Chapter 767: Message from Fang Xiaoxiao

The elderly man’s gaze fell on the ID card. He paused for a second before looking up at Xu Wuyi’s face. It was a familiar black-and-white mask. The man’s pupils slightly constricted.

But he said nothing. He simply set down his thermos and swiped the ID card on the card reader. The reader emitted a soft BEEP.

The elderly man stood and respectfully handed the ID card back. “Captain Meng, please follow me,” he said, his voice kept very low.

Opening the small door next to the reception window, he led Xu Wuyi across the foyer to a door that looked like a storage closet. He reached out and pressed a spot on the wall next to it. The door silently slid open to both sides, revealing an elevator inside.

Xu Wuyi stepped into the elevator. The elderly man nodded to him from outside before the doors slid shut again. The elevator began its slow descent.

A familiar sensation of slight weightlessness washed over him. Xu Wuyi stared at the reflection of his black-and-white mask on the elevator doors. Ten seconds later, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened once more.

Before him lay the same spacious, brightly lit hall. Countless tiny light sources embedded in the domed ceiling simulated the effect of natural daylight. The light-gray non-slip floor tiles were so clean they reflected the people walking across them. In the work areas flanking the hall, the uniformed staff of the Inspection Department still sat before their holographic screens. Some stared at data, others conversed in hushed tones, and some rapidly typed on virtual keyboards. On the massive holographic display further away, maps and data from all across the Federation were constantly flashing and updating.

Everything was exactly the same as when he had left.

But the moment Xu Wuyi stepped out of the elevator, the atmosphere in the entire hall shifted. The staff initially glanced up out of reflex. Then, their eyes locked onto his face, and then—everyone froze.

Documents slipped from hands onto desks. Cups of water were suspended in mid-air. Mouths hung open, the words they were about to speak completely forgotten. They were all too familiar with that mask.

For that brief instant, the entire hall was terrifyingly silent. Just as Xu Wuyi had immobilized those Star Beasts in front of the Rift, everyone’s movements came to a complete standstill.

Then, the commotion erupted.

“It’s Captain Meng!”

“Captain Meng is back!”

“That mask—it’s Captain Meng!”

People shot up from their seats, dropped their files, and hurried toward him. Their gazes were filled with surprise, excitement, and awe, mixed with an indescribable complexity.

Xu Wuyi paid no attention to their stares. He walked straight through the hall, heading deeper into the facility. He didn’t walk fast, but his pace was steady. Wherever he passed, the staff automatically parted to make way. No one dared step forward to stop him, nor did anyone dare ask a single question. They merely watched him—watched that familiar black-and-white mask, watched the legendary figure in the flesh.

Xu Wuyi traversed the hall, passing rows upon rows of work areas, until he reached the innermost corner. At the end of the corridor was an ordinary wooden door devoid of any signage. He stood before it, raised his hand, and knocked gently three times.

A strong voice called out from within. “Come in.”

Xu Wuyi pushed the door open and walked in. This was Luo Jing’s office. It was a modest-sized room with simple furnishings: a desk, a chair, a bookcase, and a sofa set.

Luo Jing sat behind the desk, his head bowed as he read through some documents. Hearing the door, he looked up. His eyes fell on the mask adorning Xu Wuyi’s face, and a smile broke across his features.

“Grandmaster Xu, it’s been a long time,” Luo Jing said, smiling as he stood up to greet him.

Luo Jing himself was not a Grandmaster. Even though he was old enough to be Xu Wuyi’s grandfather, a Grandmaster was a Grandmaster and had to be accorded the utmost respect. Xu Wuyi sat across from him, took off his mask, and placed it on the coffee table.

Luo Jing looked at him, his gaze lingering on his face for a few seconds, unable to suppress a twinge of sentiment. The two exchanged a few words of small talk before Luo Jing got to the point. “I am not surprised by your return this time, Grandmaster Xu. The truth is, our internal systems also monitored the message that girl Fang Xiaoxiao sent you.”

Luo Jing stood up, walked over to the bookcase, pulled out a file, and placed it in front of Xu Wuyi. “Take a look at this first.”

Xu Wuyi took the file and opened it. The first page was an investigation report. The signature read ‘Squad Four,’ and it was dated twenty days ago.

The report contained various fragmented clues regarding Song Qingwu. Some pointed to economic issues, some to abuses of power, and a few others to a cold case. That old case had taken place three years ago, involving the accidental death of a merchant named Lin Quan. At the time, the official conclusion ruled it an accident. However, the report highlighted several suspicious points. For example, the last person Lin Quan had seen before his death was Song Qingwu. Furthermore, Lin Quan’s company was subsequently acquired by the Song family, and his surviving relatives had received a large, untraceable sum of money.

Still, these were merely suspicions; there was zero substantive evidence.

Xu Wuyi flipped through the pages one by one. Reaching the end, he noticed a line highlighted in red ink.

*Based on clues provided by a confidential informant, Zhou Bin and Li Zhaowen proceeded to Song Qingwu’s residence on the afternoon of January 12th to verify the situation, after which contact was lost.*

January 12th. That was three days ago.

He closed the file and looked at Luo Jing. “Who is this confidential informant?”

Luo Jing shook his head. “I don’t know. Zhou Bin didn’t report it; he just took Li Zhaowen and went straight there.” He paused before continuing, “According to protocol, meeting with a confidential informant requires a third party to be present, a complete record must be kept, and the matter must be officially filed. Zhou Bin has worked in the Inspection Department for years. There’s no way he didn’t know the rules.”