Storm of Gods

Chapter 83 Suspect

As Li Xin and Zhuang You left Luo Jin's office, Zhuang You immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Li Xin was an acquaintance, so he felt much more relaxed. Luo Jin, the Grand Disciplinary Officer, seemed too serious and suffocating. "Junior brother, this matter is very serious. That thing is extremely dangerous. We must retrieve it."

"Senior, let's go to your lab and see. How do you know it was stolen and not just forgotten or lost?"

"How do we throw that thing away? We tested it in the back mountain, and the explosive force is terrifying, so we're being extra careful. If it explodes in the lab, we'll be in big trouble too." Zhuang You pointed to the sky above.

"Who knows anything about this energy core?" Li Xin asked.

"Oh, this? Everyone in our project team knows about it. We're all very careful," Zhuang You said. "Our mentor went to Longjing. If he comes back and finds out the core was stolen, we're all doomed."

Li Xin knew that this situation was most likely due to someone stealing it, and it was highly probable that someone was an insider. Along the way, he had been listening to Zhuang You explain how amazing this Hextech Core was, how expensive the materials it required, and how high the failure rate was. He had finally managed to create this half-finished product, which was supposed to be a big gift from his mentor when he returned. Now, if things went wrong, it could become a huge problem.

If it is as powerful as Zhuang You described, it is indeed quite dangerous. In densely populated areas, its destructive power is astonishing.

When they arrived at Zhuang You's lab at Hextech Academy, it was a bit messy. A dozen or so students were arguing. When they saw Zhuang You, they swarmed around him. Two of them were people Li Xin knew, members of the Black Rose. They were usually quiet and focused on their research, but now they were like ducks being beaten at the market, quacking loudly.

After they calmed down, they saw Li Xin. They hadn't expected that instead of the Grand Disciplinary Officer, this person had come instead.

"Everyone, everyone, Li Xin is a full member of our Black Rose, a special recruit this year. He also worked with the Night Patrol and is very experienced. He asked a lot of professional questions along the way. The Grand Disciplinary Officer also said that he will be fully responsible for helping us find the Hextech Core. Everyone needs to cooperate with him," Zhuang You said.

It's clear that he still holds considerable authority here. People who do Hextech research don't rely on external factors; whoever is more capable has the most say. In the lab, besides the mentor, Zhuang You is the most influential person.

"Fellow senior brothers, Senior Brother Zhuang You has already told me the basic situation. Has everyone who knows about the core of Hextech arrived?" Li Xin asked.

“Everyone’s here. This research is of great importance and is highly confidential. Apart from our supervisor who went to Longjing, everyone involved is here,” Zhuang You said, and everyone’s expressions were somewhat anxious.

This research is crucial to their future. If successful, they will be remembered in history and may even receive a noble title. However, if this thing causes harm, they will also suffer.

They spend all their time doing research, but they're not stupid. Even Zhuang You has some unpleasant associations with them.

"Fellow senior brothers, I need to speak with each of you individually to understand the situation," Li Xin said.

Although everyone was a little confused, they still cooperated. The new Hextech Core was the culmination of the wisdom accumulated by the entire Tianjing Academy over many years. Although it was not yet a finished product, it was already more than half successful. The next step was to solve the problem of stability. At present, this semi-finished product has an extremely important reference value. Not to mention its danger, just to redo it, it is unknown how long and how much it would cost. Some rare materials would also require time to collect.

Li Xin called them in one by one, mainly to find out who they had been in contact with and whether they had revealed anything, even unintentionally.

These people have relatively simple life paths, mostly staying at the Order Academy or at home, occasionally participating in Black Rose activities. Their lives are mostly a routine between these two points. Moreover, those who can enter this project team are all elites of the Order Academy, with a level that is quite good even in Dao Yuan. They spend all their time doing research, and their relationships are relatively simple. It took them about two hours to complete the task.

Including Zhuang You, there were a total of 12 people. Only one of them had a girlfriend—Zhuang You himself—but he swore he had never mentioned it to her, and she wasn't interested either. The others were all quite straightforward and immersed in their research, so their recollections were relatively simple. These researchers had very clear thinking, and Li Xin could tell whether they were lying by their expressions and heartbeats. So far, there were no obvious problems. Li Xin told them to go back first; he needed to stay and investigate the lab. After everyone left, Li Xin's eyes turned pale.

Everything in his field of vision had changed. The scene had been almost completely destroyed by these unprofessional guys. He was just trying his luck, hoping to find some clues left behind, even if they were from outsiders.

After looking around, there really weren't any clues. He's not a god, it's frustrating. Lao Luo really needs to find him a job.

With no other option, Li Xin could only try using dice to see if he could come up with a solution.

Determination: The theft of the Hextech Core is related to these 12 people.

This is what Li Xin wanted to judge. Thinking about how his Red Moon Medal was getting dimmer and dimmer, he felt a little reluctant to part with it. The sacred land didn't welcome him, which made him feel bad.

The dice were thrown and spun in the dimly lit laboratory. Luckily, judging from the frequency of the spins, an accurate judgment could be made, which was at least better than letting them spin idly.

The die landed on a five.

……

This made Li Xin quite upset. The five points, based on his current understanding, indicated a connection, but not a direct one. This meant that it wasn't related to these 12 people, and it was highly likely that they had inadvertently leaked the information.

Wait, what about the mentor? What if Professor Mark mentions it outside, and then a thief comes knocking on the door?
With few clues, there are many suspicious points, but for now, Li Xin can only eliminate them one by one.

Li Xin did not linger and decided to go home first. It was not appropriate to stay in the Order of the Order under these circumstances. He wanted to avoid using the Red Moon Medal if possible and prepared to tough it out.

Fortunately, it didn't flare up immediately this time. When he got home, he quickly went to his room. Lin Fei didn't ask any questions. She was already familiar with this situation; Li Xin would have this problem every now and then, which might be related to his awakening.

Not long after Li Xin lay on the bed, a sharp pain struck, but he was prepared and simply endured it. The pain was like being pricked by needles, accompanied by dizziness and a booming sound, as if something was tearing and pounding at his head, making him want to tear it open and see what was inside.

He didn't know if other people's divine relics were like this, or if it was just his. A normal person would really break down. Who could withstand this?

Sweat poured out uncontrollably. Li Xin gritted his teeth, trying not to make a sound, as his condition would terrify anyone who saw him. The excruciating pain continued, and the second stage had begun. His body was tormented repeatedly, sometimes feeling as if it had fallen into an ice cellar of extreme cold, and other times as if it had fallen into a furnace of intense heat.

In his delirious state from the pain, Li Xin felt as if a warm hand was touching him, seemingly wiping away his sweat. It didn't really help with the pain, but it offered a little comfort...

(End of this chapter)