Room 554
The large cruise ship sailed on the vast sea. Inside one of the bathrooms within the ship, Dorothy’s miniature zombie puppets wandered through the ventilation system and presented the scene inside to Dorothy.
This was a common bathroom located in the living quarters below the deck, serving several mid-range cabins around it. The bathroom wasn’t particularly spacious, and its decorations were quite ordinary. Apart from being relatively clean, there wasn’t anything special about it.
Of course, this was only superficially unremarkable. After using a Breath Detection Sigil, Dorothy discovered a strong bl**d scent lingering in the bathroom, concentrated mainly around the toilet. Although the toilet looked spotless now, Dorothy could see that shortly before, a large amount of fresh bl**d had been poured into it and flushed away.
‘The smell here is so strong, it reeks of bl**d… With such a heavy residual bl**d scent, did someone pour an entire person’s bl**d into the toilet? And mixed with that bl**d scent, there’s an overwhelmingly strong aroma of Cup Medicine. This high-concentration Cup Medicine-laced bl**d… What exactly was poured into the toilet?’
As she perceived the scene in the bathroom, Dorothy thought seriously to herself. Clearly, the highly concentrated substance that flowed out of the drain must have originated from this bathroom and entered the ship’s sewage system. Someone had poured something into the toilet and then cleaned up the scene afterward. From Dorothy’s perspective now, whatever was poured in should be some kind of “Cup” item with a rather strong taste.
After finding the odd bl**d scent in the bathroom, Dorothy immediately noted it down and instructed her miniature zombie puppets to search for similar scents throughout the ship. She believed that whoever handled the matter in the bathroom probably had the scent on them, and as long as they followed the scent, they would find the person.
Thus, Dorothy quickly searched the entire ship for the recorded bl**d scent. However, after searching the whole cruise ship, she found no similar scent elsewhere. This led Dorothy to think that the target might have treated themselves to remove the scent after returning to their room, making the smell very noticeable when they were in the bathroom.
Unable to find the target through scent, Dorothy changed her approach and used the ventilation ducts to search the surrounding passenger cabins. Soon after, she made a discovery.
Across from the bathroom, in Cabin 417, Dorothy noticed unusual conditions. It was late at night, and most passengers had returned to their cabins to rest. However, Cabin 417 was completely empty; its occupant nowhere to be seen.
Moreover, Dorothy saw through her zombie puppet’s vision that the cabin was in disarray—beds and wardrobes were overturned. Clearly, this wasn’t an unoccupied room; someone had lived here recently. If the occupant hadn’t returned by now, they were either a drunkard or perhaps wouldn’t return…
Seeing this scene, Dorothy dispatched her small zombie puppets to search for clues. Soon, she found a faint bl**d scent in a corner of the cabin. This scent was weak but similar to the strong bl**d scent in the nearby bathroom, except it lacked the heavy scent of Cup Medicine.
‘It seems like this is the place…’
Looking at the state of the cabin, Dorothy confirmed the abnormal connection between this cabin and the bathroom outside. The bl**d scent in the bathroom likely came from here, from the cabin’s owner, who seemed to be in grave danger.
After finding the bl**d scent, Dorothy was certain that this cabin held significant problems. She then continued to use her small zombie puppets to search the messy cabin, hoping to find items belonging to the original occupant and confirm their identity. However, much to Dorothy’s surprise, she couldn’t find any related items left behind. Apart from scattered ashes and a faint bl**d scent in the corner, Dorothy found no other traces of the cabin’s original occupant, causing her brow to furrow slightly.
‘No related items at all? Were the belongings taken away? Is this why the room is so messy? After the occupant left, their things were also disposed of…’
Looking at the scene, Dorothy pondered, then temporarily halted her search of the cabin after finding nothing more. Instead, she began to recall most of her small zombie puppets while leaving a few to search the vacant Cabin 417 and nearby cabins. After waiting in vain for anyone to return, Dorothy decided to take a brief rest and slept until morning.
Sitting in her cabin, just waking up, Dorothy stretched lazily towards the rising sun outside the porthole. Rubbing her eyes, she connected with the small zombie puppets scattered throughout the ship and observed the situation in Cabin 417 again. Finding no one inside and noting that everything remained as she had remembered, it seemed no one had returned to this cabin overnight. The cabin’s owner appeared truly gone.
Overnight, Dorothy’s investigation made no substantial progress, and the investigation process seemed to stall. This situation momentarily made Dorothy consider giving up, but recalling the events on the Shining White Pearl reminded her not to abandon the case.
‘It’s too early to give up… Missing passengers, Cup Medicine, bloody traces… These elements suggest a connection to the ‘Cup’ cult. On the sea, it’s likely linked to the Abyss Cult. If they’re planning another mass sacrifice, we need to find and stop them in time. We can’t take this lightly…
‘Furthermore, combating cults is a good way for me to earn extra income. I’m currently short on funds, and I need to replenish in various areas…’
Thinking to herself, Dorothy resolved to continue her efforts to eradicate the cult. She took out a coin, spoke a divination phrase, and tossed it.
“The guest staying in Cabin 417 on this ship has been killed.”
After revealing the coin, Dorothy saw it landed on the heads side, confirming her divination was correct. Then, she drew a precise layered floor plan of the cruise ship and used a pendulum to determine the exact location of the killer. However, the divination failed, as the killer was protected by anti-divination measures.
“Anti-divination… This suggests the killer isn’t just a minor player…”
Looking at the failed divination, Dorothy muttered to herself. After a moment of thought, she took out her magic box, sensed the human form zombie puppets inside, and spoke.
“It seems it’s time to use the same method again…”
…
In the morning, after breakfast, tourists began a new day of activities on the ship, and the crew started their daily tasks. In the bridge, Captain William stood by the window, holding a sea chart with his somewhat weathered hands. He was checking the current heading while looking at the chart.
At this moment, hurried footsteps echoed outside the bridge. A young waiter ran in, causing everyone in the cabin to turn and look at him. The young waiter scanned the room anxiously and shouted loudly.
“Where is Mr. William? Where is he?”
“I’m right here. What’s so urgent?”
Seeing the flustered waiter, the old captain frowned and asked. The waiter turned and saw the captain, then immediately approached and whispered something in William’s ear. William’s expression turned serious upon hearing this.
“When did this happen?”
“Just now! A guest from the room next to 417 reported it. The smell was so strong, so they complained. We knocked on the door but got no response, so we used the master key to open it and found…”
The young waiter nervously explained to William. William’s expression changed when he heard this, and he said, “Let’s go.”
…
Following the waiter, Captain William descended to the middle-class cabin level. After turning a few corners, he arrived at a corridor where another waiter was blocking one end. Seeing William, the waiter stepped aside, allowing him to enter the corridor.
Entering the corridor, William immediately saw many people gathered outside Cabin 417. There were sailors, waiters, and a few nervous-looking passengers. William quickly moved forward, and the crowd made way for him.
Finally, William stood at the door of Cabin 417 and looked inside. What he saw was a horrifying scene. The room was in disarray, with large bloodstains covering the carpet. On the carpet lay a n*ked male corpse covered in bl**d, with numerous visible wounds, especially scars concentrated on his face, making it impossible to discern his features. The air was filled with the stench of bl**d, creating a terrifying scene.
“This… Who could have done this?”
William gasped, and a voice from inside the cabin responded.
“It was a cruel murderer, a fugitive killer still at large.”
William looked toward the voice and saw a man standing in another corner of the room, facing the wall. This figure was tall, wearing a fitted trench coat and a low hat, seemingly observing something.
“Who are you? No one can just walk in here!”
William sternly said to the figure in the room, and the waiter beside him replied.
“Mr. William, this gentleman claims to be a detective. He ordered us to secure the scene and prevent others from entering immediately, then to notify you right away.”
“A detective…”
Hearing the waiter’s words, William’s expression showed confusion. At this moment, the figure in the room slowly turned and faced William. Standing before him was a man with pale skin, a hooked nose, deep-set eyes, and a gaunt face. He walked toward William and introduced himself.
“Pleased to meet you, Captain. My name is Ed, a detective. By coincidence, I encountered this m*rder case earlier and took the liberty of directing your crew to protect the scene and keep the news under wraps. Please forgive me.”
Ed extended his hand to shake with William, saying politely. William paused during the handshake, recalling something and speaking.
“Ed… Detective… I seem to have heard that name before…”
“Heh… Listening to your accent, you must be a Prit, right? If you visited Tivyán last year, you might have heard of me.”
Seeing the puzzled captain, Ed smiled. This reminder made William suddenly recall something.
“Oh… I remember now. I saw your name in the newspaper in Tivyán. Detective Ed, the one who cleared the unjust accusations against Starlet Adele! The detective Adele publicly thanked and praised in the newspaper! I remember correctly that Adele said you were the smartest person she had ever met.”
“Not at all… Miss Adele is too kind. I merely did my best.”
With a smile, Ed responded to the captain. Hearing this, the crowd around them began to murmur, sizing up the man claiming to be a detective. William’s originally anxious expression eased slightly.
“I never expected such a renowned detective like Mr. Ed to appear here. Perfect timing, indeed. Just as a m*rder happened, here you are, Mr. Ed…”
William said with relief, glancing at the body inside the room and then at Ed. He continued, “I’ve been sailing for years, though I rarely encounter such situations. But I know that if a ruthless criminal remains on board, it poses a serious threat. Therefore, can you find the killer, Mr. Ed?”
“Of course, that is my duty. But to find the killer efficiently, I also need your cooperation, Captain,” Ed replied. Hearing this, William nodded immediately.
“Absolutely, we will cooperate fully.”
Listening to Captain William’s words, Dorothy, who was in her cabin, smiled slightly. Using her expertise, she now had the authority to mobilize the crew.
The corpse in Cabin 417 was just one of Dorothy’s own zombie puppets. By using this puppet’s “d*ath,” Dorothy brought the otherwise hidden m*rder back into the light, aiming to gain the authority to mobilize the crew for a better investigation.
