The Death List Novel - Chapter 190

Chapter 190 A Cottage in the Woods

The forest area in this area was bigger than they had imagined. By the time everyone could vaguely see the Crystal Lake, it was almost dusk. They had been walking in the forest for almost a whole day.

The lake region that everyone saw was actually only a tiny part of the entire crystal lake. It penetrated into the forest like an antenna, forming a small harbor here. Even though it was only a small harbor, the lake was still several hundred meters wide. The lake water was clear and green, sparkling under the setting sun.

The harbor surrounds a crescent-shaped open space by the lake. In the middle of the open space is a small house. There was a small trestle in front of the hut near the lake shore. When the Crystal Lake campsite was open, there were some rental speedboats and sampans parked there.

For now, they can only rot in the mud near the shore of the lakeside of the trestle.

Everyone approached the wooden house cautiously. This was a typical forest ranger’s cabin. There was a wooden corridor in front of the door and a wind bell hung under the eaves. The cottage had two floors up and down, and there were pavilions and masonry chimneys on the roof.

“Don’t be nervous. There won’t be any monsters in this small house. We just searched this place a few days ago!” Michelle couldn’t help but burst into laughter when she saw the crowd acting as if they were facing a great enemy.

“Sheriff Malloff, did you allow you to go so deep into the Crystal Lake campsite?” Hill asked doubtfully.

“If the squad is made up of centaurs, we can normally walk back and forth during the day. However, Sheriff Malloff will lead us away before dark arrives!” Michelle’s expression was a little gloomy. “I’ve been here many times during the day and I’ve never seen anything unusual. But it’s too dangerous at night. Even for my mother, I can’t stay here willfully.”

“You did the right thing!” Hill smiled and comforted the centaur girl.

Hansen put away the shotgun in his hand and pushed open the front door of the wooden house. The furniture in the hut was piled up with a thick layer of dust. There were quite a few messy footprints on the ground, probably left behind by the police a few days ago.

“There is no gas in the kitchen. I’m afraid we can only fill our stomachs with bread!” Cora said helplessly to everyone.

“The fireplace is still working. When I came in, I saw some wood behind the wooden house. I’ll chop some firewood!” Hansen took off the axe on the wall and walked towards the back door.

“Michelle, is there a basement in the wooden house?” Qin Lun walked around the wooden house and came back to ask.

“Haha, I didn’t find it, did I?” Michelle covered her mouth and smiled. “The former ranger hid the entrance under the stairs. However, there was only some debris inside, nothing valuable!”

As Michelle spoke, she opened a secret door under the wooden stairs. “The power has been out for a long time. If you want to go into the basement, you’d better go to the kitchen and look for the candles first.”

“No need, I can see it!” Qin Lun smiled and pointed to his eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot that all of you elves are night owls!” Michelle said with a smile.

The sky darkened very quickly. Although it was summer, the night in the forest was still a little cold. The cool breeze from the lake was full of cool moisture.

After it was completely dark, Hansen lit a campfire in front of the hut and stayed with Qin Lun for the night. The place where the John couple were killed was very close to here. Everyone knew that this night could be the key. There was no one who could rest in peace.

“Do you want more beer?” Hansen waved his hand at Qin Lun. This was something he had prepared long ago.

“No need, I’ll go take a look around!” Qin Lun stood up and walked towards the forest in the darkness.

Walking into the forest, Qin Lun did not patrol around the wooden house. To him, who had the elven tale, this was simply unnecessary. He stopped, leaning against a large tree and fell into deep thought.

Qin Lun’s heart was a little uneasy. As time passed, he was a little irritated. He likes to look for answers to riddles, but it needs to be within common sense, such as the previous villa case. This time, the mystery of the Crystal Lake was obviously related to a mysterious phenomenon, so conventional reasoning was useless.

Ever since he entered the Crystal Lake camp, he hadn’t had the slightest clue. The feedback from the forest was very simple. There were no abnormal phenomena in the surroundings, not even half of the ferocious beasts like wild wolves and black bears.

Looking at the wooden house in the darkness, Qin Lun’s eyes fluttered. He instinctively felt that there was something wrong with the wooden house, but he could not find the reason.

The wooden house used to be inhabited by forest rangers and scenic area managers who patrolled the forest and crystal lake harbors. Provide tourists with all kinds of convenience tools, cooking utensils, fishing gear, tents, almost everything. There were many rooms in the hut, and the basement he had checked was a simple infirmary.

The wooden house took up a large area. Through the branches swaying in the wind, it looked like a monster crawling in the night.

Qin Lun closed his eyes and heard the sound of the leaves swaying in the wind. His heart slowly calmed down.

Suddenly, his senses began to extend in the wind. The branches and leaves of the trees shook slightly, the earthworms wriggled in the soil, and the insects hissed. It was as if he had turned into a small fish and was swimming freely in the forest sea.

Apart from the wooden house and the crystal lake in front of him, this region had never been so clearly reflected in his perception. He seemed to be able to catch the slightest movement a few miles away.

A hint of enlightenment arose in Qin Lun’s heart. The greatest ability the Moonlight Fairy bloodline brought him was not the affinity of wind and wood magic elements, nor was it the ability of the Moonlight Recruitment and Fairy tale bloodline. Instead, it was the geographical advantage in the forest.

In the forest, if he could maintain this perceptive perception at all times, even against an opponent whose combat strength was twice his, it was not impossible for him to win. No wonder the elves were known as the kings of the forest. Compared to the forest races, such as centaurs and trolls, they did have an unshakable advantage.

“Ah!” Suddenly, a sudden exclamation broke Qin Lun’s seemingly omnipotent state of perception.

“It’s Michelle!” Qin Lun’s eyes lit up as he flew towards the cabin.

“What’s going on?” When he entered the wooden house, he discovered that Hansen, who was roasting in front of the door, had already entered the house before him, and Michelle, who had just cried out in alarm, was holding Cora in her arms.

“The fire is about to go out. Michelle went to the back of the house to pick up some firewood. I think she saw a black shadow!” Cora looked at Qin Lun with some uncertainty. Hansen was right in front of the door. They could see that Qin Lun was the only one in the forest just now.

“It’s not me!” Qin Lun frowned slightly. “Did Michelle go to the back of the house alone to pick up firewood?”

“No, Hans (Shepherd Hill’s alias) went with her!” Cora looked around and asked in surprise, “Eh, where is he? Did he chase after that black figure?”

“Hill!” Qin Lun and Hansen looked at each other in surprise. They knew that Hill, the old fox, would never take risks and chase after a suspicious target alone.

“Take Michelle to the front. Cora and I will take a look at the back of the house!” Sass’s eyes flashed. Although this Esmira patrol policeman was a bit arrogant, he seemed to be very reliable at this time.

“Let’s go together. There’s a bonfire in front of the door. You can see it clearly with a single glance. Counselor Hans shouldn’t be in front!” Hansen said after a moment of silence.

Everyone circled around the back of the room and searched the place where Michelle and Hill met the black shadow several times, but they didn’t find anything at all. The old fox, Hill, seemed to have vanished into the night.

“He’s too weak. He didn’t even have the slightest bit of resistance and was kidnapped by someone!” Sass punched the wooden table angrily.

Qin Lun and Hansen exchanged glances, and at the same time, they saw astonishment in each other’s eyes.

“With Hill’s ability, unless it’s a high-level apostle, it’s impossible for him to disappear just like that!” Hansen blocked the others on the guild channel and secretly said to Qin Lun, “Perhaps he hid himself for some reason.”

“Impossible. When he disappeared, my perception covered a few square kilometers of land. If he hid in the forest, he would definitely not be able to hide it from me!” Qin Lun shook his head firmly.

“Then why is he missing?” Hansen circled around the room irritably.

“Apart from the black shadow Michelle saw just now, the rest of us didn’t notice any signs of battle.” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “It’s still too early to tell that Hill is missing. Hill should have been taken off our range by the enemy when he was caught off guard.”

“Didn’t you say that your perception covers several square kilometers? How is this possible?” Hansen furrowed his brows tightly. “Could it be that the enemy has used their teleportation ability?”

“Hmph, no. This guidance mission is only at the level of a sergeant major. As for the team that you and Hill provoked, they won’t be able to find us so quickly, let alone in this forest.” Qin Lun muttered, “If they wanted to attack the team, they wouldn’t just capture Hill.”

“Perhaps they are looking for a tongue to interrogate our team?” Hansen was a little unsure.

“Then why don’t they capture the weaker Michelle? The world has exposed our bloodline. Michelle is among us. The other apostles don’t know that she is the storyline character.” Qin Lun quickly rejected Hansen’s question.

“Sir Qin Lun, do you have any thoughts?” Cora comforted her restless husband, walked to Qin Lun and asked softly.

Because of Qin Lun and Hill’s wonderful performance yesterday, the Esmira policewoman was not as frightened and uneasy as the others. She still had great confidence in him.

“An idea? There is indeed one!” Qin Lun’s pupils reflected the flickering fire in the fireplace. He said faintly on the guild channel, “Perhaps the Broken Star System gave us a hint long ago, but because the target is too big, it was ignored by us!”