It didn't take much time. By around noon, Ed had simply cleaned the villa and thoughtfully explored every corner of it.
He also got a general understanding of the villa's layout. It had a very simple three-story structure.
The first floor contained the living room, dining room, a guest room, a storage room, the kitchen, and a spare bedroom.
The second floor had the master bedroom, a second bedroom, and another guest room.
Apart from a balcony, the third floor was taken up by storage spaces and was more like a loft than a proper floor.
There was nothing wrong with the whole villa except for some dust and spider webs, and it was too dark and gloomy, giving the feeling that it was a perfect place to commit murder. To be honest, it didn't look like a haunted villa at all.
Sitting at the table in the second-floor master bedroom and looking at the blue dot on the map, Ed couldn't help but mutter thoughtfully.
"What the hell does 'The Brave Ones' mean?"
In other words, the haunting of this villa was very likely not caused by ghosts or vengeful spirits. Instead, some frightening phenomena occurred, which scared the shit out of anyone who dared to stay here. Otherwise, as with most ghost deeds in horror movies, there was no way not a single person had died in this villa until now, with almost all just running away in fear. Ed, having dug out almost the entire history of the villa from Kaila, thought this while rubbing his chin.
Most tenants were so frightened after living there for a day or two that they left directly. The few who were injured suffered only bumps and bruises from running in fear, which had nothing to do with a ghost. Otherwise, no matter how unprofessional a ghost was, killing at least one person after so many attempts should have been possible.
This was also the reason Ed dared to come in. There was danger, but it was not great, completely within acceptable limits. Otherwise, with his cowardly character, there was no way he could enter a haunted house with his chest held high. He was not that brave; only the brainless protagonists of horror movies had that level of guts and iron balls.
Treasure hunting for wealth was bound to be accompanied by danger. As long as the danger was within an acceptable range, there was no harm in being a treasure hunter. But when you put treasure above your life, your countdown to meeting Lady Death has already started.
Ed picked up a pen and paper and began to write and draw on the table, based on what he had learned about the villa's structure while cleaning.
He tried sketching one floor first. Time passed this way until the afternoon approached dusk.
Ed looked at the almost-finished layout drawing and nodded with a satisfied smile. It was very rough but looked pretty realistic. He blinked, but to his great disappointment, there was no change on the drawing, and no blue dot appeared.
It seems my own painting is still not good enough, Ed cursed before throwing it on the table. This bastard system has no eye for art. How can such a good painting not be enough for it?
His skills were fine for drawing rough maps of familiar islands or painting some nice scenes, but drawing more detailed architectural plans of a house's interior was a game of lines and absolute detail. He had to admit his attempt was like a child's doodle.
"Let's see if there's a chance to get the design drawings. That's the easiest and quickest way, better than wasting time painting it myself. I just don't know if Kaila has them or not. She doesn't look like a reliable woman when it comes to this kind of thing."
Thinking of this, Ed looked outside and saw that it was already getting dark.
Getting up from the chair, Ed stretched, slightly closed the curtains of his room, and then took out the hidden mechanical spider from his inventory.
Looking at the mechanical spider in his hand, Ed reached out and knocked on the four stone-like eyeballs on its head.
With the knocking, the eyeballs changed from stone to ruby-like crystals again.
Ed placed it on the table and stared at it, full of curiosity, wondering how the thing actually worked.
The spider began to tap the table with its copper legs. After a while, the familiar voice of Elena came from the spider's back.
"Hello? Edward?"
"Yes, it's me. I've roughly found the location where the treasure might be," Ed said, straight to the point, while trying his best to sound serious.
"…"
When he finished speaking, the voice from the spider fell silent for a few seconds.
"Already… found it?" There was a hint of disbelief in Elena's voice. If she were before Ed, he would have been more than happy to take a picture of her wonderful expression and save it for the rest of his life.
Edward had just said there were some clues yesterday evening, and now, within 24 hours, he had confirmed information. Wasn't it a bit too fast? Or was he too eager for quick success? Elena, on the other side of the communicator, wondered while scratching the back of her head.
Hearing Elena's doubtful tone, Ed replied proudly, he was indeed a genuine talent at making people look like fools. "That's the most likely place I can think of at this stage. But you know that, due to the current situation, I can't really go to investigate on the spot. So, I can only tell you that if you take action, maybe you should go and take a look."
He deliberately stated that this was just his guess and that he was not sure. Otherwise, she might doubt him more; after all, he hadn't even gone there to confirm it himself. How could he be sure the treasure would be there?
After hearing Ed's explanation, Elena's voice came from the spider again. "Okay, no problem. We'll go over to verify it as soon as possible. You also have to be careful and hide your identity."
"The people of the Shark Bite gang are looking for us like crazy. If they really catch you, there's no problem in surrendering. They don't want to really make enemies with us, and it's possible that after beating you and digging out all the information they want, they might give you to us in exchange for some compensation."
Shark Bite was no stronger than them and might even be slightly weaker. If you deliberately killed a member of the other party, it would be equivalent to making an enemy, and no one would be stupid enough to do that. After all, they were all treasure hunters, not pirates.
"Don't worry, I'm still safe now, and the patrols in the city have been reduced a lot. Also, have a little more faith in me. Why do you think I'll get caught by them? You're cursing me indirectly," Ed replied angrily. If this little girl were standing before him, he would have surely given her a love-fist.
"...Sigh. Alright, my mistake. But still, take care of yourself," came Elena's helpless voice from the other side.
She's not that bad. I like beautiful girls who are also sensible, Ed thought with a smile, nodding in satisfaction.
After a brief chat to understand the current situation outside, Ed cut off the call. The day was getting dark.
So without further delay, Ed quickly put on his expensive suit, once again wearing the skin of a rich noble, and, according to the contract, went directly to Kaila's house for dinner, and perhaps more if the situation was right.