Chapter 192

Chapter 192

Si Zhaohua and Qi Huang were grouped together not because they were unfamiliar—both from Class A, they were hardly strangers. The pairing was mainly because both could fly. Fewer people increased the risk in case of trouble, but with their flight, they could escape, reducing danger.

As for the map, Meng Huai had everyone study it first, then gave it to Zhao Xiaoyu’s group. First, Zhao Xiaoyu was reliable, and her ability wasn’t human-targeted, making her vulnerable in danger. The map would help her find escape or pursuit routes quickly.

Second, Meng Huai put Feng Lan in her group, as he was directionally challenged. A team with a road-challenged member needed a map, so if they got separated, Feng Lan could find his way back.

"It’s 11 a.m. now. You all brought food, right? While searching for the butler assistant, handle your lunch. By 5 p.m., whether you’ve found it or not, gather here. Understood?"

"Understood!" the group replied in unison, then split into trios as Meng Huai instructed, leaving the workshop.

From the map, the factory wasn’t just workshops. It had part storage warehouses, staff dorms, a staff cafeteria, offices, and two public restrooms.

Workshops and the cafeteria were on the first floor, offices and dorms on the second, with one restroom per floor. It sounded simple, but the layout was complex.

Upstairs rooms weren’t linearly arranged but formed concentric circles. Dorms surrounded the restroom, with offices and a corridor hallway forming an outer layer. The downstairs workshops were linearly aligned, with the cafeteria beside them.

Wu Mingbai was somewhat resistant to this slacking behavior. He hoped to find the butler assistant himself. This time, separated from his usual teammates, if he could beat Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing by finding it first, he could brag for a month.

But Su Bei convinced him with one line: "If you were the butler assistant, would you hide on the first floor, where a whistle could be heard up close, or the overlooked second floor?"

Of course, Wu Mingbai wasn’t dumb. He knew Su Bei’s reasoning held some truth but couldn’t hide his intent to slack off on the second floor. To find the butler assistant first, team support was crucial. Unable to sway Su Bei, he targeted Li Shu, who was equally uninterested in the search. "If we find the butler assistant first, Jiang would have to admire us," Wu Mingbai said casually. "But who cares about his admiration? Taking it slow is fine."

The next second, Li Shu’s pink eyes lit up, as if a pink flame ignited within, and he quickened his pace. "Hurry up, I can’t wait."

Su Bei, seeing through it all, smiled silently, hands in pockets, strolling leisurely behind them. He looked more like a tourist than someone on a mission!

But he genuinely wasn’t interested in finding the butler assistant. Su Bei knew, interested or not, the team that’d ultimately find it would be Jiang Tianming’s.

Jiang Tianming + Mu Tieren? In this event, their buffs were stacked to the max, weren’t they?

Since they couldn’t find it anyway, he naturally didn’t care. Would he care if he were in Jiang Tianming’s team? Still no. Since it’d be found regardless, why bother?

On the second floor, with staff holed up in dorms, the corridor was empty. Seeing the vacant hallway, Wu Mingbai keenly sensed an issue and stopped.

"Why’d you stop?" Li Shu was eager to find the butler assistant but hadn’t lost his senses. "See something off?"

Wu Mingbai looked suspicious. "I’m wondering why the factory staff are hiding in their dorms."

Li Shu and Su Bei didn’t reply. The surface answer was too obvious—fear of the butler assistant harming them. But Wu Mingbai wouldn’t be puzzled by that; his doubt was deeper.

Sure enough, Wu Mingbai continued, "It can only be because they’re afraid of harm. But why? The butler assistant just wants to escape, not go berserk. There’s no reason to hurt them, right?"

True enough. Li Shu fell into thought. Following this logic, he soon spotted another oddity. "From their earlier reactions, losing the butler assistant is a big deal. Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd. should be desperate to find it. This corridor’s empty, showing they’re short-staffed. Then why not have the staff join the search?"

The two locked eyes, expecting to speak in unison, but gave opposite answers—

"Ask Zhang He!"

"Ask the staff!!"

The air froze for a moment, and they exchanged synchronized eye-rolls. Wu Mingbai grinned, his words dripping with sarcasm. "Wow, Li Shu, your imagination’s wild. If only I had your creativity!"

Li Shu caught the jab and smiled back. "No need to envy me. Your ideas are the real wild ones."

After trading barbs, they debated seriously. Wu Mingbai spoke first. "This screams company lies, right? Zhang He, as workshop director, must know plenty. Who else to ask?"

"Knowing a lot is useless if he won’t talk!" Li Shu had his own logic. "He already lied to us. You think he’ll spill the truth if you ask later?"

"We can use abilities. Subing… she’s not in our team, forget her. Your ability can make people tell the truth, right?" Wu Mingbai offered a solution.

But Li Shu disagreed. "Zhang He’s an ability user too. Who says I’d succeed? If I fail, we’ll tip him off. Better to ask regular staff who might know bits and piece together the truth."

Both had valid points, and they reached a stalemate. Suddenly remembering their third teammate, they turned to Su Bei, who’d been enjoying the show, and said in unison, "Su Bei, what do you think?"

Su Bei: "…"

"You might’ve forgotten something," Su Bei, the observer, said clearly. "Neither Zhang He nor the staff will likely talk to you now."

Zhang He was obvious—busy coordinating the factory, he was long gone, hard to find, let alone question.

As for the staff, Zhang He had ordered them to stay in their rooms until a company message came. They wouldn’t open their doors, so no questioning was possible.

Wu Mingbai and Li Shu fell silent. They hadn’t considered this. Su Bei’s words made them realize they were like cooks without ingredients—great plans, but no way to execute them.

The air grew quiet again. Moments later, Wu Mingbai gave up. "Fine, we’ll dig into the truth later. For now, we need to find the butler assistant."

Li Shu, for once, agreed. "Right. Others can chase the truth. I don’t care about hidden secrets. Finding the butler assistant is my goal."

Their words sparked a new idea for Su Bei. He’d thought Jiang Tianming’s team would definitely find the butler assistant. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

Finding the butler assistant and uncovering Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd.’s hidden truth were two separate matters, not necessarily solved by the same team.

To Su Bei, the truth seemed more important. It was likely Jiang Tianming’s team would uncover the truth, while another team found the butler assistant. Which team? That was unclear.

Thinking this, the team with Wu Mingbai, one of the protagonists, had a good shot at finding it. So his earlier offhand remark about slacking wasn’t wrong—the butler assistant might indeed be on the second floor. Or maybe not; who knew how the author planned it. "I’ll use my ability to check." Wu Mingbai knelt on one knee, pressing his palm to the floor, activating his ability.

Abilities were hard to sense, but with advanced mental energy, Su Bei felt a massive energy surge. It spread rapidly from Wu Mingbai’s palm, covering the entire second floor’s floor.

Wu Mingbai was checking if the butler assistant was hiding in the gap between the second and first floors. Beyond that, if it was standing on the ground, he might sense it.

After the kidnapping crisis at the Ability User Job Base, Wu Mingbai’s [Earth Element] ability had improved significantly. Back then, his ability didn’t have such range.

This was the second floor. On the first floor, touching the earth directly, his ability’s range would be even greater. It wasn’t obvious usually, but moments like this showed his growth.

Su Bei envied them. Comic characters always got author-arranged growth opportunities. Unlike him, who had to scheme tirelessly to boost his abilities.

Still, Su Bei was content with this method. Abilities gained through his own efforts suited him perfectly.

Speaking of which, it’d been a while since he upgraded his ability via the comic forum. Maybe this was a chance to advance before the Tri-School Competition.

But what ability to enhance?

Defense? Attack?

[Destiny Gear] had two elements. Su Bei had been boosting the “Destiny” element’s concentration, but the “Gear” element, aside from the start, he hadn’t touched.

Even now, his primary attack was gear-based. That wasn’t bad, but compared to his classmates’, it was weak. Gears were easy to dodge; his perfect hits were due to precise timing, creating an illusion of infallibility.

Soon, Wu Mingbai stood up, shaking his head. "Nothing. No pink robot."

Su Bei and Li Shu weren’t surprised. If it were that easy, Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd. wouldn’t be so tense.

"Su Bei, you’re upstairs! No wonder I didn’t see you. Found anything?" Before they could start searching, three people came up the stairs—Lan Subing, Wu Jin, and Mo Xiaotian.

Wu Mingbai shook his head. "Nothing, but we think something’s off."

He shared their earlier findings and thoughts, and as expected, Lan Subing’s group found it suspicious too.

After a moment, she held up the walkie-talkie, showing it to them. "How about I share this with the others? Brainstorming might lead someone to the truth."

No one objected. Whether the truth existed was one thing; even if it was found, it might not be beneficial or good. Sharing their conjectures posed no issue.

After broadcasting via walkie-talkie, the six began exploring the second floor. With only three, slacking was easier. Now with six, getting caught slacking was likelier.

But Su Bei was content. They had fourteen students plus two teachers, and the second floor had only six—already a minority. If numbers swapped, he’d have to behave.

Since staff dorms were off-limits for now, their main targets were offices and the restroom. Su Bei naturally avoided the restroom, heading straight for the first office, showing no intent to linger.

Lan Subing blinked, slightly embarrassed, and entered another office. She admitted she didn’t want restroom duty either, leaving it to someone more responsible!

Restroom duty fell to the clueless Mo Xiaotian, the reluctantly accommodating Wu Mingbai, and the truly dutiful Wu Jin. Li Shu also skipped it, claiming the corridor hallways needed checking, and two for the restroom were enough.

Su Bei’s office was a multi-person one with six workstations. Despite many stations, the large space didn’t feel cramped.

But the size made searching harder, especially in such a lived-in office. Su Bei first used his ability and mental energy to thoroughly scan the office.

If the butler assistant was in plain sight, he’d see its Destiny Compass. As a life form, mechanical or not, it had a destiny.

Mental energy could find items in shallow hiding spots. The two skills complemented each other, leaving little that could escape him.

After a round with no findings, Su Bei plopped onto the sofa, slacking off. No, not slacking—he’d searched everything he was supposed to. This was finishing early.

Nodding, satisfied with his excuse, Su Bei closed his eyes to rest. But he wasn’t idle, silently extending his mental energy outward to track others’ movements and prepare for anyone entering.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a scream came from the staff dorms.

What happened? Su Bei raised a brow, stood, and left the office. He bumped into Lan Subing, who’d also heard the scream and was stepping out, her face worried. "The butler assistant isn’t hiding in the dorms, is it?"

If so, that scream likely meant a staff member was harmed.

"That’d make things more interesting," Su Bei said with a sly smile. "Why would the butler assistant risk exposure to kill this employee?"

His words opened a new perspective for Lan Subing. Her worry turned to gravity. "If so, its escape might be tied to that employee. Let’s check first—what if it’s not?"

They hurried toward the sound. Wu Mingbai and Wu Jin, closer to the restroom, were already there, trying the door. The iron door resisted Wu Mingbai’s [Earth Element]. Mo Xiaotian’s [Air] could only sense someone collapsed inside, useless for opening. Wu Jin was just along for the ride.

The dorm door was sturdy metal, designed to block ability users, tougher than standard security doors. Brute force wouldn’t work.

But their failure didn’t mean no one could open it. As Li Shu arrived, Wu Mingbai gave up trying and called for teammates via walkie-talkie.

Soon, Meng Huai arrived with some students—not all, as he’d left Jiang Tianming’s and Si Zhaohua’s groups on the first floor to guard against a diversion letting the butler assistant escape.

"This dorm, right?" Meng Huai approached, flipping his wrist. Black dragon scales sprouted, covering his hand in a second, forming a dragon claw.

Such moves weren’t rare among transformation ability users, who could manifest partial changes like a wolf head or snake tail.

With the dragon claw, Meng Huai’s strength was immense. Gripping the doorknob, he crushed it and the lock like tofu.

They pushed in. On the bed lay a person, blood soaking the sheets, a dagger in their back at the heart. No check was needed—this person was dead.

Meng Huai’s face darkened. He inspected the body. "No signs of struggle. Looks like they were killed while sleeping. Everyone, search the area for signs of the killer."

"Take photos of the crime scene first," Wu Mingbai, with experience from a similar case in season one, suggested. "Searching for clues will mess up the scene."

A solid point. Meng Huai nodded, assigning him to take photos. He left to contact Zhang He. A death made this more than an internal Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd. issue—it had to be reported to the Ability Government.

After photographing, they searched. Predictably, they found nothing. It’d be odd if they did. The killer, daring to strike now, was either ready to surrender or had an escape plan.

If the former, they’d have seen the killer upon entering. Since they didn’t, the killer had likely found a safe hiding spot, undetectable.

"Guess we’re done here?" Zhao Xiaoyu scratched her head. "With the Ability Government involved, it should be easy to solve. Can we rest now?"

At that, Mo Xiaotian, disappointed, opened his backpack, moving as he spoke. "What? That’s it? I wanted to be the first to find the butler assistant."

He pulled out a prepared meat-stuffed flatbread. "I’m hungry. Lunch will cheer me up."

Seeing it, Ai Baozhu’s mouth twitched. "Wow, you pivot fast."

But she was hungry too—it was almost 1 p.m., and no lunch yet. Glancing at the blood-soaked body and Mo Xiaotian eating heartily, she gave him a complicated look. "Let’s eat outside. Aren’t you creeped out eating here?"

They went out for lunch. Zhao Xiaoyu picked up Mo Xiaotian’s topic. "The government’s after the killer. If the butler assistant isn’t the killer, we might still continue the search task."

Unless absolutely necessary, Life Tech Machinery Co., Ltd. wouldn’t reveal the escape. Ability users solved cases easily—a rewind ability could pinpoint the killer. They could catch the culprit without leaking details.

Once the government apprehended the killer, they could resume the task.

"One thing’s odd," Wu Mingbai, more intrigued by the murder, said. "The victim was killed in their sleep, meaning they were relaxed beforehand."

Seeing agreement, he continued, "So, the killer’s likely not the butler assistant. The victim knew it escaped. If they had a grudge, they wouldn’t be relaxed enough to sleep soundly, right?"

"No, there’s another possibility," Li Shu shook his head, loving to contradict. "What if the victim didn’t know they’d offended the butler assistant? Sometimes, you offend someone unknowingly."

True enough. A casual word, gesture, or unsuitable gift could offend.

Zhao Xiaoyu thought. "Actually, the butler assistant has no reason to retaliate. It’s a robot, even if alive, without pain. How could the victim offend it?"