Through her private network, Qingyi quickly located the evidence carrier. The monitoring signal was delayed, yet the vehicle still appeared to be heading toward its destination.
However, one detail caught her eye. Earlier, the vehicle had stopped inside the Hollow for roughly ten minutes. The pause was short, but it was enough to raise suspicion.
If someone had prepared in advance and deployed an EMP emitter, wiping away any traces would have been easy.
Zhu Yuan reached the same conclusion and was about to report the situation to Public Security when Qingyi stopped her.
After all, evidence transport vehicles passing through the Hollow would sometimes halt briefly when the terrain shifted.
At this moment, they did not have any conclusive evidence. Even if they reported it, the Public Security would not immediately dispatch personnel to investigate the scene, instead following procedure and conducting a remote analysis first.
There was another problem to consider. The culprit had claimed that their organization had already checked the area in advance. That meant there could already be a mole inside the Public Security.
With that in mind, Qinyi worried it might alert the enemy, so she suggested not reporting it for the time being. Zhu Yuan also found her reasoning convincing.
But what should they do now?
"Then I'll have to go into the Hollow myself."
The moment Qingyi said it, Zhu Yuan objected right away.
"Wait, Senior. Not only does this go against regulations, but it's far too risky!"
Qingyi paid no attention to Zhu Yuan's objections. Time was running short, and they couldn't afford to dwell on every possible outcome.
Moreover, Inspector Bringer would be arriving soon, and Zhu Yuan still needed to remain here to receive him. That meant only she could go.
When Inspector Bringer's car pulled up to the entrance of Public Security, Qingyi stopped wasting time.
She handed everything over to Zhu Yuan and walked toward the Hollow.
Watching Qingyi's retreating figure, Zhu Yuan lowered her head. Her hands rose to her chest and slowly clenched, as if she had just made an important decision.
"Worshipping an undeserving deity is sycophancy; failure to act when action is need shows a lack of courage..."
"Hmm?" Qingyi turned her head, puzzled, and looked at Zhu Yuan, who was quietly muttering with her head bowed.
"Senior, you once told me that as a Public Security Officer, all that matters is knowing you're doing what you should. I may have chosen this job because of Bringer, but it was never to repay him or seek his approval. I only want to be like the person he was back then..."
Zhu Yuan suddenly raised her gaze to meet Qingyi's, her eyes steady with resolve, and declared it clearly.
"Senior, I'll go with you. The Ethereals inside that Hollow are far from ordinary, and the evidence must be kept secure. Besides, if Inspector Bringer is still the man he used to be, I believe he would support our decision."
With those words, Zhu Yuan followed Qingyi as they walked toward the Hollow. Behind them, Bringer had only just stepped out of his car, his back turned as reporters crowded around him with questions.
The evening sun shone brightly on the two of them, standing in sharp contrast to Bringer, who remained in the shadows of the buildings, surrounded by flashing cameras.
Yet they were not alone beneath the sunset.
From the corner, the brother and sister who had been listening in quietly stepped forward.
"Brother, if the evidence is at risk, we can't just sit back and do nothing."
"Hmm. Then let's help them however we can, like we did before."
Once the decision was made, the siblings headed back to the video store.
By the time Zhu Yuan and Qingyi reached the Hollow, they began tracking the evidence carrier.
They suspected the culprits might have already made their move. Zhu Yuan suggested checking the evidence carrier's data recorder first to pinpoint where it had stopped inside the Hollow.
Given the large volume of the evidence, the culprits would not have been able to move fast with it.
That meant they would certainly leave traces behind, which could be used to track and analyze their route.
Finding the evidence vehicle first would also confirm whether their deductions were correct, so the two of them acted immediately after reaching a decision.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Brother, it looks like Zhu Yuan and Qingyi are planning to find the evidence vehicle first."
"Hmm, can Fairy find a faster route to it?"
Once the target was confirmed, Wise asked Fairy outright if she could perform a search. She readily accepted and began mapping out the path.
With the route taken care of, the remaining issue was how to lead them there without drawing attention.
After all, openly appearing and volunteering to guide them at a moment like this would surely make them suspicious.
So, with a little extra effort, Zhu Yuan and Qingyi eventually took the route Fairy had planned.
The fact that they reached the evidence vehicle with such ease made Qingyi feel strangely unsettled.
But since she couldn't tell who that feeling should be aimed at, she focused on checking the evidence first.
"From the outside, the vehicle looks fine. There's no damage and no sign it was opened. We'll have to check the inside."
As Qingyi spoke and moved to act, Zhu Yuan couldn't help but sigh when she saw it.
"Sigh… Even if it's for the evidence, doing this alone is definitely going to earn us a report and a pay cut later... Forget it. No use stressing over that now. Senior, help me unlock it!"
Things had reached this point, and there was no turning back. Qingyi took out the key and opened the door.
Contrary to expectations, the vehicle was not empty. The evidence box was still neatly placed inside, its seal intact.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuan instinctively wondered if she had misjudged the situation. Still, with Qingyi by her side, it was hard to fully dismiss her doubts.
Thanks to her robot's superior computational abilities, Qingyi noticed that the seal on the box had shifted by about three centimeters.
At the same time, the Etheric aura inside felt different from how it had at the square.
Hearing that, Zhu Yuan's expression turned serious once more.
"The culprits have already taken the evidence. They went to great lengths to create the illusion that it was still there. It seems they are not just trying to steal something, but also to quietly deceive HAND."
"Hmm, that monster in the square must be hiding some unspeakable secret…"
While speaking, Qingyi lightly supported her chin with her fingers. In the middle of her thoughts, she suddenly picked up on a sound and immediately raised her voice in warning.
"Zhu Yuan, look out!"
Both of them dodged at the same time as bullets flew in from behind a nearby low wall, hitting the evidence vehicle.
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