Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 3: The Flourishing World

【Life Countdown: 9 days 11 hours 23 minutes 39 seconds】

When Levi woke up from his sleep, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

“Phew……… that was a great sleep.”

Levi sat up and stretched comfortably.

He could no longer remember the last time he had slept this well.

In Levi’s memory, ever since being hospitalized, every day had been spent in a groggy haze, with unclear consciousness and a body full of indescribable pain.

Even breathing a mouthful of air had felt like torture……… the everyday life most people took for granted had long since left him, until now.

Sitting up in bed, Levi once again looked around his “home.”

In Levi’s world, this would be described as a loft-style apartment.

It had two levels— the first floor was mainly the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

The second floor was the study and bedroom.

But in truth, these rooms weren’t clearly separated, since there were no walls between them— except for the bathroom and toilet at the far end.

The reason was simple— this was actually a clock tower.

And Levi lived in the very top of it.

The tower was about ten stories tall, and from here, through the huge glass clock-face skylight that occupied nearly an entire wall, he could overlook most of Mist City.

It had to be said— the view here was quite nice.

Getting out of bed, Levi began dressing while recalling the “background” of this world.

From the information in his mind, this was not Earth, but a world known as the Continent of Crystelia.

And at present, Levi was in the Empire— one of the most powerful nations on this continent.

The Empire of this world was somewhat similar to nineteenth-century Britain in Levi’s world.

Here too, the Industrial Revolution had occurred, and the appearance of steam engines had completely changed human civilization on this continent.

Various steam-powered machines had transformed people’s lives and accelerated the progress of civilization.

From that perspective, it seemed no different from Levi’s original world.

But there was one difference.

That was the appearance of a machine called the difference engine.

The difference engine— what an interesting machine.

According to the knowledge Levi had obtained, a difference engine was a device similar to an electronic computer.

But unlike in Levi’s world, it was not made of transistors or circuit boards.

Instead, it was purely mechanical in design— driven by a steam engine to turn gears, using the method of finite differences to calculate polynomial functions and produce results— a magical machine indeed.

With the appearance of the difference engine, human civilization had taken another great leap forward.

All sorts of mechanical products emerged, some of which were quite familiar to Levi.

For example, the phonograph difference machine he had seen in the interrogation room before— essentially no different from a tape recorder, except much larger, and in Levi’s opinion, looking more like an automatic typewriter.

But speaking of difference engines, one couldn’t help but mention another derivative product.

Punch cards.

Thinking of this, Levi reached into his wallet and took out the identification card he had shown Inspector Lestrade before, examining it with curiosity.

It was slightly larger than a business card, made of a material similar to plastic.

Along the left edge were several rectangular holes punched through, and the upper right corner was cut off.

Looked at this way, it was somewhat like an enlarged SIM card.

Yesterday, Levi had seen its marvelous use firsthand.

After arriving at the Police Station, Inspector Lestrade had taken him to a room that housed a huge metal difference engine occupying nearly half the space.

Inspector Lestrade inserted Levi’s ID into the card reader, and Levi saw countless gears begin to spin, making crisp ka-da, ka-da sounds.

A moment later, from the other side came a sheet of paper, listing all sorts of Levi’s identity information……… well, not as advanced as a computer, but still quite interesting to see.

It could be said that with the appearance of the difference engine, humanity in this world had simultaneously entered both the Steam Age and the Information Age.

They had even developed something like credit cards— though strictly speaking, these too were just a kind of punch card.

The reader would read the holes on the card, transmit the data to the bank’s difference engine for calculation, storage, and conversion.

Not as fast as the modern internet, but still quite convenient.

And the feeling this era gave Levi was……… freedom.

Yes, freedom.

Dressed, Levi stretched again, walked over to a mechanical fixture by the wall, and pulled a lever.

Moments later, a hatch opened, revealing rolls of bundled newspapers before him.

Mm, the steam age mailbox— really useful.

Unlike modern times where newspapers were simply stuffed into a box, this world’s mailboxes used pneumatic tube delivery technology.

Buildings were linked by thick metal pipes, and newspapers or letters placed in a distributor could be sent to any household by pressurized air through the tubes.

In a way, it was almost too advanced.

Levi picked up the papers and flipped through them.

There were The Daily News, The Voice of Finance, The Herald of Information, and………

【Are you troubled by the loss of a limb? Depressed from being unable to work? Sorrowful for being unable to find solace at night? The Steam Prosthetics Emporium wishes to build you a brand new future, where you will worry no more, suffer no more, and be lonely no more………】

It seemed that no matter the world, the era, or the civilization, tacky little ads like these could never be avoided.

Levi tossed the flyer aside and began reading the newspaper with interest.

Normally, with the rise of steam civilization and the difference engine, humanity should have fully embraced a mechanized path of modern science and dismissed other systems.

However, the reality was different.

Perhaps because this was the first time in human history such power had been mastered, people had instead developed another mindset.

If steam technology was a viable path, then might not other paths be possible too?

Thus, this era was not as Levi had imagined, abandoning all other ideas for steam technology alone.

On the contrary, it had become an age of intellectual explosion.

Alchemy, spiritualism, occultism— all the things modern society deemed backward, ignorant, and superstitious— received considerable attention here.

The newspapers were full of scholarly discussions on mysterious powers.

Seances and astrology were no longer mere street-side amusements but recognized fields of research.

It was a vibrant, freely developing age.

People believed in science, but they also believed in mystery, legend, and magic………

They would analyze curses rigorously, rather than dismiss them as absurd superstition.

They would study magical incantations and attempt to recreate their intended power.

For Levi, this was truly a fresh and dynamic world.

Of course, most newspapers’ headlines today were about the Courtesan Killer.

The main content reported that late last night, the Courtesan Killer had struck again.

Unlike before, this time the police, with the cooperation of a certain civilian detective, had found traces of the killer.

【“We can state clearly to everyone— the Courtesan Killer is no ghost, nor any curse, but a living human! One who can be repelled by gunfire. Although the incident happened suddenly and we failed to capture the culprit smoothly, we assure you— that day is not far away!” —These were the words of Inspector Lestrade at the press conference. In the writer’s view, this is indeed an encouraging piece of news……………】

Levi stared at the newspaper, thinking about what he should do.

He had to catch the Courtesan Killer to complete the task and extend his life.

But how to do it— he had no clue yet.

Wandering the streets like the police was obviously not an option; yesterday had been pure coincidence.

And in Levi’s view, now that the killer had been exposed, they would likely lay low for a while.

But Levi only had ten days.

He glanced toward the handgun lying on the table— his only weapon.

It was a revolver, resting quietly there with a brass frame, ivory grip, and ornate engravings along the barrel— looking more like a work of art than a weapon.

Yet Levi had only twelve bullets— one fired yesterday, leaving eleven……… his only real safety net for now.

If this were a detective novel, the detective might choose to investigate clues alone.

But for Levi, working with state agencies had always been an option.

All the more since Inspector Lestrade seemed to have a decent impression of him.

Thus, there was naturally only one thing Levi needed to do.

“…………… You want to assist in the investigation?”

Sitting behind his desk, Inspector Lestrade looked at Levi with some surprise.

Just as Levi had thought, most detectives were actually not too keen on dealing with the police.

After all, this involved the matter of credit.

Police officers drew fixed salaries, while detectives earned entirely based on merit.

The more you did, the more you earned; the less you did, the less you earned.

In such an environment, most detectives had developed the habit of handling matters themselves to be self-sufficient, and unless absolutely necessary, they would never seek out the police.

Of course, this time there was a bounty, so there was no need to treat each other as mortal enemies.

Still, for detectives, solving matters on their own was standard practice, and committing such a “heretical” act as asking the police for help was something they would never do.

Of course, if the police came to them, that was another matter entirely.

But for Levi, there was never anything wrong with building good relations with state agencies.

He also didn’t understand why detectives in detective novels always seemed to enjoy going against the police……… as far as he was concerned, he wasn’t about to cause himself trouble for no reason.

Naturally, Levi also knew that if he asked the police for help, they would have to share the credit afterward.

But wasn’t it the same if he asked anyone else?

What difference did it make?

Still, Levi didn’t bother explaining.

He had grown up with the habit of not explaining himself too much— because people would always supply their own explanations.

“As expected of a young man— with this attitude, it’ll be hard for you to survive in the circle.”

Sure enough, Lestrade supplied his own explanation.

Apparently, he thought Levi was a newcomer to the field who didn’t yet understand the unspoken rules.

A detective willing to cooperate with the police was more likely to be looked down upon by fellow colleagues.

Others wouldn’t want to work with you, since some of a detective’s methods might not be entirely legal………

But in Levi’s eyes, that was exactly why he wanted the official authorities to vouch for him.

If everyone was unclean, then the difference between knowing and not knowing was significant.

“I just want to catch the killer as soon as possible.”

That was not a lie.

Levi didn’t care about the so-called detective circle.

If he failed to catch the killer, his own life would end in ten days.

Circles, reputations— none of it would matter to him then.

Except, perhaps, the funeral industry circle.

“I understand.”

Inspector Lestrade nodded.

“But there’s no precedent for this. Right now, this case is receiving a lot of attention, and no one will want outsiders inserting themselves into it without cause. It doesn’t comply with regulations, and there’s no such provision……… so, I can’t agree to your request.”

As he spoke, Inspector Lestrade stood up and nodded to Levi.

“Sorry, I have to step out for a bit. I’ll be back in about half an hour.”

With that, Inspector Lestrade left the room.

Levi stood there motionless.

He didn’t follow Inspector Lestrade out, because Lestrade had never asked him to come along.

He had simply said he was going out for a while and would be back in about half an hour……………

So Levi reached out and picked up the case file on the desk.

It wouldn’t take half an hour to finish reading it.