At this point, Qin Sang could be sure that whoever came to pick them up must have been a space owner.
Given that her second uncle and aunt had managed to connect with a space owner, it was very likely that the supplies they’d stored elsewhere had also been taken by that person.
As for who exactly had come to pick them up? Most likely, someone from the underworld.
She had only suspected it before. But now that her second uncle and aunt had fled and gotten involved with underworld figures, Qin Sang was certain that last night’s invasion of the village had everything to do with them.
The fact that her own family had been specifically targeted was further proof.
Ha. They thought running away would make things okay? Qin Sang smiled coldly. She wasn’t the kind of person who could just let things slide. If someone hurt her, she would strike back.
Especially after how dangerous last night had been—anyone else would have died.
Her second uncle and aunt had sent her a big gift. As their niece, she naturally knew how to return the courtesy.
—
“Team Leader Xu, the ground temperature has exceeded sixty degrees. Should we pause for a rest?”
Xu Lin lifted his eyes from the tablet in his hand and looked outside. The asphalt on the road had long since melted. They had driven all the way from the capital down south in specially modified vehicles, avoiding major roads. But even so, they didn’t dare drive at full speed—worried about road conditions and about how the extreme heat might affect this newly manufactured custom off-road vehicle.
“The vehicle’s normal operating range is 70 degrees to minus 70 degrees. Don’t stop—just slow down and keep driving. Let’s try to cross the Qinling Mountains today.”
Once past the Qinling range, he would be home on time tomorrow.
Thinking about home, a smile appeared on Xu Lin’s usually expressionless face. His subordinate, who had just asked for instructions, found it deeply unsettling.
Just then, the tablet in his hand let out an alert. Xu Lin opened it immediately. After reading the information captured by the software, his eyes filled with anger.
This software was designed to monitor online information. He had developed it himself. It was loaded with countless keywords related to public sentiment. Whenever triggered, any posts containing those keywords would be deleted. The deletion records were kept for later tracing.
And just now, he had been looking at a post that triggered the software. When he saw it, he was furious.
The post was actually related to Xinling Village. It spread the rumor that their village had many space owners and even published their personal information—including Qin Sang’s parents and several other villagers they knew. If this information got out, the consequences would be disastrous.
As someone responsible for monitoring public sentiment, Xu Lin had seen all kinds of dark information.
Without delay, his fingers flew across the screen. He quickly traced the post back to its source.
It came from a company network about three hundred kilometers away from Xinling Village.
At this point, he could confirm that the person who posted it had already fled. But did they think he couldn’t track them down?
Xu Lin accessed nearby signal sources and cameras. Half an hour later, he finally found their hideout.
He immediately packaged the information and sent it to the relevant authorities for action.
This was his daily work.
Detect public sentiment, handle it, and if serious, forward it to the appropriate departments for tracing.
It sounded simple, but in practice, it was extremely tedious. He mainly handled the big picture, leaving the specific tasks to his subordinates.
But this time, because it involved Xinling Village, he had taken care of it personally. That didn’t count as using public resources for private matters.
Besides, in these special times, official measures were swift and decisive. Take criminal trials, for example—barring special circumstances, suspects would be tried within 24 hours of capture, and sentences carried out immediately.
In chaotic times, heavy penalties applied. Anyone who committed a crime would be sent to do infrastructure labor. No exceptions.
Just as he finished handling the matter and was about to warn Qin Sang, she called him first.
“Sang Sang…”
—
The call connected, and Qin Sang succinctly told him what had happened in the village.
“Track my second uncle and aunt. The license plate of the car they left in is…” Qin Sang hadn’t noticed anything unusual on Xu Lin’s end. She simply stated her goal.
She wanted to find out where her second uncle and aunt were. She suspected they were now with the person behind this. That suited Qin Sang just fine.
Before making this call, she had followed the trail of her second uncle’s recent movements and found the secret warehouse he had been hiding.
It wasn’t really that secret.
The warehouse wasn’t far from Xinling Village—just a half-hour drive. The area was a distribution hub for small commodities: plush toys, hair accessories, children’s toys. No food, no daily necessities, no clothes, so few people had their eyes on it.
Once she found it, Qin Sang used a few cans of meat to easily get someone to tell her which warehouse was her second uncle’s.
Sure enough, the warehouse had been emptied. Nothing was left behind. That further confirmed that he had colluded with space owners.
After Qin Sang finished explaining her plan, Xu Lin nodded and said to give him an hour. He didn’t question her or try to talk her out of pursuing the matter.
That was how the two of them had always interacted since childhood.
Qin Sang liked it that way. Standing in front of the emptied warehouse, she imagined how many supplies had once been stored here.
So her second uncle had taken his supplies and hired people to harm her family?
“Hey, hey, pretty lady…”
The warehouse manager, seeing that Qin Sang was about to leave, hurried over to her, rubbing his hands together. “That warehouse really was emptied last night. I was there at the time.”
Seeing his hesitant, eager-to-talk expression, Qin Sang directly pulled out two more cans of meat from her backpack. “Go on. You know who came, don’t you?”
The manager lovingly stroked the two cans of meat, grinning from ear to ear. “I know, I know. They were Boss Chen’s people.”
Qin Sang was taken aback. She searched her memory—her family didn’t have any enemies named Chen, did she? But in her recent memory, she recalled only one person with the surname Chen appearing.
—
Staring at the empty store in front of her, Qin Sang looked at Brother Fa. “Brother Fa, you’re sure this store was still open last night, right?”
After getting the information from the warehouse manager, Qin Sang had immediately contacted Brother Fa. The two had come to this store together.
Brother Fa’s expression was serious. “I’m sure. Yesterday, after the authorities announced that points could be used to shop in the mall, I even heard people say this place was going to follow the government’s lead and stop accepting cash payments.”
This store was the one Brother Fa had mentioned before—the shop run by Chen Longji.
Once packed with goods, it was now as empty as her second uncle’s warehouse.
It had been open for business just last night, with plans to update its operating methods. Now it was stripped bare. It seemed that the people behind this had initially thought last night’s invasion of Xinling Village was foolproof. But when they failed, they’d made a hasty retreat.
That was the most reasonable explanation Qin Sang could think of.
And she wasn’t far off. Last night, Chen Longji had personally positioned himself near Xinling Village to oversee the operation. When the police showed up, he knew the mission had failed and immediately ordered everyone to evacuate.
As for the purpose of the operation? Simple.
Raiding Xinling Village would allow him to test how spaces could be expanded, transferred, or stripped. As a bonus, he could get his hands on the large stockpile of supplies from Qin Wenbang’s parents.
And if he managed to kill Qin Sang’s entire family, it would cause Xu Lin immense pain.
A three-birds-with-one-stone deal. Only a fool would turn it down.
He just hadn’t expected the people he sent to be so useless—getting caught like that.
Holed up in his new location, Chen Longji wasn’t particularly angry. He was just sorry to have lost a few space-owning underlings. If he’d kept them, they might have been useful for more tests.
He refused to believe spaces were so rigid. There had to be bigger secrets. And once unlocked, he would become the ruler of this world.
—
Qin Sang had no idea about Chen Longji’s grandiose delusions.
After confirming that the mastermind behind all this was Chen Longji, Qin Sang asked Brother Fa to communicate with the local police station. During these special times, the authorities could use swift and decisive force against these kinds of underworld figures. She wouldn’t put herself in harm’s way.
At the same time, Qin Sang passed all the information she had uncovered to Xu Lin.
Xu Lin acted even faster.
In an information society, finding someone was possible—unless they completely cut themselves off from all signals. Especially these days, with the authorities conducting population registrations everywhere. Any strangers popping up in an area would be easily noticed.
Moreover, in preparation for the coming disaster, countries around the world had launched numerous communication satellites, weather satellites, and energy detection satellites into space.
So before Qin Sang even called him, Xu Lin had already located her second uncle and aunt. He had also found evidence of their dealings with Chen Longji.
After listening to Qin Sang’s account, Xu Lin confirmed that both groups were together.
“Perfect. We can wipe them all out in one go.”
As he spoke, Xu Lin pressed the send button on his tablet. The documents were sent directly to the Disaster Response Administration, which had an armed unit specifically tasked with dealing with space-related criminals.
“Now we wait for the Administration to act. Don’t go there yourself, understand?” Xu Lin warned over the phone.
Qin Sang sounded impatient. “I know, I know. I’m not stupid. I’m not putting myself in danger without enough firepower.”
That familiar impatient tone made Xu Lin feel even more connected to her. He wished he could sprout wings and fly straight back to Xinling Village.
“By the way, the official mall should have a new batch of heat-insulating shoes tonight. Keep an eye out.”
Qin Sang’s eyes lit up at the mention of something good.
When she’d gone out today, the high-tech sun-protective clothing she was wearing had amazed her. She’d spent several hours outside in broad daylight and hadn’t felt too uncomfortable. But the soles of her feet, standing on the ground for so long, had been burning.
Now there were new heat-insulating shoes—Qin Sang was excited.
After hanging up, Qin Sang went straight into her space. The first thing she saw was Grandpa Goose’s fluffy little head.
She used two fingers to push his little head aside. “What are you doing?”
Grandpa Goose, who usually hid somewhere and played, was suddenly being so affectionate. It gave Qin Sang a strange feeling.
Seeing her disdain, Grandpa Goose glared at her fiercely. Unfortunately, with his tiny black bean eyes, the glare was more funny than intimidating.
Qin Sang bent over and burst out laughing.
Last night had been harrowing, but today she’d already found her enemy. And with Da Linzi keeping an eye on things, they wouldn’t get away. Qin Sang was in a good mood.
Grandpa Goose took a deep breath. His furry goose face was expressionless. He held his breath for a moment, then finally said, “Haven’t you noticed anything different about the space?”
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