Chapter 226: Unexpected Discovery

Heimu inhaled lightly, then exhaled slowly, as if calming a suddenly tightened feeling.

Even a faint sense of loss of control was enough to make Heimu feel uneasy.

"Under the hypothesis of 'leaving this universe' or 'entering an isolated realm', "

Heimu's voice grew colder, "Is there a way to track or locate? Even just a rough direction."

"It requires a higher‑level permission protocol."

The system replied, "Current Repair Degree (39.4%); directional tracking attempts are supported, but accuracy and success rate cannot be guaranteed, and it may attract unwanted attention."

"Grant the necessary permissions."

Heimu waved without hesitation, "We must find her; if she's alive we need to see her, if dead… at least we must determine how she died, who did it, and where."

"Command confirmed. Permissions opening… energy interface connecting… cross‑universe anchoring protocol loading… estimated scan preparation time: 15 minutes."

Data streams flashed rapidly through the system's inverted‑cross eyes.

Heimu nodded, eyes returning to the main screen, scanning the other still‑lit names, especially the few related to Xianzhou Luofu.

"Any response from the Xianzhou officials? Ten Kings Office or the General's Residence, any abnormal activity?"

"Within the current monitoring range, the Xianzhou Alliance public communication channel and encrypted network have not retrieved any emergency reports directly related to Huo Huo's disappearance."

The system reported quickly, "Internal communications of Ten Kings Office showed a slight anomaly 20 minutes before the standard time; encryption level is high, preliminary parsing involves keywords 'Task report', 'Target lost', 'On‑site inspection', but it did not spread. The General's Residence and Cloud Cavalry hidden sentinels remain in routine monitoring, no escalation."

"Fine,"

Heimu thought briefly, then decided, voice decisive, "I'll go to Xianzhou myself. It's a bit risky, but we can't afford to linger any longer."

Repair Degree hasn't reached the critical Node yet, Ling Shi-level Power is limited, but Huo Huo's disappearance is too suspicious; it must be investigated promptly.

This concerns her tolerance threshold for "accidents."

She turned, and Pure White Space opened the door back to the carriage again.

Inside the warm carriage, Ti Bao had already tidied the cups and saucers on the table, humming an unknown ditty while carefully wiping Heimu's bone‑china cup with a soft velvet cloth.

Hearing the door open, she turned instantly, smiling, "Madam, you're back? Has the matter been resolved?"

Heimu looked at Ti Bao's carefree face, and the cold thread in his heart caused by the loss of control softened a bit.

She walked over, took the cup from Ti Bao and set it down, patting her head, "Not yet; it's a bit more complicated than expected. I need to step out for a while and handle it personally. It may take some time."

Ti Bao, though a little puzzled, still smiled and nodded.

"Alright."

Heimu's lips curled slightly, then reminded her not to tamper with the carriage's control panels or the like, and prepared to leave again.

This time she truly left the carriage, heading for Xianzhou Luofu.

Just after Heimu's figure vanished behind the door, Ti Bao placed the cleaned cup back into the cabinet, about to go to the bookshelf for a book—

"Kada."

A faint yet unusually clear sound echoed in the carriage, coming from the opposite end, from the hidden door leading to the Starry Sky Train's main body.

Ti Bao's movement froze instantly, ears perked, her azure eyes fixed on the door.

That door had remained shut since she entered this hidden carriage.

Black Curtain Lady had told her that the door connects to the outside Starry Sky Train, but it has been concealed by a sophisticated method, and the Train Group is unaware of its existence.

Unless actively opened, from the train side it appears as an ordinary carriage wall.

But Black Curtain Lady also sternly warned: this door must never be opened casually, especially when it's uncertain whether anyone is outside.

Because if opened and not closed promptly, the concealment will temporarily fail, and outsiders may notice the extra carriage sections.

(Just now… was that the door lock sound? Or something outside?)

Ti Bao's heartbeat quickened slightly.

She set down what she held, tiptoed to the door, and gently pressed her ear against it.

Complete silence.

(Did I hear wrong?)

Just as Ti Bao exhaled slightly, preparing to step back—

"Thud, thud."

Two clear sounds, like joints lightly knocking the door panel, came from the other side of the door!

Ti Bao startled, leapt back a step, almost shouting, quickly covering her mouth, eyes wide, staring at the door as her heart pounded.

(Outside… someone? Knocking this hidden door?! Who?! Did someone on the Starry Sky Train discover it? No, that shouldn't be… Could it be…)

In her mind, images of the certain entities Black Curtain Lady had warned about flashed instantly…

Time briefly rewound, Starry Sky Train, Party Carriage.

Black Tower stood in the center of the carriage with an impatient expression, surrounded by some hastily set‑up detection devices.

She placed one hand on her hip, the other swiftly swiped an interface visible only to her in the air, muttering:

"Soul swap? Forty‑eight‑hour duration? Restrictive curse? Or some Meme? Tsk, the Train Group really knows how to cause trouble… samples are chaotic, too many interferences… interesting…"

She was trying to analyze the source of the chaos the Train Group encountered.

As a member of Tiansai Julebu 83 Xi, she has an innate curiosity for such unconventional phenomena, even though on the surface she was half‑invited, half‑dragged by Jizi under the pretext of "possible Aftereffects."

While retrieving the train's environmental monitoring logs, trying to find residual clues, her gaze unintentionally swept over the wall near the rear of the Party Carriage.

That wall should have been a smooth decorative panel bearing the train's logo and a star‑field pattern, linking to the carriage's rear structure.

Yet at this moment, with Black Tower's superhuman perception and keen intuition, she felt the wall's… spatial curvature was slightly off.

Like a meticulously painted picture where a color transition deviates by 0.01%.

"Hmm?"

Black Tower squinted, temporarily set aside the data analysis, and paced toward the wall.

She extended her hand, moving slowly a few centimeters from the surface, as if sensing an invisible force field.

(The spatial structure here… seems to have been folded? A very covert method, kind of interesting.)

Black Tower's curiosity was piqued.

Black Tower walked around that wall twice, even pulling out a small, pocket‑watch‑like probe and attaching it; the probe's reading flickered slightly, yet could not give a definite conclusion.

"Ghosts…"

Black Tower stroked their chin, stared at the wall, eyes flashing, "Either it's my illusion, or… this train still hides something good that even I didn't notice at first glance?"

Black Tower, of course, hadn't discovered the hidden door, but that intuition of "something's off here" was enough to raise suspicion and decide to add this spot to the "items pending deeper research" list.

Perhaps over‑focused thinking made Black Tower act subconsciously, perhaps a coincidence; their finger unintentionally tapped twice on the part of the wall they felt "off".

"Thud, thud."

The sound echoed through the spacious carriage.

Black Tower was startled for a moment, then shrugged, withdrew the hand, turned back to its instrument, muttering, "Fine, sort out this soul‑exchange mess first… this busted wall, I'll take it apart later…"