Chapter 681: The Chase
Chapter 681: The Chase
Within a mere ten seconds, An Dun had uncovered the origins of the house and the high-energy nutrient agents.
"This house and the surrounding properties belong to an illegal gang. Three years ago, the house was rented to a man with the surname Li. He has a complicated background, having been both a client and a mercenary. Records show he visited the house once a month, but there's been no trace of him for over a month now."
"All the high-energy nutrients were purchased through the public procurement channels of other central cities. The buyers are all newly registered small companies. The earliest records date back three years, but more detailed information will require inquiries in other central cities. It's likely these nutrients were transported here in batches and stockpiled."
Chen Chuan considered this and instructed his team, "Send someone to move all the high-energy nutrients and temporarily seal off this area."
In just over ten minutes, they located another warehouse with a similar setup, filled with high-energy nutrients, and signs of recent activity.
However, there was one difference—fresh traces indicated the Mother Worm had been here recently, and monitoring showed it had left less than two hours ago.
This meant the Mother Worm had only retreated after the security team entered the area. Chen Chuan immediately dispatched combat creatures to follow the trail through the pit.
It was impossible for the modified creature to erase its own traces, so the chances of finding it were high.
Indeed, within half an hour, the underground combat creatures encountered and fought with some newly hatched larvae, and images of tearing and rolling battles occasionally surfaced from below.
This confirmed the Mother Worm was not far away.
Yuan Qiuyuan and his team, guided by An Dun's directions, sprinted across the ground. Although the larvae they encountered posed an obstacle, they also indicated a possible path the Mother Worm might have taken.
After all, there were only a few larvae, and they hadn't consumed much nutrition after hatching, so they couldn't withstand the constant influx of combat creatures. The front line was soon cleared of obstacles.
However, as the combat creatures advanced, the images from the World Credential suddenly turned pitch black. Not only did the leading creatures disappear, but the ones following closely behind also vanished almost instantly.
But the team members above couldn't help but feel excited, as this indicated their tracking efforts were effective, and they were likely to find the main target this time.
Yuan Qiuyuan and his two companions, guided by the World Credential's messages, finally stopped at a specific location.
"This is the place," they said.
The three exchanged glances, and Yuan Qiuyuan and Su Wei focused their attention on Qin Qingque. She held a specially prepared elongated spear, reversed the spearhead towards the ground, and took a deep breath.
After a moment, she thrust the spear into the ground, and with a hiss, almost three-fifths of the spear sank into the earth. Then, with a shout, she shook the spear handle, causing the mud blocks above to crack and fall, revealing a cave. The spear was now embedded in a creature about two meters in size.
The creature was covered in mud, making it difficult to discern its original form. Only a portion of its smooth armor and some kind of spotted pattern were visible.
At this moment, Qin Qingque grasped the spear handle with both hands, took a step back, and with another shout, strained her arms to lift the creature from the ground!
As it emerged, the mud fell away, revealing its body. It resembled an upside-down weight, with smooth armor, curved claws on its sides and abdomen, multiple compound eyes, and retractable spines on its back. As it struggled, a strange scream emanated from its abdomen, and with a swish, the spines shot out, flipping towards Qin Qingque.
Qin Qingque remained calm. She lightly shook the spear, dispersing the creature's force, rendering the spines soft and powerless. Then, with a swift turn, she lifted the creature and slammed it onto the ground with a loud thud!
The creature let out a piercing, eerie scream.
"Let me handle this!" Yuan Qiuyuan exclaimed, raising his baton and striking the creature with a burst of force that caused a shockwave in the air.
This blow was enough to blast apart most of the creature's body.
However, at that moment, Yuan Qiuyuan sensed something amiss. He twisted the baton mid-air, changing its direction to strike the other side. The force was so strong that it carried the baton head away.
He glanced at the target and saw it was heading towards Qin Qingque. The object might fly towards her, so he quickly tried to retract the baton, but he was already in the midst of exerting force, and his ability to change direction in such a short time showcased his exceptional coordination skills. However, he didn't have enough strength left to stop it completely.
Su Wei, standing nearby, quickly threw a lasso to entangle the baton head. He pulled it back, but even then, the force was so strong that both of them were dragged back several steps, leaving deep footprints on the ground.
As the movement stopped, Chen Chuan's eyes flashed, and despite the obstruction of buildings, he instantly spotted the fighter who had thrown the harpoon through Chao Ming.
This person was covered from head to toe in a gray cover garment, with a sturdy stubble protruding from the hood, covering the upper half of their face, revealing a well-defined jawline. Notably, they had a knife strapped to their waist, and just by looking at the scabbard, it seemed to be about a palm and a half wide, not overly long, but with numerous severely worn engravings on the scabbard.
This individual was standing on the rooftop of a skyscraper, and just by standing there, they exuded an incredibly stable presence, a manifestation of both physical balance and a certain psychic aura.
Chen Chuan stared at this person, and as expected, this should be the captain of the three.
Logically, this person's appearance here was unwise, as it exposed their trail, and the processing bureau would surely attempt to capture them. Even if they hadn't considered it before, they would now be under scrutiny.
However, considering the importance of the Mother Worm, it wasn't too strange for this person to show up.
Furthermore, this person had come here with the intention of drawing out the fighter, so his current position was at least three kilometers away from the search area, possibly because he hadn't encountered a strong enough opponent on-site, which gave him the courage to take action.
Hearing the chant, the fighter looked up at the sky, but with the thick clouds on this rainy day, he only saw a vague shadow.
At this moment, he should have realized that he had been discovered, so he took out another ball chain from his waist and, after spinning it a few times in his hand, he suddenly threw it into the sky!
In an instant, the chain shot into the sky, transforming into an indiscernible black dot.
Chao Ming slightly flapped its wings, easily dodging the incoming ball chain. At this height, at least three to four kilometers above the ground, even a regular bird would be difficult to hit, let alone a flying creature with altered biology like Chao Ming.
Seeing this, the fighter didn't persist and instead turned and leaped off the skyscraper, beginning to move swiftly through a narrow alley filled with obstacles and cover.
Chao Ming immediately pursued, but to gain a better view, it had to lower its altitude. In an instant, the fighter's figure disappeared, likely having entered a nearby building.
Chao Ming circled the area, attempting to locate the fighter, but suddenly, a skylight on a nearby skyscraper shattered, and a ball chain shot out rapidly!
This move was extremely abrupt, faster than before, and the location was even more concealed and higher.
However, facing this danger, Chao Ming suddenly folded its wings, its body tensing into a straight line, and instead of dodging, it accelerated downward, narrowly slipping through the twisting loop of the chain, before flapping its wings again to avoid another skyscraper, letting out a long, clear chant.
The fighter had intended to use the building as cover to lure Chao Ming down and kill it, a clear eye in the sky, while Chao Ming also used itself as bait to draw the fighter out.
Both were taking risks, but Chao Ming's gamble was greater; a slight misstep could result in being entangled, and the force of the harpoon could easily tear its bones and break its wings.
Realizing that he still couldn't capture Chao Ming, the fighter seemed to give up and leaped from the dozens of meters high skyscraper, landing on the ground without injury and quickly disappearing into the shadows between the skyscrapers.
In the distance, Chen Chuan's body moved like a swift shadow, rapidly closing the distance. Although they were far apart, with Chao Ming's high-altitude observation, he always moved in the right direction, and with the help of the world credential and An Dun, he analyzed and mapped out the fighter's possible escape routes and destinations.
As he ran through a narrow alley, a sudden premonition filled his mind. A loud explosion reverberated through the entire street, and the shockwave instantly engulfed him.
...
...
(End of Chapter)
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