"Pretty impressive, right?"
Seeing Belle's expectant gaze, Zane nodded slightly with a smile.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Oh come on, no need to thank me. That forum's a lot of fun—I'm enjoying it too..."
Belle waved it off. What she didn't mention was that Fairy had been constantly scanning the forum for intel. Though she hadn't made much progress in other areas, her skill at telling lame jokes had improved significantly...
Like "Bangboo running a boarding house—what kind of place does a Bangboo live in," and so on...
"The forum doesn't seem like a big problem. The spread of that info isn't a big deal, and all the discussion is a good sign."
"What I'm more interested in is that mysterious person who requested a meeting. Remember during dinner, I asked Fairy to dig up some info? How's that going?"
Zane sat down on the sofa and looked at Belle with curiosity.
"Oh, that..."
When Zane brought it up, Belle sighed softly. She had meant to talk to him about it anyway.
"Zane, you know how tight the rope net system's security is…"
She glanced at Zane, paused, then asked,
"You know about that, right?"
Zane nodded. Even though Belle hadn't explained it in detail, he had done his own homework on the rope net.
Seeing him nod, Belle continued,
"Fairy's capable of slipping through the net, but that's not really her specialty. She'd make a lot of noise doing it."
"If she did go through and got traced, the video store, my brother, and I would be done for."
"So I had Fairy collect data through other means, but unfortunately, it was just a small inter-knot account. Aside from that one commission, there's been nothing else."
Belle spread her hands helplessly and sat beside Zane. A variety show was playing on the TV, and faint voices could be heard from outside the door.
The video store was open, and during this critical early stage, Wise and No. 18 were out front handling business seriously.
"So basically, no leads at all?"
Seeing Zane frown, Belle smiled mysteriously, just about to reveal her findings—when a robotic voice cut in.
"Incorrect. As a top-tier AI, Fairy cannot possibly have no results. Based on the data submitted through the commission, two key conclusions have been drawn."
Belle froze. She rushed to stop Fairy, but it was too late.
"One: the communication channel used by the other party is a highly encrypted one. These are typically reserved for large corporations or top-tier government organizations."
"After a location trace, it's been confirmed that the channel is registered to the Defense Force. It could be one of the elite units, or even the Staff of the Emperor."
"Two: although the submitted data from the master did not follow common logic, the party still paid the commission fee. This suggests they either already know the relevant information, or have extremely high interest in the commission itself."
"In summary, there is an 81.02% probability that the party is aware of the mastermind behind operations targeting the 'Fire Picker,' a 34.32% probability they are involved in said operations, and an 8.31% chance they are the mastermind."
Fairy laid it all out. Belle stared at the HDD system, her mouth twitching slightly.
That was supposed to be her line!
She'd planned to take the credit in front of Zane, maybe even get a transformation photo out of it...
Especially since prices for the latest "Fire Picker" visuals online were... cough cough.
"Looks like we've got something big. This is a major lead. Follow it back and we might find something huge."
Zane thought for a moment, then said,
"Yeah. Too bad we still don't know who they are."
Hearing Belle's frustration, Zane smiled.
"It's fine. You've done great."
"You haven't responded to them yet, right? Don't worry—if they reached out first, it means they won't just disappear. There'll be more chances to make contact."
"There's no such thing as a perfect disguise. The more they reach out, the more likely it is they'll slip up."
Belle nodded in agreement. Zane had a point—they already had a lot to go on. No need to rush it.
And… being praised felt really nice!
...
Time passed. Zane helped out around the store for a while. Thanks to his looks and natural charm, business picked up noticeably.
Before long, it was time to head to the Public Security Bureau for his appointment.
He was the one who insisted on meeting Qingyi—and even told her not to flake. If he flaked, that would be awkward...
...
Afternoon. The sun was high.
The sky was still painted red.
Janus District Public Security Bureau Branch.
"Are you here to see Officer Qingyi?"
"Is it official business or a private matter?"
"It's during work hours. If it's personal, do you have an appointment?"
The young woman at the front desk looked at Zane. She wanted to let him through, but procedure was procedure.
The Janus branch was huge. If a dangerous person got in, it'd be a disaster.
Just like in the movies—some maniac blows up a precinct, or an undercover agent sneaks out classified data...
An appointment?
Zane raised an eyebrow. He didn't actually have one. Did a personal agreement with Qingyi count?
"Sir, please wait. I'll ask Officer Qingyi."
Seeing his expression, the receptionist responded quickly and reached for the phone—when a familiar voice called out.
"Zane?"
Zane turned to see Seth walking over, full of energy.
When he saw Zane, a smile spread across Seth's face. He'd already looked into Zane before the Dead End Hollows ether bomb operation and had met him briefly.
He had a good impression of him—someone with a strong sense of justice, loyal, and willing to take responsibility.
After a quick check and hearing that Zane was here to see Qingyi, Seth waved his hand.
"He's a friend of Officer Qingyi. We all know him. I'll take him straight to her."