Secret Base

Li Wei was wholeheartedly in favor of the plan.

After all, rumors and hearsay rarely attracted official attention unless someone died or they caused a major stir. Local residents were hardly going to report a ghost story or some utterly ridiculous rumor to the police, either.

Conversely, turning those rumors into stories and sending them to the editorial office carried little risk. By screening those letters, Li Wei and the others could spot early signs of certain supernatural incidents.

Of course, Li Wei could not be the only one conducting these investigations. According to the old butler, the authorities intended to make Li Wei their public face and put him in the spotlight-as everyone knew, the more attention the lead actor attracted, the easier it was for the extras to stay hidden.

That way, even if Li Wei did not investigate a particular location, they would send another investigation team there. The other side might even let their guard down when they saw that Li Wei had not come, only to be caught by surprise.

According to the old butler, the department had already organized several investigation teams, mainly responsible for searching and surveying the surrounding areas. Li Wei welcomed that wholeheartedly, too. He could not possibly run around all of Fog City on his own. A metropolis with several million people? What a joke. Wouldn't he drop dead from exhaustion before he finished?

As for payment, Li Wei would be paid according to the cases he solved. The base pay was modest, of course, but all expenses incurred while solving a case could be reimbursed...

Mm, reimbursement. What a lovely word.

After that, Li Wei finally got his wish and visited the secret base deep inside the editorial office-though it was nowhere near as secretive as something out of 007. Essentially, they all stepped into the Elevator and inserted a special punched card, which then took them down to the secret base in the building's basement.

Unlike the editorial office, the first things Li Wei saw upon leaving the elevator were a heavy door comparable to a bank vault's and the fully armed soldiers standing guard outside.

"This is our command center."

The old butler had stayed upstairs, so this time Mr. Benjamin Thomson took over as Li Wei's guide. He led Li Wei through the open, heavy metal door, revealing a cramped room and a crowd of busy people inside.

"This is the communications processing center. All communications, whether by telegraph or Telephone, are recorded for easy reference at any time."

Benjamin gestured toward the people busy nearby, then walked to the center of the basement.

"And here is its heart, Mr. Li Wei. Come meet our Difference Engine Number Thirteen-Contemplation!"

Li Wei walked forward, stopped beside Benjamin, and looked up at the enormous machine before him.

It stood a full two stories tall and had an overall rectangular shape. From a distance, it looked like a giant beast molded from metal, its levers forming its bones and its spinning gears its joints. The constantly rotating bearings pulled and shifted rows of gears, producing a dense clatter of clicks like raindrops striking the ground. Several researchers walked back and forth beside it, occasionally checking the data spilling from its printout slot before sorting and filing it.

Li Wei did not understand the thing, but he had to admit that witnessing such a magnificent human creation in person made it difficult not to feel awe and admiration for machinery.

After all, human hands had built this thing.

"Impressive."

Li Wei spoke with feeling, and Benjamin laughed at his words.

"This one is actually small. If you get the chance, visit Steel City. The Difference Engines there are truly magnificent... Well, enough of that. Come with me. I have plenty to show you."

All of Benjamin's earlier seriousness had vanished. As excited as a child about to show a friend his prized collection, he led Li Wei to a room bearing a [Laboratory] sign.

Once inside, Li Wei was astonished by everything he saw.

The walls were covered with all kinds of weapons. From heavy machine guns to pistols, firearms and launchers of every description were everywhere. The place felt more like an arsenal than a laboratory.

"I read your report. Those monsters certainly aren't easy to deal with. Existing weapons struggle to inflict serious damage on them."

Benjamin did his best to keep his tone solemn, but Li Wei was certain his [Investigation] had picked up the excitement and delight in his voice. He sounded like a madman who had finally found a suitable excuse to destroy everything.

"So I've prepared some brand-new ammunition for your weapon... May I see your gun?"

Li Wei drew his revolver and handed it over. Benjamin accepted it with both hands, then examined it carefully.

"Ah, excellent. The standard .455 caliber. What a beauty. Does she have a name?"

"Not yet."

"I suggest you give this gun a name. She'll be your closest comrade, the companion who shares your life and death. She'll never give you up, never let you down or desert you, never make you cry, never say goodbye, and never tell a lie and hurt you. In a sense, a gun is a man's most dependable lover. Unlike a woman."

"Good idea."

Li Wei nodded. The gun had indeed helped him many times. Perhaps he should give it a name. Hmm... He stared at the weapon before him and fell silent for a moment.

"Let's call her the Persuader."

Li Wei believed that very few people would remain unpersuaded once they saw it.

"A fine name."

Benjamin offered his praise, then bent down and retrieved several wooden boxes from below before opening them.

Inside lay rows of cartridges.

"These are new types of ammunition I developed based on your earlier report. Of course, I also drew on a few folk legends."

"Oh?"

Li Wei walked over and watched Benjamin pick up several red cartridges.

"First, this one. I call it Hellfire. It contains a chemical substance called phosphorus. Once you fire it and it hits the target, it bursts open, spraying the phosphorus inside onto the target's body. Then it ignites on its own, and even water has a hard time putting it out."

As he spoke, Benjamin walked to the wall and pressed a button. The wall rose, revealing a firing range on the other side. Benjamin handed Li Wei a cartridge and stared at him eagerly.

"Go on, try it! Satisfaction guaranteed!"

Li Wei silently looked at the cartridge, then opened the cylinder and loaded it. He raised the gun, aimed at the humanoid target on the range, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

As the shot rang out, the distant humanoid target was instantly engulfed in roaring flames.

"Yes! That's it!"

Benjamin pumped his fist excitedly.

"If you run into monsters like those again, you can't go wrong using these! Ah, right, these cartridges require special storage. You wouldn't want them suddenly exploding in your pocket, would you?"

Of course not.

Watching the burning target in the distance, Li Wei wore a conflicted expression. On the one hand, he admitted that this ammunition was exceptionally powerful. On the other... wasn't it perhaps a little too powerful?

"Now look at this."

Benjamin eagerly showed Li Wei another of his new toys: a gray cartridge.

"The Ashen Curse. I added mercury to the bullet. Once it enters the target's body, the mercury inside sprays out and rapidly permeates every part of the internal organs... But it's hard to see anything from the outside. Shoot someone with it, and they might die before they ever realize what happened."

Benjamin showed it to Li Wei, then set it aside.

"Perhaps I should find you a dog to test it on?"

"Uh... let's not."

"True. I tried that before. You can't eat it after it dies. Quite a waste."

As he spoke, Benjamin pushed those cartridges aside and took out a pile of silvery-white ones.

"These... well, these are silver bullets."

"Silver bullets?"

"That's right. Bullets made of silver."

Benjamin could not conceal his helplessness and confusion.

"As I said, I consulted a few folk legends. They all say that many monsters, spirits, ghosts, and the like fear silver weapons. Aren't vampires and werewolves killed by silver swords, too? So I thought I'd make some silver bullets and see whether they worked. Unfortunately, I have no way to test them. I can't find any ghosts, vampires, or werewolves, after all. But I can guarantee that against ordinary people, they're just as powerful as regular bullets."

"I'll test them. Hopefully they'll work."

Li Wei was not sure whether they would be effective, either, but having them was better than having nothing.

"I'll leave that to you, then. I'm looking forward to your feedback."

Benjamin smiled expectantly, giving Li Wei the impression that his next words would be, "Give me a five-star review."

"I've also prepared a little gift for you."

As he spoke, Benjamin walked over to the side, picked something up, and handed it to Li Wei. Li Wei accepted it curiously. It was a silver cane that looked rather ornate and had considerable artistic value.

"This is no ordinary cane."

Sure enough, Benjamin clearly had no intention of giving Li Wei a piece of art. He took the cane back and proudly twisted a mechanism. With a hiss of escaping air, the entire cane instantly split open. A trigger sprang out of the handle, while the split casing below formed a support. At the same time, the rear section of the gun popped up, revealing the scope inside.

"I thought you'd need to scout from a distance, so I prepared this weapon especially for you. It's bolt-action, with a range of roughly eight hundred meters, and uses 7.7 × 56 mm ammunition. I even equipped it with armor-piercing rounds. Hopefully they'll come in handy. And that's not all..."

As he spoke, Benjamin gently pressed a concealed spot on the handle. With a swish, a short bayonet shot out beneath the muzzle, its sharp edge gleaming coldly.

"You can also detach it and use it as a dagger. I think all of this should suit you quite well."

"It certainly does."

Looking at the strange cane in his hands, Li Wei's mouth twitched. In the end, he still smiled and nodded at Benjamin.

"Thank you very much for the gift. I really like it."