Chapter 149 Tracking the Humanitarian Division 1

Seeing that Lu Youxun was asking questions without understanding the true meaning, Ma Zao's eyes changed slightly, and she took a step closer to Zhu Shi without making a sound.

The latter, without changing his expression, nodded frankly and replied, "It's true."

“Is that so…” Lu Youxun’s tone was complicated.

Ying Lingyun is the creator of the freaks in the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau—this truth is so shocking that it would be an understatement to call it a disgrace to the Zhu family. However, judging from their conversation, neither Zhu Shi nor Old Master Zhu seem to have any intention of protecting Ying Lingyun.

Although Lu Youxun acted as if he only learned the true identity of the monster creator after seeing Zhu Shi's report, he also participated in the recovery of the remains of several other clones of the monster creator. Although those remains were blown up and charred to the point that their original form might be unrecognizable, as long as the body parts were pieced together, it was not impossible to find out their original appearance.

Others might not have done such bizarre things, but he harbored a deep hatred for the creators of these strange individuals, so it's hard to say whether he truly hadn't done it. Here, he intentionally asked Zhu Shi, more like probing than questioning.

I skipped all the roundabout talk and went straight to the point: "Are you planning to take revenge on Zhu Shi?"

“If I really had those thoughts, how could I possibly bring it up in front of you?” Lu Youxun shook his head. “I just wanted to clarify my own thoughts. To be honest, my feelings are very complicated. Although it is often said that one should not bring trouble upon one’s family, it is still difficult to act as if one is not a person when one sees the daughter of one’s enemy standing in front of one.

"Of course, I have no hatred for Zhu Shi herself. It's just hard not to think about what kind of expression that arrogant man would have if I killed her and then brought her head in front of Ying Lingyun."

“You’re quite honest! It’s just a pity that my irresponsible father probably doesn’t have much affection for me. He’ll probably just make a casual comment or two and then forget about me,” Zhu Shi said. “So, what’s your conclusion?”

“Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. I will not lay a hand on you,” Lu Youxun said calmly.

"That would be perfect."

I felt he was mostly telling the truth, but I still wanted to delve deeper into his heart, so I tentatively asked, "But Ying Lingyun is already dead. Now you're still talking about how the grievances have their source and the debtors their debtors. Doesn't the timing seem a bit off? The target of this blood debt has disappeared. Will you also abandon the blood debt in your arms?"

“Ying Lingyun is dead, but the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau is still alive. My next target for revenge is the Humanitarian Affairs Bureau,” Lu Youxun said calmly. “Besides… is Ying Lingyun really dead?”

"Do you suspect he's not dead yet?" I asked, concerned.

If he has evidence, I'd really like to hear it. Although I also believe Ying Lingyun couldn't have died so easily, such a judgment, aside from baseless speculation, is nothing more than empty conjecture. Because anything is possible with the fragments of the Divine Seal, could Ying Lingyun still be alive? This isn't reasoning; it's more like my personal hope.

“It’s just a feeling.” Lu Youxun seemed to be talking to himself. “That’s right, just a feeling… How could that man have died so easily?…”

A feeling? He's not Number Two, nor does he seem to be a witcher known for his keen intuition. To simply dismiss it with a "feeling" is hardly convincing. Could it be that he has other clues, but simply doesn't want to tell us?

I set aside my doubts for the moment and looked at Asahi, who then asked, "May I begin my investigation?"

"Yes, thank you for your trouble." Lu Youxun gestured for him to proceed.

Asaha walked into the "clinic" and we followed closely behind.

The "clinic" was small and empty, with no equipment or furnishings in sight, only partitions dividing the rooms. Apart from the lobby, there were only two or three other similarly empty small rooms. Ma Zao roughly toured the room, briefly scanning it with her naked eye, before stopping in one of the rooms, closing her eyes, and seemingly entering a meditative state.

Soon, she opened her eyes and walked to another room.

"So, is it possible to find out?" I asked.

"Yes, that's fine. There were indeed some pieces of equipment here that I didn't quite understand the purpose of." She nodded.

Lu Youxun asked curiously, "Didn't the anti-divination methods set up here by the creator of this strange person cause you any harm?"

"It's somewhat of a hindrance, but not a problem," Mazao replied.

It's unclear whether her statement "no problem" meant that the other party's anti-divination methods were no match for her blessing power, or that with the "help" of her jinx constitution, even if the anti-divination methods shredded the historical information she was investigating into tiny pieces, she could still piece it together by luck.

I have high expectations for her performance. Not only am I looking forward to her successfully uncovering clues that will help us track down the Humanitarian Department, but I'm also eager to see her perform. Watching her use her blessed power to demonstrate her abilities makes my heart race, as if I were demonstrating my own skills.

Lu Youxun looked at Ma Zao's behavior, took out a small stack of palm-sized pieces of white paper from his pocket, and handed it over: "Try this."

Mazao kept her hands at her sides. She did not rashly take the other person's things, but instead showed a scrutinizing look.

"What's this?"

“This is a ‘read-write photo’,” Lu Youxun explained. “Just hold a blank read-write photo in your hand, then focus on recalling the image in your mind, and it will appear on the photo. You can use it directly, and if you have any left over, you don’t need to return it to me; just consider it a gift from me.”

"So the photos you used to take out weren't written by your own power, but by props?" Zhu Shi complained, while carefully examining the stack of blank photos.

Lu Youxun replied matter-of-factly, "I've only been a patrolman for less than a year since I was transferred from the Wuchang position. How could I possibly master all the abilities? I rely on props for many things."

He does indeed frequently pull out various props.

Ma Zao turned and glanced at me. Seeing that Zhu Shi didn't comment on the stack of blank photos, I nodded to her. Then she took the props.

She took out one of the photos and closed her eyes to meditate. Soon, the photo displayed the scene from the previous room.

The room in the photo is no longer empty, but filled with a lot of equipment and instruments that strongly suggest medical research.

Lu Youxun took the photo, examined it carefully, and then, as if reflexively, frowned.

"Did you figure anything out?" I asked.

“No, I just have a bit of a phobia about this type of equipment and devices.” He sighed. “Let’s have a professional take a look later. Such sophisticated equipment and devices couldn’t possibly be entirely produced and manufactured by the Humanitarian Affairs Department. Luo Shan should be able to trace the manufacturer through the clues in the photos.”

He bowed his head to Asahi and said sincerely, "Thank you. Just getting these clues is already a huge gain. I believe the creator of the monster didn't want us to investigate this, which is why he urgently retrieved the equipment and facilities here and even set up anti-divination measures afterwards."

Seeing this, I felt proud, and Zhu Shi's tone became cheerful: "It's not over yet. Maybe we can find more useful clues. Right, Ma Zao?"

"Hmm." Mazao nodded calmly.

“However, something’s a bit strange…” Zhu Shi pondered.

"What do you mean by 'strange'?" I thought she was referring to the photo.

“Look, isn’t my father’s goal to resurrect the great demon Silver Moon? He was even willing to break with the Zhu family for it, and joining the Humanitarian Division was probably for this too, right?” she said. “And now he’s researching some weirdo… From the Humanitarian Division’s perspective, it’s understandable; their goal is to create extraordinary warriors who can rival demon hunters. But that has nothing to do with my father’s own goals, does it?”

She seemed to have included Ying Lingyun's wish to revive the great demon Yin Yue in the report as well. Lu Youxun showed no surprise at this and also fell into thought.

Once someone joins an organization, many things become beyond their control. However, Ying Lingyun's situation is different. As one of the high-level decision-makers in the Humanitarian Affairs Department, he should have greater freedom of action compared to middle and lower-level personnel. His deeds also reveal him to be a highly self-centered person. If the Humanitarian Affairs Department were to force him to do something unrelated to his own desires, he would likely part ways with the Humanitarian Affairs Department just as he did with the Zhu family.

Moreover, his frequent external activities, instead of his usual role in decision-making, subtly suggest his enthusiasm for creating eccentric characters.

Or is it that his main body is indeed immersed in the work of reviving Silver Moon, while the work of creating monsters is entirely left to the "possibility clone"?

I feel this reasoning isn't entirely airtight. "Possible clones" are manifestations of the original's possibilities, and the monster creator has summoned many clones in front of me, their number not insignificant compared to the number of nodes in the consciousness network. Furthermore, he should also have numerous clones in other cities responsible for creating monsters. If he can summon so many "possible clones" in this direction, doesn't that mean he was originally quite likely someone dedicated to monster creation?

"He couldn't just be creating monsters. Perhaps this work is important to the Humanitarian Department, but Ying Lingyun's focus is elsewhere," Lu Youxun said thoughtfully. "To resurrect a loved one? That kind of guy actually falls in love with someone from the bottom of his heart..."

Zhu Shi sighed, "Women like Yin Yue are simply designed to destroy men's brains. Don't even mention my father, even I, a woman, get confused just thinking about it."

“Indeed,” Lu Youxun said, feeling the same way.

“You actually agree! I thought you would criticize my father a bit,” Zhu Shi said.

"Truth is beyond dispute. Since ancient times, men have had an ultimate fantasy about the opposite sex..."

Lu Youxun seemed about to say something that would damage his image again. Seeing this, Zhu Shi adopted a respectful but distant expression.

Just then, Mazao exclaimed "Huh?" and turned to look in the direction of the front hall.

(End of this chapter)