Light Fortress
Chapter 113 - 101 Yuan Dan Street

Chapter 113: Chapter 101 Yuan Dan Street

"Miss Jiang, I think you need to explain..."

Half an hour later, only the two of them remained alone in the compartment.

Gu Shen said gravely, "What exactly is going on here?"

The hypnotherapy session was complete; he had removed the spiritual imprints from everyone and sent the old district residents back to the minibus... It was evident that all this was no coincidence—no one could accidentally gather a bus full of patients whose consciousnesses were affected by sealed objects.

Introducing clients was a sham, bringing trouble was the real intention.

However, the reason Gu Shen chose to sit down and have a serious conversation with Jiang Wan was simple. He remembered that during the last Sculpture of Suspicion incident, Hu Danian had mentioned that Cui Zhongcheng had made indirect inquiries about Jiang Wan. Could this woman be associated with the Huazhi Group?

He indeed hoped to hear something from her mouth, like, "I am a special agent sent by Cui Zhongcheng."

But unfortunately,

It was not as he had thought.

"I’m sorry..."

Jiang Wan looked a bit conflicted as she seriously apologized, "Dr. Xiao Gu, because you cured me last time, so... I brought them here. Did I cause you any trouble?"

With the Chi Huo enhancement, Gu Shen could sense a person’s emotional fluctuations.

This was a normal person without awakened abilities.

Happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy, none could hide from his eyes.

"Where did these people come from?"

"The old district," Jiang Wan said, her expression growing serious as she proceeded, "For some reason, some residents in the old district have started to show these symptoms—consciousness in Chaos, dazed and confused, like wooden figures... The moment I saw them in such a state, I thought of you."

If he remembered correctly,

Jiang Wan was a wealthy heiress living in the affluent South Bay district... How come she took notice of people from the old district?

"Miss Jiang..." Gu Shen hesitantly asked, "What do you do for a living?"

"Reporter. A reporter for the Dadu Evening News."

Jiang Wan produced her credentials. She was sharp, picking up on Gu Shen’s hesitation, and explained softly, "The property in South Bay was bought by my family; the journalism job... I sought it out on my own..."

She earnestly pleaded, "There are still some patients in the old district; these are the address lists we’ve collected... Dr. Xiao Gu, why don’t you go take a look? Consider it helping them out."

"..."

Gu Shen was silent for a moment before softly asking, "Miss Jiang, does your family have a connection with Huazhi?"

At this question, Jiang Wan froze.

She thought for a long time and then said earnestly, "My parents are shareholders on the Huazhi Board of Directors..."

Indeed, a rich young lady.

"I will go... on the condition that you do not involve yourself in this matter anymore," Gu Shen said, his voice tinged with a headache, "After you go back, just do what you’re supposed to do."

Of course, he also employed the hypnotic power of Chi Huo with this statement.

After the person left,

Gu Shen immediately dialed Cui Zhongcheng’s number... Last time, after drinking with Crow, he took advantage of the latter’s drunken unconsciousness to pry Mr. Xiao Cui’s contact information.

As expected, it became useful in just two days.

Once the call connected,

"This is Gu Shen."

Gu Shen got straight to the point, "Is the spiritual contamination by sealed objects in the old district part of the assessment?"

The other end of the line fell silent, obviously surprised—surprised that Gu Shen got his contact and about the "sealed-object contamination" mentioned.

But soon Cui Zhongcheng replied,

"... No, it is not."

His voice was a bit grave, "There is sealed-object contamination in the old district? I will send someone to check it out... How did you find out?"

Ha!

So even Mr. Xiao Cui wasn’t all-knowing. Gu Shen couldn’t help but think that when he heard the reply.

He recounted Jiang Wan’s story again.

"Jiang Wan is not a Transcendent; she is indeed a reporter for the Dadu Evening News. She’s just very willful."

"And... her parents really are influential shareholders on the Huazhi Board of Directors," Cui Zhongcheng explained calmly after listening, "which is why last time during the Sculpture of Suspicion event, I had someone hint at her... I didn’t expect her to find you. This time, I will inform her parents and let them properly look after their daughter."

"Jiang Wan will no longer be involved; I have hypnotized her."

Gu Shen said, "Since you’re going to handle this, I will not interfere."

"... Wait a moment."

Just as the call was about to end, Cui Zhongcheng suddenly asked.

"Have you been to the old district recently?"

Gu Shen suddenly fell silent.

As far as he knew, the incident with Zhao Qi had left no traces.

But the asking party was Cui Zhongcheng, so he felt uncertain.

Thus, he remained silent, pretending the signal was bad. In front of such a shrewd man, any answer, if not careful, could reveal a flaw.

"Hu Danian has been following Shi Li all along," Cui Zhongcheng said calmly, "Recently, Shi Li has been hanging around the old district... Sincere Heart South Hall hasn’t assigned him any tasks, so the only explanation is that he has his own agenda. I suspect the big fish behind Changjiu Foundation is real and about to emerge."

Relieved by this explanation, Gu Shen.

Zhao Qi would not expose this mess; it seemed Cui Zhongcheng was still unaware for now.

"Hello... Are you still there?"

"Sorry... The signal was bad just now." Gu Shen started speaking again, frowning, "Shi Li is also in the old city district?"

"Yes."

Cui Zhongcheng said, "Every night, around ten o’clock, he’ll head to the old city district. The terrain is complicated there, shielding surveillance, so it’s impossible to track him in detail to see what he’s doing exactly. All Hu Danian can do is record the time points."

After listening, Gu Shen fell into thought.

If Shi Li has been visiting the old city district at night during this period...

Then on the day I beat up Zhao Qi, was he also in the old city district?

That kind of place, a broken and out-of-date corner of the old city, had been phased out long ago, and not many Transcendents would bother going there.

This seemed beyond coincidence.

Cui Zhongcheng said calmly, "No matter if Shi Li’s involvement with the pollution of the Sealed Objects is a coincidence or not, I think you still need to take a trip to the old city district."

"I..."

Gu Shen just started to speak.

"Thanks for your hard work, it’s settled then." Cui Zhongcheng hung up the phone, "I’ll send someone to pick you up when the time comes."

...

...

In the evening.

The person Cui Zhongcheng had arranged was waiting at the door of the dream talker.

Hu Danian was in a tight outfit, highlighting his rough and muscular physique. He rode a motorcycle, a thick helmet on, patting the rear seat and gesturing for Gu Shen to come aboard.

Seeing Hu Danian’s attire, Gu Shen was startled and subconsciously remembered the "wonderful night" not long ago.

Once more, he made a silent vow in his heart.

The incident with Zhao Qi... Cui Zhongcheng shouldn’t know about it, right?

"Meeting again?" Hu Danian laughed heartily, "Come on, get on the bike!"

On the way to the old city district—

The wind was howling.

The motorcycle sped fast.

The helmet had a built-in voice link system.

"I visited the old city district during the day and called on the families with mental abnormalities," Hu Danian’s voice came through the helmet. "These people were like fools, sitting stupidly at home, unaware of anything. Couldn’t get a bit of useful information out of them. But I did hear a fun story from the neighbors. Just the night before yesterday, there was a fight in the old city district, even heard gunshots. It was a fierce fight, two walls collapsed, and a lamppost was brought down... just don’t know the outcome, if anyone was killed or not."

Hearing this, Gu Shen felt guilty and quickly changed the subject.

"How’s the progress on the Shi Li case?"

"No progress at all... that guy is like an eel; as soon as he slips into an alley in the old city district, he vanishes without a trace." Hu Danian was immensely troubled and said helplessly, "You know, the Sincere Heart Association is split between north and south, and relations are very stiff right now. I can’t afford to follow too closely... This guy is notorious for his strong and aggressive strength, and secretly he’s a fanatic from the Changjiu Foundation. Who knows what he would do if he found out he was being tracked?"

"Indeed."

Gu Shen silently nodded in agreement.

Actually, this was also his original plan.

To slowly get closer and gradually investigate.

"Mr. Cui asked me to investigate the Sealed Object in the old city district with you," Hu Danian smiled. "But I haven’t seen any heavy fog... could you have been mistaken?"

Gu Shen shook his head.

He was certain about this.

Even Transcendents from the Deep Sea Tenth Layer with Spiritual abilities didn’t have the same acuteness as himself when it came to specialties.

"Let’s get one thing straight first, my abilities are limited. I can only offer a little help with the old city district’s Sealed Object case..." Gu Shen said, "And that would be to probe and mark the location of the Sealed Object."

He warned again with emphasis, "According to my estimates, this should be a Grade C Extraordinary Sealed Object, with a radiation range of about one street block. After marking the location, I won’t participate in subsequent tasks."

"Fine. No problem, leave it to me," Hu Danian laughed heartily. "I’m very careful with my work, always observe first before acting, firmly implementing the strategy of running if I can’t win... Just a mere Grade C Sealed Object, I’ve contained over a dozen already, don’t worry!"

...

...

Upon arriving in the old city district.

Gu Shen visited the residents according to the address information table provided by Jiang Wan... In their minds, Gu Shen nearly completed the jigsaw puzzle of the entire foggy dream.

Their life trajectories were like small ink dots falling on the map, spreading into circles, overlapping where they met each other, extending, and eventually enclosing a blank area... slowly surrounding it.

This was the location point of the fog in the dream.

Yuan Dan Street.

The old city district was on the outskirts of Dadu, and not every street block was inhabited; Yuan Dan Street is one of those abandoned streets, seldom traversed by people, with mostly derelict factories lining it.

Gu Shen found this area in the old city district map, slowly circled it, and sent the entire map packed to Hu Danian.

"Received!"

Hu Danian twisted the throttle and waved goodbye to Gu Shen. The roar of the motorcycle faded into the alleys of the old city district.

Gu Shen went alone to the waiting spot assigned by Hu Danian and quietly waited for nightfall.

He was waiting for Shi Li’s arrival.