Chapter 449 Daly and Leonard enter
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The lobby manager certainly couldn't find the name. Hobert smiled and said, "I'll investigate in the reception hall. Please get me a cup of tea."
Hobert's so-called investigation was just looking at the people around him, one by one, very carefully.
He noticed that the smiles on everyone's faces were somewhat unnatural or exaggerated.
Just seeing this, Hobert felt that there was definitely something wrong with this manor, but he didn't immediately ask about Serena's whereabouts, just observing quietly.
As for the corruption the messenger mentioned, that was the least of Hobert's worries, because the 'Bell of Order' could break all corruption.
The waiter brought Hobert tea, but Hobert didn't take a single sip.
Finally, Hobert saw a middle-aged man with a normal expression. He was smoking a cigarette on a chair outside, as if thinking about something.
In a place full of abnormal people, suddenly discovering someone who shows no signs of abnormality, then that person must be the problem.
Hobert got up and went out to chat with the smoking middle-aged man: "Hello, sir."
The middle-aged man glanced at Hobert: "Hello, is there anything I can do for you?"
Hobert sat down beside the middle-aged man with a smile and a leisurely expression: "I just saw you seemed to be thinking about something, and I was a little curious. Of course, more importantly, I came on vacation alone and wanted to find someone to chat with."
"Sorry," the middle-aged man stood up and said, "I'm not in the mood for chatting."
"Has anything strange happened here recently?" Hobert asked tentatively.
The middle-aged man sat down as expected and asked in a surprised whisper, "You noticed it too?"
Hobert nodded: "Yes, may I ask what your name is?"
"I'm Harold. And you?"
"Everyone calls me Jeffrey."
Harold asked softly, "Then Mr. Jeffrey, why are you carrying an oil painting on your back?"
If I said this isn't really an oil painting, but a bomb, would you believe me?
Hobert knew he had found the right person, because the oil painting was wrapped in a thick cloth, and it was difficult for ordinary people to "guess" that it was an oil painting at a glance.
"That's my drawing board," Hobert said, "Actually, I'm an art student here to sketch."
Harold nodded and didn't continue the topic: "Do you have any clues about the problems with this manor?"
Hobert spread his hands: "No clues at all. I can only feel that something seems wrong, but I don't know what to do."
Harold's voice was even lower: "Listen to me, Mr. Jeffrey, run while you still have your sanity!"
Hobert asked, "Where to run?"
"Run out of the manor!"
"Run to where?"
"See that pine forest? Cross a mountain from there, and there's a small village. Once you get to that village, you'll be safe."
But Hobert had no intention of getting up and leaving: "Mr. Harold, let's escape together!"
"No, I still need to investigate what's going on here."
Hobert pondered for a moment: "I also want to investigate what's going on. Is there anything I can help with?"
Harold looked at Hobert, then smiled: "Few people have your courage. As far as I know, there seems to be a problem with the public hot spring. You can go take a look."
Hobert said "Oh": "But, I'm sorry, I'm allergic to hot springs."
"Allergic to hot springs?"
"Yes." Hobert said very sincerely, at least he thought he was being very sincere.
Harold nodded: "Well then, do you see that forest outside the manor? Yes, that's the one. It's said that forest elves appear there. You can ask the forest elves for information."
The direction he pointed was the same direction he had just told Hobert to escape to.
"Sorry, I'm allergic to pine needles. It's all pine trees there!"
"Allergic to pine needles?"
Hobert said sincerely: "Seeing pine needles makes me feel uncomfortable all over!"
Harold carefully scrutinized Hobert: "Then go take a look at the lake outside the manor. It's said that a talking monster appears there. Go ask the monster if it knows anything."
"There are no hot springs on the lakeshore, no pine trees. To facilitate tourists to walk, all the vegetation has been cleared away. There's nothing around, only a small lake."
Hobert opened his mouth: "Wait a minute…"
Let me think, should I be allergic to the lake? Or should I be allergic to water?
Just as Hobert was in trouble, a burst of horse neighing suddenly sounded from the direction of the manor entrance. Two carriages with the Holy Emblem of the Night entered the manor.
Hobert smiled: "The people in the carriage are good helpers. They can help to go to the lake…"
Harold had disappeared without Hobert noticing.
Hobert's eyes narrowed. He didn't even know when the other party had disappeared. This guy definitely has a big problem!
However, Hobert did not take further action. Based on the cane-wielding hand he had encountered before, Hobert guessed that the Nighthawk team had already conducted at least one round of investigation in the manor.
But that investigation had obviously failed, so now that the Nighthawks are breaking in so unscrupulously, it must be because they have enough confidence to solve the problem here.
Hobert prepared to observe how the Nighthawk team investigated while looking for Serena.
So far, Hobert had not found any trace of Serena. He guessed that Serena might have escaped, but of course, this possibility was unlikely. Or Serena was trapped in one of the three places Harold had just mentioned, and was already severely corrupted.
Hobert planned to wait for the Nighthawks to investigate those three places, and then he would save Serena by the way.
If the Nighthawks didn't know this information, he would find an opportunity to tell them.
As he spoke, the carriage with the Holy Emblem of the Night came closer. The door opened, and the first to come down was a woman with a bewitching beauty and emerald eyes.
Hobert smiled: He ran into an acquaintance, it was actually Ms. Daly!
Then, he saw the red gloves on Ms. Daly's left hand.
Hobert, who was more familiar with the Nighthawk's extraordinary system, understood that the "Red Gloves" had taken over the case from the Nighthawks.
Daly didn't notice Hobert. Surrounded by her subordinates, she began to check the surrounding environment.
At this time, the door of the second carriage opened. Hobert felt something. The first person to come down was actually Leonard, who was unkempt and had a poet's romantic air.
And after Leonard got out of the carriage, he looked directly at Hobert.
Hobert was a little helpless: The old man's nose is sensitive enough. Did he "smell" the scent on me? Or did he "smell" the oil painting?
This was an opportunity. Hobert believed that he could use Leonard's subsequent probing to inform the "Red Gloves" of the information he knew.
Watching eight or nine "Red Glove" members enter the reception hall, Hobert sat for a while, then also came to the hall and said to the hall manager: "After preliminary investigation, I already have some clues, but I'm a little tired now. Arrange a room for me. I'll rest first and continue the investigation later."
"No problem, sir." The hall manager asked softly, "Have you locked down the fraudster?"
"Yes, I found a lot of clues!" Hobert glanced at the two Red Glove members in the sofa area.
Hobert followed the waiter to a small room with a heater, a bed, and a table, which were common furnishings in hotels.
Outside the window was a snow scene, the scenery was not bad, and the room was quite warm.
Hobert locked the door, took off the oil painting, and prayed to himself simply first, then entered the "Nation of Disorder."
As soon as he entered the "Nation of Disorder", a small stream of white mist emerged from Hobert's spiritual body, and the mist immediately dissipated in the "Nation of Disorder".
At some point, Hobert had been subjected to hidden corruption!
Then Hobert frowned. He remembered that when he was previously polluted by the "Mother Goddess of Depravity," an extra personality seemed to have appeared in his spiritual body. The corruption was only eliminated after the "Bell of Order" rang.
But this time, the corruption was only a small stream of white mist, which didn't seem as serious as the "Mother Goddess of Depravity." What puzzled Hobert was, why didn't the "Nation of Disorder" react at all? The white mist, as corruption, actually dissipated on its own in the "Nation of Disorder"?
Was the source of this corruption very weak? Or was the source of this corruption special?
But now was not the time to think about this question. Hobert began to consider when he was polluted.
Was it when he was talking to Harold? Or was he polluted as soon as he entered the manor?
While thinking, he covered his own stars with spirituality, using "True Sight" to see the environment he was in.
Hobert noticed that there was a faint cloud of white mist in the direction of the door.
He could be sure that there was no cloud of white mist before he came to the "Nation of Disorder".
The white mist seemed to be alive, rolling around. There seemed to be a tentacle wrapped in the white mist.
Although the tentacle did not extend towards him, the corruption should have been spread by it.
After advancing to Sequence 5, the range of "True Sight" was already very large. Hobert raised his vision and found that the entire manor was shrouded in a thin white mist, with tentacles emitting white mist everywhere.
When entering the manor, Hobert also saw a lot of fog around the manor, but that was normal water mist, which was clearly different from these white mists.
What is this? Can't even see it with spirit vision?
Hobert looked in the direction of the depths of the tentacles, towards the forest outside the manor.
The white mist there was even more serious. Unfortunately, the field of vision of "True Sight" was limited, and he couldn't see the situation there clearly.
Sitting on the "Iron Throne", Hobert realized that the corruption here was more complex than he had previously thought.
Hobert didn't plan to continue exploring. He planned to find Serena from the three places Harold mentioned and leave immediately, leaving the rest to the official Beyonders to solve.
In addition, since the corruption was all over the manor, he would have to enter the "Nation of Disorder" in an hour to "disinfect".
After making up his mind, Hobert returned to the real world. He looked towards the direction of the door and indeed saw nothing.
Knock knock knock~
The knock on the door startled Hobert: "Who is it?"
"A colleague!" Leonard's relaxed voice sounded from outside.
Hobert opened the door: "What colleague?"
Standing outside the door was the poet classmate who, like Hobert, liked to wear a trench coat.
"I think we should talk inside." Leonard smiled.
Hobert invited him into the room. Leonard took out the police-issued certificate: "See, I told you I was a colleague."
Hobert smiled: "Please sit down."
After sitting down, Leonard asked: "I heard from the hall manager that you are investigating a fraudster?"
"That's right, what are you investigating?"
"We are investigating a murderer!"
Hobert laughed: "The hall manager must have been shocked!"
What's going on with this batch of guests? One moment there's a fraudster, the next moment there's a murderer!
Leonard asked in a relaxed tone: "Do you have any clues?"
"Yes, I think Mr. Harold has…"
"Harold? Does he like to smoke?"
Hobert recalled, he seemed to have a cigarette in his hand all the time: "Do you know him?"
"He's one of my companions." Leonard gripped his cane tightly, leaned back on the chair, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared: "And he's now in York Mountain!"
Hobert was stunned: "York Mountain?"
Leonard's answer exceeded his expectations. As far as he knew, the former kingdom of the Evernight Goddess, the "Dark Heaven," was located on York Mountain in the Amantha Mountains, and the headquarters of the Church of the Evernight Goddess was also there.
The poet classmate spread his hands: "Alright, let's not do this meaningless probing! We know you have a problem, and you should have seen through our identities!"
Hobert nodded and thought: Leonard mistook what I just said as a test of him!
He didn't intend to explain, the two of them were already testing each other.
Leonard asked: "Do you have anything to say?"
"One of my students is trapped here, and I'm here to rescue her." Hobert said "honestly": "Also, I learned that the public hot spring, the pine forest outside the manor, and the lake outside all have problems."
"Anything else?"
"I just arrived too." Hobert also spread his hands like Leonard: "That's all I know."
Leonard suddenly asked: "What's that on the table?"
"An oil painting."
"Just an oil painting?"
"You can understand it that way."
"Then." Leonard stood up and said: "My two colleagues will send you to…"
Hobert waved his hand: "You should solve the problem of the manor first."
Leonard: "Perhaps, you are the root of the problem!"
Only then did Hobert understand: This was a reminder from the "Old Man"!
"It looks like we have to change the way we cooperate." Hobert held the oil painting in one hand and said: "You will only find out how wrong you were when things are over."
Although Leonard had made some preparations, he could only watch Hobert disappear before his eyes: "Old man, didn't you say he wasn't very strong?"
"Is the ability to 'travel' very strong?" A voice only Leonard could hear said: "That oil painting interfered with me."
Leonard curled his lips ungentlemanly: "Then, he's gone, is the source of corruption still there?"
"Still here!" the voice said, "I advise you to evacuate the manor quickly. This is a very high-level contamination."
"How high-level?"
"High-level to the point that even your Evernight Goddess might not be able to save you if you are contaminated too severely."
Leonard frowned involuntarily, pondering how to remind Daly, the commander of this operation.
…
On the hilltop opposite Boklun Manor, Hobert smiled helplessly, "With the old grandpa's help, it didn't work this time."
He slung the oil painting on his back, changed his appearance, and prepared to enter the manor again to observe the Nighthawks' actions.
Just as he was about to leave, Hobert's spirituality sensed something. He saw a team of a dozen people on the hillside.
Rather than a team of a dozen people, it was more like a dozen monsters. Hobert saw that there was a woman in the team who was more than two meters tall. It wasn't so much that she was tall, but that her head accounted for a third of her body.
There was also a dark and shiny young man in the team whose eyes had turned orange-red, flowing with flame-like brilliance.
Someone was covered in cracked, hard skin, someone was covered in barbs like those found on caltrops, and a young man and woman were covered in scales, spitting out snake tongues every time they spoke.
Hobert suddenly understood: This group of people has been severely contaminated.
He used "Travel" to arrive on the path they were sure to take, and soon he waited for them: "Are you guests of the manor?"
At the front of the team was a grizzly bear. Hobert originally thought it was a pet raised by Boklun Manor, but who knew the grizzly bear would speak, "We are the manor's hunting team, may I ask who you are?"
"I am a tourist at the manor." Hobert pointed to the oil painting on his back, "I went too deep into the forest while looking for a good spot, and got lost."
He immediately understood that these people hadn't realized that they or their teammates had turned into monsters!
"Then come with us." The grizzly bear said, "We are looking for a grizzly bear. If we can't find it by 11 o'clock, we plan to return to the manor."
Hobert was stunned: Are you looking for yourself? Or are you looking for a female bear?
Hobert joined this team of monsters, and soon he noticed the conversation between the "snake man" and the "snake woman" behind him.
The "snake man" said, "Darling, that was just a dream, how could I not talk to you?"
The "snake woman": "But that dream was too realistic. I chased and chased, chased into a forest, and then I saw you, but you didn't speak, just hinted for me to look at the traces in the snow."
The "snake man" hissed and laughed, "Serena also had a dream, dreaming that she was chased into the forest…"
Hobert listened to their conversation for a while, but unfortunately they didn't continue to discuss Serena, so he turned his head and smiled, "The Serena you mentioned, is it Miss Serena from Tingen City?"
The "snake man" asked in surprise, "You know her?"
"Yes." Hobert smiled, "Yesterday I met her while painting in the backyard. She is a very beautiful and lively girl."
After chatting, Hobert learned that the "snake man" was called Chris, Serena's brother, and the "snake woman" was called Vina.
Then Hobert asked about Serena and Vina's dreams. Hobert could basically conclude that it was Vina and Serena chasing each other at that time.
Their spirituality should have realized the danger, so they fled here in a half-dreaming state, but unfortunately, they were caught back by some force.
…
Inside the manor, Daly learned of the clues Leonard had obtained and decided to investigate separately.
Leonard and a male colleague went to the public hot spring together.
The two tried their best to look like ordinary tourists, changed their clothes, came to the hot spring, and looked around vigilantly.
This was an indoor hot spring as large as a large conference room, surrounded by tiles, with waiters shuttling among them, providing guests with wine, snacks, or fruit.
There were many guests in the hot spring, chatting and laughing freely, and everything seemed normal.
After a full half an hour, just as Leonard and his colleague were about to leave the hot spring to take a rest, suddenly, the entire hot spring became silent.
The two "Red Gloves" then noticed that everyone's movements were frozen, standing there motionless like statues.
A person covered in seaweed-like things walked out of the depths of the hot spring step by step.
It was impossible to see the monster's appearance or gender.
Leonard and his colleague were about to react, but found that their whole bodies were paralyzed, and every movement was very difficult.
Fortunately, Leonard had the whistle for help by his hand. He immediately blew the whistle, then calmed down and looked at the strange man who suddenly appeared in the hot spring: "Who are you?"
"Of course I am a guest soaking in the hot spring!"
It can communicate!
Leonard asked again: "Why have you become like this? What have you done to us and the other guests?"
"That is the toxin on my body. I discharged it into the hot spring, so you can't move, and you have all become my prey…"
At this time, two "Red Gloves" who were on standby in the hall rushed in. Seeing the monster approaching Leonard and others, they raised their guns and pulled the trigger repeatedly.
Whoosh~
The monster disappeared into the hot spring.
The Red Gloves regrouped in the hall. Daly and another team member went to explore the lakeside, but found nothing. In addition, a group of Red Gloves did not return.
Just then, someone shouted: "The hunting team is back!"
…
Hobert gripped the black blade tightly, quietly watching the scene before him.
The hunting team members were covered with a layer of gray moths. If he hadn't been chatting with them just now, Hobert would have thought these gray moths were lying on some humanoid wooden stakes.
The reason why Hobert was just observing and not driving away these gray moths was because these gray moths seemed to be absorbing the contamination from the hunting team members.
Previously, those team members who had turned into monsters gradually returned to their human forms.
It's just that the long-faced girl's face was still a bit long, and the dark-skinned young man's skin was still a bit dark.
Doo~
Hobert heard a sharp whistle, which was the Nighthawks' distress whistle.
He immediately followed the whistle, but found nothing, only two large cocoons on the pine tree!
Wait, pine tree!
Hobert suddenly realized that he had entered the forest that Harold had mentioned, the forest with forest elves!
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