Chapter 552 The Mysterious Lake
Although Duanmu Huai said so, it was a pity that nothing happened that night - well, it was a very peaceful night.
Early the next morning, everyone gathered in the truck again and began to report their findings.
"Although I didn't find anything strange, there was a strange noise under the floor..."
Mary looked a little uneasy.
"Noise?"
"Yes, it seems like something is crawling under the floor, which makes people feel very uncomfortable. Lorena and I investigated the room, and the result..."
After saying this, Mary glanced at Lorena, who nodded.
"We found a secret door in the floor of the room."
"Secret door?"
"Yes, it's under the carpet. If you hadn't asked us to check it, Mr. Duanmu, I'm afraid we wouldn't have discovered it at all."
"Have you opened it to read?"
"It can't be opened from our side..."
"Hmm..."
It's becoming more and more like a B-grade murder plasma horror movie.
Of course, if those two old men were really murderers, Duanmu Huai wouldn't be afraid. He still doesn't know who killed whom.
At this moment, suddenly, everyone heard a noise coming from the window. They came to the window curiously and looked out. They saw a young man wearing glasses glaring at the main entrance of the hotel not far away. He looked at the old man William standing at the door of the hotel - the latter just crossed his arms and looked at him impatiently.
The young man glared at the old man fiercely and roared loudly.
"You said you didn't know if he lived here. What I want to tell you is that I know he did live here, and he told me himself!"
"Please calm down, sir. We still have guests here who need to rest."
Facing the young man's roar, William also seemed a little dissatisfied.
"Rest? Here? What happened to the sound coming from below the guest room at night? Who can have a good rest with such a sound? Now tell me, which room does he live in?!"
"I said I don't know."
Faced with the young man's questioning, William was obviously a little angry.
"So leave me alone or get out of my hotel!"
After saying this, William turned around and walked into the hotel, and the young man also walked towards the other side of the hotel angrily.
Seeing this scene, everyone looked at each other, while Duanmu Huai sneered.
"It seems that there are more than one or two people missing here."
As he spoke, Duanmuhuai got out of the truck.
"Let's go and talk to that young man."
Under the leadership of Duanmu Huai, the group left the truck and came to the other side of the hotel. Then they saw the young man who had quarreled with William standing nearby, looking at the lake and forest in the distance with an angry look on his face. Mumbling something. Duanmuhuai stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, which made the young man turn his head dissatisfied.
"Who is it? Didn't see me... Wow! What kind of monster are you?"
"Who are you calling a monster?"
Looking at the frightened young man who turned pale and almost sat on the ground, Duanmu Huai's face suddenly darkened.
"We are also guests staying here. We just heard the quarrel between you and William, so we wanted to come over and chat with you."
"You, what do you want to talk about?"
"I heard what you just said, are you here to find someone?"
"This..."
Facing Duanmuhuai's inquiry, the young man was obviously a little nervous, but he hesitated for a moment and explained the whole story to Duanmuhuai.
His name is Jacob Trent, and he lives in room 8. The reason why he came here is to meet his friend Abraham Hickey. Logically speaking, Abraham should have met a few weeks ago. Arrived, and the night before Jacob arrived, Abraham had called to inform him that he had checked in.
"But when you came, you didn't see him?"
"That's right, I asked William, but the old man just pretended to be deaf and insisted that he didn't come. I thought he must have done something to Abraham! Damn... I won't let him go just like that! I will definitely find out his clues and let the police deal with this damn bastard! They obviously run the hotel, but they hardly see anyone during the day. They have been squatting in the sealed studio behind the hotel. I think they must What the hell are you doing!”
According to Jacob, he has been living here since then, but he doesn't feel very good about this hotel. Not to mention the inconvenience of not having electricity or telephone here, the lake in the distance also makes his skin stand on end. Moreover, there would be strange noises coming from under the floor at night. He had long thought that there was something wrong with this hotel.
"Since you have lived here for so long, have you seen this person?"
As he spoke, Duanmuhuai took out James's photo from his arms. Jacob took the photo, looked at it carefully, and nodded.
"Yes, I saw this man the night I moved in, but I didn't have time to say hello to him. The next morning I noticed that his car was missing, so I guessed he was gone. If those two old If they tell you that he has never lived here, then they are either stupid or lying. If my friend doesn’t come back in the next two days, I will call the police!”
"Oh."
Hearing this, Duanmuhuai raised his eyebrows and then took back the photo.
"By the way, do you remember what car he drove?"
"A black Chrysler. Young people these days rarely can afford to drive such a wealthy car, so I remember it very clearly."
"Thank you, I have no problem anymore."
After getting Duanmuhuai's answer, Jacob turned and left directly, while Duanmuhuai turned his head and looked at the others.
"Look, there is indeed something wrong with those two old guys."
"Uh...just based on the inquiry just now?"
"Of course."
Facing Mary's question, Duanmuhuai nodded curiously.
"Don't forget, after we got here, we just said we were looking for someone, we didn't say he drove a car, or what kind of car he drove. But this Jacob made it very clear that this That means he didn’t lie.”
"So... Mr. Duanmu, do you mean that those two old gentlemen are lying?"
Hearing this, Mary looked incredulous.
"But, they are just two old people. Although it is not a good thing to say, the missing people are all young people. Can two old people deal with young and strong young people?"
"Haha, that's hard to say."
"Then...what should we do now?"
"Now that the clues have been found, let's solve this commission easily. You can investigate again in the hotel and see how the other passengers are doing. We will meet again in the evening and report the situation to me."
"Huh?"
Mary couldn't help being surprised when she heard Duanmuhuai's words.
"Yes, do you want me to go?"
"Yes, this is also a necessary skill for investigators. Just go and practice it."
"But...what do you want me to ask?"
"Just have a casual chat. Find out about the other person's background, how long they have been here, and whether they have encountered anything strange here... Don't make it like a police interrogation, just treat it like two tourists in a hotel. Just chat.”
"Hey...but Mr. Duanmu, you just acted like an interrogator..." "It's just a different approach, go!"
"Yes...!"
When Duanmuhuai shouted, Mary was also startled. She nodded hurriedly and turned to leave, while Lorena followed.
"Hey..."
Looking at the two people's retreating figures, Duanmu Huai shook his head, then turned and walked towards the lake. As for the maid, she stayed on the truck to take care of it and perform maintenance on the truck. Of course, if those two idiots dared to be stupid enough to attack the maid, then they would be able to realize the true power of the maid monster.
But having said that…………
“This place really sucks.”
Standing by the lake, looking at the scenery in front of him, Duanmu Huai couldn't help but complain. Generally speaking, logically speaking, in a place like this far away from human habitation, the natural scenery should be beautiful. But in fact this is not the case, although there is also a small wooden pier on the edge of the lake, and there are several small canoes next to it.
Generally speaking, sitting on a boat, floating in the lake, and enjoying the natural beauty at this time is not without its flavor.
However... Looking at the sticky lake covered by green algae in front of me, with a layer of greasy dirt floating on the water, it doesn't look like the beauty of nature. This place is not so much a lake as it is a large garbage pit. You can smell a pungent smell just by walking in.
How could anyone come to this damn place!
As he walked along the lake, Duanmu Huai complained. However, when he reached the other side of the lake, Duanmu Huai stopped.
The reason is very simple, that is, in front of Duanmuhuai, you can see very clear tire marks - these tire marks in the mud come all the way from the parking lot, and then...
Duanmu Huai raised his head and looked forward along the tire marks.
Into the lake?
No wonder this damn place is so dirty.
Could it be that these two old men are some kind of murderous maniacs, killing people here to steal money, and then pushing the victims' vehicles into the lake to destroy the bodies and eliminate traces? So are the bodies of those people also in the lake?
Thinking of this, Duanmuhuai turned his head and looked towards the hotel not far away, then narrowed his eyes slightly.
It looks like this is going to be interesting.
Winter nights always come quickly. When night falls, Mary and Lorena also returned to the truck and reported to Duanmuhuai.
"Besides Mr. Jacob, there are two travelers staying here."
As Mary spoke, she took out a notebook - well, it seemed like she was quite serious.
"One of them is Mr. Bill Denston. He doesn't like to communicate with others. I just said hello to him and didn't say anything... The other one is Miss Sarah Bonner. She seems They are on a long journey and are just resting here temporarily. None of them have seen Mr. James, and..."
As she spoke, Mary turned over a page of notes.
"Miss Sarah told me that she doesn't like the lake very much, and that she often has nightmares since coming here."
"Nightmare?"
"Yes, Miss Sarah said that she occasionally dreams that she sinks into the bottom of the water, surrounded by water plants. Under the water plants, there is a strange city of spiral spiers. There are horrible, terrible, and indescribable things everywhere. Corpse. Then she would always be attracted to the center of the city and see a terrifying monster with three eyes... Then she would be frightened and wake up. She would always have this dream. Miss Sarah said it might be It’s because of the lake.”
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai frowned.
Isn't this... hmm? Could it be that I won the lottery again this time?
Is your rabbit so lucky?
Thinking of this, Duanmuhuai looked at the little white rabbit in his pocket, which was sleeping in a pile. Duanmuhuai reached out and touched the little white rabbit's furry body. The latter stared at his legs, and then huddled up comfortably again.
Well, it's really cute.
"Dong dong dong."
At this moment, suddenly, there was a slight knock on the door outside the truck. Duanmuhuai motioned Lorena to open the door, and then she saw a young man wearing glasses standing nervously outside - he was Ya Cobu, the young man who had quarreled with William during the day.
"It's so late, what's wrong?"
"Hey, that's it."
Hearing Duanmuhuai's inquiry, Jacob was a little nervous, but he still spoke.
"I had another fight with that old fool, no, a fight to be exact. I took the key from him. I planned to go see what they were doing in that ghost studio in the back. Toy, do you want to come together? ”
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai raised his eyebrows. Of course he remembered what Jacob had said in the morning. The two old men hardly saw anyone during the day and had been squatting in the studio behind the hotel not knowing what to do. Well, if this is a B-level horror murder movie, then there might be some torture instruments or corpses in it... But Duanmuhuai has almost guessed that there should be something weirder than these things.
"Okay, let's go together."
Duanmuhuai nodded, then looked at Mary and Lorena.
"You guys come too, get ready for battle."
"Yes, Lord Knight."
Lorena was not surprised by Duanmu Huai's order. She just picked up the heavy holy book in her hand and nodded. Although Mary wanted to ask something, she said nothing and obediently picked up a staff.
This was a gift that Lani gave to Mary when she "graduated" - a Scepter of Kallia.
This staff actually looks more like a thin sword from the outside. It even has a hand guard. The "hilt" part is inlaid with gems. When worn on the body, it looks more like a female bodyguard at first glance. It is a decorative weapon. After all, the "sword blade" is also cylindrical. In addition, the appearance is light, so it will not arouse too much suspicion when taken out.
Although Lani was very cold towards Mary on the surface, now it seems that she is still quite good to Mary. After all, most people can't get this kind of weapon even if they want it.
After instructing the maid to guard the house to avoid being robbed, Duanmuhuai left the van with Lorena and Mary, and followed Jacob towards the sealed studio behind the hotel.
"…………Mr. Duanmu, will we fight?"
Holding the staff in her arms, Mary still seemed a little nervous. She looked at Duanmuhuai uneasily and asked, while Duanmuhuai nodded.
"Yes, if your investigation is correct, then those two old guys are not ordinary murderers, but two cultists who believe in evil gods. Who knows if there are any monsters in their studios? It’s always good to be careful.”
"Huh? Yes, is that so? But I didn't see it at all..."
"I guessed it because I read the information before. Anyway, be careful."
"Yes..."
After hearing this, Mary's expression became stiffer, but she still held the staff tightly and nodded vigorously.
At this moment, a group of people also came to the door of the studio. Jacob took out the key without hesitation, then opened the door of the studio and walked in directly.
The entire studio was dark, with only an oil lamp placed on the table. There were many tools that looked like they were used for repairs around it, but unfortunately, no corpses were seen, and no useful clues were seen. On one side of the corner were several cardboard boxes and a pile of clothes. On the table, there were several turbid-looking glass jars with what looked like some kind of spikes soaked in them.
"Damn!!"
However, after rushing into the studio, Jacob seemed to find something. He came to the pile of old clothes piled next to him, took out a jacket from it, looked at it carefully, and then made an angry low sound. roar.
"Damn it, I knew it! Those two old guys must be the ones behind it!"
As he spoke, Jacob picked up the jacket and unfolded it towards Duanmu Huai and others.
"Look, these are Abraham's clothes! I knew something must have happened to him!"
"This dress belongs to Abraham?"
"Yes, you see there is a label here. It says A. Hickey. This is the best evidence. I have seen him wearing this jacket more than once. There is no way he would throw it away. Those two old men Beasts, I will never let them go. They must have killed Abraham, maybe..."
As he spoke, Jacob looked inside the studio. When he saw two wooden boxes that looked like coffins placed in the corner, he jumped up immediately.
"They must have put Abraham in it, damn...!!"
While shouting, Jacob rushed to the box and opened it directly.
However, at this moment, suddenly, a skinny arm exuding a rotten aura stretched out from it and grabbed Jacob's arm. The next moment, I saw a strange, rotten zombie-like figure. The monster suddenly emerged from the box, opened its mouth, and bit Jacob!
(End of chapter)