Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'

Chapter 841 - 503: Spiritualist (Part 3)

Preserved Fruit said: "But you overlooked one issue. In a densely populated area, it’s difficult for him to find a chance to escape."

Chuuni said: "Given the current situation, this Spiritualist did not immediately flee the scene after committing the crime. With his ability, he could have significantly escalated the incident, yet the scene resulted in only one death. A simple explanation of creating a violent incident doesn’t make sense logically."

Preserved Fruit was speechless, and Ming Xing continued: "This Spiritualist likely resides in this building long-term. During his regular use of Dark Ability, he was inadvertently discovered by the deceased. To silence them, he had his Battle Spirit attack the deceased."

Chuuni said: "If it was for silencing, after succeeding, the Spiritualist should have immediately had the Battle Spirit leave the scene. Leaving the Battle Spirit at the entrance doesn’t hold water."

Ming Xing was speechless, and Dumpling had a bold idea: "Leaving the Battle Spirit at the door might be a deliberate ploy to draw us out. He might be a member of a Dark Energy User organization targeting the Dark Star Bureau. Their support personnel may arrive at any moment, putting us in danger."

Upon hearing this analysis, everyone became tense.

Preserved Fruit picked up the phone: "This must be reported to Captain Chen immediately!"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "Don’t rush."

Preserved Fruit was stunned, uncertain whether to heed the deputy director’s instruction.

Chuuni disagreed with Dumpling’s reasoning: "If they intended to strike us, the best opportunity would have been during our battle with the Battle Spirit downstairs, as we had no capacity to fend off more enemies then.

Charging upstairs to battle the Spiritualist would have been another great opportunity for the opponent, yet no ambush occurred until the fight was over. Missing such opportunities repeatedly is illogical."

Dumpling wanted to continue arguing with Chuuni but refrained as Li Qi remained silent.

Truth be told, Dumpling felt embarrassed.

She wasn’t skilled in combat, which everyone knew, and she didn’t demand otherwise.

But losing to a junior in case analysis was hard for her to accept, especially in front of Li Qi.

Ming Xing felt dissatisfied too, snorting: "Our explanations are unreasonable. Provide a sensible one then."

Chuuni shared his thoughts: "I don’t think it’s that complicated. The cause might simply be that this Spiritualist exceeded his boundary in commanding."

Chuuni specifically looked at Li Qi: "Exceeding command boundaries is common among Spiritualists. In Puluo State, this behavior is referred to as ’a small horse pulling a big cart.’

Preserved Fruit was surprised, impressed by Chuuni’s knowledge given the diverse and extensive information in the Dark Energy User profession. Preserved Fruit hadn’t paid much attention to Spiritualists, but Chuuni’s mention of boundary-crossing sparked her memory.

Seeing Ming Xing’s slight confusion, Chuuni explained: "Almost all Spiritualists exhibit boundary-crossing behavior. A Second Layer Spiritualist might control Third Layer or even higher Battle Spirits.

Although Battle Spirits are deceased Lost Souls that retain their level, their combat power is compromised, making a Third Layer Battle Spirit only possess First Layer combat strength. For a Second Layer Spiritualist, it is normal to control Third Layer Battle Spirits.

However, the bundle of Cooling Mats encountered downstairs had combat strength reaching Third Layer in speed and lethality, possibly exceeding Fifth Layer in actual level.

In such a situation, if the Spiritualist is only Second Layer, they cannot pull the big cart, causing boundary-crossing control to fail and leading to Battle Spirit losing control."

Light Bulb agreed with Chuuni’s explanation: "That bundle of Cooling Mats must have lost control, killing that old woman while out of control. I’ve seen such occurrences in Puluo State too."

Ming Xing asked: "If the Battle Spirit lost control and caused a death, why hasn’t the Spiritualist escaped yet?"

Chuuni said: "Because the Battle Spirit will retain traces of the Spiritualist, allowing identification through examination if captured.

Before Light Bulb and Ming Xing arrived, the Spiritualist sought opportunities to reclaim the Battle Spirit to eliminate suspicion and achieved partial success. Initially, as Light Bulb said, this Battle Spirit wouldn’t attack targets ten meters away, which was residual control by the Spiritualist.

Yet Light Bulb and Ming Xing started engaging the Battle Spirit, prompting the Spiritualist to prioritize self-preservation and abandon control over the Battle Spirit. After some time, the Battle Spirit completely lost control, engaging proactively with Light Bulb and Dumpling.

From the Spiritualist’s perspective, he harbored a glimmer of luck, hopeful that if we destroyed the Battle Spirit as a Dark Energy Creature, there’d be no evidence.

But Preserved Fruit successfully captured the Battle Spirit alive, forcing the Spiritualist to release additional Battle Spirits, seeking a chance to escape."

After hearing Chuuni’s analysis, Preserved Fruit gave a thumbs-up: "Good lad, no wonder Captain Chen thinks so highly of you. You’ve truly done your homework!"

"Don’t embarrass me. If it weren’t for Director Li’s intervention, that Spiritualist might have escaped long ago." Throughout his remarks, Chuuni frequently glanced at Li Qi, eagerly seeking acknowledgment.

Li Qi nodded slightly at Chuuni, whose eyes brimmed with undisguised pride.

Dumpling looked between Chuuni and Li Qi.

She bowed her head, biting her lip tightly.