John quickly discovered that sothing was amiss, and it concerned a place both n had visited.
Although Gideon and Alastair seed to have no obvious connection, a significant link erged through their social interactions...
Their wives were both dancers at the sa bar!
Gideon had married his wife three years ago, but the details of how they t were not particularly clear.
She had been working at the Rose Bar.
It was said to be another clichéd tale of a hero saving a damsel.
Gideon had rescued his wife, and they had been together ever since—a story not unheard of, and not much could be said against it.
However, the fact that Alastair's wife also worked at the Rose Bar raised suspicions.
Alastair's wife had been just a waitress there, with no notable background, seemingly just an ordinary staff mber.
But a careful investigation revealed that Alastair and Gideon's wives actually knew each other, having been part of the sa group of employees.
Alia also quickly discovered this and exchanged a knowing look with John.
A thought instantly ford in their minds: if they were to truly understand what was going on behind the scenes with these two n, they would have to start with their wives.
After all, that was the only place where their paths crossed!
"Let's go, to the Rose Bar!"
Alia nodded in agreent, realizing that their only connection was indeed their wives.
This also ant there was more for them to explore.
Not knowing what delays might bring, they had to reach the Rose Bar as quickly as possible.
However, when they arrived at the Rose Bar, they were surprised to find Isabella also standing at the entrance.
John looked at Isabella with slight astonishnt, "What are you doing here?"
Isabella glanced at John and then at Alia beside him, quickly grasping why they had co.
"You were assigned this task too?"
After seeing them nod, Isabella imdiately understood.
It seed their investigations had all led them to the Rose Bar.
"Since we've all ended up here, let's not waste any more ti," she said.
The three exchanged looks and nodded; they could not afford any further delays, not knowing what might be unfolding.
They needed to resolve the matter swiftly.
The Rose Bar was open 24 hours, though it was typically quieter during the day—after all, few sought revelry in broad daylight.
But as they pushed open the grand doors and entered, they found the scene inside unsettling.
The bar was eerily empty as if no one had visited for ages, with only broken bottles scattered on the floor, silently proclaiming its past life as a bustling bar.
John furrowed his brow slightly and took a closer look, only then realizing that the place was indeed completely cleared out, and it seed as though it had been swept clean.
There were traces of shattered tables and chairs on the floor, suggesting that a fight had taken place here before.
The three exchanged glances and began to search the area separately, each in a state of high tension.
Initially, they were not entirely sure if this Rose Bar was indeed related to the incidents they were investigating.
However, seeing the place almost entirely emptied now, they understood that it matched their suspicions perfectly.
It seed likely that the wives of Gideon and Alastair were indeed problematic.
The bar was nothing like they had imagined; it appeared to have been thoroughly cleaned out.
Of course, this 'cleaning' wasn't in the literal sense of the word, but rather that anything of value had been swept away.
John headed down to the basent, which usually stored liquor, so he didn't expect to encounter any significant issues there.
anwhile, Alia went to the office and found no traces of anything unusual, except for a stamp with a strange mark in a drawer.
John carefully examined the basent, noting that the previous barrels had all been moved out, leaving only so marks on the walls.
He ticulously searched the area, hoping to find sothing else of use.
Suddenly, he spotted a very strange mark on the wall that closely resembled the sigil he had seen before in the secret realm.
Upon closer inspection, he confird it was indeed the sa mark he had recognized earlier, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.
Could it really be the Dusk Sect?
He had thought it was just an illusion, but it turned out this place was indeed connected to the Dusk Sect.
Taking the mark, he headed upstairs, but as he stepped on the wooden boards, he sensed sothing off about the sound they made.
He paused, tapping on the floor with care.
Everywhere else felt solid, except for one spot that was hollow.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a crowbar from nearby and pried open the large section of wooden flooring.
The basent, already poorly ventilated, was suddenly filled with a rush of dust, nearly choking John.
He staggered back several steps before he could breathe sowhat easier, but soon he noticed sothing unusual.
Behind the floor, it wasn't entirely hollow as he had expected.
Instead, it seed there were other items hidden here—several large wooden crates.
These crates were all sealed; tampering with them carelessly would only damage their contents...
John glanced at the wooden crates and a different thought crossed his mind.
If these crates really contained sothing of great importance, they wouldn't just be carelessly left here.
They were probably just so unimportant items, left behind because they were inconvenient to move.
Without much hesitation, he marked the crates and then exited the basent.
"Find anything?" he asked upon seeing Alia and Isabella already outside, each holding sothing in their hands.
Alia looked at the items in her hand and nodded slightly, indicating they had found sothing worthwhile.
"I found so stamps in their office. The patterns on these stamps have started to fade, hard to tell what they were for."
"I found so strange powder where they mix drinks," Isabella added, showing what she had discovered.
The powder looked unremarkable at first glance, indistinguishable from ordinary flour.
However, a closer look revealed that the white powder was interspersed with shimring particles, which, upon careful observation, seed to cause slight dizziness.
They also found similar powder among the remains on the floor of the bar area, likely used for controlling people.
"I found several crates in the basent, all sealed, not sothing we can just open without risking damage to what's inside. I think we should look around first, see if there's another way to open them," John said.
Although he doubted anything of importance was inside, finding sothing useful would certainly be a bonus.
The two won nodded in understanding, but their priority was to search for anything else that might be useful...
"Rose Bar used to be quite the renowned spot. It's surprising the owner just up and left, and so thoroughly, without leaving a trace of a clue. They must have prepared in advance, and I refuse to believe otherwise."
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