r18novel Chapter 135 The Person Being Mentioned
Chapter 135 The Person Being Mentioned
"Miss Audrey?"
"That's right, she said she had something to entrust to us."
Hugh leaned forward slightly: "What kind of request is it?"
Fors shook her head. "She insists on meeting in person. However..." Her eyes lit up. "Miss Audrey's compensation has always been generous."
"Speaking of commissions, has that detective found my pen pal yet?" Fors suddenly remembered something and asked eagerly.
"Um... not yet." Hugh rubbed his fingers together, looking slightly embarrassed. "But I've already urged him, and I believe we'll have results soon."
"Not yet!" Fors said, clearly disappointed. "Hugh, is it possible that the detective is a fraud?"
"It's one of those scams you often see in the newspapers, the kind that specifically targets people to steal advance payments..."
Hearing this, Hugh hesitated a bit, after all, the detective named Sherlock hadn't found out any useful information yet.
"Probably not, after all, he's a guild-certified detective." Her voice trailed off.
……
Backlund, West End, Philips Department Store.
In this shop that caters exclusively to nobles and wealthy merchants, Hugh and Fors meet Audrey, who is pretending to shop there.
Audrey winked at the big dog Susie without changing her expression.
Susie immediately understood, and suddenly screamed and darted out, drawing Audrey's maid Anne away.
After a few brief pleasantries, the three got down to business.
"Here's the thing, I'd like you to help me find someone?"
"Looking for someone?" Hugh frowned subconsciously.
Why are all my friends looking for someone lately...?
Fors's expression also stiffened. She hadn't even found the person she was looking for yet, and now she had to help others find someone else...
After hesitating for a moment, Hugh suggested, "How about I help you put up a commission? There's a special detective guild in Backlund with many professional detectives."
Of course, there are also some that are not very reliable... Hugh added in his mind.
"Detective Guild, that sounds interesting..." A hint of interest flashed in Audrey's eyes, but after a moment she shook her head: "We can't do that. I hope this matter can be kept as secret as possible, and that too many people can't know about it."
Audrey remembered Mr. World's instructions and added:
"I entrusted this task to you because I trust you."
"I see." Hugh fell into deep thought.
"I can offer you 500 pounds if you help me find that person," Audrey said with a smile.
To be honest, as a noblewoman, Audrey had no idea of the market price for finding people, but she knew that 500 pounds was more than enough.
After all, this was commissioned by the new member, Mr. "World," so we definitely have to put in a lot of effort; a little extra cost is nothing.
"500 pounds!" Fors' eyes lit up.
"Uh..." Hugh's expression darkened; she feared it was some dangerous investigation mission again.
Seemingly sensing Hugh's concerns, Audrey explained, "Don't worry, it's not a dangerous mission."
"It's just about finding one person."
As he spoke, he took out a folded envelope from the small lambskin handbag he was carrying. Inside was some information that Mr. "World" had given her.
"The person I'm looking for is named—Lorne Disenke."
"Huh?" Hugh and Fors both froze on the spot.
At this moment, fate began to cycle in a peculiar way.
……
On a remote, unnamed island.
Why does it feel like so many people are talking about me...? Lorne suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
After calming himself down, he picked up the lantern and headed towards the underground part of the ruins.
He raised the lantern in his hand a little, making the wide but seemingly endless passageway ahead noticeably brighter.
Looking around, Lorne spotted several strangely shaped, gray-white stone statues. Among them were elves, giants, and humans with retro designs. The only thing they had in common was that their expressions were frozen in pain and despair.
Their expressions made Lorne very uncomfortable. After taking a few photos with his camera, he suppressed his spirituality and quickened his pace to leave.
After walking several dozen meters, by the light of the lantern, Lorne could see a series of tattered and faded murals on the walls on both sides.
Several of them were relatively intact, and he could roughly tell from the crosses on them that they were part of the same set as the previous painting.
"The Creator saves the world?" Lorne stared at the paintings and guessed their general meaning.
After backing up the paintings with his camera, he continued exploring.
Boom!Boom!Boom!
Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and heavy footsteps approached from afar.
"There's something here." Lorne immediately wrapped the lantern with his clothes, dimming the light.
A few minutes later, the noise stopped, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Lucky guy, it's alright." After making up his mind, Lorne continued forward and finally arrived at the end of the passage, where there was a double stone door that was seven or eight meters high.
Death, sleep, sleep, and new life
Lorne examined the various symbols on the stone gate.
The stone door was not completely closed; there was a gap in the middle large enough for a child to pass through. Lorne looked at his own body, walked over, put down the lantern, braced his hands against the stone door, tensed his muscles, and forcefully pushed open a gap about a hand's width wide.
He gripped the "Ripper" tightly, picked up the lamp, and stepped into the space behind the stone door.
"A burial chamber, huh..." He glanced at the interior structure.
This is... deep within the burial chamber, Lorne discovered a strange scene depicted on the ground.
A figure bearing a glorious cross lay on a long table, surrounded by three people shrouded in shadow.
One of them tore off the figure's arm, another held up its head, and the third dug out its still-beating heart.
The opposite figure had a terrifyingly large gash in its abdomen, and a sinister, dark-skinned infant was sitting cross-legged there.
The four people all looked upwards at the same time, as if they could directly see into everyone who saw the painting.
"This is dismemberment!" Lorne's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that this creator, or rather, this fellow villager, was dismembered by the locals?
"A bloodthirsty feast."
Those organs are probably symbolic, right? The creator died, and then his body was dismembered... No, this painting is clearly malicious and hateful, which means it's not just a simple matter of being dismembered; it feels more like he was dissected alive.
"What a discovery!" Lorne muttered to himself, then raised his camera and pressed the shutter.
"Feed." Just as Lorne was engrossed in this massive work, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.
He instinctively raised his shotgun and pulled the trigger...
"who!"
"It's me!" In the dim light of the lantern, Tracy's flushed face came into view, and Rachel was perched on her shoulder.
Meow~
Upon seeing who it was, Lorne breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hurry up and let's go. I just spotted some gargoyles," Tracy said anxiously.
"Gargoyles?" Lorne frowned slightly.
"Why did you come down? Didn't I tell you to wait for me upstairs?"
"Of course I'm worried..." Tracy turned her face away, "I'm worried you'll pocket the treasure."
"I didn't expect you to be so greedy," Lorne said abruptly.
"You! Hmph!"
Before he could finish speaking, pebbles suddenly began to fall from above.
The next second, the entire tomb chamber shook violently. Lorne's spiritual senses went into overdrive, and he grabbed Tracy and pulled her aside.
"boom--"
Using the gap created by the collapse, a ten-meter-long arm descended from the sky.