After a restless night's sleep, Guan Xia and Pang Le both got up at dawn without prior agreement.
Noticing the increasingly prominent dark circles under each other's eyes—perhaps due to their still-groggy minds—they exchanged glances and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"What an exhilarating workload," Pang Le remarked with a sigh before hopping up to freshen up.
By the time they were ready, the others had nearly finished breakfast at the hotel restaurant.
The two took their usual reserved seats, and Guan Xia, peeling a boiled egg, asked Ji An, "Sister Ji, are we heading straight to Doctor Hu’s house later?"
Ji An drained the last of her soy milk in one gulp before setting the cup down. "Brother Jiang and I discussed it last night before bed. We’ll first visit the local police station near Doctor Hu’s neighborhood to coordinate with them before going over."
Pang Le, mouth full of steamed bun, mumbled in confusion, "Why? If the paperwork’s done, we can just go directly. Why bother with the station?"
Guan Xia, recalling the words of the officer they met yesterday, vaguely understood Ji An’s reasoning.
Ji An, unusually playful, blinked and teased, "Want to make a bet? If we don’t coordinate with them, even with the paperwork settled, we might not be able to search thoroughly today."
Pang Le tilted her head, intrigued. "Sure, let’s bet. What’s the stake? A meal?"
"Sounds good," Zhong Xiaoyu chimed in before Ji An could respond. "Let’s make it a meal. I’ve had enough fast food these past few days to lose the will to live. How about hotpot tonight? I’m craving meat."
Qi Bai joined the excitement, chanting, "Meat, meat, meat! I want meat too!"
Lu Tingfeng, having finished breakfast, dabbed his lips with a napkin and smiled. "Count me in. I’ll bet on Pang Le. If she loses, we’ll find a fancy spot tonight and feast."
"Then I’ll bet on Sister Ji," Zhong Xiaoyu quickly added. "Brother Lu, you’re betraying the team! We’re supposed to stick together."
Lu Tingfeng grinned, spreading his hands. "Friendship’s about chemistry. Right now, Pang Le’s won me over—just for this round."
Though none were young anymore, they bantered like carefree children.
Guan Xia stayed out of it but couldn’t suppress a smile. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Xu Nian opposite her, eyes crinkled with laughter too.
After breakfast, they exchanged reminders about safety and split into yesterday’s teams, speeding off in different directions.
Guan Xia, Ji An, and Jiang Yingyao rode together, briefly sharing the road with Wang Yu and Lu Tingfeng’s car before parting at a crossroads.
Guan Xia checked her phone. "Sister Ji, I booked health checkups for us three last night. That Kangjian Medical Center’s packed—today’s slots are full, and tomorrow morning’s too. Only tomorrow at 3 PM is available."
"Then tomorrow afternoon it is," Ji An said. "We’ll search Doctor Hu’s place this morning, visit Nanping Precinct with Wang Yu’s team this afternoon to review missing persons cases, and tomorrow morning, we’ll look into Doctor Hu’s grandnephew. If all goes well post-checkup, we can fly out the day after."
Guan Xia marveled inwardly at the efficient, airtight schedule.
Tucking her phone away, she mused, "I’ve got this hunch—we might return empty-handed from the trip. Or maybe we won’t even make it there."
It was an intuition that had nagged her since yesterday afternoon. Something about this case felt more urgent than their previous ones, as if every second counted.
Jiang Yingyao chuckled. "Even better. Saves us a wasted trip."
Ji An, however, sounded somber. "Honestly, I felt the same after leaving the prison yesterday. Though Geng Jing seems rough—quick-tempered and prone to clashes, which helped you pinpoint him—their operations are meticulous. Take those two thieves sent to steal phones: even with the traces we found, their identities were well-hidden. If they got the phone from Doctor Hu’s grandnephew, they’d likely leave no clues behind. At least, not enough for him to recognize them."
Guan Xia nodded in agreement, though she wasn’t as pessimistic as Ji An. No matter how well they hid, with her system, she could always fish the culprit out of the crowd.
Soon, they arrived at the police station from the day before.
The same officer greeted them—a round-faced man with a genial smile. After shaking hands, he said, "Nanping Precinct called this morning. I know why you’re here. Search freely—we’ll cover for your identities."
Ji An smiled warmly. "Thank you, Officer Liu. But there’s no need to accompany us right away. We’ll go first, and you can follow in about half an hour."
Officer Liu, savvy in such matters, caught on immediately. "Got it. I’ll time it and bring my partner. Don’t worry—we won’t blow your cover or disrupt your work."
After expressing gratitude, Ji An led them out.
"Let’s go," she said in the car, buckling up. "Oh, Brother Jiang, just in case, Guan Xia and I will enter alone. As women—and with me being ex-police—we’re less suspicious. You stay in the car and watch for anyone suspicious around the area."
Jiang Yingyao agreed without hesitation. "Alright. But Guan Xia, remember—you’re a tourist here. Forget the case. If anyone asks anything, let Ji An handle it. Stay calm."
Guan Xia was nervous. Previous cases had been straightforward, but this time, they were pitting wits against unseen criminals. She feared her unease might give them away.
Just a few minutes later, Guan Xia relaxed again. It suddenly occurred to her that although she had been investigating cases, she wasn’t actually a police officer. Moreover, she had only been involved in casework for a few months, and appearance-wise, she still seemed far from fitting the image of a cop.
Five or six minutes later, Ji An parked the car near Doctor Hu’s residential complex. As they entered the neighborhood, Guan Xia pretended to look around curiously while Ji An pulled up a pre-prepared memo on his phone. After glancing around for a moment, he stopped a middle-aged man passing by and asked, “Excuse me, sir, could you tell us where Building 6 is? It’s our first time here, and we’re completely lost.”
The middle-aged man was quite helpful. After pointing the way, he casually asked, “Are you visiting someone in Building 6? Which unit? Not to brag, but I’ve lived here for twenty or thirty years. I might not know every resident’s name, but I definitely recognize everyone in Building 6.”
Ji An played the part of a straightforward, unsuspecting person and replied, “We’re not here to visit anyone. Our family elders asked us to clean Unit 302.”
The mention of Unit 302—Doctor Hu’s home—immediately changed the man’s expression. He eyed Ji An and Guan Xia warily before pressing, “Cleaning Unit 302? What’s your relation to the owner?”
Ji An feigned confusion. “Distant relatives, of course. Why else would we be cleaning? Honestly, if it weren’t for our elders nagging us, we’d rather be sightseeing. We’re here on vacation, and hotel rooms aren’t cheap. We could’ve spent this time at the tourist spots instead.”
Hearing the impatience in Ji An’s tone, the man’s attitude softened slightly, but he continued digging. “Do you know Sun Wenrui? How are you related to him?”
Ji An raised an eyebrow. “You know Sun Wenrui? He’s our distant cousin. He inherited Unit 302 on the sixth floor, so he’s closer to the family than we are.”
The man seemed reassured and grinned. “Ah, so you really are relatives! Come on, I’ll take you there. I just finished a night shift, so I’ve got time to spare. I’ll even help you clean.”
With that, the man enthusiastically led the way, his demeanor impeccable, though his questions were clearly probing.
Fortunately, Ji An had plenty of experience with disguises and answered flawlessly. Guan Xia played her role quietly, appearing attentive to their conversation while discreetly scanning the faces of passersby.
She still held out hope of spotting a suspicious figure in the neighborhood, but even as they entered Building 6, Unit 2, her instincts remained silent.
It seemed their target might not be as invested in Doctor Hu as they’d assumed—especially if their suspicions were correct and whatever Doctor Hu had possessed was already in the wrong hands.
Using the keys provided by Nanping Precinct, they unlocked Doctor Hu’s door without issue. Seeing this, the middle-aged man relaxed further. Their arrival had also drawn the attention of two other curious residents, who watched Ji An’s every move. When the door opened, instead of leaving, they expertly retrieved brooms, mops, and rags from the bathroom.
Handing them two basins, the man said, “Here are the tools. Go ahead and clean.”
Guan Xia looked at the dust-covered floor and coffee table, stifling a laugh. She never imagined that investigating a case would involve being pressured into housekeeping.
But since they were committed to the act, she dutifully rinsed the mop and rag. After Ji An swept up the dust, she meticulously mopped the floor.
Convinced they were genuinely there to clean—and not asking unnecessary questions or rummaging around—the three onlookers pitched in, wiping down surfaces.
As they worked, the middle-aged man chatted. “Don’t think we’re nosy. It’s just that we’ve been fooled before. We really thought they were Doctor Hu’s relatives, but turns out they were burglars. They seemed like decent folks at first, but something felt off. Before we could finish questioning them, they slammed the door in our faces. We waited in the hallway, and when they came out—bam! Their pockets were stuffed. We grabbed them and found phones, tablets, all kinds of valuables.”
Guan Xia and Ji An exchanged glances. No wonder these people were so cautious. After the two burglars had failed, the culprits must have tried another approach—one that coincidentally aligned with their own. The difference was, they had official backing, so the outcome would be different.
Ji An pressed, “What happened after that? Did you call the police? Were they arrested?”
The man wiped down the TV stand briskly. “It was broad daylight, and most folks were at work or out walking. Only a few of us were around, and I was the youngest. Took a couple of punches too—couldn’t stop them. They got away, and the police never caught them. Strange, really. With surveillance footage and our statements, you’d think they’d have been found.”
Guan Xia guessed those two had also been in disguise. After all, there was no rule that an organization could only have one master of deception.
The man, now warmed up, quickly moved on to another topic.
“Speaking of which, that nephew of Doctor Hu’s—Sun Wenrui—came back once before,” he remarked abruptly.
Guan Xia tensed, but since she was bent over mopping, the others couldn’t see her expression.
Ji An responded calmly, “Oh? My distant cousin was here before? I hadn’t heard. When was this? If it was recent, I’ll have to call my grandma and give her an earful—sending us here when the place was already cleaned.”
The man thought for a moment. “Around April or May, I think. It was sudden. Old Feng from across the hall ran into him—he’d come back from the hospital with meds for gastritis and was resting at home. Saw Sun Wenrui heading upstairs and exchanged a few words. Said he was here to pick up something important and had to leave right after. Old Feng asked a couple of questions, but Sun Wenrui just scowled and ignored him. Judging by how rushed he was, whatever he took must’ve been worth a lot.”
The middle-aged man sighed and remarked, "These youngsters really don’t understand social graces—they don’t even bother pretending. Doctor Hu hasn’t been gone for long, and yet this guy, who inherited her estate, is already selling off her belongings without hesitation. It’s a good thing he doesn’t have any relatives fighting him over it, or else his actions would’ve given people plenty to criticize."
Guan Xia continued working while her mind raced. It seemed the group had tried other methods without success—too many people in the neighborhood were paying attention to Doctor Hu’s affairs, so they had turned to someone named Sun Wenrui instead.
The incident had happened back in April or May, and since then, there had been no further movement. That likely meant they had already gotten what they were after.
Though Guan Xia had anticipated this, she couldn’t help feeling a pang of regret. If only they had gotten their hands on the item first, like in the movies, it would’ve saved them a lot of trouble.
After discussing the events following Doctor Hu’s passing for a while longer, Officer Liu finally arrived, accompanied by a young, sharp-looking policewoman who immediately asked, "Who called the police?"
Before the three bystanders could react in confusion, Officer Liu turned to Guan Xia and her companion. "Who are you two? What are you doing here? And how do you have the keys to Doctor Hu’s place?"
Following the prearranged script, they went through the necessary explanations. Officer Liu then addressed the three helpful onlookers, "Alright, you can all go about your business. We’ll take it from here—nothing to worry about. Especially you, Old Pei. You just worked the night shift yesterday—shouldn’t you be resting instead of cleaning someone else’s house? If your wife finds out, she’ll never let you hear the end of it."
With Officer Liu’s reassurance, the three finally left, satisfied.
Guan Xia quickly returned the mop to the bathroom, washed her hands, and put on gloves before beginning her search of Doctor Hu’s home.
The apartment wasn’t large—a typical two-bedroom layout, probably around 70 square meters. There was no television in sight, but bookshelves dominated the space, crammed with all kinds of books.
Ji An headed straight for the bedroom, while Guan Xia went to the study. After thoroughly checking every drawer and cabinet, she paused, then turned on the computer.
To her surprise, the computer booted up normally and was fully functional—but the desktop was completely empty, clearly wiped clean of data.
Guan Xia called out, "Ji An, come take a look at this."
Ji An arrived promptly, followed by the two officers from the local precinct.
Before Guan Xia could explain, Ji An took one glance at the powered-on computer and understood the situation.
"Should we take the CPU back with us?" Guan Xia asked.
Ji An nodded. "We’ll have to. Let’s hand it over to the tech team at Nanping Division—see if they can recover any data. The tricky part is getting it out discreetly."
Officer Liu chimed in, "If you take it, it’ll draw attention. But for us, it’s no problem. Leave it to us—we’ll make sure it gets to Nanping Division."
Guan Xia studied Officer Liu carefully, confirming no gut feeling warned her against it, then said, "I think that works, Ji An. What do you say?"
Ji An replied, "Then we’ll trouble you with this. Thank you so much."
Officer Liu waved it off. "No need for formalities among colleagues." With that, Guan Xia got to work dismantling the CPU.
To avoid raising any suspicion, Guan Xia and Ji An finished mopping the floors and dusting every surface in Doctor Hu’s home before leaving. Only when the place looked spotless did they bid farewell to Officer Liu and his partner, heading out first.
Once they reached their car parked near the neighborhood, Guan Xia barely settled into her seat before leaning forward to ask Jiang Yingyao, "So, Brother Jiang? Any leads?"
Jiang Yingyao shook his head. "Nothing so far. At least, I didn’t spot anyone keeping watch nearby."
Guan Xia mentally reviewed every person she’d observed on the way in—none had triggered her instincts. She guessed there was a 90% chance the organization had indeed secured what they wanted and no longer cared about Doctor Hu’s home. That, at least, was good news for them.
Now, all they could do was hope the wiped computer held some clues.
