Aaliyah died ten days ago, how could she appear at the banquet three days ago?
The huge questions almost burst Sean's head, leaving him in a brief daze.
Daisy, who was staring at the photo, suddenly noticed that Sean had stopped talking and turned to look.
She saw Sean's frozen expression, mixed with shock, confusion and deep confusion, as if he had seen a ghost.
This expression made Daisy a little uneasy, and her eyes flickered: "Sean, what's wrong with you...?"
Sean came back to his senses: "Sorry, things are a little weird." He fell on the sofa, sorting through his thoughts, and told Daisy what he discovered yesterday.
After hearing Sean say that Aaliyah's body was found in the iron box, Daisy covered her mouth and sat down slowly.
After the narration, a terrible silence fell in the office.
The two of them couldn't understand what happened, and they both looked at the photos scattered on the coffee table in silence.
Daisy broke the silence first: "You said that the face of the body in the iron box was scratched and severely swollen. Could it be that it is not Aaliyah's body, and you mistakenly identified it?"
Sean frowned: "Aaliyah's hair color and length are very rare, and the clothes the corpse was wearing were Aaliyah's...
"If that's not Aaliyah, there's only one possibility: Someone specially found a girl who was the same age as Aaliyah and had the same hair, put on Aaliyah's clothes, and pretended to be her body.
"But the key is, why do they do this?"
Thinking entered the fog again.
Sean looked at the photos on the table and felt a little shuddering: the cold expression and eyes of the "Alia" in the photo were so different from the usual Aaliyah.
Which one is Aaliyah? In the end what happened?
Old questions have not been resolved, and new questions have emerged.
However, for Sean, although it is not certain yet, there is still a possibility that Aaliyah is alive, which is great news.
As if a ray of light shone in, Sean's mood, which had reached the bottom of the valley, became a little more lively: "You just said, whose banquet is this?"
"Long Island Bill. There's only one Bill on Long Island. He's a celebrity and he likes to hold parties like this, almost once a week."
"Maybe if you ask the people at the party, ask that Bill, you will know more."
Daisy shrugged: "After my friend found this photo, he went to visit several people who attended the banquet that day.
"It's a pity that they have no impression of this girl. Maybe Bill or his butler will know more."
Sean realized that he should personally take charge of the most critical investigation: "Daisy, are you familiar with Bill? Can you arrange for me to meet with him?"
Daisy nodded: "I have business cooperation with him. However, he is quite busy, so I have to make an appointment with him."
Sean: "That's up to you. I have to talk to him."
After saying goodbye to Daisy, Sean felt completely different from before.
"Aliya may still be alive!" Although this is only a possibility, it is much better than the previous situation.
Sean felt as if he had come out of hell a little bit. Although he had not yet completely landed, he was at least back in the human world worth exploring.
He clenched his fists, made many more guesses, and returned his thoughts to the previous track.
"If the body is indeed not Aaliyah, and the person who appeared at the reception is her, then there must be some unknown secret in it!
"Perhaps that body was placed there on purpose for me to find?
"From this point of view, my previous inference that there is an organization behind all this still makes sense.
Sean remembered his previous plan: "If Aaliyah is still alive, then I must track it down. This matter is still very strange. I have to go to Guling Quest Company to find Catherine!"
——
Sean quickly found the address of Guling Quest Company in the yellow pages in the room. During this period, he was surprised to find that there were many so-called "exploration companies" in New Testament City.
Sean called Guling Quest Company, made an appointment and set off.
I took the tram to Wall Street, not far from Central Street. There are many high-rise buildings here. When I look up, I can only see the geometric sky outlined by the edges of the buildings.
For some reason, Sean felt that the tall buildings blocking his vision were like high walls. He felt like he was trapped in a huge maze.
Wall Street is located in the city center and is one of the commercial centers of New Zealand.
Almost all the headquarters of the world's leading companies are here, including the Rockefeller Group, the Pacific Railroad Company, and the Morgandale Bank.
Fifty years ago, people seeking wealth would have chosen to head west, become gold diggers, or build oil pipelines.
Now is the era when the oil industry, securities market and exploration industry are booming. People with dreams of getting rich have become car salesmen, securities managers or explorers one after another.
Sean was standing downstairs at the "Explorer Center" building. He had not realized before that the mysterious exploration industry had developed so professionally and hugely.
Among the people coming in and out of the "Explorer Center" gate, there were many people wearing masks of different shapes. Some of the masks are abstract parrots made of colorful feathers, and some are like witch doctors, with a wooden board covering their face and their facial features crudely outlined with various colors of paint.
Sean has the illusion that he is heading to a "masquerade party". But these people wearing masks were all wearing fitted suits, sturdy leather jackets, or plain robes, and they were in a hurry. They were obviously at work and did not have the leisure to attend a dance party at all.
When Sean looked curiously at the masks in the crowd, he heard a familiar female voice coming from behind: "Didn't your parents teach you that it's impolite to stare at others?"
Sean turned around and saw Catherine wearing tight jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and a brown jacket. She was now wearing a white opera mask outlined with gold wire and dotted with black pearls.
Sean still remembered the lazy voice, the sharp red lips, and the slim figure, so he knew it was Catherine.
"Why are you wearing..." Sean made a gesture on his face.
Catherine sighed: "Damn it, I let you see my true face before, maybe I should kill you.
"The exploration industry is a high-risk industry, and many colleagues will covet your harvest. When working as an explorer, wearing a mask is a way to protect everyone."
Catherine walked in front, and Sean tried hard not to stare at her overly proud lower half of the back.
"Moreover, there are many people who regard the Explorer as their side job and are unwilling to reveal their identity."
Catherine led Sean into the hall.
"Plus, Questers typically operate in squads, and a mask can quickly let teammates know your function and rating."
"Function and rating?" Sean moved as fast as he could through the crowd to prevent him from getting lost. He accidentally bumped into a burly man in a bronze mask. It felt like he had hit a wall. The man didn't seem to notice and just continued chatting with his companions.
Catherine stopped and waited for a while, then clicked on her mask: "For example, my mask is 'Pale Aria', also called 'Young Actress'. It means that I am a relatively junior explorer, only Jack level ( Guard level), the function is 'actor'."
Just when Sean was about to continue asking in detail, Catherine raised a hand: "I won't tell you about functions and ratings for now - concepts in the industry, you won't understand if I talk too much at the moment. You know that as an explorer, I At the same time, I am also a professional actor, and my identity as an actor is helpful for the work of exploring the secrets, so that’s fine.”
Sean seemed to understand and followed Catherine into the elevator. Standing next to him were three people wearing black cloaks and "Doctor Beak" masks of different colors, which made the atmosphere in the elevator a little weird.
When the elevator reached the fifteenth floor, Catherine took Sean out of the elevator. On the door facing you, there is a conspicuous metal plate: "Guling Quest Company - Since 1912"
Catherine nodded to the receptionist wearing butterfly-rimmed glasses sitting at the reception desk behind the door, and led Sean straight in.
"Quest Company...Quester, what exactly does it do?" Sean finally asked the question he had always wanted to ask.
"Weird incidents need to be solved by professionals. Some people need bodyguards who can drive away evil spirits, scientific expedition teams need to hire accompanying occult experts, and some public areas are threatened by strange forces. The Divine Court will also choose to entrust these troubles Give us.
"These all mean large commissions. Not to mention, behind most of the strange events, there is a valuable 'mysterious legacy'."
"Questors are experts in solving strange events; the quest industry is an industry with high risks but high rewards at the same time.
"In this way, do you understand?"
Sean nodded: "Professional consultant involved in mysterious fields?"
"So to speak." Catherine opened the door of an office, "It's just us 'consultants' who carry exorcism pistols and ritual weapons with us..."
Catherine closed the door of the office, took off her coat, took off her mask, turned around and pulled out the dagger with intricate patterns from the scabbard under her side, put the tip of the dagger directly against Sean's side, and forced Sean into the office corner.
Through his shirt, he could feel the cold touch of the dagger: "What are you doing?!"
Catherine's face was cold: "Sean, it may not be you who comes back from the spirit world.
"The real you should have died in the spirit world."
