Chapter 467: Strange Town
"Come on, a few of you, follow me and check around the town. If you find anything wrong, report it immediately!"
Barnett selected a few marines and asked them to follow him to scout out the area first. They didn't know what was going on, so they couldn't rush into the town at once, lest the whole army be wiped out and no one would report to Vic.
"I'll go too, Rebecca will stay!"
Wendy didn't want Barnett to go into danger alone. At least they could have someone to look after them if they were together. What's more, she was now a person with special abilities, so she might be able to play a big role at a critical moment.
Although Vic told her not to reveal her abilities outside, he also told her not to care about the consequences when her life is in danger, and to use whatever method can save her life.
Barnett looked at Wendy deeply without saying anything. Rebecca also wanted to go, but now things were getting weird and she couldn't just follow her temper. She reached out and grabbed Ian's little hand!
Naturally, Fredek had to follow in. His observation Haki could foresee the future. He would be the first to notice any emergency and could report the situation to Rebecca as quickly as possible.
Then only Rebecca and Ian were left at the scene, and everyone else entered the town under the leadership of Barnett.
After Barnett led his men into the town, he did not separate them. He searched every shop and house one by one. He was indeed very cautious at the beginning, but after searching several houses, he did not find anything unusual.
So Barnett separated all the people. The town was not small and consisted of street shops and residential areas at the back. It would take dark to check them all one by one. Dispersing people would get results faster. Of course, this was under the premise that there was no danger.
Rebecca had been using her Observation Haki to stay around the two of them just in case. After everyone else left, she was the only young girl left with a child. In the eyes of people who didn't know her strength, the two of them were the best targets.
So Rebecca will not let her guard down. She will use herself and Ian as bait. Rebecca is the strongest person on the warship except for Vic. Now that Vic is not here, she is needed to hold up.
Barnett and his men were very fast. All three of them had Observation Haki, so they could investigate from outside the house. Their efficiency was still high if they separated. The other Marines needed to go into the house and investigate carefully. It took them more than two hours to return to the entrance of the town and reunite with Rebecca.
"How's it going? Did you find anything?"
Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief when she saw everyone returned safely. If there really were someone waiting for an opportunity nearby, they would have taken action long ago. Defeating them one by one was the safest way.
It is unlikely that they will wait until they gather together before taking action, unless there is some devil fruit ability that can catch them all in one fell swoop, but the probability of this is too small.
But it is not impossible. They gathered at the entrance of the town twice. When they first arrived, they were not so wary of the town. At that time, they could attack by surprise. Now, they can also wait until everyone relaxes after being tense. Both times are fine, but the person who attacks must not be weak.
“I didn’t see anyone!”
Barnett's face was very ugly. There was no one in the whole town, no one alive or dead, but the town's buildings did not look abandoned. Although the goods in the store were missing, they were all in new condition. This meant that the people in the town disappeared collectively in a short period of time. What happened? Barnett was very confused.
"I saw that the food on the table of a family was still warm. Two chairs in front of the dining table were knocked over, and there were a few drops of blood on the ground that had not yet coagulated. There was also a puppy hiding in the house. It seemed that the people here had just disappeared!"
Wendy continued with Barnett's words, the fact that the food was still warm meant that someone was cooking or eating just now, but something unexpected happened and the owner of the house disappeared, leaving only a pet dog.
"What about you? What have you found?" Barnett asked the others.
"The situation is pretty much the same. I also saw food on several tables. Some were untouched, while others were half-eaten. The pets at home were also there. All signs indicate that there were people there not long ago. We may be a little too late!"
Fredek held his glasses and said that they had set out from the fishing village at dinner time, so the incident in the town probably happened at that time.
That's why Fredek said they were a step too late. But even if they really caught up with the disappearance of such a large population of an entire town, could they have stopped it?
Other Marines also spoke one after another, but the content was similar. The theme was that the people had not been away for long, and some houses showed signs of struggle, indicating that they were forcibly taken away by armed people.
In some cases, there were no traces at all, as if the owner of the house had left with others on his own initiative, and there were no signs of the townspeople fleeing en masse on the streets.
All signs indicate that the entire town's population disappeared at almost the same time. How many people would be needed to carry out this operation at once? And how many people would be needed to not let anyone go without alerting the townspeople?
You have to know that no one is a fool. No one will run away when they see the bad guys coming to arrest people, unless a large number of people are deployed to ambush outside each house and then take action together upon receiving orders.
"The situation is a bit complicated! How about notifying Vic?"
Wendy looked at Barnett and asked. In her mind, Vic was probably the only one who could solve the problem here.
"Don't worry. We only see that there is no one in the town, but there are people in the fishing village just now. As for whether there are no people in other places on the island, it is not clear yet. Let's find out clearly and then tell Vic!"
Barnett wanted to understand the situation clearly before telling Vic. Now he only knew that there was no one in the town and there were very few clues. He didn't want to wake Vic up now, as that would make him seem incompetent.
"But the people here haven't been gone for long. If Vic takes action, he'll soon find out whether they are still on the island.
Maybe these people are being chased onto the boat like pigs by the criminals at some beach right now? By the time we have finished searching the island, the criminals may have already left the island with them, and by then it will be too late to save them!"
Wendy retorted that as a princess, she had been taught to love her people since she was a child. Although the civilians on this island had nothing to do with her, she still felt a deep compassion for them and there was a hurdle in her heart that she couldn't get over!
"I can fly, and I'm pretty fast. I'd better go and take a look! Don't alarm Vic first!"
Seeing that the two people had different opinions, Rebecca thought of a compromise. Although she didn't want to disturb Vic, she also didn't want to see the civilians disappear completely.