Li Zhi added, "The advantage of doing this is its extreme secrecy. No matter how cunning or vigilant that gentleman is, he can't possibly treat all the ordinary people on the island as potential surveillance agents. Informants only need to observe those who have had contact with that gentleman or attempted to do so in their daily work and life."
Liu Ping continued, "Our focus isn't on that gentleman's daily life—of course, we still have a general understanding of his movements—but on everyone who has come into contact with him." "
Based on our previous understanding and observations over this period, that gentleman is not the kind of reclusive, solitary individual who avoids going out."
"On the contrary, he's very good at socializing and manipulating people. After arriving on Myron Island, he presented himself as a scholar from afar and a businessman with some assets, consciously cultivating relationships with many people."
He paused, emphasizing his words, "We believe that his true purpose, his mission, must be achieved through these people. Keeping a close eye on these contacts is like catching him by the tail."
Su Yu pondered for a moment and nodded, "That is indeed a relatively safe method. Directly monitoring the target often leads to a passive position due to the target's vigilance and capabilities. But monitoring their social network, starting from the outside, makes it easier to find flaws."
However, in reality, these methods are unlikely to completely avoid detection.
Completely
avoiding detection is inherently impossible.
Therefore, we cannot expect perfection.
"Sir Su is absolutely right," Liu Ping said. "Through our efforts over this period, our informants have gathered a considerable amount of information. We have compiled and registered all those who have had obvious contact with that gentleman, or whose relationship with him is suspicious."
He then took a neatly folded parchment from his briefcase, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it towards Su Yu. "This is our preliminary list of people who have been in contact with that gentleman."
Su Yu's gaze fell upon the list.
The parchment was of good quality, with neat handwriting recording names, along with simple identification labels and notes on the time, place, and method of contact with Zheng Jinchuan.
It was clear that the list had been carefully compiled and screened, containing a substantial amount of information.
He reached out, gently picked up the list, and began to browse it carefully.
The list contained about twenty or thirty names, covering various social classes and professions on the island, including merchants, minor officials, foremen of crafts, and even a few who appeared to be sailors and mercenaries.
Just as Su Yu's fingers touched the parchment and his gaze swept over the first name, a slight tremor ran through him.
The special connection between the system and the white crystal brand on Zheng Jinchuan within the system space seemed to be triggered.
An extremely faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation rippled through his senses.
[Guo Youjin] "Approaching"
[Hu Xinlu] "Goodwill"
[Lu Fengzi] "A Slight Malice"
This fluctuation didn't originate from the list itself, nor from Su Yu's opinion, but rather from the white crystal's "interpretation" of the names on the list.
Su Yu remained unmoved and continued reading.
With each name he saw, the strange sensation produced a different evaluation.
Some names made Su Yu sense Zheng Jinchuan's "interest" and "deliberate approach," as if they were targets he wanted to win over or corrupt.
Other names gave him a deeper, almost "kindred spirit" aura—a corrupted, distorted mark. Clearly, these people had been successfully corrupted by Zheng Jinchuan and might have become his secret followers or pawns
. Still other names made him sense some "warning" and "hostility" deep within Zheng Jinchuan's heart. It seemed these people suspected him, or their positions contradicted his, posing a potential obstacle.
This was... a direct feedback of Zheng Jinchuan's "inner views" and "relationship positioning" of these people!
"I understand, this is Zheng Jinchuan's own view and evaluation of these people, or rather, his positioning,"
Su Yu thought, both surprised and delighted.
He hadn't expected that the white crystal reverse imprint within the system could not only locate Zheng Jinchuan but also have such a wonderful use, allowing him to perceive Zheng Jinchuan's attitude and relationships with relevant personnel through this indirect contact.
This was practically like having a god's-eye view!
With this discovery, the value of this list instantly increased countless times.
What Su Yu saw was no longer just a series of cold names and identities; he could also see through the true intentions hidden behind Zheng Jinchuan's mask.
In particular, this was the ultimate weapon for completing the prerequisite quest
: [Main Quest Generated: Kill the Cultist "Zheng Jinchuan"]
[Prerequisites]
[1. Investigate and pinpoint a corrupted person (open their heart)] ×
[2. Investigate and identify a person Zheng Jinchuan is hostile/warnable to (Open Heart)] ×
[3. Investigate and identify a person Zheng Jinchuan intends to corrupt (Open Heart)] ×
Su Yu suppressed the turmoil in his heart, his finger slowly tracing across the list, while simultaneously using symbols only he could understand to quickly and discreetly mark the list: "Corruption Target," "Corrupted/Believer," "Hostile/Warnable"...
His movements were very light, and soon, although Liu Ping and Li Zhi noticed him marking, they didn't understand.
Soon, the entire list was reviewed.
Su Yu already had a fairly clear picture in his mind of Zheng Jinchuan's initial activities and interpersonal network on Myron Island.
He put down the list and fell into deep thought.
These markings clearly revealed Zheng Jinchuan's activity trajectory.
He was systematically and methodically infiltrating the social structure of Myron Island, trying to win over those who had value, corrupt those who were weak-willed or had weaknesses, while also being vigilant and on guard against potential enemies.
"Some of the people he identified as potential enemies weren't officials."
If
they were officials, that wouldn't be surprising.
"But some people are just ordinary citizens, yet he's wary and suspicious of them."
"Could they be colleagues?"
"Colleagues are enemies!"
"But I hadn't paid any attention to cults before."
"No, it's normal for natives not to know. This kind of information is strictly controlled because information is pollution."
"But when I dealt with the sewer vampire rat king, I actually encountered evil god rituals and beliefs, but I ran away immediately."
"How could a world full of evil cults not have evil god beliefs?" "
That's a digression. Could the system's prerequisite mission be some kind of lock, a causal lock on Zheng Jinchuan, or something behind him?"
"Director Liu, Assistant Li." Su Yu understood and looked up: "This list is very important, thank you."
Liu Ping looked at Su Yu and asked, "Sir Su, is there anything on this list?"
He noticed the change in Su Yu's eyes when he marked it earlier.