Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 546 - 42 Venomous Snake Detective

Open-air testing ground.

People bustled like ants on a complex tangle of iron towers hung with chains of iron links. At the center of the field was a giant metal box, several stories high, assembled from metal pieces.

A person wearing a leather mask commanded from above, "Begin the startup preparations!"

As soon as the words fell, people pushed the levers they held in succession. A buzzing sounded from the base of the tri-orb device shaped like a pot, as a faint red glow emanated from the ring of oiled gas pipes.

Steam twirled, yellow gears interlocked with one another, red and white dials spun madly, and an almost tooth-chatteringly loud friction came from different parts of the machinery.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

The pistons moved up and down, and with a click, a V-shaped crack split open in the middle. In an instant, the giant box’s head and upper limbs separated, transforming the "metal box" into a giant autonomous soldier.

The head of Giant Ymir was modeled after a Spartan warrior’s helmet, from whose cross-shaped crack one could vaguely see two black crystal lenses trimmed with copper. Six yellow, bulging mechanical arms unfolded from the sides, each fitted with three double-jointed fingers. Two towering chimneys stood on its shoulders, bellowing thick black smoke into the sky.

"Is it a success?"

The whole workshop was abuzz with noise. Even St. Yves, who had come specifically to inspect, craned his neck to see.

Boom!

This automatic soldier, which required no human pilot, rolled its treads forward, effortlessly snapping the restraint straps used for testing strength. Its six mechanical arms formed two triangles pointing forward, blasting flames of high-temperature oiled gas.

The thick, dark red flames blanketed the stone and sand beneath, still dancing wildly without the slightest sign of extinguishing.

The high heat forced the staff to retreat.

"Shut it down! Shut it down!"

St. Yves shouted.

Lever after lever was pulled back down, and the fierce, steam-powered behemoth drew its arms back together and indeed came to a halt.

"It’s a success!"

A cheer rose from the crowd.

St. Yves let out a deep sigh of relief, and the cheers ebbed and flowed. Excited, people tossed their masks or whatever else they had into the air, energetically expressing their emotions.

The first fully automatic soldier powered by eight tri-orb devices was built for breakthrough combat during mass warfare—absolutely a war fortress.

Despite various reasons why such soldiers were unlikely to be mass-produced, as Enfield’s flagship model for the next five or ten years, there was no doubt about Giant Ymir—it was destined to go down in history and attract more capital investment. In fact, Enfield’s profits had been in decline for several years, and the successful development of Giant Ymir was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for St. Yves.

The menacing war machine stood silently in its place, the flames beneath it not yet extinguished. A complex-shaped turbine fan replaced where the V-shaped crack had been, resolving Enfield’s challenge of overload due to Giant Ymir’s excessive power.

As for the designer behind this innovation...

"You did it, Chang,"

Robert hugged Chang Yu excitedly.

"No, I was only involved with a small part of the design. The credit goes to everyone."

Chang Yu’s expression did not appear very excited.

"But it was you who actually got it moving; you are the soul of this design. If it weren’t for you, we would never have made it to this year’s World Expo in London in time."

Upon hearing these words, Chang Yu’s face finally showed more expression.

Robert tugged at Chang Yu’s sleeve, "Hey, St. Yves has arrived."

"Robert, Chang, you indeed have not disappointed me."

Chang Yu stared seriously at the smiling St. Yves, "Your Excellency, do you still remember your promise?"

"Hmm."

St. Yves lowered his head.

Chang Yu’s complexion suddenly changed, and his tone became excited, "Your Excellency, are you going back on your word?"

St. Yves looked at Chang Yu and suddenly burst into laughter, striking Chang Yu’s chest with his hand, "Chang, you Chinese People really can’t take a joke. Of course, I remember my promise. At this exposition, you will represent Ron Enfield as an assistant speaker. I’ll draft the list right now."

Chang Yu was overjoyed, "Thank you, Your Excellency St. Yves."

As he spoke, Chang Yu turned to look at the giant mech standing in the wilderness, his mood brightening like the dawn, not even listening to St. Yves’s incessant talk about giving him a substantial bonus and offering him better terms.

"Your Excellency."

The assistant hurried over, "Detective Duke from Pinkerton Detective Agency has already arrived at your office, hoping to meet with you."

St. Yves raised an eyebrow, "Venomous Snake Detective Duke Weilang?"

————————————————

Duke Weilang was very handsome, with a high nose bridge and chiseled, upright features, but his overly narrow eyes made him appear somewhat effeminate.

"Hello, Your Excellency St. Yves, when I was working in New York, I had heard of your great name. Oh, thank you."

St. Yves, holding two glasses of red wine, handed one to Duke, then sat back down in his own seat. He inspected the registration license on his desk, which bore Duke Weilang’s photo and fingerprints, took a sip from the glass in his hand, and then pushed the license back.

Even though the Pinkerton Detective Agency was known for its aggressiveness and harshness in fighting crime, Venomous Snake Detective Duke Weilang was still notorious within the agency for his unscrupulous methods. He would kidnap the family members of fugitives as a threat, and when necessary, disregard the lives of the innocent.

Despite many such reprehensible acts, Duke Weilang was still favored by many employers for his high case closure rate.

"If you’re here about the gang conflict at the docks that happened a while ago, then you should be dispersing your detectives into Chinatown to gather information, not coming here to find a law-abiding businessman."

"You misunderstand, Your Excellency."

Duke Weilang shrugged, "I was indeed commissioned to resolve the recent conflict between Hesheng and the Odonk Brotherhood, but for some reason, when I traveled all this way to San Francisco by boat, the commission was canceled."

"So, you’ve come all this way for nothing."

"Not necessarily."

Duke Weilang produced two photos, precisely of Zhen Lian and Liang Hui.

St. Yves glanced at them casually and shook his head, "I don’t know them."

"You’ll get to know them soon enough when the workers in your factories—many of them Chinese—start striking in large numbers."

"What?"

St. Yves’ eyes widened.

"There are tens of thousands of Chinese laborers in this city, more than two-thirds of the factories employ Chinese because factory owners can pay them very low wages, even a third of what white laborers earn. If the Chinese People really do organize a large-scale strike, it would be unbearable for you. But..."

With a smile on his face, Detective Duke said, "If you’re willing to hire Pinkerton Detective Agency, I will solve this problem for you and all the factory owners in San Francisco."