Forge a path to success.

Chapter 323 Hiding in Seclusion (5)

"You're here to find Inspiration Mushrooms?" Ji Huaisu asked in surprise. "Old Octopus has tons of them wholesale!"

“After the Inspiration Mushroom incident, Dad personally led the team to handle it. Now, the mushrooms circulating in the market all have filters installed. They are expensive and safe. We use this method to control mushrooms.” Lico bit her nails. “But this batch is different… This is the first batch of mushrooms without filters. It is naturally risky.”

Chu Hengkong frowned: "Trek's measures were timely; he had already begun his investigation before we intervened."

“But even so, there was a batch of mushrooms that he couldn’t find. The buyer of these mushrooms acted too quickly, even before Dad noticed,” Ricky said. “Dad was afraid of alerting them, so he sent me to investigate. The merchant who bought the mushrooms was later prosecuted for illegally selling sugar. In theory, all his goods should have been held by the prosecutor’s office, but…”

She muttered to herself, "Was there something wrong with my intelligence?"

"Why not think more about the details instead of resorting to conspiracy theories?" Van der squinted. "Why would such a cautious businessman be arrested by the prosecutor's office? Isn't it because his goods could be transferred without leaving a trace? Once goods become evidence, there are no transaction records. And if the case is of a lower level, the evidence can be disposed of however one wants after the verdict..."

“But the process from filing a lawsuit to going to trial is very long, and there isn’t enough time,” Li Ke retorted.

"Why not think about it the other way around?" Van der said. "If there's no time, turn it into a case with unclear evidence that can't be prosecuted directly, and then raise the security level by relying on the scale of the transaction. According to the rules, the evidence in major and above-level cases should be kept in a special institution... But in a vast and boundless library, who could possibly discover that a few mushrooms have disappeared from an ordinary room that isn't sealed in dust?"

"Hiss..." Lico gasped. "What you said...makes some sense..."

"This approach is too costly. If you really want the mushrooms to disappear, you might as well arrange for them to be 'stolen' midway through," Chu Hengkong said.

"Have you forgotten about the Divine Guardian Tower? All criminal records within the city-state are detected, and such underhanded tactics would be discovered on the spot by the Divine Tree," Vande pointed out. "It's not easy to pull off something under the watchful eye of the gods."

Ji Huaisu clapped his hands: "This matter needs to be investigated. In my experience, the more trouble it takes, the bigger the other party's scheme is."

Captain Ji's insightful observation was unanimously agreed upon: whatever the person buying the mushrooms was up to, once it reached the Supreme People's Procuratorate, it would be no small matter. Li Ke hacked into "her own" office, using the divine terminal to access records; a green stream of information flowed before everyone's eyes.

"They really were moved to the main archives... Three boxes of suspicious evidence, dated three days ago..." Lico muttered to herself, "Room 987 on the 78th floor, low-security. If we manage to sneak in, we can apply to have it checked. Hopefully, it's not too late. Let's go to the teleportation array on the 6th floor!"

They pushed open the door and stepped out. Chu Hengkong didn't forget to lock the door behind him, and nodded to the "colleagues" who brushed past him in the corridor. Only after they disappeared into the stairwell did two passing prosecutors whisper among themselves.

"That agent is so handsome... Is he a newly promoted, pragmatic guy?"

"Let's ask him for his number later. He seems quite capable. We can try asking him for help next time we go out on a field mission."

Everything went smoothly until they entered the teleportation array. The divine power teleportation array looked like a semi-cylindrical elevator. After entering, the wooden pillars slowly closed, and luminous green lights lit up in the dark space.

After closing the door, Li Ke quickly ripped off her mask and fanned herself with her small hand: "You're lucky. They were probably intimidated by your presence and didn't dare to ask any more questions."

"This went a little too smoothly," Ji Huaisu muttered. "While I'm confident in A Kong's ability to conceal his presence, is the Supreme Prosecutor's Office really... that weak?"

The two knew perfectly well that their ability to hide until now was inseparable from Lico's incredible plant hacking skills. But a place like the Supreme Prosecutor's Office should have some powerful people around, and even though their equipment had been fooled, they were mentally prepared to be discovered by passing prosecutors. However, they did not expect that they would not be discovered by anyone along the way.

"Is this really a joke? We've encountered over 20 elite level 4 elites along the way, and even the security guards downstairs are level 3. How long will it take you, Chu Hengkong, to take them all down?"

“Holding back will take some effort,” Chu Hengkong said. “A life-or-death battle is another matter.”

“See? I’d appreciate it if you two had a clear understanding of your own strength. Even in Mansa Star Fortress, you two are considered big shots.” Lico sighed. “Besides the Divine Tree itself, who is at level 7, Jing Sha only has one proper level 6. Under normal circumstances, the highest combat force we can deploy is a level 5 captain like Dad, and there aren’t many of them… You can at least exchange a few blows with Dad, so fooling these guys in the Prosecutor’s Office is a piece of cake.”

"Jing Sha only has one point 6 that can be hit?" Chu Hengkong was taken aback.

“What do you mean only one?!” Li Ke glared. “Don’t make it sound like a cabbage, okay? That’s a 6-point mass! Someone like your Lord of Huilong City is, to put it simply, a 'demigod'! We’re already amazing to have one. How many demigods do you think an average power can have?”

"At least three," Ji Huaisu pondered. "The point-7 forces we've encountered before all had three point-6s..."

Lico looked at them as if they were prehistoric mammoths.

"May I ask you two what kind of scary things you mean by 'normal'? The legendary evil god? Please don't scare me, I'm scared."

Chu Hengkong rubbed his forehead, only then realizing that his values ​​had once again been corrupted by the wilderness.

The Demon King's army in Vansalal included three Elemental 6 lieutenants: Vaklo, Limb Spider, and Nightwalker. Other officers, such as Cursed Lightning and Burning Ash, were also extremely powerful Elemental 5s in their lifetimes. They had always assumed this lineup was standard for a deity's faction; now it seemed this was simply the Demon King's army at its peak, far too powerful…

It makes sense. The Limb Spider was easily defeated and surrendered, while Nightwalker was forcibly transformed. If it weren't for Vansalal's exceptional fighting prowess, the Demon King's army would only have had one Elemental 6 member, Vaklo. Under normal circumstances, the Thorn Sandal would be the standard Elemental 7 faction… considering the hidden talents within Thorn Sandal, it's likely the one with the strongest resources…

“They’ve been dealing with heretics too much and lack common sense,” Vande said listlessly. “But to be honest, I’m a little worried too. Even if the regular elites can fool us, wouldn’t it be like we’re slapping the Divine Tree in the face with a divine teleportation array?”

“The Divine Tree is good at turning a blind eye and won’t care about us.” Lico fixed her hair. “Alright, before we go out, take off all the disguises and stuff them into the storage relics. From now on, we are Citizen No. 1234, who are here to investigate old cases.”

"It's more convenient to use the prosecutor's disguise." "There are too many important people in the Great Archives; I don't want to run into a big shot!"

They quickly removed their disguises, reverting to their everyday clothes, and didn't forget to spray on the simplest perfume to signify, "I am a commoner." The green light in the small room flickered on and off, then the wooden door opened, and they stepped into a pure white corridor.

"You should have permission to enter the sealed layer, right?" Lico asked in a very low voice.

"In fact, we only brought the door key with us."

"I'm really impressed... Remember to treat me to a meal when you get back."

Lico walked briskly out of the corridor and into the circular hall, her two white braids swaying behind her. The security guard at the front desk (a lemur dressed as a middle-aged woman) seemed to recognize her and smiled, "Miss Lico, it's nice to see you again."

“I’m not the type to give up easily.” Lico sneered, pushing out a wooden card and another key. “G-2980, 4 people.”

"Of course, 2980. And who are these people?"

“I hired a top detective from Huilong City,” Lico said fiercely. “I’m waiting for them to help me uncover the truth.”

The lemur lady looked at her for a while, then sighed, "I understand, Miss Lico. But... it's been too long. I was a student back then, and now I'm a housewife. Many things can't be changed."

Lico pursed her lips, seemingly angry. Vande interjected, "Just out of curiosity, ma'am, did they invite you to sit here specifically to dampen your spirits?"

"Of course not, I'm sorry... Please take this. It's for one hour, and you are not allowed to take any documents with you."

Lico snatched the pass, gave Vande a grateful look, and then strode towards the elevator. Ji Huaisu patted her shoulder: "You have a case too?"

“I’m a family member of someone involved in the case,” Lico replied vaguely. “There was a stupid case before, but it has nothing to do with anything important. Let’s go…!”

She hurried to the elevator door, which opened just then. Upon seeing who it was, Li Ke actually took two steps back; this fearless girl had never seemed so reserved before.

“Mr. Banningtik,” she greeted softly.

The prosecutor, dressed in a dark black tuxedo, stepped out of the elevator, his gaze sweeping over each person in turn. "Good afternoon, Miss Lico," he greeted politely, "and then we meet again, everyone..."

He paused for a moment, then pondered, "So, who are you all again?"

"You didn't know that?!" Vande couldn't hold back anymore.

“Although we met briefly at the amusement park, none of you seem to have mentioned your names.” Banningtik adjusted his checkered scarf. “That’s right, my prosecutor’s memory is as sharp as this pure white scarf; it won’t overlook any suspicious ‘points’!”

“But your scarf is checkered,” Ji Huaisu said.

"..."

Banningtik lowered his head and fell into a mysterious silence. Lico silently rubbed her forehead: "You've mistaken a handkerchief for a scarf again..."

Prosecutor Banningtik swiftly pulled a folded, checkered scarf from his pocket, straightened it, tied it securely, and put the handkerchief away—the entire process taking less than 0.6 seconds. His movements were so fluid that even Chu Hengkong wanted to admire him. Just as he was about to speak seriously, another voice came from behind him: "Excuse me, may I come out now? The elevator doors are still closed..."

Banningtik turned and stepped aside, saying, "Excuse me, please go ahead."

The elevator doors slammed shut behind him, catching a section of his white shirt. A muffled voice came from behind the doors: "A little difficult..."

“The stop interval design of the Grand Library elevator is clearly extremely unreasonable.” Banningtik pressed the button repeatedly. “I will report this to the engineering department later.”

Vande squinted: "No, it's already quite patient of you to wait until you've finished all that nonsense before closing this elevator. Seriously, is there not a single normal person on the upper level of Jing Sha? I feel so sorry for the guy trapped inside!"

“What this guest said is true; work efficiency is indeed an issue that Jingsa and other city-states cannot ignore. However, every place has its own customs, so you might as well consider it a characteristic of Jingsa.”

The elevator doors opened again, and Lico's expression darkened upon hearing the voice. It was a man in a white military uniform, his blond hair neatly combed. Judging from the shape of his lips and the curve of his chin, he was undoubtedly a handsome gentleman. However, no one could see his full face, as a white mask covered the upper half of his face, even his eyes were obscured by a thin film, making it impossible to discern the expression in his eyes.

“Pariman…!” Lico muttered cursingly.

“It has been a while, Miss Lico,” said Parriman. “And I extend my greetings to all the guests from Dragon City and a heartfelt welcome to Mansa Star Castle. My name is Zan van Parriman, and I am the Speaker of the Upper House of our Thorn City-State.”

(End of this chapter)