"Well..."
At that, Lantern hesitated slightly at first, then laughed awkwardly. "It's actually a little embarrassing to say. Could you not laugh?"
"What is it?"
"It's just that I actually found him, but I couldn't beat him."
Pointing at her forehead, Lantern laughed. "I originally followed the enemy to this Nest. I thought I might have a chance against a Pupa Stage Aberrant Beast, but the result was..."
"The result was?" Larkspur raised a brow.
"The result was that I nearly got captured instead. I barely managed to escape after almost exhausting all my magic power."
As she spoke of it, Lantern subconsciously scratched the back of her head. "I didn't expect that man to be so strong too."
"That man? You mean you've already found the culprit?"
Larkspur pressed on. "Could you explain more clearly? What exactly happened?"
"It's a long story. It really starts with the Investigation Institute's squad going missing a week ago."
Lantern shifted back and made herself more comfortable before speaking thoughtfully. "But where should I start? Inspector, have you heard about what happened before from White Thistle and the others?"
"If you mean what happened after the investigation squad arrived in Bai'an City, then I know the general outline."
Larkspur nodded. "According to White Thistle, you also provided the investigation squad with quite a bit of information."
"Yes, but it wasn't just that."
Lantern added, "Actually, Cat Tail from the investigation squad warned me during our first meeting not to let my guard down. What they were investigating was far bigger than it seemed. Black Ash Dawn appeared to be preparing something extremely dangerous."
"Black Ash Dawn?"
Larkspur could not help feeling puzzled. "The Investigation Institute's records say they were investigating Claw Mark's movements."
"According to Cat Tail, that was their objective when they