Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 157 - 149 Tracking Human Bureau 2

Chapter 157: 149 Tracking Human Bureau 2

Mazao immediately left the room and headed for the front hall.

Although Zhu Shi and Lu Youxun were in conversation, most of their attention was on Mazao. Seeing that she seemed to have suddenly made a new discovery, they both stopped talking and moving at the same time. I didn’t hesitate to follow her, and both of them closely followed behind. We arrived at the front hall.

Mazao observed the front hall thoroughly before coming to the center, looking intently at the void in front of her, and then her face showed a look of realization.

"What did you find?" I asked.

"It’s Space Transfer," she said.

I didn’t react at first, but Lu Youxun immediately understood, "Ah, so that’s it, there indeed was the use of Space Transfer..."

"What’s going on?" Zhu Shi asked.

"Actually, my agents have investigated when and how the Weirdo Maker transferred all the equipment and devices inside the ’clinic’," he said, "There are surveillance cameras on the streets outside, and Spell investigation methods can also operate normally. Whatever transportation he used to move the items, he would at least leave some related traces. But we found no such signs.

"If he used Space Transfer to take away all the items, that would make perfect sense. Coincidentally, the black fog you mentioned in your report also has the power of large-scale Space Transfer."

While he was speaking, Mazao took out a Mind-Written Photo again and displayed the past scene on it.

I leaned in to look, and the photo showed a scene of what had happened in the front hall in the past—the Weirdo Maker stood in the middle of the hall, surrounded by a pile of sophisticated equipment and devices, and in front of him hung a vortex formed by the black fog.

The black fog vortex had a diameter of over two meters, and he was moving large pieces of equipment into it. Half of the equipment disappeared into one side of the vortex but did not come out the other, as if entering another space unknown.

"Teleportation Door?" I found this term to fit the black fog vortex best.

Right after, I realized our investigation at the "clinic" might end up in a dead end.

Even Lu Youxun commented with great regret, "This really is the worst possibility..."

Mazao’s blessing power of historical retracing was most efficient when directly tracking the historical footprints of prey. From a common-sense perspective, no matter how cunningly and secretly the prey moved, its historical footprints in the physical world were continuous. Mazao just had to follow these traces to find her prey. This could also be considered the superpower version of "checking the surveillance."

The Weirdo Maker’s destination for transferring the sophisticated equipment and devices was undoubtedly the Human Bureau’s secret base, and whether he used vehicles or something else, we could "check the surveillance" to find out. Even if he moved the equipment by air, I could just enter the Fire Element form, carry Mazao, and fly while letting her follow the trail.

But Space Transfer and Teleportation Door weren’t the same; here the prey’s historical footprints were interrupted.

We couldn’t directly track down the Human Bureau.

"We have no choice, let’s investigate all the clues we can for now," Zhu Shi suggested, "This ’clinic’ held not only equipment and devices but surely documents and other materials as well. Those items are more valuable than the equipment. Mazao, can you retrieve the information of those documents from the historical records?"

"There were never any documents stored here, not even the Weirdo Maker’s medical records for the creatures," Mazao immediately shook her head, "After the Weirdo Maker did the medical exams for the creatures here, it seemed like he memorized all the data in his head... It’s also possible that as he was testing the creatures’ physical data here, another part of him was recording it elsewhere."

"That is to say, this place was purely a place for medical exams. Come to think of it, the Shadow Swapping Monster also mentioned that the Weirdo Maker seemed to only use this ’clinic’ on the days he performed medical exams on the creatures, so of course, he wouldn’t store any documents here." Lu Youxun pondered and then said, "Can you later Mind-Write the process of the Weirdo Maker conducting medical exams on the creatures? Describe it in detail again, that may also become a clue."

"No problem," Mazao responded while staring at the center of the front hall.

After a little while, she said, "Besides, I should be able to continue the trace."

"Continue tracing what?" Zhu Shi instinctively asked, then immediately caught on, "—Wait, are you saying that you can investigate the continued historical footprints of past objects after they’ve gone through the Teleportation Door here?"

Mazao shook her head, "That’s not it. Even I can’t stand here and investigate the history of another space."

"Then, what are you planning to do?" I asked, curious.

"I’m not just capable of investigating historical records," she said, "My blessing power is ’Restoration’, the power to restore things to their past state."

As she spoke, she turned her head to look at me, her speech becoming slow. I wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking, but I felt she might be intentionally showing off her abilities in front of me.

She seemed to be observing my expression intently and then continued, "In other words, as long as it’s a phenomenon that happened here before, I can try to recreate it with my blessing power."

I quickly realized what she meant, and Zhu Shi and Lu Youxun also showed looks of astonishment.

She didn’t look at their reactions, as her eyes seemed to see only me.

"You mean..." I ventured to ask, "you can open the Teleportation Door that the Weirdo Maker once opened here?"

She nodded solemnly, "Yes."

"Hold on a second." Zhu Shi interjected, "Mazao, the burden on you must increase when you use your power on external objects, right? Now you even want to bring past abnormal phenomena into existence out of thin air... Surely this won’t overload your soul?"

"There will be a significant burden."

Mazao didn’t boast but spoke the truth, "Even if I can recreate it, it can only safely be done for a very brief moment. Conversely, as long as I don’t attempt to exceed that duration, the load will not be so great as to deepen the wounds to my soul. However, until the accumulated burden subsides, I won’t be able to recreate the Teleportation Door."

"If I’m not misunderstanding, the Teleportation Door you can open is merely a one-way trip; once used, there’s no turning back. If the other side of the Teleportation Door happens to be the Human Bureau’s secret headquarters, rashly going through would be like infiltrating deep into enemy territory alone. At that point, forget about continuing to track the Human Bureau, even self-preservation would be a problem."

Lu Youxun mentioned the shortcomings of this method, but his expression revealed a keen interest, and I sensed that he was likely considering crossing over himself.

Yet he glanced at me and then showed a look of regret. True, he must have realized that sending himself through the Teleportation Door was definitely not the best solution.

"Lu Chan, if you’re about to suggest sending Zhuang Cheng through the Teleportation Door next, I might just hit you." Zhu Shi glanced sideways at Lu Youxun, "Zhuang Cheng’s power is indeed very strong; you won’t find a second person in this city who can match him. But the other side of the Teleportation Door is likely the heart of the Human Bureau, and it’s not simply a matter of strength when it comes to entering. Who knows what kind of entities are waiting on the other side for intruders?"

"Zhu Shi, even though our stances differ within Luo Mountain, there’s no need for you to distrust me to this extent. One of Luo Mountain’s three major woes is the Human Bureau, so how could I possibly recommend sending one of us headlong into the belly of such a power?" Lu Youxun shook his head, "Zhuang Cheng doesn’t need to cross through the Teleportation Door himself; he just needs to send his flame through."

Yes, I very well could first send a "Firefly" to the space on the other side of the Teleportation Door.

If I did that, I would then be able to clearly see what was on the other side, or even transport myself directly there; or in fact it wouldn’t be impossible for my body to go through directly. In case of an emergency, I could return with the "Firefly" I’d left here.

Of course, the latter method would certainly be discouraged by Zhu Shi and Mazao. Moreover, if the other side truly was the Human Bureau’s lair, there might be Barriers potent enough to sever my connection with the "Firefly." Taking everything into account, it would be better to first send out the "Firefly" to explore.

I confirmed with Mazao again and again whether recreating the Teleportation Door would deepen her soul wounds, and she seriously assured me, putting my mind at ease.

"Then, I’ll leave it to you," I said.

She nodded forcefully and asked us to step back. She also took two steps back and stretched out her palm toward the center of the lobby.

At the same time, I summoned a "Firefly," ready to release it at any moment.

She took a deep breath and then uttered two words.

"Return."

As her words fell, in the center of the lobby, the black mist that could kill superpower forces was forcibly recreated by Mazao’s superpower, surging forth from seemingly nowhere!

After the black mist appeared, it automatically formed a vortex. Compared to the vortex over two meters in diameter seen in the Mind-Written Photos, the one recreated by Mazao was only tens of centimeters across—barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through like crawling down a hole.

The moment she finished recreating it, Mazao immediately showed signs of strain. This black mist vortex wouldn’t last long.

I didn’t waste precious time, and the "Firefly" in my palm shot out like a fleeting spark, disappearing into the black mist vortex.

Seeing this, Mazao closed the Teleportation Door and let out a weary sigh. I paid close attention to her condition. This time there were no signs of her body shaking or her falling over, so it seemed her earlier assurance was no lie, and I was relieved.

My attention then turned to the "Firefly" that had passed through the Teleportation Door.

It seemed to have entered some unknown indoor space.

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