"Any files she could access were bound to be ones that were publicly available," Chi Minghong said. "She couldn't get near the encrypted files. She only knew there was such a place in Government Hall."
"I also helped look into it. There weren't many incidents involving as many people as she described. They usually concerned long-term local residents, which doesn't match Liao Lian's situation."
"If the people weren't dead, they might have gone through some channels for which Government Hall wouldn't keep any records. In cases like that, you can pretty much assume they're dead."
If it had been just Liao Lian, there would have been countless possibilities whether she was dead or missing, with no clear lead to follow. It would have been hard to search for her. But Lu Qing had learned that she'd been with a large group of people, and that someone came from Snow City to collect them at regular intervals. Those were distinctive details. The incident shouldn't have been so easy to bury.
But whatever had happened to Liao Lian, the odds that she was still alive were slim. In practical terms, there wasn't much difference between looking for her and not looking.
Lu Qing understood that too, and quickly composed herself.
"Miss Chi, could you give me a Ticket?" She looked at Chi Minghong. "I want to go to your hometown. I can work and pay you back for the Ticket little by little. I'll even pay high interest!"
Chi Minghong smiled. "A Ticket is nothing. You had the courage to come looking for your sister all by yourself. You're brave. Stay alive, and you'll have a bright future."
Lu Qing choked back a sob. "I hope I live to see Zone 002 destroyed!"
Chi Minghong paused. "That's an awfully big wish. I'm