Chapter 188

As for the physical document Ying Duo was holding in his hand.......

"Ying Duo, what did you discover?"

Although Shen Zexi was carefully investigating over there, he would from time to time also pay attention to Ying Duo's movements, although sometimes it wasn't of much use........

Ying Duo turned around, revealing the stack of yellowed paper he was holding in his hand.

"The Air Train's design blueprint is a discarded draft."

"What?!" Shen Zexi and Qi Hengyu, who had come over to join the fun, were both greatly startled.

The Air Train's design blueprint? Why would it appear in a place like this?!

Even as a discarded draft, it should have long been destroyed, or at least strictly kept.

"Ying Duo, can you let me take a look?"

Shen Zexi hurriedly asked, and Ying Duo casually handed it over.

After Shen Zexi took the document, he quickly skimmed through it; those complex rune circuits gave him a headache just looking at them, hard to imagine how the designer managed to devise a train connecting the Floating City and the ground.

But judging solely by the few formulas he could barely understand, this thing is likely genuine.

Could it be that the people of Co-Absorption came here for this?

His fingertip lightly rubbed the edge of the paper; judging by the yellowing of the paper and the oxidation of the ink, this file must have been here for a long time, and forgery seems unlikely.

But there was an inexplicable sense of unease.

"This document might have a problem......."

Shen Zexi raised his head and returned the document to Ying Duo; although Ying Duo is often unreliable, there's no doubt that his spatial storage is the best place to keep it.

"Put this away; when we get back we'll hand it over to the teacher to handle."

Ying Duo didn't respond, just silently stowed the document into his backpack.

Since the item is in his hand, naturally it's up to him to decide who to give it to.

The few of them turned the remaining parts of the laboratory inside out, but found nothing else useful, as if the room had been specially kept for this discarded draft, waiting for someone to come and take it away.

Just as they were preparing to leave and go elsewhere to look for an exit——

Click.

A crisp, unusually clear sound of a door lock clacking rang out—it was the very door they had just entered.

But Chen Mo Zhi clearly had closed it after being the last to come in, and none of them were near the doorway!

Who?!

Shen Zexi's lightning flickered faintly in his hand, Luo Jinyou and Chen Mo Zhi quickly drew together, assuming defensive stances, and even Qi Hengyu slowly approached the door, the energy coating his fists slowly flowing.

Ying Duo merely tilted his head, not even drawing his gun.

The person outside made no further move, but a chill seeped in through the door crack; an invisible pressure washed over like a tide, the indoor temperature plummeting as if they had fallen straight into an ice cellar.

Shen Zexi's heart sank to the bottom—could it be a Co-Absorption person?

Lu Mu? Or some other cultist?

They weren't just discovered; the opponent had also blocked the sole exit!

Shen Zexi and Qi Hengyu exchanged a glance; after all, they had been roommates for a long time and had even endured Ying Duo's torment together, so they had built up some tacit understanding.

Qi Hengyu slowly approached the doorway, his fist ready to unleash at any moment.

"Huh? It's Mitra Academy's classmates."

Just as the tension was at its peak, a voice tinged with a bit of amusement suddenly sounded from outside the door.

That voice sounded somewhat familiar?

Qi Hengyu and Shen Zexi both paused, but they had no intention of withdrawing the attack they had readied.

"Well....... Seeing as we cooperated to solve an 'Undercurrent' smuggling case, could you put your weapons away? I can feel this killing intent even through the door; this frail prophet of mine can't withstand your assault."

Chen Mo Zhi and Luo Jinyou looked bewildered, but Shen Zexi and Qi Hengyu had already guessed the other's identity.

The two glanced at each other, and Qi Hengyu was the first to lower his guard, pushing open the half‑closed door.

The visitor wore a khaki trench coat and a beret, dressed like a detective from a mystery novel, with both hands tucked into the coat pockets, as if he had happened by just to say hello.

But who would bother with the 'just passing by' act in a secret base buried deep underground?

It was none other than Min Tianyou, who had briefly cooperated with them in the Slum 'Undercurrent' smuggling case and possessed the ability of 'prophecy'.

"Oh dear, don't be tense, don't be tense."

Min Tianyou looked at the still‑tense crowd inside, especially Chen Mo Zhi and Luo Jinyou, whom he had never dealt with before; now their gazes toward him were full of vigilance, he raised both hands in a 'surrender' gesture, then turned his gaze to Shen Zexi.

"After all, we can count as temporary comrades who fought crime together; this prophet of mine, who can't even truss a chicken, can't stand your intimidation."

Shen Zexi appraised Min Tianyou with a scrutinizing glance; the lightning at his fingertips gradually faded.

"How did you end up here?"

This is the deep part of an abandoned underground research station that's been deserted for years, and the other party is from the Supervision Bureau—how could it possibly be a mere coincidence of 'just passing by'?

"If I say it's the guidance of fate, would you believe me?"

Fate?

Shen Zexi's heart stirred; he had never mentioned to outsiders that he always possessed a strange kind of 'luck' deep within, often letting him turn danger into safety and achieve his wishes in crises.

But accompanying it is the latent risk that those around him will at any moment encounter misfortune.

Fate is mysterious and enigmatic, especially for those who are prophets; they like to speak only half of what they mean.

"The guidance of fate?"

Qi Hengyu hadn't thought that far; he eyed Min Tianyou suspiciously, but the other's voluntary mention of the previous smuggling case also served as self‑identification.

But Min Tianyou's sudden appearance here remains highly suspicious.

"Mr. Prophet, since you can see fate, have you seen what we've encountered today?"

Min Tianyou burst into a laugh upon hearing that, 'My aberrant art is prophecy—it's about foreseeing events that have not yet happened, not retracing what has already occurred.'

Fate is like a book filled with possibilities, each page bearing countless branches, and what I have glimpsed is merely a few blurred lines among them.

Seeing that Min Tianyou seemed about to give Qi Hengyu a proper lesson, to make him understand what exactly constitutes a "prophecy," Shen Zexi quickly spoke up to interrupt him, bringing the discussion back on track.

"Mr. Min, let's first discuss why you're here."

"Of course, no problem."

Min Tianyou smiled and nodded, his gaze quickly sweeping over Shen Zexi and the others, lingering briefly on the Ying Guang Lu hidden beneath Ying Duo's hood, his eyelid twitching uncontrollably a few times.

"However, the Dark Raven and the Shepherd are already nearby; why don't we talk as we walk?"