Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 342: Section 234: Everyone is a bridge to happiness for each other (3)

Chapter 342: Section 234: Everyone is a bridge to happiness for each other (3)

"By the way, where’s Zhao Konghe?" Cohen asked as he walked ahead of Malin in the corridor, looking back at his friends.

"Konghe’s father was killed by some unknown assailant, there’s no way he could come today," Engma Roben said, and he lowered his voice mysteriously, "I checked it out, the guy who examined the body said it was indeed his father, burned to a crisp with oil."

"That’s terrible, and no one knows who the murderer could be. There was also a killing at the train station yesterday, but considering the victim was burned to ash by the holy flame, the Church took over the case immediately. Engma, seems like your sources at the police station don’t know everything after all," Jane said, shaking her head.

"Of course I knew. It’s just that the person was burned to ash by the holy flame, so he definitely wasn’t anything good. Dead is dead," Engma replied with a raised eyebrow, dismissing Jane’s provocative comment with disdain.

"True. But how could Konghe’s father have been killed? Even if the old Duke didn’t hold him in high regard, that doesn’t mean he could just be killed like that, right?" The group began to descend, with Malin putting on his mask and following behind, listening to them recount everything that had happened the previous night.

First, there was the absence of Zhao Konghe from their five-person party, because his father had been killed. The murderer was said to be extremely brutal, having shot the poor old father with a heavy crossbow.

In this era, with the advent of firearms, crossbows had gradually been phased out of military use, and standard light crossbows were no longer on the controlled list. Only weapons like the heavy crossbow, which posed a serious threat to mortals and even lower-tier Transcendents, were considered controlled items. And indeed, the heavy crossbow that killed Zhao’s father was said to be a heavy-duty military one, a giant model—judging from the wound left in the corpse’s chest.

Therefore, the police station was in a state of chaos, as the victim was not a Transcendent, the police department was in charge of the case. If they confirmed a Transcendent was involved, it would then be transferred to departments like the Investigation Bureau and other Transcendent branches.

The person who died in the restroom at the train station, since they were burned to ash by the holy flame, it was clear they had been set aflame by a passing Cleric, unlucky. Whether it was the police or the investigation department, they all directly handed the case over to the Church to deal with.

It was said that the investigative team responsible for criminal cases from the Church glanced at the scene, and without a second word, closed the case on the grounds that the Chaotic Believer was roaming and had been killed on the spot by a Cleric who happened upon the crime.

There was no need to look for the murderer, no need to look for the victim, not even a need to look for a reason—after all, the person was burned to ash by holy flame, and only Chaotic Believers could be reduced to ash by it, not even spirits.

At this, not only the four-member group but also Malin, who was listening in, almost couldn’t keep standing from laughter—those Church fellows were really something else.

"I always thought the Church’s Investigation Bureau was where people went to retire out of envy, but having seen this, this place really is for retirement. However, they weren’t wrong," Engma said, barely able to catch his breath from laughter. He turned his head to Malin, "Mr. Malin, you’re a member of the Church yourself, what do you think?"

"I wouldn’t agree with your statement, but I think their conclusion is correct. If it were me, I would say the same thing. A case that can be concluded in one sentence, why would I spend a month to find that Cleric who didn’t look the other way? If he really cared, wouldn’t it be better to come and claim the bounty with the head? So I think most likely, it’s a member of the Church of Justice, because most of them regard money as dirt," Malin’s remark won great approval from the four.

"Indeed, just like what Mr. Malin said, I too believe it was a high-tier Transcendent from the Church of Justice," Jane said while taking out a cigarette case. He lit one for himself and then offered it to Malin, "Mr. Malin, would you like one?"

"No, thank you. I don’t smoke," Malin said with a smile, waving his hand, "By the way, what’s our target for today?"

"The guy we were chasing yesterday was taken down; someone named Ails came to claim the reward with his head. So today, based on his information, we’re going after a Lich. His info syncs up with what the adventurers have recently reported—they all say they saw a Lich on the fifth level of the Underground City. Judging by their reports and the identification features of that wizard, it should be Swenton Rom, a guy who’s been alive for at least three centuries, a very powerful Lich. But I think with you added to our group, there definitely won’t be a problem. After all, I heard Logan say that killing the Black Bride and the Wraith Witch was as delightful to you as squashing rats," Cohen said, looking at Malin as if waiting for his response.

Malin smiled modestly, "Oh, that was just my area of expertise."

"Mr. Malin is really too modest. This ’area of expertise,’ I could brag about it to my friends for a year," Cassie said from the front. Then he stopped, "There are a few giant rats."

"How come there are giant rats here too? Let me handle this," Cohen said as he pulled out a repeating crossbow—a kind without a bowstring, using an internal spring as propulsion, allowing for three rapid shots before the spring needed to be wound.

Awkward to operate, but it was effortless and very effective for hunting small creatures and spirits.

He stepped forward and fired three shots; three giant rats were killed, and the rest scurried away immediately.

"Seems like they’ve learned what fear is."

"Yes, with people coming and going every day, these giant rats have long learned to run at the sight of humans. We just got the drop on them this time. Come to think of it, if we kill a few more here, they’ll appear less on the surface, and the kids will be safer," Cohen said, as he picked up the rats, pulling the crossbow arrows out of their bodies, "My cousin, when he was little, had two toes bitten off by these critters; the poor fellow has had trouble walking ever since."

"Whoever was supposed to be looking after him must have been cursed," Malin commented.

At this, Cohen shook his head somewhat awkwardly, "Not really. That day his mother and father whimsically decided to take care of their child themselves. They were having afternoon tea and forgot all about him. My cousin wandered out through the back garden’s iron gate and made it two blocks, passing through the city gate into the civilian district. It just so happened to be the day his bloodline awakened, and he awakened with a type of Transcendent ability that conceals presence. Humans might not notice it, but giant rats could pick up the scent, and they chased him down."

Speaking of which, he spread his hands towards Malin, "After he was bitten, he cried out, and the children of the commoners discovered him immediately. They helped drive away the giant rat, but his toe was gone for good."

"That’s really unlucky."

"Isn’t it? But he’s fine now anyway, he’s working in the Investigative Division, as part of the internal service department." Cohen said as he stowed away the crossbow arrow, Cassie waved from the front.

So the team moved on.

"I explored the outside world like that when I was little, and I nearly got beaten to death," Engma reminisced.

"Same here, only the door was a trap set by my father and mother. I didn’t listen to them and ended up getting spanked," Jane remarked, indicating that she had been ensnared by a sting operation of sorts.

Then Malin realized that all four guys had such experiences.

One had to admit, curiosity has always been the greatest enemy of human life expectancy, and it wasn’t without reason that there were so few foreigners.

"By the way, can you guys tell me about this Underground City?" Malin asked as they prepared to go down to the second floor, adjusting the filter core on his mask at the same time.

"Let Engma do the honors, he knows the most, after all, he’s the only one among us who studied history at The Capital’s First Academy." Cohen said while handing a spare filter module to Malin, "This one’s for backup, for you first."

"Thanks." Malin caught it and then nodded.

"Don’t mention it," Malin said.

"Ha, when it comes to this damned place, of course I’m the most familiar. This Underground City was actually discovered during the Thor Dynasty. But back then, we humans were in a period of decline, which was about four centuries ago from now. At that time, the first level was full of poisonous fog, and humans couldn’t descend at all. In the end, they had to seal this place off," Engma took up the topic, walking as he briefed Malin on the history of this underground chamber.

According to Engma’s introduction, this place only began to be developed a hundred years ago. Initially, they used spell formations to withstand the poisonous fog, and descending to the second level was more thrilling than playing Russian roulette with a six-chamber revolver loaded with five bullets. Later, they found that by activating the generator on the first floor, they could extract the poisonous fog, and so the first level finally started to stabilize. After that, people got the chance to explore the second and third levels.

Tech Hunters spent decades confirming the conditions of the first through fourth levels and discovered the existence of the fifth and sixth levels. However, due to the dangerous ecosystem on the fifth and sixth levels, they advised adventurers not to enter below the fifth level—it was almost as dangerous as descending to the second level through the poisonous fog in the old days.

"By the way, if the fifth and sixth levels are that dangerous, why don’t those things come up?" Malin was curious.

"That, according to the Mage Tower’s theories, is likely related to the generator we activated. The spirits instinctively stay away from that thing. The fourth and fifth levels are right at its boundary," Engma replied.

Malin was intrigued by this answer, although the device was wrapped in stone and metal, which meant he probably couldn’t see it.

But from what Malin had gathered so far, this world had an extremely high level of technology before the Great Destruction Era.

Whether it was the hibernation chamber previously thought to be a coffin or Faye’s lightsaber, or the all-metal corridors of the Underground City he was seeing now, all these facts told Malin how prosperously advanced this world once was.

"Sometimes, I wonder what my family would have looked like if the destruction hadn’t happened, if all of this hadn’t gone through the past ten thousand years..." Engma reached this point and let out a sigh, "It’s really unimaginable, Malin, have you ever thought about it?"

"No, I’ve never thought about it like that," Malin shook his head.

"Incredible, I’ve heard you’re an author who wrote a collection of Holmes’ detective stories, haven’t you ever thought about it?" Cassie, who was walking in front, turned to ask.

"Yes, because I also don’t know how to imagine the stories from ten thousand years ago," Malin spread his hands—actually, it wasn’t quite like that. For you, it’s history.

But for me... it essentially belongs to a sci-fi story of the future.

Because in my memory, ten thousand years ago was the Neolithic Age.

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