Secret Base

Leaving the archives room, Lynch kept glancing back.

Just earlier, he had watched Mr. Klin professionally wrap the photographs in brittle paper and place them into a specially made glass box.

The transparent brittle paper was as thin as a cicada's wing; once set, it became extremely fragile, meaning any attempt to unwrap it would tear the paper and reveal the tampering. Meanwhile, the transparent glass box allowed the contents inside to be observed at any time. According to the regulations Mr. Klin had established himself, a dedicated two-person team would inspect it every two hours to minimize risk.

They had a standardized protocol for handling mystery documents and appeared thoroughly professional, but Lynch was still somewhat uneasy—after all, what Klin had described earlier was far too dangerous.

“You don't need to worry, Lynch. Mr. Klin has extensive experience dealing with these things. In the entire Kingdom of Lande, his expertise in occultism easily ranks in the top three. Sometimes even headquarters in the royal capital sends people to consult him. As long as he's willing to take it on, it's as good as done. We're already used to it—all we have to do is wait patiently.”

“Let's hope nothing goes wrong.”

Lynch sighed. He had a theory: the earlier batch of photos likely depicted Maya's encounters, which were certainly important, but what truly caused a major issue and led to Donnie's death was the later batch. And that ‘major issue’ was the true core of the entire Norin-Rhine Railway case.

Now that part of the materials had been burned, Maya's blurry photographs were likely the only records left. All they could do now was hope Klin's deciphering would uncover the problem within them.

“In the meantime, we still need to find Maya.”

“There really isn't much point,” Officer Natalie said in a heavy voice. “Having become deeply entangled in a mysterious event, her life is already on a countdown. Saving her or not won't make a difference. But since she's the key figure in the case you want to investigate, we might as well go try and find her. What are you smiling at?”

“Nothing. I just have a friend who said something similar two days ago, and then, while talking tough, she ended up sticking by me through all this busywork until now, and even... Ow! My shoes! Those cost three pounds!”

Though Lynch was currently hopping on one foot in the club's underground passage while clutching the other, he truly did want to find Maya.

Rationally, one could find countless explanations, but in truth, there was only one reason.

Empathy born of shared misfortune.

Both were ordinary people dragged into mysterious events. Lynch could imagine how desperate Maya must feel right now. A few nights ago, if a sharp-tongued woman hadn't rushed over desperately to pull him back from the brink, he probably wouldn't even be alive today.

So, he wanted to extend a hand to someone else in the same situation. Nothing more, nothing less.

“If you want to do it, just do it.” The female officer bit her lip, a trace of appreciation in her eyes as she punched Lynch lightly on the arm. “We already figured out what the secret base is. We'll go find her in a bit.”

“Hmm?” Lynch looked at the photograph. The background showed only a small wooden cabin. He had inspected it closely: there was no house number and no reference points nearby, leaving him completely clueless. “You know where this place is?”

So there are things you don't know after all. The female officer let out a silent smile and dragged Lynch as she ran outside. At the fork leading to the stables, she hesitated briefly, decided against commandeering a police carriage, and hired a public carriage right in front of the train station instead.

Destination: Green Wheat District.

The moment they climbed into the carriage, the female officer made a shushing gesture. Lynch understood immediately and activated his silence ability.

“I really didn't expect you wouldn't know this place. This is the Anna Hills in the suburbs of Green Wheat District. It's a vast forest where many of Rhine's middle class like to buy a small plot of land to build a woodland cabin, heading there to escape the heat when August is at its hottest. It's very distinctive and easily recognizable at a glance. You didn't know?”

You're asking someone whose total cash assets amount to six pounds whether he knows about something like that? Lynch rolled his eyes and turned his gaze out the window, refusing to look at this infuriating woman.

The carriage rolled toward Green Wheat District. It was the largest urban area in Rhine City, located in the east, accounting for half the city's total area and connecting further out to Rhine's outer suburbs. Upon entering Green Wheat District, all one could see were farmlands stretching as far as the eye could reach, lush green wheat growing across the ridges, and several massive waterwheels near the fields creaking along half-heartedly.

“In the past, the fields were divided into small plots. Ever since the land purchase order was issued, a lot of farmland was consolidated for unified cultivation. Supposedly, steam water pumps will be introduced later for irrigation to increase yields further. But the farmers who lost their land have had a hard time; they have no choice but to sell their labor in factories. It seems a lot of people in your King District moved there under those exact circumstances. Who knows whether it's ultimately a good or bad thing.”

Lynch smiled and made no comment.

This was simply a transformation brought about by the tide of the times—neither right nor wrong, good nor bad, just happening. Drawing from Earth's history, this was only the beginning. Similar practices would become increasingly common until most of the land was concentrated in the hands of a few, and the majority were driven into factories to slave away. But that was a long way off; unless he successfully completed the path of immortality, he wouldn't live to witness it anyway. Best to focus on what was right in front of him.

After more than an hour's ride, the tall buildings outside grew sparse, the view opened up wider, and structures rarely appeared at all, leaving only vast fields and farmhouses dotting the landscape.

Breathing in the scent of soil and vegetation from outside the window, the carriage wobbled along the rural dirt road. From time to time, cattle and sheep ambled leisurely past the roadside, and a few chickens startled by the wheels flapped their wings across the road, disappearing into the fields.

Amidst the rich rustic atmosphere, a heavy dark silhouette appeared at the edge of their vision. It was a vast, rolling hilly region covered in dense trees, with the forest stretching far into the distant mountains.

“The Anna Hills have been forested for over a thousand years. In the past, it was the private estate of the Vane family, and commoners were forbidden from trespassing on pain of flogging for poaching. But times have changed now. Parliaments are spread across the country, and feudal lords have been renamed governors. Though it's just a nicer title without much change in substance, superficial changes are still necessary. Forest properties can now be sold to commoners as well. Even if it's only a leasehold for several decades, it's genuinely nice for escaping the summer heat.”

Lynch suddenly caught on to a crucial point in hindsight, eyeing the female officer in horror. “You know an awful lot about this... You aren't one of those rich people who bought a woodland cabin, are you? I completely misjudged you, Natalie Angel.”

“Heh... It really is quiet out there, especially since summer retreat season hasn't arrived yet. Aside from local farmers, you'd be hard-pressed to see anyone outside the woods, and inside the woods is even more secluded. You might not see a single soul for a month.”

These detestable rich people and their decadent, corrupt lifestyles.

Steadfast transmigrators like us would never be corrupted by decadence! I spit upon you all.

Lynch curled his lip, deciding not to waste anger on these degenerates, and pulled out the photograph of the secret base again.

This truly was a vast hilly expanse. The trees stretched on endlessly, potentially concealing dozens or even nearly a hundred similar woodland cabins.

Finding it would hardly be easy.

Yet the photograph still contained a reference point: the distant mountain peaks.

The forest was huge, and woodland cabins built for wealthy vacationers wouldn't be situated deep in the forest—that would be suicide, not a vacation. Therefore, their target was likely around the periphery of the hilly area. With the mountain peaks being quite distant and the hills rolling unevenly, there were actually very few angles from which one could capture the distant mountains in a photo.

Working together—combining Lynch's analytical reasoning from another world with Officer Natalie's local knowledge—they quickly narrowed it down to several possible locations.

Once they actually arrived at one of the spots, Lynch realized it wasn't the dense, primeval forest he had imagined. The trees here were relatively sparse, and there were even roads wide enough for carriages to pass. On second thought, this made complete sense; otherwise, when those leisurely folks came for summer retreat, they would surely bring plenty of daily necessities. If carriages couldn't enter and everything had to be carried on people's backs, it would be hard labor rather than a vacation.

And this was precisely the basis for Officer Natalie's confidence in finding the journalist, Ms. Maya.

It was too far out, and with the distinct odor Maya carried, walking here on foot would have drawn far more attention. For safety's sake, she had almost certainly chosen a carriage—and a box carriage at that.

With the sheer weight of a box carriage, traveling along roads within the forest was bound to leave distinct wheel tracks that wouldn't easily disappear after just a few days. And in May, with no other carriages around to obscure them, tracks entering the woods would be easy to spot.

Sure enough, upon checking the fourth possible location, distinct ruts appeared on the ground, stretching all the way into the depths of the forest.

To be safe, the two checked the remaining targets as well. Only after confirming that this was the only spot with wheel tracks did they send their coachman to wait in a nearby village, preventing anyone from tracking them using the same method.

Having sent the coachman off, they exchanged glances and slipped quietly into the forest, following the ruts.