Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 82 The Non-Existent Case
Early railway technology was immature and coordination was inadequate, leading to frequent accidents. If I remember correctly, hundreds of people died in train accidents in China in the second half of last year alone, earning it the nickname "deadly speed".

In the writings of those sentimental writers, this giant metal monster that appeared in the new era was subjected to many unkind adjectives, such as "chaotic," "dilapidated," and "teetering on the brink." Of course, they used these words more often to describe the devastation and chaos brought about by the construction of the train, which was an attack on this new creation from the perspective of the natural environment.

Similar articles can often be found in newspapers.

However, besides the villages and scenic spots that were indeed separated by the railway, there were also areas like Innsmouth that developed rapidly because of the railway.

Therefore, from Milo's forward-thinking perspective, compared to the accelerating effect that trains brought to an era, the pointless whining of intellectuals is basically negligible.

The earliest Innsmouth town was just a few dilapidated huts located on the eastern outskirts of Nanwei, and its size could be considered only half a village, just a few lonely households.

Then look at what Innsmouth looks like now, and anyone with eyes can understand how powerful the railroad is.

As for the stations in the western part of the city that mainly handle freight, they don't have the beautiful scenery of Innsmouth Station.

However, in this day and age, taking the train is not yet a universal and convenient mode of transportation. The expensive ticket prices and long travel times deter ordinary people from taking the train.

For the upper class, taking a train and embarking on a journey are the same thing. Simply put, taking a train is a "rich person's behavior." Only those who wear the most elegant coats and carry the most expensive suitcases can take a train. On the train, they can enjoy hotel-level service, socialize, play games, smoke, and do whatever they want.

In Milo's memory, this kind of train concept was already obsolete in his time, but now he can experience this unique journey firsthand.

On the most luxurious trains, you can even see carriages decorated in the Rococo style, with interiors as elegant and luxurious as the living room of a noble manor. However, the train that Milo and Rebecca were traveling on was relatively "new." Its interior had basically abandoned the complex and cumbersome classical style, and instead adhered more to Art Nouveau, advocating a mechanized aesthetic, using more straight lines and geometric patterns. In some symmetrical graphic compositions, it almost reached the level of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which in some ways is similar to the cruel aesthetics of the law enforcement system.

……

As evening fell, urged on by the train attendant's whistle, Milo and Rebecca each carried their suitcases into the third carriage of the train.

This is the best first-class carriage on the train, with private compartments that can accommodate four to six people at the same time.

The first and second carriages, which are closest to the locomotive, are designated as the lowest-class carriages because they are close to the locomotive and experience coal smoke, dust, and significant noise.

From the third carriage onwards, there are ordinary carriages of medium class.

……

"It seems that the law enforcement system is indeed not short of money."

Milo and Rebecca pushed their suitcases onto the shelf and sat facing each other in the cubicle.

He found a thick menu of drinks and food on the table, the quality of which was in no way inferior to that of tea at a top hotel, of course, these required additional payment.

"There's even an option for hostesses." Milo spotted something odd on the menu with his sharp eyes: "All expenses for fieldwork are reimbursable, right?"

"Order whatever you want, but whether I reimburse you or not is up to me." Rebecca took off her hat and hung it on the hook by the window, but did not take off her mask.

"Just kidding." Milo closed the menu and pushed it away.

At this moment, Rebecca took out a leather-bound notebook and a fountain pen and began to write and draw on it, occasionally pausing to think for a moment, her attitude very serious.

Milo craned his neck and caught a glimpse of the word "Ikham" in the scribbles on the notebook.

"You've already started writing the report?"

“This isn’t a report.” Rebecca stopped writing, turned the notebook around, and pushed it in front of Milo.

“I have compiled nearly 50 years of missing persons cases in the town of Ikham, and the most concentrated period of missing persons was 24 years ago in the spring.”

Rebecca pointed to the timeline on her notebook with the end of her pen. There were 12 missing persons cases in the period of 1814, and these cases were mostly concentrated in the first half of the month.

"24 years, and not a single case has been solved?" Milo glanced around and noticed that almost all the case names had a clear "unsolved" mark next to them.

“Not a single one.” Rebecca shook her head.

"The higher-ups in law enforcement haven't organized a special investigation?" Milo frowned, because he suddenly came across a case that wasn't a missing person case in the latter half of 1814, specifically in November, but the label only had a few words on it—"The Delaman Family".

"what is this?"

Milo flipped through the pages and found that in the two decades following the "Delaman family" case, there seemed to be no clearly documented cases of intentional disappearances. Even when disappearances occurred, there were always clear outcomes, such as records of the missing person being found or murdered. This normal situation continued until the year after the Great Plague, which was when the Solomon gang, as Nero mentioned, began to enter the town of Icom, and only then did mysterious disappearances resume.

In other words, the "Delaman family" incident is a very clear watershed in such a long half-century period, separating the period before and after 1814. There were continuous disappearances in the first half, but not in the second half.

……

"You noticed it too, didn't you?"

Rebecca circled the words "Delaman family" with her pen.

“I applied to investigate many case files, but I haven’t found any information about the Dellaman family. There’s no record of this case at all—no one involved, no victim, no investigation report, not even a record of the case’s nature. If the detailed information wasn’t deliberately hidden or erased, then the case was stopped at the very beginning. But I’m more inclined to believe the former, because if there wasn’t even a case filed, then there’s no need to leave the words ‘Dellaman family’ in the case file. Wouldn’t it be better to just let this non-existent case disappear?”

“I understand what you mean.” Milo nodded; his thoughts were now completely in sync with Rebecca’s.

"Fungi—Karl's death—Solomon gang—disappearances—Delaman family incident, is that the correct order? We need to start from the Delaman family and work backward because there are too many disappearances. It's not realistic to investigate them one by one. Besides, we only have two people and a few days. The most direct way is to start with the Delaman family incident. If this direction is wrong, then we'll just have to accept it."

“That’s what I think too,” Rebecca said firmly.

"I stayed up most of the night to finally find this key point. If it was a misjudgment, then we can only accept it."

"Delaman." Milo put his hands behind his head, leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and searched his mind for the surname Delaman.

But he discovered that he had never heard of this surname before, not only in his own memory, but also in the fragments of memory of Robben, Karl, and Anna.

Milo found it strange.

Logically, Karl should be the person who knows the town of Icam best, but Karl himself knows nothing about the surname Delaman. Could it be that the direction of the investigation that he and Rebecca chose was really wrong? Or did Karl never investigate in this direction at all?

However, judging from the timeline of the disappearances, the Delaman family incident was far too conspicuous. It didn't require a particularly keen criminal investigation sense; anyone with a little care could have noticed its crucial nature. It was impossible for Karl to be completely unaware of it.

Whether it's due to information gaps in the data or Karl's confused memories before his death, it's a matter of debate.

There must be some details that Milo hasn't yet captured.

The truth will only be revealed once they arrive in the town of Ikham.

……

“I’m sure I’ve never heard of this surname before, but don’t you think it sounds a little…familiar?” Rebecca rested her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples with her fingers.

“It does sound familiar, but I can’t quite place where I’ve heard it before, or… a similar surname.” Milo felt the same way.

The surname did sound somewhat pleasant, to the point that he believed Delaman should exist within the memories of those three undead who didn't belong to him.

But this is not the case...

What went wrong?
A case with no records, only names, yet it evoked a sense of familiarity in both Milo and Rebecca—this seemed utterly illogical…

……

The sound of the train wheels grinding against the tracks, along with the occasional collisions and bumps caused by the tracks breaking up, kept Milo and Rebecca from settling down.

For Milo, who has experienced truly smooth and reliable high-speed trains, this noisy train has little to do with "luxury".

The terrible air quality made him drowsy, so Milo closed his eyes to rest and roughly calculated the time it would take to reach the town of Ikham at a train speed of 20 to 30 kilometers per hour.

"I'm going to the back to get some fresh air."

Milo stood up.

Rebecca puts away her notebook:

"Together."

(End of this chapter)