Upon hearing that, the seven women exchanged glances before nodding as they said, “Yes, we haven’t been able
to contact him all this time… As you saw earlier, many people are looking for him… We don’t even know whether
he’s still alive…”
“Could he really have died…? Are we too late?” muttered Lyndon.
“I don’t think so… Where was he last seen?” asked Gerald.
“The base! At the time, Chairman Lurvink had called and told me to transfer some of the assets to my name.
Following that, he told me to send him some documents to the base, and that was the last I heard of him…”
explained the old gardener out of the blue.
Turning to face the old man, Gerald then asked, “And he disappeared right after that…? Didn’t any of you head to
the base to check on him?”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
“Of course, we did! We even called the police. Unfortunately, no matter how many times we went there, the base
remained completely empty…” replied one of the women.
“I see. Where is this base? And what’s it used for?” asked Gerald.
“Well… Chairman Lurvink uses the base for research. Our company runs a biological sciences business, you see.
With that in mind, Chairman Lurvink usually has to travel from home, to the company, and finally to the base every
day!” explained the old gardener.
“As for where it is… It’s in a deserted suburb south of the city. However, it’ll be useless even if you head there. After
all, the samurais from earlier have already thoroughly searched the place!” added another one of the women.
“I see… Do any of you know anything about Marcel’s wife and son, then?” asked Darkwind.
“I don’t think Chairman Lurvink has ever met them again ever since they separated around ten years ago…
However, the chairman did order me to transfer money to them a few times to help with their living expenses.
Each transfer was about a million dollars. That aside, the last transfer happened around five years ago. As the one
who manages Chairman Lurvink’s assets, I was curious why he suddenly stopped sending her money at the time.
With that, I did some investigating and soon found out that his ex-wife’s account had long been closed!”
The old man’s reply made it clear that rather than a gardener, he was actually Marcel’s butler! Regardless, after
hearing all that, Professor Boyle was prompted to ask, “One last question… You said that several people were
looking for him. Who exactly are they? And why are they so keen on locating him?”
“It’s either due to debts or because they want research results… If there are any other reasons, I’m not too sure of
them. After all, Chairman Lurvink never allowed us to enter his base!” replied the butler.
“I see… Well, I don’ t think staying here any longer will help. With that said, we’ll be taking our leave now,” said
Gerald as he nodded at the group before leaving with his party.
On their way to Marcel’s base, that the butler had given them directions to, Professor Boyle couldn’t help but shake
his head with a sigh before muttering, “It’s such a pity that Marcel’s dead… Our only lead is now exhausted!”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“We don’t know that for sure. Either way, let’s have a look around his base first!” replied Gerald. This was his best
lead to date, and he wasn’t about to give in that easily! With that said, all four of them then rushed to Marcel’s
base.
Though the base itself was supposed to host a secret chamber within a subterranean steel structure, the base’s
entrance was left wide open. That aside, upon entering, they quickly realized that the entire place was completely
empty…
“Completely abandoned… Looks like Marcel’s truly either missing or dead by this point…” muttered the professor as
he sighed again.
“Dead or alive, we have to find him!” replied Gerald with a slight frown. “Hmm? Are we not leaving yet, Mr.
Crawford?” asked the confused Lyndon.
“Why the rush? Speaking of which, start using your divine sense to look for any potential secret entrances, Lyndon,”
ordered Gerald as he placed his hands against his back.
“Right away!” replied Lyndon as he obeyed the boy’s orders.
It didn’t take long for Lyndon to raise a slight brow before saying, “Thank god you suggested that, Mr. Crawford. I
can sense another floor right beneath us!” “Excellent. Move aside, everyone!” ordered Gerald.