She is not an investigator.

Seeing that Olivia was ignoring him, Momokawa wisely shut his mouth and didn't say anything more.

She didn't mean to mock or be sarcastic towards Olivia; she just wanted to find some topics to chat about.

Olivia didn't like her much, she could tell, but Olivia was, after all, Igris's boss, and Momokawa still wanted to build a better relationship with her.

If she's in a good mood, she might just throw some money at Taochuan.

Don't forget, she's even poorer than Igris; she has to pay for all the meals.

Not long after the two entered, the stout factory owner rushed over, excitedly preparing to shake hands, but Olivia dodged him with a hint of disdain.

He didn't care, since the investigation was the priority.

"You've finally arrived! I've been waiting for so long. I haven't dared to go out during this time. The police have stopped caring about me. I'm worried that I might be suddenly killed one day!"

He was really excited, wiping away sweat as he spoke, probably just because the temperature in the factory was quite high.

"Is your factory not operating within regulations?"

Olivia pointed to the operating machines in the distance and the super-large chimney that was almost always belching black smoke.

"Noise, pollution, and hardly any safety measures... it's practically no different from a black market factory, isn't it?"

"How could that be! We're not an illegal factory! We have a license. The noise problem is difficult to solve, so the area around the factory is all wasteland. As for pollution... the pollution only looks scary. We're all legal and compliant!"

Olivia didn't believe it; she figured it was probably obtained through connections and would eventually be shut down.

However, Olivia doesn't plan to report it, since it has nothing to do with her. She's just a detective, not a police officer, and she doesn't care about these things.

"Don't be too nervous, I'm just asking. Take me to see the traces you found."

"Okay, it's right behind the factory. I'll take you there!"

It seemed that the problem that had been bothering him for so long would soon be solved. He felt much more relaxed when he walked, and even a smile appeared on his face, although it wasn't a very nice smile.

Olivia and Momokawa followed him all the way to the back of the factory, to the entrance of the forest.

Olivia had never been here before, but Momokawa had been here before; there were still her marks on the trees.

"This is it! Look! I even built a shed here to prevent it from being washed away by the rain!"

He found his little shed in a corner and frantically called out to Olivia.

Olivia leaned closer, and couldn't help but frown.

"It's just a hoofprint."

"They're hoofprints! But there's no road here, so how could there be hoofprints? Look, look at this, it couldn't possibly be a wild horse! There aren't any wild horses around these days, it must be that knight's mount!"

Olivia glanced at the shape and confirmed it was indeed a hoofprint, but because so much time had passed, it was difficult to discern much more.

However, wild horses are indeed rare nowadays, and it is very likely that they no longer exist near any human settlements. Even horse-drawn carriages have been almost completely phased out, so it is indeed strange to find hoofprints in such a place.

But strange things are often not that simple.

"Since you know these are footprints, you should also understand that there can't be only one, right?"

Indeed, there was only one hoofprint under the shed, and it was pointing directly into the woods.

But without a doubt, if it really was a horse, then there wouldn't just be one hoofprint, but many. Even if the others might have been washed away by the rain, there should still be others near the hoofprints under the shed.

After all, horses can't fly.

"But, but I only saw this one... Could it be that I just missed it?"

Olivia knew that she could hardly count on him anymore, so she pointed to the woods.

Have you been inside?

"No, I heard there are bears inside, so I'm too scared to go in."

Being afraid of death is not entirely a bad thing to some extent.

"Then you can go back first. I'll let you know once I find out anything from the investigation."

He nodded and turned to leave, while Momokawa seemed to understand what she wanted to do and gently shook his head.

I advise you not to go.

"I'm not someone who listens to advice."

Olivia adjusted her hat and looked towards the forest not far away.

"Just take a quick look and leave."

The Gods' Fools - The Last Knight: Chapter Twenty-One, The Ghost Tree.

Momokawa couldn't stop Olivia, so she decided not to stop her anymore. The greatest danger in this forest had already been killed by Igris. Although she wasn't sure if there would be anything else, as long as it wasn't a second butcher, Momokawa could manage to handle it.

Besides, even if the problem can't be solved, Olivia can still run away.

Momokawa probably can't escape, but she can stay behind to draw fire. Olivia will likely be safe until her body is completely chopped into pieces.

Of course, it's also possible that Olivia would leave on her own after seeing the butcher's gruesome corpse, since Igris hadn't held back at all, and the butcher's blood had been drained clean.

However, as they slowly ventured deeper, Momokawa frowned slightly.

The body has disappeared.

Momokawa was certain that he found Igris here yesterday, and even saw very obvious signs of a battle on the spot, but the most obvious corpse had disappeared and he didn't know where it went.

Olivia noticed Momokawa's expression and realized the unusual situation around them.

"This place is so messy, something must have been here."

Momokawa shook his head, continuing his search on his own.

The butcher is indeed dead and cannot come back to life, so if his body is not here, it must have gone somewhere, rather than simply disappearing into thin air.

Carrying such a corpse will inevitably leave some traces. More importantly, what's the point of taking away a corpse? To make a specimen?

"…here."

There were obvious drag marks.

Olivia also came over and frowned as she looked at the mark.

"You've been here before?"

Momokawa nodded, but his expression was no longer as relaxed as before; instead, it was unclear what he was worried about.

"Judging from your expression, something must have happened here before."

“There was a monster’s corpse here… I did it, but it’s gone now, probably dragged away.”

Momokawa didn't mention Igris because Igris didn't want Olivia to know she had been there beforehand, and as a friend, Momokawa was happy to consider Igris's feelings.

But could this also mean that someone else came here and took the body away?

"Could it be an animal, like a bear?"

"If it were meant to be eaten, the carcass would be poisonous enough to kill a brown bear instantly... Perhaps we should follow it and take a look, although I don't recommend doing so."

Momokawa was indeed curious, but she also knew that curiosity killed the cat, and if there was something she couldn't handle, she would be the first to die.

As long as Momokawa is alive, Olivia will always be safe.

"When we can't think of anything else that would be interesting to a corpse, we can try to investigate. If something seems wrong, we should leave immediately. If it really was an animal that was eaten, then we can probably find the animal's body as well."

If not, then it can only mean that someone else took the body away.

"I'll listen to you."

Tao Yichuan decided to listen to Olivia's suggestion and do some investigation, since going back like this would be no different from coming for nothing.

In the end, the two of them walked along the drag marks without making a sound. The only sound in the forest was their footsteps, which were eerily quiet.

The drag marks disappeared in about five or six minutes.

Unfortunately, there's nothing here.

There were no corpses, no wild animals, no suspicious traces, and no strange creatures.

But how could there be nothing here? There must be something here; a corpse wouldn't just disappear into thin air.

But in Olivia and Momokawa's eyes, this place was nothing but trees and land.

Besides that, there's nothing here.

"I have a bad feeling."

Olivia's strange sixth sense kicked in, and instead of trying to move forward, she grabbed Momokawa and slowly backed away.

Momokawa didn't sense anything was wrong, but she was obedient and prepared to leave.

She didn't realize anything was wrong, but she reacted quickly.

So—she saw it.

I saw something that shouldn't be here.

"Be careful of the trees around you; one of them is alive."

This is a self-evident statement; of course, the tree is alive.

But Olivia quickly understood why she said that.

Among the countless withered, cold, and leafless trees, on an inconspicuous trunk, a strange human face was quietly staring at the two.

But when they looked over, the face suddenly disappeared without a trace.

That wasn't an illusion; it was an unusual creature that Olivia desperately wanted to encounter, but which she always seemed to stumble upon by accident.

"The Ghost Tree looks no different from an ordinary tree, but it will swap its position with the surrounding ordinary trees and feed on flesh and blood. The best way to distinguish it is that it has a terrifying face that resembles a human."

"But its body structure is fragile, and compared to most monsters, its attacks are unlikely to be dangerous. After being attacked, it will lose its fighting spirit and its expression will become fearful."

Momokawa continued talking to himself, holding a gun in one hand and even taking out a small notebook in the other.

That was her notebook, recording all the strange beings she had heard of and encountered.

In other words, this is her investigator's notes.

"It will attack me on its own initiative, and it will only attack me. Are you confident in your marksmanship?"

Olivia didn't have time to answer, and Momokawa didn't wait for her reply either.

"I was just asking, after all, I don't really need you to help me with this kind of thing. But to avoid the journey ahead being too dangerous, I will decide whether to continue taking you along based on your condition."