Chapter 299 | The Crimson Moon Returns

In the dark tomb, several people were busy working.

Dr. Jenna and Mr. Salin had lost their lives one after another, but the mission still had to continue.

Karl Jones was currently in the central corridor ahead with Judy, continuing to crack the defense system. After the doctor's death, Karl was the only one left who understood the tomb's structure best.

Meanwhile, the ancient book broker Rooney and the antique hunter Jack Adams remained in the front tomb to inspect the side chambers on both sides. The side chambers of the front tomb often stored large quantities of antique armor and weapons, with the occasional low-threat level mystery relic and numerous books and documents.

Of course, the truly high-value treasures like jewelry and gold, as well as high-level mystery relics, were all hidden in the main tomb chamber waiting to be excavated. Before opening the main tomb chamber, it was not the time to take stock of their haul. However, this ancient tomb had not seen the light of day for thousands of years, so it was inevitable that some dangerous and strange things might be hiding in the side chambers. Furthermore, after what had just happened, everyone decided it was best to be cautious.

Only Lynch—or rather, Ms. Selene—was sitting among the cluster of stone sarcophagi in the center of the front tomb, alongside a pile of armor sculptures. Illuminated by the light, she sat perfectly upright and motionless, looking just like a funerary object.

She didn't particularly want to slack off and act as a mascot, but within two minutes, she had fully displayed her colors as an academic failure. As a victim of an intermediate education in archaeology, her handling and inspection of the funerary objects looked like she was here specifically to commit vandalism. Jack Adams's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he almost lost his mental grip and fell into a twisting transformation on the spot. Lynch believed that if he weren't still wearing the skin of the employer's trusted confidante, he would have been kicked out long ago by this greasy middle-aged man.

But since she was the one who brought the funding, she was the boss. Thus, Jack and Rooney could only respectfully treat Lynch like an antique and keep him on a pedestal. Please don't touch anything; as long as you don't cause trouble, you can do whatever you want.

This was exactly what Lynch wanted.

I'm only acting foolish on purpose to secure some free time. It's absolutely not because I don't understand.

【Yeah, I believe you.】

Sighing, he ignored his increasingly sarcastic neighbor and fell into deep thought while playing with his folding fan.

Just now, it was a life-or-death emergency, leaving no time to think carefully. But looking back at it now, the entire situation was shrouded in suspicion.

The reason behind the defense system going out of control in the corridor was told entirely by Karl Jones alone from start to finish. But could he have intentionally tampered with it to trigger the defenses, just to pull me into his camp to deal with the others? In the end, I managed to find a way to survive on my own, but if I hadn't, he might have dragged me into hiding with him at the last moment anyway. That would have made it even more deceptive.

But this was merely speculation, because something had indeed happened outside, and the doctor's death was also filled with suspicion. The timing was too coincidental, and in the occult world, coincidences were always the greatest source of suspicion.

She was already on the verge of recovery and had even woken up, yet she suddenly took a turn for the worse. It was hard not to suspect that someone was pulling the strings in the shadows, killing the doctor while simultaneously trying to send Karl and him to their graves.

That meant the three people outside were all suspects. This included Judy—no, Judy's suspicion was the lowest, but Rooney and Jack were highly suspicious.

Although it was the doctor who died this time, Lynch knew that the mastermind's hand was already reaching for him. Yet everyone around him was suspicious. He had watched and waited for the past few days, but not only had he made no progress, but even his ally Judy had become somewhat suspicious, making it hard to trust her completely.

Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Lynch felt a heavy pressure weighing down on him.

After pondering for a moment, Lynch made up his mind and quietly reached his hand into the doctor's belongings backpack.

【Rick's Carbon Paper】, in hand.

The black-covered notebook always gave Lynch an urge to write people's names in it. Opening it, he found that there was actually no trace of the doctor's handwriting left from when she was alive; it must have cleared itself automatically.

Quickly scanning his surroundings to ensure he was not being watched, Lynch used his round fan as a cover and carefully wrote a line of text.

“Get the two of them.”

Hopefully, I can get in touch with them soon, Lynch sighed. In truth, he didn't hold much hope. The last time he had contacted them through this mystery relic was only yesterday, and the relic had always been in the doctor's possession. The two ladies couldn't possibly be foolishly waiting around for his message; if they replied within a few hours, it would already be... Hm?

A strange throb vibrated from the notebook. Although he had never experienced it before, Lynch instinctively realized that a message had been sent back.

Sure enough, a line of small text appeared beneath his own.

It was a combination of numbers and letters.

It was impossible for Lynch to make sense of it out of thin air, but that did not stop him from realizing that this was a reply from the two ladies.

Seeing this line of text, Lynch couldn't help but picture the two ladies with disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, staying up all night by their notebook, bitterly waiting for a message that was almost impossible to receive.

An indescribable warmth welled up in his chest, as if he had suddenly turned around in a desperate, isolated situation only to find that there was always someone standing back-to-back with him, fighting by his side. The pressure from being surrounded by enemies just moments ago was instantly swept away, replaced by a surge of fearless courage.

With them backing me up, there's nothing to... Forget it, now was not the time to tempt fate.

Timely stopping his own crazy thoughts, Lynch wrote down a second line of text with a faint smile.

“I wonder if I might have the honor of sitting across from you?”

This was the dialogue from his first formal meeting with Miss Valente. However, no message came back from the other side. Lynch waited for a few seconds, growing increasingly anxious, but then his mind stirred as he realized the situation on the other end.

“You owe me eight favors. It's time to pay them back.”

“Nonsense, it's seven.”

At this moment, Lynch felt as if he were back in the living room of 221, where Officer Natalie was holding a dessert baked by Mrs. Maggie, nibbling on it like a squirrel. Her stern and upright face would occasionally flush red from his teasing, prompting her to leap over the coffee table and expertly kick him a few times.

Heh, I love this kind of life. I will definitely go back.

“She went out to coordinate things; I'm on duty right now.” A familiar handwriting appeared on the notebook. It was a bit ugly, but it was enough to put Lynch at ease. “Howard has somehow gathered quite a few powerful experts, including at least three rank seven high-level experts. They have now moved to a village near the Carlos mountain area, seemingly ready to enter the mountains at any moment. We will do our best to handle these matters. As for what's inside... you must be extremely careful.”

“The situation inside is very complicated. Salin and the doctor are both dead. Help me look into a few people.” Lynch quickly and simply wrote down the situation here. “Their identities are very hidden, and all of them are highly suspicious. Be careful when you investigate them. Also, Dr. Jenna has a daughter named Louise. Help me look her up too. After all, I promised her that I would return her belongings to the girl.”

“Okay.” A string of dots was sent back on the notebook, showing that this girl's brain was apparently a bit reluctant to work, but she quickly wrote again, “I still need to look into the others, but I happen to know about Jack Adams.”

Hm? She actually didn't happen to know about Karl Jones, but Jack Adams instead?

While Lynch was feeling puzzled, he saw the other side continue to write: “He had contact with my father, so I happen to recognize that big-nosed guy. He's a secret agent from the royal capital.”

“Whose?”

“A secret agent of Lande can only pledge loyalty to one person: Emperor Rudolph II.”

Hiss... So this bearded man was sent by the King to keep an eye on his rebellious son? Or did he have another purpose, wanting to dig up the treasure as well? The "lord" that Howard and Walker spoke of couldn't be Emperor Rudolph II, right? No, if the King was also involved, there would be no need for Duke Vane to investigate in secret.

“I will investigate the others as soon as possible. Leave the outside matters to us. We will do our best to find out as quickly as we can. You can rest easy.”

“I'll leave everything to you. Notify me as soon as you have any news.”

Lynch wanted to write a few more sentences, but a faint rustling sound made him quickly close the notebook and slip it back into the doctor's backpack.

The two men were still clearing the funerary objects in the side chambers and hadn't approached. However, in the surrounding darkness, several small green dots suddenly lit up.