Chapter 30 Bloodstained Action

Since that day, Sang Li had been intentionally or unintentionally flirting with Kulen in front of everyone. If Shen Mi hadn't known their plan, she probably would have thought, like everyone else, that Sang Li was simply using her usual methods to curry favor with her superior in order to gain some kind of convenience or privilege.

Most people are used to Sang Li's style and are not surprised by her ambiguous words and actions, and even tacitly turn a blind eye to it.

Her fingers would always unconsciously brush across the table, pushing the teacup closer to Kulen, and she would deliberately bend over to reveal her neckline when picking up documents. In the meeting room, several times she simply pulled her chair closer, speaking almost right next to Kulen's ear.

Although Kulen maintained a cold and disgusted expression on the surface, and even reprimanded her more than once, reminding her to "behave herself," Shen Mi knew that Chloe's plan was progressing smoothly.

There is no other reason.

She watched as a bare foot slipped from its high heel under the table and slowly made its way toward Cullen's leg. The toes moved and caressed as if by their own conscious will, creating a secret and provocative ambiguity through the fabric.

Kulen did not move, nor did he stop it.

His hand paused only briefly, the pen between his fingers hovered in the air for a moment, and then landed back on the paper.

Shen Mi sat at a distance watching Sang Li, who was trying her best to please someone, and silently shook her head in her heart.

Imagine the horrified look on Sanlie's face if she knew that Cullen had known about her and Chloe's plans from the very beginning.

——

The clock on the wall struck nine, and the light in the corridor on that floor of the office began to dim little by little.

It wasn't lights out time, but rather Chloe's commotion that caused the ceiling lights to flicker uncontrollably, illuminating fleeting figures in the hallway. Accompanied by occasional metallic clanging in the silence, it felt like drops of cool water falling on one's back.

Shen Mi stood at the corner, motionless, his entire figure blending seamlessly with the wall.

She had been waiting for a long time. She was in charge of the night patrol in this area today, but the office corridor was not within the routine patrol area—she deliberately avoided the front patrol route and bypassed the backup passage to get in without being monitored.

Her gaze was fixed on the door at the end of the corridor. The door was slightly ajar, and a swift shadow slipped in silently, like a fish that gently rippled the surface of the water.

Chloe has finally taken action.

All of this had been planned several days in advance. Cullen's office was the core area for the flow of information in the entire C District. He personally updated the ledger every day and never handed it over to anyone else.

Sanlie's mission is to act as bait—to attract Cullen's attention in her own way. Chloe, on the other hand, is the key executor.

Their plan was simple: lure the tiger away from the mountain, steal, and retreat.

Shen Mi's task was to wait for Chloe to steal the ledger, then act after he left the office, using the stun gun Dan Heng had given her to knock him unconscious, and finally putting the prepared fake ledger back into his arms.

Everything was under her control. At least, that's how it was supposed to be.

The calm was shattered by a sudden system notification.

"Ledger location: 20 meters from the host."

Shen Mi's pupils contracted slightly.

She was only a corridor away from the door of Cullen's office; it was impossible for her to be twenty meters away.

Shen Mi couldn't help but wonder if she had misheard because she was too nervous, but she quickly dismissed the thought.

Although the system's functions have always been rather useless, it has never made a mistake.

She held her breath and quietly took a step into the corridor.

"Ledger location: 20.5 meters from the host."

Why are we getting further and further apart?

The system? The system? What's going on? Didn't you say the ledgers were in the office?

The system didn't say much, only repeating: "Ledger location: 20.5 meters from the host."

Did she miscalculate the distance?

Shen Mi was puzzled. She cautiously walked through the corridor to the office door. Thanks to Chloe's act of cutting off the power, she could easily enter without a key card. Shen Mi approached the door, squatted down, and looked inside through the crack in the door.

Chloe was rummaging through the bookshelf, looking very focused, her fingers moving quickly across the second-layer file compartment, clearly knowing exactly where she was looking.

He moved swiftly and efficiently, pocketing the ledger within a minute, and turned to leave.

Shen Mi's right hand quietly slipped into his sleeve, holding the cold stun gun in his palm.

She slowly rose, preparing to knock Chloe unconscious as she left—the most crucial step in the plan.

But the next second, the system notification sounded again:

"Ledger location: 20 meters from the host."

Her movements faltered.

...That's not right.

She's practically living off Chloe's lifeline now; if the ledger were really on her, that number should be significantly smaller.

But it barely moved.

Shen Mi's mind raced. Chloe already had the ledger in her hand, but the distance hadn't changed... The only possibility was:

"What he got was not the real ledger."

The air suddenly felt heavy for a moment.

Shen Mi seemed to see invisible lines tightening little by little, binding the two of them together in the center—Chloe and Sang Li.

It's a trap.

She finally understood why Cullen had condoned and even indulged Sang Li's behavior—he knew not only about their hidden relationship, but also about their purpose.

He wasn't driven by greed or merely concerned with basic needs. Perhaps quite the opposite; tonight's power outage and Chloe's every move were entirely under his control. He was the one who watched from the sidelines as the outcome unfolded.

Shen Mi stood there, watching Chloe excitedly walk out of the office with the "ledger" in her hand, her steps still steady, unaware that she had already gone astray.

She could no longer act according to what she and Danheng had discussed.

She silently backed away from the doorway.

The system continued to report the distance, each report more alarming than the last.

"Ledger location: 19 meters from the host."

19 meters—this distance refers to the outside, not inside the office, and at this moment, only Kulen could have the ledger on his person.

Shen Mi closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.

It wasn't that the system's answer was wrong, but rather that Cullen spent most of his time in the office, so the actual ledgers... never left his side.

Chloe was still unaware of the situation and was slowly making her way to the exit, while he was caught between Chloe and Cullen.

"Ledger location: 18 meters from host." The system's indifferent voice rang out.

Oh no, Kuren is coming!

The more critical the situation, the calmer you need to be. Shen Mi didn't have time to discuss countermeasures with Dan Heng. Now she could only rely on herself. She needed to calm down and think of a solution.

"Ledger location: 10 meters from the host."

She couldn't wait any longer! Shen Mi made up her mind, pressed the switch on the flashlight with her fingertips, and stepped into the corridor, the bright beam of light shining straight into the darkness at the end of the corridor.

The light and shadow stretched out, illuminating a figure that was trying to hide—in that instant, the figure paused slightly, unable to dodge.

Shen Mi's eyes narrowed, and he immediately raised his voice, which echoed clearly in the empty corridor:

"Who is it? What are you doing!"

The figure slowly raised its head.

Under the beam of light, Chloe's face was half in shadow and half in light. He squinted, his expression complex, making it impossible to tell whether it was alertness, anger, or... the resentment of being exposed.

He didn't say anything.

Shen Mi had already taken a few quick steps closer, his flashlight beam steadily blocking Chloe's movement range, while simultaneously glancing at the system notification out of the corner of his eye:

"Ledger location: 9.5 meters from the host."

Shen Mi's heart sank, but he showed no sign of it on his face.

“Chloe, what are you holding?” she asked, pointing to the blue folder in his hand.

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "The backup copy from the archives, Cullen told me to take it and destroy it."

"You still need to come to the office to pick up the destruction documents at 9 PM?" Shen Mi stood two or three meters away from him and questioned him.

Chloe's fingers tightened for a moment, but a faint, mocking smile appeared at the corner of her mouth: "You doubt me?"

Shen Mi did not speak, but his silence answered him.

“You can call Cullen to verify.” Chloe feigned composure, her tone unchanged, but her eyes were relentlessly eroding Chloe’s escape route. “But you’d better think about it first. If I’m really acting under orders, wouldn’t you be overstepping your authority by stopping me like this?”

He had one hand hidden behind his back, and Shen Mi could almost guess what it was.

dagger?

Shen Mi was a little scared, afraid that Chloe would become enraged and drag her down with her, but... the show had already begun, and she couldn't back out halfway.

"I'm sorry, I might really have to overstep my authority today." Shen Mi's voice wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible to people ten meters away.

Her goal was precisely to make Cullen hear it.

Chloe's pupils contracted slightly for a moment.

The plan was exposed, and to avoid attracting attention, the only option was to kill.

Chloe slowly walked towards her, and Chen Mi nervously stepped back.

"what are you up to?"

But the next moment, Chloe suddenly raised the hand that had been hidden behind her back—

A flash of silver light!

Shen Mi moved to the side almost instinctively to dodge, but his shoulder was still slashed, and blood instantly stained his sleeve.

Just as she dodged, the system said—

"Ledger location: 2 meters away from the host."

Kulun has arrived.

The next second, Chloe, who was holding a dagger and intending to kill her as quickly as possible, slowly fell to the ground with a loud thud.

The one who fired the shot was none other than Kulen.

The gleaming silver dagger tumbled to the side with a clink, spun twice in the dim light, and came to a stop.

He held a black gun in his hand, wisps of smoke rising from its muzzle.

The stench of blood in the air grew stronger, and only Kuren's footsteps echoed heavily in the empty corridor.

He walked over to Chloe, bent down, and slowly pulled the blue folder out from under her.

Then he stood up, smiled at Shen Mi, and said, "6013, you did a good job protecting the secrets of the labor camp."

Shen Mi's nerves were on edge, but he dared not show the slightest panic.

The system notification is still in progress—"Ledger location: 1.8 meters from host."

It's right in front of me.

The ledger is on Kulen's person.

"6016, you're badly hurt."

Kulen approached slowly, his tone almost gentle, but his eyes were unreadable. "Should I call medical personnel?"

"...No, no need..." Shen Mi forced a smile, enduring the sharp pain in her shoulder. "I can still hold on..."

As soon as she finished speaking, she swayed, closed her eyes, and collapsed to the ground with a thud, like a kite with a broken string.

Her eyes were tightly closed, and blood trickled down from between her fingers as she covered her shoulder, spreading out on the ground like a deep red flower.

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Author's Note: The author patted Shen Mi on the shoulder: Sis, the next chapter is up to you.

I've enabled paragraph comments, everyone should give it a try! [doge][doge][doge]