The door to Lu Shiyan’s office slid open in front of Jiang Nuan.
There was more than one person inside.
Shen Wu and Qi Sui sat across from Lu Shiyan’s desk, several old files hovering in the projection before them.
Qi Sui was turned slightly toward Shen Wu, discussing something with him.
When they saw Jiang Nuan, both of them greeted her.
Lu Shiyan sat behind his desk. When he looked up and saw her, he tipped his chin toward the sofa. “Have a seat.”
The three of them were clearly discussing something important, and it seemed they were already nearing the end.
…These people even spent their holidays with the air of people preparing to save the world at any moment.
Jiang Nuan sat down on the sofa. For some reason, she felt that spending the previous day researching cat trees had made her seem a little out of place.
Qi Sui pushed a report to the center of the desk.
“What happened in that world can ultimately only be considered one possibility.”
“The Federation will simply say that we had just come out of a restricted zone and had all suffered collective cognitive contamination.”
Qi Sui smiled.
“I’ll even have to issue everyone a psychological evaluation by then.”
“What’s more, history and reality within the restricted zone don’t perfectly align. Trying to confront anyone with those old projections would make it far too easy for them to find holes in our story.”
Lu Shiyan interlaced his fingers beneath his chin. “Insufficient evidence doesn’t mean we’re looking in the wrong direction.”
He gathered several documents into one stack. “Right now, every clue ultimately points in the same direction.”
“The Sun family,” Shen Wu said flatly.
The answer was hardly surprising.
In that world, Sun Mingrui had brought a high-purity energy stone to the frozen lake, intending to destroy the seal and pin the blame on the Lighthouse.
If the surveillance footage had not suddenly appeared in the banquet hall, he would not even have needed to explain himself.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Sun Mingrui had risen steadily over the years, advancing all the way to become one of the five members of the Privy Council.
It was almost ironic. The case involving the abnormal energy outbreak all those years ago had very likely been his doing, yet now he sat in one of the highest seats in the Federation.
Lu Shiyan considered this. “If the Sun family really orchestrated what happened back then, the traces they left behind won’t be sitting out in the open.”
“More than a decade has passed. The Federation has gone through several rounds of restructuring, and even the archives that survived have been selectively edited.”
“I’m going to start with the Li family,” Shen Wu said, his expression calm.
“That man later married a daughter of the Sun family. The two families have been connected for years. It’s impossible that they left nothing behind.”
Qi Sui tilted his head slightly. “You’re going back to the Li family?”
Shen Wu nodded. “I’m planning to go back and take a look in the next few days.”
“Even though I stopped using the Li surname a long time ago, he’s always hoped I would come back and visit.” Shen Wu paused, then added, “I’ve been thinking about it.”
Qi Sui smiled gently. “The Li family patriarch will be delighted for a long time.”
Yes, that man would be happy.
But Shen Wu would not.
After losing his mother at a young age, Shen Wu had been treated by the Li family as a tool for judging people’s hearts.
That place had never been a home to him.
Having to walk back inside, sit before those people, and listen to them talk about family would probably make him more uncomfortable than entering a restricted zone.
Qi Sui thought for a moment before asking Shen Wu, “Do you need me to assist you?”
“No.” Shen Wu refused without hesitation. “I’ll dig through the dirty stuff myself.”
Qi Sui did not press him. He merely placed several ability stabilizers on the desk. “Then don’t dig yourself in with it.”
Shen Wu accepted all of them without ceremony and slipped them into his pocket before turning his gaze to Lu Shiyan.
Lu Shiyan was silent for a moment before nodding. “How you spend your holiday is your own business.”
“But going back to the Li family won’t be any easier than a mission.”
“If something feels wrong, pull out. Support will be available at any time.”
There was a trace of ease in Shen Wu’s voice. “I’ll remember that, Captain.”
The two of them exchanged a greeting with Jiang Nuan as they headed for the door.
Once the door closed, the office fell silent.
Lu Shiyan rose from behind the desk, walked around the pile of documents, and sat down on the sofa beside Jiang Nuan.
His expression was gentler than it had been during the meeting. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Nuan told him everything, from beginning to end, about receiving a communication from Steward Zhang of the Bai family.
“Bai Siyuan left an emergency authorization beforehand.”
“If he lost contact, I would be able to temporarily handle part of the Bai family’s affairs.”
That was not a lie, but it was far from the whole truth.
The document stated very clearly that if Bai Siyuan died, she would become the sole heir to all his assets.
Even now, Jiang Nuan did not understand when he had prepared it.
Or why he had insisted on leaving everything to her.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Lu Shiyan. It was simply that the will was too heavy, and she was not yet ready to let anyone else know about it.
He leaned back against the sofa without speaking right away.
About three or four seconds passed.
“Let’s only discuss the facts for now.” Lu Shiyan’s voice was always steady and composed when he analyzed a situation.
He raised a hand, and a three-dimensional overhead map of the Bai family’s main residence unfolded in midair.
The eastern wing of the main residence was marked as a constantly flashing red zone.
That was precisely the area they had been unable to investigate the last time they went to the Bai family estate. Shen Wu had said that an extremely high-level spatial artifact might have been used there.
“The restricted zone appeared in the eastern wing, which the Bai family has kept sealed for years. Bai Siyuan arrived immediately after the anomaly appeared. The entrance has fixed limits on its opening cycles and the number of people who can enter. Two investigators sent in ahead of the others have gone missing.”
“And before all this, he gave you partial emergency authority.”
Jiang Nuan bit the inside of her lip.
“I know you haven’t told me everything. You don’t have to.”
Lu Shiyan continued, “I only need to know that this wasn’t something he arranged on a whim.”
Jiang Nuan nodded, relaxing slightly as she leaned back against the sofa.
She had originally thought Lu Shiyan would keep pressing for details.
After all, he was accustomed to keeping the entire situation under control and had never liked uncertain variables.
Lu Shiyan continued, “Then there are two possibilities.”
“One possibility is that some kind of abnormal source already existed within the sealed area. Bai Siyuan knew it was there, which was why the area had been sealed for so long.”
Lu Shiyan traced a circle around the boundary of the red zone with his finger.
“He also knew what would happen if it went out of control, so he rushed over as soon as it became active.”
“The emergency authorization was part of the preparations he had made over the years for the various risks he might face, including this one.”
Jiang Nuan followed his reasoning.
“He thought he could handle it,” she said.
“Or he didn’t expect a restricted zone to form,” Lu Shiyan replied. “He also didn’t expect to become trapped inside.”
Jiang Nuan stared at the mass of red.
Bai Siyuan was not the kind of person who would leave a hidden danger unattended. The fact that the area had been sealed already proved that he knew something was wrong there.
“And the second possibility?”
Lu Shiyan shifted his gaze from the map to her.
“Someone deliberately activated it.”
“The Bai family’s sealed area wouldn’t have malfunctioned for no reason. Even an energy overload would require a trigger.”
“If someone knew that area existed, and knew Bai Siyuan would definitely go there, they could use whatever was inside to trap him in the restricted zone.”
“Of course, that person could also be…”
“Bai Siyuan himself.”
The two voices fell at almost exactly the same moment.
