Chapter 323 Hiding in hiding (5)
"Are you here looking for inspiration mushrooms?" Ji Huaisu was surprised. "Old Octopus has tons of them for wholesale!"
"After the inspiration mushroom incident, Dad personally led the team to deal with it. The mushrooms circulating on the market now all have filters installed. They're expensive and highly safe. We rely on this method to control mushrooms." Li Ke bit her nails. "But this batch is different... This is the first batch of mushrooms without filters, so it's inherently risky."
Chu Hengkong frowned: "The measures taken by Cui Ke should be very timely. He had already started the investigation before we intervened."
"But even so, there was a batch of mushrooms that even he couldn't find. The buyer of these mushrooms acted too quickly, even before Dad noticed." Li Ke said, "Dad sent me to investigate because he didn't want to alert the enemy. The merchant who bought the mushrooms was later prosecuted for illegally selling sugar. Logically, all his goods should have been kept in the procuratorate, but..."
She murmured, "Is there something wrong with my intelligence?"
"You're already into conspiracy theories, why don't you think about it more carefully?" Vander squinted. "Why would such a cautious businessman be brought to the procuratorate? Isn't it because his goods can be transferred without leaving a trace? When they're turned from goods into evidence, there's no transaction record. And if the case is of a lower level, the evidence can be disposed of however they want after the verdict..."
"But the process from prosecution to trial is very long and there is not enough time," Li Ke retorted.
"Why not think about it the other way around?" Vander said, "Before you can make it into a mystery case where the evidence is unclear and it can't be directly prosecuted, then use the scale of the transaction to raise the level of secrecy. According to the rules, evidence from major and above mystery cases must be kept in a special institution... and in a vast library like a mountain or sea, who would find that a few mushrooms have disappeared from an ordinary room outside the dust layer?"
"Hiss..." Li Ke took a breath, "What you said... makes some sense..."
"It's too costly to do this. If you really want the mushroom to disappear, you might as well arrange for it to be 'stolen' midway," said Chu Hengkong.
"Have you forgotten the leisurely Divine Guard Tower? All criminal records within the city-state will be detected, and any such actions will be discovered by the Divine Tree on the spot." Vander pointed out, "It's not easy to pull off such tricks under the eyes of the gods."
Ji Huaisu clapped his hands. "This matter needs to be investigated. In my experience, the more elaborate the matter, the more serious the other party's plans are."
Captain Ji's advice was universally acknowledged. No matter what the mushroom buyer intended, it would be a serious matter once it reached the Supreme People's Procuratorate. Li Ke hacked into "her own" office and used the Divine Power Terminal to retrieve the records. A stream of green information streamed before everyone's eyes.
"He really was transferred to the Grand Library... Three boxes of questionable evidence, dated three days ago..." Rico muttered to herself, "Room 987 on the 78th floor, low-security level. If we manage to sneak in, we can apply to inspect it. Hopefully, we're not in time yet. Let's go to the teleportation array on the 6th floor!"
They pushed the door open and walked out. Chu Hengkong didn't forget to lock it behind him and nodded to his "colleagues" who passed by in the corridor. Only after they disappeared into the stairwell did the two passing prosecutors whisper to each other.
"That agent is so handsome... Is he the newly promoted doer?"
"I'll ask for his number later. He looks quite capable. I'll try to find him next time I go out on a mission."
Everything went smoothly until I entered the teleportation array. The divine power teleportation array resembled a semi-cylindrical elevator. Once inside, the wooden walls slowly closed, and a faint green light lit up in the pitch-black space.
After closing the door, Li Ke tore off her mask and fanned herself with her hands: "We're lucky. They were probably so intimidated by your aura that they didn't dare to ask any more questions."
"It's going a bit too smoothly." Ji Huaisu muttered, "Although I have confidence in Akong's ability to conceal his aura, is the Supreme People's Procuratorate really... so weak?"
They knew their continued hiding was largely due to Rico's incredible plant-hacking skills. But a place like the Supreme People's Procuratorate was bound to have some powerful experts. Even if their equipment had been tricked, they had already prepared themselves for the possibility of being discovered by a passing prosecutor. They hadn't expected to remain undetected throughout their entire journey.
"Really? We've just encountered over 20 elite Seismic Level 4 soldiers along the way. Even the security guards downstairs are Seismic Level 3. How long will it take you, Chu Hengkong, to take them all out?"
"It will take some effort to hold back," Chu Hengkong said. "A life-and-death battle is another matter."
"See? I'd appreciate it if you two could have a clearer understanding of your own strengths. Even in Mansa Star Castle, you two are considered top figures." Li Ke sighed. "Aside from Lord Shenshu, who has a Sephiroth 7, there's only one true Sephiroth 6 in Jingsha. Normally, the highest-ranking fighter we can deploy is a Sephiroth 5 captain like Dad, and there aren't many of them... You can at least give Dad a fight. It's no big deal to hide it from those guys in the Procuratorate."
"The Jingsha can only hit one particle of size 6?" Chu Hengkong was surprised.
"What do you mean by only one?!" Li Ke glared. "Don't make it sound like cabbage, okay? That's a 6-point particle! People like your Huilong City Lord are what we'd call 'demigods'. We have one, and it's already quite impressive. How many demigods do you think the average power can have?"
"At least three," Ji Huaisu thought, "the particle 7 forces we've seen before all have three 6s..."
Rico looked at them like prehistoric mammoths.
"Excuse me, what exactly do you mean by 'normal'? Are you referring to the legendary evil god? Please don't scare me, I'm afraid."
Chu Hengkong rubbed his forehead and realized that his three views had been poisoned by the wilderness again.
Vansalar's Demon King's army boasted three Sephiroth 6 lieutenants, Vacro, Limb Spider, and Night Walker, while other officers like Curse Thunder and Burning Embers were also extremely powerful Sephiroth 5s in their lifetimes. They had always assumed this lineup was standard for a god-like force, but now it seemed this was simply an example of the Demon King's army being too strong in its prime...
That makes sense. Limb Spider was defeated and surrendered, and Night Walk was simply forcibly transformed. If it weren't for Vansalar's own incredible fighting prowess, the Demon King's army would have only had one Sephiroth 6, Vaquero. Normally, Jingsha is the standard Sephiroth 7 force... Considering the hidden talents within Jingsha, it's likely the most well-off...
"They've dealt with outsiders too much and lack common sense." Finder said listlessly, "But to be honest, I'm a little nervous. Even if the regular elites can be deceived, wouldn't it be a blow to Master Shenshu's face if we used the divine power teleportation array?"
"Lord Shenshu is very good at turning a blind eye and won't bother with us." Rico fixed her hair. "Alright, before you go out, take off your disguises and stuff them into the storage relic. From now on, we are Citizen 1234, the unyielding citizen who has come to open an old case."
"It would be more convenient to use the prosecutor's disguise."
"There are too many important people in the library, and I don't want to bump into any of them!"
They quickly removed their disguises and returned to their regular clothes, not forgetting to spray on the simplest perfume to show "I am a civilian." The green light in the small room flickered on and off, and then the wooden door opened, and they stepped into a pure white corridor.
"You should have permission to enter the Dust Layer, right?" Li Ke asked in a very low voice.
"In fact, we just took the Portkey."
"I'm really impressed... Remember to treat me to a meal when you get back."
Li Ke walked briskly down the hallway and into the circular lobby, her two white braids swaying behind her. The divine guard at the front desk (a lemur dressed as a middle-aged woman) seemed to recognize her and smiled. "Miss Li Ke, nice to see you again."
"I'm not one to give up easily." Rico sneered, pushing out a wooden card and another key. "G-2980, 4 people."
"Of course, 2980. Who are these people?"
"I've hired these great detectives from Huilong City," Li Ke said viciously. "I'm waiting for them to help me uncover the truth."
Ms. Lemur looked at her for a while and sighed, "I understand, Ms. Rico. But... it's been so long. I was a schoolgirl back then, and now I'm a housewife. Many things can't be changed."
Li Ke pursed her lips, looking angry. Vander interrupted, "Out of curiosity, ma'am, did they ask you to sit here just to throw cold water on you?"
"Of course not. Sorry... Please keep it for one hour. You are not allowed to take any materials away."
Li Ke snatched the pass, gave Vander a grateful look, and then strode towards the elevator. Ji Huaisu patted her shoulder: "Do you have a case too?"
"I'm considered a relative of someone involved in the case," Li Ke replied vaguely. "There was a stupid case before, it has nothing to do with the real thing. Let's go...!"
She hurried to the elevator door, which opened just then. Li Ke took two steps back after seeing who was coming. This fearless girl had never seemed so reserved before.
"Mr. Benintic," she greeted quietly.
A prosecutor in a dark black suit emerged from the elevator, his gaze scanning each person in turn. "Good afternoon, Ms. Rico," he said politely. "And nice to see you again, everyone..."
He was silent for a moment, thinking, "Who are you all?"
"You didn't know that!" Vander couldn't hold it in.
"Although we met once at the amusement park, it seems none of you have ever mentioned your names." Benintic adjusted his checkered scarf. "That's right, my prosecutor's memory is like this pure white scarf. I won't let go of any suspicious 'points'!"
"But your scarf is plaid," said Ji Huaisu.
“…”
Benintic lowered his head and fell into a mysterious silence. Li Ke silently held her forehead and said, "You mistook the handkerchief for a scarf again..."
Prosecutor Benintic pulled the checkered scarf from his pocket with lightning speed, arranged it, tied it, and then put the handkerchief away. The whole process took less than 0.6 seconds, and the smoothness of his movements made even Chu Hengkong want to admire him. He was about to speak seriously when another voice came from behind him: "Excuse me, can I come out? The elevator door is closing..."
Benintic turned aside and said, "Excuse me, please."
The elevator door behind him snapped shut, just catching a piece of his white shirt. A muffled voice came from behind the door: "It's a little difficult..."
"The stopping interval design of the library elevator is clearly extremely unreasonable," Benningtick clicked the button repeatedly. "I'll report this to the Engineering Department later."
Fan Dexu glared: "No, it's really patient of me to wait until you guys finish talking so much nonsense before closing this elevator. Seriously, is there no normal person among you upper echelons of Jingsha? I feel so sorry for the guys trapped in there!"
"This guest is right. Work efficiency is indeed an issue that Jingsha and other city-states cannot ignore. However, each place has its own customs. You may consider this a unique characteristic of our Jingsha."
The elevator door opened again, and Rico's expression darkened as she heard the voice. It was a man in a white military uniform, his blond hair neatly combed. Judging by the shape of his lips and the curve of his chin, he must be a handsome gentleman. However, his full appearance was unknown, as a white mask covered the upper half of his face, and even his eyes were obscured by a film, obscuring his expression.
"Parriman...!" Rico whispered like a curse.
"It's been a while, Miss Rico," Pariman said. "And I'd like to extend my greetings to all the visitors from Huilong City, and warmly welcome you to Mansa Star Fortress. My name is Zan Van Pariman, and I'm the Speaker of the Senate of our Thorns City-State."
(End of this chapter)
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