200: Chapter 200 Dual-Line Investigation

Back in the dream at Yinshan Village, when Chu Xuan was being tested by Luo Xiaotian using the ghost-hunting compass, he had faintly sensed that something was off with him through the emotional perception ability of Heart Bewitchment.

However, he hadn't noticed any other abnormalities at the time; he simply thought that Luo Xiaotian was worried that Chu Xuan could kill the Great Buddha, and that there was some other underlying reason for his slight nervousness.

Furthermore, later in the dream, Luo Xiaotian's heart was crushed by a punch from the Specter-fied Bald Man.

Consequently, Chu Xuan never gave it another thought and never suspected that Luo Xiaotian had any connection to Azure Dragon.

However, after discovering later that Xu Zhiyou and Lin Tong were actually placed there by Azure Dragon to observe and monitor him, and that the child Zhao Hongchan gave birth to had also been possessed by a Specter.

Chu Xuan immediately wondered if there was someone like that around Zhang Qiang, who was also a Deputy Captain.

Thus, he immediately thought of Luo Xiaotian.

Under the probing just now, Luo Xiaotian couldn't withstand the pressure and gave himself away.

"I'm just curious, why have you been helping him hide this matter?" Chu Xuan asked.

"Because he is the son of a comrade-in-arms with whom I shared a life-or-death bond. How could I abandon him?" Zhang Qiang sighed deeply, no longer hiding anything, and began to speak of his past.

Before becoming a Transcendent, Zhang Qiang was a criminal police officer working at the grassroots level after transferring from the military.

When he was young, he had a comrade-in-arms with whom he had shared life and death. After that comrade sacrificed himself during a mission, Zhang Qiang took it upon himself to look after the comrade's wife and child.

When he became a Transcendent and discovered that the world was threatened by Specters, he found a way to get Luo Xiaotian, the son of his former comrade, into the Research Base, and trained him privately, hoping that he would become an intern member.

However, one day, when Luo Xiaotian told Zhang Qiang that he had woken up to find he had entered the God-Ascension Sequence, possessed Transcendent abilities, awakened a System, and was in an "abnormal state."

As a Deputy Captain of the Night Watchers, Zhang Qiang immediately realized the severity of the situation.

From then on, he kept him by his side. Whenever Luo Xiaotian felt the erosion, Zhang Qiang would use Smoke to suppress the Specter within him.

And that "Old Zhang" was a secret code unique to the two of them.

As Zhang Qiang spoke, Luo Xiaotian's eyes were filled with tears, yet he continued to eat the shabu-shabu beef.

"Chu Xuan, Xiaotian is not an operative for the Resurrection Society. He just happened to encounter a Dark Rift while sleeping, and after the Specter inside failed to possess him, a symbiotic relationship was formed. This is not an isolated case; there are many similar instances elsewhere."

Zhang Qiang said seriously, "I know that people in the Resurrection Society suppress the Specters within them by increasing their Charm attribute. Although there is no proof, I feel that this might be improper, so I have never let him increase his Charm attribute."

"However, my Smoke has the same suppressive effect. As long as I am around, nothing will ever happen to Xiaotian!" Zhang Qiang emphasized again, especially with the last sentence, his tone heavy and resolute.

"Why are you so nervous?"

Chu Xuan chuckled and said, "You go out too. I want to have a private chat with Old Zhang."

Luo Xiaotian lowered his head in silence.

Zhang Qiang waved his hand, "Go on, go on."

Luo Xiaotian remained silent for a moment longer before walking out.

Watching Luo Xiaotian walk away, Zhang Qiang took a drag of his cigarette and said slowly, "In my impression, you aren't the type to meddle in other people's business. So, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Chu Xuan asked, "Do you really think Luo Xiaotian just happened to encounter a Dark Rift? Could there be a possibility that someone is deliberately targeting you!"

"Targeting me?" Zhang Qiang frowned deeply, "What do you mean?"

"There's no point in talking more." Chu Xuan smiled indifferently and extended his hand, "Use your level 4 Mind Reading ability to probe my memory images."

"What on earth are you up to?" Zhang Qiang frowned, but seeing that Chu Xuan's expression was natural, he extended his hand as requested.

A moment later, Zhang Qiang stood up abruptly. He, who was usually rough and laid-back, now had a look of shock and pure disbelief on his face, "You… this is inside your dream?"

"As expected of level 4 Mind Reading." Chu Xuan nodded slightly. The black necklace [unpeekable] around his neck had no effect, which showed that the other person was not Azure Dragon, who had appeared repeatedly in the dream and used Mind Reading on him.

"So, moving forward, do you believe that my inner thoughts and memory images are all fake, or are you willing to trust me and help me this one time in this dream?"

"I'll help you… find Azure Dragon!" Zhang Qiang clenched his fist tightly and smashed it through the table, his eyes filled with resentment.

The corners of Chu Xuan's mouth lifted slightly. With this, he had gained another ally.

And with Zhang Qiang's cooperation, he was more confident that he could uncover the identities of all the Night Watchers members in this dream without having to repeatedly restart by dying.

This would save a great deal of spirituality value.

"Uncle Qiang…" Seeing Zhang Qiang, Chu Xuan, and Tang Zheng come out, Luo Xiaotian immediately walked up, wanting to say something but hesitating.

"No need to say anything. That matter is in the past!" Zhang Qiang raised his hand to stop Luo Xiaotian from continuing.

Next, the group did not leave yet, but continued to search for Specters in this area.

Having learned that this was Chu Xuan's dream, Zhang Qiang decided to leave all the subsequent Specters for Chu Xuan to kill.

Although Specters were not very active during the day, with the help of the Phantom Demon, the group quickly found 3 Specters, and Chu Xuan gained 42 points of spirituality value after killing them.

At seven in the morning, Chu Xuan spent 20 points of spirituality value to extend the time by another hour.

By eight o'clock, they found 2 Specters, and after killing them, he obtained 35 points of spirituality value, then spent another 30 points of spirituality value to extend the time.

During this time, [Future Tang Zheng] never sent a message, which made Chu Xuan frown. He sent a message to ask, but it was like a stone thrown into the sea, with no reply for a long time.

"What went wrong again…" Chu Xuan's brows were locked in a frown.

At nine o'clock, Chu Xuan spent 40 points of spirituality value to extend the time. His luck was quite good for this hour; they searched out four Specters and harvested 65 points of spirituality value.

By this point, Chu Xuan's spirituality value had reached 772 points.

"It's about time. Let's go back; the meeting starts at 10 o'clock." As he spoke, Chu Xuan turned to look at Zhang Qiang, whose expression was normal, only nodding slightly.

On the way back, [Future Tang Zheng] finally sent a message:

[Something unexpected happened. Just as I was about to capture Azure Dragon, Chu Huan appeared again. He wanted to take us both out while we were exhausted! Although I was prepared and repelled Chu Huan, Azure Dragon, realizing he couldn't escape, actually detonated himself.]

Chu Xuan's heart sank, and he quickly asked: [Is Azure Dragon dead?]

[Tang Zheng: With that kind of explosion, he must be dead. Chu Huan and I were almost blown to bits! This was a trump card he left to take others down with him; even in death, he didn't want to leave the good things he had to anyone else...]

Chu Xuan clenched his fist slightly. With this, [Future Tang Zheng] would not be able to confirm Azure Dragon's specific identity.

[Tang Zheng: Huh? No! My Soul lock on Azure Dragon hasn't been dispelled yet... He actually isn't dead?!]

[Tang Zheng: I've sensed his location. He is moving quickly. I'm going to chase him now. Give me a little more time!]