novelraw Chapter 95 The Tragedy in the Hotel
Chapter 95 The Tragedy in the Hotel
Suren took a deep look at the statue of Hamilton's ancestor, a strange feeling welling up inside him.
……
After some time, and after settling the vehicles and horses, the group entered the inn, led by Mayor Hamilton.
The first floor of the hotel appeared to have been renovated, with more than ten tables set up, seemingly serving as a restaurant. At that moment, a few people were dining.
The inn was lit with the same kerosene lamps that the mayor had, and in some places even candles were lit.
The arrival of Suren and his group attracted the attention of the other people in the inn. Their gazes included curiosity, inquiry, and even a lot of hostility.
Suren looked around and noticed that some people were dressed differently from locals, and most of them had weapons tucked into their belts.
"If this happened in the city where the church is located, people like them who so openly carry guns on their waists would probably be arrested and imprisoned by the Church of Judgment long ago."
Suren quickly made a judgment in his mind: these people were most likely fugitive criminals.
However, Suren and his group were all extraordinary individuals, and their intimidating aura quickly turned those with ill intentions away.
Suren glanced at Charlie, who was being helped behind her. To alleviate his pain, Charlie's right leg had been amputated. Fortunately, with Kayla by his side, there was no risk of infection. However, losing his right leg meant that the rest of his life would be very painful.
'Perhaps there is no such thing as a second half of life...' Suren could only sigh in his heart.
At this moment, Charles and Lofter followed the mayor to the counter, where the innkeeper was a somewhat overweight middle-aged man who introduced himself as Old Tom.
With the mayor's introduction and arrangements, Charles paid a certain amount of gold pounds to arrange accommodations for everyone. Mr. Charles also paid some extra gold pounds so that Old Tom could prepare some dinner.
Mayor Hamilton was about to take his leave, but before leaving, he reminded everyone: "Gentlemen, there is a rule in our town that I hope you will abide by."
Non-residents are prohibited from moving around or fighting within the town unless there are special circumstances. Please remain indoors quietly.
He spoke seriously and earnestly, adding at the end, "If anyone violates the rules, then I cannot guarantee everyone's safety."
After saying this, he bowed and left the hotel.
"That last sentence sounds more like a threat."
Suren watched the mayor's departing figure, lost in thought: 'But everyone present was an extraordinary being, so why was he so confident?'
"Could he also be a very strong Extraordinary Being? But I can't tell at all?"
Suren frowned. He had originally planned to go out in the middle of the night to investigate this mysterious town, but the mayor's words just now seemed to be deliberately targeting him.
"I advise you outsiders to listen to the town mayor and not run around aimlessly."
A loud, hoarse voice rang out. Suren looked in the direction of the sound and found that it came from a rather fierce-looking man. Judging from his clothes, he was probably an exile.
Noticing Suren's gaze, the man grinned maliciously and continued:
"There were a few guys who didn't believe in this before, and they ended up dying mysteriously. Hehe, if you guys aren't afraid of dying, you can try it."
Ignoring the man's provocation, Suren followed Loft and Mr. Charles, and the group sat down in a corner.
While waiting for dinner to be served, Mr. Loft smiled and said to everyone, "Don't worry, everyone, we're only staying here for one night and will leave tomorrow."
Everyone nodded, appearing calm on the surface, but no one knew what they were thinking.
Suren, Etherine, Kayla, and Bald Toby sat at a table, with Toby watching the hoarse voice that had spoken earlier with great interest.
Seeing this, Suren quietly leaned closer and whispered, "You know him?"
"What a coincidence, I actually know him."
Bald Toby grinned, seemingly intrigued, and whispered in response, "This guy is Billy Slade, a notorious fugitive from 'Libraton.' His bounty is no small amount; it's 1200 pounds."
"1200 pounds, that's quite a reward. But compared to a criminal like Jack the Ripper, who could rack up tens of thousands of pounds, it's far less."
Thinking of this, Suren looked at bald Toby and asked, "What did he do wrong?"
"It's nothing more than some illegal and criminal things, but he's incredibly audacious. A mere 'Thing Seeker' actually dared to attack the 'Eternal Serenity Church.' Although he didn't succeed, it still angered the church." Bald Toby shrugged, after all, it wasn't exactly a secret.
"Eternal Quiet Church?"
Suren couldn't help but feel a little strange. The "Eternal Serenity Church" occupied the smallest territory among the four major churches. In the cities dominated by the other three major churches, it was generally only responsible for facilities such as hospitals, sanatoriums, and orphanages.
"But these criminals are driven by self-interest; perhaps there's some secret hidden within the 'Eternal Silence Church' of 'Libraton'..."
Suren silently memorized this information, thinking it might come in handy later.
Seeing Suren deep in thought, Bald Toby whispered a reminder: "Although that guy has a high bounty, I also suggest you don't make a move in this town."
Suren glanced at Bald Toby with some surprise, then nodded to indicate that she understood. Bald Toby, seeing this, said nothing more.
"That bald Toby guy definitely knows something, but unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have any intention of sharing information with me."
Suren attempted to use the "Revelation" to unravel the town's secrets, but found everything shrouded in mystery, with fragmented text and images that offered no useful information.
Suren sighed inwardly, knowing it was because he had too little information.
After using it for so long, Suren has roughly figured out the specific operating logic of [Revelation].
The more information you have and the clearer your goal, the more specific and closer the images and words provided by the "revelation" will be to the truth.
Therefore, the ability of "revelation" is not omnipotent. Moreover, if faced with an ability to manipulate information, such as "information lock," if the other party is stronger than me, they can even mislead my "revelation."
Suren warned himself that the superhumans in 'Libraton' would be even more powerful than those in Loren Town, and that he must be extremely careful in his future actions.
Soon the food prepared by the hotel was served. I have to say the chef here is quite good. It tastes much better than the food at the previous duty station.
After eating and drinking their fill, everyone went to their assigned rooms to rest.
Since Vildu was not a city under the administration of the church, there were plenty of rooms in the inn, which prevented two caravan members from having to squeeze into one room.
Suren placed the candle on the table in the room, looked around, and surveyed the interior of the room.
The room wasn't very big. There was a simple wardrobe on one side of the room, and besides that, there was only a bed, a simple bedside table, and a small round table. It's worth mentioning that there was even a full-length mirror in the corner of the room.
The room seemed to be cleaned every day, so it was generally tidy.
Suren sat on the edge of the bed, took off his coat, and casually placed it on the bedside table. Then he lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and couldn't help but think about things related to this small town.
"This town is strange in every way, but the residents all seem like normal people."
"Why is the mayor specifically emphasizing that people are not allowed to move around within the town? What is he worried about?"
Suren sat up, looked at the full-length mirror in the room, and muttered to herself, "If I could leave the hotel unnoticed through the mirror world, I could do so."
He then walked to the window, looked at the dark streets outside, and shook his head. Even so, he would still inevitably have to move around the town and would be easily discovered.
Suren seemed to see the mayor of Hamilton walking through the night, cruelly killing everyone who tried to explore in the darkness.
Thinking of this, Suren couldn't help but chuckle, realizing that she had been reading too many horror stories.
"Forget it, things here are too dangerous. It's not worth the risk. Let's just go with Charles to Libraldon."
With that thought in mind, Suren extinguished the candle and lay back down on the bed.
However, it was indeed too early, and after tossing and turning in bed for a long time, Suren still couldn't fall asleep.
He stood up, intending to go downstairs to get a glass of water, and then try to get some information out of Bald Toby.
Suren put on her coat, pushed open the door, and walked down the corridor.
However, as she approached the stairwell, a strange, bloody smell mixed with the rusty odor entered Suren's nostrils.
Suren was on high alert. He took out the "Eye of Annihilation" and followed the scent of blood to a door.
Without hesitation, after confirming that the source of the bloody smell was indeed this room, he first rammed his right shoulder, then kicked the door open with a bang. At the same time, his gun was already pointed at the inside of the room, and "Ellie's Tears" was ready to fire.
However, the room was empty. By the flickering candlelight, Suren could see the situation inside the room, and his heart sank.
The room's windows were broken, and only a pale skeleton lay in the center of the room, with traces of flesh and blood still clinging to it, but there was not a trace of blood in the entire room.
Hearing the commotion upstairs, Old Tom hurried to the room. Suren glanced at him and saw him trembling with fear, exclaiming, "Bloody Mary?!"
……
Some time later, the people in the hotel gathered at the scene. According to old Tom, the room belonged to "Billy Slade".
Verdot was, after all, a small town abandoned by the church, so naturally there was no police department. The mayor was the most powerful person in the town and also served as the sheriff.
The task of examining the bodies and catching the criminals naturally fell to him.
After a careful inspection, Mayor Hamilton stood up, sighed, and said, "It is indeed Billy Slade."
"Bloody Mary, it's Bloody Mary!"
Old Tom shouted from the side, then laughed bitterly and said, "Exactly the same as 20 years ago, we're all going to die!"
Suren frowned and glanced at old Tom, who seemed to be traumatized by the horrific scene in the room and was somewhat mentally unstable.
'20 years ago?'
Suren was leaning against the wall, silently organizing the clues related to the incident in her mind.
"Billy Slade was nothing more than a Seeker of Reason; killing him wouldn't have been difficult, but he did so without making a sound..."
Thinking of this, he gently closed his eyes, as if he were resting, and his hand, hidden behind his back, had somehow grasped a strange crystal.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Miss Margaret Cooper seemed to have noticed something. She turned her head slightly and looked in Suren's direction.
Her amber eyes reflected Suren's image and... strands of silver threads.
Old Tom kept shouting, and the mayor of Hamilton had to have his family take him away.
Mayor Hamilton looked at the remaining people and asked solemnly, "Gentlemen, what are your thoughts on Billy Slade's death? If possible, I would appreciate your help."
"Mr. Hamilton, I'm sorry, but our caravan is leaving tomorrow and we don't intend to linger here any longer," Loft said, politely declining Hamilton's request.
Mayor Hamilton wasn't annoyed; he stated bluntly, "If we don't find the killer, how can you guarantee he won't kill again?"
Suren had already opened his eyes. Watching Hamilton's performance, he muttered to himself with interest:
"This mayor of Hamilton was acting like he was afraid of Bloody Mary before, but now he's acting like nothing happened."
"And he seems absolutely certain that this incident wasn't committed by Bloody Mary..."
Thinking of this, Suren smiled gently.
Everyone remained silent; clearly, no one wanted to get involved in this mess.
Just then, Suren suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention: "Mr. Hamilton, I have some ideas that might help you catch the murderer, but the condition is that I be allowed to move freely within the town."
Before the mayor could respond, Loft spoke up, saying, "Mr. Karen, although I have no right to interfere with your freedom, you are, after all, a member of the caravan, and nothing you do can affect the caravan's progress."
"Mr. Loft, rest assured, I used to be an excellent detective."
Suren grinned, glanced at Loft, then looked at the mayor of Hamilton, giving him a strange smile: "If the mayor allows me to move freely within the town... I'll find the murderer before dawn."
Mayor Hamilton gave Suren a deep look, but Suren didn't back down and just stared straight at the mayor. After a long while, the mayor finally nodded.
Seeing this, Loft stopped trying to dissuade him.
Afterwards, Henry and Loft suggested that the caravan members spend the night in the hall to prevent any unforeseen events from happening if they were separated from the group.
"Didn't that old man say it was Bloody Mary who did it? There's no murderer." Margaret Cooper scoffed from the side. "I don't have time to play detective games with you guys. You can play by yourselves."
After saying this, she left without looking back.
As she left, the other superhumans who were confident in their abilities also stopped lingering and headed towards their own rooms.
Henry was helpless about this, after all, superhumans all have their own tempers.
After everyone was settled, Suren did not linger. He picked up a kerosene lamp, pushed open the door, and disappeared into the darkness.
……
On the dimly lit street, Suren had only taken a few steps when she heard footsteps behind her.
Suren turned around, sighed, and said, "Miss Sterling, what is it now?"
The newcomer had a high white ponytail and wore tight-fitting black leather armor; it was Etherine.
"Don't great detectives usually have an assistant?"
Etherine responded cheerfully, while asking with some curiosity, "Since you're looking for the killer, why are you so sure the killer is outside, not inside the hotel?"
"Who told you the killer was outside the hotel?"
Hearing Suren's question, Aiselin was stunned. She looked at Suren's profile and asked with some confusion, "Then why...?"
Suren smiled and said, "I only said I wanted to help the mayor find the murderer, and what I needed was the freedom to move around the town. I never said that the two things were related."