Zhu Yan couldn’t help lifting his eyes to glance at Jin Rongxu.
The information seemed a little too arbitrary.
What did “failed to provide valid information” mean?
How had they determined whether a piece of information was valid or not?
Jin Rongxu understood Zhu Zeyu’s confusion.
He was in a rather good mood at the moment and, consequently, unusually agreeable. “Ask whatever you want.”
“What does ‘failed to provide valid information’ mean?”
“And if this was about a deal,” Zhu Yan continued, genuinely puzzled, “why are there only these two written records?”
“Oh.” Jin Rongxu’s tone carried a hint of aloofness. “The Tactical Support Department reported that none of the written records—including their social media posts—revealed the specific details of the transaction.”
“They have a large number of voice-call and video-call records.”
On this point, Jin Rongxu provided a fairly thorough explanation.
This Zhu Zeyu was no weakling. And judging from all his psychological activity so far, he was an obedient, well-behaved student.
Before he met his end, he could be used to protect Jin Rongxu.
So Jin Rongxu wasn’t stupid enough to hide information he ought to know.
“The only written messages that actually involved the transactions are the ones in the file.”
Zhu Yan nodded.
“Not even messages to their families?”
“He had a video call with Li Panlong that lasted three hours,” Jin Rongxu said. “These people aren’t capable of doing anything major, but when it comes to these crooked dealings, they’re surprisingly cautious.”
But it didn’t matter, did it?
They would pass the instance smoothly anyway.
“This isn’t a matter of being unable to contact one individual. We can’t reach an entire village.”
A cold smile spread across Jin Rongxu’s face as he continued explaining.
“The phones have no signal whatsoever, as if the village had been isolated out of thin air. Li Panlong, who left the village to seek his fortune in the city, is in the same situation.”
“Wang Yuanyuan stated that her husband went on a business trip two days ago.”
“She doesn’t know where he went specifically, and we…”
Jin Rongxu’s gaze grew colder and colder.
“We haven’t found any record of him traveling anywhere, either.”
“Oh.” Zhu Yan nodded.
“You mean he vanished into thin air?”
“Captain,” Jin Rongxu emphasized.
“Captain.”
“Yes. He vanished into thin air. And Wang Yuanyuan herself knows nothing about this thing.”
Only then was Jin Rongxu willing to continue.
Zhu Yan felt that Jin Rongxu was a little like one of those monsters that operated on passwords. The word “Captain” was his switch.
“Captain, what about the people who transferred money to this Li-whatever-his-name-is?”
“They disappeared as well,” Jin Rongxu said. “The buyers, along with their families, all vanished. No one can find them, and their phones can’t be reached either.”
Zhu Yan thought of the [Hunter] mission from [Where Is Mom?].
It was spreading the pollution of this “Mom.”
Had the buyers involved in these transactions been affected by that pollution?
“You should read through the transactions properly,” Jin Rongxu said coldly. “I like people who carefully read everything, think it over, and then come to me with questions.”
These transactions?
What did he mean by “transactions”?
Plural…
There was more than one transaction involved. More than two, even?
Zhu Yan lowered his head again and skimmed through the pages. The information he saw sent a chill down his spine.
The next chat log contained roughly the same sort of content, but the contact name was different.
This time, it was another name: “Guan Huan.”
“We agreed on three hundred thousand. Three hundred thousand means three hundred thousand.”
The other party replied, “Okay, thanks. We’ll have someone inspect the goods.”
It seemed this was standard procedure, because the husband who was selling his wife only replied, “Don’t worry. We burned her ourselves. Guaranteed authentic. We won’t try to fool you with chickens, ducks, cattle, or sheep.”
Beneath it was another annotation from the [Human Alliance]:
“The payment of 300,000 yuan was received at 4:05 p.m. that same day and quickly transferred into Li Panlong’s account.”
What did he mean by not trying to fool them with “chickens, ducks, cattle, or sheep”?
Was that industry slang?
Chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep were edible livestock.
Could it be that these transactions involved selling human flesh?
But even if it was the flesh of an elderly person, selling it for two or three hundred thousand yuan still seemed unbelievable.
Zhu Yan continued turning the pages.
The file recorded four more identical transactions. Each consisted of a very simple agreement on the price, a guarantee that the goods were genuine and unadulterated, and a reply from the other party accepting the terms.
Following those chat logs was a lengthy analysis and summary from the [Human Alliance]:
“We contacted the local police station and located experts familiar with the local customs and folk traditions, as well as residents of nearby villages, and questioned them.”
“After conducting an in-depth investigation and screening process, we learned that some villages in the area still retain the custom of eating human flesh. They consume naturally miscarried or prematurely deceased infants, as well as elderly people who have died of natural causes.”
“They are highly likely to have purchased human flesh from the parties involved for consumption…”
That sounded a little too absurd.
Zhu Yan’s brows drew together.
The [Human Alliance] had indeed conducted a serious investigation.
But was this conclusion really correct?
Zhu Yan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
He flipped through the file several times, but couldn’t find anything specific. In the end, he started with the part that seemed most unreasonable to him.
“So, the price of one portion of human flesh…”
“Captain!”
“Captain.” Zhu Yan hurriedly corrected himself. “How much does one portion of human flesh cost?”
“More or less the prices listed in their transactions.”
This Zhu Zeyu asked far too many questions. Jin Rongxu was growing impatient again.
“Anywhere from 150,000 to 350,000 yuan. Our people visited the villages surrounding this one, and everyone gave us the same answer.”
Zhu Yan nodded.
“…Thank you, Captain.”
He went over the file several more times, committing the information to memory before returning it to Jin Rongxu.
“I’m done reading. I remember everything.”
Zhu Yan glanced out the window.
The bus heading to [Xishan University] seemed to have already left.
Could he use the password to go directly to Room 303?
He also had no idea whether the passage connecting the four schools was still open… He still had to go to [Lazybones Craft Shop].
That was his top priority!
“Don’t leave just yet,” Jin Rongxu ordered. “Guan En should have told you, right? Director Jin still wants to meet. You. Also, you’ll be staying at the [Human Alliance] for the next few days, because—hey!”
The Zhu Zeyu who had been standing in front of him suddenly muttered something under his breath and vanished right before Jin Rongxu’s eyes!
…
Room 303.
Zhu Yan landed hard on the carpet. The first thing he saw was the grayish-white ceiling.
He got to his feet and looked around. Aside from the cow cat poking its head out from the bed to stare at him, the room was empty.
Zhu Yan hurriedly put away his puppet and transformed back into the appearance of “Zhu Zeyu.”
He quickly checked the marker in his hand, then rushed out of the dormitory toward the location of the passage.
Zhu Yan was far too lazy to listen to Jin Rongxu ramble on.
In any case, he had memorized the information and would enter the instance on schedule.
His own affairs were much more important than waiting on Jin Rongxu. So what if he acted first and reported afterward?
If Jin Rongxu wanted to make use of his abilities, then he would have to put up with Zhu Yan’s temper!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
