We arrived at a bustling street in the new district, with our target location right across from us.

  It appeared to be a luxuriously decorated bar, but judging by the sign hanging outside, it was actually a members-only wine-tasting club.

  Occasionally, a few people would come and go through the grand entrance, which exuded an air of wealth and sophistication.

  They were all dressed in stylish and elegant attire.

  Even the attendants greeting and seeing off guests were impeccably dressed and carried themselves with trained professionalism.

  This was clearly an exclusive venue where outsiders had no access.

  In fact, ordinary people wouldn’t even entertain the idea of entering, just by looking at the extravagant setting.

  Although the Shadow Swap Oddities targeted local elites as prey, it seemed that he himself held a privileged position in society.

  Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to enter and exit such a high-end, members-only establishment so freely.

  Or perhaps his role wasn’t that of a customer, but rather an attendant—or even the owner?

  We didn’t approach recklessly.

  Instead, we stood at a distance, carefully observing and keeping an eye on those entering and exiting the wine-tasting club.

  “This is the pce?” I asked.

  Ma Zao affirmed confidently, “Yes, this is the pce.”

  “Do you know what it’s like inside?” Zhu Shi asked.

  “I don’t know. The extracted images were too fragmented. If I had a few more days, I might be able to piece them together. But with only one night, all I could determine was that ‘the Oddities occasionally comes and goes from here,’” Ma Zao said.

  “Occasionally… So, that means the Oddities might not necessarily be inside right now?” Zhu Shi asked.

  "The Oddities doesn't necessarily come here every day, and even when he does, it's usually at night," Ma Zao thought for a moment before continuing.

  "But I believe there's an eight or nine out of ten chance that he's inside the wine-tasting club right now."

  "What's your reasoning?" Zhu Shi asked curiously.

  "Because I'm here," Ma Zao said matter-of-factly.

  "Since I've actively sought out a supernatural entity, it's only natural that the supernatural entity will appear nearby. Even though that Oddities could barely still be considered human—or at least possesses a human self-awareness—he can still be categorized as a supernatural entity. It wouldn't be surprising if he unched an attack right now."

  Before I met Ma Zao, my investigations into supernatural incidents would always result in dead ends.

  However, for Ma Zao, encountering supernatural entities was practically a certainty.

  She didn't even need to actively investigate; rather, supernatural events seemed drawn to her like moths to a fme.

  This situation was no exception.

  If tracking the Oddities could be considered an investigation into supernatural phenomena, then the location she had pinpointed was guaranteed to have some kind of presence.

  Calling it a "100% guarantee" might be an exaggeration, but it was safe to assume we wouldn't be off the mark.

  What an enviable ability.

  Fortunately, I could benefit from it now as well.

  Unlike me, Zhu Shi's understanding of Ma Zao's "disaster jinx magnet" trait was mostly based on hearsay.

  She simply sighed in amazement, remarking, "That's unbelievable," before pulling out her phone and contacting Patrol Lu.

  She provided him with the name of the wine-tasting club and asked him to look into any relevant information.

  As expected of a Mount Luo patrol officer specializing in intelligence gathering, Patrol Lu sent back detailed information not long after Zhu Shi ended the call.

  During this time, I also released my "Fireflies" to infiltrate the club across the street.

  The current version of "Fireflies" had been upgraded—it could now store more pre-programmed instructions and capture environmental data around it.

  This meant it could record what it saw, allowing me to review the "footage" ter.

  Unfortunately, the newly added features from the recent upgrades weren’t of much use for now.

  I simply manually controlled a few "Fireflies" and had them infiltrate the wine-tasting club.

  Even though these tiny "sparks" wouldn’t likely draw much attention even if spotted, I still avoided sending them through the grand front entrance.

  Instead, they slipped in through ventition ducts and window crevices.

  After a rough sweep inside, it didn’t take long for me to gain a preliminary understanding of the club’s inner workings.

  This pce was far less gmorous than it appeared on the outside.

  In short, it was all show and no substance—a facade hiding rot within.

  Almost at the same time, Zhu Shi seemed to have also learned the truth about this wine-tasting club from the documents sent to her phone by Patrol Lu.

  “So this pce is actually a nightclub...” Zhu Shi said with disgust.

  “Nightclub?” Ma Zao asked in confusion.

  “Simply put, the outer areas of this so-called wine-tasting club function as advertised—a pce to sample and appreciate fine wines. But deeper inside, there are plenty of women offering ‘special services,’ along with a full range of massage, spa, and lodging facilities,” I said as I observed the interior.

  Whether it was to protect their privacy or to add an element of excitement, all the customers inside wore various styles of headgear, while some of the women sported eborate, colorful masks that concealed their true faces.

  It looked just like a masquerade ball.

  The customers headgear even seemed to have built-in voice changers, making their speech sound strange and distorted.

  Looking at Ma Zao’s youthful face, I hesitated to provide a more explicit expnation and chose to summarize it with the term "special services."

  However, in this post-apocalyptic era, there were likely many women trading "special services" for survival resources, perhaps in an even more btant manner than in peacetime.

  To my surprise, Ma Zao simply nodded in understanding without showing any signs of shock or surprise.

  "Can you see what's happening inside?" Ma Zao was more curious about this.

  I first gave a brief expnation of my "Firefly" skill, then said, "Even if the Oddities is inside, he must be in his human form, and I wouldn’t be able to identify him. Ma Zao, did you manage to get any details about his human appearance from that severed finger?"

  "No," Ma Zao shook her head.

  Even though the patrons in the nightclub wore headgear and masks, I could still merge my consciousness with the ambient thermal energy to uncover their true faces beneath the disguises.

  However, without knowing what the target looked like, that wouldn’t be of much help.

  In that case, the only option was to track other distinguishing features of the target.

  For instance, scars.

  "You severed the Oddities hand st night. With the regenerative abilities of these creatures, could he fully heal his hand overnight without leaving a trace?" I asked.

  "If it were a Demon from the apocalyptic era, it would be possible. But for a creature of this era..." Ma Zao seemed uncertain.

  Zhu Shi, however, provided a definitive answer.

  "According to the information from Patrol Lu, if it’s just a severed hand, a creature like him wouldn’t even need half a night to completely regenerate it without a trace."

  The approach of identifying him through scars was clearly a dead end.

  As I pondered our next move, I turned to Zhu Shi and asked, "When a creature like him is in human form, can your 'Bu Zhou Mountain' skill directly reveal his true identity?"

  "I can do it, but if we don’t know who the target is in advance, we’ll have to investigate each person one by one," Zhu Shi pondered.

  "Demons... Creatures like him can sense the aura of souls. While they have difficulty distinguishing the differences between ordinary human souls, they are highly sensitive to those with powerful magical abilities and can identify them precisely," Ma Zao shook her head.

  "We’ve fought this creature before, and he’s definitely memorized our auras. If we go about investigating people one by one, we might alert him. He could escape before we even get to him."

  "Can’t this aura be concealed? I remember you once said it’s possible to hide your aura through meditation," I asked.

  Zhu Shi hesitated and offered her opinion, "While I can conceal my aura, if someone suddenly appears in the area without emitting any soul aura and starts checking people one by one, that itself could raise suspicions."

  It seemed like we were facing a challenge.

  I could observe everyone without being noticed, but I cked the ability to identify the Oddities.

  On the other hand, Zhu Shi had the necessary insight but couldn’t observe everyone without attracting attention.

  If only we could combine my perception with Zhu Shi's abilities...

  No, even if such a method existed, it wouldn’t be easy to use.

  Patrol Lu had previously attempted to transmit information directly into my mind, but my innate power rejected the connection, nearly causing him severe harm.

  Trying to link my mind with someone else’s might come with significant risks.

  "Maybe I could stake out this pce and wait for the Oddities to come out on its own," Zhu Shi suggested.

  "That probably won’t work," Ma Zao shook her head.

  "I haven't figured out all the details yet, but it seems that for the past two months, the Oddities has not been using normal means to enter and exit this location. It doesn’t appear to be shadow teleportation, since the vision I traced didn’t have the usual bckout transition. It’s likely he’s been using a spatial dispcement ability to move between here and other locations."

  "Using that kind of movement ability is probably to create an alibi, making it seem like he’s never entered such an establishment, which helps maintain his human social identity. That makes sense… but why isn't he using shadow teleportation and instead opting for spatial dispcement?" Zhu Shi mused.

  "Is it because shadow teleportation consumes more energy… or does he see entering the shadow realm as risky, even for him?"

  "If he's using spatial dispcement, then even with my 'Firefly' skill monitoring everyone inside, I wouldn’t be able to catch anything suspicious. His shadow clone can perfectly mimic a human appearance, and when he swaps pces with it, the transition is seamless," I said.

  "However, in that case, I might be able to narrow down the suspects to those who haven't left the club for a long time."

  "I can also continue investigating that severed finger. In a few days, I’ll definitely be able to identify our target," Ma Zao added, but then she seemed to realize another issue.

  "The Oddities fought us st night. He’s probably aware that Mount Luo Wuchang is tracking him. Would he really stay in Xianshui City for long?" Zhu Shi pondered.

  "But if he truly felt that sense of danger, why would he come to a nightclub at a time like this?" Ma Zao fell into deep thought.

  From a male perspective, I offered my opinion, "Perhaps it's precisely because of the immense survival pressure that he feels the need for some comfort."

  Ma Zao nodded in understanding. "I see..."

  Meanwhile, Zhu Shi gave me a look as if she wanted to say something but held back.

  Junior Sister Zhu, if you have something to say, just say it—your hesitation is a little hurtful.

  I refocused my attention on the problem at hand.

  If the Shadow Swap Oddities truly decided to flee Xianshui City, we’d have no way of tracking him down.

  Once an enemy with shadow teleportation escapes, finding him would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

  This would mean the end of our investigation into the Creator of Oddities, the Humanitarian Division, and any leads reted to the apocalypse.

  Naturally, I was deeply curious about these clues, but beyond that, I had a personal grudge with the Shadow Swap Oddities.

  I couldn’t accept that the one who tried to harm Chang'an would just slip away.

  Just then, Zhu Shi's phone rang.

  She gnced at the caller ID and was momentarily stunned before answering.

  I didn't use my "Firefly" ability to eavesdrop, so I had no idea what was being said on the other end, but her face quickly filled with shock.

  "What?" she excimed in horror.

  "My brother is missing?"

  Support me on paetron to read up to chapter 100 :patreon*com/DeCakraWnloverz