Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Loren gave no response, expressionlessly raising his right hand and snapping his fingers.

Then, a black-gold revolver with intricate patterns appeared in his left hand, and he fired a shot at the five men and the dog.

The bullet flew swiftly.

Heading straight for the so-called Hellhound.

But the bullet bizarrely curved, striking the ground of the alley instead.

A massive explosion occurred, the blast flames igniting the drool the Hellhound had left on the ground.

Two lines of fire appeared in the alley, cutting through the dim passage.

Strangely, after crossing the fire lines, the Hellhound suddenly sneezed due to the foul stench of garbage in the alley.

The high temperature had intensified the putrid smell.

A chain reaction began.

Because of this sneeze, the Hellhound spewed more intense flames from both mouths, directed at the alley floor.

The alley ground was scorched.

The temperature in the alley rose again.

The ground became scalding hot.

The five men's advance became torturous due to the extreme heat.

One of them carrying a heavy backpack had his leg movements slightly distorted by the hot ground during his charge.

Tripping over his own feet, he unfortunately fell.

His face made contact with the scorching alley floor.

He let out a piercing scream.

The intense pain from his face made him instinctively roll over.

An accident occurred.

He was carrying a heavy backpack on his back. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel⚑fire.net

The rolling motion pressed the backpack beneath him.

Coincidentally, due to the ground's high temperature and the weight of his body.

The high-explosive bombs in his backpack were detonated through various mishaps.

Besides the explosive shockwave, a mass of white flames appeared at the blast site.

Under Misfortune's manipulation, the truly lethal element had emerged.

The white flames, carrying extreme heat, swept through the alley.

The walls of the dim alley were melted by the absolute temperature, turning into crystal-clear red glass.

Simultaneously, the endless high temperature consumed their entire team.

Even the Hellhound named War Weapon only managed to howl once before being engulfed by the flames.

Instantly, the bodies of the five men and the dog vaporized under the extreme heat.

When Loren saw the white flames, he also frowned:

"Carrying something so dangerous with them?"

Due to the alley's layout, the white flames surged toward Loren's location.

Loren quickly responded.

He snapped his fingers again.

Immediately, the raven on Loren's shoulder disappeared.

A pair of broad black wings appeared behind him.

After the black wings appeared, they spread to their fullest extent and gave a powerful flap.

A fierce wind emerged.

Raging through the alley.

The white flames were blown back to the other side of the alley by the gust, continuing to scorch the alley walls.

Loren snapped his fingers once more.

The black wings flapped powerfully again!

The white flames and their accompanying extreme heat were blown out of the alley by the black wings.

Everything within the alley finally returned to calm.

The aftermath of the explosion was resolved by the wings behind Loren.

Loren stood in the middle of the alley, looking at the empty passage.

The air in the alley still carried residual warmth.

The walls on both sides had turned into cooled glass, breathtakingly beautiful.

Glistening and shining.

Meanwhile, behind Loren, the figure leaning against the trash bin had long been drenched in cold sweat on his forehead.

After witnessing everything firsthand, he muttered to himself:

"This is... rule-based... psychic ability?!"

Loren calmly turned around, looking at this investigator carrying secrets.

The wings behind him disappeared, and the raven reappeared on his shoulder.

"Now, there should be no one to disturb me from hearing your secrets."

"Mr. Investigator... from the Federation Energy Department."

Loren's expectant tone reached the other's ears.

The figure leaning against the trash bin took a deep breath before speaking with a grave expression:

"Someone is stealing the Federation's resource deposits."

"The Spirit Stone deposits on this planet were never fully depleted!"

"All these years, someone has been secretly mining them here!"

"The extracted Spirit Stones flow silently into interstellar space through various covert channels."

"After I accidentally uncovered this clue and was discovered by their people, I've been caught in endless pursuit."

The severely wounded investigator concisely explained what had happened to him.

Loren looked at this evasive investigator, narrowing his eyes.

Stealing Federation mineral resources? Interesting.

Loren recalled the smuggled Mecha that appeared at the Wild Dog Gang this morning, and that space-system psychic.

A vague hypothesis formed in his mind.

"Well, Mr. Dedicated Investigator."

"May I ask, where were you discovered? And where is their secret mining location?"

Loren's tone became noticeably more cheerful.

This matter was even more interesting than he had imagined.

"I was discovered while infiltrating an Upper District official's residence to search for key evidence, and then the pursuit began."

After saying this, he paused before continuing somewhat uncertainly:

"As for the mining location, it's speculated to be at that heavily guarded Federation prison outside the Upper District."

"Only there would have the conditions and time to secretly mine for so many years without being discovered."

Loren considered the truthfulness of the other's words.

He took out a Federation coin from his pocket, tossed it into the air, and then snapped his fingers.

If he's lying to me, the coin will land on tails, Loren thought to himself.

Loren caught the coin with his hand.

Heads. It seems he told the truth, Loren nodded to himself.

He had verified in his own way that this severely wounded investigator was telling the truth.

So, was Ms. Thia's husband captured by the Wild Dog Gang and taken to the Federation prison to mine Spirit Stones?

Loren felt he had found the clue to his commission.

"Thank you for the information."

"Well then, goodbye, Mr. Investigator."

After obtaining the information he wanted, Loren picked up the case at his feet and turned to walk step by step out of the alley.

He paid no further attention to the severely wounded investigator.

From behind Loren came a helpless voice:

"You're just going to leave me here? At least take me to a safe place."

"After all, I provided you with such confidential information."

Loren's steps didn't pause, nor did he offer any response.

Intending to let him fend for himself here.

Seeing this, another voice came from behind Loren, sounding somewhat anxious:

"Hey, don't you want to know who's behind the secret mining?"