Investigation

His name was Li Wu, the eldest of the guards.

At his words, the guards who had mocked Tu Ran and Ding Naiqing chuckled. "Uncle Li, if you're at retirement age, just retire. Your eyes are failing—you can't even tell who's ordinary."

Li Wu's gaze swept across the young faces of the guards before him. He sighed and said no more.

Fifteen years ago, these young people had been children between five and ten, not paying much attention to the news.

But he remembered clearly how many people had entered the Threshold and never returned.

In recent years, the Federal Government had deliberately buried the cruelty of those times, shaping the Threshold into a place that, while risky, promised returns far outweighing the dangers—a place of prosperity for all citizens.

To judge by the contempt these young guards showed toward pioneers, the Federation had indeed succeeded.

Ding Naiqing and Tu Ran, deemed not too bright by the others, had already photographed what were likely traces of a serpentine alien's slithering and sent them to the Fourth Squad's group chat.

Tu Ran typed below: "Has anyone seen a reptile-like, serpent-order alien?"

Ding Naiqing followed with three pleading emojis, playing cheerleader.

No one replied yet.

"They're probably all busy," Ding Naiqing said.

"Likely," Tu Ran agreed, not waiting further. Her gaze drifted into the distance, and she spotted Xiao Hei approaching with a crowd of people.

"Here comes the work," Tu Ran muttered, then strode forward to meet them.

"Mr. Tubin, thank you for your trouble," Tu Ran said with a proper smile.

"No need for that," Xiao Hei replied, then took the initiative to have the group arrange themselves in neat rows for the inspection.

They lined up in over a dozen rows.

Tu Ran counted, including Tubin, there were one hundred and twenty-one people.

That matched the documents.

Tu Ran glanced over the crowd.

From their clothing, some were servants, others workers, and a few wore suits and bow ties—probably butlers or the like. Most were workers.

Tu Ran walked along the arranged crowd, examining each person carefully.

When she passed a young and pretty girl in a maid's outfit, she suddenly stopped.

"What kind of work do you do?"

Under her sharp gaze, the girl grew flustered, twisting her fingers in her skirt as she nervously said, "I'm the maid who cooks for Mr. and Mrs. Yigan. I've been at the farm since I was little, and I know many things from my childhood. I haven't been possessed."

The girl explained in a hurry.

Faced with this fully equipped, gun-toting, stern-faced government official, the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl felt an inexplicable fear in her heart.

Tu Ran nodded thoughtfully, not asking more, and moved on to the next person.

She passed each person at a leisurely pace, sometimes stopping to ask a few questions, then continuing on.

No one knew what she was doing.

The eight guards on alert around her thought she was just putting on an act, growing more disdainful by the minute, already looking forward to seeing her fail to find the alien.

Finally, reaching the last row, Tu Ran stopped before a middle-aged woman in a maid's uniform.

The woman had a kind face, her brownish-yellow eyes holding a gentle smile.

"What's your name?"

"Naya Rivera," the middle-aged woman said.

"What area are you responsible for?" Tu Ran asked, just as she had with the others.

Naya Rivera smiled in answer. "I'm the cleaning maid hired by Mr. Yigan, responsible for the daily upkeep of the villa. I've been at this farm for twelve years."