Not long after the air raid ended, Anjie set off with Bruce.

Anjie and Bruce were on their way to a location on the outskirts of Bocusel, and this time Anjie used her own right to act alone, leaving all the training and preparation of the troops to Sergeant Ken.

Sitting on the military steam car, An Jie repeatedly flipped through the documents that Lesa handed her, trying to find clues that had been missed before.

Sergeant Bruce, who was in charge of driving, saw that she was looking seriously, and couldn't help but say, "Ensign, have you found any new clues?" ”

An Jie sighed and said, "No...... And of course, all that is available is a record of Frankenstein's tenure and a photograph. ”

She fanned the photo in her hand and sarcastically said, "The photo is still ten years ago." ”

"It seems that this task given to us by the Admiral is very difficult."

"That's not necessarily ......"

An Jie's eyes lowered and said, "In short, sergeant, you concentrate on driving, and call me when you get to the place." ”

"Yes, Second Lieutenant."

The steam wagon drove gently in the countryside, and unlike the wilderness in the north, the terrain in the west was abundant. Not only are there forests and mountains, but even inland rivers that can be passed by boats are connected to the sea from the port of Brussels.

On the other side of the sea, there is Ambrizette.

Sergeant Bruce was careful not to let the steam car bump too much to interfere with Anjie's rest, and being scolded by the second lieutenant who woke up and lost his temper was still a trivial matter, in case this investigation was not completed, and the second lieutenant's activity time was up.

But even so, the bumpy road still woke An Jie up several times, she frowned and squinted, her face was slightly unhappy, but she didn't say anything, the bumpy road was not Bruce's fault after all.

Soon, the two arrived at their destination.

"This is it." Bruce said as he looked at the address written on the small piece of paper in his hand, and the two of them were now standing in front of a small farm. There are no other houses around, except for the farm in front of you and a cemetery not far away, which are the only man-made structures.

"Weird place, weird atmosphere."

An Jie said, and tidied up her big-brimmed hat. She always felt that this hat was too big on her head, but she couldn't help it, so she could only endure it on formal occasions.

"Bruce, go knock on the door."

"Yes."

Bang bang, three knocks on the door, and the two waited for a while.

"Squeak......

An old man pushed open the door, hid behind the door and looked at the two cautiously, and said, "You are...... Yes!! ”

An Jie looked at the old man who seemed to be frightened by something and raised her eyebrows.

"Hello, we are Imperial Army soldiers." Seeing that the old man looked frightened, Bruce hurriedly explained, "I'm Bruce, Sergeant Bruce Wickman, and this is Ensign Angel Scarlett. ”

"Ah......" The old man came back to his senses and said a little reservedly, "That...... Is there anything wrong with the two officers? ”

"We're here to ask you something." Bruce said, and the old man hesitated, but opened the door anyway, and invited the two of them in.

"I wonder what the two of you want to ask an old man about me?"

An Jie took out Frankenstein's photo and said to him, "We are looking for this person, have you seen it?" ”

The old man glanced at the photo and said, "It's the same as the one brought by a middle-aged officer two months ago." ”

"Thank you for remembering it so clearly."

"Hmm." The old man invited the two of them to sit down, and poured two cups of goat's milk for them, and said, "Because I am in the wilderness here, a little girl suddenly appeared, so I am very impressed. ”

"......I see," An Jie said, "Can you tell us what you saw at the time?" ”

The old man nodded and said, "Of course you can, but the answer is that it is estimated that it will be the same as the middle-aged officer before, is it okay?" ”

"It's okay."

"That's good." Anjie sat there upright, and Bruce took out a notebook to take notes. Seeing that both of them were ready, the old man began to recall the scene of the day.

"It was a night in early March, and I can't remember exactly when it was......"

Bruce interjected, "You don't remember exactly, do you?" ”

"That's right, people always forget time when they get old, not to mention that I'm in the wilderness."

An Jie nodded and said, "Please continue." ”

"One night in early March, I was sleeping in the house when suddenly I heard my dog barking outside......"

Bruce interjected again, "Dogs? I see a lot of sheep in your yard, but I don't seem to see any dogs. ”

"That's because my sheepdog is too old to bark, so he spends most of the day sleeping." The old man sighed and said, "It's already dying age, and I can't bear to let it continue to work." ”

An Jie nodded and said approvingly: "Touching friendship, please continue." ”

"I heard the barking of the dog and thought it was a wolf, so I hurried out of the house." At this point, he paused.

Old man: "............"

Bruce: "............"

Anjie: "............"

"Aren't you going to ask?" The old man couldn't help but ask.

"Is it strange that there are wolves around here?" Bruce asked rhetorically, and the old man was dumbfounded. Anjie: "Please continue. ”

"I heard my dog barking, so I hurried out the door, and at that time, I saw ...... A little girl in a cloak was lying on the ground, and she looked back at me, and it was the person in the photo! ”

Anjie: "............"

Bruce's eyes became solemn, and he asked, "Is this the person in the photo?" You read that right? ”

The old man said firmly: "I can't be mistaken! It was very dark, but I lit a kerosene lamp, and the girl looked ...... It's impressive, so I won't take a bad note! ”

An Jie silently took a sip of goat's milk and said lightly: "And then?" Where did the girl go? ”

"Forest ......," said the old man, "the Mist Forest, from where she is going to the west, and there is a grove beside the river. ”

Bruce took notes diligently, and after hearing what the old man said, he asked tirelessly, "Didn't you go after her?" ”

"I tried, but the girl ran so fast that she was gone. Let's be honest...... I'm worried about her, after all, she's such a young girl. ”

The old man said, glanced at An Jie again and said, "It's about the same age as the young ensign here." ”

Anjie: "And then?" ”

Old man: "After trying to chase her to no avail, I went back to the house and went back to sleep." ”

Bruce: "Nothing else is going on?" ”

Old man: "No. ”

An Jie drank the goat's milk in the cup in one gulp, got up and said, "Thank you for your intelligence and hospitality, and finally ask a question: What is going on with those cemeteries south of your farm?" ”

The old man paused for a moment, and then said, "It is left over from the time when the surrounding area was still very prosperous, and if you continue to walk north, you will see the ruins of many villages, and those ruins are proof of the existence of a village here before. ”

Bruce asked, "Then why is the village gone now?" ”

The old man smiled bitterly: "Because of the war, ......"

Bruce was stunned, then ashamed, "I'm sorry......"

"It's okay, it's not your soldiers' fault." The old man got up and was about to bring out two more glasses of goat's milk, but his movements were interrupted by An Jie's voice.

"No, old man. We have other things to do, and today is really bothering you. ”

She patted her spotless uniform and said to Bruce, "Let's go, sergeant." ”

"Yes."

With the old man's farewell, Anjie and Bruce left his home.

"Ensign." Bruce flipped through the notes in his hand and said, "All we know now is that Professor Frankenstein is likely to go to the Mist Forest, or should we ...... it now?"

"Bruce, throw the notebook in your hand."

Bruce: "...... Huh? ”

"Why?" An Jie said: "It's very simple, that old man is lying. ”