Death… And Me

Chapter 4364: How To Do It?

Tobao, Arcis, and the other guild masters immediately understood the severity of the situation. If Flugel’s original designs were different from the ones received by the Array Masters, then the modifications had to have happened during the transmission process.

The confirmation arrived only a minute later after Tobao checked the relevant records. The timestamps didn’t match. The moment Flugel sent the designs and the moment the Array Masters received them were separated by enough time for someone to intercept the files, alter them, and resend them without immediately raising suspicion.

With that in mind, Tobao and Arcis dropped most of their suspicions regarding Flugel... at least for now. The new evidence didn’t completely prove his innocence, but it certainly weakened the case against him. More importantly, it didn’t prove anyone else’s guilt either. They still needed to identify exactly where the interference had taken place.

”Tobao, the crystal is too important,” Arcis said after some thought. ”You should stay here and protect it while I return to the mainland to investigate what’s happening at the Network Guild. I’m good at attacking things, but protecting them has never been my specialty.”

Tobao nodded.

”Very well. Keep me informed of everything you discover.”

Only after confirming that matter did he turn toward the other guild masters.

”You can all return to your posts as well. Flugel, provide everyone with the original designs and restart construction immediately. This time, follow those blueprints to the letter. If another backdoor appears, you won’t have any excuses left. For now, all of you will be kept blocked from the Besgol Network until further notice. Keep that in mind.”

Flugel swallowed hard.

It was rare to see Tobao be that overbearing. The old monk was normally calm and composed, but the importance of the Godly Crystal was enough to make even him lose his patience.

”I’m aware,” Flugel answered. ”Construction will restart immediately. Furthermore, the Arrays Guild will cover the costs of rebuilding every destroyed array. At the end of the day, part of the responsibility falls on me. I was overseeing the project personally and still failed to notice the problem.”

Tobao’s expression softened slightly.

”It’s good that you understand.”

Arcis didn’t waste any time. He immediately took flight and departed toward the crater before departing for the mainland. As for the remaining guild masters, they soon returned to their respective duties. There was no point standing around any longer now that the investigation had moved in a different direction.

In the end, only Tobao and Rean remained near the damaged array area.

”Would you—”

Before Tobao could finish speaking, Rean already knew what he wanted.

He shook his head.

”I only came here to inspect things. Besides, I already reviewed Flugel’s designs and blueprints. Although I could suggest a few improvements, the truth is that they are perfectly acceptable. If those backdoors had never been added, the system would have fulfilled its purpose very well.”

He paused briefly before continuing.

”I can come back once everything is rebuilt and take another look if you want. However, it should be fine now that Flugel knows exactly what to watch for during construction. Whoever modified the arrays won’t be able to use the same trick twice.”

Tobao nodded in agreement.

Then Rean smiled as he also had an idea in mind. ”Now then. You added emergency teleport arrays to move the crystal away if things went wrong, didn’t you?”

Tobao nodded. ”So?”

Rean’s confidence grew. ”Has news of the backdoors already spread?”

”HMPH!” Tobao snorted. ”The moment the arrays collapsed, I immediately used my authority within the network to block everyone’s RCs and isolate the Besgol Network in this entire area. I’ve also kept my Celestial Sense spread the entire time. If someone had attempted to use a communication talisman, I would have noticed. I can’t guarantee that absolutely no information escaped, but I’m at least ninety-nine percent certain.”

”Hehe.” Rean’s smile got slightly wider. ”I found the backdoors, and activating them caused the protective arrays to collapse. However, the emergency teleport arrays were different. They suffered some damage during the collapse, but they weren’t actually part of the defensive array network.”

Tobao narrowed his eyes. ”What are you getting at?”

Instead of answering immediately, Rean began walking toward the ruined array area. His actions instantly attracted attention from several nearby Array Masters, including Flugel himself. However, Tobao raised a hand, signaling for them to remain where they were.

At the center of the ruined array complex stood the pedestal where the Godly Crystal had been secured. Nearby were the remains of the emergency teleport arrays.

Rean crouched down and immediately began dismantling portions of the remaining runes.

”There is one thing that’s been bothering me since this whole situation started,” he explained while working. ”Look around. You brought a ridiculous number of experts to this place. Naturally, they weren’t just here to build the farm. They were also part of the security measures protecting the crystal.”

As he spoke, Rean retrieved several materials and specialized array tools from his spatial ring. One by one, he assembled them into a small analysis setup around the damaged runes.

”Once the backdoors activated and the protective arrays collapsed, would stealing the Godly Crystal actually be easy?” He answered his own question almost immediately. ”Not even close!”

Tobao frowned as he listened.

”There would always be Zone Gods stationed here, that’s a given. Even after the farm becomes operational, there will be a constant flow of cultivators fighting Godly Creatures and collecting the normal Godly Crystals. In a place this active, stealing the mysterious crystal without attracting attention would be simply impossible.”

He continued rearranging the runes. ”Even if someone somehow managed to grab it, escaping afterward would be another problem entirely.”

Tobao’s eyes gradually brightened. ”You mean...”

Rean nodded. ”The collapse of the protective arrays was never the final objective. It was only one step in the plan.”

If the crystal couldn’t realistically be stolen after the defenses collapsed, then there had to be another mechanism prepared to complete the theft.

”No,” Rean continued. ”Simply bringing down the defenses wouldn’t be enough. Something else had to happen afterward.”

A few moments later, information finally began appearing on the analysis equipment he had assembled. Lines of runic data appeared one after another as the damaged teleport array was reconstructed virtually.

”Senior Tobao,” Rean asked, ”where were the emergency teleport arrays supposed to send the crystal if it could no longer be protected?”

By now, Tobao had already seen where Rean’s thoughts were heading.

”My monastery,” he answered immediately. ”More specifically, my personal chamber. I have a private teleport array there that I reserve for emergencies. Besgol might be a speck of sand compared to the Godly Creatures’ Territories, but it is still enormous from our point of view. If something happens, I can teleport to any Array or Godly Subjugation Guild branch in Besgol to act.”

Rean nodded. ”Can you give me the coordinates?”

Tobao didn’t hesitate in the slightest.

Under normal circumstances, such information would never be shared. However, after everything Rean had already done, there was no reason for Tobao to doubt him. ”Here.”

Rean glanced at the coordinates only once.

Immediately, the smile on his face widened. ”Well, well, well... isn’t this interesting?”

A few moments later, he projected the results of the analysis for Tobao to examine personally. ”The destination encoded inside these teleport arrays is definitely not your chamber. Take a look for yourself.”

Tobao took a deep breath before examining the extracted coordinates.

His expression instantly darkened. ”So that’s how it is... The collapse of the arrays...”

”Was meant to erase the evidence,” Rean finished as he pointed at the damaged runes.

”No one expected me to activate the backdoors and bring the entire array network down before the plan could proceed. More importantly, nobody expected the emergency teleport arrays to remain intact enough for analysis. If everything had happened according to the enemy’s plans, these traces would have disappeared together with the rest of the array framework.”

He then pointed toward the coordinates displayed by the analysis equipment. ”These, my dear friend, are the coordinates where the Godly Crystal would have been sent if things had gone their way.”

Tobao’s aura immediately became oppressive.

Even Rean felt uncomfortable despite standing some distance away.

”And that location should also be connected to the people responsible,” Tobao said coldly. ”At the very least, it should contain clues regarding the culprit... or culprits.”

Rean stood up and destroyed the remaining runes immediately afterward. There was no reason to leave them intact now that the information had already been extracted.

”I’m only an Anchor God, Tobao. What you do with that information is entirely up to you. If the enemy was willing to target a treasure like this, then whoever is waiting on the other side won’t be someone I can deal with. The best I can do is point you in the right direction.”

Tobao nodded, his aura remaining as heavy as ever.

”I’ll be careful.”

For the first time since the investigation had begun, they finally possessed something tangible to pursue.