Chapter 61: Hidden Watcher
Lin Che stood on the observation deck on the third floor of the shopping mall, scanning the surrounding environment with a telescope.
This was his shift assignment for today, responsible for monitoring movements outside the safe zone.
The rising sun shone on his face, he squinted his eyes and continued to observe the surrounding buildings.
Suddenly, a dazzling light flashed from the top floor of the office building opposite, and Lin Che immediately became alert.
He adjusted the focus of the telescope and observed the location carefully.
“What is that?” Lin Che muttered to herself, “Reflection? Is there someone there?”
He saw that there was indeed something on the top floor of the office building reflecting light from the sunlight, like the lens of a telescope or some other optical device.
Lin Che continued to observe for a few minutes, and after confirming that it was not an illusion, he immediately put down the telescope and went downstairs to find Su Wanqing.
Su Wanqing was sorting out the supply list in the coffee shop. When she saw Lin Che rushing in, she raised her head and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I noticed a reflection on the top floor of the office building opposite from the observation deck," Lin Che said, "It looks like someone is observing us with a telescope or other equipment."
Su Wanqing put down the pen in her hand and her expression became serious: "Are you sure?"
“Very sure,” Lin Che nodded, “That kind of reflection is very special. It can’t be produced by ordinary glass or metal surfaces.”
Su Wanqing immediately stood up and said, "Go find Lu Zhao and Xiao Ran, we need to discuss this."
A few minutes later, the four of them gathered in a corner of the coffee shop. Lin Che told them in detail what he had discovered.
"Considering Wang Feng's suspicious behavior last night, these two things may be related," Lu Zhao analyzed, "We need to find out who the person in the office building is."
Xiao Ran nodded: "I can lead the team to take a look. If someone is really monitoring us, we need to know their purpose."
"I agree," Su Wanqing said, "but be careful not to alert the enemy."
Xiao Ran thought for a while and said, "I need three people to cooperate with me and sneak in in a dispersed manner."
“I’ll go,” Lin Che volunteered, “I should follow up on what I discovered.”
Lu Zhao shook his head: "You stay here and watch Wang Feng with Su Wanqing.
Xiao Ran and I will go and select two reliable ones from the newcomers."
Su Wanqing thought about it: "Li Zhao seems trustworthy, and so does Zhang Lin."
"Then the two of them," Xiao Ran said, "the four of us are enough."
After the plan was finalized, Xiao Ran found Li Zhao and Zhang Lin and briefly explained the situation.
Both expressed their willingness to assist.
"We will split into two groups," Xiao Ran told them. "Zhang Lin and I will enter from the main gate, and Lu Zhao and Li Zhao will enter from the side gate. Keep in touch with the radio, and report any abnormalities immediately."
The four of them set off after equipping themselves with simple weapons and communication equipment. Lin Che and Su Wanqing returned to the observation tower and continued to monitor the situation in the office building.
"Can you still see the reflection?" Su Wanqing asked.
Lin Che shook her head: "No more. I don't know if they found out we were observing them, or if they've already left."
Su Wanqing picked up the telescope and observed the actions of Xiao Ran's team. They were already close to the office building and were approaching the entrance cautiously.
"Xiao Ran and the others have arrived," Su Wanqing said, "I hope we can find some clues."
At the same time, Xiao Ran and Zhang Lin had entered the lobby of the office building.
This twenty-story office building was the headquarters of a technology company before the apocalypse, but now it is empty, with only dust and scattered documents.
"Let's start the search from the bottom floor," Xiao Ran said to Zhang Lin, "Stay alert, there may be zombies here."
Lu Zhao and Li Zhao entered through the side door and began searching the offices and meeting rooms on the ground floor.
"It looks like this place has been ransacked," Li Zhao observed. "The drawers have been turned over and all the valuables are gone."
Lu Zhao nodded: "Focus on finding traces of people, footprints, food residues, used items, anything that can indicate that someone has been here recently."
The four of them searched separately, going up floor by floor. When they reached the tenth floor, Xiao Ran's radio rang, and it was Lu Zhao's voice: "There are fresh footprints on the twelfth floor, it looks like they belong to several people, extending towards the stairwell."
"Got it, we'll be there right away," Xiao Ran replied, and then said to Zhang Lin, "If you find anything, let's go."
The four of them met on the twelfth floor and continued upwards along the footprints, which extended all the way to the top floor and then disappeared in front of the door leading to the rooftop.
"Be careful," Xiao Ran whispered, "They may still be there."
Xiao Ran slowly pushed open the door to the rooftop, and the four of them walked out cautiously. The rooftop was empty, but there were obvious signs of use: a few military cans, cigarette butts, and a high-powered military telescope that had been left behind.
"They just left not long ago," Xiao Ran picked up the telescope and checked it. "This is military equipment. It's not something that ordinary people can get."
Lu Zhao checked the markings on the cans: "These are emergency rations for the military. They are not available on the regular market."
Zhang Lin pointed to the edge of the rooftop: "There are traces of ropes there. They may have left from here."
Xiao Ran walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down: "Indeed, they used ropes to descend to the platform below, and then may have left through the fire escape."
The four continued to search the rooftop, hoping to find more clues. Li Zhao found a small device in a corner.
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"What is this?" he asked.
Lu Zhao took it and examined it: "It looks like some kind of signal transmitter, but the design is very special and it is not for civilian use."
Xiao Ran took a look and said, "Put it away and take it back. Maybe we can get some information from it."
After the search was completed, the four decided to return to the safe zone. On the way back, Xiao Ran said to Lu Zhao: "These people are well-equipped and well-trained. They are likely to be from the military or some organization."
Lu Zhao nodded: "And they specifically monitor us. This is not accidental. I suspect it has something to do with Wang Feng."
Back at the shopping mall, Xiao Ran reported their findings to Su Wanqing and Lin Che.
"Military binoculars and canned food?" Su Wanqing frowned. "Who are these people?"
Lu Zhao placed the small device on the table: "We also found this, it looks like some kind of signal transmitter."
Lin Che picked up the device and examined it carefully: "This design is very sophisticated, it is not an ordinary civilian product."
"Is there anything unusual here while we were out?" Xiao Ran asked.
Su Wanqing shook her head: "On the surface, not at all, but I asked Lin Che to keep an eye on Wang Feng's movements."
Lin Che took over the topic: "Wang Feng tried to approach the material storage area, but I stopped him. He said he was looking for medicine, but there were no medicines in that area. They were all in the pharmacy."
Lu Zhao frowned: "He is lying. He may be trying to find out about our supplies."
"We need to monitor him more closely," Xiao Ran said, "but don't alert him and let him think we don't suspect him."
Su Wanqing nodded in agreement: "I will arrange for people to take turns watching him and record his every move."
In the evening, during her shift, Lin Che saw Wang Feng standing on the balcony again.
Lin Che immediately went to find Lu Zhao and told him about the situation.
"He is definitely in contact with someone outside," Lin Che said, "Those gestures are very regular, like some kind of signal code."
Lu Zhao thought for a while: "We need to know what message he is conveying and his true identity."
“Should we question him directly?” Lin Che asked.
Lu Zhao shook his head: "No, it's not the right time yet. We need more evidence to understand what their plan is. I will set some small traps tomorrow to see if he will take the bait."
Lin Che nodded: "I will continue to monitor him and record his every move."
After the two separated, Lin Che returned to his room and wrote down today's findings in his notebook.
He didn't know what the purpose of Wang Feng and those monitors was, but his intuition told him that the appearance of these people was no accident and was probably related to the "biological reset plan" they had discovered before.
He closed his notebook and decided to continue investigating tomorrow. No matter who these people were, they would not let anyone threaten Su Wanqing and the safe zone they had established.
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