Bai Chen glanced at Gerneva, not giving him a chance to exhaust all possibilities, and tried to deduce himself:

"Maybe the headquarters of the ascetic monk's faction is somewhere in the ice plains. Returning from Gesterborg is the safest and shortest route. Who knows, after he arrived here, his condition suddenly worsened, and he had to stay."

Jiang Baimian's eyes flickered slightly:

"Two questions. First, the ascetic monk should have arrived in Gesterborg in March and died in April. Even ordinary people are easily frozen to death in the ice plains during that season, let alone someone whose health was already not good? If their headquarters are really in the ice plains, I think after he arrived in Gesterborg, to protect the Bodhi statue in his possession, he wouldn't hesitate to send a telegram to headquarters, asking the higher-ups to send a convoy to pick him up. But nearly a month has passed, and no such thing has happened."

"Maybe the person he met at the steel furnace in the factory area was sent by their headquarters, but the result..." Shang Jianyao muttered softly.

As a result, it was a deadly ghost who detonated his condition from a great distance.

The honest Gerneva disagreed with Shang Jianyao's statement this time:

"Meeting a companion shouldn't require going to the factory area in the middle of the night. The ascetic monk didn't hide anything when he was begging for alms in Gesterborg."

"Yes, yes." Long Yuehong echoed.

Jiang Baimian didn't dwell on this point and continued:

"Second question, it can be inferred from the information that when the ascetic monk first arrived in Gesterborg, although his body looked unwell, it wouldn't make people think of death. That is to say, in the beginning, his condition hadn't worsened, and he still had the ability to travel far.

"Then, what was he waiting for in Gesterborg?"

"Waiting for people from headquarters to pick him up!" Shang Jianyao answered very decisively.

"Maybe he was waiting for summer," Bai Chen said thoughtfully.

"Right!" Long Yuehong suddenly realized, "He was waiting for summer to come, for the climate in the ice plains to become milder, and then go to some place in the ice plains."

Why not pass through Gesterborg to other factions or other settlements? Because there is a better route that doesn't require enduring harsh weather, and there's more than one.

Most likely, it was the cold and bad air of spring in Gesterborg that caused the ascetic monk's condition to worsen.

Jiang Baimian nodded almost imperceptibly:

"And the closest and most noteworthy place to Gesterborg is Koningsmuist."

Although this was just a bold guess, it still made Long Yuehong and the others feel a chill in their hearts.

If that's the case, Koningsmuist might be the source of many problems and many things.

"Also, there are people from the Eighth Research Institute lurking in Gesterborg, mainly to collect supplies, and the headquarters of the Eighth Research Institute is confirmed to be somewhere in the ice plains." Jiang Baimian proposed another possibility as a supplement.

Gerneva's eye sockets flickered red:

"There is another possibility. The ascetic monk originally arranged to meet someone in Gesterborg, so he came to this place with a harsh climate and stayed for a while until his condition worsened."

Shang Jianyao immediately laughed:

"Then, why would that person or that faction arrange to meet in Gesterborg?"

No one answered him, but the following term flashed in everyone's mind, and in the main module:

"The Eighth Research Institute."

Shang Jianyao didn't care about the brief silence and enthusiastically made up a story:

"Maybe the faction to which the ascetic monk belonged was destroyed because of the Bodhi statue. He brought the Buddhist treasure, dragging his sick body, all the way to Gesterborg, seeking the protection of some people or some faction, but failed to wait.

"Maybe he betrayed his faction, stole the Bodhi statue, and tried to go somewhere to complete something, but was blocked by the weather in Gesterborg, and his condition deteriorated day by day, eventually unable to support it...

"This can explain why it took three years for the person who issued the task to find out that he died in Gesterborg, and the Bodhi statue was lost as a result."

Clap clap clap, without waiting for others to respond, Shang Jianyao applauded himself and cheered.

Dang dang dang, Gerneva was very polite.

Jiang Baimian slowly exhaled:

"Have you watched too much Old World entertainment data...

"What you said is more reasonable and less abrupt if it's placed in the world of martial arts or immortals."

But I think what he said sounds quite plausible, there's a certain possibility... Long Yuehong just muttered without saying it out loud.

Jiang Baimian changed the subject:

"However, both of these situations are just hypotheses, and there may be some traces that can be verified."

"How to verify?" Bai Chen asked with slight surprise.

Jiang Baimian smiled:

"Since that employer knows to issue a task in the Hunter's Guild, driving relic hunters to Gesterborg to find the Bodhi statue, then before that, would he or they also issue tasks through the Hunter's Guild to find any clues about the ascetic monk?

"Two to three years have passed, and they finally determined that the target died in Gesterborg."

Bai Chen nodded slightly:

"Go to the Hunter's Guild to look through the task records from the previous three years?

"This is all confidential information..."

She didn't continue, because she remembered that her team had already planned to send Gerneva to invade the local guild's system and modify the hunter level of their four new identities.

Since this is the case, checking the past task records is just a matter of consuming a little more power.

Moreover, with Gerneva's retrieval level, the four carbon-based humans of the "Old Task Force" combined would be completely outclassed by him. He can complete the screening or traversal in just a few seconds, or even less.

After another round of discussion, the "Old Task Force" had a preliminary plan for investigating the Bodhi statue:

First, visit key witnesses and examine the corresponding exhibits to determine with the Awakened's ability whether the ascetic monk really died of illness;

Second, go to the Hunter's Guild to "view" the past task records—since it can be determined that the ascetic monk died in Gesterborg, the corresponding missing person request should have been posted in the local guild, and it was only recently posted, perhaps within half a year. Otherwise, the publisher of the Bodhi statue task would have already locked down the ascetic monk's whereabouts.

Third, through informants and randomly selected Gesterborg residents, learn about any unusual events in the past three years that differ from the past—the "Old Task Force" believes that the Bodhi statue is so valued and should have some mystical properties. If it falls into the hands of people who don't understand it very well, it may bring disaster or strange phenomena.

Fourth, according to the information, visit all the people who have been in contact with the ascetic monk, focusing on clarifying whether the monk asked about Koningsmuist or a certain place in the ice plains. This will take a lot of time, and Jiang Baimian plans to do it last.

By the time the "Old Task Force" finished this matter, the sun had reached the center of the sky, but it seemed weak and powerless under the layers of yellowed air.

At Shang Jianyao's urging, Jiang Baimian and the others left the hotel in search of food.

Considering that they would be taking Old Ge to the Hunter's Guild later, the "Old Task Force" chose "Old Henry" Restaurant again for convenience and familiarity, so as to avoid any accidents in unfamiliar places.

Seeing them, the brown-haired waiter from yesterday evening took the initiative to greet them and led them to a secluded spot.

After taking note of their orders, he lowered his voice and said:

"You should have been to the Hunter's Guild, do you still want me to ask my friend for information?"

"That's exactly our wish," Jiang Baimian nodded.

Having confirmed that some high-performance batteries were already charged, she had a lot of confidence.

Of course, she planned to meet with that informant tomorrow or the day after, which would be more prudent.

"Where is your friend, what's his name?" Shang Jianyao asked proactively.

The brown-haired waiter didn't speak, just smiled and looked at them.

Bai Chen took out a spare Knight silver coin from her body and handed it to him.

The brown-haired waiter reached out and took it, smiling even more warmly:

"Her name is Gitis, she works at the 'Fire and Iron' Hotel."

Shang Jianyao immediately showed a distressed expression.

That Knight silver coin was wasted!

This is the informant they know!

"She has a day off today and should be coming here for lunch later," the brown-haired waiter said further, "I'll introduce you."

Gitis really has a good reputation for being well-informed... Can't really tell... While Jiang Baimian was secretly sighing, the female receptionist appeared at the entrance of "Old Henry" Restaurant.

She was wearing a linen shirt, matching pants, dark black boots, a dark-colored leather jacket, her honey-colored hair was still casually tied up, and her gray-blue eyes were large and listless.

As Gitis walked in, she acted as if she were sleepwalking, almost bumping into tables and chairs several times.

This state is too bad... Awakened's price? Now when encountering similar things, Jiang Baimian's first reaction is the Awakened's price.

The more abnormal, the more likely it involves an Awakened!

"Gitis, someone is looking for you," the brown-haired waiter greeted with a smile.

Gitis raised her eyelids, glanced this way, and walked over slowly.

"What do you want to inquire about?" She asked somewhat vigilantly.

Shang Jianyao blurted out in astonishment:

"You don't recognize us anymore?"

He looked wronged and disappointed.

Gitis thought for a moment and finally remembered:

"Are you guests at the hotel?"

She didn't seem to have much memory of what happened this morning.

"Yes," Jiang Baimian said to the brown-haired waiter, "Add a chair for Ms. Gitis."

After Gitis sat down and the waiter left, Shang Jianyao swiped out a photo of his father and handed it to the informant:

"Do you recognize this person?

"He might have been to Gesterborg twelve years ago."

Shang Jianyao's actions were as fast as lightning, as if he had practiced it many times, and Jiang Baimian couldn't stop him at all.

Gitis took the photo and muttered:

"I was only fourteen years old twelve years ago..."

Suddenly, she paused, her tone changed:

"This ashen lander..."