Outside the distillery, three figures—big, medium, and small—utilized the lighting devices mounted on Li Lin's powered armor to swiftly traverse the almost pitch-black interior of the distillery.
Given the conspicuous nature of Li Lin's powered armor and the relatively loud noise it produced during movement, coupled with their lack of knowledge about the situation inside the distillery, Caitlyn had initially planned for Li Lin to stay outside for support while she and Jayce infiltrated the facility.
However, much to their surprise, even before they entered the gates of the Wells Distillery, a thunderous explosion echoed from within.
It seemed like there was a confrontation happening inside!
The trio exchanged glances for a moment, quickly realizing the situation, and dashed towards the source of the sound.
"Li Lin, Jayce, hurry up!"
Several intermittent explosions followed, and then everything fell silent.
Caitlyn, realizing that the battle might have already concluded, couldn't help but feel tense. Urgently, she urged Li Lin and Jayce, who were lagging behind.
"You should have taken it slow, Cait," Li Lin said with a hint of helplessness. "It's dangerous to rush ahead like that.…"
"Yeah, there might be forces inside that we are not aware of. We should be cautious and not draw unnecessary attention," Jayce added, a bit breathless.
"I understand the risks, but my parents..."
Caitlyn paused, abruptly stopping her sentence. Simultaneously, she slowed down her pace, aligning with Li Lin and Jayce.
Li Lin, thinking she might not be in the mood to talk, was puzzled. "Uh... what's up?"
Caitlyn's eyes showed a hint of suspicion. "I think I know who was involved in the recent battle."
"Huh?" x2
"The chaos caused by C has destabilized the upper city, so Lady Grey intervened," she quickly analyzed. "Considering the sounds of the recent fight, C was likely eliminated by Lady Grey."
"Lady Grey…"
Jayce glanced at his hammer and then at the powered armor on Li Lin, his throat involuntarily swallowing.
"If Lady Grey was really the one in the recent fight, then we..."
"You weren't afraid when we were studying Hex crystals. Why so hesitant now?" Li Lin found it amusing. "What are you afraid of? Even if Lady Grey comes, she should be looking for me. Hextech energy crystals are my invention."
"Come on, you praised me for providing ideas earlier, and now you want to take all the credit for yourself."
Distracted by Li Lin's diversion, Jayce's nervousness seemed to ease a bit, and he playfully scolded.
Caitlyn glanced at them disapprovingly. "Shush, you two. There's something going on here."
Li Lin and Jayce immediately halted their conversation, following Caitlyn, who had suddenly stopped and returned to the fork in the corridor they had just passed.
After taking a dozen steps towards another direction and then returning to them, Caitlyn pointed to one side of the corridor ahead. "Did you sense anything?"
"Sensed anything? I haven't felt anything at all."
Apart from being a scientific genius, Jayce seemed a bit dull in other aspects, as if he had invested all his potential points in science and overlooked everything else, not understanding Caitlyn's meaning.
Caitlyn looked at him wordlessly, then turned her gaze to the large steel figure beside her. "And you, Li Lin?"
Li Lin raised an eyebrow. "Uh, if I have to say, I feel a strong metallic, corroded taste in my mouth..."
Caitlyn's eyes showed approval. "Exactly! I nurtured you well these past few days."
After a brief pause, she first pointed to the corridor they had just entered and then to another fork in the road. With her right index finger against her chin, she quickly analyzed:
"When we came this way, I suddenly smelled a strong metallic decay in my mouth. I didn't pay much attention, thinking it was my own problem.
"But when we passed through this fork to go this way, the taste in my mouth suddenly decreased. This abrupt change made me feel something was abnormal, so I stopped you guys.
"When we returned to this fork, the taste reappeared, and as I walked forward along this corridor, the metallic, decayed taste in my mouth became stronger..."
Caitlyn paused her explanation. She believed both Li Lin and Jayce could understand what she was trying to convey.
"Now that you mention it... I do feel something like that."
Jayce gripped the handle of his hammer and stood it upright on the ground, his face showing a contemplative expression.
"But the issue is, I've often had an inexplicable metallic, decayed taste in my mouth before. It just wasn't as intense as it is now. So, what's the situation?"
"Think carefully. When do you usually have that metallic taste in your mouth?" Caitlyn guided Jayce to recall.
"Uh, just used my hammer a moment ago, and now standing next to Li Lin after arriving in the Undercity tonight...
"By the way, I had a similar feeling when studying the Hextech crystal before!"
As he spoke, Jayce's eyes suddenly lit up, realizing, "Could it be that the Hextech crystal causes this condition?"
This...
Is this really the case? Even Li Lin, who is well-versed in the official background story, is a bit puzzled.
It might be some details he missed or perhaps differences between the real world and the background novel.
But he feels that the culprit causing the metallic acidic taste in the mouth is unlikely to be the Hextech crystal.
"Well, based on the current situation, it seems to be the case," Caitlyn said solemnly.
"Although I haven't seen the true face of the Lady of Gray, I heard that her entire body underwent Hextech augmentation. Even her heart was replaced with a Hextech core.
"If a regular Hextech crystal could cause such a situation, then the more powerful Hextech crystal in the Lady of Gray's chest would make it even worse."
After this brief exchange, the three changed direction and continued walking towards the depths of the distillery.
Not long after, under the illumination of the lights on Li Lin's powered armor, they quickly found a woman lying in a pool of blood. At first glance, she seemed lifeless.
Caitlyn's expression changed slightly, and she hurriedly walked over, squatting down on one knee, turning the woman over. In an instant, she saw the lifeless, staring eyes and a gash on the neck, with flesh and blood turned outward, and the blood no longer flowing.
"A Shuriman, the fatal wound is a sharp cut to the neck. It should be a fatal blow... The wound is smooth, indicating that the person who killed her is quite skilled."
Caitlyn then gestured for Li Lin to come closer, examining the body carefully in the light.
She first reached out and touched the woman's body. The surface of the skin still had residual warmth, proving that she hadn't been dead for long.
Then, she inspected the augmentation device combining Hextech and Chemtech on the woman's body, noticing the green spots in the lifeless eyes.
"She not only has Hextech technology on her body but also Chemtech augmentation. She's probably not a pure Undercity resident...
"The green spots in her eyes are the same color as the liquid in the Chemtech conduits. It proves that she used alchemical elixirs for enhancement before her death. There's also a high-frequency vibration blade invented by the genius craftsman Zevi.
"Considering the current information, we can be fairly certain that the one who just fought with her was the Lady of Gray. Only she could withstand so many tactics.
"Secondly, this guy is most likely the one who kidnapped my parents. They are highly likely to be somewhere in this distillery."
Caitlyn clicked her teeth lightly and then stood up, exchanging roles with herself and the character C, examining the traces of the battle around and sinking into thought.
"Before the Lady of Gray arrived, C would definitely stay in a concealed position overlooking the distillery. When the Lady of Gray came looking for her, her first reaction would be to escape.
"The Lady of Gray seeks stability, and with C's intelligence, she might think of using me as a hostage, being a Council member's mother.
"Since she fled in this direction, and the footprints on the ground do not lead to an exit, it means my parents are still alive and likely over there..."
Caitlyn's meticulous analysis left Li Lin and Jayce stunned.
Then, she squinted and looked towards one side of the corridor, striding towards it. "Leave the body here for now. Let's find my parents first."
After running for a while, Caitlyn heard no footsteps behind her. She turned back to see Li Lin and Jayce still standing in confusion.
"Why are you still standing there! Hurry up, come this way! We'll search from this side first!"
(End of this chapter)