Marvel: The other side of the double-passing door is Devouring the Stars

Chapter 344 No conclusive evidence

"Gentlemen, I'm Luo Wen, the new business assistant. Please take good care of me." Luo Wen greeted them politely.

"Oh, you're new here? Welcome, welcome," a middle-aged man with a beard said kindly. "My name is Lao Wang, and I've worked here for fifteen years."

"Master Wang, could you tell me about the arena? I'm not very familiar with it yet." Luo Wen sat down, appearing eager to learn.

“What’s wrong with saying this?” Old Wang said readily. “The Giant Axe Arena has five elders, each responsible for a different area. The Martial God Master is the highest leader and doesn’t usually get involved in the day-to-day affairs.”

"What about the other elders?" Rowan asked curiously.

"Elder Lei Ming was in charge of military affairs and security, Elder Yan Di... what a pity." Old Wang shook his head. "Elder Yan Di was a very good person. He used to visit us grassroots departments often, caring about everyone's work and life."

"I heard that Elder Sak has now taken over Elder Yandi's work?" Rowan asked tentatively.

Old Wang's expression became somewhat complicated: "Yes, Elder Sack is indeed very capable, but..." He paused, glancing around, "...never mind, this isn't something we should be discussing."

Luo Wen sensed the hidden meaning in Lao Wang's words, but he didn't press the matter. He knew that being too hasty would only backfire.

As evening fell, Emperor Yan and Luo Wen met in the room and exchanged their discoveries.

"It seems Sak has indeed been making a lot of moves since my disappearance." Emperor Yan sat on the sofa, his expression serious. "He not only took over all my duties, but he's also been constantly tarnishing my reputation."

Rowan pulled out his notebook: "Senior, I've discovered something interesting. The lower-level employees' opinions of you are polarized; some miss you dearly, while others believe you're not as business-savvy as Elder Sack."

"It's obvious that someone is deliberately manipulating public opinion," Emperor Yan sneered.

“Not only that,” Rowan said, flipping through the notes, “I also learned that Elder Sack has been frequently holding emergency meetings lately, and the attendees are all key figures from various departments. Some say he’s redistributing power.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yan's eyes sharpened: "A redistribution of power? It seems his ambition is even greater than I imagined."

"Senior, do you think we can be certain that Sack is the mastermind?" Rowan asked.

Emperor Yan pondered for a moment: "Judging from the current situation, Sak is indeed the prime suspect. He's the only one who profited immensely after my disappearance. And given his position, he certainly has the ability to leak my travel information."

"So what should we do next?" Rowan continued to ask.

Emperor Yan stood up and paced around the room: "The key issue isn't confirming Sak's identity, but how to expose his crimes. Given our current status and position, even if we had the evidence, it would be difficult to directly confront an elder."

Rowan nodded. "That is indeed a problem. Elder Sack holds a high position in the arena, and he currently controls a great deal of resources and connections. If we act rashly, we might alert him."

“More importantly, we need the support of our superiors.” Emperor Yan stopped in his tracks. “In the Giant Axe Arena, only the Martial God Master has the authority to deal with an elder. But the problem is, how do we convince the Martial God Master?”

Rowan thought for a moment, then said, "Senior, I don't think we can go it alone."

"you mean?"

“Elder Lei Ming,” Rowan said, his eyes gleaming with wisdom, “I’ve observed Elder Lei Ming’s behavior; his concern for you is genuine, and his position in the arena is second only to Elder Sak. If we can persuade him to join forces with us, our chances of victory will be much greater.”

Emperor Yan frowned: "But Lei Ming has always wanted me to report directly to Master Martial God; he might not be willing to participate in this kind of covert investigation."

“This is precisely the strategic issue we need to consider.” Rowan took out paper and pen and began to analyze. “Elder Lei Ming is an upright man, but he is also a cautious one. We need to give him sufficient reasons to believe that a covert investigation is necessary.”

"What specific ideas do you have?" Emperor Yan looked at Luo Wen with great interest.

Rowan drew a diagram on the paper: "First, we need to prove to Elder Lei Ming that Elder Sak indeed has the motive and ability to betray us. Second, we need to explain why we can't report directly to Master Martial God."

"How do you explain the second point?"

“It’s simple.” Rowan put down his pen. “If Elder Sack is truly a traitor, then he must have other accomplices within the arena. Reporting to the Martial God Master rashly might allow these accomplices to escape. More dangerously, if our accusations cannot be verified, it could give Elder Sack an opportunity to retaliate.”

Emperor Yan's eyes showed approval: "Your analysis makes a lot of sense. So, how do you think we should approach Lei Ming?"

“We can’t be too direct, nor too subtle,” Rowan thought for a moment. “I suggest we first gather more concrete evidence about Elder Sack, and then arrange a meeting with Elder Lei Ming under the guise of reporting on the progress of the investigation.”

"What kind of evidence?"

Rowan flipped through his notes: "I heard someone say today that Elder Sack has recently been in close contact with some external forces. If we can prove that these contacts are not normal, it would be a good breakthrough."

Emperor Yan nodded: "This direction is good. However, we need to be more careful. Since Sak dares to do these things, he must have some precautions."

“Then we need Elder Lei Ming’s help even more,” Rowan insisted. “With his position, he has access to information we can’t obtain. Moreover, with his support, our operations will be much safer.”

Emperor Yan paced around the room a few more times before finally stopping: "Alright, we'll proceed as you intend. However, the method of contacting Thunder needs careful consideration."

“I have an idea.” A sly glint flashed in Rowan’s eyes. “We can reach out to him through work-related matters. For example, we can act as business consultants and report some issues we’ve discovered to him.”

"what is the problem?"

“Elder Sack has exhibited some unusual behavior in handling business affairs,” Rowan explained. “We can say we’ve discovered some financial irregularities and need to report them to our superiors. This is both natural and will attract Elder Lei Ming’s attention.”

Emperor Yan pondered for a moment: "This is a good idea, but we need to actually find some suspicious financial details."

“I’ll take care of this,” Rowan said confidently. “Give me two days, and I’m sure I can find Elder Sack’s weakness.”

As night fell, most of the arena fell silent, with only a few key departments still operating. Emperor Yan and Luo Wen devised a detailed action plan, preparing to gather more evidence over the next few days.

"Senior, why do you think Elder Sak betrayed the arena?" Rowan asked before going to sleep.

Emperor Yan gazed at the starry sky outside the window: "Power, wealth, or whatever else. There are many reasons for betrayal, but whatever it may be, it cannot be an excuse for him to harm the innocent."

“Then we must capture him!” Rowan’s tone was firm. Emperor Yan nodded: “Yes, the truth will always come to light.”

Late at night, while the arena slept, Sack's office remained brightly lit. The elder, who appeared to be in his forties, was processing various documents. His face was angular, his eyes deep, giving him an air of quiet authority.

"Knock, knock, knock." A knocking sound rang out on the door.

“Come in,” Sack said without looking up.

A man in a black uniform walked in. His steps were light and his eyes were sharp, clearly indicating that he was a well-trained special agent.

"Elder, there is something I need to report to you," the man said respectfully.

Sack put down the documents in his hand and looked up: "Speak."

"Two new people joined the business department today: a business consultant named Yan Huang, and his assistant, Luo Wen," the man reported. "I think the timing is a bit of a coincidence."

Sack frowned. "A coincidence?"

"They are the survivors of Elder Lei Ming's rescue operation yesterday, and they've already joined the business department today. Moreover, from what I've observed, this Yan Huang doesn't seem like an ordinary businessman."

Sack's eyes sharpened: "Go on."

"He was very professional in the business department, and his questions were very relevant. His reaction was somewhat unnatural, especially when you were mentioned," the man reported in detail.

Sak stood up and walked to the window: "Yanhuang. That name..."

"Elder, should I continue to monitor them?"

Sack thought for a moment: "Keep watchful, but don't alert them. If they really have a problem, we need solid evidence."

"Understood." The man prepared to leave.

“Wait,” Sack suddenly called out to him, “Check Thunder’s recent itinerary, especially the details of this rescue operation.”

"Yes, Elder."

After the man left, Sack sat back down in his chair, but he couldn't calm down. He felt that something was wrong with recent events, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Meanwhile, Rowan was organizing the information he had gathered that day in his room. He recorded all the clues on an encrypted electronic device, a habit of his and one of the reasons he had been able to remain invincible in business competition.

"Changes since Elder Sack took over the business department," Rowan quickly jotted down on his device. "Personnel adjustments, project reallocation, changes in external partners."

Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing. An important clue came to mind: Elder Sak had been in frequent contact with several external partners recently, one of whom was a company called "Starry Sky Trading Group," which had never cooperated with the Martial Arts Arena before Emperor Yan's disappearance.

“This could be a breakthrough,” Rowan muttered to himself.

He immediately began searching for information about the Starry Sky Trading Group and soon discovered something interesting. The group had been established for less than a year, but it was financially powerful and its business involved several sensitive sectors.

"We need to focus our investigation on this group tomorrow." Rowan made a note of this.

The morning sunlight streamed through the blinds of the Red Maple Apartment, casting stripes of light and shadow on the floor. Rowan had gotten up early and was organizing the data he'd gathered the night before, preparing for today's investigation. Suddenly, a faint, unusual noise made him stop what he was doing.

The sound was footsteps coming from the corridor, very light and cautious, but it was clearly unusual for them to be in the corridor on the fifteenth floor at this time. Rowan quietly walked to the door and peered through the peephole to observe the situation outside.

A man in a maintenance worker's uniform was inspecting a ventilation vent in the hallway. But Rowan noticed that the man's movements were too professional, and his eyes too alert, unlike a typical maintenance worker. More importantly, Rowan remembered that the property management office hadn't issued any maintenance notices yesterday.

“Something’s wrong.” Rowan immediately realized something was amiss.

He quickly gathered the documents, then lightly knocked on the wall of the room next door, the one used as their pre-arranged signal. A response came quickly from the other side of the wall.

A few minutes later, Emperor Yan appeared in Luo Wen's room as a business consultant, ostensibly to discuss work, but actually to learn about the situation.

"Senior, we've been targeted." Rowan lowered his voice and briefly described what he had just witnessed.

Emperor Yan's expression immediately turned serious: "Are you sure?"

“I’m pretty sure.” Rowan pointed outside. “That so-called repairman has been outside for twenty minutes, but he hasn’t actually fixed anything. And I observed his behavior; he’s clearly spying.”

Emperor Yan used his spiritual power to sense the surrounding situation and quickly discovered the anomaly: "There's more than one person; there are at least two other people downstairs monitoring the building's entrances and exits."

Rowan's heart sank: "It seems Sack already suspects us."

"The question now is, to what extent do they suspect me?" Emperor Yan paced quietly in the room. "If it's just routine surveillance, we still have some room to maneuver. But if they've already confirmed my identity..."

“No,” Rowan shook his head. “If Sack was certain you were still alive, he would have taken action already, not just sent people to monitor you. I think he just finds us suspicious right now, but doesn’t have concrete evidence yet.”

Emperor Yan nodded: "Your analysis makes sense. So what should we do now?"

Rowan pondered for a moment, then said, "Senior, I think this might be an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Emperor Yan asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Yes.” Rowan’s eyes gleamed with intelligence. “Since Sack has sent people to monitor us, it means he’s currently on the defensive. This precisely proves that our investigation is on the right track.”

"But the problem is, it's difficult for us to continue our investigation while we're under surveillance," Emperor Yan pointed out the key issue.

Rowan walked to the window and observed the situation below: "Senior, I have an idea, but it may require you to take a great risk."

(End of this chapter)