Hearing this, Roger felt a sudden sinking in his heart.
This outcome was countless times worse than what he had initially imagined.
"Greg, I don't think that necessarily means anything. Maybe his entire family has already perished, and given that nearly a month has passed since he landed on the island, it's understandable if his family gave up the search,"
Adeline was still trying to find all sorts of reasons for Roger.
"Hey, Adeline, I know you're a mother..."
"But you're also a cop, and we need to play by the rules,"
"He's underage and has lost his memory. He's not even sure if his own name is real or fake. How can we find people under these circumstances?"
"And…"
At this point, Greg deliberately lowered his voice, "Do you really believe the kid has amnesia?"
"I always feel something odd about this whole thing. Everything fits too neatly. I can't put my finger on it, but I just don't like that kid!"
Greg made no effort to hide his aversion to Roger.
"Do you think he's involved in Kant's case?" Adeline asked.
"That's impossible. He's just a kid, and there aren't any vehicles on the island. You're being too sensitive. Trust me, it's just coincidence and accident,"
Adeline soothed.
But Greg remained silent, "Let's not talk about this now, but what do we do now?"
"We can't just keep the kid at the police station, can we?"
"Let's take him to my place,"
Adeline suddenly spoke up.
"He's been through a sea tragedy and lived on the island for so long, there must be trauma in his heart. Leaving him here alone might cause problems,"
"Let him stay at my place for the night,"
"We can come up with another plan tomorrow. A living person can't just appear out of thin air. We'll definitely be able to help him find his parents,"
Adeline said.
"To your place?" Greg clearly did not agree.
"You'd rather take him to yours?" Adeline retorted.
Greg's face fell, and he shook his head in a hurry.
"It's getting late, let's call it a day and rest. We can talk about it tomorrow,"
Adeline said finally.
Having been running around at sea the entire day, both of them were utterly exhausted.
Hearing this, Roger quietly retreated to the corridor, then returned to the lounge, trying to act as if nothing had happened.
His face was calm, but his heart was in utter shock.
"According to what Adeline and the others said, no ships passed near the island, and no one could drift on the sea for hundreds of miles."
"So where did I actually come from?"
"Could I have been murdered and then my corpse thrown into the sea?"
"But there are no obvious injuries on the body."
"And who exactly is the owner of this body?"
His mind was full of doubts, chaotically trying to piece things together.
The body he inhabited obviously wasn't of age yet. If he couldn't find his parents and couldn't prove his identity, the situation Roger faced would be very unfavorable.
Click!
Adeline pushed the door and entered, her face full of a kind smile, "How are you? It's a bit boring being alone, isn't it?"
She pulled a chair from across the table and sat down.
"That's some bad news. I just received word that due to the continuous storms of the past several days, a wide range of network outages have occurred in nearby areas. To verify your identity and notify your parents, it might take a bit longer,"
Before Roger could react, she continued, "But don't worry, you can stay at my place until we find your family."
Adeline smiled.
"Rest assured, I won't let you be left out in the wild again."
Roger's face showed a complex expression, "I'm afraid that might disrupt your life, perhaps I could..."
He opened his mouth, thought carefully for a long time, but didn't know what to say.
He knew nothing about this place, was a minor without an ID, without money...
Roger also had no idea where to go.
It was somewhat ridiculous to think about it, on a deserted island not long ago, he had killed two monsters by himself, and slit a man's throat, but back in the city, he was worried about his identity and livelihood.
"Hey, where else could you go?"
Adeline stood up with a smile.
"Come with me, my family should like you."
"Alright then," Roger nodded, then looked into Adeline's eyes, "Thank you for everything you've done for me today, I will surely repay you doubly!"
Roger promised solemnly.
Adeline's car was a somewhat rugged Dodge that seemed to have seen some years. She drove it under the moonlight to a two-story house.
By then, the sky had turned completely dark, with hardly any pedestrians on the street. The town's pace of life was slow, seeming like a pleasant place to live.
After parking the car, Adeline led Roger through the door into the room.
The room was pitch black, Adeline frowned and couldn't help but shout, "Amanda, Jack, why don't you turn on the lights when you are home?"
She stretched her hand to the switch, saw the tidy room, and suddenly remembered something, "Look at my memory..."
"Amanda and Jack are my kids. They had a mission this morning, and I wasn't sure I could return the same day, so I sent them to their aunt's," she explained.
"Well now, it's just the two of us here," Adeline said as she changed into her slippers.
"Relax a bit, you can think of this place as your own home," Adeline told Roger, looking into his eyes.
"I know you're a strong kid, but sometimes, you need to let out your negative emotions."
"You're too quiet."
"So quiet that it scares me a little."
Hearing this, Roger's heart grew tense; he knew he had still shown some flaws that had allowed Adeline to sense something was off.
"Come on, I'll show you to your room," Adeline said without further ado, realizing it was best to drop the matter and then led Roger upstairs.
Roger keenly noticed that the house seemed devoid of any traces of an adult male's presence.
Had she divorced?
The moon hung in the branches, illuminating the room brightly. Lying on the comfortable bed, Roger felt a long-lost sense of peace.
His mind flooded with thoughts, he drifted off to sleep in a daze.
But what he didn't know was that on an island far from Baytown, a figure had emerged from the waves under the moonlight.
She wore no clothes, and the seawater cascaded down her blue skin. With each of her steps, when the moonlight shone upon her, the blue of her skin gradually receded, revealing a beautiful face.
"Burnt down?" The woman furrowed her brow, her body suddenly sprang to life, and like an agile cheetah, she quickly reached the lighthouse.
Whoosh.
She leapt lightly, swiftly scouring the lighthouse.
"Gone."
A cold gleam shot out from the woman's icy blue eyes. She turned in a direction, her cool gaze seeming to pierce through the vast sea, looking towards the tranquil and peaceful Baytown.