Chapter 280 - 274: Why Am I Backtracking Again?

Chapter 280: Chapter 274: Why Am I Backtracking Again?

Investigator Jackson replied.

"Alright, then. Are you rested up? Shall we go find that supervisor?"

"Haha, young man, when it comes to bolting... oh, no, I mean, when it comes to making good time, you can’t beat us old-timers. Let’s go. The fellow’s office is over there."

The three of them headed to the logging camp’s office area—a few small log cabins tightly surrounded by towering stacks of raw materials, scrap, wood chips, finished products, and more. It all looked a bit too crude.

Moreover, the safety hazards were quite high. If any of those logs, piled up like small mountains, were to come loose or collapse, it could easily be fatal.

In contrast, the supervisor here was quite warm and polite. He was all smiles, prepared coffee for Lloyd and the others, and patiently answered all of their questions.

However, he kept subtly mentioning their "deadline," likely urging the investigation team to resolve the incident as quickly as possible.

Lloyd also asked a few questions, and the man replied politely:

"He shouldn’t be hiding deep in the forest. Our operation just started not long ago, and we’re currently only logging the outer areas. No one goes deep inside, and none of the workers below have seen anyone moving around in there."

"As for your second question, how the outside world found out about this incident, I think the news must have leaked from the police department in York Town.

After all, we called the police first. But they refused to arrest the guy, citing insufficient evidence, so our big boss had no choice but to hire you powerful individuals."

The trio from the investigation team had already asked the supervisor all sorts of questions, so Lloyd couldn’t find any more clues. He could only nod and change the subject.

"Alright, I understand. Can we take a look around the area?"

"Of course. As long as you don’t mind the mess... But it would be best to be careful. We only recently began production, so many safety measures aren’t in place yet. Please be extra cautious."

The supervisor offered a kind reminder, then went back to organizing the large pile of orders on his desk.

’Looks like business is booming...’

After leaving the office, Kading the scholar shook his head helplessly and said:

"Well, it seems our only choice now is to go into the forest and see for ourselves... As long as we confirm he’s not in there, it will prove he escaped the village by another route. That would be enough to give our employer an answer."

"Right. Should we move as a group? Or split up?"

Investigator Yakson asked. ℯℯ𝑙.

"Let’s split up. This forest doesn’t look too large, and it’s on a major pioneering route, so it should be relatively safe. Even if there are hidden Demons, they won’t be very powerful. But we can’t spend the night here—

Spending the night means starting a fire, and starting a fire in a dense forest like this is far more terrifying than encountering a Demon. So, no matter what progress we make, we must be out by nightfall."

Kading said, pulling out his pocket watch to check the time. He then added:

"If there are no objections, we’ll split up. It’s four in the afternoon now. We must return here to regroup at seven in the evening."

None of the three objected, and they all nodded.

Then the four of them each chose a direction to investigate. As the newcomer, Lloyd was courteously given the first choice.

He didn’t stand on ceremony and took out his matches, performing a simple Divination.

"Mm, an optimistic result. I’ll go this way, then."

He pointed northeast.

"Be careful not to get lost. Need me to lend you a compass? Oh, and once you’re inside, don’t play with fire again. That could lead to disaster."

Investigator Jackson kindly reminded him.

"Don’t worry. Even if I get lost, I can use Divination to find my way back. I’m quite confident in my Divination skills."

With that, Lloyd walked into the forest without a backward glance.

"I hope everyone stays safe."

Kading the scholar muttered, choosing the opposite direction from Lloyd.

The remaining two divided the other areas between them. In total, the four of them spread out in a fan formation and began heading deeper into the forest.

* * *

As soon as Lloyd entered the forest, his spirits, which had been a little low, began to lift. Looking at the pristine natural scenery, filled with the chirping of birds and the fragrance of flowers, he felt a pleasant sense of returning to the embrace of nature.

Although he was there to find someone, his gaze was mainly fixed on the areas around tree roots and bushes, searching for any delicious mushrooms that might have spawned there.

He hadn’t gone far before he did indeed find a cluster of brightly colored, fragrant, and plump-looking red mushrooms.

Lloyd quickly picked one and weighed it in his hand, wondering if his cooking skills were up to the challenge of handling such a flamboyant variety.

’It’s not that I’m worried about poison—all mushrooms are non-toxic. It’s just that if your cooking skills aren’t up to snuff, you might undercook it or forget to add garlic.’

’So I’m just worried about the taste. Will it be good? Will the texture be tender?’

"I should have brought the little kitten with me. I could have just let it have a taste, right?"

Lloyd said with some regret, ultimately deciding to give up on the mushroom that looked so difficult to handle.

He continued deeper into the forest, wanting to find a wild termite mound and the mushrooms that grew on it.

He still remembered that kind of mushroom was the most delicious and savory of all, the perfect embodiment of the term "mountain delicacy." Even after so many years since he’d crossed over, Lloyd found it unforgettable.

Unfortunately, after walking for quite a while, he still hadn’t found these delicious mushrooms.

’Maybe it’s because it hasn’t rained much around here?’

With great regret, Lloyd could only take out his rarely used, antique pocket watch and perform another Divination for the suspect’s location.

The needle on the pocket watch spun wildly before, absurdly, coming to a stop pointing right at Lloyd himself...

’Now this is truly impossible to interpret. I can only chalk it up to old-fashioned superstition...’

’I should just keep looking for mushrooms!’

Lloyd started walking again, but this time, after just a few meters, he actually heard a panel notification:

[DING~ Madness Value +1]

A few seconds later, a second notification came through:

[DING~ Madness Value +1]

’Huh? Is there really a Demon in here?’

Lloyd tilted his head and complained inwardly:

’But this is way too weak, isn’t it? At this intensity and frequency, it would have a hard time affecting a normal person, let alone an Extraordinary Being.’

’Huh? Wait, something’s not right...’

He suddenly remembered that he hadn’t suffered from the Spiritual Contamination emitted by low-risk Demons in a long time. His body was already immune to it. Only at the moment of killing them would he be hit by that unavoidable, unblockable wave of Spiritual Contamination.

’That means this Spiritual Contamination isn’t coming from a Demon, but from something else.’

Lloyd quickly activated his Spiritual Vision and spread his inspiration outwards, covering an area of over ten meters around him like a small-scale, human radar.

[DING~ Madness Value +1]

When the third panel notification arrived, his inspiration did indeed catch something. He quickly turned to look behind him.

This direction happened to be the same one the pocket watch’s needle had finally indicated during his Divination earlier.

’But isn’t this the way I came? Am I supposed to backtrack?’

’Could it be that I was so focused on finding mushrooms on my way here that I missed something?’

’But why wasn’t I hit by Spiritual Contamination on the way over?’

Lloyd was puzzled, but he still walked toward the source of the Spiritual Contamination his inspiration had detected.

Every few seconds he walked, the panel would register 1 point of Madness Value, helping his inspiration to further calibrate the direction.

As he walked on, Lloyd discovered that he had actually returned to the logging camp.

He had just ended up in a different section—a storage area for raw materials.