The huge cruise ship sailed on the vast sea. Inside a certain washroom within the cruise ship, Dorothy's miniature Corpse Puppets wandered here through the ship's ventilation system, presenting the scene inside to Dorothy.
This was a seemingly ordinary public washroom located on a residential deck below the ship's main deck, used by several mid-range cabins around it. The entire washroom wasn't too large, and the decor was quite ordinary. Aside from being relatively clean, there was nothing special about it.
Of course, that was just on the surface. After Dorothy used the Finding Breath Seal to detect, she found that there were obvious traces of blood remaining in this washroom. This smell was concentrated on the toilet in the washroom. Although the toilet itself looked clean now with no visible traces, in Dorothy's eyes, it seemed that a very strong amount of fresh blood had been poured into the toilet and flushed away not long ago.
'Here... the residual smell is so strong, it smells like blood... Such a heavy residual blood smell, was all the blood from an entire person drained and poured in here? And within this bloody smell... there's an overly strong scent of "cup" drug mixed in. Blood containing a high concentration of "cup" drug... What exactly was poured in here...'
Sensing the scene inside the washroom, Dorothy thought seriously to herself. It was clear that the highly concentrated "cup" drug substances discharged from the sewage outlet must have been sent into the ship's sewage system from inside this washroom. Someone poured that stuff into the toilet and flushed it away, then cleaned the scene. And what was poured away, in Dorothy's current view, should be some kind of heavy-flavor """Cup""" item.
After finding the residue in the washroom, Dorothy immediately noted the strange bloody smell within it and then had the miniature Corpse Puppets search the entire ship for similar scents. In Dorothy's opinion, the Extraordinary who was doing the processing work in that washroom had a high probability of having the smell on him. As long as she followed the scent, she should be able to find him.
Therefore, Dorothy began to quickly search the entire ship for the bloody scent she had recorded. However, after searching the entire cruise ship, she couldn't find a similar smell anywhere else. This led Dorothy to believe that the target she was looking for might have cleaned himself of the smell after returning. The smell he got in the washroom might have been very obvious.
After being unable to further locate the target using scent, Dorothy changed her approach again. She used the ventilation ducts to conduct a detailed search of the passenger cabins around this washroom. And not long after searching, Dorothy made a certain discovery.
Diagonally across from that washroom, in a passenger cabin numbered 417, Dorothy discovered an abnormal situation. It was already late at night, and tourists in other surrounding cabins had basically finished playing and returned to their cabins to rest. However, this Cabin 417 was empty, and its occupant was completely gone.
Not only that, Dorothy also saw through the vision of her Corpse Puppet that this cabin was very messy. Quilts, wardrobes, and other things were turned upside down. It was very clear that this was not an empty room. Someone should have been living here not long ago. If the person hadn't returned by this time, they were either a drunkard or likely wouldn't be able to return...
After seeing this scene, Dorothy sent small Corpse Puppets in to search, trying to find some clues. However, she quickly made a discovery. In a corner of the cabin, Dorothy smelled a trace of blood. This bloody scent was a bit faint, about eighty percent similar to the strong bloody smell in the nearby washroom. The difference was that the bloody smell here didn't have too strong a "cup" drug smell.
'It seems... this is the place...'
Looking at the situation in the cabin before her eyes, Dorothy confirmed in her heart the unusual connection between this place and the washroom outside. The blood in the washroom perhaps came from here, from the occupant of this cabin, and he was likely in a bad state by now.
After finding the bloody scent, Dorothy completely confirmed the problem contained within this cabin. Then, she began to use small Corpse Puppets to continue searching the messy cabin, wanting to find items related to the original occupant to confirm his identity. However, to Dorothy's surprise, no matter how she searched, she couldn't find any related items left behind by someone else. Aside from some scattered cigarette ash on the floor and the bloody scent in the corner, Dorothy found no other traces belonging to the original occupant in the cabin. This caused Dorothy to slightly furrow her brow.
'No related items at all? Was the luggage all taken? Is that why this room is so messy? After the occupant was gone, their things were also handled...'
Looking at the scene before her, Dorothy's expression showed a moment of thought. After continuing to search the room without results, she temporarily stopped searching the cabin. Instead, she began to retrieve most of the small Corpse Puppets on the ship while leaving a small portion in the empty 417 and other nearby cabins. After still not seeing anyone return, Dorothy also rested for a while, sleeping until the next morning.
Sitting inside her cabin, the recently awakened Dorothy sat in her cabin and stretched out with a big yawn towards the rising sun outside the porthole. After rubbing her eyes, she began to reconnect with the small Corpse Puppets scattered throughout the ship, starting to observe the situation in Cabin 417 again. She found that there was still no one in the cabin, and every detail was exactly the same as what Dorothy had noted before going to sleep. This meant that no one had returned to this cabin during the entire night. The occupant of this cabin truly seemed to be gone.
A night passed, and Dorothy's investigation had not made any substantial progress. The entire investigation process seemed to be at a standstill. This situation made Dorothy momentarily think of giving up, but when she remembered her experience on the shining white pearl, similar thoughts were dispelled again.
'No... now is not the time to talk about giving up. The missing passenger, the "cup" drug, the bloody traces... If these things are connected, there's an eighty percent chance they are related to the """Cup""" cult. On the sea, that likely means the Sea Abyss Church is involved. If they are really planning some kind of whole-ship sacrifice again, it would be terrible if I don't find and stop them in time. This kind of thing must be taken seriously, I can't be careless...'
'Also, cracking down on cults and such is also a way for me to earn some extra money, isn't it? I'm a bit short on cash lately, and I need to replenish in various areas...'
Dorothy thought this in her heart. After making up her mind to contribute to the cause of eradicating cults again, she took out a coin from her body and tossed it after speaking a divination phrase.
"The guest in Room 417 on this ship has been killed."
After covering the coin with her hand and moving it away, Dorothy saw heads, indicating that Dorothy's divination phrase was correct. Afterwards, Dorothy took out paper and pen and accurately drew the layered floor plan of the entire cruise ship. She used a pendulum to divine the exact location of the killer. However, this time the divination failed; the killer's own information was protected by anti-divination.
"Anti-divination... It seems he's not just some henchmen..."
Looking at the failed divination scene before her, Dorothy muttered to herself. Then, after thinking for a while, she took out her magic box. After opening it, she sensed the humanoid Corpse Puppets inside and then spoke.
"It seems it's time to use the old trick again..."
...
In the morning, tourists who had just finished breakfast began their new day of activities on the ship. The ship's crew members also started their busy new day. Inside the cruise ship's bridge, Captain William, wearing a white uniform and sporting a grizzled beard, stood by the bridge window. With his slightly weathered hands, he held a nautical chart. William was looking at the chart while confirming the current course.
Just then, there was a sound of hurried footsteps from outside the bridge. A young man dressed as a waiter ran into the bridge in a panic. The commotion was so great that everyone in the bridge turned to look at him, while the young waiter looked around the cabin and shouted in a hurry.
"Mr. William... Where is Mr. William?"
"I'm here, what's the rush..."
Seeing the hurried waiter, the old Captain said with a frown. The waiter turned his head, saw the Captain, and immediately walked over, whispering a couple of words into William's ear. After listening, William's face immediately sank, and his expression became extremely solemn. He stared at the waiter before him and spoke.
"When did this happen?"
"Just now! A guest next to 417 found it. The smell inside was very strong, so she complained to us. We knocked on the door and no one answered, so we used the master key to open the door, and then we found inside..."
The young waiter said to William with an uneasy expression. William was taken aback after hearing this, and then he spoke.
"Go, take me there."
...
Following the waiter's steps, Captain William went down below the deck, to the mid-range passenger cabin level. After turning a few corners, he arrived at a corridor. One end of the corridor was currently blocked off by another waiter. After seeing William arrive, the waiter immediately stepped aside, and William walked into the corridor.
After entering the corridor, William immediately saw that many people were gathered in front of a guest room in the corridor ahead. The crowd consisted of sailors and waiters, as well as several other passengers with nervous expressions. Upon seeing this, William quickly walked forward, and the crowd in front of him quickly made way after seeing him.
Finally, William stood at the doorway of Guest Room 417. Looking inside, what he saw was a horrifying scene. In the messy room, large patches of blood stained the carpet. On the carpet lay a naked male corpse covered in blood. On the corpse, numerous wounds were visible to the naked eye, and countless scars were concentrated on his face. His entire facial features were covered by countless crisscrossing bloody marks, making it impossible to tell what he looked like. The air around was filled with the smell of blood, and the scene was extremely frightening.
"Who... who did this..."
Looking at the horrifying scene before him, William said, taking a sharp breath. And the response to his words came from inside the guest room.
"It's a cruel killer, a murderer who is still in hiding."
After hearing this voice, William looked in the direction it came from. What he then saw was a male figure standing in another corner of the room, facing the wall. This figure was slightly tall, wearing a fitted short trench coat and a low-crowned hat, and seemed to be observing something while facing the wall.
"Who are you? People can't just enter here now!"
Looking at the figure's back in the room, William said seriously. And the one who answered William was the waiter beside him.
"Mr. William, this Mr. claims to be a Detective. It was he who told us to immediately cordon off the scene and not let anyone else in, and also to notify you immediately."
"Detective..."
Listening to the waiter's words, a trace of confusion appeared on William's face. At this moment, the figure in the room slowly turned around, facing William who was standing at the doorway. What appeared before William was a man with slightly pale skin, a hooked nose, deep-set eyes, and a gaunt face. He walked towards William and introduced himself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain. My name is Ed, a Detective. By chance, I happened to stumble upon this murder case just now, so I slightly overstepped my bounds and instructed your crew to protect the scene and contain the information. Please forgive me."
Extending his hand to shake William's, Ed spoke quite politely. Listening to Ed's words, William, who was in the middle of shaking hands, couldn't help but be slightly startled and spoke, having thought of something.
"Ed... Detective... I seem to have heard a similar name..."
"Hehe... Listening to your accent, Captain, you're from Prit, right? If you went back to Tivian last year, you might have heard my name." Looking at the confused Captain before him, Ed said with a smile. And after Ed's hint, William suddenly spoke with realization, as if he had remembered something.
"Oh... I remember now. I saw your name in a newspaper in Tivian, the famous Detective Ed! You're the Detective who cleared the name of the dancing star Adele! The Detective whom Adele publicly thanked and praised in the newspaper! If I remember correctly, the dancing star Adele said you were the smartest person she had ever met."
"Not at all... Miss Adele was too kind. I was just doing my best."
Maintaining a smile, Ed said to the Captain before him. After hearing the Captain's words, the surrounding crowd also began to discuss amongst themselves. They started sizing up the man who claimed to be a Detective, while William's originally uneasy expression slightly relaxed.
"I didn't expect that a well-known Detective like Mr. Ed would appear here. It's quite a coincidence, quite a coincidence. A murder just happened here, and Mr. Ed appeared..."
William said with a look of relief. After looking at the corpse inside the doorway, he looked at Ed before him and then spoke again.
"I have been sailing for many years. Although I rarely encounter such situations, I also know that if a vicious criminal remains on board, it is a deep hidden danger. Therefore, Mr. Ed, can you find the killer?"
"Of course, this is precisely my duty. However, to make it easier to find the killer, I also need Captain and your crew to cooperate with me Only." Ed replied to William. Listening to Ed's words, William immediately nodded.
"Of course, we will cooperate fully."
Listening to Captain William's words, Dorothy, who was currently in her cabin, showed a slight smile. Relying on her skillful methods, she had now gained the authority to coordinate the crew's cooperation.
The corpse that 'died' in Room 417 was just one of Dorothy's own Corpse Puppets. By utilizing the 'death' of this Corpse Puppet, Dorothy brought the murder case, which should have completely disappeared in secret, back into the light. Her purpose in doing so was precisely to gain the authority to mobilize the crew for better investigation.