Mini World Game Console-Chapter 692 - 693: Concealing One’s Whereabouts

Earth, Mysterious Country, Lianjiang City, Heavenly Lotus Academy.

Tactical Bureau Cultivators set up a cordon outside the teachers' dormitory building. Vice Principal Yuan Chu had hurried back overnight to manage the aftermath. After learning from Lianjiang Tactical Team Captain Li Dan that there were no casualties, he breathed a sigh of relief. "So what if one-sixth of the building is destroyed?" he said. "I will apply to the higher-ups for a construction team to come and repair it right now. By the way, are the two Deputy Directors here?"

"They are busy with something else. Also, we need to gather intelligence on the Otherworld enemies. For this reason, we've collected all surveillance footage from the building's hallways and nearby streets. These recordings are now secured by the Tactical Bureau. I hope Principal Yuan understands."

"I understand, I understand," Yuan Chu said, relaxing.

Li Dan turned his head to glance at the damaged housing. "Additionally, among the affected units this time is Cultivator Dong Chengling's. As you know, Cultivator Dong Chengling is an important consultant to our Tactical Bureau..."

Yuan Chu looked slightly uncomfortable. "This was a natural disaster, a calamity. I promise to try my best to apply for compensation for Teacher Dong Chengling. But such an event is unprecedented in human history, and I don't know how the city will decide..."

"Yes, this is an event unprecedented in human history…" Li Dan sighed. "So, we plan to invite Cultivator Dong Chengling to be stationed in the city center to assist the Tactical Bureau in preparing for the return of enemies from the Otherworld. Dong Chengling is a rare Space Series Cultivator and holds great strategic significance for us."

"But school starts tomorrow..." Yuan Chu said hesitantly.

After a moment of hesitation, Yuan Chu still nodded quickly. "Teacher Dong Chengling is an outstanding educator at our academy, and school is about to start. But since it is for the safety of Lianjiang City, Heavenly Lotus Academy will certainly not hinder the Tactical Bureau. May I ask how long you need Teacher Dong Chengling to be stationed?"

"Probably... If there are no other sudden incidents before March, we will let Cultivator Dong Chengling return to her post," said Li Dan. "You can take this time to have the construction team hurry and fix Cultivator Dong Chengling's unit. Otherwise, if she comes back and has no place to stay..."

"No worries, the academy has temporary housing. Moreover…" Yuan Chu looked towards another dormitory building. "Teacher Dong Chengling has friends here she's familiar with; she might be willing to make do for a while and live with a friend."

At that moment, Yuan Chu muttered, "Who knows, living together might turn into a long-term cohabitation..."

Li Dan was slightly stunned. Then, on closer thought, he didn't find it surprising. Between Ren Suo and Dong Chengling, even if neither of them showed public affection or went out, any observant person could certainly spot the issue.

Wait a minute. In the eyes of the observant within Heavenly Lotus Academy, are Ren Suo and Dong Chengling a couple?

But in my eyes—the eyes of Li Dan, the foremost gossip in the Tactical Bureau's rumor mill—didn't Deputy Director Qiao and Ren Suo also seem to be...?

However, the reason Li Dan—a Cultivator whose awakened spells seemed tailor-made for Gossip—was still alive, well-liked, and even humored by Yu Kuangtu and respected by Qiao Muyi, was his solid integrity and tightly sealed lips. Therefore, his expression unchanged, he said, "By the way, we also need to requisition Ren Suo temporarily. The Tactical Bureau needs a powerful Healing Cultivator stationed here..."

"I get it, I get it. Men and women working together makes the job lighter," said Yuan Chu, an understanding look on his face.

Back near the Tactical Bureau's vehicle, Li Dan saw Yu Kuangtu standing to the side and asked, "Haven't they finished talking yet?"

Yu Kuangtu glanced at a car not far away. "Not yet. Qiao Muyi is still chatting with Little Jiu... She even set up a Silent Barrier! What exactly happened?"

"At least Ren Suo and Dong Chengling aren't dead; there wasn't a trace of blood at the scene," said Li Dan. "And if those two were dead, Deputy Director Qiao definitely wouldn't be investigating so calmly right now."

"I also feel they didn't encounter any mishap, but they were certainly involved in Earth's first impact from the Otherworld. As for what exactly happened, it might be beyond our expectations," Yu Kuangtu said.

Yu Kuangtu pulled out a cigarette pack from his pocket, squeezed out a white cigarette, placed it between his lips, and lit it with a small flame from his fingertips.

Li Dan frowned slightly and quickly snatched the cigarette away. "Where did you pick up this bad... Huh?"

Li Dan took a closer look at the cigarette. "Is this... candy?"

Yu Kuangtu chuckled. "Combustible Sugar, haven't seen it before, have you? You thought I was smoking, but I was actually sucking on sugar!" He took it back, holding it in his mouth as he spoke. "You see, I'm a Flame Awakener, right? But I always felt like I lacked something distinctive. These past few days, Lianlian and I watched a movie about Supernatural Beings. I found that all the Flame Power Users had to have a cigarette in their mouths. It didn't matter if it was a fourteen-year-old, flame-red-haired kid or a navy admiral in his fifties; they just didn't look like true fire-wielders without a smoke."

"Then Lianlian told me about these combustible candy cigarettes online. They actually taste quite good. Want one?"

Li Dan was speechless. Just then, a Tactical Bureau Cultivator came over, holding a clear bag with a hard drive in it. "Captain, this is the surveillance room hard drive you asked for. It hasn't been labeled yet."

"Thank you. Go back to work," Li Dan said. He took the clear bag and examined the hard drive inside, which looked like it had been hastily removed. "Do you think Ren Suo and Dong Chengling encountered an Otherworld enemy?"

"Most likely."

"Did they fight the enemy, or did they run away? With Dong Chengling's Spatial Teleportation ability, they're virtually invincible if they want to escape. Their absence here might simply mean they've teleported somewhere else."

Yu Kuangtu took a few unsatisfying puffs, then popped the whole candy cigarette into his mouth. Chewing, he said, "But if they intended to run from the start, why would Dong Chengling's unit be damaged? And we can't contact them at all now. It's not like they could have teleported to another world, right?"

Li Dan blinked. "There are some unexpected, yet plausible, possibilities... They're missing, we can't contact them, and as for the house, it may not necessarily have been destroyed by Otherworld enemies..."

Yu Kuangtu paused, looking at Li Dan with a puzzled expression. "What possibility? If this house wasn't destroyed by Otherworld enemies, don't tell me Qiao Muyi did it?"

I didn't say anything, of course.

They've disappeared, so they must have escaped using Spatial Teleportation. We can't get in touch, perhaps because someone deliberately cut off communications. As for the house being destroyed...

With Qiao Muyi's Demon King-level temperament, if she heard that Dong Chengling had whisked Ren Suo away and they were completely out of contact—vanished off the face of the earth—then her merely blasting Dong Chengling's unit would already be a sign of deep affection and remarkable sanity.

Qiao Muyi suddenly achieving her fourth transformation just now... it was probably because she heard this news and was overwhelmed by a surge of anger...

"What are you two talking about?"

Hearing Qiao Muyi's voice, Li Dan, who had been lost in his internal ramblings, immediately adopted a calm expression and replied, "We were just discussing where Ren Suo and Dong Chengling might be right now… Deputy Director Qiao, this is the surveillance footage."

"Mm, thanks." Qiao Muyi took the transparent bag. Pressing her hands together, black flames, which emitted no heat or light, erupted between her palms, silently incinerating the bag and hard drive into white ash.

Yu Kuangtu was completely dumbfounded. "What are you doing...?"

"This bag wasn't labeled as evidence, so it doesn't count as destroying evidence," Qiao Muyi said, shaking her head. "If you have any complaints, file them later. Right now, help me with a few things… First, hire Ren Suo and Dong Chengling in the name of the Tactical Bureau and create the illusion that they're working with us."

Li Dan said, "I've already spoken with the vice principal of Heavenly Lotus Academy. In a little while, I'll send messages in their names to others, stating that they're unavailable for contact for the next few days due to participating in a classified operation."

Qiao Muyi continued, "Also, you need to help Ren Suo's sister, Ren Xingmei, apply for leave from her academy." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Li Dan was slightly taken aback. What, he took his sister with him too...?

Qiao Muyi glanced at Li Dan, unsure if she'd caught the implied meaning in his words, but continued anyway, "See if there's anything else we might have overlooked. Dong Chengling and Ren Suo didn't use any transportation; they came directly to Heavenly Lotus Academy using Teleport. So, if we get our stories straight and all attest that they were working with us, we should be able to fool everyone. No one will know they were attacked at the academy."

Yu Kuangtu hesitated for a moment but still asked, "With a dimensional war about to break out, do we really need to fuss over such trivial matters?"

In truth, Yu Kuangtu understood why Qiao Muyi was doing this. He also vaguely suspected that Ren Suo and Dong Chengling must have used some unsavory trump cards while fighting the Otherworld enemies, which was why Qiao Muyi was so eager to destroy evidence for them.

He trusted the character of Ren Suo and Dong Chengling and knew that Awakeners often had secrets they didn't wish to reveal.

Because even if an Awakener had a spotless record and solid character, their awakened spells being too powerful could lead to strict state protection. The state might even provide housing and make thorough arrangements for them. Indeed, some Awakeners happy to drift through life would accept such protection, but many others would certainly prefer to remain incognito.

But now, something unprecedented in human history had occurred: an invasion from a Different Dimension.

At such a time, did Qiao Muyi really need to go to such great lengths to conceal their trump cards?

And where exactly had Ren Suo and Dong Chengling fled that required Qiao Muyi to conspire with them to create the illusion that the two hadn't left?

But Qiao Muyi shook her head and said, "The dimensional war will not break out. And this is not a trivial matter."

Almost instinctively, Li Dan and Yu Kuangtu knew Qiao Muyi's certainty must be related to Ren Suo.

If it's related to Ren Suo...

Yu Kuangtu clicked his tongue. "Then we'll do as you say. I'm staying out of it."

"Is merely concealing it until March enough?" Li Dan inquired. "Can they come back before March?"

"Yes!"

Carrying the Black Cat, Little Jiu walked up behind Qiao Muyi and said crisply, "Before March, Big Brother and Sister Ling, and Little Star will definitely come back!"

Qiao Muyi patted Little Jiu's head, then reached out and took the Black Cat into her own arms. The Black Cat curled into a terrified ball in Qiao Muyi's embrace, not daring to move a muscle.

With the Tactical Bureau's resources, concealing the whereabouts of three people was indeed not difficult. Li Dan pondered for a moment and then said, "I'll follow up on this matter… Is there anything else?"

"Oh, right," Qiao Muyi pointed at the destroyed dormitory building. "You must repair Dong Chengling's unit before March. Make sure the renovation is complete and all the formaldehyde has dissipated. In short, I want Cheng Ling to be able to move back into her own home the moment she returns!"