Rico came to take a look. The two tried to identify it for a while, and soon realized what was written on it.
"Beyond the darkness, I am the glory..." Li Ge whispered, "Is this the slogan of the Thorn Monk?"
"No," Si Lei replied, "The Thorn Monk is talking about 'regaining the glory of our fathers'."
With that said, Si Lei took the brooch. The small words were inconspicuous under the light on the second floor, but it was barely visible under the light at this moment. Recalling the strange lapel pin I saw on the surveillance camera at noon, the suspicion about the boycotting monks became more and more clear...
is it possible?
Hesta suddenly remembered something, "Where is the pair of earrings that Gustav got before? I remember they are still here with us?"
"Ah, yes." Rico rummaged through several pockets for a while, "It's here with me."
"Are there any words on the earrings?"
"...No." After careful inspection, Rico replied, "Do you want to take a look?"
Hesta said thoughtfully, "No, just leave it where you are."
"Riko will accompany me to a banquet later, what should you do?" Si Lei looked at Hesta, "It seems a bit risky to leave you here alone."
"Don't worry, Miss Chiba will come to pick me up soon." Hesta said softly, "I'll come back when you're done."
"good."
Time passed by minute by minute, and the hands of the clock gradually turned to nine.
Si Lei looked at the clock face and stood up.
"It's just 8:55 now," Rico looked at her. "The bartender suggested that we be a quarter of an hour late."
"I still think it's better to go there on time." Si Lei turned around and asked, "When will Qianye arrive?"
"I guess we'll be there in a while." Hesta said softly, "There's no problem if you leave first."
Si Lei sat for a while longer.
At eight fifty-eight, she looked at her watch and said, "It's time to go... Don't go out until Chiba comes. If you need anything, just call Bishop's Restaurant. Rico and I will be here right away."
"Okay." Hesta nodded repeatedly.
…
When passing the elevator entrance, Si Lei and Li Ge didn't intend to stop. Both men remembered a nighttime advisory that said when Bishop's Restaurant was hosting a nighttime event, don't take the elevator but take the stairs.
However, when they saw the numbers on the hands above the elevator in their peripheral vision, they both stopped in unison.
——The elevator stopped at the second floor, then slowly passed by the fifth deck where their cabin was located, and finally rose to the sixth floor and stopped.
Si Lei and Li Ge did not move. They continued to wait for the changes in the elevator with serious expressions.
About half a minute later, the elevator descended to the second floor again, and so on.
"Bishop Restaurant is really lively tonight..." Rico said softly, "No wonder they don't let passengers use the elevator. Who are you sending upstairs? There are so many people?"
Si Lei's throat moved slightly. She took a deep breath and clenched her fists, "Don't look anymore. Let's go up the stairs."
However, when the two arrived at the sixth deck, they found that it was very quiet here - most passengers now chose to dine in their rooms, and few people came here.
Si Lei felt his heart beating very fast, and Li Ge suddenly held her arm, "Don't be nervous, just act as usual."
"Um."
The door to Bishop's restaurant was ajar, and Si Lei calmed down and pushed it open.
The restaurant behind the door was empty, except for two unfamiliar crew members who were cleaning in the corner, and there were no other passengers.
"Hello?" The crew member not far away stopped what he was doing, "How can I help you?"
"Uh... I'm here to attend tonight's banquet."
"Banquet event?" The crew member was puzzled, "Is it here?"
"Yes, it's said to be at Bishop's Restaurant at nine o'clock tonight...are you the only ones here?"
"Yes, but there is no tonight - oh, there is a banquet, yes!" The crew member suddenly raised his voice. She looked at Si Lei and involuntarily took half a step back, with a little fear in her eyes.
"You're in the wrong place, ma'am."
"Were you in the wrong place?" Si Lei was puzzled, "Isn't this Bishop's Restaurant?"
"...Well," the crew member didn't answer. Another person looked away and whispered, "Anyway, you are in the wrong place, madam."
"I saw a lot of people coming up in the elevator just now. Didn't those people come this way?"
Neither crew member said another word.
Rico suddenly heard footsteps. She turned around and saw Tasia and Phillip entering the restaurant together.
"Officer Si Lei?"
Si Lei turned around, "Tasia...why are you here?"
"I lost my necklace... I probably lost it during dinner, so I came over to look for it." Tasia said softly, "Phillip was worried about me, so he came with me."
"Did you have dinner here?" Si Lei was a little surprised, "Are there many people?"
"There's no one around. There hasn't been anyone around these past few days. We just feel it's too boring to be locked in the room all the time, so we go out to have a meal together every day..." Remembering that the person who received the invitation to die today was Si Lei, Tasia Suddenly he became worried again, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. When you came for dinner tonight, did you see any strange passengers?"
"...No." Tasia was obviously frightened by Si Lei's question. She turned around and pushed Phillip away, then walked to Si Lei, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay, just asking."
"When I came down just now, I found that both elevators stopped at the second floor. It really scared me. But I couldn't tell Phillip..."
Li Ge suddenly thought of something, "You two also took the stairs?"
"Yes," Tasia looked a little uneasy, "the stairs from the fifth floor to the sixth floor are a bit long, and I'm a little scared to walk alone..."
Not far away, Philip came back with a crew member. The crew member was holding a necklace in his hand. Before he could speak, Tasia was surprised to recognize what the crew member was holding.
"Ah, my necklace! It was indeed lost here!"
"We found it when we were cleaning. We originally wanted to put it in the lost and found area... Can you come over and register it?"
"certainly."
Tasia bowed slightly to Si Lei and Rico, and then quickly followed the crew to the counter.
Si Lei looked at her watch and saw that it was now nine o'clock. She and Li Ge did not stay any longer, but returned to the corridor on the sixth deck. After a while, Tasia and Philip left the restaurant, and Si Lei watched them disappear at the top of the stairs.
Rico was always standing not far from the elevator entrance. She looked at the glowing numbers above the elevator. The pointer once again rose from minus two to six, but the door did not open.
After a moment's pause, the elevator descended again.
The time came to nine eleven.
"Officer Si Lei," Rico turned around, "Shall we try taking the elevator?"
(End of chapter)
