Chapter 118 The Course of the Event
"This is a bit..."
Upon hearing this, Dengzhou first hesitated slightly, then smiled awkwardly, "It's actually a bit embarrassing to say. Could you not laugh?"
"What happened?"
"I actually found the person, but I didn't win the fight."
Pointing at his own forehead, Dengzhou laughed, "Originally, I followed the enemy to this lair, thinking I had a chance to challenge a pupal stage Remnant Beast, but the result was..."
"The result was?" Emerald Sparrow raised an eyebrow.
"The result was I almost got caught myself and almost ran out of magic power before I was barely able to escape."
When this topic came up, Dengzhou unconsciously scratched the back of his head, "I didn't expect that man to be so strong."
"That man? Do you mean you've found the culprit?"
Emerald Sparrow prodded, "Can you be clearer? What exactly happened?"
"It's a long story. Actually, it dates back to a week ago, when the Investigation Bureau's team went missing."
Dengzhou shifted backward to get more comfortable, pondering how to begin, "But where should I start? Miss Inspector, have you heard about what happened before from Bai Ji and the others?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"If you're talking about what happened to the investigation team after they went to Bai'an City, then I'm vaguely aware of it."
Emerald Sparrow nodded, "According to Bai Ji's description, you seem to have provided quite some information to the investigation team."
"Yes, but that's not all."
Dengzhou added, "Actually, Senior Cat Tail from the investigation team warned me when we first met to not take things lightly. The case they're investigating is much more significant than imagined. It seems Black Ash Dawn is preparing something very dangerous."
"Black Ash Dawn?"
Emerald Sparrow couldn't help but feel puzzled, "The records in the Investigation Bureau indicate that they were investigating Claw Mark's movements."
"According to Senior Cat Tail, that was their initial objective upon arriving in the Donghua Region,"
Dengzhou corrected, "But the priority of this objective changed after they conducted a widespread investigation in the Donghua Region. Because they found many clues pointing to the same thing—Black Ash Dawn is plotting something in the southeast Donghua Region."
"So you're saying what they were actually investigating was related to Black Ash Dawn?"
Emerald Sparrow furrowed her brows, "What are those guys plotting?"
Whether it was Claw Mark or Black Ash Dawn, Emerald Sparrow actually knew very little about these organizations because their emergence and rise happened entirely after she retired.
If it weren't for that previous attack on Fangting City, she might not even be clear about the distinctions between these organizations.
"We don't know."
To Emerald Sparrow's question, Dengzhou simply shook his head, "However, Senior Cat Tail did tell me something before she disappeared."
"What is it?"
"About the disappearance of Magical Girls over the past two years."
Dengzhou crossed his arms over his knees, staring into Emerald Sparrow's eyes, "Inspector, do you know, Black Ash Dawn has actually done quite a few bad things in the Donghua Region. They even have someone specifically responsible for attacking the newly appointed Magical Girls."
"There's no need to be so formal, just call me Emerald Sparrow." Emerald Sparrow nodded slightly, "As for what you mentioned, I have heard of it."
That some members of Black Ash Dawn could harness the power of Remnant Beasts, even going as far as hunting down Magical Girls, was something she had already learned from Lin Xiaolu.
In fact, the reason she now stood here in the capacity of a Magical Girl was significantly related to Black Ash Dawn. Experience more on empire
If it weren't for that day, that night in the Fangting City Wetland Park, when someone among them wanted to make a move on Lin Xiaolu, she wouldn't have so resolutely become a Magical Girl once again.
In a sense, Emerald Sparrow herself was deeply affected by this event.
"Emerald Sparrow? Is that the code name given to you, Lord Inspector?" Lantern asked without thinking.
"Correct," Emerald Sparrow continued nodding.
Seeing Emerald Sparrow's confirmation, Lantern went on, "Then, Ins... Emerald Sparrow senior, do you know how many Magical Girls have disappeared in the Donghua Region in the past two years?"
"...How many?" Hearing her ask like this, Emerald Sparrow vaguely felt an ominous premonition.
"There are 11 who have certified identification cards recorded in the files."
Lantern looked at Emerald Sparrow earnestly, enunciating each word, "This number does not include those Magical Girls who disappeared quietly. In fact, quite a number of girls were at the novice stage and hadn't yet received their certification cards; some even vanished before they could make contact with the Abnormal Strategy Bureau. Although not recorded in the archives, based on the feedback from Seeders in various places, combined with these children, the number is probably double. In the end, probably more than 20 Magical Girls have disappeared in the last two years."
"Two years? 22 people?" Emerald Sparrow said, somewhat shocked, "That many? How many Magical Girls are there in the entire Southeast Donghua Region, and 22 disappeared in two years; how come it was only discovered recently?"
"This is also a significant mystery in the incident; unfortunately, we have no leads."
Hugging her knees, Lantern lowered her eyes, "I heard that in some cities even Seeders have disappeared; I don't know where such bad luck struck."
Upon hearing this, Emerald Sparrow also looked away, expressing no opinion on the matter.
"Anyway, we have many doubts about this, and Black Ash Dawn seems very keen and persistent on hunting Magical Girls. Moreover, they have repeatedly emphasized words like 'ritual' as if they are involved in some strange activities."
Seeing that Emerald Sparrow was silent, Lantern began to speak herself, "When Cat Tail senior visited, she also asked me if I had encountered any abnormal incidents in Bai'an City; those could very likely be signs of Black Ash Dawn's covert actions."
"In fact, in my usual activities, I have indeed sensed some strange occurrences..."
Lantern began to describe and listed several locations that she found odd, together with the reasons.
The reason it's considered odd is that Lantern herself couldn't clearly explain her feelings. The places she listed were where she had either patrolled or fought, but afterward, she always felt that something was still hidden there.
The list she provided was eventually delivered to Cat Tail's hands, and the next day, the investigation team started inspecting the places mentioned on Lantern's list.
In the initial days, Cat Tail would occasionally contact Lantern to communicate some progress in the investigation. However, immediately afterward, one day, Cat Tail suddenly fell silent without trace.
Lantern contacted the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, and after a considerable amount of manpower was spent searching throughout Bai'an City, they found no trace of Cat Tail and the others. With no other choice, they decided to report the matter to the Investigation Institute.
While waiting for someone from the Investigation Institute, Lantern, restless as always, felt deeply involved in this matter and wanted to search for more clues. Thus, she joined forces with the Abnormal Strategy Bureau and carried out a detailed investigation around the locations she once reported, attempting to find any traces.
Anything suspicious, whether objects or persons, was thoroughly cataloged and eventually laid out on the desks of the Abnormal Strategy Bureau.
After studying those materials, Lantern pinpointed several highly suspicious individuals and, after another day of tracking investigation, she focused on a particular man.
According to the files, this man was once a mage who had been arrested and penalized by the Abnormal Strategy Bureau for engaging in gray market dealings. After serving his sentence and being deprived of his Spell Technique abilities, he became a jobless vagrant.
This man had appeared several times around the locations Lantern had designated during the period surrounding the Cat Tail squad incident, with very suspicious behavior.
After focusing on this man, Lantern decisively took action, attempting to track him down. However, to her surprise, during the tracking process, she inexplicably lost her way.
After following that man into a certain underground passageway, she became lost within, and after several turns, realized she had entered a space resembling a nest.
At first, she thought she had reached the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, but soon, she encountered several workers trapped inside just like her; from their words, she learned that this place was not the real Abnormal Strategy Bureau.
Knowing this was a nest of pupal Remnant Beasts, she refocused her goals and started looking for the nest's core, aiming to defeat the Remnant Beasts.
Lantern's magical gear had the ability to track and investigate, so in fact, she quickly did just that. She found the center of the nest, and more importantly, she also found the very man she had been tracking.
——That man was feeding the Remnant Beasts.