After investigating the scene, everyone finally headed to the hot spring hotel. The White Sail Group's hot spring hotel had a great environment and decent decor. But for Duanmu Huai, such things were clearly not his concern. Upon arriving at the hotel, Duanmu Huai found a meeting room and gathered everyone for a meeting.

"Currently, there have been six disappearance incidents."

Duanmu Huai knocked on the table, and Shajuye nodded and opened the laptop beside her.

"The first incident was the disappearance of the shrine host and his family, followed by the village chief and his son's disappearance... These were discovered on the day the shrine anomaly was found."

"Next, a day later, a ranger disappeared. His wife reported to the police, saying her husband went to patrol the mountains but hadn't returned for a day and a night, and he wasn't answering his phone..."

When Shajuye reached this point, Manager Bai Mu continued.

"Then, members of the Hunting Friends Association searched the area the ranger might have gone, but they found nothing."

"Don't hunters usually bring hunting dogs up the mountain?"

Duanmu Huai raised his question.

"Didn't they use the dogs' strength?"

"I didn't see it myself, but I heard the dogs were unwilling to enter the forest and even broke free from their leashes and ran. Because of this, some people suspected that a beast might be hiding in the forest—after all, it's just a small island, and we've investigated the animals in the forest before; they're mostly non-aggressive animals like squirrels and wild rabbits, other than venomous snakes. In fact, they didn't find any traces of strange animals."

"The fourth missing person was a high school student who didn't return home after school, so his family called the police. The police questioned the school and found that he left school after classes but never arrived home, and no one knows where he went."

So far, all the cases involve locals, and the situation was still manageable. However, the next two disappearances became more concerning.

"The fifth missing person is a tourist visiting here. A hotel staff member discovered his disappearance, saying he hadn't returned since leaving two days ago... and his luggage is still in the guest room."

This time, Manager Bai Mu's face looked a bit troubled, as the missing person was a guest at the hotel.

Then the most troublesome is the victim of the sixth case so far.

"They are Officer Kikuchi and Officer Qiu Ye from the main island. They were sent here to investigate the disappearances after the local police station appealed to their superiors. They were staying at another inn in the village, but the owner hasn't seen them for days."

This matter hasn't yet been reported, remaining mere rumors. After all, a police disappearance is somewhat sensitive. Once the main island is informed, the situation will escalate. Thus, everyone chooses to remain silent in unison—they haven't seen any bodies, after all, and the officers might have gone somewhere to investigate."

But for Manager Bai Mu, the matter needs to be resolved as soon as possible. The two officers being missing might be kept under wraps for now, but if contact is lost for too long, the main island will surely send someone to investigate, making matters worse.

Hence, he also hopes to solve this case quickly.

"So, the biggest suspect right now is this forest."

Staring at the forest on the map, Duanmu Huai said. This seemed obvious—after all, the entire small island, aside from the area near the dock that lacked forests due to development, was covered in dense trees. The shrine was also in this forest, and according to Manager Bai Mu's description, the village chief's home was near the forest's edge. The high school student's route home after school also went through the forest. The ranger, of course, disappeared in the forest.

Although the island isn't large, that's relative. At least for humans, this forest is indeed not small, thoroughly searching it wouldn't be easy.

"Brother, where should we start?"

After organizing the cases, Shajuye looked at Duanmu Huai with a bit of excitement. This was, after all, her first time formally acting as a detective assistant.

"Let's start with something close to home, the missing guest."

Duanmu Huai decisively gave his response.

"I want the surveillance footage of that guest, and the staff who spoke with him. I'd like to meet them."

"Of course, the police actually did this before, so we kept that part of the surveillance and those responsible for room service in the hotel... please wait a moment."

Manager Bai Mu made a phone call, and soon a waiter came to the meeting room with a tape.

"This is Xiao Shan, who last saw the missing guest. The surveillance also proves this."

"H-Hello..."

The waiter named Xiao Shan, looking pale, couldn't muster the typical hospitality of service workers, and if not for Alice Phil and some other beautiful women sitting in the meeting room, he might have just bolted.

"I think you know why I called you here."

Duanmu Huai didn't waste time and went straight to the point.

"The police should have already asked you, so just repeat what you said then about the guest."

"Ah, okay."

Xiao Shan lowered his head, staring at the floor, barely breathing, and timidly started to speak.

"I'm the hotel doorman, responsible for welcoming guests at the entrance. That afternoon, the guest walked out carrying a bag, and I asked him where he was going. He said he was a professional photographer, planning to shoot some scenery in the area..."

"Did you try to stop him? After all, several people have gone missing."

"Of course, I tried to dissuade him, but I didn't dare mention the missing person. I just said there are poisonous snakes in the forest and advised him not to go there. He said he wouldn't go far, just to the lake for a while..."

"The lake..."

Duanmu Huai studied the map carefully and quickly located a lake on the west side of the community. According to Manager Bai Mu, it had been developed, with roads directly from their community to the lake. There were also operational facilities over there, like small boats or fishing rod rentals. There was even a campsite for rest.

Going for a walk to the lake to enjoy the scenery seemed like a good choice if you had nothing else to do.

"How long does it take to get there?"

"About thirty minutes on foot. We originally planned on running a shuttle service, but it's challenging to fix the road, so we're still preparing."

"When did you realize the guest was missing?"

"A day later, when it was time to check out. The front desk called the room but got no response. So, we sent staff to check, and the room was empty, with only the luggage left. I felt something was wrong, so I checked the surveillance, and it showed the guest left that afternoon and never returned."

"You don't have surveillance by the lake?"

"The line's too far, and we haven't set it up yet."

Manager Bai Mu shook his head.

"We planned to lay it when we started the shuttle service..."

"Did you send people to search afterward?"

"How could we do that?"

This time, the waiter spoke up.

"Everyone's scared of the place now, staying far from the forest. Even our colleagues who managed the campsite haven't been there in days! Only outsiders are foolish enough to venture into the forest..."

"So you called the police?"

"Yes, it's their job after all..."

Quick to pass the buck.

"And then?"

"Several police officers investigated the lake but found no clues either..."

Hearing this, Duanmu Huai nodded and then signaled to play the videotape. Manager Bai Mu inserted the tape into the player, and the conference room TV displayed the surveillance footage.

At the hotel entrance, a middle-aged man wearing a vest and carrying a DSLR stepped out. A nearby waiter approached and said a few words. The man with the DSLR smiled, waved, pointed ahead, said something, and then wandered down the path, disappearing from the surveillance view.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Alright, I understand."

After watching the video, Duanmu Huai nodded and stood up.

"Let's go check out the lake now. It's about the right time anyway."

Earlier at the shrine, Duanmu Huai tried retrospection, but unfortunately, like before, he couldn't trace what happened. This meant the other party was at least at the level of The Ancient Dominator. Only such a being could interfere with his information retrospection, preventing Duanmu Huai from seeing what transpired.

Perhaps some clues could be found here?

"Woo woo---!"

Just then, a whistle sounded from afar. Duanmu Huai turned his head and casually asked.

"What's that sound?"

"Oh, that's the regular ferry from the main island."

Manager Bai Mu explained.

"Transport to and from the main island isn't smooth. The lady has her yacht, but unless it's urgent, most people wait for the ferry. It usually runs once a week, and we use it to replenish hotel supplies. But now, it seems like hardly anyone comes here..."

"I see..."

Duanmu Huai said nothing more, just glanced out the window, and then looked away.

"Let's go."

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