Chapter 844: Chapter 248: Investigation (Part 2)

In the eyes of those handling the warehouse material theft case, the robots dispersed in all directions to search the abandoned residential areas.

A few minutes later.

Brilliant suddenly informed Chen Ming, "Robot number 972 encountered an unexpected situation."

Chen Ming immediately brought up the view from the robot that Brilliant mentioned, seeing the situation around it.

In front of a huge building, more than a dozen people were cautiously watching the robot controlled by Chen Ming, which had appeared near the building.

"Is it here?"

Brilliant said, "There are traces of soil from the broken road sticking to the tire tracks that left the warehouse, leading here and then fading away afterward."

"The vehicle’s weight lightened, so it probably unloaded goods here, right?"

"Got it, don’t rush into conflict yet, wait for me to get there."

"Understood."

Chen Ming immediately said to Bai Quan on the terminal, "I found the approximate location. I’m sending you the position, heading over now."

"Alright."

After Bai Quan responded, Chen Ming put away the terminal, and the Flying Locust Power Armor formed on him.

Chen Ming stepped off the top of the building into the air, and the jetpack carried him into the sky.

After flying for about two minutes.

Chen Ming locked onto the target reported by Brilliant.

It was an abandoned place that used to be a mall.

Chen Ming slightly adjusted his posture, turned off the jetpack, and descended directly from the sky in front of the abandoned mall entrance, kicking up a cloud of dust in the mechanical landing.

The thugs present, dressed in shabby clothing, were all instantaneously frightened by the descending Power Armor.

A few even began to quietly turn their bodies, appearing ready to flee at any moment.

After landing, Chen Ming didn’t draw his gun or engage in conflict with these people.

Instead, he controlled the metal liquid to penetrate from underground to the inside of the mall behind the thugs, out of their sight.

After all, Chen Ming couldn’t yet ascertain if these people were the ones who had stolen the goods. If they were just passing by or completely unaware, any collateral damage wouldn’t be good.

So now, Chen Ming even asked the thugs in a friendly manner, "Is this your place?"

A thug, bolding up, said, "Yes, do you have any business here?"

Chen Ming’s gaze swept over their faces, and he slowly said, "Six days ago, someone broke into the warehouse in the industrial area."

A few of the thugs’ faces changed.

Chen Ming noticed but showed no reaction, continuing, "They used more than a dozen heavy trucks to take away all those materials."

More people’s expressions changed accordingly.

It was clear not everyone present had participated in that event, but most had definitely seen heavy trucks unloading goods here.

"There aren’t many places suitable for storing materials, and this mall should count as one. I need to investigate inside."

Though somewhat intimidated by Chen Ming’s Power Armor, the thug who spoke up earlier still braced himself and said, "This isn’t good, we’re just gatekeepers. Why don’t you talk directly to our boss?"

Chen Ming didn’t reply immediately.

Because at this moment, through the infiltrated metal liquid, he discovered the missing materials in the underground warehouse of the mall.

As well as explosives stacked in different positions within the warehouse.

Upon seeing these things, Chen Ming basically understood the situation.

However, to be safe, he used the metal liquid to probe into the explosives and took a sample of the material, sending it to his hand.

After Chen Ming personally analyzed it, the explosive materials matched those commonly used by Zuo Jing.

Confirmed, there were indeed traces of Zuo Jing’s involvement inside here.

Does this mean that the Vice Admiral’s illegitimate son has encountered issues?

This question flashed through Chen Ming’s mind, but he remained impassive, and continued to control the metal liquid to spread throughout the entire mall interior.

Meanwhile, appearing contemplative, he said to the thug, "No problem, where’s your boss?"

"Just underground in the mall, follow me."

The thug gestured to the others around, signaling them to lower their weapons, which were completely incapable of threatening Chen Ming, and scatter back into the abandoned mall.

After Brilliant arranged for robots to completely encircle the mall, Chen Ming followed the thug inside.

Chen Ming noticed that some people were following him from a distance, but he didn’t pay attention, continuing to follow the thug deeper into the mall.

While walking on the stairs littered with rubble and various debris, Chen Ming suddenly asked the thug ahead, "Is this like a gang?"

The thug turned back and gave Chen Ming a forced smile, saying, "Sort of... It’s just people who aren’t doing well coming together to help each other out so life isn’t too hard alone."

The thug’s tone was sincere, and if Chen Ming hadn’t seen it earlier—

Chen Ming still showed no reaction, just nodded and continued walking down the somewhat treacherous pathways within the mall.

As Chen Ming delved deeper into the underground part of the mall, he noticed that fewer people were following him, and the areas he headed to became increasingly dim.