Under Guan Xia and Pang Le's not-so-subtle stares, the man hastily stuffed the remaining food and water into the trunk before jumping into the driver's seat and speeding away.
Pang Le immediately grew anxious. Glancing at the still-incomplete fuel gauge, she turned to Guan Xia and asked, "Did you catch the license plate number and the man's appearance?"
Guan Xia wasn't entirely confident in her own memory, but she trusted the system interface implicitly. Nodding, she replied, "Don't worry. If there's really something wrong, he won't get far."
Only then did Pang Le relax slightly, muttering under her breath, "This is seriously weird. We just got off the high-speed train less than two hours ago. But that guy was way too obvious—it wasn’t just us. Others noticed something off too."
Guan Xia looked up and saw two other drivers at the gas station watching the man’s departing car with suspicion. After a few seconds, they seemed to dismiss their unease, turning back to chat idly with their companions.
"Honestly, though," Pang Le added, "if it weren’t for the two cases we handled before, I might’ve thought I was overreacting too."
After a short wait, the fuel pump finally clicked off. Pang Le rushed to pay and returned just as the transaction completed. She quickly got back into the car, pulling out of the station the moment the barrier lifted. "Hurry, call it in!" she urged. "If there’s really a problem, we can’t let that guy get away."
Guan Xia’s right eyelid was still twitching. Almost before Pang Le finished speaking, she had already pulled out her phone and dialed Xu Nian.
Xu Nian answered as promptly as ever, skipping formalities to cut straight to the point. "Guan Xia, what did you find?"
As the last word left Xu Nian’s mouth, the system interface flickered to life.
You are being questioned by the police. Suddenly, you recall: At 1:22 PM on May 14th, at the gas station, you encountered a middle-aged man acting suspiciously, his expression tense. You noticed several long black hairs caught in the zipper of the suitcase in his trunk—a suitcase large enough to fit a petite adult woman. Your instincts scream that something is wrong with that suitcase. You decide to inform the police.
The system’s appearance confirmed Guan Xia’s gut feeling, easing her tension momentarily—until she read the words adult woman. Her heart clenched.
Without overthinking, Guan Xia spoke rapidly, "Xu Nian, I’m in Yongquan City. Right after getting off the train, I saw a suspicious man. He bought a large amount of instant food and water at the gas station convenience store. There’s also a suitcase in his trunk, about 32 inches, with black hairs tangled in the zipper."
She stuck to the facts, omitting her own deductions.
At the mention of the black hairs, Pang Le shot her a strange look.
Xu Nian’s response was decisive. "I’ll contact a colleague of mine at the Yongquan City Criminal Police Brigade immediately. Keep your phone on."
Guan Xia agreed and hung up. Barely two minutes later, an unknown number flashed on her screen.
A woman’s voice, slightly husky but steady, came through. "Guan Xia, hello. This is Shao Ying, deputy captain of the Third Unit at Yongquan City’s Dongning District Criminal Police Brigade. Xu Nian briefed me. Do you remember the license plate? Can you tell me the direction he was headed?"
The system interface froze and magnified the scene in response to Shao Ying’s questions. Guan Xia answered without hesitation, "License plate NF662. He left the gas station and drove eastbound on Jianshe Road."
After a quick glance at the car’s navigation system, she added the detail.
Shao Ying thanked her and hung up.
Guan Xia pocketed her phone, her posture relaxing as if a weight had lifted.
Pang Le, who had been tense as well, visibly eased up. She side-eyed Guan Xia. "Black hairs? From that distance? Did your eyes mutate or something?"
Guan Xia brushed it off. "Maybe I’m just sensitive to color. I am an art student, after all."
Pang Le accepted the explanation readily. "Fair. Like how martial artists might look normal but have stronger tendons and bones than average people."
Guan Xia nodded, though her mind lingered on the system’s adult woman hint.
The system might occasionally seem a little… obtuse, but its prompts were never meaningless. If it suggested there was a woman in that suitcase, there likely was—alive or dead, she couldn’t say.
Pang Le, watching Guan Xia’s expression, couldn’t resist asking, "What’s on your mind?"
Guan Xia hesitated. "Don’t you think that suitcase was just the right size to fit a petite person? And those black hairs caught in the zipper..."
Pang Le’s eyes widened in realization. "You think there was a woman inside? Maybe even alive?"
"Alive or not, I don’t know," Guan Xia admitted. "But it’s almost certainly a woman."
Pang Le cursed under her breath. "Damn it. Now I regret not tackling him right there. If she’s stuffed in a suitcase without struggling, she’s either dead or badly hurt. And it’s been so long already..."
Guan Xia checked her phone. Nearly fifteen minutes had passed since the man drove off. Even with Jianshe Road’s 40 km/h speed limit, he could’ve covered at least ten kilometers by now.
She didn’t regret their caution, though. The system was reactive—unless a police officer had been with them, even with a do-over, they’d have made the same choice without its prompt.
Still, the realization made her stomach twist again.
Pang Le began obsessively studying the navigation screen, zooming in and out, tracing possible routes the man might’ve taken.
But for all her analysis, she wisely stuck to their original plan, following the GPS to the restaurant she’d picked out earlier.
A small mercy came when they parked. Guan Xia hadn’t even unbuckled her seatbelt when Shao Ying called back.
Both women perked up at the sound.
Guan Xia answered swiftly. Shao Ying’s voice was crisp. "We’ve detained him. The person in the suitcase was rescued and taken to the hospital. Still alive."
Relief and dread warred in Guan Xia’s chest. "How bad are the injuries?"
"Critical condition. I’ll update you after stabilization," Shao Ying replied briskly before hanging up.
Guan Xia relayed the news to Pang Le, who spat out another curse. "That bastard. I hope she pulls through."
Guan Xia silently echoed the sentiment.
They sat in the car for a few more minutes, gathering themselves, before heading inside to eat.
Finally, the system’s delayed summary appeared:
You provided critical information that helped police prevent a homicide. Reward: Low-Profile Aura recharge (x1).
Recharging…
Recharge complete.
Current Low-Profile Aura Intensity: 100%
Guan Xia wasn’t entirely surprised, though it did catch her off guard—she had accidentally stumbled upon another function of the system. It seemed that recharging the aura wasn’t limited to solving cases; preventing crimes and saving victims also worked. What puzzled her, though, was why reporting a fugitive’s whereabouts and helping the police capture them didn’t count. Was the system being overly stingy?
Guan Xia grumbled inwardly as she followed Pang Le to an empty table and sat down.
The place was a specialty hotpot restaurant, spacious with over a dozen tables. The decor was simple, and the cleanliness wasn’t exactly top-notch, but even past peak dining hours, the place was surprisingly crowded, with only a few tables left vacant.
Pang Le grabbed a wet wipe and started wiping the table. “I spent days researching food recommendations and checked reviews on multiple platforms. This place has way fewer bad reviews compared to others. Both tourists and locals rate it highly, so I picked it.”
She glanced around, unfazed. After all, her life had only improved in recent years—back then, a place like this would’ve been a once-a-year treat.
After checking off a bunch of dishes they liked, Pang Le unwrapped their disposable utensils and began casually scanning the room.
Guan Xia knew exactly what she was up to and couldn’t help but swat her arm. “Act normal. What are the odds we’d run into another one right after the last one?”
Pang Le lowered her voice. “You never know. Yongquan City might not have a huge population, but tourism is booming. Don’t crime novels always say places with mixed crowds are hotspots for shady stuff?”
Guan Xia was convinced Pang Le had lost it. She hadn’t been acting right since they boarded the high-speed train, and the guy at the gas station had only made it worse.
Too tired to argue, Guan Xia flagged down a server for a pot of tea and poured for both of them.
After a few sips, Pang Le suddenly nudged Guan Xia and whispered, “Check out that table—the one diagonally behind us to the right.”
Guan Xia’s heart skipped a beat. No way, could it really be this coincidental? She cautiously glanced in the direction Pang Le indicated, careful not to be obvious. Unlike Pang Le, she wasn’t about to stare outright.
After several subtle, seemingly accidental turns, she finally noticed something off.
The table to their right had four people, chatting lazily over their meal, but one of them kept glancing sideways at another table, as if observing something.
Guan Xia didn’t think they looked like fugitives—more like detectives tailing a suspect in a crime drama.
Realizing this, she quickly elbowed Pang Le. “Stop looking. You’ll draw attention.”
Pang Le reined in her excitement and forced herself to act normal, raising her voice slightly. “After this, let’s hit the temple. My plan was to go to the food street tonight—there’s also this newly opened ancient town nearby. Heard it’s lively and super photogenic. Wanna check it out?”
Guan Xia shrugged. “Sure. I’m just along for the ride. You’re in charge.”
Pang Le pulled up her itinerary on her phone. “Our hotel’s near the food street. After the temple, we’ll check in, rest a bit, then head out for dinner and explore the ancient town. Perfect way to walk off the meal.”
Guan Xia agreed it was a solid plan. They chatted while waiting for their food, but a few minutes later, when the group of four’s target got up to pay, both fell silent.
The man was short, looking to be in his forties or fifties. As he walked to the counter, the four “detectives” stood too. The moment he stepped outside, they pounced, slamming him to the ground.
The sound of his face hitting the pavement made Guan Xia wince, but Pang Le’s eyes sparkled with fascination. She craned her neck, watching until the four officers hauled the man away, then sighed contentedly. “So thrilling! Like a crime drama come to life. Honestly, traveling with you is double the excitement. We haven’t even hit the mountain yet, but this trip’s already delivered.”
While Pang Le was buzzing with adrenaline, Guan Xia felt a bit drained. This “test run” had been alarmingly eventful. Though none were major cases—one even just an observation—the frequency was downright absurd.
Guan Xia couldn’t shake the worry: What if the gaps between cases shrink, like in Yongquan City?
A chilling thought crept in—What if I end up surrounded by criminals?
