boyutpedia Chapter 397 Finding the Way is Difficult
Chapter 397 Finding the Way is Difficult
Chapter 399 Finding the Way is Difficult
When Alice received Hugo's call, she had just finished fighting a wild molten ant beast.
Since the gregarious Iron Ants on the Victory Road nearly disappeared, this Pokémon, which feeds mainly on Iron Ants, has tenaciously adapted to the dramatic environmental changes.
The ant-like creature before her had clearly honed an astonishing fighting instinct through long-term survival competition, displaying unexpected resilience even against her powerful Dragon-type Pokémon. Victory in this battle was far more difficult than she had anticipated.
"A kidnapping? During my training on the Path of Champions, something like this actually happened in Twin Dragons City." Alice wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, exchanging a knowing glance with the Double-Axe Dragon beside her. Their gazes simultaneously fell on the unconscious Molten Ant Beast.
The girl crouched down and took out an empty Poké Ball from her waist. "Although I've been training around here for a few months, the terrain of Victory Road is just too complicated," she muttered to herself. "But you, who have been hunting here for so long, should know some secret passages and caves, right?"
Just then, a faint orange-red light suddenly appeared on the surface of the molten ant beast, flickering on and off like a response. Although it wasn't enough to illuminate the entire cave, it at least allowed Alice to see the rugged ground beneath her feet and the outline of the pea-shaped tunnel ahead.
"hehe."
The button on the Poké Ball dented slightly under the girl's thumb, making a soft "click" sound.
"It seems that now is the time when your strength is needed."
On the basement floor of the Alliance Medical Center, despite the fact that the investigation team sent to the Road to Champions had already set off and the number of people in the data analysis center had been reduced, the center was still maintaining an astonishing level of work—the entire center was like an iron ant nest invaded by natural enemies, presenting a scene of bustling activity.
A subordinate in police uniform hurriedly approached Officer Jenny: "The nearby patrol officers have already arrived at the foot of Champions Road."
A suspicious vehicle was spotted at the entrance!
To ensure that no time was wasted due to misjudgment, the police not only dispatched a large number of elite officers to the Champion's Road, but also allocated a small number of officers to search caves such as the training huts. However, in terms of manpower and investigation efficiency, the Champion's Road remained the absolute priority of the investigation.
Deputy Chief Officer Jenny took the photo handed to her by the detective. It showed an ordinary gray van, but the parking location seemed rather inconsiderate. There was a proper parking lot some distance away, but it was parked diagonally on the open ground next to the entrance.
"The surrounding area is dry sandstone, it's hard to find footprints there... Did you find any clues inside the car?" Officer Jenny examined the photos.
His gaze was as sharp as the chilling breath of the Ice Demon Guardian.
"A discovery!" the subordinate reported decisively. "With the help of the elf, the patrol officers forced open the car door. The car was empty, but long female hair was found in the trunk—a highly likely trace left by the hostage!"
Deputy Chief Officer Jenny's gaze sharpened. Long hair wasn't exclusive to women—but that detail wasn't important at the moment. "Have you compared it with the hostage's biometrics?" she asked, cutting to the chase.
The investigator was taken aback by his superior's serious attitude; "We haven't received any physical samples yet—"
"The hostages are still trapped; there's no need to wait for DNA testing." Officer Jenny's voice was calm yet authoritative. Known as the "Alarm" in the underworld, she tapped her fingertips on the table. "Just compare the photos directly. Shouldn't there be hair samples left near the hostages' residence in Shuanglong City?"
"Ah! Indeed, the staff at the scene collected samples from the mother and daughter near the entrance of the residence."
"Start the comparison immediately." Officer Jenny's command was succinct and forceful. "Retrieve all relevant evidence and materials, now!"
A colleague quickly handed over a tablet terminal. The investigator's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat as his fingers trembled as he pulled up photos of past hair samples.
Having obtained the second piece of evidence, Officer Jenny held up the hair photographs collected from inside the car, her sharp eyes scanning back and forth between the two images. "The hair color seems to be the same as the one in her mother Ryouko's case," the investigator murmured.
"Hugo is right." The deputy director put down the photograph. "The hostages are in the cave on Champion's Road!"
"Shouldn't we stay in the analysis center to help out at this point? At least we should be keeping a close eye on the progress of the championship search, right?"
Fighting-type champion Lian Wu followed behind Hugo, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"I've entrusted the task of contacting Alice to Officer Jenny and the others, since they're more professional than me in tracking fugitives and dealing with kidnappers."
Hugo walked down the hospital corridor, checking the latest updates from Officer Jenny on his phone.
"The police seem to have found the vehicle left behind by the kidnappers; they were indeed on Champions Road."
"So you came to find the victim, Morikawa Shigeaki, just to tell him this news?"
Lian Wu felt that if he were a family member of the hostage, he would absolutely not want to hear about this kind of half-hearted investigation progress. "Now that we have some leads..."
"Go find my family right now!" If it were him, he would definitely roar like that. "No, I have some concerns about the kidnapper's identity." Hugo, who was walking in front, put away his phone and responded to Lian Wu's question.
"While Mrs. Morikawa's screams at the beginning of the recording were striking and almost branded the entire kidnapping as violent, the timing suggests that it occurred after the kidnapping. Before that, were the kidnappers truly using force to subdue the Morikawa mother and daughter?"
"you mean?"
"In a sense, criminals are the most conservative creatures; unless necessary, they tend to use the same method repeatedly when committing crimes."
Hugo waved his finger in the air—
"The kidnapping happened in the morning, and the Morikawa family's residence is not so remote that it is deserted. If there had really been a commotion at their doorstep, the people in the neighborhood should have noticed something, right? But the police's investigation found the complete opposite; the surrounding residents did not hear a single suspicious exclamation."
"You mean, that mother was also lured away by kidnappers, just like her daughter?" The Fighting King's tone was full of suspicion. "It would be one thing if a lost child was abducted by bad guys, but how could an adult woman so easily believe the lies of a stranger?"
"So, what if it wasn't a stranger?"
Hugo abruptly stopped, and the conversation abruptly ended.
"What's wrong?" Lian Wu walked up to the detective, completely bewildered. "We haven't reached the victim's hospital room yet, have we?"
"Um—I forgot what the ward number is, do you remember?"
Standing on the corridor on the second floor of the inpatient department, one sees an endless sea of white ward doors in front of one's eyes—at least forty identical rooms are neatly arranged on both sides. Morikawa's ward is thus submerged in this sea of white.
The champion and the king looked at each other, and both blinked in confusion.
Just then, someone said, "You two are Champion Hugo and King Lianwu, right? Are you looking for Mr. Morikawa? I'll take you there."
The nurse with the young lady in the skirt appeared like an angel in white. She smiled and easily resolved the awkwardness between the two men.