Who hid my body?

Chapter 339 Is there really no chance?
Harlow was being choked by Lyle, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. If Lyle used just a little more force, he could send the old man to his death.

“You…you’re insane!” Harlow recognized Lyle, and then, connecting it to what Lyle had just said, immediately realized something. He struggled to say, “Your son’s money…I didn’t touch it…not a single penny. I kept it all for you…”

Seeing that Harlow's answer was completely irrelevant, Lyle really wanted to take the old man away on the spot.

But he wasn't there to kill Harlow, so he simply kicked open the door behind him and threw Harlow inside.

Harlow rolled twice on the ground before struggling to get up, but when he looked up he saw Lyle standing in front of him again. Fearing that Lyle would kill him again, he hurriedly said, "No, no, no, don't do it... I can apologize to you! Really, I haven't touched a single penny of your money. It's all in that cabinet over there."

Lyle strode forward, grabbed Harlow by the collar again, and lifted him up: "What nonsense are you spouting?! I'm asking you, where is my son?!"

Harlow was a little confused: "Where is your son? Isn't he just stuck in the no-man's-land?!"

"You're still lying to me!" Lyle punched Harlow in the face, knocking out two of his teeth. "You're the one who took them away!"

At this point, Harlow finally understood that Lyle hadn't come for the money.

"I really don't know where your son went!" Haro, also enraged, gritted his teeth and said, "After bringing you out, I haven't returned to the no-man's-land at all. How would I know where your son went!?"

Never returned to the no-man's-land?!
Lyle grabbed Harlow by the collar again: "You're still lying to me! I gave you so much money, and you said you'd bring it to my son!"

“Okay, I did lie to you about this, but that’s all!” Harlow could sense Lyle’s anger, and fearing he would be beaten to death by Lyle, he quickly explained, “Apart from this small amount of money, I didn’t lie to you about anything! As for where your son went, it really has nothing to do with me, and I really don’t know.”

Seeing Lyle raise his right hand again, as if to cast another memory restoration spell on him, Harlow quickly added.

"Of course, you can tell me what happened, and I'll help you analyze what went on. But if you kill me, you might never find your son again."

Lyle's body was trembling, especially after learning that the old man had never returned to the no man's land in the past five years, and that the "connection with home" he had always kept in his heart was actually a hoax. He really wanted to beat the old man to death on the spot.

But he knew Harlow was right; killing him would only serve to vent his anger, so after taking a few deep breaths, he lowered his fist.

“Tell me what happened!” Lyle growled. “If you dare lie to me again…”

"No, no, no," Harlow shook his head repeatedly. "We've already come this far, why would I lie to you?"

Lyle stared intently at Haro before telling him that the village was empty.

After listening, Haro cautiously asked, "Could it be the Land of Contracts...?"

“I saw the black market dealer’s mark!” Lyle rudely interrupted Harlow. “It’s engraved on the door!”

Hearing Lyle say this, Harlow knew that it was indeed the black market merchants who were behind it.

Black market dealers have a habit of leaving markings when they abduct people, giving some families the opportunity to pay ransom. This is also a way for dealers to identify each other, meaning that someone else has already taken a liking to the goods.

But for unscrupulous black market merchants, the latter is often just a decoration.

This infuriated Hello.

Which idiot left a mark in the deserted area?
Who could possibly be a fellow traveler there? And with the entire village abducted, who has the means to ransom them?

Oh... and this one right in front of me.

Damn it, those bastards really ruined him! If he hadn't left a mark, Haro could have just pinned the blame on the Contract Land and seen if that idiot would dare to cause trouble for the Contract Land.

Of course, Harlow dared not voice these grievances aloud, and could only say ingratiatingly, "This has nothing to do with me, it must have been done by some other blind fool..."

"You old liar, you're still lying to me!" Lyle cornered Harlow again. "What did you tell me five years ago?! You told me that the black market dealers would never touch the people in the no man's land! Do you remember?!"

“I, of course I remember. But I’m not lying to you!” Harlow said. “Generally speaking… no, not generally speaking, it’s the rule! Black market traffickers aren’t allowed to conduct human trafficking in no man’s land. Otherwise, why would I have bothered talking to you so much? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just kidnap people directly?!”

Lyle knew that Harlow was right, and he guessed that Harlow probably really didn't know, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to joke around with him for so long.

But now he doesn't care about right or wrong, he just wants the truth.

If his wife and children were taken away by the land of the contract, then there is indeed no room for negotiation. But if they were taken away by black market merchants...

Then there's still a chance to salvage the situation!
Harlow realized what Lyle really wanted, so he stopped explaining and quickly said, "If it really is someone in cahoots, I can help you find him. If he's still here... Of course, even if he's gone, we can still catch up. You should know the process very well."

Yes, no one knows this process better than Lyle.

But it is precisely because of this that he dares not think about some issues in detail.

For example, exactly how long ago did they commit the act?

Is it really too late?
Lyle took a deep breath and then released Harlow.

"Find my son, and we'll be even!" He stared intently at Harlow. "If you don't find him, I'll kill you!"

Harlow, who had been released, breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly: "Of course, of course. Even if the black marketeers really did make a move in the no-man's-land, they would never dare to do it openly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been unaware of it until now. And if it's just a small number of them, then the chances of finding them are still very high... We will definitely find them!"

Under Lyle's almost murderous gaze, Harlow dared not utter any more ambiguous words. After taking a deep breath, he went out first.

"Come with me, let's go find it now."

Ten minutes later, Lyle followed Harlow back to the warehouse they had visited a few days earlier.

Several days later, my state of mind was completely different.

When Lyle first came here, he was filled with excitement, wondering when he could have a warehouse like this and do such a big business.

But this time, all that remained was... an emotion he couldn't describe.

As he walked past those warehouses, he wanted to look at every face inside in search of his son, but he dared not actually meet their eyes.

In the end, he could only turn these emotions into anger and vent them on Harlow, who was leading the way.

"Come on!"

"It'll be here soon."

Harlow kept reassuring Lyle, and then quickly led him to the guardhouse in front of it and knocked on the door.

"Who?"

A voice that sounded familiar to Lyle came from inside the room.

Harlow introduced himself, and the door to the guardhouse opened, revealing a bespectacled black-market businessman who walked out.

It was indeed a familiar face to Lyle—Torre, with whom he had some past grievances, and a hint of surprise flashed in Torre's eyes when he saw Lyle.

He instinctively wanted to say something sarcastic, but remembering the loss he suffered at Lyle's hands last time, he held back and asked, "What is it?"

"Little things, little things."

Haro stepped forward, seemingly wanting to whisper to Torre, but Lyle wasn't stupid either, and immediately took a few steps forward, staring at him. Haro had no choice but to obediently throw out the question.

"Trade in the no man's land." Upon hearing this, Torre guessed what was going on. He gave Lyle a deep look. "There is indeed such a thing."

Upon hearing this, Lyle immediately stepped forward: "When did this happen?!"

"Ha, why should I tell..."

"puff"!
Before Torre could finish speaking, Lyle punched him in the face, and he fell to the ground with a thud, his nose crooked.

Torre was stunned: "You fucking..."

Lyle straddled Torre and pounded down with more fists, quickly turning Torre's face into a bloody mess.

"This is your last chance!" Lyle roared. "Tell me what happened!"

Now Torrey understood how Haro got the injury on his face, and he quickly said, "All I know is that this trade was a joint operation between the Land of Contracts and the Black Market." "Where are they?!" Lyle roared, "My son, my wife, and my parents, where are they?!"

"How the hell should I know..." Torre took another punch to the face and had to suppress his temper again. "There are only children, no adults!"

...No adults?

Lyle froze for a moment, then swung his fist again, yelling as he did so, "You fucking lie!"

"Why would I lie to you?! There are no adults here! Only children... Just look at this warehouse, isn't that enough?! Are there any children here?!" Torre, enraged, roared back, "You're a black marketeer too, don't you know that only children fetch a good price?!"

Lyle's body trembled again.

There are no adults, only children.

Where did the adults go?

……

"You just wait! I'll be back soon, and I'll prove you all wrong, every single one of you!"

……

The image of his wife's weeping face in his memory gradually transformed into a corpse whose features were no longer discernible due to decay.

This made Lyle feel as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.

But he resisted the urge to collapse, grabbed Torre by the collar, and lifted him up: "Where is the child? Where was he taken?"

"how could I know?"

He got punched again.

"I really don't know! Do you think this is a small transaction?! Do you know how many people are involved?! Do you remember every single item you sell?!"

Another punch.

"Damn it, I really don't know! Even if you kill me, I... no, no, no, there are records, there are records! Right behind me!" Torre said, "Every transaction is recorded, and we know the approximate time and destination. But these are top secrets, even if you're a gold merchant, you can't..."

Before Torre could finish speaking, Lyle, after seeing the row of bookshelves in front of him, delivered a final punch, knocking him unconscious on the spot.

He immediately got up, rushed to the bookshelf, and began searching.

His hands were covered in blood, some of his own, some of Torre's and Haro's, but he felt no pain anymore. He just kept searching and muttering to himself.

There is still a chance, there is still a chance.

Lyle came from the no-man's land and had never believed in any god, which he had always been proud of. But now he wished he could have some faith, otherwise he wouldn't be in a situation where he didn't know who to pray to.

There will definitely be another chance.

My wife is gone, my parents are gone, my home is gone.

But as long as my son is still alive, there is still hope.

There were just too many records here. Lyle flipped through several books but couldn't find what he was looking for, which made him increasingly desperate and irritable, as if he were searching for a needle in a haystack.

Just then, Bai Wei's voice rang in his mind: "The second book in the third row from the top left."

Lyle was taken aback at first, then became ecstatic.

Yes, yes, he is not a person without faith.

He worships Lord Visalas! And now Lord Visalas has come to his aid!
Lyle immediately took down the record that Bai Wei had mentioned. By this time, his hands were trembling so badly that he had to flip through it several times before he could open it.

Don't worry, son, I'm here to save you.

You'll be fine.

Your father is now capable; I've made a fortune and become Lord Vessas's servant!

In the future, you will be able to live in the outside world just like your father, and you will be able to have money and power! Unlike those other children who are treated like commodities!
You will have a different life, you definitely will!

Lyle roared inwardly, unsure whether he was speaking to his son whom he had never met or to himself.

Finally, he turned to that page.

“In XX village in the no-man's-land, there are 13 boys and 11 girls.”

"Deal Location: Rhine (Agreement Completed)"

Trading Date: February 26th

Lyle's body stiffened.

His eyes were fixed on the words "achieved," as if they were about to bleed.

How could this happen? How could this happen?!

The deal has been finalized for a month...

The transaction took place a month ago, meaning there's no time to salvage it. Nobody knows where it will end up, because it's no longer considered a black market transaction.

Lyle's body began to sway, and he could barely stand.

Why him of all people?

He has already tried so hard, all he wanted was to change himself and his family's lives; all he wanted was to bring his family out of that world where they could never see the light of day.

What exactly did he do wrong?
"Why..." Lyle murmured, trembling, "why won't you even give me a chance?"

"Didn't you really get a chance?" Bai Wei suddenly asked.

Lyle froze.

"That time, that place," Bai Wei said calmly, "don't you remember anything?"

Time...place...

Lyle subconsciously lowered his head, looked at the record again, and then his eyes widened little by little.

A month ago... Rhine...

that night.

That convoy.

That door that he opened with his own hands and closed with his own hands.

And the stubborn yet desperate eyes of those children in the car.

"Plop" sound.

Lyle knelt on the ground, as if all his life had been drained away in an instant.

At the same time, the helper Harlow had called rushed in and hit him on the back of the head with a stick.

He collapsed into a pool of blood, staring blankly at the dark night, as if he had returned to that night.

(End of this chapter)