The main reasons for capturing these Cultists are twofold.
First, these "Four Gods Sect" followers operate as a gang. As long as we arrest them all in one sweep and deliver them one by one to the doorstep of the Spirit Control Bureau, that should do it.
Second, this group of Cultists last appeared yesterday! Compared to the criminals in other cases, Chen Mo can more easily find their whereabouts.
After a simple lunch, Chen Mo arrived at Ming City Square.
However, after reviewing the surveillance footage several times and questioning the supermarket owner, he still had no clue.
There are surveillance cameras every few tens of meters on this road, leaving almost no blind spots.
But in the only footage that captured the Cultists, the screen flickered for just 5 seconds. Five seconds is certainly not enough time for them to escape the range of nearby cameras.
Yet oddly, after those five seconds, these people vanished into thin air.
"Could it be that among these Cultists there is a Spiritual Beast capable of altering appearances? Disguised as someone else and left? No, there were no other people appearing in nearby surveillance during those five seconds."
"Or possibly summoned a Wind Spiritual Beast to leave? That's also not right, there were people passing by on nearby streets, if they summoned a Wind Spiritual Beast to leave, they would definitely have been spotted..."
"Damn it, investigating is really not my strong suit."
Chen Mo sighed.
"Chirp!" (Master, I have a way!)
At that moment, the Blazing Flame Fox in his arms rubbed against Chen Mo's palm and then leaped down, running towards a certain direction.
Xiao Jiu remembered that while wandering in the past, he had interacted with stray creatures in this area.
The stray creatures here might very well know the whereabouts of these Cultists!
Soon, the Blazing Flame Fox led Chen Mo to the end of a small alley, where many old pieces of furniture, wooden boards, and tires were piled up.
Among these messy and broken items, many stray creatures dwelled.
They were ordinary animals or Spiritual Beasts with mixed bloodlines.
Seeing Chen Mo and the Blazing Flame Fox, they all showed a wary and defensive look.
"Chirp!"
Worried about scaring these stray creatures away, Xiao Jiu tried to restrain his aura as much as possible and then greeted the multitude of creatures.
"Meow... meow?" (Are you the Blazing Flame Fox from before?)
A white cat recognized Xiao Jiu, but wasn't very sure.
Mainly because the changes in Xiao Jiu over the past month were too great, not only in strength but also in size and vitality.
"Chirp!" (Yes, it's me!)
The Blazing Flame Fox responded.
After recognizing Xiao Jiu, the creatures relaxed somewhat.
"Meow meow!?" (What are you doing here!?)
The white cat asked, its eyes filled with a hint of jealousy and envy.
Its situation was similar to that of Xiao Jiu's, both being mixed-blood Spiritual Beasts with some spiritual lineage but lamentably low purity.
Due to its potential, no Spirit Master was willing to contract with it.
Whereas the Blazing Flame Fox before it had clearly found its corresponding Spirit Master.
"Do you have any information about these people?"
Chen Mo pulled out a photo of the Cultists and asked using his talent in beast language.
"Meow~" (Why should I tell you, meow~)
The white cat had an unruly demeanor, and the other creatures around it also showed an uncooperative attitude.
Unperturbed, Chen Mo took two small dried fish from his pocket, unwrapped them, and instantly, a delicious aroma filled the air.
"Chirp!" (That's my dried fish!)
Seeing Chen Mo being so extravagant, the little fox felt a bit distressed.
"I'll buy you more when we get back, the honey-flavored ones you like the most."
"Chirp~" (Alright then~)
"Meow!" (Give it to me! I'll tell!)
Seeing the dried fish, the white cat's eyes lit up with excitement, and its mouth uncontrollably smacked together as it "betrayed" them by taking the lead.
It wasn't the cat's fault for not sticking to its principles, the enemy was just too cunning!
Watching the white cat's expressions, Chen Mo felt both heartache and amusement.
Indeed, in any universe, the 'True Fragrance Law' always applies.
He tossed the dried fish to the white cat, and after eating them quickly, the cat said somewhat embarrassedly:
"Meow~" (Actually, I'm not sure~)
Chen Mo had anticipated this response, so he wasn't surprised; he just took out 3 more pieces of dried fish, and slowly said:
"Whoever knows the whereabouts of these people, these three pieces of dried fish are theirs. Speak up and then you'll get them."
With a high bounty, comes great courage.
Under the offensive of gourmet food, the animals started to respond.
"Grr!" (Don't know!)
"Woof woof!" (Didn't notice!)
...
But all their replies were negative.
Either they hadn't seen anything, or they hadn't paid attention, or their spiritual intelligence was too low for Chen Mo to communicate with them.
Just as Chen Mo was about to give up, a Black Feather Crow in the corner suddenly cawed.
"Caw!" (I know, caw!)
"You know?"
"Caw!" (Give me a piece of dried fish first then I'll tell you!)
Chen Mo threw a piece of dried fish to the Black Feather Crow.
After eating the dried fish, the crow straightforwardly replied:
"Caw!" (The sewer! The sewer!)
Hearing this, Chen Mo suddenly saw the light.
The cult members hadn't disappeared into thin air or disguised themselves, but had entered the sewer through a manhole cover within those 5 seconds!
And their hideout was in the city's sewers!
"Jiu Bao, you've earned a huge merit this time!"
"Chirp!"
After getting the clue about the cultists, Chen Mo didn't rush to move, instead, he went to a supermarket to buy a set of orange clothes similar to those worn by sewer workers and a gas mask before entering the sewer.
As for the sewer network map, he had Meow Meow Sect Leader request it from the relevant department and then sync it to his bracelet.
The sewers of Shenghai City were not as dirty and chaotic as Chen Mo had imagined.
Being summer, the sewers were quite dry without any residual water, and there were also pathways on both sides for maintenance personnel to walk.
Chen Mo followed the pathway, marking on the official map at every fork, then continued his search.
Since the cultists had chosen to enter this sewer after buying daily necessities, there was a high likelihood they were living nearby!
After walking for an unknown period, Chen Mo suddenly heard a blurry murmur at a branch road.
Chen Mo slowed his pace, slowly approaching the direction of the sound.
Soon, as he was about to reach the end of this branch, Chen Mo vaguely saw a crimson candlelight.
Four figures in black robes were holding candles, circling around a bizarre altar, while their mouths emitted strange murmuring sounds, seemingly conducting some sort of ritual.
"Hello! I'm here to unclog the sewer, could you please move aside?"
At that moment, a young voice reached the ears of the four cultists.
A person dressed in orange clothes and wearing a gas mask appeared in front of them.
The moment they saw Chen Mo, a chilling light burst forth from the cultists' eyes, and they immediately commanded their Spiritual Beasts to attack Chen Mo!
Instantly, the killing intent was unveiled!