[Ding! Option one completed! Talent acquired: 'Strong to the End'] [Strong to the End: Gain one point of defense for every extra day you live. So afraid of dying that you put all your points into defense!]
Hmm... not bad. Playing it safe was the way to go!
After they had run for who knew how long, Chixia patted Lu Li's chest from where he held her in a princess carry.
"All right, hurry up and put me down."
Lu Li set the blushing Chixia down. "Xia, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. But what about you? You swindled him out of so many Shell Credits. What if he comes after you?"
"Swindled?" Lu Li shook his head. "Oh, Xia, you don't understand. How can you call an information broker's business swindling?"
"That was a legitimate transaction! You're my witness, Xia. You'll have to stand up for me when the time comes!"
"Okay, okay. Honestly, what am I supposed to do with you?" Chixia tapped Lu Li's forehead helplessly.
"A Piao should be about done too. Let's go take a look."
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
The Huaxu Research Institute.
"You're here. The sample data from Yunling Valley has been submitted for analysis. We should have the results today. The equipment for the physical examination is ready too."
Bai Zhi looked at the two of them.
"By the way... where's Lu Li?"
"He..." Yangyang glanced awkwardly at A Piao.
"He ran off."
"Ran off?"
"Yes. He ran off with Chixia."
"..."
Bai Zhi said nothing more. After all, Rover was more important to Jinzhou at present.
Lu Li was probably still somewhere in Jinzhou City. He was unfamiliar with the place and its people, so he likely wouldn't wander far.
With that thought, Bai Zhi dropped the subject.
"Did you learn anything on your visit to the Frontier?"
A Piao took out the tokens and explained what had happened during her meeting with Sanhua.
"Do you have any ideas, Bai Zhi?" Yangyang asked.
After examining the tokens carefully, Bai Zhi said:
"I have a theory about the Sugar Ball, but it hasn't been verified. If possible, I suggest we analyze or test all the tokens without damaging their original structures."
"That's certainly a direct approach."
"Data is always clear and direct. The Echo Department's laboratory can handle the first three tokens, but this miniature Sundial requires radiographic inspection equipment. We'll need to apply to the head of the Security Department's relevant Blackstone division."
Night deepened.
"We're here."
At that same moment, A Piao and Yangyang walked out through the Huaxu Research Institute's entrance together.
"Look!" Chixia pointed at the two of them from a distance. "Looks like our timing was perfect."
"So, is A Piao still in good working order?"
"Perfect working order."
Yangyang said, "Bai Zhi said A Piao is perfectly healthy. There were no abnormalities."
"We've made some progress investigating the tokens, and A Piao has drawn a few conclusions too."
Lu Li asked, "What did you find?"
"We can now confirm that the time indicated by the Sundial is the hour of the Goat."
"But the time alone isn't enough to open the Mechanism Box."
"Mechanism Box?" Lu Li asked, puzzled.
"Ah-yes. According to Mr. Mortefi, this Sundial contains a precision mechanism with nested components, but a crucial part is currently missing. We need to find that part before we can open it," Yangyang explained.
Lu Li rubbed his chin. "In other words, we have to open the Mechanism Box before we can find out where the Magistrate is?"
"That's more or less it."
"Then have you discovered anything else?"
A Piao said, "Of all the clues we've obtained so far, one thing we've established is that the clue indicated by the Sugar Ball contains information on unlocking the Sundial's mechanism."
"In other words, a token doesn't necessarily point to just one target. It may point to several, and a single lead may contain multiple layers of information."
"Before this, we knew the Magistrate wanted to meet me because she had information she wanted to tell me. And I wanted to meet her because there were things I wanted to know."
"The messages hidden in the tokens contain both 'what she wants to tell me' and 'what I want to know.' Those aren't the same, but they're mixed together. That's why it seems as though the Magistrate is deliberately muddying the waters."
A Piao went on at length. Listening to her, Chixia held her head in mild agony.
"Stop, stop. You're making my head spin..."
When A Piao looked at him, Lu Li saw the desire for answers in her eyes.
"Go on."
"Perhaps the Magistrate was caught in an emergency and only had time to leave this layer of information, without being able to connect it all more elegantly..."
Lu Li's expression remained blank. "Not likely."
From Magistrate Jin's earlier recorded message to A Piao's subsequent visit to the Frontier, they had been subtly guided along the way.
Even if Magistrate Jin truly had urgent business that prevented her from appearing, she must have made thorough preparations.
After all, finding the person she had spoken of was a matter that concerned all of Jinzhou. She couldn't afford to be careless. Perhaps these layers of information were also a kind of... screening?
A Piao nodded. "That's why I favor the other possibility too. Perhaps she really has accounted for everything, with one intricate scheme linked to the next, and this first layer of information is actually a screening process."
"It's meant to prevent anyone who happens upon this information from pinpointing the destination and making use of it."
Clearly, A Piao and Lu Li had arrived at the same conclusion.
"A Piao, if I'm Holmes, then you're Poirot," Lu Li said approvingly.
Chixia said, "What nonsense are you spouting now?"
A Piao smiled. "If you were in her place, Lu Li, how would you convey exactly what you wanted to convey after that?"
"Once the screening is complete, I'd make the correct information clear and emphasize it repeatedly, of course."
Yangyang nodded, then suddenly remembered something.
"Most of the policies and strategies the Magistrate has put into practice since taking office have been clear, effective measures."
"Some of those measures show a degree of foresight that seems unusual for someone her age. Rumor attributes much of it to the counsel of her advisor, Changli."
A Piao asked, "Advisor Changli?"
"An advisor assists the Magistrate and offers counsel. But I've heard that Lady Changli is also Magistrate Jin's teacher. She once served as chief secretary of the Central Government Province, yet requested a transfer to Jinzhou herself."
"But there are also rumors calling Lady Changli a 'treacherous official'... I've certainly heard people describe her as devious and calculating."
Chixia yawned. "Oh, who cares whether she's loyal or treacherous? All this talk is putting me to sleep."
"Anyway, I haven't forgotten my promise to take A Piao out for a meal! But it's already the middle of the night, and the night market stalls have all closed. We'll have to get up early tomorrow. Before my shift starts, let's get Yangyang and you two together. See you at Panhua Restaurant tomorrow morning!"
"What about now?" A Piao hesitated, looking at Lu Li.
"Now? Obviously, we go sleep at the place Sanhua arranged for us!"
"Hmm... all right."
After everything that had happened, A Piao was also convinced that Jinzhou was fairly safe. Magistrate Jin had gone to such lengths to leave all those convoluted clues, and it didn't seem as though she meant her any harm.
Chixia said, "Keep talking and it'll be dawn. Let's get you two back to your lodgings first. Everything else can wait until tomorrow!"
"No need. You're tired too. Lu Li and I can go on our own. We know where it is."
"All right, then. Stay safe..."
They waved goodbye and went their separate ways from the Research Institute's entrance.
Under the moonlight, Chixia and Yangyang could still hear the pair fooling around.
"A Piao, look, we're in the same boat. I think we should sleep in the same bed to get a little closer..."
"Ow! Don't hit me, don't hit me..."
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