Chapter 279 Locking Position

Hiss, people shouldn’t be so stupid, right?

Xia Lili felt that she still needed to confirm based on the sea purslane, lunch box packaging and wine bottle she saw in the hallucination.

Find a reliable person who lives in Los Angeles and often stays near the sea to find out where these three items appear in combination.

Xia Lili repeatedly sorted out the clues she had in her mind, and finally determined that only Mingzhou could help.

Mingzhou sent Xia Lili a list of arranged bodyguards half an hour ago.

Ming Zhou had arranged all the bodyguards in Xia Xubai's room as Xia Lili had instructed.

Xia Lili looked through the information. The faces of the three bodyguards in the information did not match the traitor bodyguard in the hallucination.

Therefore, the traitor bodyguard might be the bodyguard assigned to her by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Brother Mingzhou can still be trusted.

Xia Lili picked up her phone and was about to dial when she suddenly paused. Her eyes fell on the dazzling array of small items on the desk.

These were the thank-you gifts given to her by the crew members on the set today.

Crystal ornaments, handmade soaps, cartoon key chains...each one is beautifully packaged.

Her fingertips clenched the edge of the phone. The experience of the past six months had made her almost instinctively alert.

Could there be something hidden in these seemingly harmless gifts?

Xia Lili had seen on a TV show that some fans would hide cameras in the eyes of dolls and give them to their idols.

Xia Lili put down her phone and pretended to tidy up the desk, her fingers lightly brushing over each item.

When she picked up a Q-version doll wearing a costume, she suddenly found an unnatural seam on the base of the doll.

With the sunlight coming in from the window, she saw a faint metallic luster coming through the seams.

The courses she attended at the police academy taught students how to identify the models of various surveillance and eavesdropping miniature devices circulating on the market, as well as how to inspect them.

Xia Lili immediately determined that this was a sophisticated eavesdropping device.

She now has a very good memory and immediately recalled who gave her the doll.

Fragments of memory flashed through her mind frame by frame like a slide show.

Found it.

The person who gave the doll was Anna, the lighting assistant, a girl who always had fluffy blonde braids.

Xia Lili calmly put the doll back in its place, and a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes when she turned around.

She sent a message to Mingzhou instead: "Brother Mingzhou, I need your help."

She held her phone and sent colored sketches of hand-drawn wine bottle labels and fast food packaging. "I'm looking for a place that might be on the waterfront."

"Bottles of this special rum and Seagull Wharf chain lunch boxes were also present, and the sea purslane plant was easily visible."

Ming Zhou on the other end of the phone carefully examined the picture and replied, "I've never seen this kind of wine bottle...but I can still make out the branch number on the lunch box."

After a while, he sent another message that made Xia Lili very excited.

"I know a few foodies who frequent the waterfront area. One of them is a retired surfer who has eaten at almost every restaurant and bar on the beach."

"I'll send him the picture and ask him."

"Give me two hours. This specialty wine should be very recognizable. As long as they are actually in business, I will definitely be able to ask about it."

——“Thank you, Brother Mingzhou!”

Xia Lili recalled the harsh words the peeping photographer had said and added, "It might be near Santa Monica Beach, but I'm not sure. We can check this beach first."

Xia Lili specifically told Mingzhou to contact her through messages if he had any clues about finding this place, and not to call.

After finishing the conversation with Mingzhou, Xia Lili continued to recall the street where she was kidnapped.

She used the colored pencils in her hand to quickly draw the street scene on the paper.

Xia Lili remembered that before she was kidnapped, there was a decorated Christmas tree on that street, and the retro clock on the decorated Christmas tree showed the time was 7:23 in the evening.

It was Christmas Eve.

Xia Lili glanced at the calendar and saw that it was the night after tomorrow.

I still have time to prepare.

At this time, the backup phone she used in Country M rang. This phone was inserted with a SIM card with Country M data, which she had left with Detective Marty of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Xia Lili became alert instantly, not knowing whether this detective was a good person or a bad person.

When the call was connected, she politely greeted Detective Marty.

Detective Marty's voice sounded kind. "Ms. Xia, we've arranged for four bodyguards to protect you. I'll text you their information."

"Please send me the hotel address. Bodyguards will be waiting outside your door 24 hours a day."

Xia Lili took a look at the Q-version doll and reported her hotel name and room number.

In the hallucination, the other party did not attack him in the hotel. This hotel is home to many Hollywood stars and VIPs, so the security is very strict.

This criminal organization wanted to kidnap me and threaten me, but it was not convenient for them to do it directly in the hotel.

Detective Marty is an old fox. He has been trying various ways to find out from Xia Lili about the content of Xia Lili's security consulting work in the country.

Xia Lili also practiced Tai Chi with him and fooled him.

After greeting Detective Marty, Xia Lili continued to draw the street where she was kidnapped.

After finishing the sketch of the street scenery, she sent it to Mingzhou.

After Xia Lili finished her call with Detective Marty, she picked up her paintbrush again and carefully sketched the street scene in her memory in her sketchbook.

Neon signs, Christmas windows, palm trees draped with lights.

Every detail gradually became clear under her pen.

After finishing the sketch, she immediately took a photo of the painting and sent it to Mingzhou. Almost immediately, the phone lit up with a reply:

"This is Selma Boulevard!" Mingzhou replied with certainty. "I'm very familiar with this street. It's a tourist attraction during the day, but it transforms into something else at night."

"The security problem here is quite serious at night. The back streets and alleys are high-risk areas for crime because of poor lighting and the lack of tourists. The theft and robbery report rate at night is three times higher than during the day."

"Every time an artist comes to Hollywood for further studies or work, I always tell them not to join the fun here at night."

Xia Lili became confused when she saw Mingzhou's reply.

Since Mingzhou specifically instructed his artists not to hang out here at night, why did he and his brother go to Selma Avenue?

Perhaps the answer to this question will have to wait until Christmas Eve, and we will see what clues we can find then.

"Brother Mingzhou, you're very knowledgeable about the public security on Selma Boulevard, right?"

Ming Zhou replied, "I'm responsible for the artists' safety. I've carefully reviewed the security company's map of these streets near Hollywood."