Chapter 57: Secret in the Smoke
The scars of war lingered in Huilong City, etched into its dilapidated buildings, on its dusty tombstones, and in the hearts of its homeless. Even though Chu Hengkong no longer held an interest in the old history, after three months in the city, he had gained some understanding of the war's past.
Over the past twenty years, Huilong City has fought three major battles. The first war was against demons. One day, a vast horde of fantastical demons suddenly appeared, attacking the city with frenzied fighting intent. It's said that many high-ranking demons with names appeared in that war. Huilong City repelled the demons, but suffered heavy losses.
Shortly after the war with the demons ended, a second war mysteriously erupted. This time, the enemy's identity remained unknown. Some claimed it was a fire monster, others a spirit of the storm. Rumors abounded, but the only common denominator was an unusual celestial phenomenon. It was said that torrential rain fell for a long time, thunder eclipsed the brilliance of the sun and moon, and the clouds were a pure crimson, a blazing fire swirling across the sky.
"You can't imagine what a nightmare it was," Xie An said. "I was just a kid hiding in a shelter and thought the sky was falling."
"From the description, it's a massive gathering of natural disasters."
"That's right, the Scourge attacked the city..." Jie An scratched his mouth with his knuckles mid-sentence. "My God, just pretend you didn't hear it. Anyway, we completely sealed off the city after that. We had no choice."
"The city is sealed, so where did the enemies for the third battle come from?" Chu Hengkong asked.
"The heretics won't reason with you. They just popped out and fought a fierce battle with the city lord. No one knows what they look like, and everyone else who participated in the battle died." Jie An handed him a small medicine bottle. "This story tells us that disasters can happen at any time, so it's best to be prepared early - take your medicine."
The medicine bottle contained specially crafted lozenges, a new panacea Jie An had recently perfected, capable of counteracting various poisons and unorthodox methods. Production was limited, with each member of the team receiving one tablet. Chu Hengkong not only received half a bottle, but also received an unfinished Posha Changle Pill.
Now that the recipe was complete, the pestle could only produce complete elixirs. Unfortunately, Jie An was only a cornerstone. The only complete Changle Pill he had was made by the pestle automatically completing it, and it would never be available again. This unfinished pill was a surplus he'd made during his time in the swamp. Taking it out meant the team's resources were truly running low.
"We've been winning battle after battle, but why are we getting poorer and poorer?" Chu Hengkong said helplessly.
"Medical treatment is free? Equipment replacement is free? Fortifications, watchtowers, which one doesn't cost money? Where did the money go?" Jie An glared. "If you think it's shabby, just destroy the illegal factory right away. The whole team is counting on you to generate income!"
"Okay, I'll try my best."
Chu Hengkong felt his scalp tingling when he heard the nagging tone of the housekeeper. He quickly put away the medicine bottle and jumped out of the window. He hooked his tentacles on the windowsill and swung away with a few jumps.
Today's weather remained gloomy, the currents slower than usual, and a dark, murky hue shone through the water, suggesting impending rain. However, the city's atmosphere was less oppressive than usual. Dozens of bright yellow towers stood throughout the atrium, emitting a faint glow like beacons in the fog.
Chu Hengkong adjusted his angle mid-air and silently descended towards the tower closest to the headquarters. The guards on the top of the tower shuddered at the sound of footsteps, turning around and drawing their guns before putting them down awkwardly. "Inspector, you scared me to death..."
"You're alert, but remember not to fire your gun next time." Chu Hengkong raised his gun again. "Anything unusual?"
"There haven't been any crimes in the area today. Everything's safe and sound," the team member said proudly. "Now that the tower is built, this shift is going to be really comfortable!"
This tower, called the Divine Vision Tower, is a new "Gachapon Machine" gained after the club's capture. The tower itself boosts the combat capabilities of the players within its range, and each tower can rapidly exchange information with the others. It can instantly detect and alert anyone within its range of fraud, theft, and violence, making it a souped-up version of a watchtower in another world.
When Chu Hengkong first saw the tower, he joked about whether its detection capabilities would infringe on others' privacy. The question was met with a smug scientific lecture from Youyou, who explained things like "three thousand years of persistent experimentation and improvement by the ancient dragon clan" and "the culmination of a grand totem system and cutting-edge techniques from a new era." In short, any question a young man could imagine had already been addressed by the dragon elders, and the tower itself held no vestiges of dictatorial power. Chu Hengkong nodded as he listened, resolving to use whatever new gadget she pulled out from now on. He wouldn't ask again about the Fire Corpse.
"There's been no progress in the investigation into the club." Knowing what Inspector Chu was most concerned about, the team member took the initiative to speak up. "You know the place is completely burned, there's no clue left..."
The team member ducked his head mid-sentence. A tall tower to the west was glowing, transmitting a signal. He examined it carefully for a moment, then turned and said, "You've arrived in good time. Lü Xing sent a letter with progress."
"Do your duty well." Chu Hengkong jumped out of the tower and ran towards the west.
After the battle at the club, he'd been feeling a bit worried. First, he hadn't confirmed Visafu's death, and second, he didn't understand why Kanin was there. The man in white was no fool. Having already instigated a war against the club, there was no reason for him to risk entering the battle himself. He'd gone to the swamp to prevent Ji Huaisu from joining the fight, so why had he come to the building?
Chu Heng was confused and worried because of this. The hostility brewing in the dark was always more worrying than the enemy in the open.
·
"Grandma, please slow down..."
The atrium, the ruins of the former club.
Chu Hengkong pushed aside a charred rock and entered the crime scene, outlined by a yellow circle. The rock surface was scorching, the ground scalding. The team members, surveying the area, drank water from time to time to dissipate the heat. The fire that destroyed the club had long since died down, but the scene still emanated a lingering heat.
The team later discovered a secret room at the bottom of the building, but the area had been burned beyond recognition, and even with the aid of relics, they found no evidence. Chu Hengkong was curious about their new methods, but upon arriving, he saw a hunched old woman standing amidst the ruins. She puffed on her pipe, and the pale green smoke seeped into the ruins, condensing into ambiguous shapes.
"Grandma Sangjia?" Chu Hengkong looked at Lu Xing beside him. "What's going on?"
Lu Xing rubbed his hands, looking a little nervous.
"This morning, Grandma came to the atrium for a mobilization meeting. I realized the investigation had been stuck for quite some time, so I mentioned it to her..." Even if it was just an indirect suggestion, it was undoubtedly an overreach for a small-time captain to ask a great wizard to investigate. He lowered his head. "I was reckless."
"Well done, very clever." Chu Hengkong didn't care. Being able to push things forward meant it was done well. It didn't matter who asked Sang Jia for help, it was purely because the old lady appreciated their kindness.
He stood behind the old man and waited quietly until the shapes in the smoke became clearer, turning into a magic circle, footprints and a disgusting trail like a slug crawling.
"Look, here are the footprints of the Moon Child." The old man pointed at the wriggling trail. "It was terrified and resentful, sucking blood and moving forward bravely. But its fate was cut short..."
Granny Sangjia pointed to footprints not far away. The footprints stepped into the magic circle, destroying the already formed magic circle: "Over there are the claw marks of a crow, carrying the god of the sea. He discovered the escape of his young son, and then..."
Granny Sangjia paused for a long moment, as if she couldn't imagine what was going to happen next. Chu Hengkong walked around the field, stepping on the footprints to simulate the distance between them.
"He burned Visafu to death." Chu Hengkong was certain. "The flames burst out from the ground in just a moment."
Granny Sangjia nodded slowly, as if her thoughts suddenly became clear: "Yes, the flames burned the young child's fate, and the crows picked up the treasure..."
Smoke gathered in the center of the magic circle, solidifying into a blurry disc whose shape was indistinct. The old man picked up the disc and examined it carefully.
"Fire is a furious destructive god," Granny Sangja said. "Be careful, darling of fashion. Crows are not supposed to have burning hearts."
Chu Hengkong listened quietly and smiled at the old man, indicating that he understood. The old man also smiled and placed the smoke disk in Chu Hengkong's hand: "The fortune-teller's pursuit only goes so far. It needs to be washed with sea water before the longing can be interpreted."
"Thank you for your help." Chu Hengkong nodded and instructed, "I'll follow up on the investigation and take good care of my mother-in-law."
Without waiting for his brothers to reply, he had already walked towards the headquarters. On the way, he activated the communication crystal and had a brief conversation with Ji Huaisu.
"Oh my god," Ji Huaisu said, "I don't quite understand it, but I have a bad feeling."
Chu Hengkong skillfully ignored his partner's antics: "Grandma Sangjia is very concerned about fire. Is this special?"
"Have you seen anyone else in the city use fire?" Ji Huaisu said, "Fire is a very advanced power, the most destructive force beneath the First Abyss. Those who can wield it freely are at least 'Pure Fire', which is the particle of my path."
Even though Ji Huaisu was so strong, he was only at Seismic Point 2. There was no reason why he could fight Seismic Point 3 so well. So, Kanin must have used some unorthodox methods to gain high-level power before he even ascended.
This place has light poison, demon possession, and blessing of the dark moon. It is very easy to gain power. It just depends on what price you are willing to pay... and the workshop owner is undoubtedly a crazy enough person.
"What are your chances of winning if a real fight breaks out?"
"I'm sure I'll win, okay? I still have some super powerful moves that you haven't seen yet." Ji Huaisu vowed.
"to be honest."
"To be honest, it's pretty damn bad." Ji Huaisu was discouraged, "But there have been so many terrible things, and this is not the worst."
"really."
Chu Hengkong put away the communicator and studied the blurry smoke disk in his hand. Kanin had other plans, but he probably didn't expect his whereabouts to be exposed.
He decided to investigate this line himself. This was crucial intelligence; if he got hold of it early, he might be able to gain an advantage in the next operation.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
