Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 25: Midnight Horror

The morgue underground was completely silent.

There was not a single sound, enough to make one’s heart race.

“Why didn’t you bring him up with us?”

Levi glanced at Officer Fletcher.

The latter was clearly panicked as well and hurried to explain.

“He refused to leave, saying he had to watch over the other bodies to prevent anyone from disturbing them.”

“Is there another exit here?”

“There’s an emergency passage, over there.“

Officer Fletcher stretched out his hand and pointed to the side.

Levi looked over and sure enough saw a large door resembling a fire door.

It was bound tightly with heavy chains and locked fast with a huge iron padlock.

From the frost and dust covering it, this door had clearly not been opened in a very long time.

This doesn’t comply with fire safety codes.

Levi silently sighed inwardly, then walked forward.

Katie followed by his side, cautiously scanning their surroundings.

The place felt very much like a hospital, but compared to a hospital, it was “crude and brutal.”

Both sides of the corridor were lined with morgue chambers, each filled with bodies.

Most were covered with white sheets.

One could only faintly see the human outlines beneath, which only made the sight more unsettling.

It felt as if at any moment, those corpses would climb up from the beds and lunge straight at them.

“You don’t seem especially afraid?”

Levi looked at Katie and noticed that although she was being careful, she was not scared at all.

In contrast, Officer Fletcher’s face had already gone deathly pale, looking little different from the dead themselves.

“Of course not, what’s there to fear from corpses?”

Katie waved her little fist proudly.

“I’m not afraid of things that can be solved with a punch!”

Hm, me neither.

Levi nodded silently, gripping the revolver in his hand.

He was actually grateful that the monsters in this world were still Western-style—at worst disgusting to look at.

If it had been those Asian-style curses, vengeful spirits, or ghost women, he would’ve run as far as possible.

That was why Levi disliked horror escape games.

In his eyes, they only forced players to run away.

If he had a weapon, he would show them who really ought to be running.

Even if he couldn’t escape, he’d at least take one with him for even trade, two for profit.

Thinking of this, Levi collected his thoughts.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again, sweeping his gaze around.

His eyes briefly tightened before returning to normal.

He turned his head toward the two, shaking his gun barrel slightly.

“Stay alert. Watch your surroundings.”

Hearing Levi’s words, Officer Fletcher quickly nodded.

Katie froze for a moment, then also signaled that she understood.

“Tap… tap… tap…”

The three had already tried to soften their steps as much as possible, yet even the faintest sound of footsteps echoed clearly in the deathly silence.

The trail of blood dragging across the floor under the pale lights only heightened the suffocating tension.

The long corridor stretched on.

On both sides were rooms filled with bodies covered in white cloth.

The freezing chill in the air and the bloodstains on the floor made the atmosphere unbearable.

There was nothing here that could put one at ease.

Up ahead was a corner.

The blood trail bent along with it.

Levi slowed his steps and peeked around the wall.

After confirming nothing was waiting, he turned back and continued following the blood.

They passed into another corridor, eventually reaching a room at the far end.

On it was written 【Dissection Room】.

The bloodstains ended right at the door.

At the same time, faint sounds came from inside—like chewing, like tearing.

“…………………”

Levi glanced at Katie.

Unlike people of this era, he could already guess what kind of scene lay inside.

Let’s hope there’s no classic “death turn-around” here.

He had no desire for a horror cliché.

Praying inwardly, Levi tightened his grip on the gun and pushed open the door.

“Creeeeak——————”

The door of the dissection room opened with a tooth-aching screech.

Then Levi, Katie, and Officer Fletcher saw the scene inside.

The once-white floor tiles were now a sea of blood.

An old man in a white coat lay on the ground, eyes wide, mouth agape, his face twisted in terror.

But the emptiness in his cloudy eyes showed that he had been dead for some time.

Beside him crouched a figure with its back turned toward them.

It had its head lowered, occupied with something.

From the unmistakable sounds of chewing and tearing, it was not hard to guess what it was doing.

It knelt by the corpse, its head darting side to side like a wild dog.

It tore and yanked at the body, shaking it along with its movements.

The wet splatter of blood filled the air, dominating the silence.

“Uuuh…………”

Katie instinctively clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening as her small body trembled.

At that moment, the figure noticed their presence and slowly began to stand, turning its head toward them…

Levi, who had already braced himself, didn’t hesitate and pulled the trigger!

“Bang!”

A bullet shot from his gun straight at the target.

“Splurt!”

The bullet struck the figure’s head dead on.

But instead of falling, it whipped its head around and lunged forward with raised arms!

Levi instinctively stepped back.

At that instant, Katie flashed in front of him.

With a sharp cry, her silver-gloved fist punched forward, slamming into the figure’s body!

“Boom!”

The figure flew back and crashed into the wall with a heavy thud.

Damn! That was brutal, young lady!

Levi couldn’t help but glance sideways in shock.

The zombie was nearly one meter seventy—no small man—while Katie was only one-sixty, appearing delicate.

Yet she had just sent it flying with a single punch.

It reminded Levi of when she faced off against Emilia’s transformed corpse in the underground chamber.

Now it seemed that if even that monster hadn’t been knocked away, it was truly tough… or maybe Katie herself was simply terrifying.

The thought flickered in Levi’s mind and vanished.

It didn’t stop him from acting.

Though the headshot had landed, it wasn’t enough.

The creature roared like a beast and lunged forward again.

If it had been anyone else of this era, they would’ve been helpless.

Like Officer Fletcher, who shakily fumbled for his gun with panic written all over his face.

He had clearly never seen a gutted corpse running around, unfazed by bullets.

Fortunately, Levi came from a time when people loved discussing everything online.

He had already read countless debates about “how to deal with zombies if an outbreak really happened.”

So he decisively lowered his aim toward its knees.

“Bang! Bang!”

Two shots rang out.

Both knees burst apart in sprays of blood, and the zombie collapsed.

But even then, it continued howling, dragging itself forward.

Levi repeated the process, breaking its arms as well.

At last, deprived of limbs, the zombie could only writhe like a maggot.

Its bulging eyes stared at them, moaning in low anguish.

Only then did everyone breathe out in relief.

Katie stared at the twisting zombie, then looked at Levi.

“Detective, what do we do now?”

“…………There’s no other way.”

Levi thought for a moment and made a decision.

“Contact Inspector Lestrade immediately.”

He glanced at Katie while he spoke.

“Better let the right people know about this.”

In most horror films, the protagonists killed the monsters, sparing the world’s ignorance.

But Levi chose differently.

He wanted others to share the misfortune.

Just like now.

The morgue that had been as silent as a graveyard was suddenly crowded.

Well, not lively exactly, but at least more populated.

One of them was Inspector Lestrade, whose grim face was fixed on the zombie writhing on the ground with its limbs broken.

He remained silent.

Another was an old man in a black suit who looked like a noble’s butler.

He stood politely to the side, watching the zombie with complex thoughts flickering in his eyes.

Levi didn’t know who he was.

Katie had gone out to make a call, and then this man appeared, bringing with him…

Levi quietly turned his head toward the group of soldiers.

They wore black coats and masks, clearly not a regular unit.

Some sort of secret force?

The old man did not speak.

He simply raised his hand.

The soldiers lifted their rifles in unison.

Then the old man waved his hand downward.

“Bang bang bang bang bang!”

A volley of gunfire riddled the zombie.

But even then, it still writhed and roared like a beast.

The soldiers, who had been calm until now, showed unease.

Levi noticed some of their bodies stiffen in confusion.

The old man noticed as well.

He cast a glance their way, and the soldiers quickly straightened to attention.

Then the old man turned back, walking over to Levi.

“What’s your view? How should one deal with such a monster?”

“My personal suggestion—fire.”

Levi didn’t know why the man asked him, but since he asked, he answered.

“…………………”

The old man nodded slightly, then gestured.

A soldier stepped forward, pulled a bottle from his belt, and hurled it at the creature.

The bottle shattered against its body.

“Whoom!”

Flames instantly ignited, spreading across the monster.

It trembled and screamed, but with no limbs left, it could only burn helplessly until it turned to ash.

The old man watched calmly until nothing remained but char.

He signaled again, and a soldier stepped up with a bayonet, poking at the blackened remains.

Yes, completely charred.

Only then did the old man turn back to Levi.

“You’re investigating this case?”

“Yes.”

Levi nodded.

“Good. Finish it.”

The old man stared at Levi.

“Find the culprit behind this tragedy and erase it from this world completely.”

Levi raised an eyebrow.

“Not capture it?”

The old man shook his head.

Then, like a butler giving a perfect bow, he bent slightly toward Levi.

“Please take care of the young lady.”

With that, he turned and left.