Although it was said there were no ships passing by, if someone with good swimming skills pushed this person into the water and then slowly left, it was still possible for them to be picked up by a boat while swimming.
Professor Huo immediately returned to the cabin and began to take a headcount to confirm if anyone was missing.
After a headcount, the class monitor of the first year forensic medicine class reported, "Class 1 is all present!"
"Class 2 is also all here!"
"Class 3 is also here!"
...
"Yuko Takeda from Class 6 is missing!"
"Repeat, Yuko Takeda is missing!"
Everyone erupted in chaos. I went to the classmates of Class 6 and learned from their female monitor that Yuko Takeda was an exchange student from abroad. She had been at the school for over four years and was supposed to graduate with everyone this year, but unexpectedly disappeared at this time.
A jolt ran through me. That bastard must have kidnapped Yuko Takeda.
I remembered noticing a girl on the ship who didn't seem like our Chinese peers. So she was foreign.
I recalled this girl was extremely beautiful, with a straight and high nose bridge, her chocolate-colored hair falling naturally onto her snow-white shoulders. Today, she was wearing a pink floral dress, a purple bow on her head, and embroidered shoes, looking quite cute.
It was unexpected that such a girl would be kidnapped. I could see that many boys in Class 6 were extremely anxious at this moment; they must have paid a lot of attention to this girl normally.
"Everyone, please don't worry, we will immediately notify the police to assist with the investigation!" Professor Huo picked up his phone to call the police. The agitated crowd couldn't calm down and were discussing animatedly.
They must have also realized what that splash meant. Someone must have fallen into the water!
I walked into the middle of everyone, "Don't get agitated. If Yuko was pushed down, then the murderer must have been on the ship. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes, that's right! This classmate, you're correct. Who did it? Come out now!" a胖子 yelled, cursing loudly.
"Was it you? Was it you?" the male students accused each other, but no one was willing to admit it.
I scanned the surroundings. No one here seemed emotionally tense. Coupled with the darkness, it was difficult for me to observe their micro-expressions. The noise grew louder and louder. Teacher Huang seemed particularly annoyed. She raised her hand and shouted, "Quiet down, everyone! In this situation, everyone is nervous. What you need to do now is not argue, but calm down and try to find the murderer here!"
"Yes, stop arguing! Let's analyze who is familiar with Yuko or who has grudges against her!" Zhang Keying picked up Teacher Huang's words. Many people didn't know Zhang Keying's identity, but she was very famous in the school. Hearing her words, everyone quieted down. Then another girl said, "Those two are in the same dormitory as Yuko!"
Two girls were brought forward to us. I asked the short-haired one, "Is that so?"
"Yes, but we really don't know where Yuko is. We didn't do this!"
"Don't be nervous, we're just conducting a routine investigation."
"You? What do you do? Why are you investigating us?"
I took out my police badge, without opening the cover, because I didn't want them to know I was He Sheng. Seeing that I was a police officer, the classmates all said, "There's a police officer, leave this matter to him! You two cooperate well with this police comrade."
"Everyone, calm down. Before Yuko's accident, did anyone see her?" I inquired.
Everyone looked at each other for a long time, but no one spoke.
Then I looked at another girl from Yuko's dormitory. This girl had white hair, and I was very curious about why her hair was that color.
The girl said, "Yuko and I have a pretty good relationship. We usually like to study and eat together."
"Really? Have you noticed Yuko with any strangers recently, or has she said anything strange to you?" I continued to ask.
"I don't think so. She's no different than usual. It was the same before she disappeared."
"Where did you see her go before she disappeared?"
"I didn't notice. I was sleeping at the time. She was sitting next to Xiao Xin, not with me!"
I looked at Xiao Xin, the short-haired girl I had just spoken to. Xiao Xin immediately said, "Yuko suddenly stood up before, without telling me where she was going, and then she never came back!"
"Didn't you go out to look for her in the meantime?"
"No, I thought she went to the deck for some fresh air because she felt unwell, as she had told me several times after boarding the ship that she felt a bit uncomfortable."
I observed Xiao Xin's micro-expressions and found that she didn't seem to be lying. I went to the deck alone, wanting to observe the situation again. The ship had stopped moving. Since the police had been notified, the coast guard quickly arrived at the scene. Many people were searching in the sea, hoping to find Yuko, even if it was just her body.
Countless coast guard boats patrolled with their speedboats. I watched them busy for a long time, but still couldn't find anyone. Yuko was probably not here anymore. Was she taken away in such a short time?
Without the propulsion of a ship, relying solely on swimming, even at the fastest speed, one shouldn't be able to get far in such a short time. Could she still be on the ship? Meaning, was that loud splash just a decoy?
As I was thinking, someone suddenly patted my shoulder from behind. I turned around and saw Zhang Keying. After a period of searching, the coast guard returned without success. The classmates and Professor Huo kept calling Yuko's number, but her phone was always turned off.
When I returned to the cabin, I found many people discussing anxiously. Professor Huo was discussing something with several coast guards. Teacher Huang and several other teachers were being questioned. Xiao Xin and the others were almost pestered by the police, but with no other leads, they could only focus on these individuals.
Originally, we were supposed to go to Rainbow Island, but due to this incident, the school administration had decided to cancel the graduation trip. However, just as everyone was about to return in disappointment, Professor Huo suddenly received a call. After a few words, his face lit up with joy. I was quite curious, what had happened now?