Chapter 1378: Chapter 1228: Chasing Route No. 3! (Part 1)

"We still don’t know the exact location of subject 3."

Watching the dark snowflakes flicker on the back of his hand, the non-functional magical imprint, Omnia Cicada furrowed his brow and answered:

"The imprint bestowed by [Father] isn’t its true form; it’s a shadow cast from the original. Its strength plummets once it leaves the Old Soil, and it also helps shield our powers through the Watcher’s Palace. The current effect seems quite unstable..."

What?!

Upon hearing that their greatest—second greatest—reliance had issues, the other Three Pillar Gods, including Crow, couldn’t help but change their expressions.

The main function of the lighthouse imprint bestowed by [Father] isn’t to find the real subject 3, but to give an early warning when the Food God discovers them!

If the imprint loses its effectiveness, it’s not just about finding the real subject 3; the danger of being caught and eaten by the Food God becomes a concern! 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Don’t worry, things haven’t gotten that bad."

Being old partners for many years, Omnia Cicada didn’t need the others to speak to understand their worries. While urging the lighthouse imprint, he comforted them:

"I didn’t say the imprint has completely failed. Though [Father]’s imprint is somewhat influenced, its warning ability is functioning normally. As long as we’re unlucky enough not to bump head-on into the Food God, we’ll be fine."

Phew... you scared us!

After hearing Omnia Cicada’s explanation, the Crimson King breathed a long sigh of relief and then asked with furrowed brows:

"So, when you say the imprint is unstable, you mean in the aspect of finding subject 3’s whereabouts?"

"Yes."

Omnia Cicada nodded and said:

"The key problem lies with the Watcher’s Palace; it involves temporal material brought out from Old Soil by humanity’s ancestors, likely containing materials gathered from Ring Time Mountain. Since [Father]’s imprint also originates from Ring Time Mountain, they influence each other..."

"Stop explaining! You know these things yourself!"

Seeing that Omnia Cicada, after infiltrating the Food God’s base, was still in the mood to explain, the Yellow King hurriedly interrupted, his face tense as he questioned:

"If the imprint can’t mark subject 3, then what do we do next? Do we retreat immediately?"

"There’s still a chance."

With eyes glowing a deep green, Omnia Cicada focused on the lighthouse imprint, rotating it slightly and shutting off a part of the light mechanism with confidence:

"Although I haven’t reached the top of Ring Time Mountain, I’ve gained some insights over the years and can make slight adjustments. [Father]’s imprint hasn’t failed entirely; it’s just disturbed by the Watcher’s Palace. A bit of tweaking and it’s still usable... There we go!"

As Omnia Cicada spoke, the lighthouse imprint on his hand twisted and then stabilized, its top fixed in one direction, casting a gentle light only visible to the Four Pillar Gods.

"It’s still a bit off... but it’s usable."

Narrowing his eyes at the beam’s endpoint, noticing subtle temporal distortions, Omnia Cicada frowned and said:

"I’ve adjusted [Father]’s pre-set power; since the Watcher’s Palace can obscure us from a time aspect, I canceled the temporal lock and strengthened the trace-seeking aspect instead..."

"Enough, just tell us what we should do!"

"We’re not interested in these technicalities; lead the way!"

Tsk... fine.

Seeing the red and yellow kings urging him, Omnia Cicada internally cursed their ignorance, somewhat displeased, he ceased his explanation, waving his hand to scan the surroundings.

With his actions, the bustling street seemed suddenly empty, with buildings, roads, horses, pedestrians... vanishing from the Four Pillar Gods’ sight as the unseen light from the lighthouse imprint swept through, covering about twenty meters.

Simultaneously, within this empty world unveiled by the light, footprints only the size of a grown man’s palm were highlighted and led off down the street.

"What’s this?"

"These are traces left by subject 3; at some point in the past, present, or future, they walked down this street. Though the temporal aspect is unstable, the specific time difference shouldn’t exceed twenty-four hours.

Considering the footprint size, the real subject 3 is actually a child, likely eight or nine years old, probably a boy, with a composed demeanor based on the continuous, non-chaotic stride..."

Like a weirdo crouching on the ground, watching the footprints closely, Omnia Cicada adjusted the imprint further, focusing the scattered light precisely on those faint, tiny footprints before striding forward confidently.

"Let’s go! If luck’s not too bad, we might find subject 3 soon."

This is possible? No wonder [Father] entrusted the imprint to him!

Upon hearing Omnia Cicada’s confident words, the red and yellow pillar gods were overjoyed, and soon they began following, dragging along the helpless Crow.

As the trio and a hapless Crow pursued, the tiny footprints solidified further, eventually extending upward to outline a pair of small boots.

"Seems our luck is quite good!"

Staring at the small boots seemingly stained with mud and water, Omnia Cicada’s five eyes couldn’t help but reveal a clear smile.

"As the traces expand rather than dissipate, it proves we’re on the right track. Once the temporal remnant solidifies, revealing past sayings and doings, even the surrounding scene, we’ll be close to truly finding subject 3."

After briefly explaining the tracking effect of the imprint, the Three Pillar Gods, alongside a suddenly panicked Crow, chased the small boots with steady strides down the street.

Soon, at the corner of the street, the small boots extended further to take on a vague outline of a child, consistent with Omnia Cicada’s theory—an outline of an eight or nine-year-old boy.

’I want to file a complaint!’

As the Four Pillar Gods followed the footprints, reaching the reception hall on the first floor of the city works department, a childish voice pierced time and rang in their ears.

’The royal roads are poorly built! Drainage, waste disposal, maintenance, scheduling... none of these meet standards!’

The vague little figure tiptoed, clutching the complaint counter in reality, earnestly questioning the non-existent receptionist:

’To avoid disrupting traffic, my sister-in-law earmarked funds last month for the city works department to overhaul the royal drainage. Why are there still so many puddles after rain? Did you really use the funds effectively?’