Chapter 2434

"Is the water salty?"

547 thought for a moment, frowned, and said: "This... I really can't remember clearly, after all, it's been too long, but I recall that after that incident, the ground and clothes had some white residue—could it be salt left behind by seawater?"

Li Yalin nodded and said: "Most likely salt. If so, what you experienced was probably the Indonesian tsunami. The reason for the flooding was that the earthquake triggered a massive tsunami, affecting many neighboring countries, including your base."

As he spoke, Li Yalin circled two areas on the map and said: "So your base might be in western South Asia or eastern Southeast Asia."

Later, Li Yalin noticed a few items and muttered: "The epicenter of the Indonesian tsunami has seen earthquakes in recent years, though none were strong. Did you feel any tremors?"

547 shook his head and said: "I can't guarantee there were no tremors over all these years, but I can guarantee I didn't notice any obvious ones."

Li Yalin nodded and said: "Then it means your base should be in a relatively peripheral area within the 2004 Indonesian tsunami's impact zone, and also largely outside the range of subsequent nearby earthquakes. That's like narrowing it down to the area between the 9th and 10th rings on a huge target—already a major breakthrough."

As he spoke, he drew several circles on the map, finally marking the position between the two outer circles with a red marker, then added: "Although these areas are also large, fortunately most are ocean. And since you said you felt tremors and experienced flooding during the 2004 tsunami, your base must be near the coast—likely somewhere in this ring-shaped zone, either a coastal region or an island."

547 stared at the rings on the map, his expression complex, and said: "For so many years, with so many people, we've been trying to figure out exactly where we are, but no one knows..."

Saying this, 547 suddenly burst into tears, letting the hot tears stream down his face as he stared at the moderately sized ringed area and choked out: "Inspector Li... thank you..."

Li Yalin waved his hand and said: "Don't thank me yet. Even this ringed area is vast, and conducting a carpet search here would be extremely difficult. Besides, before I came, I discussed this with Young Master Ye, and I feel it's not yet suitable to actually go search these areas for your base. We should discuss this on paper first—at least we won't expose any clues. But once we want to enter this zone to find them, we must prepare to be discovered."

As he spoke, Li Yalin added: "So the best approach now is for us to work together on paper to find a breakthrough—ideally, through our joint analysis, we can shrink the target range enough for Young Master Ye to personally make contact."

547 nodded in understanding and sighed: "The organization's strength is indeed formidable. Rash contact would likely bring disaster. And after all these years, we've never escaped their control, never even seen their true face, nor do we know how strong their hidden power really is—it could far exceed our imagination."

Li Yalin said: "That you've failed for so many years and generations to escape this organization's control is indeed lamentable."

As he spoke, he looked at 547 and said seriously: "I believe if you want to break free from this centuries-old shackle, Young Master Ye is absolutely your only hope—only he might be able to rescue you, these death warriors, and restore your freedom."

"Yes!" 547 nodded emphatically without hesitation, his face full of anticipation, and said: "My greatest dream now is to reunite with my wife and children outside—this dream, I fear, can only be realized with Mr. Ye's help..."

As he spoke, he asked Li Yalin: "Inspector Li, do you have any other way to pinpoint our base more precisely? If I need to provide clues, I will tell you everything I know."

Li Yalin looked at 547 and asked: "Do you always fly out on missions?"

547 nodded and said: "Yes! Every time we fly."

Li Yalin asked: "What state are you in during the flight?"

"Unconscious." 547 replied truthfully: "Before each mission, we take a drug that induces deep unconsciousness, and when we wake up, we're already at the destination."

Li Yalin asked again: "Then how do you confirm each time you fly out on a mission?"

547 explained: "Each time I go on a mission, I have my wife help me calculate the time. Although our timing isn't precise, the error isn't large over short periods;"

"Each time I go on a mission, the time I can't control is the round-trip journey. The time spent executing the mission itself, I can record accurately. So when I return, I cross-check with my wife's recorded time, subtract my own mission execution time, and the remainder is the round-trip travel time. Under normal circumstances, whether going anywhere in the world for a mission, our round-trip travel time never exceeds six or seven days—this speed can only be achieved by aircraft."

Li Yalin lightly nodded and said: "Not exceeding six or seven days means your turnover efficiency is very high—even your departure airport is likely near your base."

As he spoke, Li Yalin recalled something and blurted: "Next, we can proceed in two steps: first, find better maps, including satellite cloud images, to locate all islands and airports within the ringed area, then prioritize inspection of the ten-kilometer radius around each airport;"

"As for the other step, we start from your transportation!"

547 hurriedly asked: "How do we start with transportation?"

Li Yalin said: "Although you fly on missions, you didn't go through customs when entering the U. S., did you? Because when you woke up, you were already in the U. S. and had completed entry."

"Yes." 547 nodded and said: "Every time we carry out a mission, we never go through customs—we open our eyes and we're already there."

Li Yalin continued: "I'm not sure about other countries, but after 9/11, the U. S. takes aviation security very seriously, so your aircraft couldn't have entered the U. S. directly—entry into the U. S. must go through customs. Therefore, they must have chosen a country as a transit point: first fly the plane there, then immediately arrange for you to cross the border by land to complete entry."

After a pause, Li Yalin asked: "Have you ever been to the U. S. before?"

547 nodded and said: "A few years ago, I went once—Los Angeles."

Li Yalin continued: "When you went to Los Angeles that time, did you also wake up already there, just like this time in New York, and was the round-trip travel time under six or seven days?"

547 nodded: "Yes."

Li Yalin smiled slightly and said: "Entering the U. S. requires smuggling, and smuggling only has two routes: by sea or by land. But if by sea, a round-trip under six or seven days is impossible, so I'm sure you flew to a transit country first, then crossed by land into the U. S."

Continuing, Li Yalin said: "The U. S. only has two neighboring countries for land entry: Mexico and Canada. If by land, it must be one of them. But Canada's aviation controls are also very strict, so if your plane used Canada as a transit point, you couldn't avoid customs. Mexico, however, is different—it's relatively chaotic, and the chance of a plane evading customs and landing directly somewhere in Mexico should still be quite high."

"I can basically confirm your base is in a coastal area or island in western South Asia or eastern Southeast Asia, near an airport, and that when you go to the U. S. for missions, your plane should first fly to Mexico, then transport you overland to New York. Moreover, this organization definitely has another group of subordinates stationed there in Mexico."

"I think Mexico should have the clues I'm looking for."