Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO

Chapter 989 - 674: Loulanel Village [10] Progress

Jared Oliveira stood outside the door, and Nora Scott did not urge her to come in.

There were actually many traps in the room, but none were triggered. Annabelle Pinto and Stella Durant were likely only after the suitcase and didn’t rummage through anything else. Thus, they escaped unscathed.

Nora Scott turned off the main switch of the suitcase trap, and then removed the other traps in the room one by one.

It was amazing.

In her hands, any arrangement in the room could become a switch; a thread or a needle could become a lethal hidden weapon.

Jared Oliveira felt a chill run up his spine.

"Come in."

After pulling the last trap apart, Nora Scott piled all the props on the table and then raised her eyebrows at Jared Oliveira who was frozen outside the door.

Jared Oliveira entered the room stiffly.

Nora Scott glanced at the bench, "Sit."

"..."

Jared Oliveira dared not.

"Have a seat," April Thomason strolled over and kicked the bench towards him, "Do you need an invitation?"

"..."

Jared Oliveira’s legs gave out, and he quickly sat down.

He gave a slight cough, controlling his inexplicable nervousness, and asked, "What do you want to know?"

Nora Scott and April Thomason sat on another bench, Nora Scott was tidying up the things on the table, while April Thomason was responsible for extracting information from Jared Oliveira.

"What did you discuss with the village chief?" April Thomason asked.

"Just casual talk," Jared Oliveira didn’t dare conceal anything and spoke directly, "I think you probably want to know about this village, so I asked everything I could."

Upon hearing this, April Thomason and Nora Scott exchanged a glance.

Slightly squinting, April Thomason smiled and asked, "Did he say the routes in this village change?"

"You’ve discovered?" Jared Oliveira was startled, but didn’t play coy. He quickly nodded, "He did say, the Maze Village is ’alive,’ the routes change daily, and the change occurs at noon, but it’s not too significant. The people in the village are mostly elderly and live on the outskirts, so it doesn’t affect them much."

"Why didn’t he mention it at first?"

"He deemed it unnecessary; he didn’t think we’d remember the routes." Jared Oliveira paused, then added, "Moreover, if he said it from the start...who would believe it?"

April Thomason nodded slightly, acknowledging the point.

"Something this big, why hasn’t anyone spread the word?" Nora Scott took interest in the conversation, "Once reported, this place would immediately become a tourist hotspot."

This was truly fascinating.

Known as the Northwest All-Knowing, Nora Scott had been to places with any intriguing rumors. She loved to explore places with distinct characteristics.

The mystique of this "living maze" was second to none in her eyes...

Yet, she had neither visited nor heard of this place.

The situation itself was bizarre.

Moreover, after exhaustive searches for information on this village, she found only a few sentences. Worse yet, they were incredibly error-ridden.

As if someone was deliberately hiding something.

"That’s one reason, but there’s another." Jared Oliveira looked around conspiratorially, ensured no one was in the courtyard, and lowered his voice, "Actually, the ’living maze’ was revealed after Frank Ford and I got the village chief drunk. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have mentioned it, because it’s a ’taboo’ in their village."

"A taboo?" April Thomason raised an eyebrow, becoming intrigued.

Nora Scott paused her work, propped her chin with one hand, "Tell us."

Thanks to Jared Oliveira and Frank Ford’s skillful questioning, the two suspected there was more to the village chief’s words and dug deeper, unexpectedly unveiling a "taboo."

Jared Oliveira relaxed and recounted, "This ’taboo’ started forty years ago when everyone returned, each household allocated housing with good conditions, everyone was happy. But within days, people found themselves encountering ghost walls in the village, unable to find their way out."

"Think about it, in broad daylight, they visit a neighbor, only to return and find their home missing! After wandering in circles, they discover their home in a different location. Isn’t it just like encountering a ghost?"

"..."

Thinking deeply about it, the situation was rather hair-raising.

Jared Oliveira continued, "Initially, there was widespread fear, everyone was on edge. Later, some discovered a pattern: every day at noon, routes and positions would shift...though the shifted positions lacked consistency."

"Furthermore, the closer to the village center, the greater the shift. So, they all moved to the outskirts."

"Knock."

April Thomason lightly tapped the table, intrigued, "And the taboo?"

"Well, the living aspect of Maze Village is bizarre, isn’t it? It’s said during that time, some wanted to report and publicize it for profit, but those people eventually met with accidents, became foolish, died, or were crippled..."

"With strange occurrences happening frequently, villagers naturally grew fearful. Coupled with the unnatural maze movements...they were already..."

"In short, over time, various terrifying legends spread, and talking about the maze’s movements to outsiders led to incidents, making it a village taboo."

After Jared Oliveira finished, he blinked and looked at the two, hoping for praise.

However, the two maintained silence, both seemingly deep in thought.

"Does someone want to suppress the matter of the moving maze?" Nora Scott squinted.

"Yes." Jared Oliveira echoed, "By our logic, someone must want to seal off news of Maze Village. Also, young people from the village who moved out received good government job placements, and even older ones intending to move were actively helped by the government. So, in the village, apart from a few nostalgic elders, most have left."

Nora Scott glanced at April Thomason.

April Thomason understood, "I’ll inquire with Fátima."

"Oh, by the way, there’s another young person in the village!" Jared Oliveira added.

"Baja?" Nora Scott asked.

"You know?" Jared Oliveira was surprised.

"What did the village chief say about Baja?"

"Not positively, he described Baja as ghostly, not interacting with others aside from his grandmother. He lives somewhat removed."

Casually playing with a silver needle, Nora Scott asked again, "Did he say what Baja’s doing back here?"

Jared Oliveira replied, "The village chief mentioned he seemed to be conducting geological surveys, but couldn’t understand the equipment. The person is solitary, and as long as he doesn’t interfere with others’ lives, the village chief doesn’t mind him."

"By the way." Finally, Nora Scott raised her eyebrows and asked, "Who chose this destination?"

Nora Scott was merely "baggage," just along for fun, without decision-making power over the route.

But there were more villages near Loulanel City than just this one: why did both the exploration team and the sisters’ group specifically choose Loulanel Village? Just because it was called "Loulanel Village?"

Linking it to the village’s strange occurrences...

The reason seemed unlikely to be so simple.

"I actually asked Frank Ford," Jared Oliveira brightened, responding actively, "He said it was Annabelle Pinto."

"What about the Durant Sisters group?"

"They said they followed my lead, and I was following the exploration team’s decisions, so it was all decided by the exploration team."

Annabelle Pinto, Maze Village, Baja.

Nora Scott had received information from Biel Hall today, revealing Baja’s involvement in selling fake antiques, which had led to his arrest, only to be saved by a mysterious person. Afterward, nearly all of Baja’s information disappeared.

Given the fake antique dealings and the ability to conceal Baja’s details, Nora Scott had reason to suspect Baja was following Alexander Vaughn.

Annabelle Pinto was working for Anthony Santos, yet there was a connection with Baja.

Hence, Annabelle Pinto and Anthony Santos were either in cahoots with Alexander Vaughn or collaborating with him as separate parties.

But none of that mattered, as long as Annabelle Pinto and Alexander Vaughn were linked.

Alexander Vaughn was certainly skillful.

Planning since long ago, even cooperating with Robert Durant’s family, yet he revealed none of Maze Village’s crucial clues to Robert Durant.

Now—

Baja. Annabelle Pinto. The Durant Sisters group.

There’s quite a bit to do.

"Did Stella Durant and Annabelle Pinto look for you today?" Nora Scott asked.

"Yeah," Jared Oliveira nodded, "But Frank was present then, so they didn’t mention anything else. They just asked when I’d go to see the Loulanel City ruins; they’re ready anytime."

"Oh."

Nora Scott acknowledged lightly.

Just then, a voice shouted from outside, "Mr. Oliveira, are you there?!"

It was Frank Ford.

The three exchanged glances.

Subsequently, Nora Scott stood up, pushed open the window, and saw Frank Ford swaggering towards Jared Oliveira’s bedroom door.

Halfway there, hearing the window open, he looked up, "Sis, you’re back!" Then he noticed Jared Oliveira at the window and froze, "Mr. Oliveira, why are you there?"

"What are you here for?" Nora Scott asked leisurely.

"Oh," Frank Ford pointed to the sky, "I just saw a drone. Neither of our groups has one, so I thought it might be yours and came to check."

"..."

The three immediately exchanged glances, and then their gaze fell on the drone on the table.