"It’ll probably take a day."
’This is definitely the most energy I’ve absorbed at once. Now it’s just a matter of seeing the final result.’
Su Chen didn’t delay, patiently continuing to scan the earth with his Telekinesis while also searching with a high-powered flashlight.
For the next hour and a half, the group searched frantically, practically tearing the entire cavern hall apart.
It wasn’t just their team; figures from outside the cave also started arriving one after another to explore.
"Where are the cave people?"
The vast majority of them had no idea what was going on, completely unable to glimpse the mysterious side of another evolutionary system.
However, that’s not to say there were no discoveries.
Just as one group appeared at the mouth of a vertical shaft, a jointed whip, black as iron, suddenly lashed out from the darkness. It skewered two people like a candied haw skewer and dragged them both into the deep shadows.
Agonized screams echoed continuously from the deep shaft, attracting a large crowd. But faced with such a bottomless vertical pit, there was nothing anyone could do.
"Time to go."
Seeing that the hunting hall was getting more and more crowded, Su Chen buried the two mining spots and then started the return journey with his group.
When they got back to the cliff, a new wave of people who had heard the news had replaced the old ones at the altar structure.
When Yan Ziqian walked toward the altar holding a large bag of Ashen Bud Flowers, a fat, pudgy middle-aged man immediately became extremely agitated.
"You bastard Yan! Your phone and ID are still collateral with me! Spit my supplies back out!"
This was none other than the fat boss of the Bonfire Grocery.
When the apocalypse first broke out, he had been clueless and was ’scammed’ out of nearly 4,000 yuan worth of supplies in exchange for a foldable phone.
Looking back, he felt his intelligence had been utterly insulted. A worthless brick had cost him so many of his supplies.
"Isn’t that what the collateral was for? Don’t tell me you expect me to find 3,853.50 yuan in paper money to pay you back."
Yan Ziqian’s expression was composed. With a calm and unhurried grace, he continued, "You’re a businessman. You can’t just decide a deal was a loss after the fact and then come looking to settle scores with me."
"Hmph. Quite the silver tongue..."
The fat boss sneered, his small eyes narrowing as he glared at Yan Ziqian, looking like he wanted to swallow him whole.
"So many flowers... That must be the Ashen Bud Flower. Wow, that’s a lot."
"And that’s the stuff you can trade for Spirit Element Runes."
Prompted by the comment, the crowd around them also noticed the large bag of Ashen Bud Flowers in his hands.
With the existing conflict already brewing, many in the crowd tightened their grips on their weapons.
Just as the powder keg was about to ignite, Qian Bin’s expression suddenly turned serious. He had spotted a familiar figure at the back of the group and immediately called out in a clear voice, "I didn’t expect to run into you here! Congratulations, it looks like your team had a big haul."
His tone was as familiar as if he were greeting an old friend, and the tense standoff instantly melted away like snow and ice.
No one seemed to be able to figure out the relationship between Qian Bin and the newcomer.
The fat boss frowned slightly, his gaze shifting past Yan Ziqian’s shoulder and suddenly landing on the tall figure walking up from behind.
He looked vaguely familiar. On closer inspection, it was the young man who had used cash to buy supplies. If he remembered correctly, the man had parked an RV in front of his shop.
"It was alright."
Su Chen’s gaze also fell on the group. He naturally recognized the man in the lead, Qian Bin, the head of the campsite’s security department. ’He was the one who had tried to recruit me into some mutual aid organization, only to be rejected.’
’As for the thirty or so people around him, some are wearing security uniforms, and a few others are the ones who begged for a share of the corpse and were refused. It seems this small group was called in for backup.’
’Judging by the shopkeeper’s presence, it’s easy to imagine that this so-called mutual aid organization has absorbed many of the local factions.’
"Excuse me, please make way. We need to use the altar structure," Su Chen said.
His calm words held an inexplicable, unquestionable certainty, as if he wasn’t asking for permission to pass at all.
The air grew still.
Some of them looked to Qian Bin, apparently waiting for him to set the tone.
"Of course." But Qian Bin just smiled, as warm and gentle as ever, even showing a hint of perfectly measured apology. He waved for his people to move aside and then gestured for Su Chen’s group to come forward, as if welcoming honored guests.
Not only that, but he also shooed everyone away, telling them not to stand around gawking and bother the newcomers.
"By the way," Qian Bin even shared a tip, "at the farthest extension of this forest fault line, I heard someone found a large pit. They supposedly discovered some strange, fleshy tissue inside. The rumors are pretty wild."
"Okay," Su Chen nodded.
’His seamless tact and thoughtfulness are so flawless that it would be difficult for anyone to feel the slightest dissatisfaction.’
’Of course, perhaps because the old sense of order and humanity haven’t completely dissipated and civilized habits remain, there are no large-scale, open deathmatches. But in the shadows, there are surely no shortage of incidents where the dead can tell no tales.’
’After all, on every expedition out into the forest, there are always some who never return.’
’But who could ever know if they were killed by monsters, or if they were shot in the back by their own people, who then plundered all their Rune Essence?’
’The human heart can’t withstand such a test.’
After Qian Bin and his mutual aid organization members backed off, Su Chen’s group successfully completed their offering.
Under the blazing midday sun, they set off on their way back.
The forest exuded a humid, stuffy heat.
On the way, Yan Ruoruo shared something she had heard that morning with Su Chen.
A locked-room murder case.
"The deceased snored, so he was sleeping alone in a courtyard guest room. The door and windows were all locked. He died at three in the morning from cardiac arrest, with no external injuries. All of his Rune Essence had vanished. At eight in the morning, after he failed to respond, someone broke down the door and found the body."
No matter how you looked at it, it was a blatant murder.
A flash of interest appeared in Su Chen’s eyes. He said, "If we were thinking in terms of our old reality, this would be a tricky one. But this is a Magic World of Elements. That opens up a lot of possibilities."
’For example, using Strong Thought Imprisonment on someone through a wall to suffocate them, or forcefully Piercing their chest cavity to stop their heart.’
’But an operation like that would require Telekinesis Lv5 at least.’
This was an ability Su Chen had only just mastered.
’And how would you get the Rune Essence out?’
’Just Shadow Leap inside!’
’Plausible.’
Su Chen sighed internally. ’It’s a form of spatial-warping, a point-to-point method of travel.’
’But isn’t there a simpler, easier way to do it?’
’If a Rune Ability that lets you pass through walls existed, then a locked room would be irrelevant. Xiaoye’s Netherworld traversal can do just that. Could the murderer also have a Netherworld War Dog? And one that has some kind of lethal Fear Skill?’
Pang Peng, on the other hand, didn’t catch on to Su Chen’s train of thought. Looking at Xiaoye, he suddenly asked curiously, "Couldn’t a Summoning Skill explain it? You summon something in, then just unsummon it to easily take away the Rune Essence, right?"
"Then how did it get in? Can you cast a summoning circle inside a room through the crack under the door?" Cao Yutang asked, intrigued.
Yan Ruoruo wasn’t hung up on the murder method. She had a reason for bringing up the locked-room case at this particular moment.
She then quietly revealed the victim’s identity. "The deceased was the one who used a tow hook on his SUV to break the lock on the Bonfire Grocery’s door. And they say this is the second locked-room murder."
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone around them fell silent.
So, it was connected to the fat boss who had nearly started a fight just now.
Yan Ziqian said nothing, his thoughts unreadable.

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