Chapter Twenty-Six: The Sealing

“There’s no reason for this. Ghouls can be plundered, the Tranquility Pendant can be plundered, so why not the Source Energy Radar?” Lin Lei raised an eyebrow, his mind racing. “It can’t be that the Source Energy Radar itself contains no source energy, and its ability to detect energy fluctuations relies entirely on ‘technology’…”

Li Xueshu had made it clear that this device was a source artifact. Source artifacts are items imbued with source energy, granting them special abilities.

He raised his eyebrow and tried to activate ordinary ‘consumption’ once more.

It was still impossible!

Things that can’t be plundered might be regular items without any special effects, but ordinary items should be consumable…

The Source Energy Radar is certainly not a common item!

“Could it be that it exceeds the limits of the ‘Gluttony energy’ I possess, so I can’t ‘consume’ it?”

But the Source Energy Radar, no matter how powerful, is only on par with the Tranquility Pendant—a low-tier source artifact.

Even if the ‘plundering’ consumed more Gluttony energy than he had, ordinary ‘consumption’ shouldn’t be impossible.

Ordinary ‘consumption’ does use Gluttony energy, but only in minute amounts.

Apart from ‘plundering,’ Lin Lei had consumed so many ghouls, yet the total Gluttony energy spent hadn’t even reached a single unit!

“This Source Energy Radar must have some special property!”

Watching Lin Lei make faces at the Source Energy Radar, Li Xueshu felt puzzled. She cleared her throat and reminded him, “Even though the Source Energy Radar is only a low-tier artifact and can detect limited energy fluctuations, it’s still extremely valuable. The Bureau does have more precise testing equipment, but nothing as portable as this.”

“You must keep it safe and never lose it.”

Lin Lei turned to Li Xueshu and asked, “What happens if I do lose it?”

Li Xueshu glared at him, saying, “The Bureau will launch a dedicated investigation, possibly deploying special artifacts or mental-type ability users. If it’s not intentional, you’ll just need to complete additional missions as compensation. But if you did it on purpose, trust me—death would become a luxury for you.”

“Of course, all source artifacts belonging to the Bureau are set with special seals. They can only be used within the authorized period, and once that expires, their abilities are locked.”

“The Bureau can also use these seals to track their location.”

Lin Lei’s eyes flashed as he understood.

The reason he couldn’t ‘consume’ the Source Energy Radar was likely because of these seals!

This also made Lin Lei realize his Gluttony wasn’t omnipotent.

In fact, if Gluttony was truly his blessing, even if it was S- or SS-grade, its effects would still be limited by Lin Lei’s own source energy level!

“I’m still just a mere Rank One…”

His eyes flickered, and he guessed that if his source energy level increased, his Gluttony ability would also improve. Perhaps he could eventually disregard or even bypass these seals.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Lin Lei picked up the Source Energy Radar and pointed to the yellow dot on its edge.

“If, as you say, I’m Rank One and my energy fluctuations show red, what does this lower-level yellow dot represent?”

Li Xueshu replied, “Yellow energy fluctuations are very common; they might simply be due to natural differences in energy distribution…”

“However, some weaker anomalies can also have yellow fluctuations. For instance, ghouls—elderly, sickly, or juvenile ghouls—all may appear as yellow dots. Even the strongest ghouls merely show faint red, their energy can’t compare to yours!”

“I see,” Lin Lei nodded. “Then should we check out this yellow dot now?”

Li Xueshu shook her head. “A single yellow dot is unlikely to be anything anomalous, and it’s very common. Unless there’s an abnormal cluster of yellow dots, or a lone red or higher dot appears, it’s worth investigating.”

Lin Lei nodded, about to speak again. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Li Xueshu looked up. “Come in!”

Lin Lei put away the Source Energy Radar and watched as the café door opened. The staff led two figures inside.

A man and a woman—the man was the muscular giant Lin Lei had seen yesterday at the Bureau’s training ground. The girl beside him looked seventeen or eighteen, barely taller than a meter fifty, dressed in a white dress, petite and shy.

The muscular man looked at Li Xueshu, baring his yellow teeth. “Director Li!”

The girl’s voice was soft as she echoed, “Director Li.”

Li Xueshu nodded and gestured to the pair. “This is Lin Lei, the new investigator in our Operations Division and the lead on this mission.”

The big man paused, scratched his head, and grinned as he extended his hand to Lin Lei. “Hello, Director Lin, I’m Chen Ning, a reserve member of the Operations Division.”

The girl in white widened her eyes, looking at Lin Lei with admiration.

To become an investigator—even a reserve member—meant one had a high-level blessing and powerful source energy!

Lin Lei stood and shook Chen Ning’s hand, then turned to the girl. “And you are…?”

She gave a soft gasp, blushed, and lowered her head, pulling at her dress. “Hello, Director Lin. I'm also a reserve member of the Operations Division… My name is Hong Qiuqiao, but everyone calls me Qiao’er.”

Her voice was sweet and endearing.

Lin Lei’s eyes flashed, and he nodded. “Hello, Qiao’er.”

Though the girl seemed shy, Lin Lei wouldn’t underestimate her.

Not just anyone could become a reserve member of the Operations Division.

Li Xueshu had said all reserve members were ordinary people, but the best among them.

Li Xueshu turned to Chen Ning. “Did you bring what I asked?”

Chen Ning straightened, took a laptop from his backpack, and opened a mapping software. “Here’s a map of the surrounding blocks. I’ve marked the locations of recent attacks and disappearances possibly linked to ghouls. Since there’s no cemetery nearby, I suspect these creatures are hiding in the underground tunnels. I’ve pinpointed the likely ghoul nests in the area…”

There had been several attacks and disappearances in the upper city, but only two were confirmed to involve ghouls.

One was Lin Lei’s own attack; the other was the homeless man’s death.

The rest, reportedly with a high proportion of female victims, might not be related to ghouls.

“I’ve already mapped out our route. We can cover all these spots within half an hour. The Logistics Division has people stationed throughout the area, so there’s no need to worry about ghouls escaping and harming civilians…” Chen Ning clicked and pulled up a route map.

With the Source Energy Radar, they could easily determine if any anomalies were present—no need to waste time crawling through sewers.