A week later, Luo An, who changed his hairstyle and dressed like a tourist, along with Mona and Caroline, both wearing sunglasses and also in tourist attire, disembarked from a cruise ship from the UK to Germany.
On the day they decided to go to Europe, Luo An chose not to take a direct flight but instead took so money to Las Vegas’s Underworld to get fake docunts for himself, Mona, and Caroline.
Then Luo An led the two won to Maine, rented a car, bought so camping gear, and drove deep into the forests of Maine.
In a valley not too far from Canada, Luo An hid the car and smuggled Mona and Caroline into Canada. Then they took a cruise ship to the UK from Canada and finally reached Germany, where Caroline had been staying.
Luo An took such a roundabout route because he was not sure who was behind this and directly investigating would be too dangerous; it was more suitable to investigate secretly.
By doing this, Luo An could shake off any possible followers and prevent anyone from tracing his tracks later and linking him to the investigation of Javari’s disappearance.
Before leaving Las Vegas, Luo An went to a supermarket and a pharmacy to buy so items to disguise himself, Mona, and Caroline.
Now, the three successfully arrived in Germany, completely unrecognizable, and their docuntation now bore the nas Andrew, Anna, and Reya respectively.
In a hotel in Munich, under the envious glances of passersby, Luo An and the two won, Mona and Caroline, took a room, then they entered with their luggage.
"OK, we’ve successfully arrived in Munich; it’s ti to start the investigation."
Luo An tossed the luggage onto the floor and walked to the window, pulling the curtains shut before turning around and asking:
"Caroline, where exactly is your piano shop located?"
Since it was uncertain if soone was watching the piano shop, Luo An planned to scout it out that night and then decide how to enter the piano shop to retrieve the box.
"It’s not far from Goethe Square."
Caroline pulled out a piece of paper, wrote down the specific address, handed it to Luo An, then threw her luggage aside and took so clothes into the shower.
For caution and safety, the three of them had been staying in the sa room all along. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but over ti, awkward situations and feelings had lessened.
During this ti, Luo An and Mona noticed problems with Caroline, a woman of prideful and clean habits, who would get temperantal if she didn’t bathe daily. Luo An couldn’t directly intervene, so Mona took matters into her own hands, physically persuading Caroline.
Caroline only knew so basic self-defense moves for won and couldn’t match Mona. With tears in her eyes and a much tar attitude since then, she still rushed to bathe first whenever there was an opportunity, regardless of Mona’s threats.
Choosing to ignore the sound of water from the shower, Luo An called the hotel front desk to order so food and then turned to Mona, saying:
"Your father is publicly known as a small antique dealer in Europe. Check his personal information, spending records, travel routes, and see if you can find any useful clues."
"No problem."
Mona nodded, pulled out a newly purchased high-end laptop from her luggage, and began typing to search.
"Oh, also one more thing."
Luo An suddenly smacked his forehead and said:
"Later, find a place that can do DNA testing and book a slot for tomorrow or the day after."
"?"
Mona looked up in confusion:
"What do you an?"
Luo An touched his chin, indicating that he planned to do a paternity test with Mona using the severed hand to see if it indeed belonged to Javari Evans.
Luo An had never t Javari Evans, and had no idea what his hands looked like. Mona hadn’t seen her father for a long ti either; the information that the severed hand belonged to Javari Evans ca from Caroline. To be safe, doing a DNA test was the right move.
Mona listened silently, nodding her head, then continued to focus on her keyboard as the hotel soon delivered food to their room.
Luo An ate a bit of the food, took Caroline’s piano store keys, and left the hotel for Goethe Square.
Another fifteen minutes passed, and only then did Caroline finish her shower. Dressed in long sleeves and pants, she ca out drying her hair.
Noticing one less person in the room, Caroline sat next to the food, picked up a sausage, and while eating asked,
"Has Luo An already gone to the piano store?"
Mona ignored her, and Caroline, unfazed, finished the food on the table, moved aside, picked up a notebook, and began writing translations between French, German and English.
Luo An knew Chinese and Japanese, having self-studied Japanese in preparation to go to Japan in his previous life, and learned English after coming to the federation; but he was truly unfamiliar with French and German.
But this ti they were in Europe, and although English could be used, sotis it was inconvenient. Luckily, Caroline knew nearly all European languages, so Luo An asked her for help in teaching him French and German.
Caroline didn’t think Luo An could learn much in such a short ti, but learning a little could be useful in crucial monts, so she started writing down words and sentences in the notebook, teaching Luo An bit by bit.
What Caroline didn’t expect though was that Luo An’s mory was astonishingly sharp; in less than a week he had morized eighty percent of the words and sentences she taught, despite so hesitation and errors, but it was enough for everyday communication.
Hunched over the notebook writing today’s lesson, Caroline thought of Luo An’s initial stumbling French and German conversations with her and how they beca increasingly fluent, even picking up so phrases from classical literature. Caroline glanced at Mona, her eyes showing a complex, indescribable expression.
Feeling Caroline’s gaze, Mona frowned and looked up, only to see Caroline quickly bow her head back to her writing, sighing almost imperceptibly.
anwhile, Luo An quickly arrived near the piano store at Goethe Square. He didn’t imdiately use the key to enter, but instead casually bought a coffee, sat down on a chair, and started reading a newspaper as if nothing was amiss.
As Luo An had anticipated, from a room above a store diagonally opposite the piano store, soone had been covertly observing. The position offered a good vantage point for surveillance.
Still unsure of the person’s identity, and to avoid startling them, Luo An didn’t go upstairs for a cordial chat. Instead, as the sun began to set and the observer was about to switch shifts, he drank a dose of Featherfall potion, lept from the third-floor rooftop to sneak through a second-floor window into the back of the piano store, found the box, and then left along the rooftops again.
The next day, with the help of a check, Luo An and Mona received the DNA test results of the severed hand by that afternoon.
The report showed the owner of the hand had a 99.99% match with Mona’s blood, confirming a parent-child relationship.
Seeing the results, Mona looked distinctly upset. Luo An wrapped an arm around her waist, whispered a few comforting words, then said,
"Next, we’ll investigate the reason behind your father’s disappearance; finding the last assignnt he was on before he disappeared should lead us to him."
"By the way, I found sothing."
Mona nodded, set aside the test report, and after typing a few things on her computer said,
"My father’s spending records show he frequently purchased high-end costics, flowers, and hotel rooms.
I followed up on that hotel, and found he regularly t a woman there every few months."
"..."
Luo An scratched his head, making no comnts about Javari Evans’s personal life, looking down at the photo of the woman Mona had found. Before he could finish looking, Caroline suddenly exclaid,
"I’ve seen this woman! I t her once at a cocktail party!"
"What does she do?"
"Sorry, I can’t rember, but I recall she’s very wealthy and a widow."
"..." x2
Reviews
All reviews (0)