Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 415 Hidden Poison
Two hours ago, in Port Deloitte.

When a cargo ship entered the harbor with its lights on, it immediately caught the attention of Lieutenant Joseph on duty at the port.

Where did this cargo ship come from?

He stood up, looked at the cargo ships gradually docking at the pier, then shifted his gaze to the date chart in his hand.

"The Baiyunfeng...it actually arrived three hours ahead of schedule?"

Looking at the records on his calendar, Lieutenant Joseph was somewhat surprised, while his subordinate next to him made a sarcastic remark, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

"These sailors are really willing to risk their lives for money. I wonder if their boilers can withstand it."

The others chuckled softly, knowing full well what it meant. To ensure logistical support, regulations stipulated that cargo ships transporting supplies would be rewarded if they arrived at the dock on time or ahead of schedule. Conversely, delays would be punished.

Of course, since going at full speed would cause some damage and impact on the steam engine structure and other components of the cargo ship, most cargo ships could only ensure that they arrived on time or a few tens of minutes early.

However, the Baiyunfeng arrived three hours earlier than scheduled. I wonder if their boilers were already running at their limit and might have exploded.

However, the arrival of the Baiyunfeng was ill-timed. As mentioned before, most cargo ships arrive on time. Since Port Deloitte is not a deep-water port and lacks berths for large cargo ships, the tonnage of the cargo ships is relatively small. In this situation, quantity naturally compensates for the lack of cargo ships.

That's why the port of Delai is currently packed with cargo ships, all busy loading and unloading. If the Baiyunfeng had arrived on time, there would have been space for it. However, the Baiyunfeng arrived three hours early, leaving no available berths for it.

"Let it stay in the outer harbor until the cargo in front is loaded and unloaded before it comes in."

Lieutenant Joseph gave the order, and soon a messenger moved his signal light to aim at the White Cloud Peak and then signaled with the light.

However, unexpectedly, the Baiyunfeng did not slow down; it continued heading towards the port without any intention of slowing down.

what happened?

Upon seeing this, Lieutenant Joseph immediately tensed up.

"A second warning: they must stop immediately, or we will shell them!"

Soon, another wave of signal lights was displayed, and at the same time, the fortifications at the port of Delai quickly turned and aimed at the Baiyunfeng! However, the latter still ignored them and continued to accelerate toward the dock!

"Fire!"

At that moment, Lieutenant Joseph gave the order without hesitation.

"Boom boom boom!!!"

Soon, the sound of cannon fire rang out. The Baiyunfeng swayed and dodged the first two rounds of shelling, but it was ultimately just a cargo ship with little maneuverability. Then, the subsequent shells mercilessly struck the Baiyunfeng, sending sparks flying across its deck.

Even so, the cargo ship showed no sign of stopping, continuing its blind rush forward. The Baiyunfeng crashed into another ship unloading cargo, slightly reducing its speed. Just then, the nearby defensive gun emplacements opened fire again, and a shell successfully struck the bridge of the Baiyunfeng, causing it to explode like fireworks.

At this moment, the Baiyunfeng could no longer hold on. Like a person being shot in the head while running, it completely lost control. It hurtled straight towards the edge of the dock and crashed heavily into the breakwater. Simultaneously, whether the flames triggered an explosion or not, the entire ship began to expand and twist, and then…

"boom-----!"

A massive explosion rang out, shattering even the windows of the seaside houses. Lieutenant Joseph instinctively dropped to the ground. He looked up at the burning cargo ship, which now lay diagonally on the dock like a stranded whale, emanating a roar like that of a giant beast.

Thick smoke billowed out from the gap in the cabin, which was even a little eerie... Could an ordinary ship emit such a lot of smoke?
Just as Lieutenant Joseph was about to order men to put out the fire, he suddenly saw something fall from the sky.

what is this?
Lieutenant Joseph instinctively reached out and caught the falling object. It looked like grayish-white snowflakes, but unlike snow, they weren't cold; in fact, they seemed somewhat hot…

However, at that moment, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Suddenly, the "snowflake" that had landed on Joseph's finger began to sway incessantly. Then, Lieutenant Joseph felt a sharp pain in his finger, followed by a wound. Then—the "snowflake" twisted its body and crawled inside!
Wait, what exactly is this...?

Lieutenant Joseph was shocked to see this, but unfortunately, it was too late.

Soon, he felt needle-like pain all over his hands and body. He looked down and saw that his arms were covered with cuts. Those strange things danced and crawled inside like insects. Then... intense pain spread throughout Lieutenant Joseph's body in the blink of an eye.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!"

Soon, the entire dock was filled with shrill screams, which mingled with the rising smoke, becoming indistinguishable from each other.

It was a day later when the Eye of the Sky arrived at Port Derlai.

Levi's expression was extremely grave. He had already sent a telegram to Port Dreyfus, but received no response, which made him feel that something was wrong. He then went to the far north and contacted General Barnes, commander of the Fifth Fleet. The latter brought him bad news—a day earlier, he had lost contact with Frankie, the commander of the expeditionary force stationed in Port Dreyfus. Barnes, fearing something was amiss, sent a team of sailors to check, but they also received no response. Port Dreyfus was now in an eerie silence, and no one knew why.

He tried to contact the command center, but received no response.

The Fifth Fleet was unable to enter the port, so they could only stand there helplessly. Fortunately, Li Wei arrived.

However, for Li Wei, he was still a step too late.

"These guys are really good at causing trouble."

Looking at Port Derlai before him, Levi's face darkened. Port Derlai appeared to be covered in white, making it seem as if it were in the dead of winter. But in reality, it was still the height of summer, and the scorching sun beat down on the ground; if it were snow, it would have melted long ago.

But the white remains here... along with the burning ruins and remains, indicating that a fierce battle may have taken place here before.

Needless to say, when Li Wei looked down using [Soul Vision], he could see a patch of bright red below.

It's such an eyesore.

"Load incendiary bombs."

After a moment's thought, Li Wei gave the order. In short, it was Li Wei's habit to burn whatever he didn't know. After all, since this thing covered the entire port, and there were hardly any people to be seen, it was easy to imagine that the culprit was these snow-like things in front of him.

In short, burn one ring first.

"Aim at those snow-like things and fire."

With Li Wei's command, cannon fire soon rang out, followed by bursts of flame. In a short while, the white "snowflakes" were engulfed by flames as if they were burning gasoline.

After a moment, the flames died down, leaving only a charred ground.

"very good."

Seeing this, Li Wei nodded in satisfaction.

"Keep attacking! Purify everything with fire!"

"Boom—Boom—Boom—!"

Soon, a series of cannon shots rang out, and flames quickly spread throughout the entire port of Dlai, igniting everything around them. Of course, this might be a problem for Dlai, but Levi had no other choice at the moment. Those snowflake-like things were clearly suspicious; at least in the [Soul Vision], they all emitted a faint red glow. Whether these things were poisonous or not, burning them all was definitely the right thing to do.

Under the [Soul Vision], Li Wei saw the red color that had covered the port of Dlai gradually dissipate, and soon the information hidden within it also emerged.

Deep underground, one can see some white soul radiance, and some red soul radiance... Hmm, Li Wei doesn't really like this development.

But it seems there's nothing that can be done now.

"Lieutenant Horn, the Eye of the Sky is now in your hands."

After watching as all the "snowflakes" around him were eliminated, Li Wei turned to Lieutenant Horn and gave the order.

"After burning away these snowflakes, ascend to an altitude of 10,000 meters, keep watch on the surroundings, pay special attention to the movements of the Kingdom of Krant's army, and maintain constant contact."

According to Li Wei's thinking, what those capitalists need is a crushing defeat. Therefore, the only ones with the motive to attack the Empire and retake Port Delai are the troops of the Kingdom of Krant. It's possible they've already learned of the situation at Port Delai through some channel and are mobilizing their troops towards it. What Li Wei can do now is to quickly gather the remaining forces at Port Delai and hold off the Kingdom of Krant's offensive. If he can thwart their plot, things will become much easier.

Upon hearing Li Wei's order, Lieutenant Horn didn't waste any words but immediately saluted.

"Yes, sir."

"Henry, bring your steam engine crew with you."

Levi made a gesture to Henry.

"We're going down there to rescue people. Hopefully we can find a few survivors and equip them with flamethrowers."

"Yes, Captain!"

(End of this chapter)