BXBX NOVEL Chapter 223 - 223 - Trace
Upon seeing the symbol occupying nearly half of the wall that was unmistakably linked to Star Hunters, Qin Lang and his companions gasped and donned different expressions.
“It was definitely the work of the Star Hunters!”
Zhang Chuan, who had already inferred as such, was more convinced of this fact—his face showing a sort of hostile righteousness, “This nefarious organization committed crimes in Bai Lu Mountain City, and now they have extended their reach to our Miredi City!”
Pei Yue, standing next to him, didn’t say anything, but her approving expression and nodding movements clearly revealed her agreement with Zhang Chuan’s conclusion.
On the side, Qin Lang furrowed his brows slightly.
Everything right now points towards the Star Hunters organization.
The more it appeared that way, the more he felt something was off.
Take this freshly painted logo on the wall before him—it was clearly done in recent days and very different from the worn and damaged walls around it.
Would the Star Hunters go to such lengths?
“Um…” Qi Xian, standing aside, wore an even stranger expression than Qin Lang. He opened his mouth and finally couldn’t help but voice his thoughts, “Isn’t it a little too easy to find the conspicuously noticeable Star Hunters’ logo the moment we push the factory gates open?”
“Is it possible that someone else is trying to pin this on the Star Hunters organization while using it to clear themselves of any suspicion?”
“Absolutely not! Definitely no chance!” Zhang Chuan waved his hand resolutely, sporting an assured look, “You guys may not understand the Star Hunters organization as I do!”
“The Star Hunters organization has a habit of sending out warnings before committing any crimes!” Zhang Chuan accentuated his words, “They are audacious and show no sign of keeping a low profile, contrary to what one would expect from a globally wanted criminal organization.”
That said, Zhang Chuan motioned towards the logo on the wall, “Drawing such a conspicuous logo on the wall is unthinkable for any other criminal organization, only the Star Hunters would do that!”
Qin Lang scratched his chin, his expression thoughtful.
Qin Lang didn’t have extensive knowledge of the Star Hunters organization. Upon hearing Zhang Chuan’s analysis, his initial doubts were significantly swayed.
The Star Hunters were indeed rather ostentatious. Could this really be their work?
Perhaps he was overthinking. After all, they were dealing with a criminal organization-why would he firmly believe it’s not the work of Star Hunters if innocent people were involved?
Meanwhile, Qi Xian’s expression grew even weirder.
This weirdness only lasted a moment, and quickly he let out a subtle sigh and maintained a stern and just outlook, “Brother Zhang Chuan, you are absolutely right!”
“Ha-ha! That’s the ability of a peacekeeper!” Seeing no one else questioning, Zhang Chuan chuckled and there was a hint of pride on his face, “Alright, let’s look for more clues.”
“It’s not enough that we have identified the mastermind, we also need to find the source of this Unowned Star Power to figure out a way to eliminate the negative effects.”
“The rest of our colleagues haven’t arrived yet, they must be delayed on the way.” He glanced through the factory door and quickly arranged the jobs, “I’ll group up with Pei Yue to search this area for clues.”
He gestured an area that covered about 70% of the large factory space, “The rest is up to the two of you. Let me know if you encounter anything unusual.” “Alright,” Qin Lang nodded.
-Leave it to me and Little Brother Qin Lang!” Qi Xian confidently thumped his chest.
After the division of labor, the quartet split up into two groups and quickly set off.
“Let’s examine that partition first.” Qi Xian looked around and pointed to the partition closest to them.
“Sure.” Qin Lang followed with his two little companions, and then asked curiously, “Mr. Qi Xian, you’re a Spirit Chef, right? Why don’t you summon your Food Spirit to help?”
“Oh, 1 almost forgot.” Qi Xian slapped his forehead with a good-natured laugh, then with a flicker of starlight, a Food Spirit appeared at his side.
A Four-star Food Spirit?!
With four stars surrounding the Food Spirit, Qin Lang couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock, “Did you already open four places of Star Vein?”
“I’ve only opened three, this is the only Four-Star Food Spirit.” Qi Xian took out a Crystal Stone from his pocket, which looked just like the Repelling Stone Qin Lang had received.
“Brother Zhang Chuan only gave me one Repelling Stone, so I could only call upon the strongest to help.”
Qin Lang nodded in understanding.
Since they entered the abandoned Star River Manufacturing Factory, the density of the Unowned Star Power reached its peak. If it weren’t for the Repelling Stones assisting Dan Bao and Spicy to repel the Star Power, they would’ve uncontrollably absorbed it all by now.
It’s a pity that they couldn’t sense the density of the Unowned Star Power more clearly in here, otherwise, it would’ve been a great help in finding the source of the problem.
“Let’s go,” Qi Xian smiled, “With a Food Spirit around, even if danger arises, we can still handle it.”
Qin Lang nodded.
With a Four-Star Food Spirit accompanying them, their sense of security skyrocketed.
“Creak ”
The two of them pushed open the completely rusted metal door of the partition, and clouds of dust shaken off by the vibration hit them in the face.
“No wonder this factory has been abandoned for over ten years.” Qi Xian sarcastically commented, signaling his Food Spirit to blow the dust away.
On the other side, Qin Lang and his little companions also blocked the dust with thought waves and nodded in agreement.
Inside the partition were only some completely broken production turning machines. The fractured metal arms and bearings were also severely rusted and were scattered across the floor, covered in dust.
After a quick tour around the partition, Qin Lang shook his head and spoke, I don’t see any issues.”
“There’s a lot of dust on the door, and all the joints are rusted.”
“There are no footprints inside from before we arrived—everywhere is covered in a thick layer of dust.”
“If the culprits had abdicated only a few days ago, there’s no way they would leave without leaving any traces in such a dusty environment.”
“I agree.” Qi Xian surveyed the ground, where only their footprints were present. He gave Qin Lang an appreciative look, “Excellent judgment. I’m confident that you surely have a lot in common with Brother Zhang Chuan.” “Not at all,” Qin Lang gave a shy smile, “Let’s go check the next partition.” “Sure thing.” Qi Xian nodded enthusiastically. Following Qin Lang out of the partition, they jointly opened the iron doors to the next partition together.
One after another, they chatted leisurely while examining the areas assigned to them.
In a factory that had been abandoned for over a decade, any recent marks were obvious at first glance. Thus, both of them were quite efficient in their search, just as Zhang Chuan and Pei Yue had been.
Soon, the quartet gathered again in the clearing they started from after entering the factory.
“Every place is covered in a thick layer of dust,” Zhang Chuan’s face portrayed a mix of confusion and frustration, “There are no traces of activity?”
Pei Yue, standing beside him, pondered for a moment before replying.
“Actually, it’s not entirely without a trace.”
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