to catch up with, and even surpass, the werewolf's speed in the shortest amount of time.

After all, no matter how fast a werewolf is, it still takes time to run and leap.

As for Li Wei's "Shapeshifting"... it's basically equivalent to a speed of 200 meters per second.

Moreover, the flying doll-like birds are far faster than the werewolves running on the ground. Furthermore, with [Soul Vision], the forest's concealment and hiding abilities are essentially negated. Under these circumstances, Li Wei easily and quickly caught up with his target.

However, he did not make a move immediately.

On one hand, Li Wei had already realized that with Olivia in their possession, his incendiary bombs were unusable, making it difficult to kill her. Under these circumstances, not making any rash moves was the best option.

On the other hand, Li Wei was also constantly thinking during the tracking process.

He still hasn't fully figured out the Baskerville family's situation, but based on the clues he's gathered so far, Levi has a general idea and opinion.

That means everything that happened around the Baskerville family is very likely related to that necklace.

This might also be the reason Olivia was attacked, because Levi remembered that after leaving that room, Olivia assured him that she would keep the necklace close to her body. Although she seemed to have changed her clothes, given this young lady's unyielding nature, Levi felt that the necklace was very likely still on her.

Although Li Wei now also doubted how the other party managed to infiltrate through his drone reconnaissance—at least Li Wei was certain that nothing had slipped into the manor under his nose after the wolf pack attack began—what happened before that… well, that was another story.

In conclusion, Li Wei still has many questions, but he believes he will get the answers soon.

As long as you follow this werewolf.

Actually, fishing was one of Li Wei's plans. He was thinking that if things didn't work out, he would use [Disguise] to disguise himself as Olivia and go for a walk in the forest to see if he could lure her into a trap.

Now that the genuine fish has been caught, Li Wei certainly wouldn't let it get away.

"………………………"

Olivia slowly opened her eyes.

Everything was dark.

What happened?

Olivia, who had just woken up, felt her mind was in complete disarray. She blinked hard and gradually came to her senses.

Oh, right, the manor, the attack, and... Father!
Olivia was startled by this thought and hurriedly tried to stand up, but she fell back down again. Only then did Olivia realize that she was bound tightly and unable to move at all.

"Hehehe... It seems our young lady is quite lively..."

Then, Olivia heard an old voice. She turned her head and looked in the direction of the voice, and saw an old man wrapped in a black robe standing not far away, staring at her with a smile.

"who are you?"

Upon seeing the old man, Olivia immediately calmed down. She stared coldly at him and asked sharply.

"who am I?"

Upon hearing Olivia's question, the old man paused for a moment.

"Yes, young people these days don't even know who I am. Ha, it's ironic. I should have been remembered as the head of the Baskerville family for generations, but now I can only hide in this godforsaken place..."

"Could you be... my great-grandfather?"

If Olivia was completely clueless about the old man before, after talking with Li Wei and gaining some understanding of her family's hidden history, she quickly guessed the old man's true identity.

"Hehehe...!"

Upon hearing Olivia's question, the old man paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"I never expected that you could guess my identity. It seems that the Baskerville family has produced a remarkable descendant."

"I also know that you became the head of the family by killing your own sister."

Olivia looked at the old man with disdain and spoke coldly. If she had been somewhat skeptical of Li Wei's guess before, she was now eighty percent convinced. If this ancestor hadn't done something shameful, he wouldn't have hidden in the deep mountains and forests, and wouldn't have used this method to capture her.

"………………………"

This time, the old man remained silent for a long time before his voice rang out again.

"I never expected you to know about this... But... what did I do wrong!?"

"Hey?"

To be honest, the old man's answer surprised Olivia quite a bit. She looked up and stared at him. The old man's small, green eyes, which gleamed beneath his cloak, now flashed with intense, venomous emotion.

"What did I do wrong again!? I'm clearly better than her in every way, but just because she's a woman, she can inherit the family headship? And I'm a man, so I can't? What kind of logic is this!? Just because the ancestors designated a woman to inherit the position of family head, am I just supposed to humbly give up my own rights!?"

"…………………"

Olivia did not answer. She didn't really know why her ancestor made such a decision, and strictly speaking, it was indeed unfair to the other members of the family.

But there's not much fairness in this world. Perhaps this ancestor was indeed wronged, but...

"What exactly do you want to do?"

Olivia decided to take the opportunity to ask the questions that were on her mind.

"At that time, weren't you already the head of the family? Why did you suddenly disappear?"

"Hehe...you don't know?"

"What I heard is that you, great-grandfather, were attacked by the wolf king while hunting in the forest."

"Wolf...wolf...hahaha..."

The old man laughed out loud.

"Is that so? That's right. I was indeed attacked, but not by any wolves."

"Huh? Well then..."

"Let me tell you a story."

The old man seemed to be in high spirits. He walked up to Olivia and stared at her. Only then did Olivia realize with astonishment that the old man was hunched over, skin and bones, as thin as a corpse. His face was a mess, as if it had been torn apart, even his gums were showing.

These old people look more like monsters than humans.

An ordinary young girl would probably have been terrified, but Olivia forced herself to stare at the other person with a cold expression, without showing the slightest fear.

"She's so brave and stubborn, she reminds me of my sister..."

Looking into Olivia's eyes, the old man sighed and then sat down on the stone next to her.

"When I was a child, I always worked very hard."

He spoke calmly.

“I have always been proud to be a member of the Baskerville family, and I’m not bragging, but I was very smart and studious when I was a child. Unlike my sister, who was a tomboy and loved to run around in the deep forests, which gave the family quite a headache. So, I didn’t like my sister much back then.”

The old man snorted coldly.

“In my opinion, members of the Baskerville family should set an example for others. What kind of behavior is this, acting crazy all the time? Unlike my sister, I have excellent grades and outstanding performance at school. This is my pride and my honor. I think anyone with eyes can see that I am clearly more suitable to lead the Baskerville family forward than my sister. But…” The old man clenched his fists tightly.

"On our sixteenth birthday, my parents held a grand banquet and announced in public that my sister would become the next head of the Baskerville family."

"…………………"

“I was very surprised and quite angry at the time. I went to my mother and asked her why. Then my mother told me that it was a rule of the Baskerville family that only women were qualified to be the head of the family. Men could choose to go out and make their own careers or assist the head of the family.”

"...Only now do I finally understand why my father always seemed so incompetent. I used to despise him, thinking that it was because of him that my mother held all the power. But now I understand that my father did this simply because he had given up. But...I haven't given up yet!"

The old man glared fiercely at Olivia, his bloodthirsty rage causing Olivia's heart to pound violently. Even so, she gritted her teeth and continued to glare at the old man.

“I couldn’t convince my mother that no matter how much I accomplished, she wouldn’t let me be the head of the family. So I came up with a plan, which was… if I could just make my sister disappear, then my mother would have no choice but to make me the head of the family.”

"So you killed her?"

"That's right!"

The old man nodded.

"That idiot! I just told her I wanted to see the same scenery as her, and she excitedly took me into the forest, to the places she usually went, enthusiastically telling me about the interesting things about those places. But I had absolutely no interest in any of that. Then, she took me to the edge of a cliff… She was standing there, and I was right behind her. With just one reach, I could have pushed her into the abyss…"

The old man seemed to recall the scene, and his hands trembled.

"And then I did it. I watched her lean forward and fall off the cliff—that's how it was supposed to be, but she was more amazing than I thought. At the last moment, she actually turned around and grabbed the edge of the cliff."

The old man raised his head and gazed at the dark night sky.

“At that time, I had two choices, but I did not choose to save her. Instead, I took out the dagger I used for self-defense, stabbed her palm hard, cut off her fingers, and then watched her fall into the abyss.”

At this point, the old man smiled.

"Then, I ran home and told everyone that my sister had fallen off a cliff. Everyone went to look for her, but because I had led them to the wrong place, they found nothing. But I knew that wasn't the end of it. My mother was obviously suspicious of me. Although she couldn't produce any evidence, I knew that my mother was a very strict person who couldn't tolerate any wrongdoing. If she knew that I had done it, she would lock me up without hesitation, or even kill me! So... I killed her."

"You killed your own mother?"

To be honest, Olivia was stunned when she heard this. The old man lowered his head and glanced at her.

"That's right, she probably didn't expect me to poison her. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, she was already dead. Otherwise, I really wanted to vent my anger on her in front of her and let her know that she was the one who caused all of this!"

"But didn't you already get what you wanted? Why did you disappear again?"

Olivia couldn't understand why her great-grandfather, who had clearly succeeded in seizing power and status, would disappear, despite his cruel and inhumane actions.
"Because our race is cursed!"

"curse?"

"Yes."

The old man nodded vigorously again.

"After that, I overcame many obstacles and finally ascended to the position of head of the family. At that time, I thought the same as you: I had become the head of the Baskerville family, and I would lead this family to new heights! By then, no one would care about the outdated custom of passing the family down to daughters! However, I did not know that what surrounded this family was not only glory and splendor, but also bloodshed and curses!"

“…………………?”

“After that, I got married and had children. Ironically, my wife also gave birth to twins, a brother and a sister. When I looked at those two children, I was reminded of my sister and me. To prevent my children from suffering the same fate, I secretly killed her and buried her. But after that, I found myself changed.”

"?"

"I'm increasingly enjoying eating raw meat."

The old man looked at Olivia and licked his lips.

“I used to have no particular requirements for food, but after that, I could sense that I had changed. I increasingly longed for the forest rather than the study. I wanted to go into the forest, hunt prey, and eat them—and that's what I did. I led hunting parties to the forest and hunted. But while everyone else was enjoying their roasted prey, I only wanted to eat live, wild animals!”

"I want to tear their bodies apart with my teeth! To feel their warm blood! And then to swallow their burning entrails! I crave it more and more, and I'm losing my mind! I've sneaked into the poultry shed more than once and eaten the animals inside. Before this, I never had this urge!"

The old man opened his mouth and roared, his hands clenched tightly, looking extremely angry.

“I’m becoming more and more like a beast than a human! I don’t know what’s wrong with me, and I can’t see a doctor. Because at that time, there were still many people eyeing the position of head of the family. If I couldn’t do my best, then the situation would be completely different. Therefore, I had to go out hunting often to quell the hunger in my heart. Until the day I turned thirty-eight…”

Upon hearing this, Olivia immediately focused her attention. She knew that her great-grandfather had disappeared on the day he was thirty-eight. But no one knew how he had disappeared.

“I was hunting again, but this time, unlike before, after I entered the forest, I felt something staring at me. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but then I realized it wasn't. There was a monster staring at me from deep within the forest, as if I were the prey… Then, my horse suddenly seemed to be startled and started galloping wildly. I don't even know when I was thrown off, but when I came to my senses, the monster had already emerged from the forest and was standing in front of me.”

Perhaps recalling what had happened, the old man's voice carried a hint of fear, and even Olivia became tense.

“That’s… a big black dog.”

"……………dog?"

It must be said that this answer was truly beyond Olivia's expectations.

"That's right, it wasn't a wolf, it was a dog. I've never seen such a big dog before. It stared at me like it was going to bite my neck off, and then... I don't know."

The old man sighed, completely lacking any backbone.

"In short, when I regained consciousness, I had become a wolf. I don't know why, but I knew I couldn't go back. But at that time, I didn't care much. After all, as long as my son was alright, he would become the next head of the family. By then, everything would be alright."

At this point, the old man became even angrier.

"He also had twins! It's a joke! But thankfully, before I left, I told him that if he had twins, he had to kill the woman! I refuse to believe that the fate of the Baskerville family can never be changed!"

This person is absolutely insane.

Olivia looked at the seemingly insane old man and felt a chill run down her spine. She now knew from Levi that every member of the Baskerville family would inevitably give birth to a girl. And this old man actually intended to kill all the female infants, leaving only the male infants to fight against the Baskerville bloodline?
This is the idea of ​​a madman!

"Unfortunately, he couldn't escape the curse either. When I found him, he had already fallen ill and killed his wife. I originally wanted to take him away, but he refused to accept this cruel reality and resented me, saying that I had made him do such an inhumane thing and that he was being punished for it. So he left."

The old man sighed heavily. After all, he was his own son, and there was bound to be some affection between them. He felt a pang of regret at how things had turned out this way.

"I wonder where he went after that..."

If Li Wei knew the old man's sentiments, he would surely tell him that his son's head had been hanging in Wolf Head Village for decades.

"That's why he didn't have time to pass on my teachings, which is why you, this bastard, were born."

The old man sighed, then looked at Olivia again with a cold gaze.

"Fortunately, I found a way to lift the curse."

"………………………"

Olivia didn't speak. She had been brought here bound hand and foot, and she didn't believe that the other side's so-called method could be peaceful.

"Don't you want to know what your fate will be?"

The old man lowered his head, stared at Olivia, and revealed a cold smile.

"Your flesh and blood will be devoured, and the Emerald Heart will be completely destroyed. In this way, the curse of the Baskerville family will be completely lifted!"

"The Heart of Emeralds?"

"I know it's in you."

The old man reached out and grabbed the necklace hanging on Olivia's neck, pulling it off. He stared at the red gemstone on the necklace, his eyes shining.

"This is the Baskerville clan's secret treasure, an artifact that only the clan leader can use. I searched for it for a long time without success, I never imagined that you would actually find it... Hehehe..."

The old man stared at the necklace in front of him and raised it high. At that moment, a cold glint flashed in Olivia's eyes, and the ropes that had been binding her quickly came off. At the same time, Olivia leaped up from the ground, a dagger silently appearing in her hand, and thrust it straight at the old man's neck!
"Pfft!"

Olivia's dagger pierced the old man's neck squarely, and the old man roared and swung his left hand, sending Olivia flying.

"Foolish! Do you think this trick can kill me?"

With the old man's roar, his body began to swell. Soon, the cloak that had been covering him fell away, revealing an enormous black wolf before Olivia. It opened its blood-red maw and stared at Olivia, the dagger that had been stuck in its neck falling to the ground.

At the same time, another black wolf emerged from the forest and came to the old man's side.

"Father?"

Olivia screamed in surprise at the sight of the black wolf, but the wolf just stared at her without saying a word.

"Hahaha, do you think I would make the same mistake again? He is now completely my slave. Come, my child, devour the flesh and blood of your offspring and complete this blasphemous ritual!"

"roar……………"

Upon hearing the old man's command, the black wolf stared at Olivia and let out a low growl.

Then, it leaped and pounced on Olivia.

At the same time, gunshots suddenly rang out!
"boom!"

　A long chapter of six thousand words, that's enough.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)