Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 34 New Department
As it turned out, once the case was solved, public curiosity quickly dissipated. Within days, the newspaper reports about vampires killing people disappeared, replaced by parliamentary resolutions and discussions on the large-scale phasing out of horse-drawn carriages and the promotion of steam-powered vehicles.

After eliminating Betty, Levi never dreamed of being a socialite killer again... Well, that was naturally a good thing for him.

Since that night, Li Wei had been busy, first with treatment—thankfully, according to the doctor's diagnosis, Li Wei had only suffered a concussion of a certain degree and had no lasting effects. This secretly relieved Li Wei. Of course, he also tried to examine himself using his diagnostic skills, and the conclusion was the same.

Then came writing the investigation report, and then submitting it... Only after finishing all of this did Li Wei have time to check his task completion reward.

[Mission "Darkness and Shadows" Completed]

[Time taken: s]

Survey efficiency: A

[Impact/Effect: S]

Overall Rating: SS

Compared to before, the efficiency rating of this investigation has decreased. Li Wei guesses that it's probably related to the fact that the other party committed the crime twice in a row. In other words, the more times the other party commits the crime, the lower the efficiency rating of his investigation will be... Hmm... Okay, I can understand that.

[Received reward: Lifespan increased by +50, plus an additional +10]

Because the overall rating dropped by one level, the extra rewards were also reduced. But with two more months of life, it's not a bad deal.

[Gain special ability: Mystic Resistance +15%]

Mysterious resistance...

Seeing this, Li Wei recalled the sonic attack from that bat monster; he truly couldn't defend against that. He wondered if this [Mystic Resistance] could help him block this kind of chaotic power. Li Wei still remembered the mysterious person's ability to kill enemies directly through mirrors; to him, that was far more deadly than bullets.

Agility increased to 75

[Optional Advanced Skill +1]

[Shadow Movement] [Bloodlust] [Sonic Attack]

Clearly, this is something the system got from Betty again.

Li Wei glanced at the three skills. [Shadow Movement] was somewhat similar to teleportation, except that it could only be used within shadows, and the distance increased with proficiency. Hmm—now Li Wei understood why Betty couldn't use this move when she was running away. At that time, the searchlights illuminated the entire alley, leaving her nowhere to run.

[Bloodlust] is closer to berserk in Li Wei’s opinion. To put it bluntly, it is to consume a part of the blood and then gain a physical improvement in a short period of time. Li Wei gave up on this skill after just one glance. With his physique, he would probably be lying on his deathbed after bleeding once or twice.

[Sonic Attack] Li Wei didn't even need to read the description; he had already experienced it himself. It was a pure area-of-effect weapon of mass destruction. Even with the lowest level of proficiency, one could use it as a stun grenade.

Unfortunately, just like before, he could only choose one of the three.

Li Wei hesitated between Shadow Movement and Sonic Attack, but in the end, he chose Shadow Movement.

The reason is simple: Shadow Movement allows for short-range teleportation using shadows as a medium, ignoring obstacles. This made Li Wei decide to use it, since he hadn't yet acquired the Lockpicking skill, making Shadow Movement a perfect option for passing through walls.

Levi had a very clear self-definition. He wasn't interested in being a hero and going head-to-head like he had with Betty. Levi preferred to see himself as a detective—someone who collects, investigates, summarizes information, deduces, finds clues, locks onto targets, and then…

Then call the police.

Going to the front lines to fight to the death is the responsibility of soldiers and police. Li Wei felt that he didn't need to take that risk, and he cherished his hard-won second life.

The skill 【Shadow Movement】 is extremely useful whether you're using it to pass through walls or escape.

There was another reason why Li Wei abandoned the [sonic attack]: the soldiers and Katie had both been attacked by that monster, so they naturally knew what was going on. If he displayed that ability in front of them, and couldn't explain the system he possessed, it would inevitably arouse suspicion.

Therefore, for safety's sake, Li Wei ultimately gave up [Sonic Attack] and chose [Shadow Movement].

Escaping is more important than fighting.

After making his decision, Li Wei picked up the card that was floating in front of him. The card quickly disappeared, and then Li Wei saw the skill [Shadow Movement] appear after the [Agility] attribute.

It turned out to be the case.

Li Wei now realizes that each of his abilities corresponds to a specific attribute or skill, and likely only one. For example, [Death's Eye] is an advanced skill of [Shooting], while [Soul Vision] is an advanced skill of [Reconnaissance], and [Shadow Movement] is an advanced skill of [Agility]. Following this logic, [Bloodlust] might be an advanced skill of [Constitution]...

[Shadow Movement: The ability to move freely through interconnected shadows, maximum range 10 meters, proficiency 0%. Reduces lifespan by 15 minutes/second]

Hmm… the lifespan consumption should also be related to the importance of the skill. Li Wei remembers that [Soul Vision] consumes five minutes of lifespan per second, [Death Eye] consumes ten minutes, and [Shadow Movement] consumes fifteen minutes. But thinking about it carefully, [Shadow Movement] is indeed a very important skill. It can even allow Li Wei to teleport to other places using his shadow while being targeted and shot at—thinking about it this way, the high lifespan consumption of this ability becomes understandable.

Of course, although the vampire murder case was solved, the matter didn't end there. Franz Rebecca was still at large, yet according to the police investigation, they couldn't even figure out her features. Some said she was a serious, earnest old man who always had a pipe in his mouth. Others described her as a very kind old lady who always had a smile on her face.

Neither Franz's students nor his colleagues could accurately describe his appearance, or even distinguish whether he was male or female. It was as if everyone's image of "Franz Rebecca" was completely different—Levy really wanted to ask, did this guy use the men's or women's restroom?
Ultimately, the police could only rely on the remaining written materials from the school to issue a warrant for his arrest. As for the effectiveness... it would be a miracle if they could even apprehend someone who couldn't even tell if he was male or female, old or young.

However, this has nothing to do with Li Wei, which is also where the detective's job is more comfortable than the police's. The detective's job is simply to find the murderer; arresting and catching the murderer is the police's job. No one will accuse a detective of dereliction of duty for failing to catch the murderer, but they will definitely call a police officer who can't catch a criminal useless.

Clearly, catching this guy won't be easy.

Through this case, it seems that the authorities have finally begun to take serious action.

Inspector Lestrade later told Levi that due to the successive occurrence of cases like "The Socialite Killer" and "The Vampire Killer" in a short period of time, the authorities had determined that these were not ordinary criminal cases, but more likely some kind of conspiracy to damage or even overthrow the Empire.

Therefore, the authorities decided to establish an intelligence organization called "MI7," which is subordinate to the Royal Family and reports directly to Her Majesty the Queen. Its main task is to investigate and search for strange and mysterious cases and intelligence. Inspector Lestrade will serve as the agency's representative within the police department. Whenever the police department discovers similar mysterious cases, Inspector Lestrade will select them and hand them over to MI7 for handling.

MI7 has considerable power; once they discover any cases or individuals related to mysterious phenomena, they have the authority to mobilize local police or even the military to handle them. From this, Li Wei can see that the royal family clearly considers this a very important matter.

Having such great power in its early stages, and being a department directly under the royal family... well, it always makes Li Wei have some bad thoughts.

However, to some extent, this is necessary, after all... who knows what other tricks these mystics might pull.

Now that even bat monsters exist, Levi feels that he wouldn't be surprised if he saw Leviathan at sea one day.

However, he still has a lot to do.

For example... report to MI7.

To be honest, Li Wei was quite excited about this.

He remembered what those secret bases looked like in the 007 movies he used to watch. You walk into a company, meet a blonde, blue-eyed beauty, greet her, exchange a secret code, she smiles slightly, and then presses a button. Then you see the bookshelf behind the receptionist slowly open, revealing a hidden door.

The protagonist then steps forward, says a password, exchanges voiceprints and retinal scans, and the hidden door opens, revealing a passageway brimming with technological sophistication…

Isn't that cool?

A secret hideout is a man's romance!

However, when Li Wei stepped off the carriage and arrived at his destination, the somewhat dilapidated Victorian-style building in front of him truly baffled him.

"Welcome, Mr. Li Wei."

If it weren't for the old butler waiting at the door, Li Wei might have even doubted whether he had gone to the wrong place.

"Hello, sir."

Upon seeing the old butler, Li Wei stepped forward, removed his hat, and bowed. Today, the old butler was not wearing his usual tailcoat, but rather a sharp suit, making him look like a successful capitalist.

"To be honest, I thought we would meet in some more secluded place."

That's why we came here.

The old butler chuckled and then made a gesture to Li Wei.

"plz follow me."

Entering the somewhat dilapidated building, the old butler led Li Wei into the elevator, pressed the button, and the elevator creaked as it carried the two upwards. The old butler then began to explain things to Li Wei in a low voice.

"The royal family has reviewed your report and conducted a series of studies. Ultimately, we have decided on this plan. However, our identities will need to change..."

"Ding dong."

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, and then the gate slowly opened. Li Wei stepped out and saw a huge office filled with employees working diligently. They were wearing ordinary uniforms, some looking through documents, others typing.

Outside the office hangs a sign that reads "Exploring the Mysteries Editorial Department".

"???"

Li Wei cast a questioning look at the old butler, who smiled slightly, said nothing, and led Li Wei into the editorial department, into the editor-in-chief's office.

As the doors closed, completely isolating the noise outside, the editor-in-chief's room became completely quiet. The old housekeeper poured Li Wei a cup of tea.

"Please use."

"Thank you... So, what's going on?"

"Just as you can see."

The old butler smiled slightly and sat down behind the editor-in-chief's desk—the name on it was Crawford Babylon.

“We carefully studied your report, consulted professionals from various industries, and then we found that… the key to all of this lies in the control and screening of rumors.”

"But it's not easy."

Li Wei knew, of course, that rumors and gossip were not so easily controlled.

"Yes."

The old butler spread his arms wide.

"Therefore, welcome to the 'Exploring the Mysteries' editorial department. This is a newspaper soon to be officially launched in the Foggy City. Unlike other newspapers, it focuses more on everyday matters, all sorts of mysterious rumors and events. Anyone can write to the editorial department, recording any mysterious, strange, or inexplicable things happening in their area. We will then send a special guest..."

At this point, the old butler smiled and nodded at Li Wei.

"The famous detective Mr. Levi went to investigate this matter and revealed the truth."

It must be said that Li Wei was quite surprised after hearing the old butler's explanation.

"So, you're planning to start a newspaper dedicated to publishing stories of mysterious and extraordinary events?"

"Yes."

Good heavens, this is really something.

Li Wei was genuinely surprised to hear the old butler's answer. At the same time, he had to admit it was indeed a brilliant move!
The biggest problem with rumors is that they are uncontrollable, unpredictable, and easy to spread, reaching a wide range of people.

However, humans are naturally inclined to gravitate towards authority—perhaps people living in the internet age cannot understand this, but in the past, a statement "written in a book" was essentially equivalent to the truth.

Similarly, even rumors, once printed in black and white, are considered more "authoritative" than those passed down by word of mouth.

It is also easier to gain public approval!
In this way, if two people have similar rumors, and one of them can produce newspaper articles to corroborate the other, then the credibility of that rumor is obviously greater than that of the other person!

For the guy who likes to hide among the crowd and spread all sorts of rumors and horror stories, this is undoubtedly a heavy blow!
After all, people subconsciously tend to favor official authority over rumors!

Of course, only the government can do this kind of thing; if Li Wei were to do it, he obviously wouldn't achieve the same effect.

It seems that the imperial government of this world is still reliable.

Thinking of this, Li Wei calmed down a bit. Then he saw the old butler reach out and press the bell on the table.

"Next, I will introduce you to some important figures in the department."

A moment later, there was a knock on the door, and then Li Wei saw two men and a woman walk in. They all looked quite distinguished, and judging from their clothing, they were all from wealthy families. Upon seeing Li Wei, the three of them paused for a moment, and the middle-aged woman's eyes shone brightly. Li Wei quickly stood up and nodded to the three of them.

Just then, the old butler spoke up.

"This is Mr. Benjamin Thomson."

He first pointed to the gentleman standing at the front, who was tall, had a goatee, and looked very refined.

"He is an outstanding scientist, specializing in military inventions. In this department, he is mainly responsible for modifying weapons to make them more effective against those monsters."

Then he pointed to another short, fat man standing next to him, who looked like a beer barrel.

"This is Mr. Richard Scott, who specializes in history and folklore. He can provide you with sufficient information and analysis."

The short, stout man smiled and nodded at Li Wei in response.

"This lady is Windsor Hessen, a psychologist who is mainly responsible for psychological assessment and examination. Of course, her research area—the subconscious—should be helpful to you."

“It’s been a great help.”

Li Wei bowed to Lady Windsor, who returned the bow slightly.

"Of course, their work involves more than just this."

After the old butler finished his introduction, he smiled and spoke again.

"After you, Mr. Li Wei, solved those mysterious cases, they will be responsible for modifying the process from a professional perspective, transforming it into a form that the public can understand and release it..."

"Um……………"

Li Wei nodded. He could understand. This way, if he solved any mysterious events in the future, with these experts around, they could easily explain them as some kind of scientific or psychological phenomenon... Hmm?

Thinking of this, Li Wei paused for a moment.

Are you sure this isn't called "Approaching Science"?

(End of this chapter)