Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 33 Monster
Good grief, you've switched me from horror movies to monster movies now, haven't you!

Seeing the bat-like monster, as big as a small car, charging towards him, Levi mentally scoffed. Then, with unsteady steps, he lunged to the side, grabbing Katie, who was also swaying as if drunk. The two of them tumbled awkwardly to the ground, dodging the monster's attack.

The bat monster slammed its head against the wall behind Li Wei, letting out an angry roar.

"Fire, fire!"

At that moment, the soldiers on the surrounding rooftops also snapped out of their daze from the bat monster's piercing cries. They hurriedly raised their weapons, aimed at the monster below, and pulled the triggers.

“Da da da da da!!!”

A series of gunshots rang out, bullets raining down from the sky, engulfing the bat monster. Blood blossomed on its body. However, the bat monster's body seemed quite tough; although it was bleeding profusely, it didn't seem to have suffered any serious injuries.

The bat monster opened its mouth again and aimed it at the soldiers on the roof.

"———————!"

An invisible wave of sound erupted instantly, and Li Wei felt his head buzzing, as if some high-frequency sound wave had penetrated his brain, making his brain matter feel like it was boiling. The gunfire stopped, and it was clear that the soldiers were also suffering.

"Ugh...it hurts so much, what is that sound...?"

Katie had barely come to her senses by then. She shook her head and pounded her ears. Levi knew how she felt; that buzzing, tinnitus-like sound was still echoing in his ears, making him extremely uncomfortable. However, now was not the time to do that!
After eliminating the obstacle with this unexpected attack, the bat monster began to climb up a nearby building using its hands and feet, clearly intending to escape!

Li Wei raised his gun, aimed at the monster, and pulled the trigger. Although the bullet struck the monster's body, it clearly did not stop it. The bat-like monster frantically waved its claws, desperately gripping the windowpane in the wall, using them to climb upwards. The soldiers who had been on the roof were now motionless.

I don't know if they're dead or unconscious.

Damn it, this guy will get away if this continues!
Li Wei gritted his teeth, then glanced around. His eyes lit up, and he rushed to Katie's side.

"Katie! Katie!"

"Ugh... My head is buzzing... What's wrong?"

"Throw that next to the monster's head, quick!"

As Li Wei spoke, he pointed to the alleyway exit not far away. Several soldiers lay there, carrying flamethrowers and fuel canisters. They were originally responsible for sealing off this area, but perhaps affected by the monster's attack, the flamethrower soldiers had also lost consciousness.

Incidentally, thankfully the alley was very narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through, so the monster couldn't squeeze in at all, otherwise it probably would have run away long ago.

Katie didn't seem to hear what Levi was saying, but she looked in the direction he was pointing at the fuel tank, and then at the bat monster climbing up it, and immediately understood what he meant.

"give it to me!"

Katie yelled and staggered towards the unconscious flamethrower soldier, her steps resembling a swaying gait on a deck of surging waves. She reached out and ripped the fuel canister off him. Then, clutching the fuel canister, which looked slightly smaller than a gasoline tank, Katie stared at the bat-like monster and, like throwing a softball, hurled it upwards with all her might!
"call---!"

A fuel barrel filled with flammable material whistled past and slammed heavily onto the bat monster's head. The attack didn't cause much damage. After all, it could withstand machine gun fire, and perhaps because it was still a bit dizzy, Katie couldn't muster its full strength.

But for Li Wei, that was enough.

Just as the fuel can hit the bat monster's head, Levi aimed and pulled the trigger.

"boom!!"

The fuel tank exploded, like a firework suddenly bursting in the air, with countless flames surging out and completely engulfing the bat monster's head.

At that moment, the bat monster let out a hoarse scream. Instinctively, it withdrew its claws from the window and tried to swat at the raging flames burning on its head. This caused it to lose its last support, and its massive body tumbled and crashed heavily to the ground from the high-rise building.

"One more shot!"

Li Wei quickly deactivated the Eye of Death and shouted loudly—his head was also throbbing; the strange noises from the bat monster were making his head throb with pain, worse than seasickness. Only activating the Eye of Death could alleviate his headache for a moment.

Katie wasn't much better off. She caught her breath, removed another fuel canister, and aimed it at the monster. However, the bat-like creature was currently rolling around on the ground, clutching its head, seemingly unwilling to give them a better chance. Katie squinted at the monster, and as it rolled around again, she used all her strength to throw the fuel canister at it.

The spinning fuel barrel flew through the air, and at that moment, the world before Levi's eyes slowed down once more. He saw the fuel barrel spinning towards the monster at a decelerated speed, luckily passing through its two waving claws, and then crashing into its furry belly...

It's now.

Li Wei pulled the trigger again and fired the bullet.

Immediately afterwards, a flash of fire appeared.

The exploding fuel tank mercilessly tore through the bat monster's seemingly soft and vulnerable abdomen, the shockwave carrying debris through its body. The bat monster let out another piercing scream, violently flailing its arms in an attempt to take flight. But this was its final struggle; its body lifted only a few centimeters off the ground before collapsing back down.

Then, its wailing gradually weakened and disappeared. "Hoo..."

Li Wei collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. He felt terrible; dizzy, lightheaded, and nauseous. He saw the monster's body gradually melting, which fueled the fire—as if the monster's corpse itself were some kind of flammable substance.

But none of that matters now.

Li Wei closed his eyes and heard the sound of a horn coming from afar.

At least the trouble of tonight is over.

If he could, Li Wei would like to rest in the hospital for a few days. But unfortunately, he doesn't have that time.

Although Betty is dead, she did leave behind some information; at least she mentioned the word "teacher" before she died—so, based on a literal interpretation, it's clear that the person connected to Betty must be her teacher. Since Betty didn't have a private tutor, it could only be a professor at the graduate school.

In fact, the police quickly identified the suspects.

Franz Rebecca.

Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Sciences, specializing in Psychology and Folklore.

Of course, the reason the police were able to identify Professor Franz so quickly was not because they had quickly obtained evidence, but because... the professor had disappeared.

Indeed, the next day, when the police went to the school to investigate Betty's case, they learned that Professor Franz was missing, and the police immediately began searching for him.

The investigation revealed that Professor Franz was privately running a occult research society, and Betty was one of its members. Furthermore, he was connected to Madame Clarty—part of the society's funding came from Madame Clarty's private sponsorship.

The police immediately went to the room, only to find that Professor Franz's room was completely empty, with all his belongings taken away.

The school, however, was completely unaware of this.

It was clear that Professor Franz Rebecca was likely the mastermind behind this series of events, and the police naturally issued an arrest warrant. Of course, the warrant portrayed Professor Franz as the mastermind behind the vampire incident, depicting him as a mad scientist. The two victims were, in effect, carefully chosen by him to carry out his insane and evil experiments.

That's perfectly reasonable; after all, you can't exactly say two girls turned into vampires, it's not some cheap rumor...

As for the explosion and fire caused by the battle in the alley, the official explanation was that it was a gas explosion caused by a pipeline leak—well, that's quite a convenient excuse.

During this time, Levi was busy writing a case report, including the investigation process and his speculations and thoughts. This report would be submitted to the old butler through Katie, and who the butler would give it to was not Levi's concern.

Naturally, Katie would also read the report first.

"Um... I don't quite understand, Mr. Levi. You mean, the enemy is manipulating things by invading dreams?"

"This is just my guess, but I think it's pretty close to the truth."

As Li Wei typed, he explained to Katie.

“When I was attacked at the theater, I was fully aware that I was in a dream, so I was following the rules of the dream, not the rules of reality. We tried it before, and your badge was completely useless against the monster that Mr. Rogers had become. However, in the dream, it was able to burn Maggie's hand and even cause her considerable damage. The reason is simple, just like you said, everyone believes that the All-Seeing Eye can purify vampires, so it can purify vampires—even if it's only in a dream.”

"So, detective, you mean that as long as everyone believes a certain god exists, then that god exists?"

"Isn't this the essence of gods?"

Li Wei glanced at Katie.

"People yearn for the sun, worship the moon, fear the darkness, and long for the light. The emotions and feelings that arise from this have solidified into the concept of deities... Of course, I'm not a professional, so my suggestion is to find some psychologists or historians to conduct research in this area, and oh, preferably some mystics as well."

Li Wei glanced at the letter spitting out of the typewriter, then pulled it back to its original position once again.

"But you've become famous again this time."

Katie grinned and pulled out a newspaper, waving it in front of Levi.

"A hero who vanquishes evil nightmares! A mysterious detective who protects the citizens!"

"The news media loves to exaggerate."

Li Wei stared at the typewriter without even looking up, and at the same time he sighed silently.

As this reputation spreads, I'm afraid I'll face more and more trouble in the future.

(End of this chapter)