CHAPTER 476: CHAPTER 286: THE ASTOUNDING NUMBER OF DISAPPEARANCES_1

Dean realized that someone was secretly erasing the fact that people often went missing here.

But the town wasn’t large. He didn’t believe that the residents knew nothing about it.

First, I need to find a way to talk to a local and understand the situation...

Like... the phone number on the business card the bartender gave me!

Although Dean was certain that the person on the other end was a scam artist, since they had colluded with the bartender specifically to target out-of-towners looking for missing people, they might know something about the tourists’ disappearances.

With that thought, Dean glanced around to make sure no suspicious individuals were keeping watch nearby, then headed back toward the hotel.

Back at the hotel, Cheston En had already woken up. He was in the hotel’s ground-floor dining area, enjoying the complimentary buffet breakfast.

"How is it?" Dean sat down opposite Cheston En.

Seeing it was Dean, Cheston En quickly swallowed the food in his mouth. "It’s alright. But Agent Dean, something strange happened. When I woke up, I found the hotel staff cleaning the room opposite ours. There was still luggage inside."

Upon hearing this, Dean’s eyebrows shot up. This kind of thing usually happened to travelers who hadn’t paid to extend their stay for a long time.

Could it be that the person in the room opposite theirs... had disappeared?

"I’ve found some things as well..." Dean lowered his voice and shared his discoveries and speculations with Cheston En.

After listening to Dean’s account, Cheston En’s eyes widened. "Agent Dean, are you saying that the people here are deliberately hiding the fact that tourists are disappearing?"

Dean nodded. "We’re not sure yet whether it’s the local police, the government, or the local people involved. But if we want to uncover the hidden truth, this time we probably can’t rely on local official powers."

After finishing breakfast, Dean and Cheston En split up.

Cheston En was responsible for finding a staff member to ask about the tourists in the room opposite theirs. Dean was in charge of contacting the phone number on the business card the bartender had provided. Though the business card had been discarded, he remembered the number. The two agreed to exchange text messages every half hour, updating each other on their whereabouts to prevent a situation where one might go missing without the other knowing.

Cheston En, taking the lead, approached the staff member cleaning the rooms under the pretense of looking for a local guide.

Seeing this, Dean moved to a corner of the hotel and dialed the suspected scammer’s number.

The first call went unanswered.

After waiting a moment, Dean dialed the number a second time. This time the call finally went through.

On the other end, a drunken-sounding woman’s voice said, "Hello, this is..."

After a pause, she continued, "This is Admiral Rescue, how may I help you?"

Dean: "..."

The woman on the other end of the phone paused—was she checking the rescue team’s name?

So unprofessional, does she really think some idiot would fall for this?

Dean rolled his eyes and said with a hint of hesitation in his tone, "Hello, it’s like this, my relative has gone missing nearby. The bartender at XX Bar gave me your contact, saying you could help. Can you really help me?"

"Of course, we at Admiral Rescue are a professional team. If you need help, you can come to..."

After the drunken woman gave an address, she hung up abruptly.

Dean got the address, signaled Cheston En, then left the hotel in plain clothes. Anticipating a search upon his arrival, he also stowed his gun in his subspace. Now that he had his subspace, he could not only produce a gun out of thin air, but it also held several live rounds, ignited Molotov cocktails, tear gas canisters ready to burst, and so on. He also possessed a beast-like premonition for danger. Unless he was suppressed by multiple heavy firearms from a distance, ordinary dangers posed almost no threat to him.

「Elsewhere,」

A woman put down her phone, flicked the ash from her cigarette, and cheerfully called out to the men behind her, "Stefan, Wade, get ready, another big fat pig is showing up at our door. Remember, this time we’re Admiral Rescue, rescue! Don’t screw up the sign again!"

This was the same woman who had answered Dean’s call, now minus her drunk facade on the phone. It was just a tactic to filter out the fat pigs. If the person seeking help dared to come to them despite the woman’s unprofessional demeanor, they were either foolish or desperately out of options. Either way, they were suitable targets! If the other party didn’t come, it was no issue. As long as they had called this number, it showed their need. For such people, they had follow-up methods after the initial test!

Unfortunately, these people didn’t realize that sometimes, the one who falls into a trap isn’t necessarily a pig ready for slaughter but might also be a tiger lying in wait!

The town was small to begin with. Following the address, Dean drove to a small grove outside the town. At the stream beside the grove, he saw something akin to a small Dutch windmill workshop. Near the roadside of the workshop, there was a crooked sign.

The sign bore the name of the Admiral Rescue Team.

However... Dean twisted his mouth in a wry smile.

The earth under the sign was fresh.

Did they really think so little of his intelligence?

That sign must have been stuck in the ground less than ten minutes ago...

Fists clenched! Dean’s fists tensed up!

He parked the car off the small road, lit a cigarette, pulled out his phone, and dialed their number again.