abcnovels
Chapter 224 224: Clue
Chapter 224 224: Clue
Chapter 224 224: Clue
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chuan, Qin Lang, and Qi Xian simultaneously turn their gazes towards Pei Yue.
Pei Yue doesn't beat around the bush, stamping her foot slightly, "This open space we're in."
Qin Lang and the others are stunned for a moment, then quickly react.
This open space, which can be reached by just pushing open the factory's main door, is different from the other factory rooms that are filled with dust.
The white marble floor tiles have old spots and clear cracks that cannot be washed away. The walls all around are cracked with chunks of broken wall that could fall off at the slightest touch.
There are traces on the ceiling where chandeliers once hung, but they are now gone, presumably broken and cleared away.
All these conditions match up perfectly with the abandonment of the Star River Manufacturing Factory for more than a decade, save for one quite discordant detail—
There isn't a speck of dust here.
A factory that hasn't been inhabited in over a decade without dust is the biggest issue!
"We were careless, almost overlooked the most obvious clue." Zhang Chuan slapped his forehead in annoyance, "There's indeed something wrong here!"
"The investigation just now wasn't completely useless". Pei Yue took a deep breath, "At least, we now know that the dust scenario is normal in all the factories, except this one".
"The problem lies within this area we are occupying!"
"But this open space has nothing at all?" Zhang Chuan surveyed the area, which aside from the eye-catching Star Hunter logo on the wall, yielded nothing else. "And why would those damn Star Hunters clean this place so thoroughly?"
Qi Xian's lips twitch slightly as he slowly says, "I've heard that the best way to cover up a black handprint on white paper is to smear the entire paper black."
Hiding the black handprint by smearing the whole paper black...
An idea flashed in Qin Lang's mind, "To cover up the traces they left while moving in a dusty environment?"
Moving in dust would inevitably leave footprints, and anything touched would leave clear traces. But once all the dust is gone, these traces would disappear as well.
Understanding dawned on both Zhang Chuan and Pei Yue at the same time.
They finally understood what Qi Xian was hinting at, with their rich experience.
"Crafty Star Hunters!" Zhang Chuan muttered, squatting down to examine every tile on the floor.
If the opposing side used the method of removing all the dust to erase all the traces here, then this proves that there's something here so important that they had to erase all traces of it.
They ought to know that this lack of dust is akin to the "hiding a leaf in the forest" saying. They insist on doing it this way, which shows that they think that the risk of wiping out the dust is less than leaving traces behind.
Pei Yue drew a powerful flashlight from her waist, switched it on, and shined it up towards the ceiling, intending to check if there was anything amiss.
Qin Lang and Qi Xian glanced at each other and started examining the wall together.
They first inspected the wall with the Star Hunter logo painted on it.
After all, that's the only clue the opposing side left behind other than cleaning up every speck of dust.
Qin Lang approached carefully and began feeling the wall in search of some kind of mechanism.
Qi Xian, on the other hand, took a few steps back, stroked his chin, and viewed the logo on the wall as a whole. Then he muttered under his breath, "The drawing is quite standard."
"What?" Not being quite able to hear what Qi Xian said, Qin Lang couldn't help but turn around and look in his direction.
"Nothing." Qi Xian quickly shook his head, "Have you found anything yet?"
"Not yet, I..." Qin Lang was about to say that he hadn't found anything when suddenly his expression froze.
"Whispers~"
A faint sound reached his ears, and the place his fingertips touched felt different.
"There's something here!"
Lowly uttering, Qin Lang immediately draws the attention of the other three, who abandon their tasks to approach him.
It was a very inconspicuous spot on the wall, covered by the black part of the Star Hunter mask painted on by the oil, making it almost impossible to notice.
But as Qin Lang's hands leave the wall, the other three too notice the anomaly on there.
"This is..."
Zhang Chuan reaches out and forcefully pulls out a strip of cloth-like material, revealing a finger-sized hole in the black-painted segment of the wall.
Under the serious expressions of the three others, Zhang Chuan slowly unfolds the cloth strip and examines it on both sides.
The next moment, his grave expression subtly transforms into one of bewilderment.
"This seems to be just an ordinary strip of cloth?"
"Could it be that someone just randomly found a strip of cloth to fill this hole in the wall, and it happened to be covered by the Star Hunter logo?" Pei Yue suggests.
"There's another possibility..." Qin Lang says slowly.
"The problem isn't the cloth, but that hole." Qi Xian picks up where he left off, slowly approaching.
He carefully inserts a finger into the hole on the wall, feeling around for a while. His expression subtly changes.
Click—
A crisp sound comes from inside the wall. It is faint, but in the silence of the other three, it is incredibly clear.
Empty empty empty empty empty—
The next moment, a deep rumbling sound comes from below, along with the shaking beneath their feet.
Before their astonished eyes, the previously flat ground sinks in and forms a passage leading underground!
"This…" Pei Yue starts in disbelief, "The Star River Manufacturing Factory didn't have a basement section built back then!"
"Obviously, this is where the source of the anomalies lies!" There's a hint of excitement in Qin Lang's voice.
The problem with Dan Bao and Spicy can be solved!
"Star Spirit Protection: Tian Shu Force!"
Without another word, he activates Star Spirit Protection and leads the way, stepping on the stairway of the tunnel.
Dan Bao follows closely behind, illuminating the surroundings with flames and forming an invisible force field with Thought Waves to protect Qin Lang upfront.
Spicy carefully observes the surroundings, her two small fangs gleaming with colorful light, ready to perform Instant Teleportation the moment an enemy appears.
The others don't hesitate either and follow close behind on the stairway.
At the end of the tunnel is a tightly shut metal door.
Unlike the rusty metal doors outside that have been abandoned for over a decade, this door is almost brand new.
"Dan Bao!" Qin Lang shouts in a low voice, "Full Firepower!"
"Grumble!"
Dan Bao responds by taking a deep breath.
Blazing flames churn between cracks in its body and head, even its eyes filled with hot flames for a moment.
The next moment, with an exhale from Dan Bao, the Golden Red Flame lights up the entire tunnel. Like a cannon, it charges towards the tightly shut metal door!
"Boom!"
With a deafening explosion, a hole is burned through the center of the door. The terrifying heat waves stir in the tunnel.
"Crack!"
Accompanied by a harsh sound, Qi Xian uses Thought Waves to neatly divide the already damaged metal door into two.
"Let's go!"
Bracing against the wind rushing towards them, Qin Lang is the first to charge through it.
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