"Let's find him first."
Li Chonglou's mood was no better than Yue Hai's. Gao Baisong was the captain of their convoy. If anything happened to him, Li Chonglou's entire convoy plan would fall apart!
Even putting that aside, Gao Baisong's straightforward personality had already made them close friends. Moreover, he was someone Li Chonglou had personally recruited. If anything were to happen, he wouldn't be able to face the rest of the convoy members.
However, the mall was so vast that it wouldn't be easy for the two of them to find someone inside.
Li Chonglou recalled the call he had with Gao Baisong when the incident occurred. This meant that the person must have had trouble in an open area, and there would definitely be witnesses or surveillance nearby!
So, he immediately found a mall security guard.
"Looking for someone? Nothing has happened here."
The security guard's response made Li Chonglou's expression falter.
"Are you sure?" Li Chonglou narrowed his eyes, staring at the security guard's expression.
If it were Yue Hai or Chen Peiyue, Li Chonglou might have believed the security guard. But Gao Baisong, being an experienced veteran, wouldn't make such simple mistakes!
Therefore, without even thinking, Li Chonglou knew that the security guard in front of him was either new or lying!
"Heh, why would I lie to you about something like this? If what you said were true, someone would have already called the police. Do you see any police officers here?"
The security guard chuckled and then waved his hand.
"If there's nothing else, please leave quickly. Don't cause trouble here."
The security guard turned and walked away. Li Chonglou stood there, silently staring at his retreating back. Yue Hai, standing beside him, couldn't help but speak up.
"Brother Li, what do we do now? Where do we find Old Gao? Should we call the police first?"
Li Chonglou said in a deep voice, "Something is wrong. I already contacted Lin Qianqian, and Old Gao definitely had trouble here. It's impossible that no one knows."
"Brother Li, are you talking about that female police officer?"
Li Chonglou nodded but didn't say anything more to Yue Hai. Instead, he quietly followed in the direction the security guard had left.
Although Yue Hai looked confused, he quickly followed.
At the same time, his mind began to connect the existing clues. He soon guessed Li Chonglou's intentions.
Upon seeing Li Chonglou hiding cautiously a distance away from the security guard, he suddenly whispered, "Brother Li, why don't you let me handle this? I often hunted for food in the mountains, so I'm familiar with this kind of work."
Li Chonglou looked at Yue Hai with surprise. "You know what I'm planning to do?"
Yue Hai said seriously, "If I recall correctly, your female police officer friend has significant authority. Since you found her, it means she should be able to dispatch the local police."
"But now, not a single police officer has arrived. Clearly, there's an unknown situation, and I suspect it's related to this mall."
"Secondly, with Old Gao's experience, it's unlikely he would be captured by someone without anyone noticing. But this security guard just said that nothing happened!"
"Clearly, there's something wrong with this mall!"
Yue Hai's sudden explanation revealed all of Li Chonglou's own conjectures, which truly surprised him.
"When did you become so sharp, kid?"
Li Chonglou looked at Yue Hai with a sense of gratification. Although his explanation had a hint of showing off, it undeniably broadened his perception of Yue Hai.
Yue Hai chuckled, "Brother Li, I may be ignorant, but I'm not stupid. If you can do something, I'm sure I can do it too!"
Li Chonglou smiled and nodded, patting Yue Hai's shoulder. "Alright, then I'll leave this to you. Follow him and see if there's anything happening. Be careful not to be discovered."
"Don't worry, Brother Li, I'll complete the mission!"
Yue Hai chuckled again and then followed in the direction the security guard had gone.
At this moment, Li Chonglou also noticed something different about Yue Hai. With every step he took, his aura gradually diminished.
It was clearly his self-created breath-concealing technique, and when combined with Mai Qian, it seemed to be quite effective.
It was only then that Li Chonglou suddenly remembered that this fellow had been hiding and cultivating in the deep mountains for over twenty years!
And he had done so with only incomplete Mai Qian cultivation methods. Perhaps it was his meager social experience that made people momentarily forget his talent.
"It seems I need to find an opportunity to give him more specialized training..."
A thought suddenly arose in Li Chonglou's mind. Among all the subordinates he had recruited, Yue Hai undoubtedly had the highest talent.
Even though he might not be able to defeat Qing Lin right now, in Li Chonglou's heart, Yue Hai still had greater potential.
The reason was none other than the Mai Qian cultivation method!
To cultivate this method, just reaching the入门 stage was akin to passing through the gates of hell. Each acupoint required a process of breaking and then re-establishing before training. For an ordinary martial artist, this was undoubtedly a gamble with their destiny and future!
To put it bluntly, even if Li Chonglou were to leak the Mai Qian cultivation method, very few people today would dare to practice it. And even if they dared, very few would likely succeed.
Such a high-risk investment naturally yielded astonishing rewards. Li Chonglou had not proceeded with the next stage of Yue Hai's Mai Qian training because he was observing his mindset and character.
Although he still couldn't be completely sure, as he encountered more and more masters, he felt it was time to increase Yue Hai's strength.
This thought undoubtedly stemmed from his recent performance, and Yue Hai would never have imagined that by simply wanting to shed his "novice" image, he would receive an opportunity.
Of course, these were all matters for later.
The reason Li Chonglou let Yue Hai go was that if he were to act personally, he could only do so through soul fusion. Although the soul, Ai Lin, had long wanted to reincarnate, Li Chonglou had not yet found more trustworthy souls.
Therefore, it was best to save a fusion if possible.
Before Yue Hai left Li Chonglou's sight, his entire presence had been completely concealed.
At this moment, unless one was looking at him with the naked eye, it would be absolutely impossible to sense his presence.
Even his footsteps, his breathing, and even his heartbeat were perfectly hidden!
Although it was a bit of an overkill for him, it allowed him to successfully follow the security guard to the vicinity of the security room.
As soon as he got close, he heard Gao Baisong's pained groans!
Yue Hai's expression suddenly changed. At the same time, Zhang Si's voice reached his ears.
"This guy is quite tough. He's lasted for over half an hour. Not bad, not bad."
There was a tone in this voice that Yue Hai couldn't quite describe, a mixture of excitement and disdain.