Free Web NovelChapter 197: Chapter 1: The Two Swindlers Finally Meet
Autumn had arrived.
Inside the High Tower, the temperature of the four seasons wasn’t really much different; at least, it wasn’t as dramatically varied as in the Pre-Tower Era, when there was a stark contrast between winter and summer.
However, to cater to the nobility and their wardrobe for each season, the ceilings of every level were still programmed to simulate the weather appropriately.
The coolness of autumn was in the air, and the nobles donned clothing that fitted the aesthetic style of this era, while the miners at the bottom layer didn’t quite feel it.
The weather outside the tower was extreme, and in their carry-on baggage, there were no fancy clothes, just very thick cold-weather gear.
The bustling Port of Found Goods was as lively as ever, with a large batch of goods claimed to be "Spirit Possession" transported in every day.
People picked and chose, their hope to change their lives by finding a good deal was still strong.
At this moment, Bai Wu was inside Chengzi Store.
Ever since Wu Jiu arranged for Liu Chengzi to join the Investigation Corps, the frequency of Liu’s business operations had noticeably decreased.
"Eh, the frequency of looking for a boyfriend has become lower and lower, and sometimes I even doubt... am I about to retire from the game?"
Inside the Chengzi Store, Liu Chengzi tinkered with a camera while talking to Bai Wu.
"It’s all because of the young man and the captain, oh no, the Legion Commander, who have raised my awareness of the general male population."
Bai Wu didn’t refute,
It was like in his previous life, where a portion of girls, always focused on media influencers and idol dramas, believed that a man should earn a six-figure income per month with millions in the bank, or else he shouldn’t be called a man but just a male creature.
Of course, this benign development with ’little green tea’ might prevent her from wreaking havoc on a few men.
"Found it. After I took it that day, I carefully hid it... I was really afraid this photo would be discovered and that my camera would disappear along with it."
"And you still hid it in the shop?"
"That’s because the most dangerous place is also the safest place."
"That saying doesn’t work for the upper echelons accustomed to thorough searches. If you want to hide something next time, you can let me hide it for you."
Bai Wu took the photo from Liu Chengzi’s hands.
The moment he saw the photo... he was stunned.
"What do you think? My besties look pretty, don’t they? They are much prettier than me. Even though I’m also pretty, my besties... they can definitely outshine Jiu and Ruan."
This photo was what Liu Chengzi had been continuously taking at different times using the Spirit Possession camera, from the spot where the cameras were discovered following the disappearance of the sisters years ago.
With only three chances a week, Liu was lucky to have guessed the right time and captured the scene of the two girls being abducted.
Even though the two girls in the photo only revealed their side profiles, and their expressions were of struggle...
But when Bai Wu saw one of the girls, a note about a pair of eyes subconsciously surfaced in his mind—
[She was once one of the most beautiful women in the High Tower, coveted by many for her beauty, as if she were born with the innate ability to provoke men’s desire to conquer her. But in the end, one manic manager, fearing he could not keep her beauty, planned to make her into a specimen, a never-decaying—Spirit Possession specimen. Guess what happened in the end? The manager’s dream came true, and she—achieved eternal life.]
The beauty mark by her eye corner made Bai Wu lament that the world was too small.
More than a month ago, a mission to rescue the miners had led Bai Wu to encounter the Evil Fallen with the beauty mark; at that time, he already had a feeling—the beauty mark seemed to have only recently become an Evil Fallen.
Her ability was very similar to that of Hong Yin, except Hong Yin took over other people’s consciousness, while she, when killed by others, would infinitely split, and the split bodies would have the same power as the original.
In the end, these Split Bodies would merge together again, forming a new and more powerful original form.
Legendary Mutation Entry·Infinite Proliferation, a terrifying entry on the same level as Reincarnation.
In Bai Wu’s view, among the top-tier Evil Fallen such as Mirror Evil Fallen, Demon Evil Fallen, Beauty Mark, Hong Yin, and Traveler, the strongest was Hong Yin.
But if some time were to pass... perhaps Hong Yin would be surpassed by Beauty Mark, which could split and merge in an exaggerated form. freёwebnoѵel.com
And such an Evil Fallen actually turned out to be Liu Chengzi’s friend.
At that moment, Bai Wu suddenly didn’t know how to explain to Liu Chengzi. freēwebnovel.com
Her once best friend had been taken outside the High Tower, subjected to humiliation and despair, and even lost the right to live as a human; the power that had taken her away even tried to turn her into a specimen...
How does one turn a living person into a specimen?
The torture Liu Chengzi’s dear friend must have endured was probably even crueler than what her father had done to her years ago.
What kind of intense suffering must one endure to possess a Mutation Entry like "Infinite Proliferation"?
As humans transform into Evil Fallen, their form and abilities are somewhat influenced by their inner thoughts; Liu Chengzi’s close friend must have been in a state of utter despair and resentment at that time.
"Little brother... what’s wrong with you? You’re wearing a strange expression."
Liu Chengzi thought that Bai Wu couldn’t possibly know her friend, but Bai Wu’s current expression was solemn, a look she seldom saw on him.
"Are you okay, little brother? Have you seen them?"
In the end, Bai Wu shook his head and said,
"What’s her name?"
Liu Chengzi didn’t notice that Bai Wu had said "her," not "them":
"The slightly plump one is called Qu Li, but she calls me Chengzi, and I call her Lizhi. The most beautiful one is called Shen Shuyue, she’s so pretty, we all call her Little Moon."
Actually, Liu Chengzi had already come to accept the possibility that her old friend was dead. When she mentioned her former close friend again, there was a smile in her eyes.
As if she could still recall the times when the three girls started a business on the lower levels, a time when Liu Chengzi didn’t rely on a man either.
She too once had a time of innocence, dreaming that one day, she would marry a diligent and steadfast man, living a life on the lower levels that was not wealthy, but at least free from worries about food and clothing.
Until later, when Qu Li and Shen Shuyue were kidnapped and disappeared, along with many other girls, did she gradually understand that for the people on the higher levels, the women of the lower levels were just commodities.
And not just the women, living in this era, those who cycled daily through four hours of mining and ten hours of rest, all of them were actually just commodities.
The changes that came afterward weren’t due to a major shock that led her to debauchery. A part of her realized that some men were really easy to deceive, and another part—she wanted to find out the reason behind her friends’ disappearances.
Finding out the whereabouts of her friends was a very difficult task for her as a woman.
She had let go of some of her obsessions from the past, because she had to continue with her new life.
But she hadn’t given up on seeking the truth.
"I haven’t seen them, but if I do, I will tell you. However, you have to be prepared, they’re most likely already dead, no longer able to return to the High Tower. But I will help you find out the truth of this matter."
"Mm..." Liu Chengzi nodded.
Bai Wu put the photo into his backpack, feeling that... it could be a useful item. If one day... he faced Shen Shuyue with the Beauty Mark again.
Then, Liu Chengzi started chatting with Bai Wu about some past events. Bai Wu was very attentive, acting like a warmhearted man, comforting a woman who was reminiscing about old friends with a wounded soul.
But in reality, he was thinking about how to learn as much as possible about Shen Shuyue’s past, which might be helpful in the future.
Of course, also to comfort Liu Chengzi along the way.
However, not long after, his cell phone rang, and Bai Wu had no choice but to stop inquiring about the stories of three young girls who had met an untimely end before their business had a chance to fully develop.
"What’s up?"
When he checked, the caller was Tian Xun, the leader of the interrogation team.
"Come over here, a noble from the Garrison Corps has gone missing."
"Shouldn’t cases like these be handled by the Garrison Corps?"
"That’s exactly the issue; it’s mysterious, and they can’t crack it," said Tian Xun, somewhat proud of that fact.
In the past, Bai Wu had to keep a low profile, but now his identity was cleaner than before; even if the rulers and managers wanted to investigate, his background would stand up to scrutiny without a doubt.
Because both the Legion Commander Qin Zong and Deputy Legion Commander Gu Qingyu thought highly of him, they made sure his resume was flawless.
Now Bai Wu no longer needed to hide his abilities, though he rarely had to do so in the first place.
"Alright, I got it. I’ll be right there," Bai Wu ended the call.
Liu Chengzi, perceptive as ever, said:
"It just so happens I need to chat with Little Moon this afternoon, we’re about to close the shop. Go ahead with your business, young man."
"Okay."
Bai Wu left Chengzi’s store in a no-nonsense manner.
Being a team leader is naturally more exhausting than being a member; you have to write investigation reports, organize team members to leave the High Tower, balance development with recruiting newcomers, and manage the various groups.
However... Bai Wu still had a lot of downtime.
Compared to Wu Jiu, he wasn’t slacking off; he was simply more efficient. Most things Bai Wu could complete before the end of the workday.
As a result, to most outsiders, this new team leader seemed lackadaisical—having taken the position only three days, he was leaving early every day.
What they didn’t know was that Bai Wu hadn’t overlooked a single matter concerning the seventh team.
If it hadn’t been for Tian Xun’s call today, bringing with it a sudden case, Bai Wu even planned to take Lin Wurou and others out of the High Tower that afternoon.
...
...
At the High Tower second level, the office of the seventh team leader of the Investigation Corps subdivision.
Tian Xun was sipping tea on the side, waiting for Bai Wu to give his opinion. After looking at the files Tian Xun had brought over, Bai Wu said:
"The officer in charge of this case is Jiang Xuan, the head of the third team’s Guard Department of the Garrison Corps. He’s under Ming Che, and Ming Che is quite good at selecting his staff. The case isn’t old either, so why suddenly give up on it?"
The disappearance of noble students and teachers actually wasn’t as big as the case of Yan Jiu’s disappearance. The key time period was short, and in Bai Wu’s view, the people under Ming Che shouldn’t have so quickly determined the case to be unsolvable and then asked the Investigation Corps for help.
Tian Xun happened to know about this:
"There are indeed some baffling aspects to this. The Garrison Corps asked for our help thanks largely to Jiang Xuan."
"What about him?"
"He... proposed to come study with our seventh team for three months. For this, he even gave up his position as head of the Guard Department. And you know... our interrogation team is not what it used to be, now with increased funding and better treatment, it’s practically on par with the Garrison Corps. If you can solve cases, who would want to leave the High Tower, right?"
Bai Wu also sensed that something was amiss. Ming Che was good to his subordinates, and it was like a Michelin-star chef going to a roadside stall to learn, for Jiang Xuan, the head of the Guard Department, to come to the Investigation Corps interrogation team for training.
But looking at Tian Xun’s expression, it seemed there was something even stranger. Indeed, Tian Xun continued to speak:
"However, the strangeness lies here. Ming Che is pretty good to his subordinates. When Jiang Xuan wanted to come over for training, he personally swallowed his pride, got in touch with me, the Chief Interrogator, hoping to secure a slot for him. Why should I care about his request? I flatly rejected him. But guess what? This Jiang Xuan insisted on joining our Investigation Corps, even willing to learn from the Vanguard Group if not the Interrogation Group."
Bai Wu narrowed his eyes.
His intuition began to feel that something was amiss, and he said:
"An experienced Chief Inspector who has been in position for many years suddenly applies to study with a bunch of crude men from outside the Tower? Now, this is interesting. Where is Jiang Xuan?"
"On the way, he should arrive shortly. Captain, how do you plan to handle this?"
"I have some connection with Ming Che. If he really comes, try to see if a position in the Interrogation Group can be arranged for him."
With the boss giving the order, Tian Xun naturally had to comply; he nodded without saying much.
Bai Wu also looked at the dossier.
Something about the timing of the case struck him as odd.
"The timing of this case coincides with when Dwarf’s Wife was kidnapped and the two armies were conducting their martial exercises. But it could also be a coincidence."
The dossier contained numerous photos from the crime scene. Prayle’s Eye didn’t provide any useful information from the photographs, and Bai Wu could only discern something from the indistinct paintings.
There is a book called "The Artist and the Madman," which discusses the psychological behavior of people with anti-human and anti-social behavior who nonetheless possess some artistic talent or superior intelligence.
Bai Wu had read part of it in his previous life.
The more deranged the person, the more oppressive their style of painting felt.
Although Bai Wu did not know this missing teacher, he felt that even if the teacher was not the murderer, they were certainly not just a simple victim.
This was just his intuition; he trusted it, but that didn’t mean it was always correct.
Right when Bai Wu and Tian Xun had finished discussing the case for a while, Jiang Xuan arrived.
As someone who had observed the first crime scene for several days and was originally a capable assistant to Ming Che, Bai Wu decided to meet Jiang Xuan.
After the investigating officer conveyed the information, Bai Wu closed the dossier on the table and said to Tian Xun:
"This person, who suddenly wishes to transfer from the internal establishment to the external ranks, has arrived. Let’s see what kind of person he really is."
Tian Xun was quite interested as well; he wanted to know why someone who was supposed to be his peer wanted to join the Investigation Corps as a student.
While walking, Bai Wu suddenly thought of something:
"Oh, by the way, how is the prisoner in the interrogation room doing?"
"The woman? Don’t worry, Captain he... oh no, Qingyu has instructed us, and the people from Ghost Grinding are helping us guard her too. She can’t run. But she’s injected with anesthetic as soon as she wakes up; is that a bit too much?"
"Ordinary means are useless against her. Her Innate Force is not lesser than many captains; you also need to consider resistance to interrogations, recording each time she wakes up."
Listening to Bai Wu, Tian Xun realized this woman must be very important. He took it seriously and noted it carefully.
Soon, the two arrived at the reception of the seventh team of the Investigation Corps branch.
Jiang Xuan was casually flipping through the newspapers at the reception, all of which were old. When he heard footsteps, he raised his head.
At this moment, Bai Wu’s gaze squarely met Jiang Xuan’s gaze.
In that instant, a huge turmoil arose within Bai Wu’s heart.
