CHAPTER 432: CHAPTER 432 CONTINUE DIGGING!

"Please, take your seats," Eld Di said softly, gesturing to a row of chairs on one side of the conference room. Here, with the most seniority and the highest status, it fell to him to preside over this debriefing meeting.

Once Wang Lan and the others were seated, Eld Di spoke again. "We just received a battle report – the target has been eliminated. On behalf of the citizens, on behalf of Jade Country, and on behalf of the human race, I express our gratitude to you."

As he spoke, Eld Di stood up and bowed to Wang Lan and the others. Simultaneously, everyone else in the conference room rose and bowed to Wang Lan and his group.

At this gesture, Wang Lan and his companions couldn’t just sit still. Instantly, as if pricked by needles, they shot up and bowed back, feeling unworthy of the honor.

"Please, sit down. One hundred thousand Biochemical Demon Soldiers posed a huge threat to the entire human race. This gratitude is something you should accept. Wang Lan, could you tell us how you found such a well-hidden base of the Demon Clan, and how you managed to find it so quickly and unexpectedly?"

The others shakily sat down again, and Wang Lan stood up to approach the podium.

"Honorable leaders, this is what happened. While tracing the whereabouts of a Demon Clan spy, we followed the trail to Flying Horse Farm, but then it went cold. Everyone associated with the farm had disappeared.

Our team decided to try our luck at the farm again. The marks of the battle with the Biochemical Demon General that day were still vivid in my mind. It was then that I suddenly realized a question I had always overlooked.

It seemed that the Biochemical Demon Soldiers did not understand elemental attacks. I’ve fought with them several times, and they always engage in close combat. Their combat strength is extremely powerful—indeed, they are weapons born for battle—but I’ve never seen them use Elemental Attacks.

So I surmised that the Biochemical Demon Soldiers did not understand Star Martial Skill nor possessed Talented Skills. At the same time, we also reviewed all surveillance footage from Flying Horse Farm, which showed no vehicles entering the farm from beginning to end.

If we assume that the Biochemical Demon Soldiers do not understand Earth Movement Skill, how did they get inside Flying Horse Farm to ambush us? So, we found several caves at the farm. Although the caves had been re-covered by the Biochemical Demon Soldiers during their passage, the traces of their movement still remained.

Hence, Yu Ruoyun and I used the Earth Travel Skill to follow their tunnel tracks to the source. This led us to the Demon Clan’s base, where we discovered their one hundred thousand Demon Soldier incubation chambers.

Looking back, there was indeed a great deal of luck involved. If the Biochemical Demon Soldiers knew Earth Movement Skill, there wouldn’t have been any traces of their movement, making it impossible to find their base."

After hearing Wang Lan’s explanation, all the bigwigs in the room were shocked. They never imagined the base would be discovered in such a manner. They wouldn’t have thought of it, and neither would the Demon Clan spies. Underground infiltration would typically first bring to mind the Earth Travel Skill.

"Pure fate! The Demon Clan, as cunning as foxes, is ultimately not foolproof. With their base destroyed and one hundred thousand Demon Soldiers turned to ash, they wouldn’t be able to stir up any significant trouble now," one of them said with great satisfaction.

"Truly a cause for celebration. This time, our three factions should jointly recommend you for commendation. What do you think, Eld Di?" Qing Emperor commented with a smile.

"A recommendation is certainly appropriate. But Wang Lan, although we have destroyed the Demon Clan’s base, the crisis in Modu City is not yet over. Do you understand?"

"I know. The one who escaped from the fixed Different Dimensional Space hasn’t been found, nor have we captured the Ancient Giant Demon. We need to keep up the effort."

"I’m saying this only to remind you not to slack off, but you should relax a little today. There’s a celebration banquet for you tonight at the city’s conference center; come early. You all may leave now."

"Yes, Dean, esteemed leaders, we will take our leave now," Wang Lan said appropriately, bidding farewell to the leaders before exiting the conference room with his group. Outside, he grasped Jiang Xinyu’s hand, only then realizing it was damp with sweat.

"Nervous?" Wang Lan asked softly.

"I was so nervous I thought I might die; my clothes are soaked with sweat! I’ve never faced such an intimidating assembly of people before."

"Well, you’ll have to get used to it."

"Why?"

"Because as my girlfriend, you’re going to face many more situations like this."

"Don’t talk nonsense, there are people here—"

Wang Lan turned around to notice his five team members were still following. He promptly halted and turned back to tell the five to disperse.

Then, hand in hand with Jiang Xinyu, they went to the municipal government parking lot. "You all go back by car; I’ll take a taxi."

"My driver’s coming to pick me up. It’s not necessary," Yu Ruoyun said indifferently.

"Boss, the four of us can share one car, so you can take the other one."

"Well... Ruoyun, why don’t we drop you off first?" Jiang Xinyu quickly offered.

"No need, my driver has arrived," Yu Ruoyun said, just as a black business vehicle slowly stopped in front of the municipal government building.

Since Yu Ruoyun’s driver had come, Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu didn’t linger. The two opened the car door, got in, and drove off.

"What should I wear for the banquet tonight? Something formal and serious? Or a gown?" Jiang Xinyu asked, turning to look at Wang Lan.

"Choose something in a darker color. As for the style... formal should be fine. I’m wearing my military uniform; I still have one I haven’t worn yet."

"Then... will you go shopping with me for clothes later?"

"No problem! Where to now?"

"Let’s head home first. I need a shower; my back is soaked, and it’s pretty uncomfortable."

Wang Lan’s mouth curved into a slight smile, his expression gradually morphing into a meme face.

He spent the afternoon shopping for clothes with Jiang Xinyu, followed by afternoon tea and coffee. They had been apart for three months. Although Jiang Xinyu knew Wang Lan’s past three months had been very eventful, she had never imagined just how extraordinary they had truly been.

And compared to Wang Lan’s legendary experiences over those three months, his increase in strength was even more legendary. Even when they graduated from senior high, Wang Lan had already surpassed Jiang Xinyu.

But now, in just over half a year, Wang Lan’s strength had completely left Jiang Xinyu behind. Jiang Xinyu struggled against a single Biochemical Demon Soldier, while Wang Lan slaughtered hundreds as easily as chopping vegetables.

Watching Wang Lan scroll through messages on his phone, Jiang Xinyu silently vowed to work even harder. Otherwise, the gap between her and Wang Lan would only widen.

At the celebration party in the evening, although Wang Lan was the guest of honor, the real stars were the various bigwigs present. An official celebration banquet was bound to be a solemn, serious affair. Wang Lan maintained a smile for over two hours, and his cheeks were almost cramping.

When they got home that night, Wang Lan suggested sharing a bed with Jiang Xinyu, using the excuse that they didn’t have enough blankets. In the end, Jiang Xinyu kicked him out with a single foot.

His Play Boy Triple Strike had no chance to be executed; he was directly ruled out of the game.

「The next day, the Wang Lan investigation team reconvened.」

As the calendar flipped to a new page, all past achievements were as fleeting as clouds. No matter how glorious the previous night’s celebration was, no matter how many times they heard praises of being accomplished at a young age with a limitless future, after a night’s sleep, all of that was to be forgotten.

"Team Leader, we’ve just received information from the police commissioner. The funding source for Flying Horse Farm has been clarified."

"Oh, let me see!"

"Wu Changyue had grown up in great wealth; his father had once owned a construction company that employed nearly ten thousand workers at its peak. However, the company was dissolved due to poor management.

But his father had still managed to retain nearly half a billion in assets. During the real estate boom, Wu Changyue’s father had dived straight into property investment. He hadn’t engaged in development but, leveraging his contacts and channels in the construction industry, had made extremely precise investments.

Over the next twelve years, Wu Changyue’s father acquired a total of 170 properties. During this period, their value increased twelvefold on average. Consequently, after his father passed away, Wu Changyue inherited close to ten billion.

"So, the money Wu Changyue used to start Flying Horse Farm, and the money he spent on pigs over the years—that was all his own money?"

"It seems so. There’s also an interesting detail: Wu Changyue, as a student, was a typical rich kid who didn’t excel in his studies, indulging in drinking, fighting, and chasing girls.

But in his senior year of high school, he had mysteriously disappeared for a day and a night; his family even filed a police report. However, Wu Changyue returned the next day as if nothing had happened. After that, he seemed to reform completely, ceasing his drinking, fighting, and troublemaking."

"That was when he must have been replaced by the Demon Clan. What about his social circle after that? Who was in it?"

"No one. Since then, although I wouldn’t say Wu Changyue became reclusive, he certainly didn’t have many friends. Apart from a fondness for fishing, he didn’t socialize or date, right up until his parents died in a car accident.

Now it seems the accidental death of Wu Changyue’s parents was also arranged. Subsequently, Wu Changyue acquired Feiyu Driving School five years ago. However, records of his property sales indicate these transactions began three years ago.

The Bureau of Industry and Commerce discovered that Flying Horse Farm first bought a large number of pigs around that time as well. What was he doing with so many pigs? There was no record of them being resold; did the pigs just vanish?"

"That’s one of the mysteries, and we might never get the answer to it. Besides that, are there any other clues?"

"Another odd thing is that the purchaser of Wu Changyue’s properties was the same real estate company. It’s called Hongfeng Real Estate. Their business includes housing intermediation and rentals, but their main income is from property buying and selling.

They buy a property and then resell it, profiting from the price difference."

"Is there anything suspicious?"

"No! The procedures and transactions are very clear. The owner behind this company is actually one of our colleagues."

"Huh?" Wang Lan paused, looking surprised. "From the Tianjian Bureau? Who is it?"

"Luo Jianli, from the Law Enforcement Department. Hongfeng Real Estate was founded by his father, Luo Hongfeng, and it’s a long-established real estate agency in Modu City. So, when the investigation reached this point... the police commissioner didn’t dig any deeper, feeling it was unnecessary."

"Were the transaction procedures and details photographed as evidence?"

"No, but is that necessary? Although these properties were sold by a Demon Clan spy, the real estate company probably wasn’t aware of that, right?"

"Since all properties under Wu Changyue’s name were being monitored by us, could he be hiding in one of the properties that was sold? Otherwise, how could we have searched high and low and still not find him? We have to check every possibility."

"Wu Changyue sold sixty properties over the past three years. All of them are currently under Hongfeng Real Estate’s name and have not yet been resold."

"Why not?"

"The prices are considerably higher than comparable properties in the same area, so no one is buying them."