Chapter 475: Then I

After a moment of hesitation, You Sisi slowly shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but the manpower your request requires is simply too much—I can't spare that many people to help you. You know this place just went through a disaster; we're in desperate need of every hand right now."

Saying this, You Sisi turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Jing Yan hurriedly called out: "Director You, I don't need the transportation records for all materials over these past few years—only the records for a few specific ones. For such specialized materials, your Qingsi Bureau's archives should have them properly stored and categorized."

You Sisi stopped and turned back, slightly surprised: "You seem to know quite a bit about how our Qingsi Bureau operates."

"Uh… Ye Ge once told us about the inefficiency of the Qingsi Bureau…"

"He complained, didn't he?"

You Sisi's tone grew colder.

You Sisi could guess—it must have been after Fang Yue asked the Qingsi Bureau to find someone and failed for too long, that he secretly vented to others.

She collected her thoughts, hesitated, then said: "If these are common materials, checking them would still require heavy manpower. But if they're rare and obscure materials, I can assign personnel to assist you in reviewing the archives."

Jing Yan's eyes lit up, and he quickly listed the basic materials from the Fluorescent Bracelet.

You Sisi froze instantly.

"So you're the one investigating the follow-up? But Ye Baiyi already went to see Ning Laotou—what's left to investigate?"

Seeing You Sisi's interest, Jing Yan didn't mind the trouble—he immediately laid out his analysis and deductions.

You Sisi grew more and more astonished, more and more shocked.

"No, impossible! If there were an organization operating right under our noses in Qingsi County, secretly purchasing Fluorescent Bracelet materials and continuously shipping them out to craft Ningguang Bracelets, we in the Qingsi Bureau would have discovered it by now! It's impossible we've known nothing all this time!"

"Could you be mistaken? These materials, while somewhat unique, aren't used solely for making Fluorescent Bracelets."

Hearing You Sisi's doubt, Jing Yan spoke calmly.

"Director You, precisely because everyone thinks it's impossible, they've become utterly reckless."

"I've studied these archival records closely. Each time period shows different purchase quantities—sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes long gaps, sometimes short ones."

"But they're all bought by the same group. And… if you group these materials into three-year units…"

"You'll find… they precisely match a fixed proportional quantity! Perfectly symmetrical!"

Before Jing Yan finished, You Sisi snatched the archives and examined them again—this time, the more she looked, the colder her heart grew.

"Quick… bring Jue Lao here immediately!"

She shouted to the white-robed guards standing behind her.

Soon, Jue Lao arrived, his face full of confusion.

"Jue Lao, do these materials add up exactly to the amount needed to craft a certain number of Fluorescent Bracelets?"

While sending someone to fetch Jue Lao, You Sisi had already marked all the material quantities on the archives for easier observation and calculation.

When Jue Lao arrived, she immediately handed him the marked records and circled the total material quantities sold over each three-year period in thick black ink.

Jue Lao had been bewildered at first, but after reviewing the data, he, like You Sisi before him, grew more and more alarmed.

His reaction was even more intense than You Sisi's.

"All of it… all of it is Fluorescent Bracelet material! Three years as a standard unit—every single batch matches the exact standard ratio for crafting Fluorescent Bracelets! Perfectly standard, astonishingly precise—as if meticulously calculated! Three-year purchase cycles… three-year cycles… Director You, what is going on here? This… this… this…"

Jue Lao was stunned, utterly at a loss for words.

If Fluorescent Bracelets were made with that old craft, then… it meant his former friend—the one he'd clashed with, who'd sworn never to speak to him again—Ning Laotou—was plotting some enormous secret!

And right under the eyes of Qingsi County, brazenly carrying it out!

Hearing Jue Lao's certainty, You Sisi felt a chill run through her entire body.

She turned to Jing Yan: "Why do you want to trace where these materials went?"

"I need to know where they ended up. If they all went to Ningguang Mountain, then our theory is correct. Ning Laotou is no good man—and at the same time, Ye Ge is likely in grave danger. If I can prove my theory right, I ask both of you, Qingsi Robes, to ride the fastest Qingsi Horses to Ningguang Mountain and help Ye Ge survive this crisis!"

Such sincere brotherly devotion!

And such meticulous observation, such sharp reasoning…

You Sisi realized she had underestimated this lowly, short-lived, weak vagrant.

Yet… how could she know that, aside from Fang Yue's kindness in giving Jing Yan a meal, Jing Yan also needed Fang Yue alive to keep serving as a target for his videos, as the model and number-one player in the game?

In short, this money tree must not fall!

"If your theory is correct and Ningguang Mountain is truly perilous, the Qingsi Bureau can only spare a group of White Robe and Green Guard personnel to aid Ye Baiyi. Neither I nor Tian Erjun can possibly leave Qingsi County right now!"

After a pause, You Sisi spoke carefully.

"What… but! But!"

Jing Yan tried to speak, but You Sisi cut him off.

"I know Ye Baiyi's contributions to Qingsi County and how vital he is. But look at what Qingsi County has just endured. With such heavy losses, and the strange horde still unknown to strike back at any moment, you're asking us to send away our only two Qingsi Robes? That's not feasible."

She paused, then forced her voice to remain calm: "I know this is cruel. But between a few and the many, I choose to protect the many of Qingsi County. Tian Erjun made a wrong decision before—I cannot make another. Qingsi County cannot afford to make another mistake right now!"

Jing Yan clenched his fists tightly.

The feeling of his own powerlessness rose again.

The desire to grow stronger, to act freely without begging others, grew ever more intense.

Just as You Sisi showed regret and prepared to send someone to check the material entry and exit records…

Just as Jing Yan didn't know what to say…

A voice suddenly spoke.

"Then I'll go to Ningguang Mountain myself."

What?!

Who?!

Everyone turned sharply—and saw a man with a black-blood-stained bald head, dead-fish eyes, and every inch of his body smeared in black blood, walking steadily toward them.

Just by walking over like this, everyone felt an overwhelming murderous aura, as if the heavens were collapsing and pressing down upon them!

"C-Captain Wu?!"

(End of chapter)