Chapter 102

A few inconspicuous vehicles silently parked at the very edge of the Slum's Fourth District, blending almost seamlessly with the surrounding dilapidated environment.

After the doors opened, Yue Chengzhang was the first to step out, golden eyes scanning the long‑abandoned street ahead.

Su Jingchuan and Min Tianyou followed closely out of the vehicle, Ying Duo trailed quietly behind Teacher Su like a small tail, its Ying Guang Lu hair stubbornly radiating presence in the dim twilight.

Several well‑trained Supervision Bureau agents quickly began distributing Rune devices, awaiting a single command from Yue Chengzhang.

"It's the street ahead."

Yue Chengzhang pointed to the 'street' ahead, piled with all kinds of trash and flanked on both sides by mostly half‑collapsed walls.

This could at least be called a street, since unlike the farther piles of rubbish that resembled a small hill, this place was at least relatively spacious.

"According to the records, the first Gloomy Fluorescent Stone sample was discovered at a corner of a nearby street."

"The operation team, following the planned protocol, will start searching from here for residual Mutation energy, especially low‑intensity, high‑purity anomalous signals."

"Yes, Commander Yue!"

The leading Supervision Bureau agent responded immediately, and together with several companions put on masks, wielding portable detectors etched with intricate Runes, they stepped into the abandoned street and began their work.

The devices in their hands emitted an extremely faint hum, continuously scanning every inch of the surrounding ground and broken walls.

Yue Chengzhang, Su Jingchuan and Min Tianyou stood at the entrance, also picking up scanning devices, ready to conduct the search together.

Even though it was still part of the Slum, the Fourth District appeared even more desolate than other areas; the air was thick with a rotten, putrid odor, and the surroundings were so silent they made one uneasy.

Su Jingchuan watched the agents' busy figures and instinctively felt that the chance of making progress was slim.

"It's been some time since those people passed through here; unless they returned later, the energy residue is probably already gone, and the Gloomy Fluorescent Stone's properties are faint and dispersive, so the hope of finding a useful clue is low."

Yue Chengzhang nodded at the words, also understanding this, but this was currently their only almost‑within‑reach physical clue source; even a faint hope must be tried.

Ah, don't ask why it's 'almost within reach'; just look at that dazzling Ying Guang Lu beside you.

At that moment, Min Tianyou turned to a Supervision Bureau member responsible for compiling information and asked.

"Where is the person who previously found the Gloomy Fluorescent Stone now? Did his record provide any more specific details, such as whether he saw any suspicious people or vehicles at the time?"

The staff member, after hearing Min Tianyou, showed a somewhat uneasy expression.

"Mr. Min, we only managed to record his statement earlier, but his knowledge is limited; he only said he happened to pick it up nearby and had not noticed any abnormal situation before that."

"After cooperating with us for the statement, he hurried away claiming an urgent family matter, and regarding this Fourth District…"

"The situation is rather special; Slum residents have tight internal connections and are already highly wary of outsiders. The Fourth District is even more extreme in this regard; if we forcibly detain anyone, it could provoke resistance and further hinder our subsequent investigation."

Min Tianyou nodded thoughtfully.

He had heard about the Slum's situation; unlike other districts where gang territories are more or less divided, the Fourth District resembled a huge, exclusionary 'family.'

The people here are extremely united and harbor deep resentment toward outsiders, especially official personnel.

The Slum has its own rules and ways of solving problems; official forced intervention could indeed be counterproductive.

"The Fourth District… really is a hassle."

Yue Chengzhang, who also heard the conversation, whispered a remark.

Because the Slum's situation is complex, the Supervision Bureau's higher‑ups prefer not to intervene, so he usually handles the Aberrant Species here, fully aware of the local power dynamics.

The wait for the search results felt especially long.

Yue Chengzhang and Su Jingchuan moved aside, whispering about the possible next moves of the Undercurrent and how to adjust the investigation direction if nothing was found here.

Min Tianyou wandered around the vicinity; in his words, he was trying to capture more 'prophecy' fragments in this area, but the residual information around was too massive and vague, making it hard for him to form a clear line of thought in a short time.

After standing quietly beside them for a while, Ying Duo's hollow golden eyes curiously examined the detector a technical agent was operating.

The instrument flickered with a faint blue glow, its screen displaying constantly shifting Runes, resembling a special Data Stream.

Perhaps finding him overly 'obedient,' an agent, while changing the detection point, casually handed a spare portable detector to Ying Duo.

Presumably seeing his intent to join, and with Yue Chengzhang tacitly approving their inclusion, everyone thought an extra pair of hands would be helpful.

However, that action was no different from opening Pandora's box.

Ying Duo took the detector, fingers lightly rubbing the cold metal casing and plastic buttons a few times.

The next second, before anyone could react, a strand the same color as his hair materialized in his hand, swiftly enveloping the detector.

Clack... tsk...... crack......

After a few light sounds, the costly precision instrument was, within just a dozen seconds, manually dismantled by Ying Duo into a dozen uneven pieces.

Screws, Rune plates, sensors, casings…

They were neatly placed on a relatively clean cement patch beside his feet.

Su Jingchuan, hearing the commotion, turned his head and felt his blood pressure spike instantly.

"Ying Duo! What are you doing again?!"

Although he had heard Professor Luo De'an mention him before, he clearly lacked an accurate understanding of Ying Duo's 'capability.'

If Professor Luo De'an or Teacher Li Ya were here, they would have rushed in to pull people away as soon as Ying Duo approached those devices.

Ying Duo looked up, those innocent golden eyes fixed on Su Jingchuan.

"Again needing to pay? Can you just deduct it straight from my parents' inheritance card?"

Su Jingchuan: "…… " He felt as if he were suffocating.

Yue Chengzhang and Min Tianyou were also drawn by the commotion; upon seeing the pile of parts on the ground, Yue Chengzhang's mouth twitched involuntarily, while Min Tianyou silently averted his gaze, deciding not to partake in this 'educational' activity.

Su Jingchuan, suppressing the urge to dismantle Ying Duo's head to see its inner structure, took a deep breath and, lowering his voice, scolded.

"Put it back together immediately! Do not touch any instrument again!"

Ying Duo glanced at the parts on the ground, then at Su Jingchuan.

After a few seconds, he sluggishly began working, reassembling the detector.

"Hmm… if the money in the card runs out, won't it start making players go into debt?"

More surprisingly, Ying Duo seemed to have the instrument's full schematics in his mind; the parts in his hands were like a child's building blocks, and he quickly restored them to their original state, at least outwardly indistinguishable from before.

As for whether the internal software still functioned properly, that remained unknown.

After resolving this little hiccup, Su Jingchuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he still dared not let Ying Duo get too close to any equipment.

He glared sternly at Ying Duo, signaling him to stay put honestly, then turned back to continue discussing with Yue Chengzhang, who merely laughed and patted his shoulder; although it was somewhat absurd, Ying Duo's talent with the rune device seemed even more absurd.

In that regard, Mitra Academy has struck gold.

Once Ying Duo's curiosity is aroused, it's hard to quell, and he is really bored right now.

Taking advantage of Su Jingchuan's back being turned while he focused on analyzing with Yue Chengzhang, Ying Duo moved.

He moved like a silent cat, taking steps that seemed slow but were actually swift, heading toward the corner.

Su Jingchuan merely glanced over, saw that Ying Duo hadn't gone far, and withdrew his gaze.

After all, could such a big blob of Ying Guang Lu just disappear in the blink of an eye?

Just as Ying Duo was five or six steps away from the rusted trash can in the corner, about to reach out and touch its cold surface, an accident occurred.

Whoosh!

A figure darted out like lightning from the shadows of a pile of discarded pipes nearby.

One of his hands firmly gripped Ying Duo's wrist as it reached toward the trash can, while the other swiftly covered his mouth, pulling him back into the shadow where they had been hiding.