Chapter 259: 259, Special Investigation Department investigates the case

On his way into the mountains, Ren Xiaosu made a rough calculation: he had barely managed to collect nanobots from fourteen Divine Machine Camp officers, but each of them carried more than Lin Qi and the others. Now, if he were to protect himself with an external armor, only one shin remained uncovered—the rest were all in place.

In battle, there would be no adherence to the form of external armor; instead, he would prioritize shielding vital areas. Yet this calculation also served to help him gauge the number of nanobots he had acquired.

As he fled the battlefield, Ren Xiaosu was still thinking about the path he had taken to gather the nanobots—he had already seen many fallen Divine Machine Camp officers lying in the snow.

Just the Divine Machine Camp officers he had witnessed numbered in the dozens. If it were an ordinary sniper, such lethal capability would be unlikely.

Moreover, once a sniper fired, the remaining Divine Machine Camp officers would surely move at high speed. Given their speed, only a marksman of supernatural skill could have killed so many of them.

Looking at the corpses of the Divine Machine Camp officers, Ren Xiaosu was certain they had launched an assault on the sniper’s position. They had attempted to evade bullets through speed and locate the sniper to kill him.

But they had failed.

The two surviving Divine Machine Camp officers were likely wounded themselves, so the others had let them retreat first, sparing one life while the rest perished.

These were Divine Machine Camp warriors. Even if their tactics had been flawed and their edge dulled by the Qing family, this was the Divine Machine Camp that the Li family held in such high regard. How could a single sniper have slaughtered over a hundred of them on the way?

Could the opponent also possess Yang Xiaojin’s perfect marksmanship? But where in the world were so many sharpshooters to be found?

To be honest, Ren Xiaosu always felt the sniper might be Yang Xiaojin, but the evidence told him otherwise…

Moreover, Yang Xiaojin had no reason to be here.

Ren Xiaosu first went to the Potato Shooter to obtain his daily ration of potatoes before returning to the camp.

“Xiaosu’s back?” Li Qingzheng cheerfully took the potatoes from Ren Xiaosu’s arms: “Be careful when cooking—I heard the others in the tents have already run out of food. Some are so hungry they can’t bear it and venture out to find sustenance despite their fear.”

“What’s the rush?” Ren Xiaosu shook the snow off his body: “At this hour, both strength and energy have dwindled to their lowest. Without enough stamina, even finding food is impossible.”

Chen Wudi approached, helping brush off the unreachable snow and handed him a warm potato: “Master, eat the potato.”

Ren Xiaosu glanced at the sky outside: “We’ve been here four days. Besides us, no one else has anything to eat. If we linger here any longer, everyone will die.”

“Not just us,” Li Qingzheng sighed: “We have only a thousand people here. Across the entire battlefield, there are over twenty thousand private army soldiers enduring hunger, all ruined by their commanding officers. If everyone had eaten their fill, they wouldn’t suffer so. Now, it’s different—who knows how many will starve to death after this snowfall.”

At that moment, the camp suddenly grew restless. Ren Xiaosu pulled aside the tent flap to look out, but due to the obstruction of the tents, he could not discern what was happening.

“What’s going on?” someone asked.

“I don’t know. I only came out because of the noise. Could they be fighting?”

Someone answered indifferently: “After starving like this, what’s the point of fighting?”

Ren Xiaosu ignored them and continued southward. As he neared the edge of the camp, he saw that outsiders had arrived!

It was a special operations squad, searching the periphery of the camp and inquiring about something. Ren Xiaosu edged closer to overhear their words: “Why are you stationed here? Why didn’t you arrive at the strategic position on time? Where is the camp commander? Come out and answer questions!”

Ren Xiaosu froze. Their uniforms were not those of a combat unit but of the Special Investigation Bureau!

He quickly realized they were likely investigating the Divine Machine Camp incident. Since the Qing family had been ambushed, a chain reaction was inevitable.

Their private army had previously exchanged vehicles and uniforms with the Divine Machine Camp and would undoubtedly be the Special Investigation Bureau’s primary target.

After understanding this, Ren Xiaosu hid in the crowd. He had no intention of crossing paths with the Special Investigation Bureau at this moment.

He saw the reinforced company commander beside Liu Taizu approach and say: “Our commander is still unconscious. He was knocked out by a Divine Machine Camp officer. Upon waking, he’s had a fever that won’t subside. Staying here was the Divine Machine Camp’s decision.”

The company commander had neatly shifted all responsibility onto the Divine Machine Camp. After all, the dead couldn’t speak.

The Special Investigation Bureau personnel frowned: “Where are the Divine Machine Camp officers? Let them come forward for questioning.”

Upon hearing this, Ren Xiaosu noted the bureau’s tone was truly domineering, barking orders at the Divine Machine Camp as if they were subordinates. No wonder he had previously scolded others in the bureau’s name without anyone finding it odd…

But the company commander explained: “Those Divine Machine Camp officers insisted on hunting yesterday morning, chasing rabbits. They were attacked by unknown plants. In total, five Divine Machine Camp commanders died. Don’t believe me? Ask the others.”

The Special Investigation Bureau personnel looked doubtful, but the private army soldiers quickly nodded: “We tried to chase them but couldn’t catch up. By the time we got there, they were already dead.”

These people had been uneasy about their earlier failure to save lives, so they had already coordinated their testimonies.

The squad leader of the Special Investigation Bureau frowned: “Take me to see your private army commander, then to the site where the Divine Machine Camp died.”

By now, Ren Xiaosu felt no fear at all—the entire private army was fabricating lies for him. What was there to fear?

The reinforced company commander led the Special Investigation Bureau personnel into the camp. They first examined Liu Taizu’s condition. The examiner nodded to the squad leader: “Indeed, he has a persistent fever. Likely internal bleeding from the kicks, causing inflammation.”

The squad leader told the company commander: “Hand over your private army roster. Now, to the site of the Divine Machine Camp incident.”