This time his task is not an FBI case; it's the friend of his father-in-law. Naturally, he has to be more meticulous and eliminate all possibilities.

The previous private detective's mention does carry some weight, as low-intensity seismic waves can indeed cause certain buildings to resonate. However, this is uncommon, and this phenomenon has only occurred in the last two weeks, which isn't very likely but is still one possibility.

The second possibility is animals, like in a novel he once read, "Rats in the Walls," where a group of rats gnaw at the materials of the building or make squeaking sounds, creating a similar effect, especially if it's happening all around, forming a surround sound.

However, this is right next to New York State's second-largest city, Buffalo. It's unlikely that such a place would have a villa infested with a large number of rats. If there were that many rats, Harlington and his team would have discovered them long ago.

The third possibility is that someone outside is using a directional sound wave weapon, but this is even less likely. Even if Harlington is wealthy, he's just a wealthy person; no one would use such a weapon against a lawyer and real estate developer.

The fourth possibility is a special situation, where the terrain environment is abnormal or there's construction nearby causing unusual electromagnetic radiation, using the villa's structure to create an echo.

The fifth is a supernatural occurrence, which is what Jimmy initially thought. If it truly is a supernatural event, whether it's a ghost affecting the people here or a monster with special abilities, such a situation isn't impossible.

This living room has a ceiling that's more than half a level high, with a double-layered crystal chandelier above. Although it's daytime, the chandelier is still lit. The living room isn't very big, and the wooden floor looks aged. Though well-maintained, signs of age can still be seen in some places.

The furniture in the living room appears to be solid wood and has some items that seem quite antique, presumably old objects. He looks at the surrounding walls, which have a large landscape painting and several smaller oil paintings on the walls between windows, but no portraits—mostly landscapes and architectural scenes.

A semi-circular corridor on the second floor connects various rooms, with a wooden railing encircling the living room, separated by some poles that go straight to the top. There's a fireplace on the right wall, and judging by its color, it might still be used in winter.

Jimmy took disposable gloves from his pocket, put them on, came to the fireplace, took a glance inside, then squatted down to look up the chimney. The soot-blackened inside indicated that this fireplace was indeed used, and there was nothing inside.

Moving to the wall, he reached out to fiddle with the wall-mounted lamps. He gently touched these fixtures that were mounted on the walls or floors to see if they could be moved or if there was anything unusual.

The examination of the living room was quickly completed. Jimmy went to check out the adjacent dining room, kitchen, storage room, bathroom, and other rooms, seeing no abnormalities either visually or with Heart Eye, and hearing no unusual sounds either.

Once the first floor check-up was done, Jimmy looked at Harlington:

Jimmy: "Can I take a look upstairs?"

Harlington: "Of course, go ahead."

Jimmy slowly walked up the stairs beside him. He walked very slowly, observing left and right as he went and holding the railing to try shaking it a bit. Standing in the second-floor corridor looking down at the living room, he could see the entire area at a glance. From above, he found no unusual spots either.

This villa isn't particularly large, with three rooms on the second floor—a study and two bedrooms, with the master bedroom having an en-suite bathroom.

The study is quite large, with two single sofas and a coffee table in the corner, and a large bookcase on the other side. In front of the bookcase, there's a desk and a chair.

Jimmy checked the bookshelf, found it very stable, and then left the study. The bedroom had the same sort of solid wood style, but with light brown wallpaper on the walls, setting it apart from the other rooms.

On one side of the third floor is a smaller guest room, which is relatively clean and tidy, seemingly unoccupied. The other room looks converted into a music room, with a black grand piano in the corner. On the other side of the corridor are two servant rooms, naturally with nothing particularly unique.

Jimmy stood by the window in the music room looking outside, a serene and pleasant vista of fields and woods lay before him, with the shadow of the city visible in the distance, seemingly not very far away, yet the scenery was indeed beautiful. One could imagine how enjoyable it would be to enjoy this scene and play the piano in such a music room.

Jimmy returned to the living room, and Harlington smiled at him: "Did you find anything?"

Jimmy shook his head: "Everything seems normal. I looked at the surrounding walls and didn't find anything unusual or any cracks."

Harlington nodded: "Alright, this isn't something that can be resolved in a short time. Stay here tonight; there's a guest room on the third floor."

Jimmy: "Is it convenient?"

Harlington: "Of course, my family isn't here, and it's just as well you came by for a chat."

Jimmy: "Alright, and I'll also see if there are any noises at night."

Jimmy went outside to bring in the bag from his car and moved into the third-floor guest room. Bodyguard John soon returned, and Harlington asked the same question; John also had no clue about the sound's source, just as lost in direction.

The dinner was naturally shared with Harlington; servant Selena's culinary skills were impressive, the steak cooked as well as you'd find at many restaurants.

After chatting with Harlington for a while, Jimmy went to bed early since he might need to wake up in the middle of the night, so it's good to sleep as much as possible. Besides, he wasn't very familiar with Harlington, making it hard to find topics to talk about, especially after Harlington asked a lot about his past cases once he revealed his profession. It's better to just sleep honestly, easier on the mind.

At midnight, Jimmy's phone alarm went off; he woke up, put on his undergarments, fastened his gun holster, took a box of .44 Magnum bullets, placed them on the bedside table, and sat on the chair, waiting for the sound to occur. It wasn't until after 2 AM that faint squeaking and creaking noises echoed, just as Harlington described, impossible to pinpoint where they came from.

Jimmy stood up, using Heart Eye to scan the whole villa. There was nothing unusual before, but now a faint color appeared within his Heart Eye range, reminding him of a situation by the river in Dallas. Within the Heart Eye scope, a faint color could be seen, but switching back to normal vision revealed nothing.

Based on Jimmy's previous experience, this faint mist usually had a source; previously, it originated from a head in a box under a tree. The source of this mist here is unclear, requiring further investigation.

He holstered the 1875, took a bullet from the bedside table, and left the guest room. Bodyguard John opened the door, looking at Jimmy holding a gun. Knowing Jimmy's profession, John didn't overreact, "Mr. Yang, did you hear it?"

Jimmy nodded: "I heard it. Go check on Mr. Harlington."

John nodded and went to the second-floor room where Harlington was staying.

Harlington was awake too; he stood at the bedroom door in his pajamas, seeing Jimmy go downstairs and called out to him: "Jimmy, did you hear the sound?"

Jimmy nodded: "I heard it. I'm looking for the source now. Uncle Harlington, stay in the bedroom for now, don't move around unnecessarily."

Harlington nodded: "I understand, I'll head back to the bedroom. John, come inside too."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.