Chapter 132: Suspecting Taxue?

Chen Hao and Guo Yunhai jumped up from their chairs, exhilarated by Zhuge Taxue’s words, leaping nearly a meter high, which startled Zhuge Taxue herself.

“Are you really that excited? Did I say something wrong?” Zhuge Taxue asked, somewhat bewildered.

Guo Yunhai’s face was alight with enthusiasm. “I can’t be sure if you’re mistaken, but your perspective has opened up a new avenue of thought for us. Before, because of Chen Hao’s preconceived notions and explanations, I assumed the attackers who ambushed the security personnel were some invisible hostile creatures or machines. I never considered other possibilities.

“But upon hearing you just now, it suddenly seems quite plausible. Moreover, your theory is even more reasonable than what Chen Hao and I had imagined.

“No matter where that building came from or what kind of creature left it behind, it’s clear it possesses advanced technology. So it makes sense if it can unleash some invisible attack that wiped out so many security personnel.”

Zhuge Taxue rolled her eyes. “I don’t know anything. I was just speaking off the cuff.”

“Looks like we need solid evidence before drawing any conclusions! Speculation like this won’t get us anywhere,” Guo Yunhai summarized. “It would be great if we could visit the site to see the situation firsthand. The best would be to examine the bodies of those security personnel and analyze their wounds.

“Only problem…”

“Only problem is the attack site is probably under lockdown now, so inspecting it is nearly impossible. And the attack happened several days ago. Even if we got there now, the scene would have been cleared, leaving little trace for us to find,” Ron agreed. “Besides, I don’t even know exactly where the attack took place or where that building is. The Crystal Forest is huge. If we blindly wander in, not only might we fail to find anything, we could get lost ourselves.”

“Ugh…” Guo Yunhai sighed irritably. “Tell me about it…”

Suddenly, Chen Hao had an idea. “Wait! Yunhai, didn’t you say your old man warned you to be cautious about anything strange in Crystal when you were going there? From what he said, it sounds like he might know something. Can you get some information from him?”

Guo Yunhai’s eyes brightened briefly, then quickly darkened. “Sigh… I doubt it. Like I told you before, my old man is just like your father—very principled. He wouldn’t tell me anything beyond what my rank allows.

“I guess your father’s the same. Don’t count on hearing anything from him. If all this is true, this attack is an extremely serious international incident. Your father must have signed a confidentiality agreement. We can’t expect to get any useful info from them.

“Also, Crystal isn’t under my old man’s jurisdiction. Someone else handles all affairs there. So I doubt he knows much. He probably only noticed the anomaly because of personnel movements. Maybe he knows less than you do!”

Chen Hao nodded thoughtfully, then added, “I understand your old man can’t tell you, but haven’t you noticed? It sounds like he tacitly approves of you investigating on your own. He can’t tell you directly, but maybe he could arrange something—like a special investigator status for you?”

“Hmm?” Guo Yunhai was startled, then smiled brightly. “You’ve reminded me! Actually, I don’t even need to go through my old man for that. I can ask others directly. Surely it wouldn’t be difficult to get a cover identity that lets us investigate the Crystal Forest.”

Listening to their increasingly exaggerated conversation, Zhuge Taxue felt a creeping unease in her heart.

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“Hey, hey! What on earth are you two thinking?” Zhuge Taxue crossed her arms and frowned. “Don’t you realize how dangerous this is?

“So many security personnel mysteriously died in that forest, and you still want to go in for an investigation? Are you crazy? Don’t you care about your lives?”

Guo Yunhai waved off the concern casually. “The danger should be over by now. Otherwise, Crystal would have been locked down long ago. While it’s still tough to get into the forest, the rest of the city is back to normal. So I think the threat has passed.

“And there must be a large military presence there now, so no real danger.

“Besides, we’re not planning to fight some unknown enemy or weapon; we just want to investigate the situation. It’s not as dramatic as you think!”

Zhuge Taxue knew she couldn’t sway Guo Yunhai. They had been friends for years, and she understood his stubborn, single-minded personality—once he made up his mind, no argument could change it.

So she turned to Chen Hao instead. “Chen Hao! You don’t share his reckless idea, do you? I don’t know how important all this is to you or how you learned such unbelievable things, but from where I stand, going into the Crystal Forest is a colossal mistake.

“If the enemy there truly has such advanced technology and weapons, no matter how many soldiers are in the forest, it won’t help. You don’t even know who the enemy is or how they attack, so how can you stand against them?

“And didn’t you say you came to Crystal to accompany your sister on a trip? Now you plan to leave her behind and run off alone into the forest?

“You’re the only son of the Chen family. If… I mean, if something happens to you in there, your family will have no heir!

“Besides, if your father finds out, he’ll surely blame your sister. This isn’t just irresponsible toward yourself—it’s also irresponsible toward your father and sister.”

Chen Hao’s expression was vivid as a flood of emotions washed over him—curiosity, admiration, disdain, impatience.

“You really are a smooth talker!” he sighed deeply. “Just like my mom!”

At that moment, Guo Yunhai stood, walked beside Zhuge Taxue, and patted her shoulder. “Taxue! You’re so strongly against us entering the forest—do you know something?”

Chen Hao was the first to react, looking at Guo Yunhai in surprise, not understanding why he asked that.

Zhuge Taxue remained calm and asked Guo Yunhai in return, “Are you out of your mind? Me knowing something about the forest? Come on, didn’t Chen Hao tell you about it?”

Chen Hao looked intently at Zhuge Taxue twice and, seeing no sign of deceit, said, “Yeah! Yunhai, why do you think that? I believe Taxue is just worried about our safety, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s kind of sad that you suspect her.”

Guo Yunhai removed his hand from Zhuge Taxue’s shoulder. “I understand what you’re saying. I trust Taxue cares about our safety, and I appreciate her concern.

“But from what I know of Taxue, her behavior today is a bit strange. Chen Hao, you just met her today, so you’re not very familiar with her yet. But I can tell you for sure—Taxue’s curiosity is even stronger than mine.”

“Oh?” Chen Hao glanced skeptically at Zhuge Taxue.

Guo Yunhai continued, “You don’t know how much she bombarded me with questions about the big city when I first met her and rescued her from those thugs.

“She even wanted to know what I eat for three meals a day and what kind of toilet paper I use. Every time I come to Crystal, she tries to get something from me—sometimes a new phone, sometimes a tablet.

“In short, Zhuge Taxue is a curious soul fascinated by all things new and unknown.

“But today, her behavior is very unusual. You remember how excited and eager she looked when you told her you had something important to say in private, right?

“She was clearly thrilled and curious about what you wanted to share.

“But as you gradually revealed the details, her attitude shifted from excitement and curiosity to boredom and indifference, even occasionally contradicting you.

“At first, I thought she just found your story too far-fetched to accept, but now I realize it’s more than that!

“Especially when I suggested going to the site to check things out, her reaction was the strangest. Normally, she’d be the first to demand to come with us. She never knows what danger is.

“If not, she wouldn’t have dared to confront a group of thugs alone the first time I met her!

“So, Taxue! What do you really know? Why won’t you let us go into the forest?”

…