The moment the blue flames appeared, everyone felt a scorching heat on their faces.
The flames were extremely hot, causing even the surrounding space to subtly distort.
The fat man asked in surprise, " Brother Ze, when did you awaken your ability?"
Qin Ze extinguished the flames and casually replied, "Not long after the college entrance examination."
Huai Xu habitually said, "As expected of the boss."
"I've met the Maka Race once. Their core cultivation technique is also based on fire, but it's nowhere near as powerful as our leader's."
Qin Ze smiled and walked away.
Regarding the fact that I was surrounded by overpowered characters and had to resort to Fire Movement Technique.
He didn't want to do it in the first place, but there were just too many people hanging around.
The population of Pearl City is around 300,000, which is neither large nor small.
Due to its proximity to the Sea Capital, Pearl City has experienced rapid development in recent years.
The most direct result is that housing prices in Pearl City have continued to rise.
Around noon, the manhunt team arrived.
Stepping out of the station, Huai Xu grimaced and said, "My butt hurts so much from the train ride!"
Wen Jing looked at Qin Ze: "Where should we start our investigation?"
"Let's go check out Brother Jie's old company first; there are some things we need to find out," Qin Ze replied. "But before that, I need to go to the restroom."
Qin Ze went into the station restroom and met up with the others less than ten minutes later. They headed straight for Brother Jie's company.
A moment later, men dressed in various styles emerged one after another from the station restroom.
They walked into the bustling street and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
"I'm the company's deputy manager. You can ask me any questions you have."
In the reception room of Brother Jie's company, a middle-aged man who identified himself as the deputy manager received Qin Ze and his group.
The deputy manager is a Level One Martial Artist, but he looks rather unassuming.
Qin Ze estimated that Lu Tongtong could make him cry with one punch.
The deputy manager did not look down on Qin Ze and his group just because they were freshmen. On the contrary, he was very polite and had his pretty secretary make tea for each of them.
"I have a few questions I'd like to ask the manager," Qin Ze said.
The assistant manager nodded. "May I ask?"
Qin Ze: "What did your company lose?"
The deputy manager hesitated for a moment. "Simply put... a battery."
"However, this battery is quite special, as it contains many of our company's confidential technologies, and it took a lot of time to produce even this one sample."
"Besides, someone commissioned us to make this battery, and we can't afford to offend the person who commissioned it."
No wonder they were in such a hurry, posting all their commissioned tasks at the Haidu Academy.
However, the task was assessed as being of a low level and did not receive much attention.
Qin Ze continued, "Since it's a classified product, its defenses should be extremely tight."
Was there CCTV footage of the day the item went missing?
"Yes." The deputy manager opened his laptop and pushed it in front of Qin Ze.
The scene shows an empty room, with a palm-sized battery on the central display stand.
The surrounding area is completely blocked by infrared radiation; even if a mosquito flies in, it will trigger an alarm.
The corridor outside the room is patrolled 24 hours a day by a security patrol team, each of whom is a fully armed Level One Martial Artist.
Qin Ze was very surprised when he first saw the security situation.
Brother Jie must be quite something to be able to take something from a place like this.
If it were Qin Ze, aside from a direct assault and Shelter Space, he couldn't think of any other way to successfully take the item.
"Look closely, it'll be in ten seconds," the deputy manager suddenly said.
Qin Ze and the others kept their eyes glued to the screen.
Ten seconds later, the items on the display stand suddenly vanished into thin air.
The surrounding infrared alarm devices did not respond, and the door remained unopened.
The battery seemed to have evaporated, leaving no trace whatsoever.
Qin Ze frowned slightly.
This scene looks so familiar.
He thought of four words— Shelter Space.
Qin Ze glanced at Lu Tongtong beside him; her reaction was similar to his, clearly indicating that she had also thought of the Shelter Space.
Could it really have been one of the guys in the group who did it?
"Isn't that weird?"
"If it weren't for the surveillance footage, I would never have believed that the battery could disappear on its own."
The deputy manager spoke up.
Qin Ze asked, "Why do you think it was Jie... Fan Mingjie who did it?"
The deputy manager replied, " Fan Mingjie was on duty that night, and he disappeared in the latter half of the night, around the time the battery went missing."
To prevent embezzlement, security personnel work in pairs.
" Fan Mingjie's security guard was found dead in the toilet that night."
"A single, decisive blow to the throat."
Hearing this, Qin Ze was now certain it was Brother Jie.
Does Fan Mingjie have any special talents or abilities?
The deputy manager shook his head. "No, he's just an ordinary Level Two Martial Artist."
Qin Ze stood up. "We have no further questions. Thank you for your cooperation, manager."
The deputy manager replied, "Next Monday is the company's new product launch. We've put so much effort into this project."
"If you can catch Fan Mingjie before the press conference, the company will reward you handsomely."
Qin Ze nodded. "We'll try our best."
After leaving the company, Wen Jing said, " Fan Mingjie has concealed his abilities, and even his cultivation level."
"He probably chose to work as a security guard at this company because he was initially interested in that new product."
Qin Ze said calmly, "That possibility cannot be ruled out."
"Does Tongtong have anything to add?"
Suddenly being called out by name, Lu Tongtong was momentarily flustered.
"Huh? I... I have nothing to add."
Huai Xu scratched his head. "There are too few clues at the moment, and Pearl City is so big, finding someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Should we go check out the place where Fan Mingjie was last time?"
Qin Ze shook his head. " Law Enforcement has already conducted a thorough search there, but found nothing."
"Do you think we're more professional than Law Enforcement?"
Huai Xu asked, "Where are we going?"
Qin Ze: "Hotel."
The group of people were taken aback.
Lu Tongtong gaped slightly, unable to understand.
The fat man asked, " Brother Ze, you're not kidding?"
"We've had a long and tiring journey, so of course we need to rest first," Qin Ze said matter-of-factly. "Only when you're well-rested can you work better."
The fat man and the others were persuaded by Qin Ze.
As Huai Xu said, Pearl City is so big, where are we going to find people?
However, since Brother Jie has already revealed it the first time, he will likely do it again soon.
Qin Ze sent out all his clones, so that no movement in the gray area of Pearl City could escape his notice.
All we need to do now is wait patiently.
In the hotel lobby, Qin Ze and his group were checking in.
This is the most expensive five-star hotel in the entire Pearl City.
The high price is not only reflected in the renovation services, but also in the security.
The security personnel in the lobby are all at level 1.5 to level 2.
Splash--
The hotel door was pushed open from the outside, and a team of Law Enforcement walked in.
"Suspicious individuals are hiding in the hotel. A search is underway. This is a search warrant."
The lead Law Enforcement produced a document.
Qin Ze turned around when he heard the sound.
Hey, isn't this an old acquaintance?