Philip disappeared.
According to the woman, after discovering that her teacher had gone missing last night, she immediately brought the railway police to find Philip. At that time he was still in his room and acted completely innocent when faced with the woman's questioning.
But starting this morning, no one had seen him.
After asking the train attendants, they learned that Philip hadn't appeared since morning.
Oh ho, now this was interesting.
Two people disappearing consecutively on a speeding train—this was even more entertaining than a Conan case.
Of course, Duanmu Huai didn't need to worry about any "tricks" or "methods."
When he learned that Philip was connected to the Silver Twilight Lodge, he already suspected the man was most likely a cultist.
If his guess was correct, then when the reporter interviewed Philip for that exclusive interview, Philip must have threatened him.
That was why after returning, the reporter left such a warning for the woman.
As for why the reporter disappeared—it wasn't complicated.
If Philip really was a cultist, then he must have used some kind of dark magic.
But why had Philip himself disappeared?
Could it be that he fled in fear of punishment?
After learning that two people had disappeared in a row, the train staff also began to feel uneasy.
Fortunately, according to the conductor, they would stop at a temporary station later today.
Duanmu Huai also decided that once they arrived, he would call Anthony and ask him to investigate Philip.
He had to say, communication methods of this era were truly frustrating.
Although there were communication devices similar to mobile phones, they only had signal within cities.
Once you entered deep mountains or wilderness like this desert region, they were useless.
In the end, you still had to rely on wired telephones.
Just to be safe, Duanmu Huai also searched Philip's room.
But it was completely empty.
No luggage.
No clothes.
It was as if no one had ever lived there at all.
Another classic cultist trick.
Duanmu Huai had seen it so many times he was bored of it.
But clearly, the trouble didn't end there.
When the train arrived at the temporary station, a new problem appeared.
"Mr. Detective, something seems wrong here…"
"Wrong?"
Hearing the conductor's words, Duanmu Huai felt surprised.
But once he stepped off the train and onto the station platform, he immediately understood what the conductor meant.
The entire temporary station looked dilapidated.
Rot and corrosion were everywhere.
This wasn't just poor maintenance.
It looked like the place had been abandoned for decades.
"Your station looks like this?"
Duanmu Huai turned to look at the conductor.
The conductor shook his head desperately.
"Of course not! Sir, we came here before not long ago, and it definitely didn't look like this!"
Duanmu Huai looked around.
The area was a barren desert.
Everything around them was dim and gloomy.
Dark clouds covered the sky.
Not even a trace of sunlight could be seen.
It looked like a storm was about to arrive.
Duanmu Huai reached into his pocket, gently patted the little white rabbit poking its head out, then rubbed the black cat's head.
"Let's go inside and take a look."
He said calmly.
According to the conductor, this temporary station didn't serve passengers.
Its main purpose was supplying trains with materials and maintenance services.
It also allowed passengers to stretch their legs during long journeys.
So the station itself wasn't large.
Besides the platform, there was only a small two-story building behind it.
At this moment, that building also looked weathered and ancient.
It looked like a relic from centuries ago.
"Creeeak———"
Duanmu Huai pushed the door open.
A sharp creaking sound rang out.
Dust burst into the air, forcing everyone nearby to step back.
"Cough, cough…"
Duanmu Huai waved his hand in front of his face and looked inside.
The building interior was a mess.
In the middle stood a counter.
And slumped over the counter… was a person.
"Teacher?!"
The woman behind Duanmu Huai screamed.
She rushed into the building toward the counter.
"Teacher! Teacher, what's wrong with you?! Wake up—ahhh!!!"
Before she could finish speaking, her words turned into a terrified scream.
Hearing this scream, Duanmu Huai and Lorena quickly rushed forward.
With just one glance at the figure, Duanmu Huai immediately understood why the woman screamed.
Because lying on the counter—
was a skeleton.
Earlier, because the lighting in the building was dim, the woman could only vaguely see the clothing and outline, which caused her to mistake it for her teacher.
But up close…
the truth was obvious.
"You're sure this is your teacher?"
Duanmu Huai looked at the dried corpse, now little more than skin and bones, and asked.
The woman trembled and nodded.
"M-maybe… because this is what he was wearing before he disappeared. And this coat was custom-made. There's an 'NS' mark on the collar…"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai didn't hesitate.
He grabbed the skeleton and flipped open the collar.
Sure enough.
On the inside of the collar was embroidered the letters NS.
Duanmu Huai also found a wallet and a lighter in the clothing.
Judging from the ID inside, it really was the woman's unfortunate teacher.
But the problem was—
the timeline didn't match.
According to the woman, less than twenty-four hours had passed since her teacher disappeared.
But judging from the condition of the corpse, it had been dead for at least twenty-four years.
So the most logical explanation would be that someone stripped the teacher's clothes and dressed this corpse in them…
And if you pushed that logic further, maybe the teacher accidentally killed someone years ago and the victim's family boarded the train for revenge…
Well.
That would be the setting for Detective Conan.
But unfortunately—
cultists don't follow science.
And "Conan logic" doesn't work here either.
The only useful evidence was the diary clutched in the corpse's hand.
According to the diary:
The reporter woke up in the middle of the night.
The train was no longer moving and had stopped at a station.
He felt the urge to smoke, so he got off the train for a cigarette.
But when he finished smoking and turned around—
the train that had been behind him was gone.
Naturally the reporter panicked.
He searched the entire station but found nothing.
There wasn't a single person around.
But he didn't give up.
He decided that the next morning he would leave the station on foot and follow the railway tracks to the next station.
But…
"I walked along the tracks for who knows how long, but I still returned here. I can't leave this place. I know I've been cursed. This is all Philip's doing! I will never forgive him…!"
"What do we do now?"
After finishing the diary, Duanmu Huai didn't say much.
The diary itself was a clue.
As for the corpse…
"Bring it back to the train. When we reach the city, report it to the police station for identification."
Yes.
Whether it was really the reporter or not could be confirmed with a DNA test later.
Looking on the bright side, at least this man was luckier than those unlucky museum victims.
At least his body could be recovered and buried someday.
Those people eaten by the Void Ghost were truly gone without a trace.
Reluctantly, the train staff followed Duanmu Huai's instructions.
They found a wooden crate, placed the corpse inside, and carried it to the cargo storage.
Then everyone hurriedly left the station.
Soon the train departed again.
Inside the carriage, Lorena sighed.
"I never expected that reporter to die so tragically…"
"Maybe Philip did it?"
"Possibly."
Duanmu Huai took a sip of black tea.
"At least Philip is still missing, which makes him far more suspicious than this unlucky reporter whose body we already found."
Originally, Duanmu Huai had planned to call Anthony from the station.
But…
A station abandoned for decades having a working phone?
That would be the real miracle.
Still, where had Philip gone?
Duanmu Huai felt something about this incident wasn't simple.
The man went to great lengths to silence someone on the train.
Clearly he had planned something.
But if he simply ran away after that, it didn't make sense.
If Philip used dark magic to kill someone, the police couldn't do anything without evidence.
But once he fled, the suspicion would fall entirely on him.
It was like a car accident.
If you stayed and handled it legally, it might not even be your fault.
But if you ran away—
it became your fault no matter what.
"———"
While Duanmu Huai was thinking, a shadow suddenly flashed past the window.
His eyes flicked toward it.
He froze slightly.
Huh?
"What's wrong, Sir Knight?"
Lorena asked curiously.
Duanmu Huai shook his head.
He said nothing and stared out the window.
Outside was a dry desert.
Dense fog covered the land.
Nothing could be seen.
After a long moment—
another shadow flashed past the window.
Duanmu Huai immediately stood up.
If he wasn't mistaken—
that was the station they had just left.
"Knock knock knock!"
At that moment someone knocked on the door.
The conductor's panicked voice came from outside.
"Mr. Detective! Something terrible happened!"
Inside the driver's cabin, Duanmu Huai quickly understood.
Just as he suspected.
According to the driver:
After leaving the station, the train should continue forward, enter a tunnel, and emerge on the other side.
But after leaving the station, they had been driving for four or five hours and still hadn't seen the tunnel.
Worse—
they seemed to have returned to the same station again.
The first time they thought they were mistaken.
But the second time…
they couldn't deny it anymore.
"C-could something be wrong…"
The driver looked pale, his lips turning blue.
The conductor nodded nervously and glanced at Duanmu Huai.
"Could it be because of that corpse? Should we send it back…?"
"Send it back? Send it back where?"
Duanmu Huai glared at him coldly, nearly scaring the conductor to collapse.
Then he turned toward the window.
"Keep moving forward. I'll deal with it."
"Yes…"
Normally the conductor and driver wouldn't listen to an outsider.
But the situation was too strange.
And Duanmu Huai's presence was overwhelming.
They could only obey.
The train continued moving.
The fog was so thick that nothing could be seen.
Even with headlights, they could only see rails stretching forward through the mist.
And the dry land on both sides.
Finally—
the ruined station appeared again from the fog.
Seeing this, Duanmu Huai's face darkened.
He snorted coldly.
Then—
a terrifying aura erupted from his body.
"GET LOST!!"
"AAAAAAAHHHHH———!!!"
The moment his shout rang out, a beast-like scream echoed outside.
Then came a loud BANG.
The train felt like it had collided with something.
The driver quickly pulled the brake.
With a screech of metal, the train slowed and eventually stopped.
Silence filled the cabin.
Everyone stared at each other.
Finally Duanmu Huai spoke.
"What happened? Let's get out and look."
When they stepped outside, the scene was horrifying.
From the front wheels of the train all the way down the tracks—
there were crushed limbs, torn flesh, and mangled blood everywhere.
The sight turned everyone pale.
The conductor immediately ran aside and vomited violently.
But Duanmu Huai ignored it.
He walked to the wheels and pulled out a torn piece of cloth.
Though it was only a fragment, the fabric and tailoring were clearly high-quality.
From the pocket of the ruined coat, he pulled out a business card.
Lorena approached curiously.
"Sir Knight, what did you find?"
Duanmu Huai turned around and showed her the card.
"It seems we've found the second missing person."
(End of Chapter)