Chapter 575: Encountering Clues
Above a human city several kilometers outside the Snow Demon Kingdom.
At dawn, the frost on the azure sky receded, with only a few scattered clouds. It seemed that with the end of the war, the extreme weather of wind and snow had decreased significantly, and even the figures of Gugu birds, which were not cold-resistant, could be seen.
“Bang—”
Suddenly, from afar, a huge bird-like shadow appeared. The sound of its flapping wings was like firecrackers on New Year’s, vigorous and powerful. A young girl sat on the leading bird, holding a map of the eastern border of Bear Country in her hands.
“The place we are going to is Akofler City, which made great contributions in the defense battle of Bear Country. We are about two hundred kilometers away.”
The girl was Su Jiu, who had slipped away overnight. As she fiddled with the map, she was also calculating the time until the Ancient God Sect’s outbreak, thinking to herself:
“It should be less than half a month before The Singer’s [Frost Bury Plan] is implemented. Once the Prometheus cannon is ready, I’ll contact Nami for reinforcements, and I’ll have a 90% chance of taking down The Singer completely.”
After sending Su Jiu a text message to Bai Zhi saying everything was fine, Su Jiu began to check her emails and messages, to see if anyone had sent her important emails during the period she had no internet.
“Still so far? When we get to the city, I’ll see what kind of advanced electronic products you and Snow Empress Levitt are so fond of.”
On the Qian Cheng to the left, the Female Chief was fiddling with a seventh-tier Rubik’s Cube, her gaze drifting as she scanned the city they were about to reach, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
“Not much further. If we take the Qian Cheng, we’ll be there in another hour.”
Su Jiu smiled, stretched, and then half-leaned on the neck of the Qian Cheng, looking down. She laughed heartily, in a good mood.
She had resolved the issues in the Snow Demon Kingdom, received promises of help from a group of people, and even enlisted many helpers for the Frostbreak Plan.
“Boss, do we have to complete the task before we get the Dragon Rhythm?”
Aman suddenly interjected. He was lacking something to improve his bloodline, and if Su Jiu gave him this resource in advance, he was confident he could directly break through to the late stage of the Initial Stage War God, giving him more confidence in future battles.
“It depends on your performance.”
Su Jiu chuckled. She wasn’t a three-year-old child. Until she confirmed that Aman was truly following her, she wouldn’t agree easily. To make him exert himself in the [Frostbreak Operation], she had to string him along.
“Alright then.”
Aman rolled his eyes and drooped his fat head, looking listless.
“Someone is coming…”
Su Jiu paused again, as if sensing something. She raised an eyebrow and looked forward.
“Whoosh!”
Aman and the other also looked up. As expected, several figures appeared in front of them, all wearing black robes with bear head badges on their chests. They looked like Snow Guards from Bear Country.
“Don’t you know that there’s an air restriction in Golin City ahead?”
After scanning Su Jiu and the others, the leader, whose gaze lingered on Aman for a moment, sternly reprimanded the three of them.
“Air restriction? May I ask, Commander, has something unexpected happened in the city?”
Forcing a smile, Su Jiu glanced at the golden medal on his chest. She knew that under normal circumstances, flying randomly within the city was prohibited, but for those passing through high altitudes, there was more leniency.
The strength of this middle-aged man was around the Initial Stage Battle King level. In a place equivalent to a county town in Dragon Country, he was a superior, so it was normal for him not to have a good attitude.
The middle-aged commander scanned the three of them, only to find that he couldn’t sense any aura from them. Those who had alchemical items to conceal their aura usually had backgrounds. Thus, he softened his stern attitude a bit and patiently explained:
“In the past month, nearly hundreds of people have mysteriously disappeared from Golin City. The higher-ups have ordered an investigation of suspicious individuals within the city, suspecting that someone murdered these missing persons and then transferred them using storage bags.”
“Our air restriction is to prevent anyone from escaping. You must know that even with our tight deployment, people still report disappearances and no-shows for work every day.”
“Therefore, either you take out your storage bags for inspection, or we will escort you to the Snow Guard post for self-inspection.”
While explaining, he impatiently waved his hand, signaling the other Snow Guards to surround Su Jiu and the others, with the intention of taking them back for questioning.
“No, just on your word, you want to inspect our personal belongings? Don’t I have any dignity?”
Upon seeing the opponent’s strength, the Female Chief felt displeased. She wasn’t human, so what did the air restriction have to do with her?
Furthermore, was a mere Initial Stage Battle King worthy of showing off?
Just as she was about to put on a bad face and retort sarcastically, Aman, with his keen eyesight, quickly grabbed her and whispered, “Don’t be impulsive.”
“But he wants to inspect our luggage…”
Having spent half a day with Aman, the Female Chief knew that the fat monkey in front of her was no simple character, so she quieted down, only frowning.
“Let’s see what Boss thinks.”
Upon hearing this, Aman slowly shook his head, his gaze falling on Su Jiu. His years of experience in the “underworld” told him that it was best not to cause trouble when they had just arrived.
“Mysterious disappearances of people…”
Hearing this similar operation, Su Jiu’s mind conjured up the actions of the domestic National Security Bureau arresting members of the Ancient God Sect who resembled pyramid schemes. Her eyes narrowed, and she began to ponder.
There was no doubt that this was related to the Ancient God Sect.
“Since you three are unwilling to cooperate, don’t blame us for being impolite.”
Seeing that Su Jiu and the other two didn’t seem to intend to allow their belongings to be inspected, the middle-aged officer said indifferently. As he spoke, a powerful aura slowly emanated from his body.
“Commander, please wait a moment. If I say that we are also investigating this matter with an Inspector, can you make an exception?”
Seeing the movements of these soldiers, Su Jiu didn’t make a move. Instead, she took out her Shiyu Order from her pocket with a smile, handed it over, and said softly, “I am a Night Watcher from Dragon Country, and we are currently jointly investigating a major case with an Inspector.”
“Night Watcher… Can I see it?…”
Hearing Su Jiu’s voice, the middle-aged commander was stunned for a moment. Then, he nervously scanned the Night Watcher token. He was unsure of its authenticity, but the aura emanating from it was stern, just like those guys.
Moreover, if high-ranking figures like Inspectors were really investigating, it was normal for him not to have the authority to know.
“When you get into the city, I need to follow you…”
After much thought, the middle-aged commander decided to let them pass and then immediately report the current situation to his superiors. If their identities were indeed genuine, this was no longer a decision he, an ordinary commander, could make.
Hearing the other party’s words, Su Jiu nodded. A moment later, she put her hands back into her Hanfu pockets and said with a smile, “If you believe me, I know a place where there might be clues about the disappearances.”
These foreigners didn’t understand the terrible nature of pyramid schemes. Without the police from National Security, the lower-level members of the Ancient God Sect who trafficked people in the country wouldn’t have been caught so quickly.
“Alright, is there anything I need to assist with?”
Hearing Su Jiu’s words, the middle-aged man waved to the Snow Guards and then lowered his head, lit a cigarette, and asked with a smile.
However, he didn’t quite believe it. With all the thorough investigations they had conducted over the past few days without finding any clues, could this person find them just after arriving?
“Let’s all change into casual clothes and take us to the busiest train station.”
Su Jiu chuckled. If she could follow the Ancient God Sect from here into one of the thirteen cities, it wouldn’t be bad.
After all, she still had the attire of a Black-clad Bishop, and she possessed a pocket watch that could control a city’s formation. It would be a shame not to work from the inside and outside together.
…
Time reached around nine o’clock.
At the western train station, the crowd was a dense black mass. Many were commuters rushing to work in the morning. With the temperature rebounding, almost every city in Bear Country was experiencing a scene of continued overtime work.
But even with so many people gathered, theft or other public order incidents rarely occurred. On the seats, there were more or less several patrolling Snow Guards in uniform.
One of the Snow Guards took a bread handed over by a bakery employee and took a bite of the hot dog, looking puzzled:
“Ryder, why haven’t I seen those vagrants come to buy yesterday’s leftover discounted bread today?”
Next to the bustling train station, in a bakery decorated with small orange lights, Ryder stopped his steps towards the bakery and turned to say with a smile:
“Perhaps they were eaten by monsters. I heard that people have been disappearing frequently recently. Officer, you should pay more attention to those secluded places at night.”
Ryder was a thin, white youth with a cheerful smile, wearing an apron. Except for the cross tattoo on the back of his hand, he was the most friendly citizen.
“I think so too. It’s too foolish to search for suspicious individuals in such crowded places.”
The Snow Guard nodded in agreement and took a big bite of the bread. His gaze swept over two ordinary people who had entered the restaurant to order food, their mouths covered with scarves.
As if thinking of something, the Snow Guard chuckled and continued to chat: “However, I heard from people in the department that those missing persons were all disguised and avoided surveillance cameras before they disappeared. Their behavior seemed too strange.”
“Officer, someone’s here…”
Hearing this, Ryder still had that gentle smile on his face. He pointed behind him and walked towards the back.
The Snow Guard wanted to say more and get some free bread from him. Suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows, about to scold, but when he saw the person who arrived, his pupils trembled slightly…
The person said calmly, “Don’t disturb other people’s business.”
…
Inside the bakery, Ryder’s gaze swept over the Eastern face on the off-white towel of one of them. His eyes involuntarily rippled slightly, and he cautiously asked:
“Do you two want coffee or milk?”
