236: Searching for clues about Prometheus

Inside the analysis room temporarily assigned to Lu Jianchuan and the others, the four of them sat around a long table piled high with documents.

The air was somewhat heavy; Golden Bone had granted them significant authority, and the materials they had accessed were massive in scale—

They included records of personnel movements indirectly or directly related to Prometheus, reports of abnormal material consumption, metadata analysis summaries of encrypted communications, and a summary of unexplained suspicious points following multiple operations.

However, facing the goal of "finding the potential internal traitor," these materials were like a dark sea covered in ice floes; traces seemed to be everywhere, yet they didn't know which layer of ice to cast their hook under.

Shen Mingyuan's fingertips slid across pages of electronic files, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Routine personnel screening, financial audits, and communication monitoring—professional departments must have already done these more than once. If it were that easy to root them out, they wouldn't need us to intervene as an 'external team.'"

Wei Ziqing flipped through some operation reports, feeling a bit dizzy from the reading.

"Then where should we start? Do we... go and ask them one by one?" He felt that sounded unreliable even as he said it.

Lu Jianchuan leaned against the back of his chair, his gaze sweeping over the dense data as he said in a low voice:

"If such a 'node' exists, he or she must be extremely cautious and unreachable by conventional means. We need to find a 'non-standard' connection point where they might be less guarded or forced to leave a trace."

At that moment, Shen Mingyuan's gaze stopped on an appendix document marked as "Low Correlation."

It appeared to be a partial catalog of remaining literature from a destroyed Prometheus forward research station. It repeatedly mentioned terms like "ruins," "ancient tombs," and "mythological comparisons," and even included some blurry satellite photos and geological scans pointing to several remote "extraordinary places" both domestically and abroad that were recorded in local gazetteers or legends.

"This is interesting..." Shen Mingyuan projected this portion of the content onto the central screen. "Look at this. Prometheus seems to have an unusual interest in exploring certain ancient ruins. Not the kind of interest for archaeology, but more like... searching for specific 'samples' or 'verification information.'"

Cynthia had been listening quietly, and now she looked up at the screen, a hint of thought flashing in her deep blue eyes. She suddenly spoke, her voice clear:

"I remember... among some scattered records and inferences, there is a hypothesis that many of the 'Immortals,' 'strange beasts,' and 'mountain spirits and water monsters' described in ancient myths and legends—and even certain deified historical figures—may have been individuals whose evo factor was accidentally activated and completed stable evolution under ancient natural conditions."

Her words caused the other three to look over. Cynthia continued:

"Their 'Immortal bearing' and 'difference from ordinary people' might just be the external manifestations of their evolved physical structures or energy fields;

The so-called 'Divine Abilities' and 'magic powers' might just be some kind of specialized evolutionary abilities. It's just that because the ancients couldn't understand them, they classified them as myths.

In other words, some ancient ruins—especially those closely associated with myths or burying 'non-human' entities—might themselves preserve information about ancient Evolvers, or even... their remains or evolutionary residues."

Wei Ziqing was stunned. "So... those gods and demons might just be ancient... 'Evolvers'?"

"It's just a hypothesis," Shen Mingyuan added, though his eyes clearly brightened. "But if this hypothesis holds, then the purpose of Prometheus's obsession with exploring these ancient ruins is worth looking into.

Are they looking for lost evolutionary technology? Gene samples of ancient high-concentration Evolvers? Or some kind of... 'ancient legacy' that can stably control or catalyze evolution?"

He tapped his finger on the table.

"More importantly, this kind of exploration requires extremely professional non-modern knowledge interpretation—mythology, ancient scripts, local legends, and even Feng Shui and geomancy.

It also requires special exploration permissions and equipment support, especially in some remote protected areas.

These needs could create hidden intersections with certain seemingly insignificant positions within GUPA—such as cultural consultants, geological evaluators, special equipment managers, or archive Researchers."

Lu Jianchuan sat up straight, his gaze sharp.

"You mean that internal 'node' might not be a combat or decision-making person directly involved in frontline operations, but rather someone hidden in logistics, research, or clerical positions that provide this kind of marginal but critical support?

Indirectly assisting Prometheus by influencing or leaking intelligence, equipment, or permissions related to ruins exploration?"

"Exactly," Shen Mingyuan nodded. "This line is relatively hidden, and routine internal reviews would likely ignore it as a low-risk, low-relevance marginal activity.

But for us, this might be a gap we can cut into.

We can start with the known ruins exploration attempts by Prometheus and trace back within GUPA to see which people and which links had the ability and 'just happened' to facilitate these attempts, or held relevant information but didn't raise enough alarm."

Cynthia looked at the ancient place names and mythological symbols on the screen, her deep blue eyes narrowing slightly.

"If their goal is truly the legacy of ancient Evolvers... what do they want to do with these things? Is it just research, or do they want to... replicate, or even surpass them?"

After hearing Shen Mingyuan's analysis, Lu Jianchuan tapped his finger lightly on the tabletop, his voice carrying its usual cold hardness and decisiveness:

"No matter what they want to dig out of these ancient ruins or what they intend to do with it, stopping them is the right move. I admit I view Prometheus through a biased lens, but facts prove they've never done a single good thing. So, our goal is simple: find their tentacles and cut them off."

The goal was clear, but the method was still tricky. Shen Mingyuan mused, "The key is how to 'find' them. Logistics, clerical, research support... the scope is too broad. We can't screen them one by one; that would be like looking for a needle in a haystack and would alert the enemy."

"What about fishing with fake information?" Wei Ziqing asked tentatively. "For example, we forge intelligence about a 'major ruins discovery' and see who comes to contact us or tries to obtain the information?"

"The risk is too high, and it's easy to be exposed," Shen Mingyuan shook his head. "We can't be sure of the potential mole's identity and permissions. If the fake news is too crude, it'll be seen through; if it's too realistic, it requires mobilizing a large amount of real resources to coordinate, which would create even more noise.

More importantly, the act of releasing fake news itself might be interpreted by the other side as us being aware, causing them to go completely dormant."

"Then..." Wei Ziqing scratched his head, and suddenly his eyes lit up. "Hey, why don't we do the opposite? Instead of casting a net to find 'people,' let's find a 'thing'! Find a real ancient ruin they might be interested in, but haven't had time to or are currently plotting to get!

Then we go there and 'wait for the rabbit'! If that internal 'node' really is paying attention to this kind of information and has a channel to contact Prometheus, then when this real ruins intelligence circulates within a limited scope internally, or when we mobilize relevant resources in the name of an investigation, it might just draw them out!"

This suggestion made the other three look over. Cynthia nodded slightly. "It has some feasibility. At least it's more proactive than aimlessly screening internal personnel."

"The problem is, where do we find such a suitable 'real ruin'?"

Shen Mingyuan pointed out the key issue. "It needs to have enough mystery and potential value to attract Prometheus, yet be within our controllable capacity, and it can't be a place already under high scrutiny by the authorities or Prometheus where nothing can get in."

Wei Ziqing thought of something else and lowered his voice with some excitement:

"A while back when I was scrolling through short videos, wasn't I always getting pushed stuff like 'unsolved mysteries,' 'dynasties before the Xia Dynasty,' and 'new archaeological discoveries'?

Although many are clickbait, some of the places mentioned are extremely remote—deep forests, the edges of deserts—and are said to have signs of 'prehistoric ruins' but haven't been officially excavated on a large scale or reached a conclusion.

We have permissions; we can check internal geological survey reports, records of abnormal locations reported by the public, or... directly ask those consultants who do marginal historical research or occultism? Look for a place that sounds somewhat reliable but hasn't been clearly touched by Prometheus yet!"

Lu Jianchuan thought for a moment and made a decision. "We can try. Start with the internal database and a limited range of expert consultations to screen out a few potential locations that meet the criteria.

What we're looking for isn't a fully developed archaeological site, but a 'potential target' with high 'possibility' that hasn't been officially prioritized or protected yet.

In such a place, if Prometheus is interested, they are more likely to send people to secretly investigate or attempt an illegal excavation, which also makes it easier for us to set an ambush."

The plan was set. With the help of GUPA's permissions and Shen Mingyuan's connections, they quickly narrowed down a location in the southwestern border region, in a deep mountain area adjacent to the national border, from the vast sea of reports and consultation feedback.

In local gazetteers and scattered legends, a mysterious small country or tribe known as the 'Cuanling Tribe' once lived there, leaving behind some difficult-to-explain megalithic structures and mural traces.

Recent satellite remote sensing also showed abnormal signals of non-natural structures underground in that area. However, due to the harsh environment and sparse population, no official archaeological exploration had been conducted; only a few scattered adventure enthusiasts had reported 'peculiar stone formations' and 'unexplainable symbols.'

The label for these 'Cuanling Ruins' was quickly marked.

It was remote and mysterious enough, with dual evidence from legends and physical anomalies, and it was in an official archaeological blind spot, perfectly meeting the requirements for 'bait.'

Without much delay, after simple pre-departure preparations and equipment checks, a light transport aircraft belonging to GUPA quietly took off from the base airport, carrying the fully armed four-person team toward the sea of clouds and mountains in the southwest.