harleyscars Chapter 95 The Song of the Whaling Ship
Chapter 95 The Song of the Whaling Ship
"The situation is urgent; we must find a way to catch this murderer!"
Recalling the bewildered face on Mr. Samuel's corpse, the assistant's sense of justice surged within her, and she unleashed a barrage of questions like a machine gun—
"Where did they escape from? Where might they be now? Is there any way we can catch up?"
"The murderers naturally fled from this beach where Mr. Samuel's body was abandoned. Judging from the time shown in the surveillance video sent by the Turtle, they should already be at sea, somewhere between Hoenn and Unova." Hugo paused for half a second, then said expressionlessly.
"Can we catch up?" Old man Naoki asked.
"I'm not sure." The detective stroked his chin, a troubled expression on his face.
“They have been at it for at least a whole night. Although we don’t know what kind of transportation they used for their long voyage, it would be difficult for ordinary ships to catch up with them. Moreover, visibility at sea is poor, and we cannot identify which ship the murderer was on just by looking at it.”
"Boat?"
The old man's face, which had been almost wrinkled like a walnut, suddenly relaxed.
"Do you need a ship that is fast, equipped with observation equipment such as high-powered telescopes, and also has some means of attack and interception?"
The detective looked at the old man with some surprise and nodded: "Do you know a ship owner like this?"
The elderly trainer instantly straightened his back and responded with unprecedented pride—
“When I was young, I knew a water combat expert in the neighborhood who had a ship like this, a real whaling ship!”
.
Naoki's face seemed to be exceptionally useful.
In less than an hour, Detective Hugo and his assistant Azure spotted a well-maintained, gleaming "modern" fishing boat.
However, the ship shows obvious signs of modification, with an oversized steam boiler installed on its hull and short-bladed waterjet propulsion devices added to both sides. The extent of the modifications is so great that it almost doesn't look like a ship anymore.
This steel machine, seemingly pulled out of a science fiction comic, slowly descended into the water, pulled by two red and blue Pokémon dressed in karate uniforms, stirring up a huge spray of water.
"Naoki, are you serious? You found traces of a wild whale king in the nearby waters?"
An elderly man with dark skin and white hair excitedly shook Naoki's shoulders.
The gaunt old man stood up with difficulty, like a sapling in a storm, but nodded without changing his expression.
“I saw a water column shooting into the sky off the coast of Flying Cloud City. That was undoubtedly Wailord surfacing to breathe. Doug, I came to tell you right away because we've been friends for years.”
Wasn't that a runaway starfish's "parting gift" to the fisherman? It's a wonder the old gatekeeper would bring this up as nonsense.
"That's right! I saw it from the shore too. The towering water column turned into a rainbow in the sunlight. Only a Pokémon of exceptionally large size could make such a huge commotion."
Clever Azure immediately chimed in—these two had been bickering just a short while ago, and now they were putting on a coordinated act. The detective was speechless for a moment.
Upon hearing Azure describe them as "exceptionally large," the old man named Doug's eyes gleamed, but he still asked, "Naoki, who are these two?"
Azure and the old man Naoki were momentarily speechless. At this moment, the detective stepped forward, straightened his wrinkled white suit jacket, and said humbly and politely to the old man—
“We are tourists from out of town traveling with United Travel. While sightseeing at the beach, we heard about the chance to witness a wild roaring whale king, so we are very curious and hope that you can give us a ride when you whaling.”
Well, it seems that none of the detectives present have the right to criticize each other. Every single one of them is a shameless liar who lies as easily as breathing.
"We think we saw that dark shape underwater swimming towards the Hoenn Passage, but it could just be our imagination..." Hugo revealed a half-truth, half-lies, "Speaking of which, aren't Pokémon in the open ocean often moving with warm ocean currents?"
"Don't say anything, come with me on the boat!" The old man, who loved whaling, was hooked almost instantly. He eagerly climbed into the cabin and started adjusting the ship's machinery.
“Two young men, right? Perfect, come up on deck and lend a hand. You can never have too many whaling sailors.” Mr. Doug spoke with the air of an old captain. “Naoki, go rob a convenience store and come back. We’re staying on the ship this month until we catch the wild howling whale king. Buy some more fruit and dry rations.”
“Mr. Doug, I’m somewhat interested in the ocean-going vessels in the United States. May I borrow their telescopes when I have some free time?” Hugo asked the old whaling man, not forgetting his goal of capturing the criminal.
Doug waved his hand: "It's alright. Tracking Wailord mainly relies on underwater sonar. Feel free to use the telescopes on the deck."
Thank you very much.
The detective and his assistant boarded the ship without hesitation. A little while later, old man Naoki returned with a cartload of supplies, which Doug's throwing and striking demons helped him load onto the whaling ship.
The midday sea breeze rustled the signal flags on the marker, and the old captain stood at the bow, full of vigor.
"Raise anchor, let's set sail!"
With Mr. Doug's command, the roar of the boilers began to assault the crew's eardrums, and surging waves rose from the stern.
The motorized whaling vessel, reportedly named the "Bictini," sped toward the depths of the sea with an acceleration that was exceptional for its kind.
.
A week later.
"Hugo, I don't know if it's because I've eaten too much compressed food, but I think I'm hallucinating. Why do I feel like your hair is starting to lose its color?"
Looking much more haggard, Azure asked the detective, who was slumped over resting by the binoculars.
The two men's current dejected appearance was for a reason: the speed of the Victini, which was enough to catch up with a pod of whales, was indeed outstanding, but it also brought unimaginable turbulence. Both Hugo and Azure suffered greatly at the beginning of the voyage.
Old man Naoki, on the other hand, still looked half-dead and listless, showing little change.
Surprisingly, the colossal lie the three initially told was not exposed by Captain Doug. This unrestrained old man, as free and unconventional as the sea, became more and more excited each day, as if he had truly caught a trace of Wailord's presence.
"Oh, this."
Hugo scratched his messy hair and said casually, "I dyed my hair black when I was in United States for the sake of investigation. I haven't had a chance to dye it recently, so my original hair color is showing."
"Oh, I see." Azure responded listlessly, then shuddered. "Wait, what did you say?"
"I mean, I haven't used hair dye in so long that my hair has faded." Thinking his voice was being drowned out by the sea breeze, Hugo raised his voice and repeated himself, then sighed heavily. It was really tiring to repeat what he had said before.
"Why have you never mentioned something so important?"
"You didn't ask either, did you? Besides, my hair dye has been in the office restroom for a long time. I heard that girls are very good at recognizing these kinds of makeup and skincare products, so I thought you already knew."
"I don't know. I've only been in Hezhong for two months. How could I possibly recognize all the cosmetic brands here?"
"Then you'll have to work harder. This kind of knowledge is quite useful when investigating cases." Hugo yawned, got up from the deck again, patted Azure on the shoulder reassuringly, and continued to fiddle with the high-powered ocean telescope beside him.
Azure was still sitting on the deck, gazing at the swaying sky, and then at the golden hair on the detective's head. She felt even more tired after resting.
"How's the investigation going?" the girl suddenly asked.
Hugo shook his head: "Still nothing. All the ships we've seen on the sea have all gone through the proper procedures with the Alliance. Officer Jenny and Sera have a clear understanding of their whereabouts. Apart from one ship that is violating the Alliance agreement by going to the no-fishing zone to catch wild elves, we haven't found any suspicious ships yet."
"Could that boat you mentioned, the one heading to the no-fishing zone, be it?" Azure had a bad feeling.
"That's right, it's the Bictini right beneath our feet."