Chapter 54 To be honest, based on the current analysis from the sister departments, He Zhao shouldn't be someone Lin Gao would choose...

To be honest, based on the analysis from the sister departments, He Zhao is probably not a target chosen by the Lin Gao Association.

His goal had always been clear: a young, seemingly ordinary woman with a striking appearance, from a remote area whose disappearance wouldn't be noticed, and whose job involved frequent job changes. He Zhao might fit some of these characteristics, but one completely missed the mark: He Zhao was beautiful and eye-catching.

Although she didn't live in the resettlement housing complex for very long, she often went downstairs to eat. She was very beautiful and easily attracted attention. If she really disappeared, it would easily arouse people's vigilance, and because of her distinctive features, she would be easily detected.

Furthermore, He Zhao also has very stable interpersonal relationships, namely Qiao Yanyu.

Qiao Yanyu became even more noticeable. She had visited He Zhao several times. Each time she went, her heavy motorcycle parked downstairs at He Zhao's place would attract attention. She didn't believe Lin Gao hadn't seen it or knew that He Zhao had a female friend who would often visit her.

Despite these unfavorable conditions, Lin Gao still targeted He Zhao, and even though the police had already investigated him, he still chose to act rashly, which truly shows his strong determination to kill He Zhao.

Thinking about this, Qiao Yanyu almost couldn't control her urge to press down on Lin Gao.

Especially as Lin Gao drew closer, less than two meters from He Zhao's stall, Qiao Yanyu's phone rang. She opened it and saw a message from a colleague in a sister department: "[They're on their way, heading to set up defenses immediately and temporarily stabilizing the suspect.]"

Qiao Yanyu calmed down and gently touched He Zhao with her hand.

Although they hadn't known each other for very long, they were able to communicate with each other at times. With just this slight gesture, He Zhao understood that Qiao Yanyu wanted her to treat Lin Gao across the table as an ordinary guest.

This is not difficult at all; He Zhao felt he could do it.

When Lin Gao arrived, He Zhao gave him a very polite smile: "Hello, I sell special spicy rice here, ten yuan a bowl, would you like a bowl?"

She didn't even charge any money; it was just ten yuan, and that's the price she gave to the customer.

He Zhao didn't seem to say anything, but Qiao Yanyu got her subtext: He Zhao no longer treated Lin Gao like a living person, which was why she charged the same price as everyone else; otherwise, it should have been 100. He Zhao wouldn't think that charging 100 would be strange to Lin Gao; she would tell him in a matter-of-fact manner that it was specially made and should have this price, and if he thought it was too expensive, he didn't have to buy it.

Actually, even a simple bowl of rice, even if it's specially made, is already overpriced at 10 yuan. But Lin Gao had ulterior motives, so he agreed.

He Zhao didn't react much, and simply opened the small rice cooker, serving him a bowl of extra spicy rice. He Zhao did this on purpose; plain rice wasn't enough to show his special treatment, only the extra spicy version would.

Even someone as spicy as Qiao Yanyu can only eat a tiny bit of chili powder, let alone a whole bowl of extra spicy rice. He Zhao did it completely on purpose.

But the extra spicy rice doesn't look that threatening; it's pink. It looks adorable, round and plump—it's hard to imagine it was dyed like that by chili peppers. Besides, if chili peppers could only produce pink, this bowl of rice doesn't even look that spicy.

Lin Gao was indeed suspicious at first, because He Zhao's stall looked too strange. He set up a stall in the middle of the night, not at a night market or in front of a bar street, but in this godforsaken place, where there seemed to be hardly any customers.

They're selling these weird and strange things, and anyone would wonder: can they really make a business like this?

When the bowl of pink rice was brought out, Lin Gao's doubts were somewhat dispelled, because what He Zhao had done was so consistent with her character. Qiao Yanyu had also previously felt that He Zhao gave off the impression of a naive rich girl who had run away from home after arguing with her family. It was perfectly normal for such a rich girl to have some strange and unrealistic ideas.

Running off to a remote place to sell pink rice, which looks so cute, also suits her characteristics as a young and beautiful girl.

Especially with Qiao Yanyu by her side, a woman who clearly doesn't lack money, it really makes one suspect that Qiao Yanyu is a friend from her previous home who knew she had run away from home and was penniless, and came to take care of her. It's quite possible that even if He Zhao doesn't earn a single penny, Qiao Yanyu will be there to cover her expenses.

When Lin Gao saw the bowl of rice, he didn't eat it right away. Instead, he asked He Zhao, "Can you really make money selling this?"

He wasn't questioning He Zhao; he was questioning the system. He Zhao was setting up a stall here selling a single type of food, which the system had carefully selected itself. How come he wasn't making money? In fact, he was making a fortune.

All I can say is that people who don't understand shouldn't talk nonsense.

Especially men, why do they always sound so much like fathers when they open their mouths?

Hearing this, He Zhao couldn't stop the urge to roll his eyes: "Whether I make money or not is none of your business. I'm doing just fine with my stall here. If you want to eat, then eat. Don't talk so much nonsense." After saying that, He Zhao was actually a little afraid that he wouldn't pay and would try to renege on the deal.

He Zhao knew he was already his target; he wanted to kill him. Did he really think he'd pay him? The thought made He Zhao furious. In this day and age, trying to dine and dash, especially trying to take advantage of her? He was dreaming!

So He Zhao said directly, "You haven't paid yet, have you? Pay up!"

Lin Gao grunted in agreement, took out ten yuan from his pocket, and placed it on the table. Qiao Yanyu and He Zhao both noticed that he was wearing gloves. Black, leather, and he was paying in cash.

It's strange, especially for a young person like him to carry cash when he goes out these days. If someone else gave it to him, He Zhao wouldn't care; after all, although it's rare, it's not uncommon for people to carry cash, it's quite normal. But when it comes to Lin Gao, it makes you wonder.

He chose to pay in cash instead of mobile payment to avoid leaving evidence of his communication with He Zhao. In Lin Gao's mind, He Zhao still had family; she had only run away from home in a fit of pique, and her family would definitely look for her later. If he reported her missing later, they could directly access her information and find that Lin Gao's account was the last one he had contacted with her, easily exposing Lin Gao.

Therefore, using cash can effectively avoid leaving clues and evidence.

He was even wearing gloves, which clearly showed he was an experienced hand; there might not even be any fingerprints on the banknote. It's still winter, so wearing gloves is perfectly normal, and no one would suspect anything if they saw it.

Although He Zhao didn't understand administrative matters, he had watched many novels, movies, and TV series over the years, and he had long suspected Lin Gao, so he quickly saw through Lin Gao's thoughts.

Instead of keeping quiet, He Zhao acted like a spoiled young lady who was making things difficult, looking very unwilling: "I don't want cash. I can't spend this ten yuan at all. Scan the code and transfer the money to me."

"..." Lin Gao was silent for a moment, then looked around the food cart again. He Zhao's customers were all ghosts, so they wouldn't use QR code payments, and naturally there was no QR code for payment on her food cart. Lin Gao seized on this point: "You don't seem to have a QR code on."

"I forgot, just scan my QR code."

Lin Gao saw He Zhao extend his phone, the QR code for payment clearly visible. Lin Gao hesitated for a moment, because he really didn't want to scan the code, and he hadn't expected He Zhao to be so persistent.

To his surprise, the woman who had been sitting next to He Zhao came to his rescue.

"He Zhao, forget it, let's just use cash. I'll transfer it to you later."

Qiao Yanyu was actually worried that Lin Gao would lose his temper and become angry. He Zhao also knew when to stop. She pouted and said somewhat reluctantly, "Okay, cash it is."

With that matter settled, Lin Gao breathed a sigh of relief and began eating the special-edition rice in front of him. He didn't really want to eat it; who would want to sit at a roadside stall in the middle of the night just to eat a bowl of rice? Even if it was special-edition, it was still just rice—what special flavor could you possibly get from it?

But it would seem too strange to spend ten yuan on this stuff and then not eat it. So Lin Gao could only grit his teeth and accept it.

But the chopsticks couldn't reach the bowl. As soon as Lin Gao picked up the bowl, he realized something was wrong. The rice... was too cold. In the dead of winter, who would set up a stall and sell something so cold? And it wasn't anything else, it was just cold rice.

Even though Lin Gao was already mentally prepared that He Zhao's work wouldn't be good, he didn't expect it to be this bad.

Lin Gao fell silent. This time, he still wanted to ask: Can you really make money selling this thing?

To avoid alerting the culprit, Lin Gao picked up his chopsticks and ate. He didn't realize that his action actually aroused more suspicion. How could a normal person remain calm and composed while eating such bizarre food at a food stall like this?

He Zhao was somewhat better off; he didn't stick his chopsticks directly into the rice in a particularly bizarre way. Otherwise, it would have been even more bizarre.

But Lin Gaoneng's composure was already suspicious enough.

Lin Gao picked up some rice with his chopsticks. As he did this, Qiao Yanyu and He Zhao stared intently at him, He Zhao's face bearing a sinister smile of triumph. Lin Gao was quite alert; he probably sensed the strange gazes and instantly looked up. Qiao Yanyu, quick as a flash, grabbed her phone and shoved it in front of He Zhao: "Look, this news is pretty funny."

Just then, He Zhao smiled, which perfectly matched the smile.

"Oh my, it really is."

With a legitimate reason to cover it up, He Zhao's smile became even brighter.

Lin Gao paused for a moment, then lowered his head and began to eat.

He initially underestimated this special rice, assuming the pink color came from some kind of rose juice. However, the moment the rice entered his mouth, Lin Gao's expression changed drastically.

The specially formulated chili powder, taught through systematic instruction, has demonstrated its true power at this moment.