Chapter 253

Insert Seven – Actions on the Other Side

Lei Shan had been away from the secret base for more than an hour. Finally, Sister Cāngyǔ sent over the first piece of good news.

“Report, the facial recognition system has found the target!”

“Let me see!”

Only then did I realize how agitated I was, almost leaping out of my seat.

Perhaps I had been in low spirits for some time, but returning to the command platform excited me.

Sister Cāngyǔ also transmitted the live footage from the scene. According to the ID number, this was discovered through the perspective of a member of the Léi Miāomiáo support group. As we had expected, the target was wearing a wide lotus leaf hat that could block surveillance cameras from all angles. However, this also made it easier to identify her… Who else would wear such a large hat in the mall?

Xiàlù just glanced at it and said, “This position is at the entrance of the supermarket on the first floor.”

“A supermarket?”

She explained while leaning back against the sofa, “Although there are many shopping centers in the commercial area, only that one is a traditional supermarket.”

“Then she might be going to buy some daily necessities… No, wasn’t the woman Lingmèng and the others encountered earlier also in the supermarket?”

“Hmm, let me check…”

The screen flickered with ellipsis for several seconds.

“Lingmèng met that woman in the fruit tea shop, and she is in the supermarket too.”

Sure enough, if we focused on what happened with Lingmèng, it wasn’t hard to deduce the actions of the mysterious girl A. She probably wanted to help Lingmèng figure out the identity of the other person.

I said, “The target may interact with her. Can you make it so we can hear their conversation?”

“If we knew their phone number, it might be possible.”

“The supermarket’s surveillance doesn’t have microphones.”

“Of course not? It’s fine, I expected this.”

“They’ve met.”

The surveillance camera switched to the liquor section of the supermarket along with the mysterious girl A. The OL with a lady’s handbag was forced to take something by the mysterious girl A, who quickly left after handing it over.

Xiàlù asked, “What was that? Looks like a rope?”

Even with the resolution of the supermarket surveillance camera magnified several times, it was still unclear. But we could guess.

“That might be a bracelet,” I said.

It should be the bracelet used for swapping bodies. I had experienced its function myself. Was the mysterious girl A planning to help Little Lingmèng in this way? However, how could the other person casually wear such a suspicious item… Ah, she actually put it on and seemed to like it.

“Cāngyǔ, please track both of them simultaneously. Can you do that?”

“I already know the target’s features.”

“No problem.”

“Xiàlù, please have the patrol team move towards the Balance Night Market. Just patrol around nearby. As long as they can get to the cage area first.”

She gave me a sideways glance and asked, “…Why? Aren’t you the overall commander?”

“The overall commander doesn’t need to direct soldiers. Besides, they are your people. You’d better go to the scene too. I’m worried those people won’t be able to control the mysterious girl A. If she runs away, we’ll miss our chance.”

The Student Council President and Léi Miāomiáo were held up by the school. As the last member of the突击队 (assault team), Xiàlù must act alone if necessary against the mysterious girl A.

“You’re really good at giving orders. Should I also relay messages to the support group?”

“This is for Lingmèng and your fiancé. Please.”

I showed a sincere attitude. Xiàlù stared at me for a while.

“Got it!”

She threw me a wireless earphone and said, “There are touch keys on the side. Press twice to call. I’m going to the scene first. Use this if you need to contact me.”

I nodded.

“I’ll come down when the target enters the cage.”

Xiàlù left the secret hideout. I turned back to the screen, where the target was completely unaware of being monitored, aimlessly wandering around the supermarket.

When the mysterious girl A focused on Lingmèng, it was our best opportunity… Then, the target wearing the green lotus leaf hat disappeared in a blind spot unseen by the supermarket surveillance.

“Report! The target is gone!”

“Mm-hm, I saw it.”

Clearly, she used a teleportation technique. But…

“Was she picking something off the shelves just now?” I asked.

“Wait a moment, let me rewind.”

The surveillance footage started rewinding and finally stopped at the cosmetics counter. She picked up something from the shelf.

“What did she pick up?” I asked again.

“It’s unclear, probably some cosmetics.”

“There’s no dedicated counter, just placed on the supermarket shelves.”

“It shouldn’t be anything valuable.”

“Even if it’s not valuable, taking it without permission is still theft, isn’t it?”

“She left a gold coin on the shelf!”

It would likely be taken by the next customer.

“Do we need to reposition to find the target?”

“Not urgent. Continue tracking the woman in the suit. Once she meets Lingmèng, we can proceed further.”

We haven’t resolved Lingmèng’s situation yet. She will definitely appear again.

Ding-ding—

Two notification sounds came through from the earphone Xiàlù gave me.

“Hello, are you hungry?”

She started with that. I was a bit confused.

“…Huh?”

“You didn’t have lunch, right? Aren’t you afraid of hypoglycemia?”

Her reminder made me feel a bit empty in my stomach. Checking the time, it was already past two in the afternoon.

Ignoring my silence, Xiàlù continued, “Anyway, in your plan, I’m supposed to show up last, right? I’ll go to the night market and bring you some snacks. There are lots of street food stalls there. Do you usually like fried or grilled foods?”

There was even a choice.

“If there are fried foods, bring some up.”

Although surprised by her change in attitude, I accepted her kindness.

“Thank you…”

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m not concerned about you. It’s just that if the overall commander faints, it’s not good! Isn’t finding that person very important?”

She hung up immediately after speaking.

“Where are Lingmèng and the others now?”

The screen started displaying text and switched to a secondary screen showing the surveillance footage of Lingmèng and the others at the Balance Night Market.

“They’ve already arrived at the night market.”

“There’s a risk that Xiàlù might be spotted by them.”

“Should I call her back?”

“This is her territory. Even if Lingmèng spots her, it makes sense since she doesn’t need to go to school.”

I paused, then asked, “But you, can you handle all this?”

Searching for the mysterious girl A wearing the green hat while keeping an eye on the woman in the suit, and now monitoring Lingmèng’s movements. Originally, the student council had assigned over ten support personnel, but now it’s all up to Sister Cāngyǔ.

“No problem.”

“My master’s facial recognition system is very advanced.”

“Most of the work is done by computers.”

“My workload isn’t as big as you think.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

Though I hadn’t met her at the student council meeting yesterday, I had seen her once at the wooden house before. In reality, she gave off a timid impression like a small animal, but online, she was quite talkative.

“Your hacking skills are so high, what kind of background does your master have?”

When talking about her master, Sister Cāngyǔ became very excited and typed rapidly.

“My master’s activity code is Queen.”

“One of the world’s top hackers.”

“An extremely capable intelligence expert.”

“Other information is unknown.”

“Gender.”

“Age.”

“All unknown.”

“She’s a mysterious existence!”

To express her admiration, Sister Cāngyǔ enlarged the font size.

However, Queen…

Is she the queen of the Blue Flash Butterfly organization?

I sighed, “But there are masters who don’t even know the identities of their own disciples?”

“Though her identity isn’t public,”

“She can issue designated commissions on the Blue Flash Butterfly intelligence forum.”

“Xuejie Lu Zǐ should know that organization, right?”

“Yeah, she knows it.”

“As long as the pay is reasonable,”

“Master takes on many investigations.”

“Even looking for a lost cat.”

“That’s quite useful advice…”

…But it’s not much help because high-level members need certain permissions.

Come to think of it, Lingmèng had commissioned Queen to find her father, Ajia, who went missing… And there’s been no news… Seems like her efficiency isn’t that high either?

Sister Cāngyǔ sent a new message.

“Report, Xiàlù has been caught by Senior Xuelěi!”

I glanced at the surveillance footage. Xiàlù was being dragged by that idiot towards Lingmèng, accompanied by an unfamiliar girl… Probably another “disciple” Lingmèng took in without my knowledge.

Just as I feared, I felt discouraged.

“Looks like my lunch is ruined.”

“Do you want me to order food for you?”

“No, focus on the woman in the suit first. Pay close attention to the cameras within a 200-meter radius centered on her. The target must be within this range.”

“That’s a large area, it’s practically useless.”

“Then narrow it down to the entrances of the safety passages. Her movements will become more covert. Remote safety passages will be her preferred choice.”

The mysterious girl A handed the bracelet to the woman in the suit, clearly intending to disrupt the transaction. Even if she didn’t, she would find a quiet place to eavesdrop on Lingmèng’s side.

“Received!”

I double-tapped the touch control on the earphone to connect with Xiàlù.

“Well, although I bought pork cutlets for you, I got stuck with an idiot.”

She spoke first. I replied, “We’ve seen it. Stay there for now. But notify the patrol team to split into pairs and patrol the nearby safety passages. Even if you encounter the target, act naturally.”

“You’re sure the target is in the safety passage?”

“Eighty percent probability. But don’t go to the trap-laden passage. She needs to enter it herself.”

After two months.

The Balance Commercial District became my chessboard once again.