### Chapter 90: Artificial Soul 17
“That’s the men’s restroom. You go in, and I’ll wait outside.” Kui Xin said.
Yu Liang didn’t say a word and immediately entered the restroom, while Kui Xin moved to an unobtrusive corner, watching the restroom exit.
“There’s a signal from a locator on that male. The locator is disguised as a transparent sticker, making it hard to detect,” Augus said. “His overall physical characteristics also match the informer’s description: height between 1.78 and 1.80 meters, slightly broad shoulders, and of average build. He wears a nondescript black cloak and a mask.”
Buyers in the black market each have their own style of dress, but sellers all wear the same attire: black cloaks and black masks.
“Is the informant reliable?” Kui Xin asked in a very quiet voice. “Could the locator be discovered?”
“No one can guarantee that the locator won’t be discovered 100% of the time,” Augus replied. “Any unexpected occurrences during the mission are normal; then it depends on your adaptability… like now, the locator’s signal has suddenly disappeared. The suspect must have discovered the tracking device.”
Disappeared?!
Kui Xin suspiciously stared at the restroom door as a tall man in a suit emerged. From his attire, he seemed to be a buyer, not the one who just went in. Two seconds later, another man dressed like a waiter exited the restroom, adjusting his clothes as he made his way down the corridor to serve guests.
Neither of these two matched the earlier man’s physical characteristics.
Kui Xin observed the two who had just exited for a while, noting their direction of movement, while hearing Augus report: “The restroom has been scanned. There were five people inside; two have just exited, leaving three behind. Captain Yu forcefully opened the restroom stalls for inspection.”
On the other side, Yu Liang disregarded the curses of others and forcibly opened a stall door, pretending to apologize as he quickly shut it again.
None of the individuals matched the suspect’s profile.
Yu Liang’s expression darkened as he sensed something was off. He no longer held back, pulling out a dizziness spray from his pocket and deftly incapacitating the remaining three individuals in the restroom one by one.
“Captain Yu, I must remind you to avoid such extreme actions to prevent hurting innocent people. The guests here are either rich or nobility, and making a scene could be troublesome,” Augus cautioned.
“I’m wearing a mask. While wearing a mask, I’m not a member of the Investigation Bureau. My actions are unrelated to the Bureau,” Yu Liang lied, eyes wide. “I’m a passerby looking to make a quick fortune; I incapacitated them to steal. The agent I’ve prepared will cause temporary amnesia; they won’t remember what happened, and the impact will be minimized. Augus, I have temporary operational authority granted by the Deputy Minister. I order you not to report this matter.”
“As you wish, Captain Yu,” Augus replied.
Yu Liang calmly removed one watch from an unfortunate individual using the restroom, pretending to be a thief.
He lifted the mask to examine the faces of those who had been incapacitated and searched their bodies, but found nothing.
Yu Liang opened the flusher tank of the toilet stall and discovered a cloak rolled up and hidden inside, along with several bottles of bright red potions. This was left by the suspect.
He left the restroom, gritting his teeth and saying, “The person has vanished. The suspect’s ability is either wall-phasing or shape-shifting. How could a living person simply disappear?”
“Understood,” Kui Xin replied. “Just now, two people left; one went to the west corridor, and the other went to the south corridor. I will head west; Captain, you go south.”
“If you encounter anyone matching the previous two’s physical characteristics, I will alert you,” Augus said. “Of course, it’s also possible that the suspect has changed their appearance again.”
Kui Xin and Yu Liang exchanged glances and proceeded to carry out their separate tasks.
The waiter walked towards the west corridor. After walking a few meters in, she encountered another waiter coming from the opposite direction.
Since waiters do not wear masks, Kui Xin immediately noticed that this person did not resemble the one who had just left the restroom.
As she brushed past the waiter, he politely bowed to her, saying enthusiastically, “Which exhibition hall are you looking to visit? I can guide you there.”
“No… have you seen your colleague coming this way?” Kui Xin asked. “That person looked ordinary, about 1.75 meters tall, thin build, and with an upright posture; you might remember him.”
“Uh, he seems to have just returned to the No. 3 auction house to serve guests. Is there something you needed from him?” The waiter said politely. “If he has offended you, I apologize on his behalf.”
“That’s alright,” Kui Xin observed the waiter’s expression, “Could you take me to the No. 3 auction house to find him?”
“Of course, I would be happy to assist,” the waiter said politely.
Following this waiter, Kui Xin reached the entrance of the No. 3 auction house, where the auction had already begun. The guiding waiter pointed inside, and indeed, Kui Xin spotted the familiar waiter among the crowd, pouring wine for a guest.
“That’s him. Is there anything else I can assist you with?” The waiter flashed a standard smile.
“Facial matching shows discrepancies, with a similarity rate of 70%,” Augus’s mechanical voice chimed in. “Nostrils are slightly larger, and the curve of the eyes is different. Although at first glance they appear similar, I analyze that they are not the same person.”
Two possibilities: either the suspect disguised as this waiter now, and the one inside the auction house is the real waiter who has escaped; or the suspect has replaced the waiter to serve the guests to avoid capture.
Along the way, Kui Xin did not encounter anyone else… except for the waiter in front of her.
Noticing that Kui Xin was staring at the waiter inside the auction house without saying anything, the guiding waiter politely asked again, “Please, is there anything else I can assist you with?”
A few seconds later, Yu Liang had results from his side.
“I found the man in the suit; he’s not the target,” Yu Liang said calmly.
Kui Xin turned to the waiter before her and said in a gentle, harmless tone, “Could you take me to the No. 1 exhibition hall?”
“Sure, I will lead the way,” the waiter said.
They returned to the long corridor, with the waiter leading the way and Kui Xin behind him, her gaze fixed on his neck.
The corridor was empty, as guests were concentrated in the auction house, and waiters were also inside serving. It was a one-way corridor; people could only enter from one side and exit from the same side, with no other exits.
As the waiter quietly led the way, Kui Xin lowered her footsteps and stealthily moved forward, extending her arm to lock around his neck, simultaneously leveraging her arm and forearm muscles to completely cut off his throat and vocal cords, while her legs sprung to immobilize his struggling movements.
In just ten seconds, the waiter stopped struggling and fell into a state of shock.
A rear-naked choke! This was a technique Kui Xin learned during her physical training. By locking onto the opponent’s fragile areas with her arms, her actions induced a temporary lack of blood flow to the brain.
The waiter collapsed, and Kui Xin dragged his legs into a corner, then carefully examined his face.
After just two or three seconds, the waiter’s face began to melt, and his body started to swell, gradually transforming into an ordinary-looking man of average build.
“It’s him; I found him,” Kui Xin reported via communicator. “I have captured the target.”
Yu Liang was stunned. “…Not bad!”
Augus said, “I’m curious: how did you discover this? The waiter’s behavior showed no abnormalities; he wasn’t nervous, even diligently serving you. What action stirred your suspicion?”
“Intuition?” Kui Xin replied. “I go by instinct.”
“Your response is very vague,” Augus noted. “I thought you would be more interested in the waiter in the auction hall.”
“No particular reason; it’s just coincidence. I can’t easily enter the auction hall, and the waiter there won’t be coming out anytime soon. Yet this waiter is right here with me. He seemed too normal. Had I been in his shoes, I might have performed similar maneuvers to dispel others’ suspicions about me,” Kui Xin said. “Even if this person wasn’t the suspect, it wouldn’t matter to me. I put him out to confirm if he was the suspect; if he wasn’t, that’s even better. I’ve eliminated one possible suspect, and I can move on to others.”
“Very fortunate he is; you can save some energy now,” Augus replied. “This operation has gone very smoothly, and the suspect is alive.”
Kui Xin’s fingers twitched involuntarily.
She didn’t want to leave alive; she was very interested in the ability to change her appearance.
However, her life wasn’t in danger under the current circumstances, and the Investigation Bureau was inclined to capture living targets. She couldn’t just choke someone to death. There was no justification for that. Killing a suspect who should remain alive without reason would raise suspicions.
Temporarily giving up was for her to develop more securely, seeking stability.
Just an extraordinary ability; there are many extraordinary beings in the world, and she could always find more suitable ones to complete herself later.
When Yu Liang arrived, he sprayed a few more shots of dizziness spray on the suspect to keep him asleep.
The two of them worked together to carry the suspect to the fire escape, then entered the underground parking lot.
After waiting for ten minutes, a colleague from the Investigation Bureau, discreetly driving a vehicle, arrived. The suspect was shoved into the backseat of the car while Kui Xin and Yu Liang drove back to the Investigation Building.
“This mission wasn’t as dangerous as I imagined,” Kui Xin said. “Is this the dark side you wanted me to see? Everyone in the black market wears masks; underneath those masks are people of wealth and status. They seem glamorous on the surface but are engaged in all sorts of unsavory dealings…”
“Mm.” Yu Liang responded vaguely. “That’s why we need to be cautious.”
“The Investigation Bureau can’t afford to offend those people,” Kui Xin stated.
“It’s not that we can’t offend them… it’s that we can’t afford to offend the interest groups behind them. Our Investigation Bureau can act boldly across the city, but when we encounter the higher-ups, we have to behave ourselves,” Yu Liang said. “Hey, it’s no surprise people call us lapdogs.”
The purpose of the Investigation Bureau is to protect the interests of those in power—this was what Yu Liang really meant to say.
“Isn’t it frustrating?” Yu Liang asked softly.
Another function of the Investigation Bureau is to maintain public order in the city, which also represents a form of justice to some extent. Many young people enter the Bureau with dreams of justice, only to become tainted.
“What’s there to be frustrated about?” Kui Xin smiled. “Captain Yu, why did you decide to work for the Investigation Bureau back then?”
“Because… the five social insurances and one housing fund, and a high salary?” Yu Liang replied.
“So did I,” Kui Xin said flatly. “I handle what I’m paid to do and only what I can handle; I won’t intervene in other matters.”
Yu Liang glanced at her. “At such a young age, you’ve already developed the mindset of an old hand. Your captain, Xueyao Shu, is quite dedicated, and the members under him are also quite hardworking; as for you…”
“I’m hardworking too,” Kui Xin said. “I work hard because my teammates are working hard. If someone is in the frontlines alongside me, I will give my all. If someone stays behind, pushing me forward while trying to make me clear the path for them, then I won’t put in effort… unless more money is involved.”
Yu Liang said, “I like your personality; if I had your insight when I was young, I’d be better off.”
“What, were you a hothead when you were young?” Kui Xin teased.
Yu Liang shrugged. “Well, it’s true… but not anymore.”
The day quickly passed.
It was the second day of training for Kui Xin, and the task, as Xueyao Shu mentioned, was relatively easy. Hopefully, the rest of the training in the coming days would be as light.
After work, Kui Xin returned to Peaceful Street and, without looking back, moved her luggage out amid Silverface’s resentful gaze.
Once she entered her employee dormitory, Augus’s voice echoed in her room.
“There is a private bathroom, and a public laundry room on the first floor. This floor’s employee dormitory is relatively empty, with less than ten residents,” Augus informed. “I especially arranged your dormitory here when you applied.”
“Is there something special about this place?” Kui Xin inquired.
“He Gaoyi lives next door to you,” Augus replied.
Kui Xin fell silent for a few seconds. “Oh.”
Augus continued, “The timing to eliminate Lin Xinji has arrived; I have complete access to his schedule for the next two days.”
“If you help me eliminate him, I will help you eliminate He Gaoyi,” Kui Xin stated.
“Of course, that’s what we agreed upon from the start,” Augus responded.
