Zhou Yuanqi's fingers slowly tightened, clenching into a fist.
His nails dug into his palm, the sharp sting clearing his mind.
That person had to be the variable in Jiangcheng.
The variable that Liu Junnan had spent over a month chasing without even catching a shadow.
The variable that had escaped unscathed from the dragnet of over twenty Ability Users during the “Control Variable” plan.
The variable that Yin Ji's Tracker Watch had detected but could not locate, track, or lock onto!
Only he could possess such capability!
Realizing this, a slight smirk curled on Zhou Yuanqi's lips.
Fortunately...
When he had walked out of the temple, driven by extreme fury and resentment, he had left something behind inside.
His original intention was still to find that crystal, as he simply could not believe that it could vanish into thin air!
The object he left behind was a specialized sensory artifact from within Yuansou.
It was extremely small, only about the size of a fingernail.
It was pitch-black all over, with a completely matte surface and absolutely no energy fluctuations; even if someone stepped on it, they would only assume it was an ordinary piece of rubble.
The artifact was a one-time consumable.
It was precious and impossible to replicate.
Even in the entire treasury of Yuansou, there were only a handful of such artifacts.
He had gone to great lengths and pulled many strings just to secure this single one.
When he deployed it just now, even he felt a pang of reluctance.
But as long as he achieved his goal, it would all be worth it!
His primary purpose in coming to Jiangcheng was to find an opportunity to break through to Level 4.
And that artifact was the tool he used to search for that opportunity.
It had only one function: to sense energy fluctuations.
With the artifact at the center, as long as any pure energy fluctuations appeared within a ten-kilometer radius, it would detect them and alert him.
The person who took the crystal was mixed in with those villagers.
Therefore, there was a high probability they would not wander too far from the temple ruins.
The moment that person took out the crystal again, the artifact would definitely detect it!
Even if they did not expose any artifacts, as long as they used an ability and generated energy fluctuations, the artifact would still detect it!
And through the artifact, he would be able to lock onto their position and...
confirm their identity!
At that point, not only would he reclaim his opportunity, but he would also find the variable and capture him!
...
The sun gradually sank in the west, and the clamor on the construction site slowly died down.
The roar of the excavators ceased, the black-clad bodyguards withdrew at some point, and even the workers began to leave one after another.
The villagers, slumped on the ground, wept for a long time before finally dispersing in helpless resignation.
Night fell, and the surroundings became completely silent.
Only then did Su Wan stand up, dust herself off, and walk over to where the temple had once stood.
Moonlight bathed the ruins, coating the shattered bricks, broken wooden beams, and scattered grey tiles in a cold, silvery-white sheen.
The beast-like statue was currently lying on its side atop the ruins.
No longer in a crouching posture, it lay there askew, resembling a defeated king forcibly dragged from his throne.
The silver moonlight shone on its dark stone surface, casting a cold light over its ferocious contours.
Even lying on the ground, its sense of pressure had not entirely dissipated.
Su Wan's gaze fell upon the eyes carved from black stone.
Even tilted sideways, those eyes still seemed to be staring at something, deep as an abyss, making one avert their eyes.
Su Wan withdrew her gaze and slowly walked a lap around the ruins.
The rest of the statue was buried under the broken bricks and rubble, with only its head and one forelimb exposed.
Even with only this portion visible, it was enough to convey how staggering its original size must have been.
Su Wan's gaze lingered on the massive head for a moment before shifting to scan the rest of the ruins.
Greyish-blue broken bricks, splintered wooden beams, shattered grey tiles...
Su Wan picked them up and inspected them piece by piece, but found nothing unusual.
She stopped, her brow furrowing slightly.
Where was the problem?
She had clearly felt that the instant the statue was moved, something... changed.
That sensation had not come from a scan of her mental power, but from a near-instinctive intuition.
It was as if something had vibrated in some corner of the ruins when the temple collapsed.
She did not believe her intuition could be wrong.
Su Wan looked up and surveyed her surroundings.
The direction of the hoarding was deathly quiet, with no one in sight.
On the distant village road, an occasional electric scooter or two buzzed past, their headlights dragging brief trails of light through the night before vanishing.
Further away, in the direction of the village, scattered lights flickered, and the faint sound of barking dogs could be heard.
Everything was normal.
Su Wan took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.
Since her naked eyes could not spot any anomalies, she would have to use another method.
By this hour, Zhou Yuanqi should have already returned to the Gu family’s ancestral home.
From the northern city to the foot of Phoenix Mountain, it was at least thirty kilometers.
At such a distance, even if he was a Level 4 Ability User, it would be impossible for him to capture the energy fluctuations generated when she released her ability.
As for the other members of Yuansou...
The strongest among them was Yin Ji, who was at the Level 3 Late Stage, but he had been injured while stopping Zhou Yuanqi and likely would not use his abilities again anytime soon.
From this far away, they could not possibly sense anything either.
The only concern was whether Zhou Yuanqi had left someone nearby to keep watch.
Su Wan pondered for a moment and decided it was unlikely to be an issue.
Even if Zhou Yuanqi had left someone behind, they would be at Level 2 at most.
Even if they were a Level 3 Ability User, with her Level 4 Mid Stage strength, she was absolutely certain she could keep them from detecting her energy fluctuations.
With that thought, Su Wan no longer hesitated.
Her Level 4 Mid Stage mental power suddenly swept outward!
The invisible energy surged like a silent tide, spreading out to cover the entire ruins!
Every broken brick, every piece of rubble, every wooden beam, and every grain of sand—
all of them surfaced clearly within her perception.
And then, she saw it.
At the edge of the ruins, about three paces to the left of where the temple entrance had been, lay a small pile of rubble.
Pressed beneath the bottom of that pile of rubble was a fingernail-sized black object.
It was pitch-black all over, blended into the rubble and soil like an ordinary pebble.
If she had not swept through these ruins inch by inch with her mental power, it would have been absolutely impossible to discover its existence!
The exact moment Su Wan discovered the object, the system notification suddenly blared!
【Ding! System Warning!】
【An unknown sensory-type artifact has been detected! The artifact has been activated and is currently transmitting energy fluctuation signals outward!】
【Transmission Target: Unknown】
【Distance: Approximately thirty-three kilometers!】
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