Chapter 1538: The Fire Phoenix's Hideout

Xia Qing thought for a moment and asked, "One of those things is that you and Tang Heng didn't take the helicopter that came to pick me up on the 23rd, and returned to the safe zone with everyone else?"

"Right! Tang Heng was busy with the soil research institute those few days. After I came back from Bai Yi Safe Zone, I still hadn't adjusted my emotions, and I was afraid of worrying my grandma and my mom, so I didn't go back." Tang Huai explained why he and his younger brother hadn't returned with everyone else, then continued.

"The second thing is even more fucking absurd: because not a single person from my family or my family's company was injured or killed in this explosion! Liehuo fucking didn't bomb my family's restaurant. The entire safe zone only had 169 casualties from the explosion in total. Why the hell would there have to be someone from my family? Anyone with eyes can see that Guo Tai'an just wanted to drag a few people down with him as he died…"

Xia Qing cut off this mouthy fellow coldly, "Finish talking before you curse. What's the situation now?"

Tang Huai returned to the main topic, "My dad was taken away to cooperate with the investigation for a day and a night before being released. Those people didn't just ask about the explosion case from a few days ago, they also asked about my dad going to Hui Yi to save my cousin back then. The implication was suspecting my dad of being a member of the Blue Blood Alliance and deeply involved in this explosion case. To prove his innocence, my dad produced recordings and videos of every meeting with Guo Tai'an, as well as call and text records of his communications with Guo Tai'an over the years, and presented his 24-hour whereabouts records for every day in the ten days before the incident."

Xia Qing confirmed, "24-hour verifiable?"

"Mm. Not just my dad, the whereabouts of our entire family are 24-hour verifiable. Before Tang Zhengrong and Tang Zhengsu fell, they kept trying to take us down, to seize all our family's business and assets. To deal with them, we couldn't afford a single mistake. Thanks to this caution, my dad was able to get out of this smoothly."

Tang Huai added, "Don't worry, Sister Qing, I never record or video our conversations, because entering someone else's territory to record or video is illegal."

Xia Qing nodded to show she understood, and her mood was calm, because not a single thing she discussed with the Tang family was illegal.

After explaining the situation clearly, Tang Huai brought up his purpose in coming to find Xia Qing, "After my dad came out, he and my sister reviewed everything that happened one by one after Tang Zhengrong fell and Tang Zhengsu died, and came up with four deductions."

"First, Tang Zhengrong was very likely a member of the Blue Blood Alliance. The multiple evolvers and their relatives who went missing from our base in the third to fourth year of the catastrophe, including my cousin Tang Feng and Shen Yongle, the biological brother of tri-system evolver Shen Yongdong, were Tang Zhengrong's 'blood oath' for joining the Blue Blood Alliance. After he stepped down, he was first imprisoned in our base's prison, and later transferred to Red City Prison, possibly for this reason."

The Tang father and daughter were formidable; their deductions were completely correct. Xia Qing, who was mixing chicken feed, nodded to signal Tang Huai to continue.

"Second, after Tang Zhengrong was arrested, the middle and upper levels of Hui Three Base were purged, presumably to clean out Blue Blood Alliance members. Therefore, the Blue Blood Alliance needed to plant people in Hui Three Safe Zone, and they chose my family. The reason they chose my dad is because we have businesses in the safe zone and in Northern District One's territory, and I joined the Territory Alliance and have good relationships with both you and Third Brother. That's why Guo Tai'an, a Blue Blood Alliance member who had dealings with my dad, got promoted, and has been actively trying to get close to my dad these past six months."

Xia Qing nodded, indicating agreement.

Tang Huai continued, "Third, if the first two deductions hold, then it makes even more sense that Blue Blood Alliance member Huang Wanmao sent his student Li Jun to deeply participate in Tang Lu's operation to lure me to Bai Yi Base Safe Zone. From this, it's inferred that Li Jun may also be a Blue Blood member or someone being recruited."

Xia Qing nodded.

Tang Huai continued, "Last point, I think it's a bit far-fetched, but my dad says things that seem unreasonable are often possibly true: Li Jun's uncle by marriage—our Hui City Agricultural Department Head Pan Yuanwen—is also a suspect. Liehuo vice-captain Liao Wendong, whose mind was only on revenge, launched this explosion attack when Pan Yuanwen came to Hui Three, precisely because he had learned that Pan Yuanwen was the mastermind who framed his relatives into being taken to the underground laboratory."

Hearing this, Xia Qing wanted to give Tang Zhengpo and Tang Ning a thumbs-up. Although this father and daughter pair didn't have brain-domain evolution, their analytical ability was extraordinary—no wonder Tang Zhengpo chose Tang Ning as the heir to the Tang family business.

After introducing his dad and sister's analysis, Tang Huai reminded Xia Qing, "The Blue Blood Alliance has always wanted to pull Third Brother in. Now that you're getting closer and closer to Third Brother, and you're also a dual-system high-level evolver, you've naturally become a target they want to recruit. My dad says the Blue Blood's operating model is just like the pyramid scheme companies before the catastrophe—once you're involved, it's hard to get out. So going forward, our alliance needs to carefully select partners and be careful of Blue Blood infiltration."

Xia Qing nodded, "Understood. After New Year's Day, we'll hold a meeting to discuss and come up with a response charter. What's the situation with Xu Cunchao from Territory Twenty-Three?"

Tang Huai started cursing again, "That guy is a muddled-headed bastard. When the riot broke out in the outer city, he got his leg stomped and broken. He's lying in the outer city hospital now, and can only return to the territory after his injury heals a bit."

After seeing Tang Huai off, Xia Qing worked while analyzing the possibility that Pan Yuanwen was a Blue Blood Alliance member.

After Yang Jin returned, Xia Qing told him about this and asked, "Did Liao Wendong mention the reason he wanted to kill Pan Yuanwen?"

Yang Jin, who was washing his hands and picking vegetables with Xia Qing, nodded, "Because Liao Wendong's wife once worked under Pan Yuanwen…"

The reason Yang Jin gave was the same as what Zhang San had told Xia Qing. After finishing, Yang Jin deduced, "If Pan Yuanwen is a Blue Blood Alliance member, he shouldn't be so actively promoting territory policies, because territory policies contradict Blue Blood's goals. But we can't rule out that he's using this behavior to cover up his identity as a Blue Blood Alliance member."

Xia Qing nodded, "Whether he's Blue Blood or not, we shouldn't get too close to him."

Getting close to Pan Yuanwen would cost money; she would stay as far away from him as possible.

After dinner, Yang Jin told Xia Qing about Di Ming and Xie Yu's deduction regarding Liao Wendong's dying act, "They both agreed that Hui One's Evolution Forest Thirty-Three is very likely where Deng Yufeng is hiding. Liao Wendong didn't want Deng Yufeng to hide; he wanted to drive Deng Yufeng out and let her continue her revenge. Three hundred and twenty million might be all of Deng Yufeng's wealth."

In other words, the three hundred and twenty million might be real. Xia Qing and Yang Jin's eyes lit up.

The supplies must be obtained; the Fire Phoenix must be eliminated!

Xia Qing asked, "What kind of fierce beast's territory is Mountain Thirty-Three in western Hui One?"

Yang Jin answered, "It's the outer territory of the wolf pack in western Hui One. Fourth Brother should be on good terms with them. Sister Qing, it's up to you!"