Chapter 278 - 230: Process of Elimination

Chu Bamboo didn’t look at Li Kang. He again patted the Little Mushroom Head in his arms, and the Little Mushroom Head projected a brand-new image.

Taking another look, everything was still normal.

"How about I mobilize the patrol officers now to go check on the areas around the large factories?" Li Kang asked tentatively.

"Useless." Chu Bamboo shook his head. ’The enemy has already made it clear they’re flipping the table. If we send a group of regular police and they run into an emergency, won’t they just be walking to their deaths?’

Besides, what was the point of them going? ’We have drones for intelligence gathering now...’

Chu Bamboo would rather expend drones than sacrifice actual human lives... ’Although in the current situation, it’s hard to say which the authorities would consider more valuable: a drone or the life of an ordinary patrol officer...’

’To make any real headway in solving this problem... the ones we dispatch would have to be all Transcendents.’

Chu Bamboo looked at the phone, debating whether to call Captain Yang in the Second District... but he couldn’t shake the feeling he was forgetting something.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Chu Bamboo was struck by a sudden realization. ’That’s not right! The Union.’

Chu Bamboo realized the crucial point. Just because the enemy was flipping the table didn’t mean they no longer coveted the Union’s power. Besides, Li Xuan’s last phone call had vaguely hinted at this as well...

’Although, Chu Bamboo couldn’t figure out what good the Union would be if they really wiped out a million citizens. It’s not like they could command the dead, right?’

But...

Chu Bamboo dialed a new number—the very one Li Xuan had used to call him yesterday.

As far as he knew, Li Xuan shouldn’t have had a phone before. ’Considering what he went through yesterday... it must have been provided by Hai Mingyue! And she probably provided them for more than just him.’

For now, however, Chu Bamboo only knew Li Xuan’s number.

A busy signal...

Then.

"The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

Chu Bamboo hung up. "Just as I thought. Something’s happened!"

’As for why Li Xuan was able to call him yesterday and tell him to run... perhaps when the heavy smog rolled in, the enemy thought the situation was under control and loosened their watch on him. Or maybe something else happened.’

"Nuwa No. 17!" Chu Bamboo’s voice was devoid of emotion. "Divert the attack drones... No, leave some to continue observation and guard their current positions! Redirect half of the attack drones to the Union Headquarters in the shantytown district! The specific coordinates are: ..."

Li Kang: "!!!"

The next instant, the image projected by the Little Mushroom Head changed once more...

The speed of the drones was terrifyingly fast... After just a few moments, they had soared past the factory district, and the view was replaced by vast stretches of low-lying houses and steel-framed tents... This was the typical architectural style of the shantytown district!

"...I’m here! What’s the emergency?" Guan Fei burst through the door, with Wall Announcements close behind. Both of them looked panicked.

They had come in such a rush because Li Kang had summoned them. His tone on the phone had been more serious than they had ever heard.

"Shh!" Li Kang gestured, his eyes never leaving the screen. The two followed his gaze and gasped.

This drew a displeased look from Ning Linglong. Terrified, Wall Announcements mimed zipping his lips. Guan Fei didn’t seem to care much about Ning Linglong, but upon seeing Chu Bamboo, he too fell obediently silent.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Suddenly, Chu Bamboo sensed something was wrong. He whipped his head toward the window, and then...

Outside the window, a brilliant, smiling face appeared.

Chu Bamboo’s pupils contracted violently. He felt a piercing pain in his brain, as if a cacophony of chaotic voices had erupted inside his head. Feeling a warmth in his nose, he subconsciously reached up and found his hand covered in red... He also saw his arm, where dense scales had begun to sprout!

He heard screams and wails. Looking around, he saw people twisting and contorting... everyone except Ning Linglong, who was sitting cross-legged with her eyes tightly shut, as if chanting something. Everyone else was transforming...

Immediately, his vision went black, and everything reversed.

......

「Still in the underground Ecological Garden.」

After a brief silence, Chu Bamboo laughed. "You’ve slipped up."

Chu Bamboo felt no disappointment or anger. On the contrary, he felt a surge of joy.

’Something’s changed! Any change is good...’

Chu Bamboo forced himself to calm down and focused all his energy on thinking...

’The one who killed me was obviously the Eleventh Apostle.’

’The problem is, in the last timeline... the Eleventh Apostle only acted after noon, after the major incident in the shantytown district when the black fog enveloped my body. It seemed like they only sensed my presence then, and that’s when they killed me, right?’

’Although, that "kill" seems suspicious in hindsight... After all, the Eleventh Apostle’s attitude at the time wasn’t hostile! But regardless, the timeline reset.’

’For them to kill me early this time, there’s only one possibility!’

"Someone’s compromised." Chu Bamboo raised an eyebrow, ticking off names on his fingers.

’Li Kang? Ning Linglong? Wall Announcements and Guan Fei?’

’The Eleventh Apostle only showed up after Wall Announcements and Guan Fei arrived... That makes them a little suspicious, but not much. After all, both of them should have known from the start that I was in the Nuwa Base... unless the Eleventh Apostle never dared to enter the Nuwa Base in the first place!’

’And it’s precisely because of that possibility—that the Apostle wouldn’t dare enter the base—that their suspicion can’t be completely dismissed!’

’Then...’

’Zhang Hai? Unlikely!’

’After all, he has actually died in one of the timelines.’

’Huo Qiming...’

’He’s a bit more suspicious!’

Still, Chu Bamboo had a certain amount of trust in him.

"Mo Ban... suspicious!" Chu Bamboo narrowed his eyes. ’Brother Tu Mus are honest people, but that doesn’t mean Mo Ban is. It’s also possible he has a big mouth and leaked it to one of his subordinates... and that subordinate just happens to be a mole for the All-Powerful Lineage.’

’Might as well test them all, one by one...’ Chu Bamboo mused, then issued his first command. "Nuwa No. 17!"

"I am here."

"Immediately redirect all available drones and mechanical dogs! All of them! To the Union Headquarters in the shantytown district!"

Watching the projected view change, Chu Bamboo narrowed his eyes, took out his phone, and dialed Huo Qiming’s number first.

"Old Huo, I’m at the entrance of the Third District Government Office right now! Oh, and... I have something I need to discuss with you..." Chu Bamboo meticulously recreated the previous event, even keeping his questions and lines of inquiry mostly the same.

Then, the next...

"Elder Mo Ban, I’m over by the Second District Police Chief Bureau... I have something I need to ask you..."

Chu Bamboo systematically called everyone, giving each person a different address. The only thing these locations had in common was... they were all under video surveillance!

He hung up.

Chu Bamboo calmly recited the list of preset locations, then once again used his Divine Techniques to produce an image of the Eleventh Apostle’s face. He showed it to Nuwa No. 17, ordering it to perform a big data search.

"Let’s see who the problem is this time!"

Chu Bamboo waited quietly. If none of these leads turned up anything... then the problem was likely with a member of the Third District’s Special Operations Brigade!

Time ticked by.

First.

The first view was of the Union Headquarters.

"...Something’s definitely happened!" A flicker of interest showed on Chu Bamboo’s face. Members of the Security Corps, all with red ribbons tied to their shoulders, were patrolling solemnly around the Union Headquarters.

The main gates to the headquarters were closed; it was clearly under lockdown.

’Looks like sneaking in will be difficult.’ Chu Bamboo mused. ’With all the doors shut, even a small drone has no way of getting inside!’

’Do I have them shoot out a window to get in?’

’Or...’

’Should I go in myself and set things right? If I do that... this life is probably a wash. And if the enemy is cautious enough... I might not even see the real culprit before it’s over...’

’So... Huh?’

Chu Bamboo’s words cut off abruptly. He stared in disbelief at the image projected by one of the drones. It showed a window on the Union Headquarters building, and reflected in the glass was a figure Chu Bamboo knew all too well...

"...This is impossible!"