Xiao Tian saw this and said again, "Come on, get up!"

This time, Lin Bingxuan didn't refuse again. She lightly leapt onto those broad shoulders and buried her head on Xiao Tian's shoulder.

Lin Bingxuan asked softly, "That Golden Rattan just now, when did you meet him? I've never seen him before?"

"Him." Xiao Tian chuckled and replied, "Three years ago at the border, I ran into him. Back then, he was still a drug dealer. I originally wanted to catch him, but for some reason, I let him go!"

Lin Bingxuan showed a look of understanding, "No wonder he's so afraid of you!"

"Now that we know the general origins of the pendant, Qin Shaoyuan just mentioned the Northern Border, that's such a big place, how are we supposed to find it!" Lin Bingxuan remained silent for a while and couldn't help but express some headache.

"Don't think too much!"

Xiao Tian comforted, "At least we know a general area, right? Besides, Ghost Face's research results aren't out yet, maybe there'll be another way then!"

Lin Bingxuan lightly responded, but clearly didn't hold out much hope!

Xiao Tian chuckled as he shifted the topic, fully relaxing himself. Everything experienced during this time seemed too heavy, and not only were the old issues unresolved, but new problems popped up.

Even for Xiao Tian, it was somewhat tricky, so Lin Bingxuan's state of mind was understandable.

Having led many elite teams, Xiao Tian knew very well that if one keeps their nerves tense for too long, and remains in a heavy mood, problems are bound to arise.

Therefore, he had to find ways to relieve her stress, even if just for a few hours!

Under the night, Xiao Tian listened to the occasional laughter from Lin Bingxuan on his back, and the worries in his heart gradually faded away...

At least at this moment, he wanted to prolong this emotion as much as possible, even if the next moment would be extremely stressful!

——

In the laboratory, Ghost Face pointed at the Five Elements Crystal that was slowly changing and said to Melinda beside him, "Do you see? This is what I mentioned as off-track!"

As Ghost Face moved the magnifying glass in his hand, Melinda saw flowing energy sometimes connecting seamlessly and other times completely opposing each other, which made her eyebrows furrow deeper with each look.

However, this was only at the top of the Five Elements Crystal. As for the middle and bottom parts, there was simply no reaction visible.

"During the second round of decoding just now, you should have roughly familiarized yourself with the process. Next, please make a simple record of where they coincide and do not coincide, and how much each is!" Ghost Face said while handing Melinda a folder.

As Melinda opened the folder in her hands, Ghost Face spoke timely, "Any method is fine, do what you're comfortable with, just make sure to record the data accurately!"

Melinda nodded seriously, and Ghost Face gave a final reminder, "Get ready, watch carefully, I'm about to start!"

After receiving a response, Ghost Face used an extremely fine needle to extract an imperceptibly small amount of Xiao Tian's blood and carefully dripped it onto the Five Elements Crystal.

At this moment, the previously quietly operating Five Elements Crystal suddenly had an additional energy, and Melinda quickly picked up the magnifying glass in her hand and began to observe carefully.

Ghost Face then went to a strange computer and occasionally pressed one button after another, while continuously recording various data. However, his recorded content was evidently much more complex and detailed than what Melinda was recording.

After more than ten minutes, Melinda put down the magnifying glass in her hand and rubbed her temples with a bit of a headache. Watching Ghost Face do this work didn't seem like much initially, but actually doing it herself, she realized that this high-tech, highly demanding work required complete focus and was rather exhausting!

"How is it? Have you figured it out?!" Ghost Face approached excitedly.

"Mission accomplished!" Melinda tossed the folder in her hands over, clearly feeling a bit exhausted.

However, when the eagerly awaiting Ghost Face opened the folder, his expression instantly became quite spectacular.

"This, this is your record?!" Ghost Face looked in disbelief at the paper filled with two rows of dense little circles and asked dumbfounded.

Melinda said somewhat awkwardly, "The changes were too fast, so I could only tally them this way!"

Ghost Face was left speechless, and in the end, said nothing more.

He knew about Xiao Tian's protectiveness, and if Melinda told Xiao Tian about him being harsh on her, he definitely wouldn't have anything good to expect!

Coincidentally, the relationship between the two did not allow him to give up halfway, plus Ghost Face himself indeed wanted to decode the Five Elements Crystal, having told Melinda to record using any method as long as the data is accurate, he had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill!

With a face full of frustration, Ghost Face began to count circles. However, he was somewhat worried, wondering if, even if Melinda hadn't recorded incorrectly, he might enter the data wrong?!

Thinking about how he had just casually flipped through the back and saw several identical circle pages, Ghost Face's head felt like a giant boulder.

While contemplating, Ghost Face helplessly realized that in just a brief moment of distraction, he had forgotten what number he was on.

A moment later, Ghost Face pulled himself together and seriously began counting the small circles on the paper. Before he began, he specifically told Melinda not to disturb him until he finished counting.

Melinda, while shaking her sore wrist, nodded in agreement. But there was one thing she didn't say. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

That is, during her recording period, when she was close to the Five Elements Crystal, she always felt a very familiar feeling, as if she had seen it before, but she just couldn't remember where exactly.

She couldn't even remember approximately when it was!

...

Unable to recall, Melinda decided not to think about it and continued to approach the Five Elements Crystal to seriously sense it, hoping to stimulate her memory, hoping she could remember where this familiar feeling originated from.

On the other side, just as Ghost Face, covered in sweat, was about to count to a result at the last sheet of paper...

"Click!"

The basement door opened with a loud sound, and Ghost Face was taken aback, then glanced toward the doorway with a murderous look.

"Do you have any progress on your side?" Xiao Tian asked directly, while Lin Bingxuan beside him also looked expectantly.

"We just reached a conclusion..."

Before Melinda finished her sentence, she sensed a chilling aura spreading behind her. When she saw Ghost Face's angry face and the folder in his hand, she seemed to vaguely understand.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Xiao Tian asked puzzled, looking at Ghost Face while walking towards him.

Melinda, with her back to Ghost Face, was desperately signaling to Xiao Tian, but he ignored her, then quickly looked at Lin Bingxuan, hoping her good sister could understand her...

And Lin Bingxuan indeed raised her brows slightly and lightly tugged at Xiao Tian's sleeve, signaling him to speak carefully.