Jiang Bai Mian in the back row chuckled:

"It definitely won't be that simple."

"If they caught a Special Envoy and then brainwashed him to lure out the internal staff responsible for transportation, they could find the exact location of the Eighth Research Institute. If it were that easy, they would have been jointly annihilated by multiple major forces long ago."

"I suspect that after the Special Envoy arrives at the agreed meeting point, before the internal staff responsible for transportation comes over, there will be a round of secret review to confirm whether the returnee has any problems through methods similar to reviewing memories."

"Or, the Eighth Research Institute has been monitoring the meeting point and surrounding areas through its own remaining functional satellite. Once they detect something wrong, they will immediately launch a missile to destroy both friend and foe at the same time."

"In short, we need to develop a series of contingency plans for different situations to see if we can come up with ways to bypass those restrictions."

This couldn't be accomplished in a short time, and even Jiang Bai Mian herself didn't have any ideas at the moment.

Especially since Professor Qin of the Eighth Research Institute can clearly delete relevant memories on a large scale and has explored the depths of the "Mind Corridor," the range of his abilities won't be small. If he were really hiding in the dark, secretly reviewing the experiences of Murray and Benito from a relatively long distance, the "Old Task Force" would have a hard time detecting it – the prerequisite for deleting relevant memories on a large scale is undoubtedly the ability to review them.

More importantly, Professor Qin may not be hiding in the area around the meeting point. He could completely "ambush" on Murray and Benito's return route in advance, making it impossible to defend against.

Long Yue Hong stopped talking, and Shang Jian Yao also fell into deep thought.

When they returned to the "Fire and Iron" Inn, Spant had already taken over Gittis's job and started the night shift.

But Gittis, the information merchant, hadn't left. She was sitting on the old sofa on one side of the lobby, staring blankly at the entrance.

She didn't know what she was thinking, so much so that Shang Jian Yao tiptoed in front of her before she suddenly woke up.

"How is it? Was the information accurate?" Gittis slowly stood up and asked.

Shang Jian Yao answered irrelevantly, realizing something:

"You were waiting for us to come back?"

"Afraid we'd skip out on the bill?"

Seeing Spant looking over here curiously, Gittis lowered her voice:

"Eight Great Knight gold coins aren't a small amount. Many workers have to go without food, drink, or raising children for two or three years to save up that much."

Jiang Bai Mian immediately took two steps forward, took out the six Great Knight gold coins, and handed them to Gittis:

"Still owe two. I'll give them to you within three days."

Because the "Old Task Force" had already paid the bulk of it, Gittis didn't press the matter, put away the gold coins, and nodded:

"You guys are very efficient. You completed the verification so quickly."

"Did you catch anyone?"

"No." Jiang Bai Mian shook her head sincerely.

They didn't catch anyone; they just had a friendly exchange with Murray and Benito.

Shang Jian Yao, on the other hand, looked shocked and stared at Gittis:

"As the most outstanding information merchant in Gehrman Sparrow, shouldn't you know whether we caught the target before we return?"

"So there are times when you don't know things!"

Gittis was silent for a few seconds before saying:

"Remember to make up the balance within three days."

Shang Jian Yao was speechless.

Gittis ignored them and walked out of the "Fire and Iron" Inn in a sleepwalking manner, disappearing into the area not illuminated by the streetlights.

"What kind of information did you buy that you paid her so many gold coins?" Although Spant didn't hear clearly the conversation between the "Old Task Force" and Gittis, he saw them give his colleague several Great Knight gold coins, which made him quite surprised and curious.

Jiang Bai Mian smiled, walked over, and said:

"We'll tell you for two Great Knight gold coins."

"..." Spant weighed his wallet and gave up on unnecessary curiosity.

Shang Jian Yao leaned closer and asked with concern:

"Is she very short on money?"

"I'm not too sure." Spant shook his head. "I only know that her parents have been sick, and she often buys some medicines and biological agents."

"I see." Shang Jian Yao nodded.

After chatting for a few words, the "Old Task Force" returned upstairs and entered their rooms.

They didn't immediately discuss how to use Murray and Benito to pinpoint the exact location of the Eighth Research Institute, but instead exchanged ideas about the next arrangements.

"Murray and Benito could be recalled at any time, and we may not have the time to go to Koninmiss." Long Yue Hong glanced at Shang Jian Yao.

In this case, the plan to track down Shang Jian Yao's father's whereabouts would have to be postponed again.

"Maybe the Eighth Research Institute has moved its headquarters to Koninmiss." Shang Jian Yao said indifferently, "I don't mind which of these two things comes first."

Jiang Bai Mian nodded slightly:

"Plans definitely need to be adjusted according to the specific situation. There's no rush to change them now. Maybe the Eighth Research Institute doesn't intend to recall Murray and Benito but instead sends Professor Qin over to have them cooperate in finding another front man similar to Mohr?"

This was entirely possible, and the "Old Task Force" would have the opportunity to catch a professor-level figure from the Eighth Research Institute in Gehrman Sparrow.

Such a high-level figure had a certain probability of knowing the exact location of the Eighth Research Institute!

Of course, he wasn't a member of the "Professors' Council," so Jiang Bai Mian couldn't guarantee that he would know for sure.

Bai Chen pursed her lips and said:

"In the next few days, while we wait for Murray and Benito to send back news, we can continue to visit the remaining personnel on Gittis's list to try to get more information related to Father."

They still had three people left to visit.

Jiang Bai Mian deliberated for a moment and said:

"If Murray and Benito haven't received a valid response from the Eighth Research Institute within three days, we'll have to consider secretly monitoring or even protecting them because that means the Eighth Research Institute may first do a round of review, and then contact them after confirming that they have no problems."

"Of the remaining three people on Gittis's list, Smith hasn't returned to Gehrman Sparrow yet, and we have enough 'friendship' with him, so we don't have to worry about not being able to visit him. As for Iman, the deputy head of the local Knights, and Franz, the president of the Hunter's Guild, I plan to directly purchase the corresponding answers from Gittis."

"Ah?" Long Yue Hong didn't expect the team leader to choose to "slack off."

Jiang Bai Mian smiled and said:

"Gittis's intelligence capabilities have been confirmed. Everyone has witnessed this."

"Since we can get an honest answer from her about an important target by spending a Great Knight gold coin, why should we waste time and take the risk of visiting Iman and Franz so painstakingly?"

"We can try again later if we're not satisfied with the answers or have any doubts."

Long Yue Hong felt that this made sense, but he also believed that this was taking too many shortcuts, which would make the team lose its subjective initiative. Over time, they would become lazy, lax, and lose their clear thinking.

But intelligence merchants like Gittis weren't something you could just encounter anywhere. Not every place had one... After some ideological struggle, Long Yue Hong chose to accept this plan.

This was indeed the easiest, most convenient, and most time-saving method.

"That would cost two Great Knight gold coins, and we still owe Gittis two." Bai Chen pointed out the biggest problem.

That was that the "Old Task Force" was broke.

There was a moment of silence in the suite. Jiang Bai Mian said after a while:

"After Murray and Benito confirm that they've been transferred to a safe house, we'll hand over the information given by Gittis to the sheriff named Yerger as if we found it ourselves. This can at least get us one Great Knight gold coin."

"Then, we'll take the opportunity to ask for some information to see if we can find clues about the Bodhi statue and get some reward money."

"What kind of information?" Shang Jian Yao asked curiously.

Jiang Bai Mian smiled slightly:

"You'll know when the time comes."

...

The next morning, after receiving a telegram from Murray and Benito through Genava, the five members of the "Old Task Force" got into their jeep and headed straight for the Gehrman Sparrow's Sheriff's Station.

This was located inside the ancient castle, between the outer walls and the tower that served as the main building.

Soon, Shang Jian Yao and the others met Yerger.

The sheriff, who had already put on his dark blue uniform, sized up the "Old Task Force" a few times:

"Any progress?"

"Yes." Jiang Bai Mian took out the portrait. "We've already asked about the sniper's appearance."

This was indeed what they had asked about.

Yerger took the portrait and looked at it carefully.

"The sniper was last seen in the Mohr family's district and is suspected of living in the same apartment as Mohr." Taking this opportunity, Jiang Bai Mian explained their experiences. "We found several witnesses in that area and even pretended to be members of the Safe Electricity Committee to inspect each house, but we didn't find the target. Well, there were several rooms that were unoccupied, and no one opened the door."

Yerger nodded slightly:

"I will immediately organize people to investigate. If it's confirmed that your information is valid, you will receive one Great Knight gold coin as a reward."

Jiang Bai Mian didn't question it and instead said:

"Sheriff, we would also like to copy some information from you."

"What kind of information?" Yerger asked vigilantly.

Jiang Bai Mian gave a harmless smile:

"The information on all security disputes, criminal cases, mental hospital admission records, and deceased persons in Gehrman Sparrow in the last two months. If some of the information has a high level of confidentiality, we only need to know that such a thing happened."