musicians of old

Chapter 697 Mystery

"It's not too difficult to investigate Vincent Van Nin's whereabouts. First, it's not been long since then. It's only been seven years, and the management standards in industrial society are much better than before. Second, his social activities after arriving in Janus can be traced continuously, and the logic of time, place and people can all be connected smoothly."

It was pitch dark in the riverside wilderness at night. The fine riverbank gravel was covered with dead grass, and Mr. La's wheelchair kept making crackling sounds as it rolled over the grass.

Laxus and two investigators followed closely behind. He reported in a low voice, while some of his men carried briefcases and some held maps.

"The only problem was that we didn't match the new name 'Vincent' with the former vice-captain of the exploration team, 'Fractal Master'. Once we did, all the problems were gone."

"Therefore, we organized three on-site full-process investigations as early as December 912, March 12, and June 913. There was no resistance during the process—"

“文森特于909年9月6日登上了清晨7点18分启航出发的‘黑色黄金’号远洋游轮，航次编号KBH1065，票根座次1-060，始发站乌夫兰赛尔南码头区，终点站雅努斯以利沙港，抵达时间9月24日上午9点48分。经过三次火车换乘，两夜旅店住宿以及若干小距离的马车换乘后，他在9月30日的中午12点01分抵达了圣珀尔托”

Laxus's narrative is smooth, clear and complete.

It was even accurate to the room number and meals of a hotel where Vincent stayed along the way, the type of coffee he ordered on St. Paul's Waldstein Street, or the start and end times of his visit to an art gallery on a certain day.

Theoretically, under the current social operating model, the investigation team has collected all the information that can leave a trace.

Order number, receipt number, ID number, ticket stub, and necessary third-party testimony and memory - obtained by providing memory clues or subconscious guidance.

"Vincent's activities in San Pereto were only traced for a short period of time, less than ten days."

"The last trace he left was when he returned the umbrella at the front desk of the Waldstein Sunshine Hotel on October 909, 10 in the new calendar, at 10 a.m."

"The memories of several waiters and relevant supporting documents show that he had breakfast in the hotel restaurant two hours earlier that day, but did not come back for lunch or dinner. There was no record of him in other restaurants in San Pereto. Maybe he had a meal at a mobile vendor later, but no matter what, he did not return to his room that night."

"On the second and third nights, Vincent still did not return to his room. The hotel staff did not take it seriously at first, until his prepaid room fee was paid off. On the fourth morning, they failed to contact the police, but his room still contained the luggage he had brought with him from Tiolian, as well as several small-scale street scene oil paintings he had created recently."

"This is the process of disappearance determined by the San Pereto police at the time. The news was passed back to Fanning, who was a freshman at St. Lenya University at the end of October. Vincent's disappearance time was determined to be 10 a.m. on October 10, after returning the umbrella at the front desk."

"But in fact, our subsequent investigation extended Vincent's actual whereabouts a little further back!"

“虽然不知道文森特10月10日-10月15日这段时间经历了些什么，但是10月16日-10月21日这6天，他实际上离开了圣珀尔托！”

"He changed several means of transportation, including trains, boats, and horse-drawn carriages, and went to the Apalle area where we are now! The police did not find out at the time for both subjective and objective reasons: first, it was a routine matter, and they did not pay enough attention to it, so they did not thoroughly investigate it. Second, it was because the real-name system was less popular at the time!"

"The last record we can trace back to is that he got off the boat at the Mintkincons pier on the Hedgewell River at 10 p.m. on October 21 and took a hired carriage. The driver took a 5-pound gold coin and took him as far upstream as possible along the river bank."

"According to the driver, Vincent traveled light, without any large luggage, and showed little desire to communicate, but no obvious abnormalities were found in the necessary communication. The carriage drove on until it was dark in the wilderness, and there was no more room to go, so we watched him get off the carriage and continue walking upstream." "The last possible area starts from this area." Laxus gestured with his hand, "The first three times we came, twice in the territory of Janus on the opposite bank, and once in the territory of Lydia on this bank, we didn't find any clues."

The current location is actually not too far from the boundary of the abnormal zone at the upstream source.

"In fact, we have searched almost all the main and small tributaries of the Hedgewell River Basin, but we have not found Vincent's body. Could it be that he ran into the abnormal area again? But for someone who has explored the area before, I am afraid that even death would not want to experience such a nightmare again. Moreover, since you have the experience of investigation, you should not go in unprepared."

"Or maybe his body is not complete enough to even reach the detection limit of occult divination, so we just can't find it."

"Sir, is it possible that the body was completely destroyed?" asked the investigator holding a map nearby. "For example, it was destroyed in an overly violent way, or by some mysterious factor?"

Laxus shook his head: "The flesh of ordinary creatures is the sediment of the surface. As long as they have not reached the realm of the Order Keeper, it is impossible for them to completely disappear from the surface of the world. When mysterious factors intervene, the most common thing is that they will just turn into a pool of rotting flesh and blood."

"This side is Lydia, and the other side is Janus?" Mr. Wax suddenly asked.

"That's right. It's just that the other side we see now has been temporarily occupied by Lydia. However, I heard that Janus has recently proposed a ceasefire."

Laxus replied.

"So, Mr. La, you ordered us to come back from San Pereto for the fourth time this time. Is there any possibility of new discovery?"

"I have checked all the deceased on the luxury cruise ship 'Vanessa', whether they were real people or 'phantoms', and I have also secretly calculated the relevant people." Mr. Wax narrowed his eyes and tapped his fingernails on the armrest of the wheelchair.

"I don't know how he comprehended the spiritual knowledge of the 'Swirling Fire Gate'. The legacy of this secret technique is indeed very tricky. Many subtle traces of the secret history disturbance have been replaced and turned into a monotonous 'candle' phase secret atmosphere."

"But there is still an obvious anomaly, an extremely high peak anomaly that cannot be completely eliminated, which makes me feel extremely strange."

"Owen's emotion before he died was surprise. Very surprise! Extreme surprise! Even mixed with a certain degree of horror or fear!!"

Laxus, who had been listening quietly beside him, suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

Extreme shock and horror?

So, what did Irving suddenly learn?

Is there anything that could be beyond his expectations and cognition?

(End of this chapter)