Void Cultivation

Chapter 378: Chapter 377- A Cause For Alarm

A second later, another figure suddenly dropped from the ceiling and landed directly before Grey.

Grey, who had already anticipated the possibility of multiple shadows lying in wait, reacted almost instinctively.

His body shifted into a fighting stance as spiritual energy surged toward his arm.

His fist drew back slightly.

The surrounding air immediately began compressing, ready to explode into another devastating air cannon at a moment’s notice.

However, before he could release the attack, the figure raised both hands in a harmless gesture.

The next instant, the person’s face became visible beneath the dim light.

It was Violet.

"Whoa, Little Grey." Violet laughed as she walked toward him with an amused smile. "You finished it off in only a few seconds. That’s much faster than I did."

Grey remained completely expressionless.

Not only did he fail to lower his guard, but his senses continued sweeping across every corner of the unfinished building.

Seeing his cautious attitude, Violet’s smile widened even further.

She suddenly raised her head toward the darkness above.

"You can all come down now," she called out. "He’s one of us."

Her voice echoed throughout the silent building.

"There isn’t any need to keep hiding."

The moment those words left her mouth, Grey immediately sensed movement from above.

The numerous presences that had been silently observing him finally revealed themselves.

One after another, several figures descended from the unfinished ceiling before landing lightly on the ground.

Grey calmly counted them.

Five people.

Every one of them was a cultivator.

Most wore robes of different colors, each representing a separate sequence within the Detective Agency Department.

Although their robes differed, every one of them possessed a baleful but powerful aura that clearly placed them among the city’s elites.

One of the men stepped forward.

"You can relax," he said in a hoarse voice. "We were hiding above because we wanted to see whether more of those creatures would appear after we dealt with the first one."

Only then did Grey properly observe the speaker.

He appeared to be a man in his early thirties.

His hair was cut short, and his facial features were so ordinary that he would disappear into a crowd without attracting the slightest attention.

Yet Grey could clearly sense that beneath that ordinary appearance hid someone whose cultivation was anything but average.

Grey did not immediately respond.

Instead, he silently shifted his gaze toward Violet.

Sensing the question in his eyes, Violet rubbed her forehead helplessly before explaining.

"Yes."

"We arrived several minutes before you did."

"As soon as we entered this building, every one of us was ambushed by those shadow creatures."

"After eliminating the first one, we decided to remain hidden and wait."

"We wanted to determine whether it had companions or whether more would eventually appear."

"Fortunately..."

She glanced toward the mangled remains lying among the broken walls.

"...our guess turned out to be correct."

Grey quietly observed her expression.

From her tone, breathing, and subtle body language, he could tell that she wasn’t lying.

Only then did he slowly disperse the spiritual energy gathering around his fist.

The compressed air surrounding his hand gradually returned to normal.

"Alright."

Grey gave a slight nod.

"What have you discovered?"

A brief silence followed for several seconds before another captain stepped forward.

"This woman," he said while pointing toward the hanging corpse, "was a well-known merchant within the market district."

"Earlier today, she informed several acquaintances that she had received information regarding a wealthy buyer interested in purchasing a large quantity of goods."

"The meeting location happened to be somewhere within this district."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"When she failed to return, several people reported her disappearance."

"I immediately organized a search party during the daytime."

"We searched nearly every nearby street."

"But we couldn’t find the slightest trace of her."

His expression darkened.

"Not even a footprint."

"Only after Sky Mist officially classified the recent kidnappings as a high-priority investigation and ordered every Detective Agency Captain to personally participate did something unexpected happen."

"I received an anonymous message."

"It instructed me to come here tonight."

"When I arrived..."

His eyes drifted toward the corpse.

"...this was already waiting for us."

The building fell silent.

A moment later, several of the other captains nodded in agreement.

"I also received an anonymous message."

"So did I."

"The same here."

Each of them had been summoned to this exact location through an anonymous source.

Even Violet nodded.

"I received one as well."

Grey’s expression changed ever so slightly.

He had never received any anonymous message.

The only notification he had obtained came directly from Violet herself.

Noticing the subtle change in his expression, Violet immediately understood what he was thinking.

"I contacted you because you never contacted me."

She folded her arms.

"It seems the anonymous messages were only sent to the Captains of the Detective Agency."

"The Vice-Captains weren’t included."

Grey looked at her calmly.

"If that was the case..."

"Why involve me at all?"

His voice remained as indifferent as ever.

It almost sounded as though he doubted her explanation.

Violet immediately rolled her eyes.

"Think about it."

"When someone anonymously tips you off about a gruesome murder in the middle of the night..."

"...would you seriously come here alone?"

She didn’t wait for him to answer.

"What if the anonymous sender never intended to provide information in the first place?"

"What if the entire purpose was simply to lure me here before launching an ambush?"

"If I came alone, who would even know I was in danger?"

Her words caused the atmosphere to become noticeably heavier.

Grey remained silent.

The other captains, however, all froze slightly.

Only now did they realize what they had overlooked.

If the mysterious sender had truly intended to assassinate them, then arriving alone would have been equivalent to willingly walking into a carefully prepared trap.

By the time anyone realized they had disappeared...

It would already have been too late.

Several of the captains exchanged awkward glances.

Each of them silently admitted their mistake.

They had focused entirely on the investigation...

Yet none of them had stopped to consider the possibility that they themselves could have been the real targets all along.