Enforcer Manual
Chapter 207: The Return of the Missing Population_1

Chapter 207: Chapter 207: The Return of the Missing Population_1

The judgement of Song Lan and Lu Xiang regarding the uninvited guest’s identity was surprisingly consistent.

If Medea really could live in Section 17 for a full two years without anyone noticing, then her dwelling place must be isolated from the world.

For example, what the King Bug mentioned—underground.

The moment she was exposed under any surveillance camera, Cloud Biological Pharmaceutical would immediately locate her.

But then, another puzzle followed.

After the two arrived at Ge Fu’s shop, they inspected every room and found no signs of manmade damage, yet the King Bug said she escaped by burrowing through the ground.

Guided by the King Bug, the two stood just two steps away from the glass ecosystem box, which was the suspected spot where Medea’s visitor had left.

The ground beneath their feet was solid, and even when Song Lan extended his Psychic Abilities, he couldn’t sense any secrets beneath the shop.

The entire area below the shop was solid concrete, with no hidden tunnels; even if one were to shrink to the size of the Horn Bug, it would be impossible to escape underground.

"Psychic?"

After much contemplation, Lu Xiang couldn’t help but lean towards the realm of Spiritual Energy, because neither existing technological means nor genetic modification could allow someone to burrow into the ground without altering its surface.

Song Lan added, "Or perhaps a Consciousness Entity."

According to his understanding of Elmon, as a Ghost, it was theoretically possible for him to phase underground, but he said theoretically because overlapping a Consciousness Entity with a physical object would bring enormous mental burden. If he remained within walls or underground for a long time, he would quickly be enveloped by darkness and fear.

For Consciousness Entities, fear is not merely a simple emotion; overly intense emotions could affect the stability of their existence, which was why, for safety reasons, Song Lan prohibited Elmon from engaging in such practices.

Not all fears of the unknown are worth exploring and conquering.

"That makes sense. If Medea could avoid cameras and somehow travel beneath the surface, it’s normal that Cloud Biological Pharmaceutical’s spies planted in this city couldn’t find her."

Lu Xiang thoughtfully said, "Judging by Ge Fu’s description, it’s very likely she has injected herself with gene-altering drugs. She has already developed characteristics of the Horn Bug, which is probably why the King Bug recognized her as one of its kind and was able to communicate with her."

This meant that it was time to update the contents of the criminal manual.

Cloud Biological Pharmaceutical had described Medea as a researcher with weak combat abilities, possessing only brains and knowledge, but now it appeared they were dealing with a Psychic who had potentially developed abilities and extensively modified her own body.

"It seems you’re not the only one who thought of fusion... Maybe that’s why she came to communicate with the King Bug?"

It was clear that Medea’s target was not Ge Fu, but the King Bug in the ecosystem box.

When Ge Fu discovered her, she was gathering information from the King Bug.

"A normal person would not think to gather intelligence from mutated creatures."

Song Lan fell into deep thought.

Lu Xiang felt this reasoning was sound, but coming from Song Lan, it sounded bizarre—back in Sharp Cage Town, Song Lan himself had considered asking the Death God Crab for information about Deputy Captain Eric.

So...

Could it be that Song Lan and Medea were of the same kind?

"Her behavior of gathering intelligence from the Horn Bug, as well as the characteristics described by Ge Fu, suggest that she’s likely interacted with Horn Bugs before. Even if someone lives in isolation underground, she might need some way to understand what’s happening on the surface, and the Horn Bugs would be the best tool for that."

Song Lan continued, "No wonder she came all the way here. The Horn Bug she used to gather intelligence was suddenly summoned away by the King Bug, leaving her alone underground."

"Do you mean that what she’s really looking for is the person who gave birth to the intelligence of the Horn Bug?"

Lu Xiang had a sudden realization.

That is to say, while Song Lan was looking for Medea, it was very likely that Medea was also looking for Song Lan.

"What do you plan to do now?"

Although she could gather a special operations team after returning to thoroughly search the underground sewers and the old air-raid shelters, considering Medea’s ability to move freely between entities, the search efforts would most likely be in vain.

After all, Medea was different from Ge Fu; before she disappeared, she was a senior executive of Cloud Biological Pharmaceutical and knew far more corporate secrets than Ge Fu could ever comprehend.

The main reason the big corporations were after Ge Fu was that the batch of Water Guns he modified had embarrassed them in the industry, but Cloud Biological Pharmaceutical’s search for Medea was to prevent their "outside world" plans from being exposed, and the intensity of the pursuit was not comparable.

Even though it had been two years since the incident, Cloud Biological Pharmaceutical would not rest until they found Medea’s body.

"I’ve already notified the King Bug. If that person comes looking again, I’ll introduce her to a ’concerned citizen.’ Instead of taking the trouble to go deep underground to find her, it’s better to wait for her to come to us."

Before confirming Medea’s background, Song Lan didn’t intend to let Lu Xiang have direct contact with her, "Does our department have any unused apartments elsewhere? I might need to live outside for these few days."

Since he needed to assume the identity of a "concerned citizen," he had to create the illusion of living alone.

"Yes."

Lu Xiang nodded, "I’ll give you the address later. It’s the asset of a big company that was sealed, and he’s been sent to a remote prison. You can stay there for a few days... be careful."

"Don’t worry."

Song Lan said, and in his view, Medea probably didn’t want to make too much noise either, which is why she fled the moment Ge Fu discovered her.

Before leaving, the two of them carefully deleted the surveillance footage, erasing all parts of their conversation. Song Lan gave his new address to the King Bug and warned it not to describe his specific appearance.

He believed that to find the one who changed the Horn Bug, Medea would definitely come to the King Bug for information again.

Stepping out of the store, they went their separate ways. Song Lan arrived at the bustling market area of District 17 according to the new address and access card given by Lu Xiang.

The destination was a residential-commercial building that looked very upscale at first glance. Before arriving, he tried to change the image he had always maintained.

He switched out of casual wear, donned an expensive suit, tied a tie with a skull pattern bought from the store, got a 1500-watt hairstyle from an upscale barbershop, put on a pair of black-framed glasses, carried a genuine leather briefcase under his arm, and wore shiny leather shoes, walking into the building like a successful man.

The security personnel downstairs even nodded in greeting to Song Lan as he passed by.

Because of Song Lan’s confident and composed expression, there was no need to verify his identity; it was clear he was one of the wealthy residents of the building.

Just this outfit had cost nearly ten thousand watts.

This was enough to show just how extravagant the life of the wealthy could be.

And there was only one reason for Song Lan’s confidence.

Lu Xiang had said,

This was part of official duties, and no matter how much money was spent, the Law Enforcers department would reimburse it in full.