A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 681

Chapter 681: Chapter 506 Mysterious Disappearance_1 Chapter 681: Chapter 506 Mysterious Disappearance_1 No matter what, since the police were here, Duanmu Huai didn't object to letting them in. When they stepped into the carriage and saw Duanmu Huai, both of the railway police officers jumped in surprise, but thankfully they still knew better than to overreact to Duanmu Huai.

From the railway police officers, Duanmu Huai finally learned what was going on.

It turns out that no one had been killed, but someone had gone missing.

Missing?

On this train speeding along at 180 kilometers per hour???

Duanmu Huai unconsciously glanced outside the window. He couldn't see anything, but he could still hear the rhythmic clunking sound of the train.

Could the other party fly or something?

But, if they were going to search, let them search. The carriage was only so big, so Duanmu Huai didn't mind. After all, he didn't think these people could find a body under his wardrobe or bed. Ling'Nu was always laying there, and Lorena was stationed outside. It would be crazy if these people could just come in and find something.

As expected, the railway police found nothing unusual after their search, and they apologized to Duanmu Huai before leaving him to sleep.

Although it was really strange that someone disappeared on a moving train, he was no Conan, and whoever wanted to investigate was welcome to do so, but he didn't want to cause any trouble.

However, while Duanmu Huai was thinking this, it didn't mean that everyone else did.

The next morning, just after breakfast, Duanmu Huai's carriage was visited by an unexpected guest.

“I heard you are a detective, please, you have to help me!!”

Looking at the woman pleading in front of him, Duanmu Huai was speechless.

Good grief, back when he was in Arkham City he couldn't find a case if he had tried, but now that he'd left the city, a case had come knocking on his door?

Could it be that Arkham City was just bad luck?

“Fine, tell me the situation first.”

The woman introduced herself as a small-time employee of a financial magazine, who had gone on a business trip with her mentor, a financial journalist. The reason they took this train this time was that Mr. Phillip, the businessman they were interviewing, had kindly provided them an exclusive interview and even arranged for their train tickets.

As a journalist, an exclusive interview was a golden opportunity. So she and her mentor boarded this train together. After dinner yesterday, her mentor went to interview Phillip in his first-class cabin. She, the apprentice, was tasked with waiting for her mentor at her own seat.

One and a half hours later, her mentor came back looking pale as if he had experienced something terrible. Naturally, she was curious and asked about it, but her mentor only gave her a stern stare, hinting that she should mind her own business and instructed her to pack their luggage and prepare to leave as soon as they reached the transfer station the next day.

Before going to sleep, her mentor specifically warned her to be careful of Phillip if anything happened to him.

The woman was scared by her mentor's serious demeanor and didn't say anything else. However, she was too uneasy and curious to sleep well. When she wanted to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, she found that her mentor, who should have been in bed, had disappeared!

At first, she thought her mentor had also gone to the bathroom, but she couldn't find him anywhere, not in the bathroom, nor in the dining car or anywhere else. She immediately thought of what her mentor had told her before lights out and hurriedly sought help from the railway police.

That's what led to Duanmu Huai being awakened in the middle of the night yesterday.

And her coming to him now meant……
“Your mentor still hasn't been found?”

“Yes.”

The woman, her eyes rimmed red, nodded her head.

“They've searched everywhere with no luck, but I know that it must have been Phillip who did it!”

“Hmm……”
Upon hearing this, Duanmu Huai started to ponder. Clearly, there was a suspect. Since her mentor had gone specifically out of his way to warn her before going to bed, it meant he must have found out something he shouldn't have known. As for the disappearance, it was mostly likely that Phillip had silenced him. The question now was, how did he manage to do it on such a large train?

Let's first explain the layout of this train.

Obviously, the engine compartment was at the front, no need to explain that. Following that were the crew cabin, a second-class cabin, a first-class cabin, the dining car, then Duanmu Huai's cabin —- He occupied a whole cabin himself, so it had to be at the end. Otherwise, if it were in the middle, it would block everything else.

Since this is a tourist train, there aren't that many passengers. There are about ten people in the second-class cabin, six passengers occupying three rooms in the first-class cabin. Phillip has his own room, a couple shares another one, and then a family of three shares the last one. These six people occupy three of the four rooms in the first-class cabin.

Then, of course, there was Duanmu Huai and Lorena.

In the second-class cabin there were regular bunks, while in the first-class cabin were sleeper berths. Only the wealthy could afford a single room like what Duanmu Huai had. But no matter what, the size of the train cabins was fixed. The two railway police officers walked from the front to the back, but found no clues about the woman's mentor. She was frantic.

Later, one of the railway police officers told her that a detective lived in first-class, suggesting she ask him for help……
So basically this was someone passing the buck because they didn't want to deal with a nuisance?

“Alright, let's check it out then.”

He had nothing else to do anyway while on the train, and it wasn't like his old days when he could surf the internet with a tablet when he was bored. In this era, mobile phones were still a novelty. It was also quite boring staying in the cabin, so with nothing else to do, he decided to go with the woman to check it out.

However, for Duanmu Huai, traversing through the train carriages proved to be quite inconvenient. Everyone knows train doors are small and narrow, as are the aisles in the carriages. Duanmu Huai had to sidle along, channeling the spirit of an adventure film hero squeezed through debris strewn gaps, to finally make it from first class to the women's second-class cabin.

This second-class sleeping car was similar to a hard berth, divided into upper and lower bunks. Doubtlessly because it wasn't crowded, the place, though slightly cramped, was still bearable. The woman and her teacher stayed in two lower berths. Around them were suitcase bags and suitcases, indicating they had indeed packed heavily for the trip.

“These contain equipment needed for reporting and filming.”

The woman somewhat embarrassedly explained to Duanmu Huai. Naturally, in their line of work, they can't do without filming equipment. And it's not any simple apparatus, nor inexpensive travel gear. These also explained why the woman, as an assistant, had accompanied her teacher for the interview.

After all, the equipment was pricey, with cameras alone costing several thousand, if not upwards of ten thousand. Losing any of it would be a real hassle.

“Did your teacher leave anything behind?”

“No.”

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai's question, the woman shook her head no. According to her, when her instructor had vanished, he didn't have his coat or wallet with him, as if he had stepped out. That's why she initially assumed her teacher had gone out to smoke or use the restroom. But after searching for him for quite a while, she found no signs of him…

“However, when he went to interview this man named Phillip, he must have had something with him.”

Duanmu Huai remembered that reporters usually use a tape recorder or camcorder during interviews, and at the very least, they take notes.

“There's nothing. I checked everything, but I couldn't find anything that belonged to my teacher.”

“Check again.”

“Okay.”

Although she was somewhat surprised by Duanmu Huai's request, the woman nodded. Then she began to reopen her suitcases and luggage bags and checked their contents once again. Meanwhile, Duanmu Huai stood there, observing her actions. In truth, Duanmu Huai didn't intend to conduct a search himself. On one hand, it wasn't convenient for him, and on the other, he had a much more suitable assistant.

“Meow.”

Sure enough, after the woman had emptied her suitcase and then opened a nearby bag, the black cat Ling'Nu suddenly leaped down onto the bed from Duanmu Huai's shoulder and used her paw to hold onto the travel bag.

“Oh wow, what's going on?”

Upon seeing this sudden appearance of a black cat, the woman was startled. At that moment, Duanmu Huai's eyes lit up in anticipation.

“Hang on, see what's inside that bag?”

“Huh? But there's nothing in here.”

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai's words, the woman was taken aback. She then reached into the bag held by the black cat and felt around. After a moment, she looked up at Duanmu Huai.

“Detective, there seems to be a note hidden in here!”

“Bring it out.”

“Okay.”

The woman nodded and then reached into the travel bag, after which she turned it over. At that time Duanmu Huai noticed, concealed inside the bag was a secret pocket… well, he had to admit, her teacher was a crafty old fox. Although not much could be stowed in a secret pocket, it would've been perfect for hiding a note, which of course, most people wouldn't even notice.

The woman produced the note, glanced at it, and suddenly her face turned pale. She then turned to Duanmu Huai.

“Detective, this…”
“What is it?”

Duanmu Huai extended his hand and took the note from her, then, having read the message on the note, he slightly raised his eyebrows.

It appeared to be a financial statement indicating Phillip had transferred a large sum of money to an organization. The name of this organization was… Silver Dusk Cottage!

That's a Cult Organization!

Duanmu Huai was familiar with this Silver Dusk Cottage!

On the surface, it was an elite social club for the upper crust, but in reality, it was a Cult Organization. Unlike other cults, Silver Dusk Cottage didn't worship or serve any particular Evil God. This group was absolutely fickle, from Nyarlathotep to Miguel Ives, they wouldn't let any demons, ghosts, or aliens slip away.

Most of the world's troubles (if not all) could essentially be traced back to this damned organization!

Based on what they knew, it seemed her teacher probably discovered Phillip, the entrepreneur, was involved with this organization and got targeted as a result?

In any case… it's time to make an arrest!

While Duanmu Huai didn't have any evidence, who was he kidding? As a Judge, he didn't need it. He stormed his way into first class, kicked open Phillip's compartment door, and then…
“Where is he???”

Gazing at the empty state room, Duanmu Huai was at a loss for words.

Chapter end

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