Chapter 663: Investigation Tools (Thanks to friend freyjun1552 for the Silver Alliance donation)

During the lunch break, Lu Mi used a trip to the restroom as an excuse to circle around the brownish-yellow house of "Siso" Tewanako.

After passing through the ground floor—empty, without walls—along the wooden staircase, he pulled out a new half-length wire and pried open the front door.

This floor had all interior walls removed, leaving only pillars; from a glance, it was very spacious yet extremely crude.

Stepping on the wooden floor, Lu Mi circled the area once, finding only signs of long-term abandonment, nothing worth further investigation.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind him:

"What's wrong here?"

The voice belonged to Giamu Castiglia, who had seen Lu Mi enter Tewanako's rebuilt house through the restaurant window, then made an excuse to leave the table and rushed over here.

Lu Mi looked around without the slightest surprise or shock and said:

"Nothing."

As he spoke, he climbed the stairs toward the third floor.

Giamu sighed silently and followed him.

He felt that being around Louis Berry had aged him considerably, making him feel like someone in their fifties, like Deputy Captain Lei Yasa.

Oh, Mother Earth, I'm not even twenty-four yet!

Even though I was barely eighteen when I came to Matani Province, joined the Patrol Corps, handled many supernatural incidents, participated in numerous dangerous battles, and accumulated plenty of experience, I'm still just a young man—a lazy, careless young man in daily life!

With heavy vigilance, Giamu followed Lu Mi through every room on the third floor twice, examining every object.

After setting down a pen holder, Giamu told Lu Mi his assessment:

"Nothing out of place."

Lu Mi found nothing either.

He thought for a moment and said:

"Wait, bring Kolobo over and ask if any area here makes him feel uneasy, dangerous, or uncomfortable."

You've only worked with him once and you're already proficiently using his special ability… bringing Kolobo here… it feels like a detective from Police Headquarters ordering an officer to bring over the police dog… Giamu muttered to himself, then nodded and said:

Lu Mi considered, as he once again surveyed his surroundings, "I'll bring Ludwigh over next and ask if he can smell any unusual ingredients."

As Lu Mi once again scanned the surroundings, he was thinking: "Next, bring Ludwig over and ask if he smells any unusual ingredients."

Lu Mi and Giamu returned to the restaurant and continued eating richly spiced roasted beef, roasted chicken wings, roasted snake meat, roasted spiders, roasted vampire insects… alongside "Guadar" drinks.

After eating their fill, Lu Mi took Ludwig by the hand and led him into "Siso" Tewanako's house, with Giamu, Lu Jianuo, and Kolobo—wearing sunglasses and sidestepping like a crab—following closely behind.

After re-walking every corner of the house, Lu Mi turned to Ludwig and asked with a smile:

"Any tasty smells?"

Lu Mi immediately led the boy down to the second floor, facing Colobo, who had abruptly turned his back, and said to him and Kaimu:

Lu Mi then brought the boy down to the second floor and looked at Kolobo, who had suddenly turned his back to him, and beside him, Giamu:

"Do you have any special feelings?"

The thin Kolobo hesitated and said:

"This house is cold. It makes me uncomfortable."

Lu Mi asked calmly:

"Exactly where?"

There's something wrong with the entire house, even this land. "Siso" rebuilt this home not out of nostalgia or memory—he wasn't the original body's owner, had little emotional attachment here, and was a true "cold-blooded" man… Lu Mi pondered for over a dozen seconds, then said to Lu Jianuo, Kaimu, and the others:

"Everywhere."

So the entire house, even this land, has issues? Tewanako's original home was certainly not built for nostalgia or memory—he's not the original body's owner, has no deep emotional ties here, and is a true "cold-blooded" man… Lu Mi pondered for over ten seconds, then said to Lu Jianuo, Giamu, and others:

"You all stay here and watch for surprises."

He himself returned to the third floor and lay down on the wooden bed bearing traces of human sleep.

Crackling, large black mosquitoes flew toward him—but each one ignited in flickering sparks, turning to charred corpses that drifted down beside the bed.

Lu Mi quickly fell into deep sleep.

In a daze, he slowly woke up.

Snap! Lu Mi pulled out the gold-cased pocket watch from the Breeze Dance Hall, opened it, glanced at the time, and muttered softly:

"Slept about fifteen minutes… no unusual dreams…"

He had always believed the "Dream Festival" was tied to dreams, so he deliberately slept here in "Siso"'s house—but nothing happened.

Looking at the noon sunlight streaming through the windows, Lu Mi rose thoughtfully:

Could it be the timing is wrong?

Must one sleep at a specific time, in a specific place, to enter the "Dream Festival"?

One was a thirty-something man with faint oil-paint patterns on his face, light brown skin, full lips, a clean-shaven face, black hair falling to his shoulders, and a strong, pungent odor emanating from him; the other was a young woman clad in dark leather armor, her brown hair tied into two braids hanging down, her skin a light brown, her features possessing a wild beauty, with a hunting bow and a leather quiver slung across her back.

When Lu Mi returned to the spacious but crude second floor, he found three new people beside Giamu and the others.

One was a thirty-something man with faint oil-paint patterns on his face, light-brown skin, thick lips, a clean-shaven face, black hair falling to his shoulders, and a strong, pungent odor emanating from him. Another was a young woman wearing dark leather armor, her brown hair tied into two braids hanging down, her skin light-brown, her features possessing a wild beauty, and a hunting bow with a leather quiver of arrows slung across her back.

The third man dressed similarly to Giamu and the others—shirt and thin trousers—tall, over one meter ninety, with a face resembling the Fasak Empire, short pale-gold hair and pale blue eyes, his skin marked by sun and rain.

"They're my and Kolobo's colleagues, members of the Tizamo Town Patrol Corps," Giamu introduced.

He pointed to the man with white oil-paint patterns on his face:

"Captain Meslo of the local patrol."

"His teammates…"

Giamu turned sideways toward the wild woman with the bow and the Fasak man:

"Lyra."

"Loban. Formerly an adventurer."

He spoke entirely in Intis.

Finally, Giamu addressed the three local patrol members:

"This is the great adventurer Louis Berry."

"The other two are his assistant and godson."

"Great adventurer…" Meslo repeated the term, glancing at Loban.

The Fasak man Loban shook his head, indicating he'd never heard the name.

Tizamo Town had been a favorite hunting ground for the gentlemen of Pailos Port for decades; among its residents were many who spoke Intis, and the patrol officers assigned from outside were required to know the language—how else would they handle the gentlemen's requests?

"Are you here to hunt?"

Tizamo Town had been a favorite hunting ground for the gentlemen of Pailuo Port for decades; many townsfolk spoke Intis, and patrol officers transferred here were required to know the language—how else would they handle the gentlemen's requests?

Lu Mi smiled and replied:

Kaimu saw Maxil and the others wearing skeptical expressions and quickly explained:

Hunting for "Siso"'s legacy and hidden problems was still a kind of hunt.

Seeing Meslo and the others look skeptical, Giamu quickly explained:

"Remember the telegram we received last night?"

"You mean…" Lyra, bow and quiver on her back, glanced at Lu Mi again.

Clearly, she and Meslo had just arrived and hadn't yet discussed details with Giamu or Kolobo—the telegram carried limited information.

He then used the excuse of re-inspecting the house to take the three local patrol officers upstairs.

"Mr. Louis Berry is here to investigate what hidden problems lie behind Tewanako."

He then used the excuse of re-inspecting the house to lead the three local patrol members upstairs.

Lu Jianuo peered toward the staircase and asked Kolobo, who stood with his back to them:

"Does Tizamo Town have a local patrol?"

According to his experience, small towns around places like Pailuo Port on the North Continent shouldn't have permanent supernatural squads—problems were usually handled by sending teams only when needed.

Kolobo, facing away from Lu Mi and Ludwig, answered nervously:

"Most other towns don't. This one's special—it frequently suffers attacks from primitive tribes. Not only did our patrol station a small team here permanently, but the General's Guard also has supernatural members stationed outside town, in the military camp."

Lu Jianuo glanced at this odd, part-time driver-turned-official-supernatural-agent and asked, unable to hide his curiosity:

"Why do you always face away from us and wear black sunglasses?"

Did something happen to your eyes? Are you hiding it?

Kolobo fell silent, unsure whether to answer.

At that moment, Giamu returned with Meslo and the others to the second floor.

When they looked at Lu Mi again, Meslo, Lyra, and Loban's expressions had grown far more serious.

Lu Mi smiled, casually asking:

"Has anything unusual happened in this house?"

"No," Meslo had already recalled the details.

Lu Mi nodded slightly and said:

"You were transferred to Tizamo Town after last year's attack?"

He remembered the case file mentioned that the three local supernaturals had all died in that primitive tribe's assault.

"Yes," answered Loban, the former adventurer, his voice rough. "Almost a year now. It's been quiet—no more attacks."

According to records, for years before, that tribe attacked two or three times annually… Had General Kuiraili's reinforcement of the Guard and military response forced the tribe to retreat deep into the jungle? Or did the "April Fools'" prank trigger some change? Lu Mi sensed something odd.

After further conversation, Lu Mi prepared to take Ludwig and Lu Jianuo to the inn to check in.

Meslo stepped forward, pulling two items from a leather pouch at his waist.

One was a brownish-yellow candle; the other, a small glass bottle filled with pale-yellow liquid.

【101】 "Mosquito-repelling candle and Calming Essential Oil. Hope you sleep well," Meslo said in Intis with a foreign accent.

【102】 Giamu added:

He meant that this place was near the primordial jungle, swarming with mosquitoes and poisonous insects; even though you were extraordinary beings, a single bite could cause great discomfort, and you wouldn't be able to sleep soundly—you'd keep waking up from the bites.

"The mosquito repellent candles are made from plants these insects dislike, and the Serenity Oil comes from certain animals—both will make those damn, buzzing creatures avoid you."

At this point, Gaimu, Maisiluo, and Ruya and the others suddenly realized there wasn't a single mosquito or insect on the entire second floor.

Lumian turned his head to look at Ludwig, smiled, and took the candle and oil.

Then he pinched his nose lightly, confirming that the pungent odor on Maisiluo and the others came from the Serenity Oil.

After Lumian, Ludwig, and Lu Jianuo left Tewanako's house, Maisiluo glanced curiously at Kolobo, who had kept his back turned to everyone, and asked in Dutan:

"What's wrong with you?"

PS: Thank you to friend freyjun1552 for the Baiyin Alliance reward~

(End of Chapter)