Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 97 The Strange Old Man
When the miner asked Milo if he was lost, Milo found it ridiculous.

This town of Ikham is so small, no normal person could possibly get lost here.

Then Milo proved with his actions that he was not a normal person.

……

"That's not right, I just walked through this place."

Milo looked down and saw clear footprints on the ground, right in front of him. Judging from the pattern, the footprints were indeed made by the boots he was wearing.

As time passed, the surrounding environment grew increasingly dark. In the distance, only a few wisps of clouds remained, still tinged with the dark red glow of the setting sun. The entire sky began to turn pale blue, then deep blue, and gradually turned black.

Milo still thought getting lost was absurd.

In the town of Ikham, you can walk straight in one direction and never get lost.

"That's really weird."

Milo keenly caught some sparse human voices coming from a distance behind him, which meant that miners in the western part of the town should have already returned from the mines.

In other words, Milo's direction was correct.

So he didn't hesitate and continued forward.

……

After nightfall, the outdoor temperature dropped noticeably, and Milo felt some cool air creeping into his collar and sleeves.

Unlike during the day, it seems that all flies cease their activity at night, and the buzzing sound that could be heard everywhere during the day has completely disappeared.

……

He walked straight ahead in the alley.

Although the view was beginning to be shrouded in darkness, the surrounding decaying houses were all pure black, which made the path paved with fine yellow sand very conspicuous, so it was not difficult to discern directions.

But at the corner at the end of the path, Milo turned his head and almost bumped into a white-haired, dark figure.

Even for a staunch atheist like him, encountering a solitary figure in such a gloomy environment would give him goosebumps.

Swish!
Milo instantly gripped the hilt of the Boy's knife at his waist.

In close-quarters combat, melee weapons are always more practical than pistols that require unlocking the safety and pulling the hammer.

The dark figure in front of me was short and thin.

It has shoulder-length silver hair, appears to be wearing a long black coat, and has a slight mirror-like reflection around its eyes.

Milo had just taken a step back when he heard a very hoarse voice come from the back of the other person's throat:

Have you seen a girl around here?

Judging from the voice, it seems to be an elderly woman.

She seemed completely oblivious to Milo's violent reaction, probably unaware that she had startled him.

Milo narrowed his eyes, calmed himself down, and carefully examined the thin figure in front of him.

He was indeed an elderly man with white hair.

She had a slightly hunched back and a head of slightly wavy white hair. The reflective effect on her face was because she was wearing glasses.

The old man stared calmly at Milo, waiting for him to answer the question.

"What girl?" Milo loosened his grip on the knife hilt slightly.

He felt a little embarrassed about his earlier lapse in composure.

“Our granddaughter didn’t come home after dark, and I was wondering if you’ve seen her around here.”

The old man stretched out a pale hand, holding it about a meter or so in the air, and then said:

"She was about this tall, wearing a beige dress, with black hair, and carrying a small flower basket on her back."

"..."

Milo shook his head blankly:
"Sir, I have never seen the girl you are talking about."

"Are you a worker at the mine? Or an employee of the mining company?" The old man moved closer to Milo.

“No, I…” Milo shook his head.

But before he could finish speaking, the old woman repeated what she had just said in a hurried tone:

"Have you really not seen a little girl? I've been looking for her for so long. Kind person, please help me. That child really shouldn't be running around outside after nightfall."

"Really, no." Milo could only tell the truth.

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man sighed, walked around Milo, and groped his way in the dark towards the opposite direction from Milo.

Although she was short and thin, she walked with a brisk pace and seemed to have good eyesight; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to move freely in such a dimly lit environment.

"Grandpa, shall I help you look for it?"

Milo looked at the old man who had his back to him, and was thinking about whether he should lend a hand.

But the old man didn't turn around to acknowledge him, and just kept walking forward with his head down: "No, no, you go about your business, I can find it myself."

Even after the old man's figure quickly disappeared at the end of the path, Milo still felt somewhat dazed.

He had a very strange feeling.

The conversation between the old man and himself just now seemed to have no problems.

But Milo had an inexplicable sense of unease, as if the old woman had never appeared at all, because she left so quickly. After confirming that Milo had not seen the lost girl she mentioned, the old woman vanished in the blink of an eye.

The cold air kept seeping into Milo's collar and sleeves, and his body shivered uncontrollably.

Something's not right, very not right. But Milo couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Actually, he was willing to help people find their lost children. After all, Ikham was a sparsely populated place surrounded by desolate mountains. Given the many bizarre disappearances that had occurred before, it was very dangerous for a girl to be out alone at night.

"Grandpa, please wait a moment."

Milo made up his mind and turned to chase after them.

But even after running the entire path and reaching its end, he still couldn't catch up with the silver-haired old man.

Milo looked around at the fork in the road, but couldn't find that wisp of silver hair in the night.

"Is it that fast?"

Milo frowned and muttered something.

He began to doubt whether the person he had just met was actually real.

"Forget it, I'd better focus on myself first, since I got lost too."

Milo shook his head and returned the way he came.

……

Fortunately, this time he chose a direction and walked straight ahead until he reached the end, where he saw the main road paved by the mining company.

Seeing the main road means that Milo has left those intricate old residential areas.

"I knew it, how could someone so old get lost?"

Milo breathed a sigh of relief.

The moment he stepped onto the flat surface of the main road, he immediately felt several buzzing little black shadows bump into his face.

Damn, why do I keep running into these flies everywhere I go?

Don't you guys rest at night?

Normally, after nightfall, with the surrounding environment so dark and the temperature dropping sharply, these flying creatures should find a place to hide.

But no, I guess they were just deliberately trying to disgust Milo...

...

Milo grumbled as he walked along the main road toward the town center.

If nothing unexpected happens, Rebecca should still be at Walker's place, since Milo told her to keep an eye on things there before he left.

With both of them undecided, Milo obtained solid testimonies from other people in the town, and now he needed to have a serious talk with Walker.

The townspeople thought Walker was a pedophile, and the Gadley County Sheriff thought so too; it was no exaggeration.

But Milo still had doubts, because it seemed a bit far-fetched to say that Walker was willing to stay in this godforsaken town just to satisfy his own wicked and peculiar fetish.

Furthermore, if the miners had their own reasons for not reporting Walker, then what about Grandma Freya, who raised four children herself? She couldn't possibly be unaware of Walker's misdeeds, so why didn't she report it?
Milo felt that there wasn't a single normal person in this small town.

Even the old lady I just met didn't seem quite right; she was acting suspiciously.

……

If you keep going north along the main road, you will soon see kerosene lamps lit on both sides of the road ahead.

That's where the law enforcement office is located, as well as Walker's and his four children's home across the street.

When Milo arrived, it was already completely dark.

It's a bit strange, though. Milo left before 6 p.m., but Tianyu now looks like it's already late at night. But that's impossible. Milo had only been gone for a short while. Even if he ran around the town twice, it wouldn't have taken him more than two hours.

Perhaps it was because there were so few people in the town of Ikham, and it was so quiet that it gave Milo the illusion that it was already late at night.

When Milo arrived at the two-story building, he found the front door tightly closed.

He glanced across the street and saw that Walker's carriage was still parked in front of the law enforcement office.

"Is Rebecca really going to get restless and run away?"

Milo did not see Rebecca.

He stepped onto the stairs, ready to knock on the door.

Suddenly, some strange noises came from inside the house...

In addition, there were sounds of wooden furniture colliding with the floor.

Milo frowned and took a step forward.

The next second, a ferocious killing intent surged across his face.

Even though her mouth was gagged, Milo could still tell that she was the same person because Kai's beautiful voice had left a deep impression on him earlier.

……

"Oh!"

Milo pulled out his revolver and kicked the wooden door in two.

Splinters of wood flew everywhere from the shattered door panel.

As soon as Milo entered, he pressed the muzzle of his gun against Walker's forehead.

……

But the next second, after he saw the scene in the room clearly, Milo suddenly froze.

(End of this chapter)