Chapter 19 Nineteen Ghosts Behind

The days are long and the nights are short in Hokkaido in the summer. It was just past half past six and it was not completely dark outside yet, so after the lights went out, Toru Amuro only blinked a few times and quickly adapted to the dim indoor environment.

With the dim light from the window, Amuro Toru glimpsed a dark shadow passing by the window in the corridor. Tsuda Atsushi, who was standing on the same side as him, also saw it. The latter was frightened and rushed to the door and shouted outside, "Who?!"

From Akae's angle, she could clearly see that when Tsuda Atsushi ran to the door, the man and woman who stayed behind locked their eyes on Amuro Toru who stayed in the room, as if they were worried that the detective who had just made an incredible deduction would do something beyond their expectations.

Amuro Toru naturally felt their gazes, but he very skillfully pretended to know nothing and took the initiative to call back Tsuda Atsushi: "Boss Tsuda, we still don't know if the criminal who kidnapped Miss He Lai has any accomplices. It's not a good idea to chase after them directly."

"Besides, I think everyone should want to rescue Miss He Lai first rather than catch the criminal."

The young detective stood there with a calm expression. His unhurried voice made the nervous Tsuda Atsushi relax a little. "Why don't I go to the power distribution room with Boss Tsuda to see what's going on, and Hanada-kun will be in charge of trying to find the signal with the other two here?"

This suggestion is very reasonable in the current environment. After all, when Toru Amuro introduced himself, he also said that he was a detective. So if he goes over to check, it will be easier for him to discover situations that ordinary people cannot find.

Of course, in addition to this, Akae Nazuki also knew that Amuro Toru said this in order to prevent Tsuda Atsushi from staying alone with the other two.

Perhaps Amuro Toru's previous reasoning made them alert, and Kuki Riko and the other person did not rush out to stop him, so Amuro Toru smoothly left the piano room following Tsuda Atsushi who was holding a mobile phone to light up the room.

"The person who just ran over is an 'acquaintance'." Akae Natsuki floated beside Amuro Toru as usual, and said with a smile, "It seems that we don't have to worry about the safety of that little school girl now. She seems to be alive and well."

Sure enough, the black shadow was He Lai Ling.

This result was exactly what Toru Amuro had expected. He glanced at Tsuda Atsushi who was leading the way silently in front of him, but he didn't show anything unusual.

By now, Toru Amuro is almost certain that the missing He Lai Ling was not kidnapped by anyone. He believes what he saw and heard more than the deliberately destroyed scene.

What's more, what He Lai Ling, who pretended to be the one at the scene, didn't know was that during the time when the so-called case happened, there was a ghost behind him leaning on the small balcony in his room, watching the scenery.

If anyone had entered the piano room without a balcony through the window and climbed out with He Lailing, the first witness could only be Chi Jiang Na Yue.

Amuro Toru believed that if Akae Nazuki had really seen this scene, she would not have hidden it from him. Combined with the black shadow that seemed to be deliberately trying to lure Tsuda Atsushi out, and the deep-seated emotions of Kugi Riko, it was not difficult for Amuro Toru to guess that everything that had happened so far was directed and acted by those people themselves.

Maybe the other party was really caught off guard by his sudden move in, otherwise they wouldn't have implemented this plan so hastily.

"If you weren't here, that stupid receptionist and this guy wouldn't suspect that the 'murderer' was right next to them." The young man in the air pursed his lips, and after saying that, he deliberately put his arms around Tsuda Atsushi's shoulders until the other party sneezed, and then he withdrew his hands with satisfaction.

Toru Amuro stood behind and witnessed the whole scene of the little devil playing tricks on people, and couldn't help but mix a little sympathy in his eyes when he looked at Tsuda Atsushi.

Being treated as fun by this little devil is not a good thing - even if he will protect his target well because he wants to have more fun.

Atsushi Tsuda's voice sounded heavy in the front: "Someone cut all the wires after pulling the main switch."

The black-haired young man turned sideways to provide Amuro Toru with a view, and just as he said, none of the colorful wires in the distribution box survived.

"It seems that this was planned for a long time, otherwise we wouldn't be able to get the key to the distribution box." Amuro Toru said as if to remind him.

On the way here, Toru Amuro observed the surrounding environment. The door and distribution box of the distribution room were locked, and there were no signs of the door lock being damaged. The most likely possibility was that the criminal had the key.

Tsuda Atsushi also thought of this. He was silent for a moment and said, "There are two keys to the switch room. One is with me, and the other is in the cabinet at the front desk."

Because of He Lai Ling's disappearance, they all gathered together and there was no one guarding the front desk.

"...Let's go, let's go back and tell them first." After saying this, Tsuda Atsushi turned around and walked out.

Toru Amuro and Nazuki Akae, who were left behind, looked at each other, and the latter immediately laughed out loud, shrugging his shoulders.

"Congratulations, Detective Amuro." Akae Nazuki said gloatingly, "You've been made a suspect!"

Toru Amuro covered his face with one hand and gave up defending himself.

He also understood Tsuda Atsushi's thoughts. After all, in his eyes, the only stranger in the hotel was more suspicious than a good friend he had known for many years.

It seems like he needs to be more obvious with his hints next time?

—

"No, there is no signal no matter which floor we go to." When Amuro Toru returned to the piano room where he started, he heard the receptionist say worriedly, "Boss, what should we do next?"

There was neither signal nor electricity here, so if they wanted to call the police, they had to walk down the mountain to make contact - the mountain where the hotel was located had only a winding stone road that went upwards, and vehicles could not pass through, so whether going up or down the mountain, they could only rely on their legs.

But the problem is that this trip will take a long time, and no one can guarantee that the missing He Lai Ling will not be hurt during this period.

...Well, the only people who were worried were Tsuda Atsushi and the young front desk.

Chi Jiang Na Yue's eyes swept over the other two people and understood clearly: the small front desk staff would definitely not be able to receive signals no matter where they went. After all, the two people next to him were definitely carrying signal jammers.

And maybe they have used other methods to hide the fake jammer on Tsuda Atsushi. If there is a signal, it would be incredible.

He complained in his heart but didn't say it out loud.

Not only because Akae Nazuki really didn't intend to get involved in this boring case, but also because he knew that Amuro Toru couldn't have failed to think of this.

After the reunited group discussed for a while, they quickly decided on the next plan of action.

"Divide into three groups. Hanada will go down the mountain to report the case. I will be in one group with Amuro-kun, and Fujimiya and Kuki will be in another group. The two groups will go to look for the schoolgirls separately." Although Tsuda Atsushi was not wearing the gold-rimmed glasses, he looked much calmer than before. He assigned the tasks decisively. "Keep an eye on the cell phone signal to see if it has been restored. If it has been restored, report the case first and then contact the other group."

Toru Amuro moved the fingers hanging by his side, and surprise flashed in his eyes.

He had thought that Tsuda Atsushi would find an excuse to get everyone to act together to keep an eye on him in disguise, but he didn't expect the other party to divide the people into groups like this... However, this was exactly what he had in mind, and now he didn't need to think about how to get himself and Tsuda Atsushi into the same group.

The most dangerous person in this group is probably the small receptionist who went down the mountain alone, but after all, they are still here, and those three people have never seen blood, so there is no need to worry that the irrelevant small receptionist will be silenced.

Well, you can't escape the physical pain.

Before setting off, Atsushi Tsuda fetched three flashlights from the front desk and distributed one to each group. Then they separated and went into the woods.

The moon over the Chijiang River was floating leisurely. I took the time to look up, but the sky had already turned completely dark.

"Be careful." He reminded suddenly.

Amuro Toru didn't know why, but he somehow understood what Akae Nayue meant: after night fell, the most dangerous thing for them on the mountain was not just the wild animals that might appear, but the "criminals" who were familiar with the terrain.

He nodded gently to indicate that he understood.

The terrain in the forest was relatively flat, and Amuro Toru relied on the flashlight in Tsuda Atsushi's hand beside him, so his vision was basically unobstructed.

Even though Toru Amuro guessed that it was impossible for them to find He Lai Ling, he did not show it. Instead, he pretended to know nothing and searched for traces as "seriously" as Tsuda Atsushi. Similarly, he knew that Tsuda Atsushi did not trust him, so he did not do anything extraordinary to alarm them, and seemed to be very obedient along the way.

Therefore, Tsuda Atsushi finally seemed to relax a little in the second half of the journey.

"Wait a minute, there's something over there." Suddenly, Tsuda Atsushi pointed at the bushes ahead and said, the flashlight flashed at that place, and the two ran over together, "This is... my junior's cell phone!"

Compared to Tsuda Atsushi who was worried about the safety of Kaoru Ling, Amuro Toru who was standing nearby became more alert when he saw the cell phone.

It was obviously not a coincidence that He Lai Ling's cell phone was placed here.

There is a high possibility that she put it here on purpose to lure them.

He was still thinking about how to remind Tsuda Atsushi again when a strong wind came from behind. Amuro Toru's eyes dimmed and he shouted, "Get out of the way!"

After saying this, he did not retreat but advanced, rushing towards the direction of Tsuda Atsushi who was being attacked.

…

When the red moon floated down from the trees, the hillside was already empty.

His delicate and handsome face was now full of question marks: I just went to look around the area, why would I put two such big people here!

The next second, the savior felt a force pulling him down the hillside.

...Zero-kun, where are you going?