Smoked Goose

"What's going on with the goose?" Ling Wen asked.

"The old man's seven or eight geese were all frozen solid."

"Before they left, they gutted it, rubbed it with some salt, and gave it a quick fumigation."

"They took the kudzu vines they dug up, along with some from their neighbors, to the market to sell."

The room fell silent again.

Everyone stared at the photos, remaining silent for a long time.

That's it?

Did the Jackal unleash a "calamity" just to freeze a few geese to death?

Even if someone is incredibly bored, they wouldn't be this idle.

****

After that, Ling Wen's group continued down from Songguotun, but found nothing.

There was no second incident, no major conflict, and no obvious signs of abnormality.

But those who went to Lancheng brought back new information.

"Found it."

"The couple died not long after they came down the mountain."

Everyone's nerves tensed up at the same time.

The original case file was quickly brought back and spread out on the table.

That was a heinous murder case.

One night, two elderly people were robbed and brutally murdered in a secluded and dark place.

A city-wide search was conducted in Lancheng, but the murderer was never found, and the case remained unsolved with a warrant for arrest.

"It's Chai Zhan," Ling Wen whispered.

This incident occurred before the "fishing operation," when Chai Zhan was still active.

Alituo chose to have Chai Zhan take action, most likely to conserve Magic Power, preferring to create some commotion rather than risk losing his mana.

"Using 'calamity' to kill geese, yet people are forcibly killing them?" Someone frowned. "Why is that?"

First of all, from a reasonable point of view, the opposite should be true.

Calamity kills people, but nothing happens; it's just considered an accident.

If Chai Zhan were to kill a goose, the police station might not even be alerted—if it were necessary to kill those geese.

Ling Wen carefully considered the irrationality of the statement.

If the Jackal wanted to kill someone, why would they deliberately sabotage the water pipes to force the person down the mountain before making their move in Lancheng?

That's too convoluted.

It didn't seem like they were committing murder; it looked more like they were avoiding something.

Ling Wen turned around abruptly, walked to the wall, and pressed down on the map.

Her finger first touched Pinecone Village.

Then they moved little by little towards Lancheng.

A few seconds later, Ling Wen spoke.

"Yes, the first calamity was to drive them out of Pinecone Village!"

She stared at the map, her eyes growing brighter as she spoke.

"If these two people had died directly in Songguotun, the investigators would definitely have gone to the mountains to investigate."

"What if something goes wrong and the police are alerted?"

"The police will also check roads, vehicles, people entering and leaving the mountains, and who has recently been to that area."

"But these two elderly people died in Lancheng."

Ling Wen's finger pressed heavily on the map.

"The focus of the investigation will then become the movement patterns of the murderer in the city."

"At most, it will expand to relatives, enemies, and social relationships."

Who would turn back to look at that mountain?

For the Jackal Organization, there's something in Songguotun that can't be exposed to the light of day!

****

Subsequent investigations quickly pieced together a new link in the chain.

Every autumn, the local agricultural department conducts a forest resource survey.

The couple from Songguotun were hired to guide them every year.

They know best which gullies are easy to cross, which forests are easy to traverse, and where the thorns are densest.

By cutting branches and clearing a path along the way, one person can earn over a hundred yuan a day.

The case file was spread out on the table. Ling Wen looked at it for a long time before slowly speaking.

"Not because they were targets for cleanup."

She finally figured it out.

"But rather, it was what they saw while guiding the census team."

This inference is quite bold.

But no one objected.

This explanation connects all the odd things.

The first "calamity" did not kill them directly because Alituo did not want them to die in the mountains.

If he had died elsewhere, the memory of Songguotun would have been nothing more than an ordinary winter accident.

The water pipes froze and burst, the house was covered in ice, and several geese froze to death.

What was covered continued to remain peaceful and secure.

****

"And then?" Su Ming asked.

He cut over too.

Ling Wen glanced at the Little Spiky Head and continued speaking.

"Satellites and airplanes have scanned Songguotun countless times, but no clear anomalies have been found."

"But we didn't lay people out on the ground on a large scale."

"Because we were afraid of alarming them and making them afraid to come back."

Our strategy is to capture Alituo and Aisaikena first!

"Once we catch the man, we can dig out the rest sooner or later."

"Then why are you squatting here in Lancheng?" Miao Xin asked.

"Lancheng is a transportation hub. If you want to get to Songguotun, you have to go through here," Ling Wen explained.

Of course, it's not impossible for the enemy to choose to cross mountains and valleys from the wilderness.

However, doing that would be far more conspicuous under satellite scanning than taking the proper route.

"So, your job now is to keep watch?" Su Ming asked.

"Yes." Ling Wen nodded. "We've put surveillance cameras on all the restaurants near the national highway. And the road to Songguotun is also under our control; the surveillance cameras are all state-of-the-art."

"So, it's like fishing, a test of patience?"

"There's no need for so much patience," Ling Wen said.

Remember that forest resource survey I mentioned?

She said this, grinning.

"The forest survey for this year is about to begin!"

****

After driving for a day and a night, Alituo and Aisaikena finally arrived in Lan City.

"In a few days, it'll be that damn forest census."

Alituo complained softly.

"Hopefully, this time, no one will venture near that cave again."

The guiding array must be built near the rift.

The mountainous area that Songguotun was located in was precisely where the fissure would collapse a month later.

In general, it's easier to hide in the city center; renting a house is sufficient.

On the contrary, these semi-wilderness areas are difficult to manage.

To avoid attracting attention, Alituo chose a cave.

But it's hard to guarantee that, like last year, someone won't sneak in.

There were many restaurants along the way, and their delicious aromas wafted over constantly.

It's already dinner time.

As Aisaikena smelled the aroma, her stomach felt a little empty.

"No restaurant," Alituo shook his head. "Our disguise isn't without flaws."

Eating in public can easily give away your secret if your facial expressions reveal it.

The two continued on their way and eventually parked the car at a hotel on the outskirts of town, where they checked into a luxury suite using their traveler's ID.

Even extraordinary individuals need to find a bed to lie down after sitting in a car for a long time.

As for food, it's even simpler.

The two took out their phones and ordered a bunch of takeout.

This is a very convenient country.

The order was delivered to my door in less than half an hour.

"Why is there an extra serving of steamed egg custard and fried egg?" Aisaikena looked down at the lunchbox.

"It's part of a promotion, a free gift with a certain amount," the deliveryman explained.

Aisaikena didn't suspect anything; the platform had all sorts of discounts and free gifts, so it was normal to miss something.

After the door closed, the two resumed their normal behavior and sat down to eat.

They've been lying low in this country for a while now, and their tastes have long since become quite accustomed to it.

"The steamed egg custard that was delivered tastes alright," Aisaikena said casually, taking a spoonful. "My lord, you should try some too."

"Um.

****

Upon receiving the call, Ling Wen immediately changed into her work clothes.

"It's a complaint," she explained to Miao Xin as she walked out. "A customer from out of town complained that they experienced stomach upset after eating the food we delivered."

Miao Xin followed her downstairs.

Ling Wen is currently at a food delivery station.

Those coming and going were all group members.

They got into the car, and two more team members got in from the back.

As the vehicles started moving, more and more delivery drivers began to converge on the target area, and their numbers grew larger and larger.

"Sister Wen, what's going on here?" Miao Xin asked.

"Based on the DNA analysis results, and with the additional analysis provided by Stacy, we discovered that the Eden visitors and the Tayans are genetically closer."

On the contrary, the gap between these two sides and humans on Earth is much greater.

"Both the Eden and the Tayans lack the corresponding digestive enzymes for a certain type of food on Earth, exhibiting intolerance."

Ling Wen paused.

For example, secretary bird eggs.

"We've not only monitored all restaurants. As long as we determine that a visitor hasn't made any regular purchases in Lanzhou within the past three months, the platform will prioritize sending their orders to our site."

"On the one hand, we use food delivery as an opportunity to observe customers up close."

"On the other hand, they also stuff food made from secretary bird eggs into the free gifts."

"Of course, most of the time, it's just a false alarm."

At this point, Ling Wen also expressed some helplessness.

There are far too many possibilities for customer complaints.

Even the most inept person can only investigate step by step.

Miao Xin looked at the "deliverymen" constantly gathering outside the window and understood what was going on.

In a city like this, there is no better place to disguise a temporary, large-scale gathering.

The target hotel is located on the outskirts of town.

A large number of delivery drivers waited a few blocks away, while another group, carrying insulated boxes, occupied several high points in the surrounding area suitable for observation and suppression.

Incidentally, what aroused Miao Xin's suspicion about Ling Wen was the food stains on her clothes in the dormitory.

It had the very familiar outline of what looked like an insulated box.

That's why we followed the clues.

"If it really is the target, should we start fighting here?" Miao Xin asked.

"Of course not," Ling Wen shook her head and said, "We're just conducting reconnaissance here."

"We've deployed a heavily armed combined arms team outside Lan City."

"There's also one on the road to Songguotun."

"They are the main force."

"Our job is simply to find the people."

Ling Wen parked the car and looked out the window at the hotel.

"Second floor, third room from the left," she whispered. "Wait in the car, stay alert."

"Um."

She got out of the car, straightened her clothes, and entered the hotel like an ordinary service worker.

A dozen seconds later, several deliverymen in different colored uniforms followed them inside.

Miao Xin waited nervously in the car for about five minutes.

When Ling Wen came out again, she had a helpless expression on her face.

All alert.

She opened the car door.

"Someone was just trying to find an excuse to skip out on the order, and the platform eventually gave them a discount coupon, so they let it go."

The vehicles slowly returned.

Two vehicles followed behind, and the delivery drivers who had received the clearance to leave the area dispersed and returned to their normal delivery schedules.

Only the escort team remained, scattered around the convoy.

"Is this how you've managed to get through these past few months?" Miao Xin suddenly asked.

"It's alright," Ling Wen smiled. "Seriously, delivering food is more tiring than our usual work."