Chapter 476: Found (10/10, Autumn Subscription)

You Sisi gasped in shock, covering her mouth with her hand, eyes wide in disbelief as she stared at the approaching Wu Captain.

This madman actually survived after chasing a group of anomalies out into the wilds?!

He—he—he—he—what realm is he even at?!

Judging by the darker black-blood stains on him compared to before he left the city, this madman truly killed another batch of anomalies after leaving!

So terrifying… so terrifying!

For the first time, You Sisi felt that a human could be more terrifying than an anomaly!

"Wu Captain!"

After his shock, Jing Yan immediately cried out in delight.

He knew Wu Captain's strength—if Wu Captain helped, Ye Ge's side would be far safer!

Moreover, since Qing Yi refused to leave the city to aid Fang Yue, Jing Yan and the others could only rely on Wu Captain, their own ally!

"Wu Captain, are you truly willing to go to Ningguang Mountain to help Ye Ge?"

"Mm. I heard everything you said outside. Qing Si won't help—I will. Night Captain, in a way, avenged my blood-deep grudge for me; he owes me a debt! When my benefactor is in peril, I cannot stand idly by!"

No…

Wu Captain wiped his face with his hand, revealing his grimy features: "I should say—I've taken charge of this matter!"

Seeing Wu Captain's firm resolve, Jing Yan exhaled deeply in relief.

With Wu Captain leading, plus the White Robe Green Guards dispatched by Qing Si, this force was already extremely powerful—more than enough to support Ye Ge.

After regaining her composure, You Sisi naturally had no objections.

She ordered someone to prepare Qingsi Horses and someone else to check the archives.

Soon, the results came in.

The answer was… none!

"None?! How could there be no record of these materials entering or leaving the city gate?!" You Sisi's eyes widened in shock, her whole body stunned.

Qing Si's archives were managed with extreme strictness, accessible only to high-ranking officials.

Could it be… there's a traitor inside Qing Si?!

You Sisi simply could not accept this.

Qing Si did have internal struggles over promotion channels.

But to betray the entire Qing Si, the entire Qingsi County, and erase all archive records for personal gain?!

This was simply… utterly unforgivable!!

Rage burned in her heart; You Sisi trembled with fury, teeth clenched as she forced out two words.

"Investigate! Thoroughly!"

The entire Qing Si immediately sprang back into frantic activity.

Under the strong personal will of the Chief Qing Yi, every institution within Qing Si served You Sisi alone!

Since what they were searching for was still internal to Qing Si, efficiency was pushed to its maximum.

Just half an hour later, new results arrived.

"No… no deletion traces?!" You Sisi was stunned again.

She realized that since Jing Yan presented his theory and they dug deeper, she'd been stunned more and more often.

And each time, events slipped beyond her expectations, beyond her control—she had no idea how to handle them anymore.

"No deletion traces?! How is that possible?!"

Jing Yan didn't believe this answer either.

But the veteran White Robe Green Guard reporting it swore on his life, solemnly insisting there had been absolutely no deletion of archive records!

"If everything you say is true, then doesn't that mean… the materials Ning Laotou ordered were never taken out of Qingsi County at all?! No! Then where did the Fluorescent Bracelet come from? Did Ning Laotou personally come to Qingsi County, forge the Fluorescent Bracelet, and then leave? Or is it not Ning Laotou's doing at all—could someone else who can forge Fluorescent Bracelets be pulling the strings?"

Jing Yan threw out question after question.

He'd spoken them unconsciously, never expecting everyone present had the capacity to answer them.

"That these materials never left Qingsi County is entirely possible based on the archive records," said the veteran White Robe Green Guard who had previously reported. "But I've also checked—no household has any record of stockpiling these materials, and again… these are authentic records, with no deletion traces."

Jue Lao frowned: "I didn't want to say this, but since things have reached this point, I won't hide it from you. Actually, that incomplete Fluorescent Bracelet you gave me—I co-developed it with Ning Laotou back then."

We made major optimizations and modifications to the standard Fluorescent Bracelet.

So… as for this technique, I won't say whether others elsewhere can replicate it—but within the Heiqing Shanmai, only I and Ning Laotou have the ability to do it!

Later, we disagreed. I believed the Fluorescent Bracelet should serve the Green Guards, serve humanity in resisting anomalies. But Ning Laotou… he became extreme. Regardless, after that, I never made another Fluorescent Bracelet. So this Fluorescent Bracelet must be his work.

And after that incident, I always wanted to reconcile with him, but I couldn't bring myself to lower my pride—I just kept sending people to monitor whether Ning Laotou returned to Qingsi County. The answer was… no. He never came back!"

Everyone spoke with conviction, with logic and evidence—no one could offer a single rebuttal.

This left Jing Yan stunned.

His train of thought had suddenly jammed—he couldn't figure out how to explain this at all.

Could it be that the organization's accumulated material purchases, completed every three years, simply vanished into thin air?

Neither forged nor used—just evaporated?

Is that possible?

It's impossible!

Jing Yan's frown deepened; his mind raced, then he carefully chose his words, scanning the group, and spoke slowly.

"Among our refugees, there's a very famous saying: If you eliminate all the impossible, whatever remains—even if it seems absurd—is the only truth!"

Everyone froze, confused.

"Jing Yan, what do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is…"

Jing Yan pointed at the ground beneath his feet.

"Is it possible that there's a passage that goes straight from Qingsi County to the outside? Then Ning Laotou had people, through this passage, without drawing your attention, purchase materials, transport materials, and finally, without anyone knowing, refine the Fluorescent Bracelet?"

This idea was bold, yet not entirely impossible.

But if such a passage existed, if the eerie beings had discovered it, wouldn't they have invaded straight into the interior of Qingsi County?

After so many years without incident... the crowd found it hard to believe such a passage could possibly exist.

"Investigate. Dig three feet into the ground if you have to! If this hypothesis holds and this passage truly exists, for our Qingsi County it would be a threat enormous enough to wipe the city off the map!"

You Sisi knew perfectly well what it would mean if such a passage existed.

So she once again mobilized the full force of the Qingsi Department in an absolutely authoritarian manner.

Even if they had to dig three feet into the ground, they had to find the truth. If they couldn't find that nonexistent passage, then at least it would put their minds at ease!

If they did find it...

You Sisi didn't dare think further.

However...

One hour later.

When they searched outward from the procurement of those materials as the center, looking for that possibly existing secret passage.

There was feedback.

Yu Baiyi, who had originally been sent out to oversee the matter, came running over, panting, his face full of anxiety and terror.

As he ran, he wiped cold sweat from his face and shouted at the top of his lungs toward them.

"Found it, found it! We really found the secret passage!!"

A moment of stunned silence.

The entire crowd... erupted!

End of 10 updates

(End of chapter)