Qian Cangyi's mind immediately recalled the situation on the Asuka.

He had just entered the room and had already been tricked.

The first time you see "Suffocating Wilderness", you must escape from the illusion.

If you use a noun to describe it, you can understand "Suffocating Wilderness" at that time as a state of "to be triggered".

It was also because of this that Qian Cangichi made the judgment that Samuel had set a trap.

This time, Robert and Pierce had already seen "Cave of Fear", and they didn't encounter the illusion until they were in the middle of the investigation.

The situation is very different.

Of course, it can also be explained by "delayed triggering".

The problem is that when several related events require multiple explanations to make them plausible, nine times out of ten they are not really plausible.

A more plausible explanation is that someone is secretly manipulating these paintings than such a clever "calculation".

The appearance of the black worm made Qian Cangyi more inclined to the latter point.

After a few days of investigation, East Beacon City seems even more confusing.

Focusing on the Veldra Manuscript, it is possible to divide the current events into several threads, which are interrelated and distinct from each other.

In Pegasus City, the Veldra Manuscript was stolen from the Pegasus Bank, and after some investigation, it was discovered that it was stolen by a bank teller.

The reason for the theft was to be able to exchange the manuscript for a large amount of money to satisfy the vanity of the bank teller, who was contacted by a bank guard who borrowed a "pink demon" to kill his rival.

The "pink devil" of the bank guard comes from the painter Samuel.

How Samuel used to find the bank guard is unknown.

The only thing known is that Samuel got the manuscript and immediately took the Asuka to East Beacon City in In'an.

After Qian Cangyi chased to the East Beacon City, because Merman did not cooperate, he could only rely on the clues in his hand to start searching.

Information about the "Exhibition of Life" was obtained from the Asuka's room, which also led to the death of the Asuka's first mate.

During this time, it was discovered that the Asuka was trading with the Happy Grass of the White Pigeon Hospital.

Another painting was retrieved from Sander's collection, which resulted in Pierce's death.

During this time, it was discovered that Sander's factories were using illegal child labor, and it was learned that less than half of the children brought in were sold as child labor.

The two paintings point together to the exhibition of Life, and there are signs that Samuel does not seem to have left the East Beacon City.

The only question is where exactly Samuel is hiding.

If Samuel has the intention to hide, at the speed of the two of them, without clues, Samuel's hiding place may not be found after a year of searching in East Beacon City.

With this in mind, Kankura gave Merman an "ultimatum".

He had to speed up the investigation.

Qian Cang thought for a moment and continued to ask:

"Did you and Pierce see anything strange?"

Robert seemed a little distracted when he recalled the scene, and after a while he replied:

"When it was completely dark outside the window, there was no light around, as if I was no longer in the collection room, but in a dark cave."

"There are things in the depths of the cave that scare me a lot, and strictly speaking, I don't think it is as strong as it was after looking at the manuscript, because I can still recall the fear of the time, and I can't recall the fear of the manuscript at all."

"Maybe it's because I've experienced something like this before, so I recovered faster."

"Pierce, unlike me, was so frightened by something deep in the cavern that his legs went limp and he almost sat on the ground."

"I started pulling Pierce out of the cave, the only light in the room."

Robert's shoulders trembled slightly as he said this, and he clasped his hands on his chest.

Qian Cangyi comforted:

"It's all right......"

With a helpless smile on Robert's face, he nodded and continued:

"The thing behind had caught up, and I could clearly hear its sound, as harsh as the sound of a spoon scraping on a plate."

"Later, Pierce cried and begged me not to let go."

"To be honest, I did want to let go, after all, I didn't know what was going on in the depths of the cave......"

"How terrible is it...... How horrible is ......?"

"It's probably only something you can feel when you face it."

"I didn't expect Pierce to still not escape, but now that I think about it, if I had been slow at that time, would I have ended up with the same fate as Pierce."

The expression on Robert's face grew more and more depressed, like a patient who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Instead of letting Robert continue to recall the experience in the cave, Qian Cangyi changed the subject:

"Robert, I mean did you see anyone following you?"

"It's not just people, black bugs too."

Qian Cangyi's words made Robert's expression puzzled.

Robert immediately understood what Qian Cangyi meant, and he asked in a low voice:

"You suspect someone is following us?"

Qian Cangyi didn't speak, but took out a clear bottle from his jacket pocket.

Inside the bottle, a black bug is lying on the wall of the bottle.

Robert's eyes lit up, he pointed to the bottle with his right hand, and said:

"This ...... This ......"

"Isn't this the black worm we saw on the Blue Pearl?"

"Why do you have it on your hands?"

Qian Cang glanced left and right, and after confirming that there was no one around, he replied:

"The Black Worm was found outside Sander's collection room."

"It took me a lot of effort to get hold of it, and in short, we have reason to doubt whether the original inference was correct."

"You take care of your injuries first, and I'll ask Merman to arrange for someone to track down Samuel as soon as possible."

At this time, there was a knock at the door, along with Nicholas's voice:

"Mr. Robert, it's me."

"Come in." Qian Cangyi said.

Nicholas pushed the door open and walked in, still holding a bunch of yellow irises in his hand.

"Mr. Marshall, so you're here too." Nicholas was a little surprised.

"Are you here to visit Robert?" Qian Cangyi looked at the yellow iris in Nicholas's hand and said.

Nicholas nodded and replied:

"This is my own iris picked outside the city, and I wish Mr. Robert a speedy recovery."

With that, he placed the yellow iris next to the hospital bed.

"Thank you, Nicholas." Robert reached out his right hand and touched Nicholas's head.

Nicholas was a little embarrassed, he turned his head to look at Qian Cangyi and asked:

"Mr. Marshall, is there anything else I can do to help?"

Qian Cang shook his head and replied:

"I'll let you know if there's something."

Since Pierce's death, Kankurachi has basically not involved Nicholas in this matter.

It's one thing to let Nicholas help with things, it's another to let him go to his death.

In addition, if Nicholas were exposed to Samuel, he might be startled.

There was another knock on the door of the ward, this time an unfamiliar voice.

"Is Mr. Marshall here?" Pushing the door open was a stocky man.

He was none other than George, the steward of the Sander factory.

With a flattering smile on his face, George said to Qian Cangyi:

"This must be Mr. Marshall, and only nobles who are often new to high society can have such a temperament."

"The contemptible man's name is George. Leonard, it was Mr. Sander who sent me to deliver the message, and he wanted to meet Mr. Marshall at 'Black Cat'. ”

Qian Cang nodded and replied:

"I'll go later."

George smiled, then stepped out of the room door before turning to leave.

Nicholas was a little puzzled and asked:

"How did he recognize you, Mr. Marshall, at a glance?"

Robert laughed and said:

"There are only three people here, one child and one injured, and the rest is naturally Mr. Marshall, who has an 'aristocratic temperament'."

Nicholas laughed when he heard this.

……

"Black Cat" is the name of a tavern in the inner city.

After tidying up a bit, Qian Cang set off for the Black Cat Tavern.

In a box called Centaur, Kankura found Tander.

Tander's face was full of worry, the police had died in his house, and in a rather strange way, and he couldn't get away with it anyway.

Even though Pierce's death had nothing to do with him, his reputation and sales of the factory's products were affected.

"You may be seated, Mr. Marshall." Sander held out his right hand and pointed to the opposite side of the table.

After Qian Cang sat down, Sander continued:

"I'm sorry for Pierce's death, I didn't know that painting had such power."

"I called Mr. Marshall this time because I actually want to tell you something."

"I said before that I needed someone to recommend me to participate in the exhibition of life, but in fact, I was lying."

"I had no idea what the exhibition of life was, and I said this in order to leave the detention cell early."

Sander took the initiative to tell the lie he had fabricated.

The expression on Qian Cang's face did not change, and this matter was not unexpected.

Seeing that Qian Cangyi didn't react, Sander was a little surprised in his heart, and continued:

"I'm not lying about anything else."

"I don't have to lie......"

Qian Cangyi sighed lightly and said:

"Sander, do you remember Samuel's appearance?"

Sander nodded and replied:

"I can't forget."

"Samuel's appearance is not ordinary."

Qian Cang nodded and said:

"I'll find a painter to paint what you're talking about, and I hope you won't lie anymore."

"If you're lying, I have to suspect that you and Samuel are accomplices."

"Hopefully you'll recognize that."

Sander breathed a sigh of relief and replied:

"Definitely, definitely."

After he finished speaking, he picked up the light green vermouth on the table and took a sip.

Qian Cangyi continued to ask:

"Sander, you can't have come to me just for this, right?"

Sander was a little embarrassed, and he took another sip of absinthe before he spoke:

"Last time you asked me about children, so I went out of my way to ask, and I can't say who it is."

"I asked for an important piece of news."

"The children's place is mainly the Bone Wilderness, the wilderness where East Beacon City stretches westward."

"Don't tell anyone about this, or I'll be in danger of my life."

A new clue.

The Buried Bone Wilderness is a vast wilderness, because when the wilderness was first opened, so too many people died in the wilderness, so it was given such a name.

A story in the wilderness can even lead to a book.

At present, the Bone Wastes are still being developed, but slowly, and it will take longer to gain a foothold.

Qian Cangyi was thoughtful, but did not reply.

Sander licked his lips and continued:

"I'm here to borrow some money from Mr. Marshall."

"I've had a lot of things happen to me lately, and I only invested in a new batch of machines last month, so there's a shortage of funds."

Kankuraichi set his eyes on Sander's face.

According to Sander's words, his meaning is obvious, to sell the information he has to borrow money.

The bank loan needs interest, and Sander must have already taken out a loan, and can only find a money position at present.

Qian Cangyi didn't agree immediately, but he didn't refuse either, but asked carefully:

"How much do you need?"

Sander opened his mouth to say a high number, and when he saw that Qian Cangyi didn't say anything, he cut the amount by a third.

Qian Cangyi still didn't say anything.

Sander's face became more and more ugly, and he said:

"Mr. Marshall, I can't be less, this is already my limit."

Qian Cangyi hinted:

"If there is information about the route or key people......"

When Sander heard this, his expression was very embarrassed, and he prayed:

"Mr. Marshall, you're asking for my life, and they're not philanthropists."

Qian Cang was unmoved.

Sander hesitated, then sighed softly, drank the absinthe on the table, and said:

"I can help you find out, Mr. Marshall, but I'm going to keep the price at the original price, and you'll have to give me half of it first."

"No problem." Qian Cang nodded.

Sander got up and put on his bowler hat, the smile on his face was extremely reluctant, and he bent slightly and said to Qian Cangyi:

"Then, I'll take my leave, I'll stay in the house on the north side of the outer city during this time, and you can come to me at any time."

Qian Cang smiled and replied:

"I wish you success!"

……

Inside the East Beacon City Police Station.

The portrait of Samuel that Sander is identifying.

According to his description, the painter hired by Akiraichi painted many different facial features.

Qian Cangyi picked up the portrait.

Samuel in Tander's eyes has long black shawl hair, clear eyebrows, a straight nose, a mole at the right corner of his mouth, and his whole face exudes neutral beauty.

Qian Cangyi turned the portrait to Sand and asked:

"Are you sure so?"

There is a big difference between the Samuel in the portrait and the Samuel that Qian Cangyi knew in Pegasus City.

Samuel from Pegasus City has short black hair, raunchy, and a gloomy temperament.

"Yes!" Sander nodded affirmatively.

Qian Cangyi didn't say anything more, but turned around and left the room and came to Merman's office.

After the last conversation, Merman had a lot less papers on his desk.

"This is a portrait of Samuel, ask your men to bring a copy, and I'll find someone to send the portrait when the time comes." Qian Cangyi still spoke to Merman in his usual tone.

Merman glanced up and said:

"No problem, you can do what you say."

"There is one thing I must tell you in advance, I will pass on your meaning, but whether they will do what you say, I don't know."

"Besides, there's one more thing I'd like to ask you, how dangerous is it?"

"Will they be like Pierce?"

Qian Cangyi put the painting away, thought for a while, and replied:

"Possibly."

"I don't want to comment on your work, but I don't think you should be unaware of child trafficking."

"What do you think about this kind of thing? Got an idea for a solution? ”

Qian Cangyi changed the subject.

Merman sneered and replied:

"It's rare you'll know...... I've known about the Happy Grass at White Pigeon Hospital for a long time. ”

"The case in my hand is like a myriad of threads, and I only need to pull lightly to know where these threads will extend."

"They're all going to gather in the inner city, and they're all going to gather to a few people."

"There are two kinds of rules in this world, one is used to deceive people; One is used to comply. ”

"Although I think you are very unhappy, I still give you a piece of advice."

Merman's body leaned forward slightly, his expression was serious, and he said in a low voice:

"It's a little further out of the inner city, not everyone is as easy to bully as I am."

。 Museum of Literature