Light Barrier

“Miss Jiang, I think you need to explain.”

Half an hour later, only the two of them remained alone in the enclosed room.

Gu Shen said solemnly, “What’s going on?”

The hypnosis treatments were over. He had removed the mental imprints from everyone and sent these Old Town residents back to the minibus. Obviously, none of this was a coincidence. No one could coincidentally gather a busload of patients whose consciousness was affected by a sealed object.

Introducing customers was a pretense. Bringing trouble was the reality.

But the reason Gu Shen chose to sit down and have a serious talk with Jiang Wan… was simple. He remembered that during the Solemn Stone Sculpture incident, Hu Danian had mentioned that Cui Zhongcheng had indirectly hinted to Jiang Wan. Could this woman be related to the Blossom Flag Group?

He hoped to hear this woman say something like, “I’m a specialist sent by Cui Zhongcheng.”

Unfortunately…

Things were not as he imagined.

“I’m sorry…” Jiang Wan’s expression was complicated as she apologized earnestly. “Dr. Gu, because you cured me, I… brought them here. Did I cause you trouble?”

With the Blazing Fire’s enhancement, Gu Shen could feel a person’s emotional fluctuations.

She was an ordinary person without any awakened ability.

Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness—all of these emotions couldn’t be hidden from his eyes.

“Where did those people come from?”

“Old Town.” Jiang Wan’s expression gradually grew increasingly solemn. “I don’t know why, but some residents of Old Town started exhibiting those symptoms. Their consciousness was clouded, dazed, and they were muddle-headed like wooden people. The moment I saw their condition, I thought of you.”

If he remembered correctly, Jiang Wan was the daughter of a wealthy family living in the affluent South Bay. How did she find out about the people in Old Town?

“Miss Jiang,” Gu Shen asked hesitantly, “what do you do?”

“Reporter. I’m a reporter for the Dadu Evening Post.” Jiang Wan took out her ID card. She was perceptive and understood Gu Shen’s hesitation. She explained softly, “My family bought a house in South Bay. I found the job as a reporter myself.”

She pleaded sincerely, “There are still some patients in Old Town. Here is a list of addresses we collected… Dr. Gu, could you go over there and take a look? Treat it as helping them out.”

“…” Gu Shen was silent for a moment before asking softly, “Miss Jiang, is your family related to the Blossom Flag Group?”

Jiang Wan was taken aback by the question.

After a long pause, she answered seriously, “My parents are shareholders on the board of directors.”

As expected, she was a wealthy young lady.

“I will go… on the condition that you don’t get involved in this matter anymore.” Gu Shen had a headache. “After you go back, just focus on what you usually do.”

Of course, he used the hypnotic power of the Blazing Fire in this statement.

After she left, Gu Shen immediately called Cui Zhongcheng. After drinking with Crow last time, he had taken advantage of the fact that the man was drunk and obtained Mr. Cui’s contact information.

Sure enough, it came in handy just two days later.

The call connected.

“It’s Gu Shen.” Gu Shen went straight to the point. “Is the mental contamination of the sealed object in Old Town part of the inspection?”

There was silence on the other end. Clearly, he was surprised that Gu Shen had obtained his contact information and the mention of the sealed object contamination.

But soon, Cui Zhongcheng replied, “… No, it’s not.”

His voice was grave. “Has a sealed object contaminated the Old Town? I’ll send someone to investigate… How did you find out?”

Ha! So, Mr. Cui isn’t omniscient after all, Gu Shen thought upon hearing the reply.

He recounted the situation with Jiang Wan.

“Jiang Wan isn’t a transcendent. She’s really a reporter for the Dadu Evening Post, but she’s very headstrong and willful.

“And… her parents are indeed influential shareholders on the Blossom Flag Group’s board of directors.” Cui Zhongcheng calmly explained, “That’s why I had someone give her a hint about the Solemn Stone Sculpture incident. I didn’t expect her to find you. I will inform her parents to keep a close eye on their daughter.”

“Jiang Wan won’t be involved anymore. I hypnotized her,” Gu Shen said. “Since you will handle this matter, I won’t participate.”

“… Wait.” Cui Zhongcheng suddenly asked just before the call ended. “Have you been to Old Town recently?”

Gu Shen fell silent.

As far as he knew, there were no clues about him beating up Zhao Qi.

But the person asking was Cui Zhongcheng, so he was somewhat uncertain.

Thus, he remained silent, pretending that the signal was bad. In front of someone as astute as Cui Zhongcheng, any answer, if not careful, could reveal flaws.

“Hu Danian has been tracking Shi Li,” Cui Zhongcheng said calmly. “During this period of time, Shi Li has been around Old Town. The Sincere Society’s South Hall hasn’t arranged any missions. The only explanation is that he has his own arrangements. I suspect that the big fish behind the Eternal Foundation is real and about to surface.”

Hearing this explanation, Gu Shen felt relieved.

Zhao Qi wouldn’t expose this trouble. It seemed Cui Zhongcheng didn’t know yet.

“Hey, are you still there?”

“Sorry, the signal is bad,” Gu Shen said and frowned. “Has Shi Li also been to Old Town?”

“That’s right,” Cui Zhongcheng said. “Every night, usually after ten, he will go to Old Town. The terrain in Old Town is complex and blocks surveillance, so there’s no way to track in detail what he did. All Hu Danian can do is record the times.”

Gu Shen fell deep in thought. If Shi Li went to Old Town every night during this time, then on the day I hit Zhao Qi, was he also in Old Town?

Old Town was a rundown corner that had long become obsolete. Not many transcendents would go there.

This didn’t seem explainable by mere coincidence.

Cui Zhongcheng said calmly, “Regardless of whether the contamination of the sealed object and Shi Li are coincidental or not, I think you’ll have to make a trip to Old Town for your mission.”

“I—” Gu Shen began to speak.

“Thank you for your hard work. It’s settled then. I’ll send someone to pick you up.” With that, Cui Zhongcheng hung up.

…

In the evening.

The person arranged by Cui Zhongcheng was waiting at the entrance of the Dream Whisperer.

Hu Danian, wearing a tight-fitting suit that outlined his rugged physique, was riding a motorcycle and wearing a sturdy helmet. He patted the back seat, gesturing for Gu Shen to get on.

When Gu Shen saw Hu Danian’s attire, he was stunned and subconsciously thought of the recent ‘wonderful night’.

He thought to himself once again, Cui Zhongcheng shouldn’t know about the incident of beating Zhao Qi up, right?

“We meet again.” Hu Danian laughed loudly. “Come on, hop on!”

On the way to Old Town, the wind howled as the motorcycle sped forward.

The helmets had a built-in voice communication system.

“I went to Old Town during the day and visited those families with mental abnormalities.” Hu Danian’s voice came from the helmet. “Those people seemed like fools. They sit at home in a daze and don’t know anything. I didn’t get any useful information, but I heard something interesting from the neighbors. Two nights ago, someone fought in Old Town, and apparently, there were even shots fired. This fight was fierce. Two walls collapsed, and even a street light collapsed. But no one knows what happened in the end or if anyone died.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Shen felt guilty and quickly changed the topic. “What’s the progress on Shi Li’s case?”

“There’s no progress at all. That guy is like a loach. Every time he drills into an alley in Old Town, he disappears.” Hu Danian sighed in frustration. “You know that the Sincere Society is divided into the north and the south factions. Now that the relationship between the two sides is strained, I don’t dare to follow too closely. This guy is very strong and known for being aggressive. And secretly, he’s a lunatic of the Eternal Foundation. Who knows what he’ll do if he discovers he’s being followed?”

“Yeah.” Gu Shen nodded slightly.

In fact, this was his original plan.

Approach slowly and investigate gradually.

“Mr. Cui asked me to investigate the sealed object in Old Town with you.” Hu Danian smiled. “But I haven’t seen any fog… Could you have made a mistake?”

Gu Shen shook his head.

He was certain about this.

Even that mental-type transcendent at the Tenth Level of Deep Sea was not as sensitive as him in terms of characteristics.

“Let me be clear upfront. My abilities are limited. In this sealed object case in Old Town, I can only help with one thing,” Gu Shen said. “Identifying the location of the sealed object and marking it.”

He continued solemnly, “According to my guess, it should be a Class C transcendental sealed object with a radius affecting approximately one city block. After I mark the location, I won’t participate in the following mission.”

“Alright. No problem. Leave it to me.” Hu Danian smiled heartily. “I’m very cautious in my work. I’ve always observed carefully before taking action. I firmly put into practice the idea of running away if I can’t win… I’ve contained more than ten Class C sealed objects already. Rest assured!”

…

They arrived in Old Town.

Gu Shen visited the residents one by one according to Jiang Wan’s address list. From their minds, Gu Shen pieced together almost the entire puzzle of the foggy dream.

The life paths of these people were like tiny black dots spreading out as circles on a map. The intersecting and overlapping parts eventually spread out to enclose a blank area.

This was the location of the fog in the dream.

Iris Pellet Street.

Old Town was located on the outskirts of Dadu, and not every street was occupied. Iris Pellet Street was an abandoned and neglected street, and people rarely passed by it. Moreover, most of the buildings were derelict and unused factories.

Gu Shen found this area on the map of Old Town, carefully encircled it, and sent the entire map to Hu Danian.

“Got it!” Hu Danian stepped on the accelerator and waved goodbye to Gu Shen as the roar of the motorcycle disappeared into the alleys of Old Town.

Meanwhile, Gu Shen went alone to the waiting point designated by Hu Danian and waited silently for night to fall.

He was waiting for Shi Li to appear.