Gone and Back Again

The steadily approaching traders forced Horned Demon and his group to disperse as quickly as possible, lest their plotting be caught in the act.

For that very reason, every problem had to be resolved against the clock. Jing Xin, who saw himself as the group's strategist, found the organization's Database search efficiency truly awful. Only after he spat out forty or fifty consecutive "Hurry, hurry, hurry"s through clenched teeth did the relevant information finally appear:

"Wan Ta, dean of the Lan Town Welfare Institute in Xia City's Linqiang District, founder of the Creation Order. Current Creation Order membership: twenty-seven. Suspected Ability Users: two... What is this?"

Fortunately, the following information had some value: "Has a good relationship with Ronan. Xie Junping, an official member of the sect, is Ronan's diehard friend. They interact frequently."

Jing Xin looked up and shot Horned Demon a horrified stare. "You actually let someone like this participate in the bidding, and even let him pay the deposit! Are you sure this Dean Wan... this Dean Wan doesn't have Ronan, Ouyang Chen, Wu Zhao, or all of them behind him?"

Horned Demon was equally horrified. "Are you kidding me? I never allowed IPs from Xia City to join. This Welfare Institute dean must have used some kind of trick!"

Ma Hou was much more easygoing and even comforted the pair. "Xia City isn't a solid block either. The intelligence that leaks out from there every year is worth at least a billion or two, and who knows how many so-called 'insiders' it's made rich. Look, isn't Horned Demon living proof?"

Neither Horned Demon nor Jing Xin paid him any attention. The latter turned to Fei Long. "Are you sure this guy doesn't have anyone else hiding behind him?"

Fei Long replied in a muffled voice, "He's