Detective Guide to the Steam World

Chapter 15 Slaughterhouse

Following the sailor's directions, Rean soon spotted the Sicily Company's sign.

It was a three-story building. Because it was close to the sea, a lot of the wall facing the street had peeled off, and it looked a bit dilapidated.

Behind it is a warehouse where goods are stored, surrounded by walls and barbed wire.

There was another large gate at the warehouse location, used for transferring goods. The gate was now closed, and several fierce-looking burly men were guarding it inside.

Judging from the outside, this is a well-organized and standard-sized shipping company, with nothing unusual about it.

"What do we do now? Should we go to the reception desk and ask about the situation?"

Kent asked, looking somewhat nervous.

"We are newcomers, and rashly inquiring about the situation will only arouse their suspicion."

After observing for a while, Rean shook his head. "Now that we've confirmed this company is problematic, let's just infiltrate it."

After saying that, the two bypassed the front of the Sissippi Company and began looking for a gap in the warehouse that would allow them to enter without alerting the guards.

As detectives, they were extremely familiar with infiltration.

Rean and Kent had done similar infiltration investigations and evidence gathering many times before, and they were already quite adept at it.

Without much effort, after circling the warehouse once, the two identified a blind spot in the guard's line of sight, climbed over the high wall, and successfully entered the warehouse.

Kent frowned as soon as he flipped through the window and saw what was in front of him.

Unlike the warehouses they had previously infiltrated, the Sissippi Company's warehouse was very quiet and did not have the strange smell that warehouses produce due to the accumulation of goods.

The entire area was unusually empty, with weeds growing in many places.

It doesn't look like a frequently used warehouse; it looks more like an abandoned prison.

"Something's not right, Rean!"

Kent crouched down, looking around warily, his tone grave. "If the Sicily Company really is involved in human trafficking, this place shouldn't be this quiet, and it's far too desolate."

"Go in and see for yourself."

Rean looked at the warehouse in the distance, took out a revolver from his armpit holster, held it in his hand, and quietly approached.

From the main building of the Sicilian Company not far away, bursts of angry shouts and commotion could be heard from time to time, including slamming tables.

Clearly, the guards here were having some fun.

Judging from the voices, there are definitely quite a few people.

"If this gets discovered, we're finished!"

Looking at the completely exposed surroundings, Kent felt a chill run down his spine and prayed frantically in his heart, cold sweat already dripping down his forehead.

If someone were to peek out now, they would immediately spot the two of them.

However, perhaps the prayers worked, and nothing unexpected happened until they arrived at the warehouse.

After arriving safely, Kent breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he didn't dare to be careless and immediately began looking for a way to enter the warehouse.

He couldn't feel at ease staying in this bare, desolate place.

However, what puzzled Kent was that all the doors and windows of the warehouse were locked, and even the space used for ventilation was completely sealed off with wooden strips, leaving no gaps.

Regardless of what's stored in this warehouse, even if it really is a place where slaves are imprisoned, people still need to breathe, right?

Even for the sake of secrecy and to prevent slaves from escaping, they didn't go to this extent at all.

No matter how you look at it, this doesn't make sense.

"Kent, over here!"

Just as Kent was becoming increasingly uneasy, Rean's voice rang out.

He hurried over and saw that Rean had already removed a window that was used to let light into the warehouse.

But he clearly remembered that the window was locked.

And we didn't hear any sounds of forced demolition just now.

"What did you do...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Rean had already climbed inside. Kent swallowed his doubts and quickly followed suit, climbing in through the window.

As soon as he landed, he looked up warily at his surroundings, then froze on the spot.

"By the great Golden Lord... behold what I see?!"

Kent's eyes widened, and he muttered to himself.

As far as the eye could see, there were countless uniform, rusty iron cages, densely packed in the warehouse, stretching as far as the eye could see.

What is most striking is that the ground, walls, and even the ceiling are covered with countless dark red marks, like countless eerie patterns that send chills down your spine.

Clearly, the sailor was not lying.

The real business of the Sissippi Company was human trafficking.

These cages in front of you are where those "goods" are kept.

And there are three more warehouses like this outside!

If nothing unexpected happens, it will most likely be the same situation as here.

"Looks like we've come to the right place."

Rean smiled as he scanned his surroundings.

Even without going up to check, he could tell that the iron cages in front of him clearly showed signs of people being imprisoned, and many of the cages still had tattered strips of cloth left inside.

"But what about those slaves? Have they already been transported away?"

Kent snapped out of his daze and instinctively asked, "And what are these dark red marks? Why do they feel like…?"

At this point, his words abruptly stopped, clearly as if he had thought of something, and his eyes widened suddenly.

"These things couldn't possibly be...?"

Rean crouched down, reached out and smeared a bit of the dark red stain on the ground, brought it to his nose, and a strange, excited smile crept onto his lips:

"Congratulations, Mr. Kent, you guessed right!"

"It wasn't just blood, but also bits of flesh and internal organs mixed in. It wasn't long ago, it was left about three days ago, so it's still relatively fresh."

As he spoke, Rean stood up. "It seems the people from the Sicily company haven't had time to clean up yet."

"Gurgle—"

Kent swallowed hard, looking at the dark red stains that covered the entire warehouse, and suddenly felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to his head.

After a long pause, he said in a trembling voice:

"Rean, do you think those slaves... might already be dead?"

If we simply used violence to make slaves obey, this scene would never have happened!

After all, slaves were ultimately sold to farm owners and factory owners. If they were beaten or maimed, their value would undoubtedly be greatly reduced, which was a major taboo for slave traders.

Kent had only ever seen such a hellish scene before him in slaughterhouses.

The situation there was just like it is now, with iron cages piled up with livestock waiting to be slaughtered, and dried, dark red marks everywhere.

Except for the absence of the smell of blood, this place is exactly like a slaughterhouse!

Who knows?

Rean withdrew his gaze. "Perhaps they're all dead, or perhaps they only killed some of the disobedient ones to make an example of them, or perhaps they've already been taken away... There are many possibilities."

"But you don't mean...?"

Just as Kent was about to say something more...

"Click—"

Suddenly, the sound of a lock turning came from the tightly closed side door of the warehouse.