The Double Agent of Lungmen

Chapter 27: Investigation

Crownslayer was still conducting the impromptu meeting.

However, there were only the five members of Xiu Xian's squad present in the room.

The casters and lurkers who came to provide support were resting in their own rooms. According to Crownslayer, they were only there to offer combat assistance and would not be involved in any rescue missions.

"Inside this hotel?"

"His final message was sent from this hotel," Crownslayer said, looking at everyone. "So if we want to know where he went, we have to start by investigating here"

Chu Ning's eyes lit up. "What about the conversation with the firefighter earlier?"

"About a burned room," Xiu Xian chimed in. "Could that be a starting point?"

"I... I don't think so." Galileo tapped his shoulder and placed a computer in front of everyone. "Look, there have been reports of fire hazards at the Taeglin Hotel. As you heard earlier, the fire department seemed to have come up with a list of reasons. It shouldn't be related to this, right? Boss, do we have the specific room number where he stayed?"

Crownslayer shook his head. "No, we only know that the last message was sent from here."

"Well..." Galileo clenched his fist and analyzed, "I'll try to hack into the hotel's surveillance system and see if I can access the previous footage."

"Okay, act quickly," Crownslayer said, looking at the others. "Any suggestions?"

"Disable the surveillance signals, wear masks, and investigate at night when there's no one guarding," Eliask suggested. "And if there are members of the LGD, we can descend from the rooftop. Besides, a room on fire with the LGD in such a hurry to seal it off, not even allowing their own personnel inside, clearly indicates something is amiss."

"I don't think it's necessary to take such risks. This place is either for the rich or the powerful," Chu Ning interjected. "Who knows if they're blocking the investigation for their own interests? And did you not see that young lady? She has authority and wealth. It's normal for her to use her position to suppress any news that could harm her business. Eliaski, maybe you haven't seen how things work in the upper class, among the wealthy, but this kind of situation is quite common. Moreover, this place already had safety issues to begin with."

"That's not it," Xiu Xian suddenly said beside them. "Things are not like that."

"What do you mean it's not like that?" Chu Ning looked at Xiu Xian strangely.

"The way they dealt with it was wrong," Xiu Xian looked at everyone. "When a fire occurs in a hotel, even if they suppress the media, they can't hide the situation inside the hotel. If a room is burned, it's likely that the entire floor would be uninhabitable, right?"

"Um..."

Xiu Xian looked at Galileo. "Can you check the occupancy status of all the floors in the hotel? Is there any floor that is prohibited from renting out?"

Soon, Galileo had an answer. "Found it. The 17th floor of the Taeglin Hotel's Lungmen branch is completely closed to guests."

Chu Ning shrugged. "Looks like there's no problem."

But Xiu Xian continued to inquire, "What about the 18th floor?"

"No problem."

"What about the 16th floor?"

"No problem. They are all operating normally."

A smile formed on Xiu Xian's lips. "See, that's the problem."

Eliask furrowed his brow. "What's the problem?"

Xiu Xian pointed above. "Hotels, unlike malls, don't have fireproof doors separating each floor. The rooms are compactly arranged, so once a room catches fire, it's not just that room that's affected. Not only the rooms on the same floor, but also the rooms and floors above it will be affected by the fire. In such a situation, they wouldn't seal off just one floor, but at least the adjacent floors as well."

"And now, the hotel has only sealed off one floor, which clearly indicates a problem."

Chu Ning realized, "Right, I didn't think of that just now. It means that only one floor has been sealed off because the rooms above were not affected, or..." He paused for a moment and continued, "There was no fire at all, or only a small part of it burned."

Xiu Xian nodded, "That's why we must investigate that room. Apart from that..."

Xiu Xian looked at Crownslayer. "Please inform me about our informant's previous locations, where he stayed, and any other important information. We need to investigate those places too."

"The LGD has already discovered and taken control of those locations," Crownslayer said, puzzled. "Why should we go there to investigate?"

Before Xiu Xian could respond, Galileo suddenly exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

After the scream, he rapidly typed on the keyboard, then let out a long sigh of relief.

"What the hell are you shouting for?" Eliask angrily glared at Galileo.

The latter patted his chest and looked at everyone. "I almost got caught. Dammit, it seems we're not the only ones targeting this hotel. Just as I was about to enter the system, the firewall received several messages attacking us. Everyone, we have company."

Crownslayer's face darkened. "Could it be the people from Lungmen?"

"It's possible," Galileo replied. "But not entirely. I could clearly see different techniques being used, including one that's commonly employed by hackers from Ursus. So... our enemies this time might be more than we anticipated."

"What are Ursus people doing in Lungmen?" Eliask asked, puzzled.

Xiu Xian's expression turned playful. "It seems like this guy's information got leaked. There must be a reason he couldn't leave Lungmen. Leader, I suggest we split up and search."

"Give me a reason."

"Based on the current situation, it's not just Lungmen who's targeting our informant; there are other forces involved. We must find him before anyone else does," Xiu Xian explained. "We don't have enough time to waste or focus on only one location. So, we need to investigate the hotel rooms above. We also need to check his place. There might be hidden clues at his home."

"What's your plan?"

"The higher floors are the most dangerous," Xiu Xian asked. "Have we been discovered?"

"It's possible, but they won't pinpoint our exact location."

"Evacuate!" Eliask quickly suggested.

"No!" Crownslayer objected this time. "Leaving right after arriving as a tourist group? That will raise suspicion."

"Right, we can't leave," Xiu Xian said. "We need to stay put and investigate the rooms. When we search the upper floors, we need the experienced ones to handle it. If Lungmen hasn't found him yet, it means the clues intentionally or unintentionally left behind by our informant haven't been discovered. This is our chance. But how do we find...?"

Crownslayer immediately made a decision. "You and Chu Ning go to the informant's place, and we'll stay here to find an opportunity to search the rooms."

Everyone looked at each other and nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Xiu Xian felt relieved inside. As long as he could get away from Crownslayer's sight, he is content.

He had other motives for going out!