In fact, Bai Mo didn't see him at all.
Bai Mo was holding a tray, looking at the meat and vegetables on it!
Bright and glossy braised beef, layers of braised pork, and a big scoop of fish-flavored shredded pork, all over the rice.
"Not bad at all."
He found a seat, sat down, and started chowing down.
This meal, costing a total of eighteen yuan, he couldn't afford before he received the advisory fee from the Immortal Technique Committee. Now, while eating, his mouth was full of oil, and he felt quite grateful to the Immortal Technique Committee.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
He took it out to check and saw it was a WeChat message.
[Fang Xiaoyu, Secretary of the Immortal Technique Committee]
[Expert Bai Mo, there's an interrogation event tonight, starting at half past eight.]
[We at the Immortal Technique Committee would like to invite you to attend, to help us keep an eye on things.]
An interrogation event?
[It should end around nine o'clock.]
[Would the time be convenient for you? If so, we'll send a car to your school gate right now.]
Bai Mo looked at the braised beef on his plate and felt a bit embarrassed not to go…
But if it starts at eight thirty, it's only six o'clock now, are they really picking people up now?
Bai Mo didn't ask much, he just replied with one sentence.
[Okay, the time is convenient.]
After replying, he immediately kept his head down and accelerated eating!
...
Twenty minutes later, when Bai Mo got out of the car sent by the Immortal Technique Committee and was respectfully escorted to their restaurant, he finally understood why they picked people up at six o'clock…
Turns out, the Immortal Technique Committee had prepared dinner in advance for the experts who came to help!
In the brightly lit self-service restaurant, all kinds of delicacies were steaming hot.
Near the entrance, Bai Mo spotted braised beef. It was larger, more tender, more visually appealing, and more fragrant than the school's version, without potatoes. There was also lamb chops, lobster, and various fresh seafood. The hosting standards were really quite good.
Bai Mo was quite depressed, rubbing his already full stomach and grumbling about Fang Xiaoyu, "Why didn't you mention this earlier..."
Just as he was feeling down, Fang Xiaoyu came briskly over, in her twenties, young and beautiful, her ponytail tied at the back, dressed in a suit with a big smile.
"Expert Bai Mo, you're here?
"Want to have some food first?
"There are hot dishes here, some seafood, and fruits.
"There's coffee over there.
"It's not just you tonight, over a hundred experts are here, you can walk around and meet them."
The so-called "experts" didn't necessarily have to be immortal-related personnel. They included psychology experts, criminal investigation experts, criminology experts, ancient history experts, etc., all invited by the Immortal Technique Committee.
Bai Mo tugged at the corners of his mouth.
He did like good food, but he wouldn't go as far as eating two meals.
Just as he and Fang Xiaoyu found a place to sit down and were about to talk business, a scream suddenly rang out!
Turning towards the sound, his eyes widened.
Appearing in the restaurant was a colorful snake, coiled atop a potted plant in the corner, scaring a waitress into sitting on the floor!
Someone stepped forward, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's my immortal beast! I just let it come to have some food."
Only now did Bai Mo notice that there were several immortal beasts in the self-service restaurant.
A spider the size of a washbasin was sprawled atop the salmon tray, devouring it ravenously.
A mangy dog was lying on a dining table, gnawing on raw meat.
Whoa?
Bai Mo's thoughts jolted open!
"Let's draw a lucky winner today."
White mist billowed from beneath his feet, randomly manifesting a fox apprentice. It was White Gloves!
This guy emerged from the mist, looking bewildered, holding onto his master's leg, glancing left and right, sniffing the air and catching various enticing aromas.
It gulped down a mouthful. Although wanting to eat very much, it dared not act rashly, waiting for its master's command.
It saw its master pointing to all the good stuff in the room, uttering three unbelievably melodious words, "Eat whatever you want."
...
In the brightly lit self-service restaurant, experts everywhere were eating and chatting, joking and laughing, toasting each other.
At a booth, Fang Xiaoyu and Bai Mo were chatting while watching a fat red fox devour food at the adjacent seat!
Several people secretly murmured, "Is that red fox an immortal beast too?"
"It doesn't look very fierce."
"Foxes, as immortal beasts, probably follow the bewitchment path?"
"Bewitchment path? It's so chubby it looks like a ball! Its fox face is so fat it resembles a bun, who could it possibly bewitch?"
White Gloves rolled its eyes, completely ignoring them. As if they understood anything—only those who didn't eat their fill were skinny! Before its master came to Fox Mountain, they were a troupe of ridiculously skinny foxes one by one! Only after its master arrived did they start gaining weight. Fatness is fortune!
This fox had a preference for all sorts of chicken dishes, nearly devouring all the roasted bird skewers provided by the restaurant. At the moment, it was clutching a roast chicken, gnawing on it with its mouth full of grease.
Glancing at the table piled with chicken bones, Fang Xiaoyu tugged at the corners of her mouth, "…Even though it's quite chubby, eating like this, is it really okay?"
Bai Mo shook his head.
"Relax, it's an immortal beast, not an ordinary species, it'll be fine."
Fang Xiaoyu nodded, only able to acknowledge that immortal beasts were truly amazing!
"Actually, the reason we invited all these experts this time is for an interrogation.
"The wanted criminal you overturned last time has been resuscitated and is now out of mortal danger.
"We intend to interrogate him."
Bai Mo nodded.
But... if you want to interrogate, just go ahead, why gather so many people?
Fang Xiaoyu continued, "The problem lies in that criminal's path and sequence.
"He belongs to the Immortal Martial Path's Sequence Nine, Bloodthirsty.
"This sequence has two major issues.
"The first is: All current Bloodthirsties are wanted criminals, serious offenders! Moreover, they've banded together to form a criminal organization, frequently orchestrating large-scale criminal activities."
Huh?
Everyone in a sequence is a wanted criminal?
Bai Mo furrowed his brows.
Then maybe it's not a people problem; it's a sequence problem?
Fang Xiaoyu continued speaking.
"The second issue is… Even through interrogation, we can't deduce the upgrade ceremony of this sequence or understand the criminal activities they plan."
Bai Mo furrowed his brows.
"Can't deduce?"
Fang Xiaoyu's face was grave, she sighed.
"That's also why we brought in a multitude of experts to observe, hoping we can discover some clues..."
As Fang Xiaoyu spoke, the fox apprentice beside Bai Mo had already eaten its fill and burped, using a napkin to wipe off the grease at the corner of its mouth.
Yet, this cheeky creature's eyes wandered, glancing at the whole roast chicken on the adjacent table.
It poked its master, pointed at that roast chicken, and used its front paws to gesture.
Fang Xiaoyu didn't understand what it was doing.
But Bai Mo did, and unable to resist, his face blushed old... this rascal wanted to take away, to pack a few roast chickens back for the brothers and sisters to eat.
Bai Mo stooped down, whispering secretly to White Gloves.
"No way! Just eat it yourself and make sure to keep it secret, don't let it slip out!"
White Gloves paused for a moment, then quickly understood. It had nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine brothers and sisters; bringing roast chickens back wouldn't suffice for everyone!
It nodded, realizing its master's intent.
Remembering a few days ago, when White Ears accompanied its master on a mission, returning to the mountain with grease at the corner of its mouth too... Ah, so this was the reason!
...
Hugging the well-fed White Gloves, Bai Mo continued listening to Fang Xiaoyu.
"...In short, this is the situation.
"Please pay close attention to the interrogation tonight.
"If you notice anything unusual, please inform us.
"Don't hesitate to share if you have any requests."
...
The interrogation time came soon.
A group of experts were ushered into a tiered conference room.
Bai Mo, holding White Gloves, randomly picked a seat, with Fang Xiaoyu accompanying beside him.
The fugitive being interrogated was tied up tightly and transported to the podium of the conference room.
The vast conference room fell silent. After having their fill of food, the experts fixated their eyes on the fugitive. This guy, with bandages wrapped around his neck as if it had just broken recently, was strung with numerous instruments, attached with various tubes, monitoring physiological data. The large screen in the conference room projected real-time his body temperature, heart rate, brain waves, and ECG.
A staff member, dressed in a white coat, stepped forward to inject him with the truth serum.
The uniformed personnel took the microphone, starting the interrogation.
"The first question, reveal the upgrade ceremony of Immortal Martial Sequence Nine."