bioinnovel Chapter 435 Joint Investigation
Chapter 435 Joint Investigation
Having just resolved a crisis after identifying the intruder and assisting the soul of the Holy Lord in escaping, Riley had barely finished speaking to his anxious parents when he immediately threw himself into a new round of thorough searching.
This time, the scale of the search was lavish, even extravagant.
On this night, the mysterious organization stationed in New York City, at Riley's call, unusually united as one.
Almost all of the agents from District 13 were deployed, dressed in plainclothes or disguised as municipal maintenance workers, carrying various covert energy detectors and tracking devices. Centered on the District 13 base, they meticulously combed through every street like a comb.
As the sky gradually darkened, a few inconspicuous drones occasionally flew by, their fuselages bearing the distinctive logo of S.H.I.E.L.D.
At the same time, several portals flashing with golden sparks quietly opened and quickly closed in various corners of the city.
The mages from Kamar-Taj strode out of the portal. Using their keen sense of magical fluctuations, they searched their assigned areas for any suspicious traces.
However, the most numerous and astonishing are those that exist silently, blending into the shadows of the city.
After recovering from his corrupted state, Riley summoned a massive number of Shadow Legion ninjas, a rare occurrence for him!
They were like drops of ink falling into water, instantly blending into the shadows of New York City.
The corner of an alley, the blind spot under neon lights, the depths of a subway tunnel, the reflection on the glass curtain wall of a skyscraper...
In every shadowy spot, there were two or three ninja soldiers lurking!
These silent and loyal soldiers formed a vast and covert surveillance network. Their red eyes gleamed in the darkness, not missing a single suspicious movement. With overwhelming numbers, they swiftly searched for any trace left by the intruders.
In this way, a net was cast over the seemingly peaceful New York City!
Unfortunately, just as the other side had meticulously planned this diversionary tactic, keeping Riley and everyone else's attention firmly pinned on Times Square, they ultimately succeeded in helping Shendu's soul escape...
The other side had clearly anticipated that their operation would be met with a devastating retaliation once it was exposed.
Therefore, the other party has put in a lot of effort to conceal their whereabouts, and their preparations are so thorough that they are chilling.
The feedback from the shadowy ninja soldiers was the first to arrive.
Even though they had penetrated every shadow in the city and searched repeatedly more than a dozen times in the shortest amount of time, they still could not find the unique demonic energy belonging to the fire demon.
It was as if the soul of the Holy Lord had been completely "erased" of all traces of its existence in a way far beyond their comprehension.
or……
The Holy Lord's soul has already left this world, which is why it appears that "no such dragon can be found"?
Meanwhile, the Kamar-Taj sorcerers' search was also in vain.
They could clearly sense the lingering magical fluctuations near District 13.
However, once you get a little further away from District 13, all the clues you can find will be cut off cleanly and neatly, as if by a precise pair of scissors, making it impossible to continue the investigation.
Meanwhile, the investigations by District 13 and S.H.I.E.L.D. have also hit a bottleneck.
The intruders seemed to possess top-notch counter-surveillance capabilities, to the point that all surveillance footage near District 13 that could have captured their movements was cleverly replaced or had meaningless looping frames inserted.
Furthermore, no abnormal access points could be found in the network data stream.
Even the faintest, most unconventional energy radiation signals have vanished without a trace.
The other party was like a true ghost, leaving no trace in either the digital or physical world.
Even Kopler, who had been possessed by the intruder and, theoretically, should have been able to provide crucial clues to break the deadlock, failed to bring any good news to the group.
Although Riley's horse charm magic healed Kopler's body and mind.
However, because his body was possessed, his consciousness remained in a state of deep coma throughout the entire process.
When Kopler finally regained consciousness, he was filled with confusion and fear when he found everyone standing in a circle around his bed, staring at him as if he were some rare animal.
Under Sheriff Black's patient questioning, Kopler, after repeatedly trying to recall the events, still shook his head helplessly. He claimed that he only remembered being at home, enjoying a rare vacation. He was lying on a comfortable sofa, leisurely watching TV, with a half-finished ice-cold beer beside him.
Then, from Kopler's perspective, he simply blinked, or perhaps dozed off...
When I opened my eyes again, the scene before me changed from the familiar ceiling of my home to the snow-white ceiling of the 13th ward.
A similar situation happened to Max.
This made Riley fall into deep thought...
Could it be that I meant well but did something wrong?
After all, the magic of the horse talisman is less about healing and more about expelling all harmful "external forces" from the target.
Therefore, after Riley used the magic of the Horse Charm to help Max and Copley break free from the brainwashing control imposed by the intruders, the remaining traces of the intruders' magic were naturally also cleaned up.
Unfortunately, Riley at that time truly had no better options.
Without the Horse Charm, Max remains out of control. Riley's options are either to exile or kill Max, like Peter did, or to invest significant time and risk the affected area expanding further, or even the portal stabilizing completely and a flood of monsters entering reality, to gradually erode Max's energy.
Needless to say, Kopler's previous moves landed squarely on him!
Even though Kopler's physical abilities were briefly enhanced by magic while he was under control to ensure the operation's success, his super-soldier-level strength, combined with the power techniques of Chinese martial arts, was enough to make Kopler, a proper scientist who had hardly ever trained, rapidly become critically ill after the invaders left and the magic's protection was gone!
Even after figuring out the reasons behind it all, Riley could only twitch his lips and helplessly swallow this bitter pill in the face of this unsolvable scheme!
As time passed, Riley stood in the command center, his mood sinking deeper and deeper.
In front of him was a huge screen, divided into various sections that displayed in real time the same "no anomalies" reports from various search forces.
The shadowy figures of the ninja soldiers moving through the shadows are like a silent, black river.
The mages' detection ripples were frustratingly smooth.
On the city map, the dots representing District 13 and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are also actively moving.
But they never lit up any of the red markers that indicated "enemy detected".
On the contrary, quite a few were caught unexpectedly. Ignoring the reputation of "Spider-Man", they felt that they couldn't possibly be so unlucky. In addition, the commotion caused by the Iron Monger was quite large, attracting a large number of police officers to deal with the aftermath. They chose to take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble at this critical moment.
Ultimately, such a lavish search team yielded only a suffocatingly empty result.
The other party not only escaped, but also escaped completely, without a trace, as if they had completely blended into the background noise of the city's seven million inhabitants, or perhaps... they had already fled thousands of miles away.
Riley clenched his fists, his nails almost digging into his palms. A sense of defeat washed over him like a cold tide, but what followed was a deeper vigilance and a chill.
The opponent's cunning, thorough preparation, and sophisticated methods far exceeded expectations.
Where did the Holy Lord's soul go?
Who exactly is that mysterious intruder?
What is their next goal?
Questions come one after another, but the answers are all hidden beneath the dazzling yet silent lights of New York City, impossible to find.
The night was still long, and the shadows seemed heavier than ever before.