The next morning, a knock sounded outside the door.
"King, Shadow and Magician have found the incident site!"
Chen Fan's expression brightened. He put on his clothes, opened the door, and said, "Let's go."
The group got into two cars and drove to meet up with Magician.
"Where is the incident site?" Chen Fan asked.
"It's a half-finished building."
Prophet said, "For the past two days, Magician and Shadow have been responsible for searching for clues in remote areas. I didn't expect them to actually find something."
Chen Fan nodded, quite satisfied with the capabilities of his core subordinates.
He was also well aware of Prophet's arrangements: some members were tasked with buying information from informants, some were looking for former special agents, and others were wandering around looking for clues.
The peculiarity of Xiang Jingzhu's case was that she and her companions had disappeared so thoroughly, as if someone had deliberately covered up something.
In such a situation, it was not unusual for Shadow and Magician, who were wandering around, to find clues first.
If special department agents had been assigned, they might not have found the incident site.
Forty minutes later, the car stopped at the base of the half-finished building.
Prophet got out of the car and made a few hand gestures.
Mei Ji, Lola, and Xin immediately dispersed to thoroughly investigate and guard the surroundings of the half-finished building, while also confirming if anyone was secretly watching.
These were, of course, basic operational preparations. Chen Fan paid them no mind and walked with Prophet into the depths of the building, arriving at one of the structures.
Prophet whistled, and a voice called out from behind a pillar, "Over here."
Chen Fan and the other man walked over, and the person who appeared in their sight was Magician.
"Where is Shadow?" Prophet asked.
"He's gone to follow the route of those who abducted the target!"
Magician took off his hat and said, "My King, it's an honor to see you again. Am I going to tremble the world with you again?"
Chen Fan, too lazy to answer, asked, "What have you found?"
Magician said, "King, Prophet, look here. We found several bullet holes and residual bloodstains on the ground that have been cleaned!"
Chen Fan looked in the direction Magician pointed and indeed saw bullet marks on the wall.
As for the bloodstains, they were not visible and would require blue light to confirm.
The bullet marks had been deliberately tampered with and processed, for example, by being scraped with a small knife.
The more this was the case, the more it indicated that someone wanted to hide and cover all of this.
"Shadow also found this!"
Magician extended his hand, revealing a bullet.
Chen Fan glanced at it, his pupils contracting, "A standard firearm from Sakura Country?"
"Yes."
For these people, they were intimately familiar with the equipment of various countries' militaries.
Sakura Country did not have an army in the formal sense, only a Self-Defense Force.
This type of bullet was from a standard firearm model issued to the Self-Defense Force.
Of course, this might not be the incident site of Xiang Jingzhu's disappearance; the possibility of another shootout having occurred also existed.
However, it had to be said that the probability of such a scenario was extremely low and could be disregarded by Chen Fan.
Sakura Country was also a country with gun control, but its management of firearms was certainly not as strict as that of Great Xia. Therefore, the bullet model did not necessarily indicate that the Self-Defense Force had abducted Xiang Jingzhu, but the possibility still existed.
If it were indeed the Self-Defense Force, there would have to be sufficient reasons, and one could even say the situation was extremely serious.
"The footprints outside have also been processed, but some traces remain!"
Magician added, "Shadow analyzed them and believes the people who abducted the target were around thirteen or fourteen in number, wearing standardized military boots. They were likely well-trained."
"As for other clues, there are none."
Chen Fan nodded, these clues were more than enough. He might have to pay a visit to a Self-Defense Force camp.
However, in his heart, he still felt that the possibility of Xiang Jingzhu being captured by the Self-Defense Force was not high.
After all, even if Xiang Jingzhu and her companions possessed something extremely important, the Sakura Country military should not have taken such action, as it would have triggered a major international dispute.
"Beep beep..."
At that moment, Prophet's communicator beeped.
Then, Shadow's voice came through, "Someone is approaching here, three people in total. They've already spotted our car."
Prophet looked at Chen Fan.
"Observe from the shadows!"
Chen Fan commanded and gave Prophet a meaningful look.
Prophet signaled Magician, and they quickly moved up to the upper floors of the half-finished building.
Neither of them carried a gun, as Chen Fan had requested them to come to Sakura Country in a hurry. They had entered Sakura Country through normal channels using false identities and passports.
Chen Fan did not hide. Instead, he walked out of the half-finished building, observed for a moment, and then headed to the left.
After walking about ten meters, three figures appeared and met him face-to-face.
The person leading them was the woman he had met yesterday.
An elite field operative from Great Xia's special department.
Seeing Chen Fan, the woman was not surprised. She strode over and asked, "What have you found?"
Her tone was unquestionable, as if she were ordering a subordinate.
Chen Fan smiled and said, "Why should I tell you?"
"Our goal is the same. You're lucky to have found this place first. Tell me your findings, and I can save some effort and find the person sooner."
The woman said as a matter of course.
Chen Fan smiled again and said, "Didn't you only discover this place because you saw people gathering here?"
He walked past the woman and said, "If you want to find clues, work harder yourself. The closer you get to the truth, the more powerless you will find yourself."
"You..."
The woman was stunned for a moment, then angered.
Chen Fan ignored her, walked a few steps, and signaled Prophet and Magician to retreat.
Following Chen Fan's actions, Prophet and Magician, who were hidden in the shadows, quietly departed.
The woman and her companions noticed this, their hands on their waists where their guns were, their expressions alert.
But Chen Fan strode away, and the people in hiding also retreated. Nothing happened.
The woman's expression turned a bit grim.
She wasn't foolish; she could tell from this maneuver that Chen Fan's strength far surpassed hers.
This made her feel somewhat indignant.
The Xiang family had dispatched so many people, indicating a lack of trust in the intelligence department, which she felt was an insult.
After all, being urgently transferred from Eastern Europe to Sakura Country to search for and rescue Xiang Jingzhu already made her somewhat displeased.
"When we return, contact headquarters to confirm the identities of the people dispatched by the Xiang family and have headquarters protest to the Xiang family!"
The woman withdrew her gaze, let out a cold snort, and ordered, "I don't want my actions to be affected by uncertain factors, leading to mission failure."
"Yes!"
After giving the order, the woman's expression improved slightly. Her gaze scanned the area, and she walked with purpose towards the direction from which Chen Fan had emerged to investigate.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan got into the car and dialed a number.
The call was quickly connected.
"Submarine, hack into Sakura Country's Self-Defense Force archives and list the whereabouts of retired Self-Defense Force elites. How long will it take?"
"More than forty-eight hours!" came a lazy voice from the other end.
"We don't have that much time. I'll give you twenty-four hours," Chen Fan said.
"Alright, who am I to you if not my King? I'll do my best!"
The other side replied.