The fairy maid cheers for her deceased master today.

The chaos inside the factory was like a boiling oil pot, with gunshots, roaring flames, and screams of gang members weaving together into a symphony of hell.

Thanks to this, a huge loophole appeared in the security of the entire factory area. Because there was no one there.

They've either been killed, or they've joined forces to deal with Spring-Heeled Jack. Nobody's paying any attention to X anymore.

Like three ghosts, X, Elena, and Angel moved swiftly along the cold wall, using the light and smoke from the explosion.

"Master, over here!" Angel suddenly tugged at Ax's sleeve, her pointed ears twitching slightly. "I heard footsteps, and... I smelled Sister Catherine's scent! And the musty smell from the basement!"

Ax's eyes lit up.

Angel's sense of smell became even more acute in the rainy world, and she could even detect the faint fragrance mixed with the smell of gunpowder and blood.

Not bad.

Since there's a musty smell from the basement, and it's mixed with Catherine's scent, then Catherine is most likely underground.

Thinking about it now, when Catherine was writing the deduction letter, the kidnapper kindly suggested she write it where there was a window...

That's true. If Catherine remains locked in the basement, she won't be able to determine her location, making the game unplayable. The other party is quite professional.

He immediately signaled Elena to follow, and the three of them walked through a pile of burning wooden crates, avoiding two gang members who were nervously watching in Jack's direction.

The two men were completely focused on Jack, who was wreaking havoc in the distance, and didn't even notice that X and the others had circled around from behind.

Jack's ability to draw aggro was still too great. X was very satisfied.

"The entrance is over there!"

Elena gasped; she could already see the staircase leading to the basement.

There were also gang members at the stairwell, carefully hiding nearby, seemingly worried about being discovered by Jack.

Unfortunately, Elena discovered it first.

A green light emanated from his fingertips, and several vines silently entangled a sentry, dragging him into the shadows. Before the guard could even utter a sound, a crisp snapping sound came from his neck.

The other guard had just turned to look at his teammate when Angel smashed him to the ground with an ice flower and knocked him unconscious.

The sneak attack was very effective.

The entrance to the basement was hidden under a tattered canvas, with rusty steps leading downwards into an unfathomable depth.

Torches were stuck in the walls, their light illuminating the first half of the steps, but deeper inside remained an all-consuming darkness.

"Hurry, while they're still fighting!"

"Ex said in a low voice."

"Angel, Elena, come with me, quick!"

The three continued down the stairs.

The air grew increasingly humid. At the end of the stairs was a wide corridor, flanked by rusty iron doors and scattered torches. In the distance, a faint light seeped from under a door crack.

X held his breath and slowly approached. Low voices could be heard coming from inside the door.

"...The boss said that no matter what happens, we can't let this woman get away," a rough, hoarse voice said.

"Don't worry, she was injected with the 'Dreamweed Special Potion,' she can barely stand now," another voice replied. "But... that monster was fucking terrifying!"

"Shut up! Grab your gun and guard the door! The boss will deal with the monsters; we just need to keep to our own business. You don't want to go up and fight the monsters, do you?"

"Haha, I want to live for hundreds more years!"

The people inside were still relieved that after discovering Jack was about to attack, they only needed to stay in the basement.

Unfortunately, they didn't realize that they were facing more than just Jack.

Ex gave Elena a wink.

Irene nodded, a flash of green light appeared at her fingertips, and a faint "click" came from inside the door lock. X flung the door open!

"Bang!"

The door slammed against the wall with a loud bang. The two gang members inside turned around in shock, only to find X's revolver already pointed at them.

"Don't move!" Ex shouted sternly.

This was actually a subconscious action.

But one of the desperate men still reached for his gun. Without hesitation, Axe pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The bullet pierced his forehead. Another gang member, terrified, raised his hands and backed away.

"Where is Catherine?" Ax asked coldly.

"In...inside..." the gang member said, pointing tremblingly into the inner room.

Ex gestured with his chin toward Elena.

Suddenly, a vine swept across and knocked the gang member unconscious.

Ex then kicked open the door to the inner room.

The sight before him made his heart clench—Katherine Wentworth was chained to the wall, her face ashen, her eyes closed, and her wrists covered in bruises. Several empty glass bottles and syringes lay scattered around her, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of chemicals.

"Catherine!" Elena rushed over, trying to untie the chains.

The chains were sturdy. X changed his bullet, chambered a round, and fired. The chains snapped instantly.

Catherine then collapsed, but was caught by Elena.

"Catherine, how are you?"

Axe came over and gently leaned Catherine against the wall to check on her condition.

Her pulse was weak and her breathing rapid, clearly a result of the medication. The effects of the medication had not yet completely worn off.

"It's jazz... well..."

Seemingly because she heard a familiar voice, Catherine slowly opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused.

"You...shouldn't have come..."

"It's me. Don't be silly, we had to come." Ex interrupted her, "Can you walk?"

Catherine nodded reluctantly.

She pushed X and Irene away and tried to stand up.

But before she could take a single step, her legs buckled, and she nearly fell. Irene immediately caught her.

"Support her, let's get out of here."

Ax was the first to leave the room and return to the corridor.

But before he could go any further, a cold voice made him stop in his tracks.

"Wow, what a touching scene."

An unfamiliar voice came from around the corner.

A masked man slowly walked out.

X's pupils contracted instantly.

It's not that the mask is scary. Masks are mostly creepy by nature, and I've seen plenty of them.

But the problem lies behind the masked man—that two-meter-tall machine.

Boom, boom, boom.

Behind him followed a massive steam engine, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground.

Steam-powered soldiers?

Axe realized he had some recollection of this in his fragmented memories. However, it was only because the Royal Academy of Sciences was also researching this kind of thing.

For a moment, Axe even suspected that the masked man was a member of the British royal family. However, he quickly dismissed the idea.

With a skilled mechanic, designing a steam-powered soldier isn't actually that difficult.

X raised his hand, signaling Angel and the others not to go out yet.

Then he spoke: "Who are you?"

However, the masked man gave an irrelevant answer.

"You are indeed very clever, even more clever than I imagined," the masked man exclaimed, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "To think you could use Jack to create chaos. Too bad..."

"No, I'm asking who you are?"

However, the masked man merely patted the steam-powered soldier's armor: "Do you really think that a mere alien can stand against my 'creations'?"

Well, we're not even on the same wavelength.

It seems the other person has no intention of answering that question.

"And what is creation?" X had no choice but to ask.

"Heh, this is the steam-powered soldier, my most outstanding collection. Sturdy brass armor, powerful firepower, and..." The masked man paused, seemingly wanting to savor their terror, "...a 'Silver Flame Thruster' specifically designed to target aliens."

Suddenly, the boiler on the steam engine soldier's chest emitted a piercing shriek, and the muzzles of the two machine guns began to rotate, spewing out pale blue flames.

"Silver Flame?"

X squinted. Could they have mixed silver powder in there? But the pale blue flame was more likely zinc or mercury. Hopefully, the masked man hadn't been fooled.

"Now, the game is over," the masked man said coldly. "Steam soldiers, crush them."

"Wait!" Ex shouted immediately.

"What?"

"I've answered all the riddles correctly. We win. Now it's time for us to leave."

"...Hmph...Hehe...Hahahaha."

The other person immediately let out three bursts of laughter, each more exaggerated than the last. Finally, they even clutched their stomach and laughed.

"Interesting, very interesting! You don't actually think... I'm going to release Miss Catherine, do you?"

"So... you're not planning to follow the rules?"

"Oh, when did I set any rules?" The masked man shrugged. "I don't remember at all. You should think carefully about what I actually said in the letter."

What exactly was said?

Want Catherine to live? Don't call the police. How about we... play a game?

That's probably what it means.

Ax's tone also lowered: "Indeed, you didn't say you'd release us after the game. But that should be considered an implicit agreement, right?"

"Oh, you, you really think you can solve my riddle? You can't be that naive, can you?"

"...I thought you valued this game a lot."

"Yes, I value it highly. Unfortunately, Miss Catherine is even more important. So, after all this rambling, isn't it time to face reality?"

"really."

Ax nodded slightly.

"I'm just stalling for time, and what are you waiting for?"