Chapter 150: Their Whereabouts
Yu Lanfeng immediately ordered every entrance and exit to be sealed.
No one was allowed to leave.
Of course, the lockdown couldn't last indefinitely.
Once daylight arrived, troops would have to head back to the front lines.
They couldn't simply ignore the Ability Beast attacks.
Besides...
Finding out exactly when the body double had been switched was actually quite simple.
All they had to do was interrogate the people who had been accompanying those four infiltrators the entire time.
Nan Yu followed Yu Lanfeng all the way to the interrogation room.
However, he wasn't allowed inside.
Instead, Yu Lanfeng opened the door to a room next to the interrogation chamber.
"You'll stay here."
"One wall lets you see into the interrogation room."
"If you can't handle it, just turn around."
Nan Yu blinked.
He didn't object.
"Alright."
He entered the adjoining room.
Inside there was only a table and two or three chairs.
He casually sat down and looked toward the wall beside him.
Sure enough, he could clearly see the interrogation room through it.
The people over there, however, couldn't see this side.
It was a one-way observation window.
Nan Yu didn't dwell on it.
All he had to do was quietly stay here.
The moment Yu Lanfeng entered the interrogation room...
Nan Yu saw every prisoner hanging there visibly shudder.
It was also the first time he had ever seen Yu Lanfeng like this.
He looked like eternal ice itself.
No one could approach him.
Even Qin Wenxing, who had entered alongside him, instinctively slowed his footsteps and widened the distance between them.
He silently stood to one side, waiting for orders.
Meanwhile...
Yu Lanfeng slowly walked forward.
The steady sound of his footsteps echoed throughout the room.
The traitors watched him approach with naked terror.
One man, whose hands were bound above his head, completely collapsed before Yu Lanfeng had even touched him.
His psychological defenses shattered instantly.
He screamed hysterically.
Yet...
His was the only voice inside the interrogation room.
No one else even dared breathe loudly.
Everyone feared Yu Lanfeng would choose them next.
Unfortunately...
Since every one of them had been brought here...
Yu Lanfeng looked as though he intended to visit them one by one.
Whether someone was first...
Or last...
Made very little difference.
No one would escape.
At best...
They could delay the inevitable for a little while.
Nan Yu turned toward Crown Prince Yuan Qiyang.
"Why are some people hanging up there, while others are tied to racks, and some are just bound and thrown into the corner?"
Yuan Qiyang answered,
"That's the order we'll deal with them."
"You want to know how we determine the order?"
Nan Yu nodded.
"Yes."
"They all betrayed the legion together."
"Is there really any difference?"
Yuan Qiyang smiled faintly.
"If it were another crime, we'd rank them according to the severity of what they did."
"But you're right."
"As traitors, they're all the same."
"So this ranking..."
"Is probably based on how much they profited from the organization."
Nan Yu looked toward the people suspended from the ceiling.
"So those hanging there received the greatest benefits?"
"Exactly."
There were three of them.
All three wore expressions devoid of hope.
Some even seemed ready to die.
Were they trying to commit suicide?
Yuan Qiyang obviously noticed it too.
He sneered.
"They're too naïve."
"With my uncle here..."
"How could they possibly kill themselves before he finishes with them?"
Nan Yu fell silent.
Perhaps...
He really had been somewhat naïve before.
Everything Yu Lanfeng had said...
And all those rumors he'd heard...
Might actually be true.
Just then...
Nan Yu was concentrating on the observation window when blood suddenly splattered across it.
He instinctively jumped.
The man who had been screaming moments earlier was now covered in fresh wounds.
Blood continuously streamed down his body...
Ran along his legs...
Dripped from his toes...
And gradually formed a pool beneath him.
Yuan Qiyang glanced over.
"You alright?"
Nan Yu let out a slow breath.
"I'm fine."
"I was just startled."
Seeing Nan Yu gradually calm down, Yuan Qiyang knew he truly was alright.
So he didn't stop him from watching.
Truthfully...
Even Yuan Qiyang himself had only witnessed Yu Lanfeng conducting interrogations a handful of times.
Every single one of those occasions had terrified him.
Afterward...
Whenever he met Yu Lanfeng...
He behaved impeccably.
Never daring to overstep even slightly.
The scene reminded him of the first time he'd been dragged here.
Back then...
His parents had only recently sent him to stay here.
He had disliked his uncle immensely.
He'd been rebellious.
As a result...
He'd received a harsh lesson.
At that time...
Yu Lanfeng had been interrogating someone in the room across the way.
Yuan Qiyang had curled up in the corner of this observation room, too frightened to move.
He had genuinely believed...
He might be next.
Even now...
He could vividly recall Yu Lanfeng's terrifying expression.
Especially inside that dim interrogation room.
He had looked less like a human...
And more like a god of slaughter.
Or perhaps...
A demon that had just crawled out of hell.
"...Hm?"
Yuan Qiyang suddenly looked speechless.
Yu Lanfeng had deliberately positioned himself to block the bloodiest parts of the interrogation.
Nan Yu could only see that he was using something...
Not what it actually was.
Nor what exactly he was doing.
Still...
They could clearly see the traitor's twisted face.
And hear his agonized screams.
Nan Yu instinctively felt a trace of sympathy.
But he quickly suppressed it.
These people were traitors.
They deserved no pity.
More importantly...
Their target this entire time had been him.
If he sympathized with them now...
What would that make him?
Some saint?
He had no intention of becoming one.
Before long...
The man died.
Nan Yu watched Yu Lanfeng yank the mutilated corpse off the ropes and toss it aside like discarded garbage.
Qin Wenxing glanced at it.
But didn't move.
Ordinarily...
The body would have been removed immediately.
However...
Since Yu Lanfeng hadn't given the order...
Qin Wenxing wouldn't touch it.
After all...
Those mangled corpses served as perfect warnings for everyone still alive.
The effect was astonishingly effective.
Many prisoners shrank backward in terror.
Those hanging from the ceiling could only continue begging desperately.
One man tied to a rack happened to be beside where the corpse landed.
He could clearly see the victim's ripped-open abdomen.
And the horribly twisted expression frozen on his face in death.
It was terrifying.
Truly terrifying.
How...
How could they survive?
How could they avoid suffering the same torture?
Then...
One of them remembered something.
They had once been soldiers of this legion.
No one understood Marshal Yu Lanfeng better than they did.
The first person to reveal every secret...
Without hiding anything...
And provide information Yu Lanfeng actually wanted...
Would become the only survivor.
Granted...
Even surviving meant having one's Ability destroyed and spending the rest of one's life performing hard labor somewhere.
But...
At least they'd still be alive.
One of the three men hanging from the ceiling watched Yu Lanfeng walking toward...
His direction.
His entire body trembled.
Fortunately...
Yu Lanfeng stopped in front of the prisoner beside him.
Good.
He wasn't second.
Relief flooded through him.
He hurriedly organized everything he intended to confess later...
Planning to speak while Yu Lanfeng interrogated the second man.
Then...
He realized...
Yu Lanfeng had only paused there briefly.
Within moments...
He continued walking toward him.
Only three or four steps separated them.
Two seconds later...
Yu Lanfeng stood directly before him.
He simply stared.
Without saying a word.
Words were meaningless.
Yu Lanfeng only cared about one thing.
The answers he wanted.
As for what those answers actually were...
None of the prisoners knew.
Just as Yu Lanfeng was about to begin...
The man suddenly shouted,
"I know where the person they took is!"
"I know where he is!"
"I saw it!"
"They didn't!"
"I was the only one who saw it!"
"I'll tell you, Marshal!"
"I'll tell you everything!"
Yu Lanfeng stopped.
But his icy gaze never left the man.
If this proved to be a lie...
His torture would be even worse than the previous prisoner's.
Perhaps...
Nothing but endless torment.
The man didn't dare waste another second.
"When we were leaving headquarters..."
"We passed the document archive."
"At one point someone shouted that there were people behind us."
"We all turned around."
"The four of them..."
"Three deliberately stepped in front of us."
"They completely blocked the one carrying Nan Yu."
"I couldn't see clearly."
"But..."
"I think the archive door opened briefly."
"I didn't pay much attention because afterward they said they'd heard wrong."
"They told everyone to hurry up and keep moving."
"But thinking back now..."
"Wasn't that exactly when I heard a door closing?"
"It was very faint."
"None of us were sure."
"But now I know."
"I wasn't imagining it."
"It definitely happened there!"
The revelation stunned everyone.
Even Nan Yu.
"That's right!"
"Didn't we arrest the person who gave them directions earlier?"
"Where is he now?"
"And the person assigned to the archive..."
"Wasn't he that man's partner?"
"The two of them..."
Yuan Qiyang blankly shook his head.
"I don't know."
"I wasn't handling that part."
Meanwhile...
Qin Wenxing didn't even wait for Yu Lanfeng to issue an order.
He immediately turned and left.
The moment he exited the interrogation room, ignoring the blood covering his clothes, he contacted someone.
The communication connected almost instantly.
"Vice Commander Qin?"
"What's wrong?"
"Are we withdrawing?"
Qin Wenxing barked,
"Immediately."
"Go inside and confirm whether those two are still in the room."
"Check for anything suspicious."
"Kick the door down."
"Don't knock."
"Move now."
"I'm on my way."
Receiving the order...
The soldiers ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) rushed over.
They kicked open the door and stormed inside.
The room was empty.
Neither of the two people who had entered one after another remained inside.
"What the hell happened?"
Even those who previously had no idea what was happening immediately realized...
This incident had become extremely serious.
Qin Wenxing quickly informed Yu Lanfeng.
Yu Lanfeng's expression darkened.
"Find them."
"As quickly as possible."
"They're probably together with 'Nan Yu.'"
"Bring him back immediately."
"As for those two traitors..."
"Kill them on sight."
"Yes, Marshal!"
This time...
Yu Lanfeng truly meant it.
At this point, Nan Yu cared far more about the soldier acting as his body double than anything else.
The moment Yu Lanfeng headed outside...
Nan Yu also stood.
Yuan Qiyang followed behind him.
Nan Yu and Yuan Qiyang exited their respective rooms.
Yu Lanfeng looked over just as Nan Yu approached him.
Seeing the blood covering himself...
Yu Lanfeng instinctively stepped backward.
Nan Yu froze.
"What's wrong?"
"Why are you backing away?"
Yu Lanfeng calmly replied,
"I'm a little dirty."
"I'll wash up first."
Without giving Nan Yu time to respond...
He turned and left.
Blinking, Nan Yu followed after him.
Rather than returning to their quarters...
Yu Lanfeng went directly to the communal bathhouse.
He thoroughly washed away every trace of blood before changing into clean clothes.
As for why he hadn't gone back to their room...
The reason was simple.
He didn't want the smell of blood lingering there.
Nan Yu might not notice such a faint scent.
But powerful Ability Users certainly could.
If Yu Lanfeng had entered their room like that...
For the next several days...
He would have fallen asleep surrounded by that disgusting smell of blood.
Nan Yu asked,
"Can they find them now?"
"Qin Wenxing said the entire military base has been sealed."
"But I'm still worried."
"What if they have some special method that lets them pass through every checkpoint unhindered and leave the base?"
Yu Lanfeng shook his head.
"Impossible."
"My order was that no one leaves."
"That includes me."
"Even if someone somehow stole my authorization..."
"Without my personal order lifting the lockdown..."
"No one is leaving."
Nan Yu let out a slow breath.
"That's amazing."
"I wonder if they already tried leaving and ran into the checkpoints."
"We'll have to investigate."
Meanwhile...
Qin Wenxing had already searched numerous locations.
Yet the man who had openly given directions earlier...
Along with his partner...
Had seemingly vanished from the face of the earth.
No matter how long they searched...
There wasn't the slightest trace of either of them.
That could only mean one of two things.
Either...
They had escaped much earlier.
Or...
They disappeared during the brief period before the lockdown.
After all...
Yu Lanfeng's order sealing the base had only been issued after the body double was discovered to have been replaced.
If they'd left before then...
No one knew where they had gone.
Fortunately...
After checking the entry logs and surveillance footage...
They confirmed neither man had left before the lockdown.
That finally put everyone's minds at ease.
As long as they remained inside the military base...
They would eventually be caught.
Nan Yu thought the same.
"What if there's some hidden passage?"
"The surveillance team reported that the two of them entered their room one after another."
"But nobody saw them come back out."
"So they disappeared from inside the room."
"There might be a secret tunnel or hidden passage allowing them to leave without anyone noticing."
At that moment...
Qin Wenxing's people were still inside the room.
They immediately began tearing it apart.
Every wall.
Every floorboard.
Every ceiling panel.
Nothing was spared.
Even after stripping away sections of the walls...
They still found nothing.
Nan Yu suddenly remembered his Mental Power.
Perhaps...
It could help locate them.
"Brother Yu."
"I want to go over there and take a look."
Yu Lanfeng studied him.
Seeing the determination in Nan Yu's eyes...
He reluctantly nodded.
"You may."
"But I'm coming with you."
Nan Yu smiled.
"Alright."
"When we get there..."
"Have everyone leave."
"I want to stay inside alone."
"I'll try another method."
If Yu Lanfeng handled it...
He would probably just burn everything inside to ashes.
That certainly would uncover every hidden space.
But...
It might also destroy every clue.
Nan Yu preferred trying a gentler approach himself.
By the time Yu Lanfeng brought Nan Yu there...
Qin Wenxing had already cleared the area.
Only Qin Wenxing and Yuan Qiyang remained.
Everyone else had been sent elsewhere—
Patrolling...
Guarding the exits...
Or standing by nearby to reinforce at a moment's notice.
Nan Yu entered the apartment with Yu Lanfeng.
It was an utterly ordinary two-bedroom unit.
In fact...
Every apartment in the building shared the same layout.
Nan Yu first walked around the entire place.
Nothing appeared unusual.
Looks like...
I'll have to use my Mental Power.
He exchanged a glance with Yu Lanfeng.
Understanding immediately, Yu Lanfeng turned toward the others.
"You can leave."
The three exchanged looks.
Without asking questions...
They quietly exited.
Closing the door behind them.
Only then did Nan Yu narrow his eyes.
His Mental Power spread throughout the room.
It carefully searched every wall...
Every floorboard...
Every ceiling.
Not a single corner was overlooked.
The bedrooms...
Nothing.
The living room...
Nothing.
The kitchen...
Nothing.
Even the bathroom...
Nothing.
Everything was completely normal.
There were no hidden seams.
No signs of cutting.
No evidence that anything had been modified.
Had he guessed wrong?
Nan Yu paced around the living room.
"Impossible..."
"How could that be?"
"I couldn't have guessed wrong."
"If this isn't it..."
"Then how did they disappear?"
"...Wait."
"Brother Yu."
"Didn't they say those two entered the apartment one after another?"
"They never saw a third person enter?"
That meant...
The body double might still be hidden inside the document archive.
Or somewhere nearby.
Waiting for those two to return and retrieve him after escaping.
But...
Now they were trapped somewhere.
Unable to get back.
Which explained why nothing had happened yet.
Perhaps...
They were simply waiting until the outside situation became safe before returning.
Nan Yu suddenly looked at Yu Lanfeng.
"The most dangerous place..."
"Is often the safest."
"Do you think they secretly slipped away from here..."
"And hid themselves near where they originally concealed him?"
Yu Lanfeng immediately understood what he meant.
Headquarters.
"It's very possible."
"We're going back."
Naturally...
This location couldn't be abandoned.
Numerous soldiers remained behind.
If any suspicious person appeared...
Or any traitor was discovered...
They had permission to kill first...
And report afterward.
Nan Yu hadn't expected to return to headquarters so soon after leaving.
Qin Wenxing was already waiting at the entrance.
"Marshal."
"Everything is prepared."
"The first and second floors are currently being searched."
"We're also checking the surrounding offices and rooms."
Yu Lanfeng ordered,
"Move as quickly as possible."
"If they're not on the first or second floors..."
"Search the basement."
"Or the third floor."
"Find them."
Qin Wenxing was so busy he looked like a spinning top.
Very soon...
Someone discovered a clue inside the very document archive where the body double had originally disappeared.
Hidden behind a desk in one corner...
A tiny symbol had been left on the wall.
Yu Lanfeng immediately recognized it.
It was an extremely common military code.
The problem was...
Who had left it?
The kidnapped body double?
Or the kidnappers themselves?
Every soldier in the military recognized that symbol.
Meaning...
All three missing people understood its meaning.
Determining whether it could be trusted was difficult.
Nan Yu looked puzzled.
He hadn't learned military signals yet.
"Brother."
"What does it mean?"
Yu Lanfeng answered,
"It means..."
"Down."
"So we have to search below."
Nan Yu nodded thoughtfully.
"Let's assume he left it."
"The edge here is smudged."
"It looks like it was scraped while he was being dragged."
"The kidnappers would've been panicking."
"In that situation..."
"They probably weren't paying attention to details around them."
Yu Lanfeng agreed.
"So..."
"It's underneath?"
Nan Yu had just been about to offer searching with his Mental Power.
Instead...
Yu Lanfeng casually produced a ball of flame.
The floor instantly melted away.
A huge hole appeared.
The edges glowed molten gold-red from the incredible heat.
Several minutes later...
As Yu Lanfeng carefully lowered the temperature...
The molten glow gradually faded into blackened scorch marks.
Beneath the hole...
Was a storage room.
Yu Lanfeng picked Nan Yu up and jumped down.
Landing smoothly.
Yuan Qiyang, Qin Wenxing, and three more soldiers followed.
The space below wasn't large enough for everyone.
The instant they landed...
They immediately realized...
Something here was indeed very wrong.