Chapter 391 390. Serial Disappearance Case (Supplement)
Ding-ling-ling——
The crisp ring of the doorbell echoed in the pub.
When the wooden door of Puji House opened, Bianca was hurrying past, carrying a stack of freshly washed wine glasses. Accidentally bumping into someone, the girl screamed and fell to the ground, nearly dropping the wine glasses in her hands.
"I'm sorry, sir! I didn't mean it!" Bianca rubbed her red forehead and apologized repeatedly, feeling as if she had just hit a steel plate.
"Are you okay?" A gentle voice came, and the person pulled her up and rubbed her head.
When Bianca looked up, she caught a glimpse of a tall figure, and couldn't help wondering if the guest was wearing armor under his robe.
Dylan, who was checking the accounts behind the counter, noticed that the light was blocked. He looked up and a smile immediately broke out on his face: "Brother Norris! What brings you here?"
Norris, who had transformed into a human form, leaned against the counter and smiled a little tiredly: "I asked the boss for a vacation, and I have to come here occasionally to shop, otherwise I almost forget that I am..."
Norris didn't continue, but Dylan obviously understood him.
Looking at Norris's deep dark circles, it seemed that his work down there was quite hard.
"Just relax once you're up here. I'll get you a first-class room on the second floor, with a small balcony where you can lie down and bask in the sun!"
"Thank you very much!"
Ding-ling-ling——
The doorbell rang again, and this time a familiar group of adventurers came in.
"Hi, Bianca!" Vera greeted the shop assistant as she entered, then walked to the counter. "Dylan, do you still have that Windtalker Brew from last time? It was so good, I'd like to stock up on a few more bottles this time."
The beautiful elf Xilian beside her nodded in agreement. "Your elven potions are the most authentic in the entire Mushroom City. I've never even seen some of them. I'm curious which pharmacist of our race has come to make a living around here."
Dylan naturally would not answer this "trade secret". He quickly placed a few bottles of "Windtalker Brew" in front of Vera, who paid for it readily.
Fei Ling took a step forward and happily put all the potions into the bag around her waist. These potions were bought for her as an archer.
After chatting for a while, Vera and the others left.
Only then did Dylan notice that Norris was still standing by the counter.
"Oh, it's my fault that I forgot to take you to your room. Come on!" Dylan took the key and walked upstairs with Norris.
Norris looked at the closed door, and after a while, he followed in a daze at Dylan's urging.
After Dylan returned to the counter, Bianca quietly approached and asked in a low voice, "Boss...who was that just now?"
"Norris? I guess he's... my friend."
"Oh, the boss's friend..." Bianca nodded and then went back to the kitchen.
Dylan looked at his shop assistant with some surprise, and when he thought of Norris's appearance, he suddenly understood.
Dylan had never seen the skinny Norris from his days as a miner.
He only knew that Norris was now a handsome young man with a strong physique and tall stature, at least that was the appearance of the person he mimicked.
He shook his head, sighing in his heart that a girl like Bianca was so easy to fool.
But that's other people's business, and Dylan doesn't intend to say anything. It's better to say that in Dylan's opinion, youth is like this.
And...it shouldn't be possible...
…
Puji House was particularly lively today. After seeing off several customers who came to purchase medicine, Dylan was unexpectedly visited by a team of official personnel.
At first, his heart tightened, thinking that it was a captured demon spy who had betrayed him.
But on second thought, if that were the case, the boss would definitely give a warning in advance.
Suppressing the uneasiness in his heart, Dylan quickly put on the hotel owner's signature warm smile and walked quickly forward to greet him.
He soon discovered that these people were not targeting him.
Solarin of the Wings of Judgment brought several government officials and presented several portraits to Dylan.
"Excuse me, have you seen these people?"
Dylan carefully examined it and shook his head: "At least he hasn't been to the store."
Dylan didn't lie, he really didn't recognize the people in the portraits.
"Sir, excuse me for asking, what happened?" Dylan asked tentatively.
It was obvious that Solarin and the others had no intention of hiding it.
"It's a missing persons case," one of them explained. "These are residents who have disappeared recently. Boss, if you have any leads, feel free to report them to the City Lord's Mansion. As long as the information is true, the reward will be generous."
"I see, that's for sure! It must be!"
With Dylan's nods and bows, Solarin and his men left the Puji House.
Dylan restrained his smile and sat back at the counter. He remembered the group of bullies he met when he went to Bianca's house. Although that group of people were not among the people they were looking for, Dylan still wondered if these disappearances were related to the boss.
…
With Yufan Port officially adopting the Pujishi management regulations that were aligned with those in Mushroom City, the city's security environment was significantly improved, and the Wings of Judgment's mission to maintain security there was also declared complete.
Now, her new task is to cooperate with Fal to investigate the serial disappearances in Mushroom City.
Fal was worried that this matter might involve demons or evil cults, so he specially invited the church to participate in the investigation.
Although Soralin repeatedly stressed that it was difficult to use her [Vision of Truth] in the area covered by fungal mats, the superiors still assigned the task to her with the mentality of "It's better to have it than not, maybe it will be useful!"
In this regard, Soralin naturally could only do her best.
However, hard work does not always pay off.
After several days of visits, although many residents recognized the portraits of the missing persons, no one knew their final whereabouts.
The only clear clue is that these missing people are almost all villains and scum.
The people who provided the clues had either been bullied by them or had heard of their misdeeds.
This discovery made Solarin wonder whether there was a strong man who was dedicated to extreme justice and was "protecting" the peace of Mushroom City in the way he believed was right?
This kind of thing is not without precedent, but that "precedent" was not well-prepared and was quickly exposed by the authorities.
Of course, the possibility of a cult organization cannot be ruled out, as exploiting marginalized people in society is their usual tactic.
As for the hypothesis of demonic intervention, it seems the least likely.
After all, if they really wanted to kidnap people, they should have done so in the border areas. It would be unnecessary to go deep into the human heartland and kidnap some civilians.
No matter what, the case still needs to be investigated, and Soralin is troubled by the lack of progress.
But this case wasn't the only thing giving her a headache.
After finishing questioning another resident, she suddenly stopped as soon as she returned to the street, looking at the narrow gap between the two houses with a sense of meaning.
Sure enough, the Puji emitting colorful phantom light was standing in the middle of the gap, twisting its body seductively.
Solalin tried hard to suppress the throbbing in her heart and stared silently at the dreamlike creature until it turned and disappeared around the corner, but she never said a word.
She had experienced this kind of situation too many times, but her teammates, friends, and even her superiors had all searched with her, but in the end they all found nothing.
The dreamy colorful Puji seemed to have never existed. Over time, not only others but even she herself felt that she was too sensitive to Puji and had developed some kind of hallucination.
The puff disappeared, and Solalin took a deep breath to cheer herself up. She continued with her seemingly futile visit.
I didn't expect to get a clue that might be useful this time!
A blacksmith shop owner suddenly remembered that he had seen one of the missing persons late one night. The other party was drunkenly muttering, "I'm going to the ruins in the north to have some fun tomorrow."
(End of this chapter)
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