Lu Mingfei: What? They're all real!

She looked out the airport window at the roaring planes taking off and couldn't help but feel anxious. At this moment, the red-haired girl had become a secondary issue; Norton was the key. She remembered Lu Mingfei telling her about Norton's amnesia, so she was worried that something unexpected might happen. To be precise, she was worried about Lu Mingfei's safety on this trip.

The awakening of memories was not a natural process; there must have been a tremendous stimulus that was generated in Norton.

Perhaps some sinister force has intervened, that treacherous guy who always lurks in the shadows...

Chapter 162 If it's just empty talk, then go get it treated.

Lu Mingfei couldn't get through to Lao Tang's phone; this was the sixth time. All he got in response was a busy signal, indicating that Lao Tang was in a very bad situation…

He walked out of the restroom and returned to Chen Motong's side. The red-haired girl crossed her arms and gave him a mocking laugh.

"You don't drink much water, so why are you going to the bathroom so often? Is there something wrong with your health?" Her smile was meaningful. "I remember that in this situation, you should... see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor for treatment, right?"

“Uh…” Lu Mingfei was speechless. He wanted to say that there was no possibility of him being fake, but he obviously couldn’t say that to a woman he didn’t know well.

This woman is a bit too overly familiar!

He could only focus on the mission: "Where do we go next?"

The girl pulled a marked map out of her backpack and pointed to the place marked ①. "The first place is Queens, near a casino. We'll start from here."

“Queens…” Lu Mingfei repeated, “It sounds like I could see Spider-Man there…”

“We’re more likely to see a spider tainted by dragon blood, which might grow to the height of a two-story building.” The girl pulled him along and strode forward. “Alright, let’s go. There are still many places to go. Before tonight, we need to investigate at least four places.”

……

The first location was the casino. The first fluctuation occurred at 6:12 PM the day before yesterday. The intensity of the elemental fluctuation detected by the academy exceeded all values ​​in the past ten years. By the time the two arrived, they already understood everything. The place had been completely reduced to ashes, without even a trace of charcoal. The cordon tape around the perimeter indicated that this was not an ordinary event.

According to the police, it was a natural gas pipeline explosion.

“Ha…” Lu Mingfei chuckled casually, “It seems this place has been infected by Fuyuki City… If a natural gas pipeline explosion has this effect, then the Americans might as well just focus on repairing natural gas pipelines in Iraq.”

"Don't speak, let's sneak in quietly..." Chen Motong gestured for silence, while placing her other hand on Lu Mingfei's head, pressing his body down.

It was still broad daylight, so stealth was difficult. Lu Mingfei couldn't reveal information about the Word of Power: Netherworld Illumination in front of her, since no hybrid had ever been able to master two Words of Power at the same time. So he could only transform himself into a daytime thief.

Fortunately, since the possibility of a terrorist attack or malicious sabotage was ruled out, the police weren't too worried. They were all hiding in their police cars eating donuts, so the infiltration process wasn't too dangerous.

……

"Even steel was melted. The scene was indeed subjected to a violent fire impact, just as the monitoring showed. It should be the Word Spirit: Monarch Flame..." Chen Motong looked around, recorded the information and clues in his notebook, and muttered to himself.

Lu Mingfei, however, held a different view. He squatted down to examine the twisted steel that had solidified and solidified after turning into molten iron, and felt that it was more than that...

For the first generation of species, the dragon bones, dragon body, and cocoon are all essential. If any of these are missing, their strength will be greatly reduced. Old Tang is probably now in a state of emptiness, and he probably doesn't even have power or memories in his hands. If he had only used the Monarch Flame, there would never have been such a huge commotion, blowing the casino in the basement and the two floors above it to ashes.

Moreover, according to eyewitness testimonies, there was an earthquake and extremely high temperature for up to six minutes before the explosion. Almost everyone fled because of the noise, and surprisingly, no one was killed...

These pieces of evidence point in completely different directions. The Word of Power that Old Tang released here was probably an extremely weakened and incomplete version of "Word of Power: Candle Dragon," a Word of Power unique to him... He was probably greatly stimulated and, as if in defense, used the most familiar technique in his soul, manipulating the nearby fire element as instinctively as possible...

However, due to various external factors, he could only cause such minor damage no matter how hard he tried.

Lu Mingfei stroked his chin, deep in thought about what had caused Lao Tang to react so strongly, and decided not to correct Chen Motong's record.

But in fact, he no longer had the chance to correct her. The red-haired girl suddenly closed her eyes, sat on the chair made of solidified molten iron, and drifted off into her own world.

"Did you bring the goods?" she suddenly asked out of the blue.

Lu Mingfei felt a chill run down his spine for no reason after his detective mode was switched off; this behavior was too bizarre!

Are you in actor mode? While this kind of thing happens in casinos every day and the atmosphere is suitable, we're still at the crime scene!

Lu Mingfei reached out, trying to touch it—

“I brought it,” she suddenly added.

"Don't try anything funny, or you'll get shot." She kept saying this as if she were directing and acting.

"Don't worry, I have a good reputation!" she continued.

Then the girl suddenly stopped talking, stood up, closed her eyes, and walked back and forth on the ruins. After a while, she began to murmur:

“There were a lot of people, but mainly the two guys who were delivering the goods. Everyone was surrounding them… The guy who was receiving the goods was covered in tattoos and was a black man, but the delivery guy’s appearance was blurry and I couldn’t see clearly… They chatted for a while, and then the delivery guy suddenly became strange, shrinking his head and crawling under the table.”

As she spoke, Chen Motong suddenly walked to a pile of charcoal-like ash, which was probably the table she was referring to.

"Then chaos broke out here. People were killed, shots were fired, like a gang shootout, but not quite..." the girl murmured. "People were screaming and running, and then the thing that came in slowly walked toward the table, and the air gradually became hot..."

She finally opened her eyes and immediately concluded, "It seems that a very fierce force attacked this casino, causing chaos. Subsequently, high-risk Words of Power were released, probably to clear the area. Judging from this, the attacker is most likely the King of Bronze and Fire... However, why would the King of Bronze and Fire attack this place..."

The girl was thinking very seriously.

"Are you making up a story?" Lu Mingfei asked in surprise.

“No, I’m just profiling. You know what profiling is? By collecting evidence and putting yourself in the criminal’s shoes to imitate their behavior, motives, and way of thinking, you can reconstruct what happened.” Chen Motong said with a hint of pride, “That’s why I was specifically chosen to investigate this case.”

“Profiling…” Lu Mingfei nodded silently and said nothing more.

But in fact, he didn't think so at all.

This goes far beyond the scope of profiling. He had read detective novels when he was in the literary society—which is the least discriminated type of genre literature. Compared to those dry, thick books, he was always reading detective novels, so he knew very well what "profiling" meant. The red-haired girl just sat there for a while and then began to reconstruct the scene that happened, even describing the faces.

This is truly unbelievable. If this is just a so-called "profiling," then Holmes, who is proficient in "deductive reasoning," should probably consider applying for disability and intellectual disability benefits from the British government.

However, Chen Motong continued. She suddenly kicked away the charcoal that had cooled down, revealing some human bones that were not yet fully carbonized, as well as torn cloth with bloodstains on it.

“These are the evidence.” She took out an evidence bag, intending to put the torn clothes inside.

But Lu Mingfei suddenly stopped her for no apparent reason, then reached out and took the remaining clothes of the dead, staring at the piece of fabric with a serious and piercing gaze.

The smell and feel were familiar; Lu Mingfei would never be wrong… This wasn't human blood, it was Deadpool's blood. The attack Chen Motong mentioned had nothing to do with the King of Bronze and Fire; it was launched by Deadpool… On the contrary, the deliveryman's tone most likely sounded like Old Tang, and he had been attacked by Deadpool…

The case suddenly became complicated and confusing.

Chapter 163 Can You Read My Heart?

The second stop was a forest park in New York, where an entire hectare of trees and grass was burned. According to the official account, multiple people carelessly discarded cigarette butts, causing the fire to start simultaneously. As a result, the fire could not be extinguished in time at night, but fortunately, it did not spread too much.

But Lu Mingfei knew that the truth was not like that. These weeds were burned too fiercely and turned into ash in a very short time, which created a fire-retardant zone in an instant, so there was no chance for the fire to spread.

Judging from these signs, Old Tang was almost like a nuclear bomb that had been detonated, his emotions reaching a point where he couldn't control himself... He was probably terrified at the time.

"Hmm, the time was midnight the day before yesterday. It should have been a chase, something was chasing someone," Chen Motong murmured, giving the result of the profile. "Right here, under this tree, there was a man, very tall, but the pursuer was even taller and got closer and closer. Finally, at this spot, the elements converged and exploded. Perhaps the King of Bronze and Fire was silencing him?"

Ms. Chen, the process was all correct, but the result was completely wrong...

Lu Mingfei suppressed his urge to say something, trying to avoid being discovered that the one being hunted was probably the great King of Bronze and Fire...

To be honest, he had to admit that Chen Motong's guess was very accurate, even a bit too accurate. This ability was by no means a so-called "profile" but was almost equivalent to "precognition".

He looked at the girl standing under the tree with her eyes closed, his expression solemn. He stared at her face, trying to discern something, just as she could "profile" things based on what happened. Similarly, Lu Mingfei could always recall his forgotten past by touching things he was familiar with.

But aside from the memories he had recalled from the very beginning, he still couldn't remember anything. He still only felt that the red-haired girl standing not far from him had a tragic fate that was regrettable.

"What do you think?"

Chen Motong suddenly opened her eyes, wanting to ask Lu Mingfei for his opinion, but found that his eyes were now staring straight at her, which made her somewhat dazed.

"Ah, this..." Lu Mingfei reacted and quickly waved his hand, "I think it's probably like what you said. The King of Bronze and Fire is chasing someone, and releasing the Word of Power in the casino and here is probably just to be on the safe side..."

He is now very glad that he was included in the investigation team, otherwise who would cover up the truth for Lao Tang?

"Really?" Chen Motong narrowed his eyes. "It seems like you have some other ideas?"

"No, no," Lu Mingfei denied repeatedly, completely unaware that the girl standing opposite him was actually referring to someone else.

“Okay, let’s go to the next location, let me see…” The girl pouted, took out her communication device from her pocket, and reported the information to the academy in real time.

Then she took out a map from her backpack, slowly moving her hand to point to the next location, but her eyes were never on the map, always sneaking glances at other places.

Chen Motong glanced at him for a while and noticed that the boy standing there had suddenly become serious, squatting on the ground and picking at the charred wood, no longer looking in their direction.

She gave a soft snort before announcing the next location, "It seems to be next to a light rail line, let's go."

"rail?"

Lu Mingfei felt a shiver run through his body. He had heard Old Tang say that his home was right next to a light rail line, so noisy that you couldn't hear anything else, which was why he had developed the habit of speaking in a thunderous voice.

Old Tang may have returned home after being chased... As Lu Mingfei sorted through the clues, he felt increasingly uneasy.

Lu Mingfei reached out and touched the remains of the Deadpool buried in the wood ash. Taking advantage of the girl's inattention, he quickly moved all the ashes over with his foot to hide the remains of the already dead Deadpool.

……

Being hunted by Deadpool wouldn't be surprising; these corrupted creatures are bloodthirsty monsters, and it wouldn't be unexpected if they stormed the Pentagon one day.

Deadpool died in the casino, a fact confirmed by Lu Mingfei through remaining traces. Deadpool also died in the forest park, but Old Tang was still being hunted down, and in his panic, he could only choose to hide back in his home.

So it wasn't just one, it was a whole horde of Deadpools attacking Old Tang.

The conclusion drawn from this is perplexing. The Deadpools, who appeared out of nowhere, are now cooperating as a group, and they are hunting down a noble First Generation. This is not a casual encounter. Judging from all the evidence, they are definitely chasing after Old Tang to kill him.

What kind of Deadpool would have such audacity and such a clear mind?

It was almost as if... someone was commanding them...

But why aren't the Deadpools all moving together? This doesn't seem like a hunt.

……

"You seem really nervous. Is it really necessary to be so alarmed just riding a bus?" Chen Motong nudged the boy next to her with her elbow. "Is it because of the clues we're following, or something else?"

She gave a gentle smile, a kind of wisdom that seemed to say, "I've seen through everything."

This alarmed Lu Mingfei. He was worried that Chen Motong's almost prophetic abilities would see through Lao Tang's true colors, and even more exaggeratedly... that she knew everything about "Lu Mingfei".

“Nothing…” Lu Mingfei shook his head. “I was just thinking about why the King of Bronze and Fire would go to such lengths.”

Even at this moment, he still didn't forget to mislead the detective.

"Oh, I thought you were feeling a little uncomfortable sitting here." Chen Motong exhaled and leaned back, holding the back of her head with her hands. Her tone sounded nonchalant, but the smile on her face disappeared.

"If you're really curious, why don't you try using your profiling skills and see?" Lu Mingfei asked tentatively.

"Do you think I'm a mind reader or a profiler?" Chen Motong turned around and asked bluntly, but her tone rose considerably. "If I could read minds, I would definitely make everything you're thinking public and let everyone see it."

"This is terrifying... Everyone calls you the Little Witch, so you're actually Carrie the Witch?" Lu Mingfei exclaimed. "I haven't done anything to you, have I?"

"Hard to say." The girl clicked her tongue and shook her head, giving him a look that said, "You can guess for yourself."

Lu Mingfei was too lazy to guess what the girl was thinking. He was just curious about the limits of her "profiling". However, judging from the current situation, Lu Mingfei thought... she probably couldn't find out what he had done. Let alone mind reading, she didn't even know what he had done in that kind of replication.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have so arrogantly directed a play back then, only to end up burying herself in it...

This is good news.

But just in case, he still used the trick he had often fantasized about before—"mind-reading test".

He stared at the girl so close to him, silently reciting vile words in his mind. His eyes were fixed on hers, trying to detect even the slightest change in her. He was now throwing away all the manners he had cultivated over the past decade. He believed no girl could remain unmoved by such words. If she could truly read minds, she would surely hear the obscene words he was silently reciting.

stare--

"Why are you looking at me like that..."

The girl didn't react at all. Instead, she said something in a strange tone, then quickly turned around and stared stiffly out the window.

The color of the base of her neck looks a little unnatural now.

Chapter 164 It really was just a misunderstanding.

"This is... a pigsty, isn't it?" Chen Motong commented on the room with the door open, she was somewhat reluctant to set foot in this area.

The damage here is much less; compared to the completely destroyed casino, at least it retains some semblance of order. However, this place is too chaotic and filthy; there's barely any room to stand, and it's only made worse by the haphazard burning.

Lu Mingfei silently told himself, "You're not allowed to be so rude to my good brother! Old Tang is a dragon, not a pig!" Then he shuffled in along the corner of the wall. Despite being extremely careful, he still stepped on a clump of oil that stuck tightly to the sole of his shoe.

Okay, maybe a little bit... but it's not entirely Old Tang's fault!

Lu Mingfei silently tried to save face for Lao Tang, then looked around the room. The layout was similar to what he had seen in the video, and the landmarks were still there. This was indeed Lao Tang's room.

The descriptions remained largely the same. Perhaps because mortals could hardly see the faces of the first generation of beings, Chen Motong always described the people present by their physical appearance. They were still the "monsters" who had come to hunt them down and the "ordinary people" who had been cornered. The battle ended with a violent explosion of fire elements.

"Why is the commotion so small this time? Is it to avoid causing too much of a stir?" Chen Motong was puzzled.

In fact, the questions she raised were very precise, always pointing to the most crucial points. The evidence she noticed and the process of her deduction were also close to perfect. It's just that she had too little information and was completely unaware that the great King of Bronze and Fire was now just a loud-voiced, slovenly man.

In Lu Mingfei's view, there was only one reason why the commotion was relatively small this time: Old Tang had probably gradually regained a lot of things during his escape and pursuit, perhaps his memories, perhaps his authority, and he was now able to control his power...

Lu Mingfei pushed the tall shelf he often saw in the video chat interface. This was Old Tang's favorite thing. He often said that he had gone to great lengths to move this thing into the room. Now, most of the items in the room had been burned to ashes, but this thing was still standing... Lu Mingfei believed that this was Old Tang's intention.

"Also, why come to a place like this? According to the academy's records, a young man, unemployed, lives here. He also went in and out of that casino that day, carrying a backpack. He should be the 'delivery person' I profiled..." Chen Motong pondered, "The connection between these things is..."