"Where's the target? Is he in the Radiance Empire?"
Chu Yuan pressed for an answer.
"No, the target is in the Xuanya Empire."
Feiluan enlarged the star map and focused on the tracker's location. It was actually in the Xuanya Empire.
Chu Yuan frowned. "Why would he be there?"
The Xuanya Empire had only one Domain Lord, its emperor, a Domain Lord Level 3 warrior who had mastered the Earth Origin Law.
He had indeed appeared on Feiluan's list of suspects, but the probability of him being the killer was only %, so Chu Yuan had ruled him out long ago.
Chu Yuan pondered for a moment, then his gaze suddenly sharpened. "This is a decoy. He's trying to distract me!"
"The killer must have discovered the trackers, so he sent his subordinates away with them to throw us off the scent."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the locations of another 78 trackers appeared on the star map, this time in the Nine Origins Empire.
Immediately afterward, trackers appeared in the Crimson Moon Empire, Azure Peak Empire, and Mingluan Empire as well, bringing the total to six targets.
"So he's no fool after all."
Chu Yuan folded his arms across his chest, tapping his left arm with the fingers of his right hand as he considered his next move.
"The killer is despicable, sending out six groups of decoys."
Feiluan looked somewhat anxious. "Master, we have to hurry. If the killer sells the treasures, we won't be able to find him."
Once the treasures changed hands, even if Chu Yuan followed the trackers and found them, he would not be able to get them back.
He could hardly tell the buyers that these were treasures stolen from him and that the killer had no right to sell them.
In the universe, the strong preyed on the weak. There was no such rule.
The major powers would not foot the bill for Chu Yuan's incompetence.
"The key is that the decoys might be carrying real treasures too."
Xiong Ba said from the side, "If we let even one group of decoys go, the killer could sell the treasures."
"So we can't let a single group go. We have to take them all down!"
Chu Yuan looked at Feiluan. "Send orders to the fleets. Have the fleet closest to each group of decoys head to its location immediately. Don't leave a single one!"
"Understood!"
Feiluan immediately relayed the orders to Chu Yuan's fleets.
Chu Yuan now had deep pockets and a full 499 fleets under his command, 79 of which were led by Universe Level 8 slaves.
The six groups of decoys sent out by that Domain Lord could not all be led by Universe Level 9 experts. Even having Universe Level 3 or 4 leaders would be impressive.
With Chu Yuan's forces, taking down six groups of decoys would be child's play.
"The treasures he stole are worth 450 billion Universe Coins. He would never feel safe leaving his subordinates to handle them. He'd also worry that someone might kill his subordinates and seize the treasures."
"The chances of the decoys carrying treasures are very low. Even if they are, they'd only be things like Tier 3 Force Weapons. The key is still finding the killer himself."
"He'd be even less comfortable trading on another Domain Lord's turf. In the end, he'll definitely return to wherever he feels safest. Sending out decoys is just a way to buy time."
Chu Yuan stared fixedly at the star map. He was still waiting, waiting for the killer to show his hand.
There were thousands of trackers. The killer could not possibly find them all. Some were bound to slip through the net.
Once all the decoys were gone, the killer's whereabouts would naturally have nowhere to hide.
One hour, two hours, three hours, half a day, a day, two days.
For seven full days and nights, Chu Yuan remained in front of the star map without leaving for even a moment.
Finally, on the eighth day, tracker locations appeared on the star map again. This time, the target had only nine trackers.
Even the tightest net had a gap.
The killer had been extremely thorough. Of the thousands of trackers, only nine had gone undiscovered.
"Got you!"
Cold light blazed in Chu Yuan's eyes.
Feiluan cried out, "Master, the killer is in the Radiance Empire! Your deduction was right. The killer is the Radiance Empire's Domain Lord!"
"Set off immediately!"
Chu Yuan took six Universe Level 8 bodyguards aboard a spaceship and shot out of the atmosphere.
The third-generation Dragon Abyss that Chu Yuan was riding this time was a backup spaceship left behind by his teacher, World Lord Huoyao, an E2-class alloy spaceship.
Flames blasted from the spaceship's engines as it reached light speed as quickly as possible and entered the Dark Universe.
"We're 520,000 light-years from the Radiance Empire. The spaceship's maximum speed is six times the speed of light. We can get there in just three days."
Feiluan controlled the spaceship, swiftly accelerating to six times the speed of light.
"Three days!"
Hearing that figure, Chu Yuan still felt somewhat uneasy.
If the killer moved fast enough, he could easily consign the treasures for sale before Chu Yuan arrived.
He could arrange a delivery time with bank personnel in advance and hand over the goods as soon as he reached the designated location. Perhaps the handover had already been completed.
Once the treasures were in the bank's hands, Chu Yuan would have no chance of getting them back.
The money would be deposited into the killer's account. At that point, even if Chu Yuan killed him, he would not be able to recover the money.
Hopefully, he hasn't had time to dispose of them yet, or hasn't had time to hand them over!
Chu Yuan thought to himself.
"Don't worry, Master. He definitely can't have moved that fast."
Feiluan offered reassurance from the side.
Chu Yuan gazed ahead calmly. "Let's hope so."
If he truly could not recover the treasures, he could only kill the man to vent his anger.
For stealing treasures worth 450 billion Universe Coins from him, a mere Domain Lord's worthless life was nowhere near enough compensation.
Three days passed in a flash, and the spaceship left the Dark Universe, returning to the Primal Universe.
"Master, the trackers show that the target is on Blue Radiance Star and hasn't moved. That's Domain Lord Modu's private territory. He hasn't had time to sell the treasures."
Feiluan projected the star map and focused on a life-bearing planet.
Blue Radiance Star was the second most prosperous planet among the Radiance Empire's eleven galaxies, second only to its Imperial Capital Star.
"Forcing entry into private territory violates the Black Dragon Mountain Empire's laws. Its army will be sent to suppress the offender."
Feiluan offered a reminder from the side.
"Like hell I'm afraid!"
Chu Yuan did not care in the slightest.
Even the law depended on whom it was used against.
A charge like forcing entry into private territory might constrain those at Star Level, but those at Universe Level paid it no heed at all. Otherwise, there would not have been so many powers wiped out in the universe.
Chu Yuan's status was far from ordinary. He belonged to the Virtual Universe Company, and his standing was higher than that of many ordinary Domain Lords.
Even if the Black Dragon Mountain Empire found out, it would not pursue the matter. Besides, Chu Yuan would not let the Black Dragon Mountain Empire find out.
In any case, the slaves would be the ones acting. What did that have to do with Chu Yuan?
The Dragon Abyss flew toward Blue Radiance Star at top speed, stopping in space ten million kilometers away from it.
"Activate the railgun!"
Chu Yuan gave the order.
"Understood."
Feiluan immediately executed the command. An opening split across the spaceship's dome, and a D5-class railgun slowly rose, its menacing muzzle aiming at a palace on Blue Radiance Star.
"Star Pupil No. 1, take the D9-class laser rifle and charge it. You're responsible for the follow-up shot!"
Chu Yuan handed the D9-class laser rifle to Star Pupil No. 1 to use. He flew out into space with the three-meter-long laser rifle on his shoulder and, using the target location Feiluan transmitted to him, adjusted its settings and likewise aimed at the palace.
The D5-class railgun took 60 seconds to charge, while the D9-class laser rifle took five seconds.
After the laser rifle finished charging, Star Pupil No. 1 did not fire immediately, instead waiting for the railgun to fire first.