Full-Time Public Enemy

Hou Yinan was utterly unable to answer the question; he himself was completely baffled.

Wei Jiangqi stretched his limbs a bit and then simply walked out. He paused by one of the cells, and two prison guards immediately stepped forward, unlocked it, and let out another prisoner.

Hou Yinan said, "This person is an Angel Envoy of True Knowledge Sin, sent here not long ago. His name is Diopolis."

Chen Gu recognized him at once. "He's one of the group that attacked Marshal Bai... Now I understand!" He realized the attack on Marshal Bai, which had seemed like a frenzied, all-or-nothing gamble by True Knowledge Sin, was actually intended to locate Wei Jiangqi's place of detention.

On the screen, Diopolis fervently followed Wei Jiangqi. With his hands clasped behind his back, Wei Jiangqi walked out proudly. Along the way, they passed through numerous security checkpoints, but the guards at these posts, as if under a spell, helped him open the passages. And so, Wei Jiangqi swaggered out of the Pu Mountain secret prison!

Chu Zheng couldn't believe it. "Just like that... he escaped?"

Chen Gu immediately said, "Contact headquarters. I need the detention status of all True Knowledge Sin participants from the attack on Marshal Bai."

Hou Yinan promptly sent over a document. "It's already prepared."

The attackers themselves were highly dangerous, and the prisons where they were detained had high security levels. However, almost all of them began causing trouble shortly after incarceration, and all incidents were serious. Consequently, per prison regulations, they were transferred to facilities with even tighter security. Their assessed danger levels rose, and the prisons they were transferred to became increasingly covert. The same had happened with Diopolis.

Chen Gu affirmed his earlier judgment. "These people were indeed looking for Wei Jiangqi... But if Wei Jiangqi allowed himself to be found by the Confederation and imprisoned, then he must have anticipated this situation. What could possibly be the reason he took such a risk?"

Gong Shuxu said to Hou Yinan, "We need to talk to all the involved prison guards."

Hou Yinan replied with a wry smile, "They've been detained ever since the incident. But I'm afraid you'll be disappointed; they genuinely can't tell you anything." He stood up. "Come on, I'll take you there."

There were twenty-six prison guards involved in total. Even with all members of the special operations team conducting separate interrogations, it took over an hour. The outcome was just as Hou Yinan had predicted.

None of the prison guards had any idea what had happened. They possessed clear memories of the events: they recalled seeing themselves release Wei Jiangqi and Diopolis. Yet, at that moment, they were completely unaware of what they were doing. They just felt it was all perfectly natural! Afterward, when they suddenly came to their senses, they were filled with immense regret but still couldn't understand why they had acted that way.

Everyone regrouped to discuss. "It's some form of mental control," was the consensus.

Chen Gu said, "Remember the raw silicon soil on Planet Falset VIII? I speculate that True Knowledge Sin wanted to control the Long-headed People to mine it for them, likely because they've mastered some secret technique that uses this soil to enhance spiritual power."

"The techniques for using spiritual power employed by Long-headed People like Colin, I suspect, were taught by True Knowledge Sin—or quite possibly by Wei Jiangqi himself."

"That mimic spacecraft arrived at Planet Falset VIII decades ago."

"Wei Jiangqi's mental control is likely different from the abilities of us Professionals, which is why it could bypass the security shackles."

The crowd nodded in agreement. Chen Gu then said to Hou Yinan, "Take us to their cells for a look."

Inside the cells of the two men, special agents from the Bureau of Mystic Security, having arrived earlier, had already conducted a technical examination. Faint "lines"—traces left by Mutant contamination—were clearly visible in some hidden corners.

"They're very tiny Mutant Insect Race bugs," Gong Shuxu sighed. "The last time we saw Boles, the Mutant Insect Race under his command still consisted of those enormous Alien Insect Race creatures. In this short time, they've already bred these minuscule bugs, which are incredibly hard to guard against. Given time, the harm caused by this traitor could surpass that of the Alien Insect Race itself!"

Chen Gu tracked these traces leading outside. In many places, the path followed the prison's internal piping, completely inaccessible to humans but easily traversed by those tiny bugs.

He mapped out the entire route taken by the bugs. "These bugs left the prison twice and returned both times."

Hou Yinan said helplessly, "The surface environment of this planet is extremely harsh, with frequent, terrible storms. Any traces of the bugs outside the prison would have been obliterated long ago, making them untraceable."

Chen Gu continued his analysis, "If Wei Jiangqi had the ability to escape on his own, he would have done so long ago, without waiting for Diopolis and his group."

"And for Diopolis and his group to seek out Wei Jiangqi—they must have needed to deliver something to him. The first time the Mutant bugs left the prison, they were likely transmitting a message: Wei Jiangqi has been found."

He inquired of Hou Yinan, "The prison has a jamming system, doesn't it?"

"Very comprehensive," Hou Yinan confirmed. "Any form of communication would be intercepted and detected."