Chapter 359: The Constitutional Movement and the Pact

Wu Chang browsed the wall covered in dense evidence; just from the records, one could see how much effort Raven had devoted to investigating the Steam Council.

Even the earliest investigation logs were meticulously detailed, far from casual side work.

Detectives aren't police; detectives only solve cases, not handle the social fallout afterward.

A case involving hundreds of deaths sounds horrifying, but to a detective, its impact is minimal—especially for a supernatural detective like Raven.

Before Wu Chang saw Baron Philip's resentment, Raven had merely mocked the case at Pine Tree Mine twice, treating it as a minor side note in the investigation of the Prime Minister's assassination, showing no further reaction.

Yet when mentioning the Steam Council, he claimed he personally handled it, vowing every member ended up in hell.

Even Zhu Li, who acted alongside him then, likely wouldn't have gone that far.

Wu Chang turned his body toward Raven and said, "You seem particularly wary of them."

Raven caught Wu Chang's implication; he sighed and said:

"When I investigate cases, I focus on details—every deduction is based on evidence—but sometimes, my intuition also issues warnings."

"The more I investigated, the more I understood their goal, the more terrified I became."

Wu Chang grew interested and poured himself another glass of wine, asking:

"What's their goal? Surely not creating a god?"

Raven replied solemnly: "You absolutely couldn't guess—wait, what did you just say?"

Wu Chang guessed: "I said, they surely don't intend to use supernatural industrialization to create a god."

Raven shook his head. "That's not even close—I think your thinking is too bold."

Wu Chang smirked, inwardly dismissive.

So even higher-level dungeons don't guarantee bigger boss ambitions—if they can't even conceive of creating a god, no wonder this surface world hasn't produced divinity at all.

Raven noticed Wu Chang's disdain and couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

Was Stilan too conservative, or was the outside world too insane? From Wu Chang's reaction, creating a god seemed to be the baseline for any villainous organization.

Did the people he met in the new world all play so big?

Raven had originally planned to visit the new world after this case wrapped up, to learn spatial magic—but now he suddenly lost interest.

He awkwardly set down his wine glass and said:

"The Steam Council's goal isn't to create a god, but it's still insane."

"They spare no cost to pursue supernatural power—many have bankrupted themselves, and half their members died for it—but the power they gain through such hardship is far inferior to what natural supernatural beings possess."

"This has made them bitterly resent supernatural beings, determined to create a supernatural technology accessible to all, replacing every supernatural being through industrialization and making supernatural ability common to ordinary people."

Wu Chang gave a wry smile and said:

"An interesting goal. Worth encouraging."

He suddenly understood the arrogance of the former Great Mother—many Wasteland Realm natives truly had such narrow horizons.

A supernatural being is merely someone who controls supernatural power; if everyone could wield it, then everyone would be a supernatural being.

In the Rational Realm above the Wasteland, even deeper in the Third Layer of the Abyss, granting ordinary people supernatural ability is utterly commonplace.

Even higher up, Wu Chang himself—as a player of the Abyss Game—had used special means to grant ordinary people supernatural power.

To replace supernatural beings by mastering supernatural power? That's like killing oneself.

But given Raven's account, the Steam Council began by studying alchemy and occultism—that explains everything.

No wonder those black-robed figures at Pine Tree Mine had such profound occult knowledge; their arrangements were so subtle even a powerful supernatural being like Raven struggled to detect them.

Raven shook his head and continued:

"Their problem isn't just hatred toward supernatural beings—the Steam Council members are all new nobles, university professors, and scholars; they hold knowledge and resources inaccessible to ordinary people, and instinctively look down on those beneath them."

"They want ordinary people to wield supernatural power—but 'ordinary people' here only means themselves."

"For the true common folk, they display a creator-like arrogance, willing to kill millions without hesitation to further test their theories."

"My intuition tells me that if I let these madmen run wild, Stilan—and the entire world—will descend into chaos."

Raven's eyes flickered away, as if recalling some unpleasant memory.

"Zhu Li believed they still had value—that we should take them alive to extract their research—but I insisted on eliminating them entirely, convinced that even a single spark left behind could burn everything down."

"We had a major argument over it."

Wu Chang set his wine glass down, unimpressed—if their goal was merely to kill natural supernatural beings to monopolize power, then the Steam Council was no different from ordinary low-tier villains.

Aside from being more obsessive and more active, among villains they'd barely merit sitting at the same table as the Quietist Cult's followers.

Unlike Wu Chang, Raven had no high standards for villains.

To him, the Steam Council was already a terrifying anti-social force; dealing with these madmen required overwhelming force.

Simple hanging or burning wasn't enough—they had to be shot in the head, bullet through the skull, to feel truly safe.

"Three and a half years ago, their actions were nowhere near the level seen at Pine Tree Mine."

"At the time, their supernatural industrialization was still in its infancy; their supernatural artifacts relied heavily on occultism—neither truly supernatural nor industrially viable."

"After three and a half years of concealment, their current level rivals Stilan's official supernatural steam engines—whether in the refined coal essence or the core of their machine, there's barely a trace of occultism, only pure mechanics."

Raven fell silent for a moment, then said solemnly:

"I even think their supernatural steam engine is more advanced than Stilan's official version."

Wu Chang shrugged; once he realized the Steam Council's capabilities were this mediocre, his interest in them faded.

Raven's attention was entirely fixed on the Steam Council, but he still remembered the original reason they'd investigated Pine Tree Mine.

"So based on the evidence so far, do you think Prime Minister Ron's death is connected to the Steam Council?"

Wu Chang could detect the secret of Pine Tree Mine and the Steam Council's involvement through resentment—but he couldn't determine who killed the Prime Minister; he needed Raven's opinion.

Raven shook his head:

"I'd love to say the Prime Minister's assassination was the Steam Council's doing—but there's one thing hard to explain."

"The death of Baron Philip's family occurred because we discovered the deep coal essence refinery at Pine Tree Mine—meaning the mine's secret hadn't been uncovered before then."

"If the Prime Minister was truly killed by the Steam Council for investigating Pine Mine, and the secrets of Pine Mine have not been exposed, then what reason could there be to risk eliminating him?"

Wu Chang frowned slightly and said: "So the Prime Minister's death can basically be ruled out as having any connection to Pine Mine."

Reventon said: "Perhaps not directly."

Wu Chang pressed: "What do you mean?"

Reventon pulled out a photograph of the Prime Minister's desk and pointed to a news report about the labor movement.

"The labor movement was triggered by the Pine Mine explosion. The Prime Minister's death is likely tied to it too, but the danger may not come from the explosion itself—it may come from the labor movement itself."

"Do you remember what Thomas once said?"

Wu Chang recalled his conversations with Thomas about the labor movement.

"He said the workers from Pine Mine who went on the march sparked widespread violent clashes in the city. Many were arrested, and the remaining workers merged with the Chartists."

Reventon said: "The real reason behind the Prime Minister's assassination may lie in the Chartist Movement. To investigate the assassination, you should start with the Chartist Movement."

Wu Chang followed Reventon's line of thought, then after a moment asked doubtfully:

"Do the workers really have such a deep grievance against the Prime Minister that they'd resort to assassinating him?"

"I remember you said Prime Minister Ron once pushed the Factory Act, limiting child labor hours and taking other actions to secure workers' rights, which made him hated by the industrial aristocracy."

"I've heard the saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Whether you look at Prime Minister Ron's Factory Act or from the perspective of 'the enemy of my enemy,' the workers' conflict with him should be shallow."

Reventon shrugged and said: "I also said our Prime Minister isn't popular."

"I don't know in what context you said 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' but sometimes, the enemy of my enemy is also an enemy. And the reason the workers oppose the Prime Minister is precisely because of the Chartist Movement."

Seeing Wu Chang's puzzled expression, Reventon explained to him what the Chartist Movement was.

The Chartist Movement was workers' dissatisfaction with their current lives and their desire for greater political power.

That all adult men should gain universal suffrage, including the right to vote and to be elected.

In present-day Stilan, the right to vote was a privilege reserved for landowners and the upper-middle class; only those with an annual income exceeding ten gold pounds and who had paid corresponding taxes were eligible to vote.

To run for parliament, one had to prove ownership of property worth over three hundred gold pounds.

These two criteria excluded the vast majority of workers from politics.

Even in Grimlan, families formed purely by workers could only live in the terrible conditions of the worker districts.

If, like Thomas's family, one unfortunately lost both parents before reaching adulthood, the result would be relocation from the worker district to the slums.

In such a state, there were no representatives fighting for workers' interests, nor any right to vote.

Only by changing these two things could the workers' living conditions be fundamentally improved.

Here, Reventon took a sip of wine, moistened his throat, and said with a touch of resignation:

"The problem is, our Prime Minister Ron, though he fought for workers' interests, was a pure elitist—he believed workers lacked necessary education and basic political judgment, and thus firmly opposed their demands."

"Moreover, the Prime Minister adhered to the principle that order outweighed all else, viewing the labor movement as a severe threat to social stability and frequently using violent suppression, resulting in the deaths of many workers."

"So from the workers' perspective, Prime Minister Ron was the true enemy. Many believed that eliminating Ron would clear the path for the Chartist Movement."

After hearing this, Wu Chang was at a loss for words and merely clicked his tongue:

"It seems our Prime Minister Ron really isn't popular."

No wonder Reventon had earlier said the Prime Minister's assassination was carried out with the tacit approval of multiple parties.

What they needed to investigate wasn't who had motive to assassinate the Prime Minister—but who was the first to act.

"If the next step in investigating Prime Minister Ron's assassination is to look into labor activities, then perhaps the investigation into the Steam Council can proceed simultaneously."

This time it was Reventon who looked confused. He asked: "How can they proceed simultaneously?"

Wu Chang said: "I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier—when I entered the area where coal essence was refined, my intuition told me the Pine Mine explosion was caused by an intruder entering that zone."

"That intruder was a miner thief named Mick, who used message magic."

Reventon's lips twitched slightly; his eyebrows knotted together as he stared at Wu Chang with a strange look.

"You're sure this was your intuition telling you, and not something you discovered by grabbing a Steam Council member while I wasn't looking and torturing it out of him?"

What nonsense—intuition is called intuition precisely because it's a vague, unclear feeling.

Who's intuition can specify a person's identity, name, and even the type of magic they use?

Wu Chang shook his head slightly, adopting an expression of: "My intuition just works like this—if you can't understand, that's your problem."

"When your occult knowledge reaches my level, you'll know whether it's possible. Until then, I can't explain much to someone with your level of occult ability."

Reventon clenched his lips tightly and forced a smile onto his face. "Fine, you win."

Before meeting Wu Chang, he was not among the absolute top in Stilan's arcane circles, but he was still a prominent figure.

Since meeting Wu Chang, he had been mocked more than once for his poor occult abilities.

He was furious—and even more furious because he couldn't refute it.

Seeing Reventon fall silent, Wu Chang continued:

"Before he died, the thief used message magic to send a message to his accomplice—likely another miner thief, who probably infiltrated the Chartist Movement or was already a member of it."

"The Steam Council members probably never imagined I'd sense their presence through intuition—they must believe they've severed all traces."

"To delay your discovery, they'll rush to track down the thief's accomplice. Without exception, their target will be the Chartist Movement."

"We may soon cross paths with the Steam Council."

Meanwhile, in the underground chamber of St. George's Cathedral, Olivia was listening to Zhu Li report the truth behind the Pine Mine explosion.

After hearing Zhu Li's account and personally verifying photos of the exterior and special feed port of the arcane steam engine, Olivia lowered her head slightly, lost in thought.

"I never expected someone could develop an arcane steam engine to this extent—using flesh and blood to increase its output."

"No wonder I heard from the Trade Committee that over the past year, vast quantities of coal essence of unknown origin suddenly flooded the Stilan and international markets—its source was Pine Mine."

Olivia raised her head, her eyes bright with excitement, and said to Zhu Li:

"You just said that arcane steam engine was operating recently—meaning its missing core is likely in the hands of my Arcane Knight Commander, correct?"

Olivia had been full of enthusiasm, but as she looked up, she noticed Zhu Li's gaze toward her was deeply complex.

The excitement on her face faded, and she said helplessly:

"Whatever you want to ask, just go ahead and ask."

Since Olivia had said so, Zhu Li took the cue and asked:

"Your Majesty, the fact that the extraordinary steam engine can increase its operating efficiency by absorbing flesh and blood is no coincidence, is it?"

Olivia, as if caught with some secret, said a little guiltily: "There's no one else here now, so just call me Olivia."

Zhu Li said nothing, simply gazing quietly at Olivia.

Olivia put on an innocent expression and said:

"Fine, I admit that during the research on the extraordinary steam engine, we did discover this kind of approach."

"After all, much of the knowledge involved in the extraordinary steam engine was 'divine-bestowed wisdom' taken from the Divine Gift Library when the Arcane Knights broke into the Church of Serenity's headquarters back then."

"Knowledge from evil gods being related to sacrifice is perfectly reasonable; it's just that the path was too difficult to walk and would displease the Lord, so we did not continue."

Hearing Olivia's explanation, Zhu Li's expression eased somewhat, but the worry in her eyes did not dissipate.

She asked softly:

"If everything we build is founded upon flesh and blood, Olivia, can what we're doing truly change the world and make everything better?"

Olivia seized Zhu Li's hand and said without hesitation:

"Of course! I have never doubted our choice."

"The same thing, in different hands, produces different effects. Just like gunpowder — it can be used in war to reap lives, or it can serve as a mining tool to develop industry."

"In the hands of those no-good fellows, the extraordinary steam engine can only satisfy their private desires, but in our hands it will not be so."

Olivia came to Zhu Li's side and said softly:

"I still remember our agreement back then — you help me gain my freedom, and I help you create a world where everyone can live in peace of mind."

"The Sterling that sits at the pinnacle of the world today was built by our own hands. I will definitely keep my promise. Everything we are going through now is merely the darkness before dawn."

Zhu Li leaned against Olivia, recalling the scene she had seen during the day of Ailin rescuing people in the slums, and said:

"I just feel that maybe it doesn't have to be that perfect."

Olivia said: "You don't need to worry, everything will be fine."

To keep Zhu Li from being troubled any longer, Olivia said:

"That Captain Xiao En, he's performed even better than I expected, and has not let down the hopes you placed in him."

"In this investigation of the Pine Coal Mine explosion, he did very well. Tell him that, barring any surprises, tomorrow evening I will announce at the inauguration banquet of the interim Prime Minister the reconstruction of the Arcane Knights and his position."

"The Prime Minister has just been assassinated, so back-to-back banquets would not be appropriate, and his moves are too quick, so it can only be a bit hasty. I hope he won't mind sharing this important moment with others."

(End of this chapter)