Chapter 21
“If you’re scared, stay here. I’m going to check on the body,” Chi Xia said, already striding across the street.
Xin Ran smiled, bent down to pick something up, and slowly followed.
Chi Xia turned on the light from her bracelet, pulled back the clothes covering the corpse's upper body, and shuddered when she saw the person's face clearly—
Didn't you kill this person long ago?
Instinctively, Chi Xia immediately reached out to search his body for identification, but found nothing except a note in his shirt pocket. Chi Xia opened the note, which contained a serial number. She then stuffed the note into her own pocket.
Thinking of something, Chi Xia pulled up his sleeve. The bracelet was still there, and personal information could also be found on the bracelet.
Xin Ran stood silently behind Chi Xia, watching her skillfully unlock the person's bracelet and swiftly retrieve personal information—
Lin Mu, 37 years old, male, deputy director of RT Machinery Factory, was transferred back to headquarters from the sales store a year ago.
That's him!
"Oh, you're so familiar with this place, did you run into an old acquaintance?" Xin Ran said with a smile, her hands in her pockets.
Chi Xia intuitively felt that Xin Ran had no hostility towards her. Although she didn't know why, it seemed that this person had regarded her as an ally from the beginning.
Now, facing this man who had died once and was now dying before her eyes again, she was unsure. Having a friend was better than having an enemy. "I know him, but he died six months ago."
Xin Ran took two steps forward and squatted down next to Chi Xia. He unbuttoned the man's shirt and gently squeezed his abdomen. "He might be dead in your eyes."
Chi Xia repeated Xin Ran's actions and instantly understood, "The mechanical organs are revived?"
Xin Ran: "It's up to you—to hand it over to the police or destroy it?"
The fire was very large just now, and the police didn't come to clean up the scene. If they were to destroy key information now, that would be understandable.
Chi Xia looked up at the police officer who was squatting on the ground, busy assisting Xun Jiang with the surgery and completely ignoring what was happening here. She then looked back at Xin Ran and said, "I think you're right. That police officer doesn't seem very bright. Let's help him."
We can't hand Lin Mu over to the police directly. If we do that, the crucial information that this man died once will be exposed, and they will be able to trace the killer's remaining information.
The organization fell apart because the boss died, but these lone assassins had no idea how he died.
Only the liaison officer responsible for external communications issued the obituary.
This person, whom I've already killed once, is now dead before my eyes again; he must be a force to be reckoned with. It's possible someone is retaliating against the assassin organization, trying every means to eliminate them one by one. This person has a definite connection to me; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they're after me.
Xin Ran pulled out her military knife and plunged it into the man's ribs. With practiced ease, she sliced open his chest cavity, revealing a gleaming mechanical heart deep within the surging flesh. Xin Ran pulled it out.
Xin Ran grasped the still-warm mechanical heart. "Let's agree on a story: he was disemboweled by those people and then dumped here?"
Chi Xia nodded, "Okay."
"It's inconvenient to take it directly there; our car will definitely be checked to avoid suspicion." Xin Ran said while surveying the surrounding environment. There was a small river about 20 meters ahead on the left side of the road.
Chi Xia also noticed the river and pointed at it, "We can put the mirrorless camera and Rubik's Cube underwater together."
Xin Ran nodded, glanced at the busy police officers over there, and got up to walk towards the river.
Chi Xia watched Xin Ran walk away, took out the note, silently recited the communication signal three times, then took out a lighter from the man's coat pocket and burned the note.
When Xin Ran returned, Xun Jiang had just finished surgery. The two of them moved the body there and told the police officer as agreed beforehand.
With two teammates killed and three others in critical condition, the police officer was easily misled by the delayed rescue efforts and believed Xin Ran's story.
The four men surrounded three seriously injured police officers and built a fire on the highway to keep warm.
The officer looked at the three men, his face filled with lingering fear from what had just happened. "If it weren't for you guys, my teammates and I would all be dead here tonight."
Xun Jiang: "This is very strange. Why is the rescue taking so long?"
Police officer: "The support from headquarters hasn't arrived yet."
Xin Ran: "Is it possible that the signal here has been intercepted?"
Police officer: "But I made two successful calls, and there was a response on the other end."
Chi Xia: "I've heard of a device that can realistically simulate various scenarios."
The officer's eyes lit up, and he sat up excitedly. "Yes, yes, there is such equipment. No wonder the rescue was delayed. We also didn't send a communication to the banquet organizers. Does that mean there will be a lot of vehicles on the road soon?"
Chi Xia immediately opened her wristband's communication interface, dialed Ye Feng's name, and called him.
I hadn't had much hope, but surprisingly, there was a signal on the private communication network. I had my earphones in the car, and the communication was on speakerphone. As soon as the call connected, Ye Feng's mocking laughter came through.
"At 1 hour and 33 minutes, has the teacher decided to be my first love?"
Chi Xia: "..."
Xun Jiang: "..."
Police officer: “…”
Xin Ran: "Pfft."
Xun Jiang looked at Chi Xia's bracelet and then at Chi Xia. He was about to speak angrily and tell Ye Feng to step aside when Chi Xia covered his mouth. "Ye Feng, we encountered a car accident on the road. We can't contact the police station or the hospital right now. Could you please arrange for a team to come and assist in handling the scene? There are three seriously injured people who need to be treated immediately."
Ye Feng: "...Are you injured?"
Xun Jiang: "Waaah!"
Chi Xia: "I'm fine, hurry up, we're in the middle of Yusheng Road."
Before Ye Feng could say anything more, Chi Xia quickly hung up the call and released Xun Jiang's mouth at the same time.
Xun Jiang blushed with embarrassment. "Teacher Xia, that's your student! Besides, I confessed first! Everything has its order of precedence. If you're going to consider something, you should consider my request first."
Xin Ran, always eager for drama, remarked, "It's only a four-year age difference; Ren Ye could have graduated from the Demon Fishing Academy long ago."
Xun Jiang pointed at himself, "Don't you think I'm more cost-effective than that greenhorn?"
Xin Ran: "No way, he's the eldest son of the Yu family, rich, powerful, handsome, and younger than you—"
Xun Jiang glared at Xin Ran, "Shut up, you're siding with outsiders, you have no conscience!"
The police officer glanced at Chi Xia and Xun Jiang and gave an awkward laugh, remarking on their "rich interpersonal relationships."
Xin Ran: "That's right, our Teacher Xia is very popular."
The police officer caught a crucial piece of information: "Are you two teachers?"
Xin Ran: "Yes, we are teachers from the Magic Fishing Academy. We are here today to attend a student's birthday party."
Chi Xia glanced at Xin Ran slightly. This narrative method, which blurred the main clues and complicated the relationships between the characters, was familiar to her. She understood Xin Ran's intention almost instantly.
He was casually diverting the officers' attention. The two men were unfamiliar to him, but the Magic Fishing Academy and the Yu family were well-known labels. Once people were associated with these well-known labels, things would become complicated. When they were to question the witnesses, they would most likely start with the Magic Fishing Academy and the Yu family, rather than focusing on the individuals.
The officer nodded thoughtfully, "What a coincidence."
In contrast, Xun Jiang had no information to hide. He was preoccupied with the surface-level question: "Teacher Xia, what do you think? Between me and your student, who do you like more?"
Chi Xia yawned. "I'm sleepy. I just want to go back and rest as soon as possible. I have class tomorrow morning."
Police officer: "I'm sorry. If we had known this case was so complicated, we would have sent more people to handle it. Instead, we've caused you to be stuck here waiting."
The seriously wounded man was anesthetized by Xun Jiang and fell into a deep sleep. On a dark road in the middle of nowhere, several people sat together around a fire, feeling a strange sense of warmth and sympathy for each other.
Xin Ran: "So, who called the police?"
The officer trusted the three men at this point, and he truthfully stated, "The man didn't leave any specific information; he just explained the situation and then hung up."
Xin Ran and Chi Xia exchanged a glance, feeling a sense of unease, as if they had been set up.
The officer continued, "Now that you've pointed it out, the person who reported this is also acting strangely, as if they had already predicted the outcome. We'll have to investigate this thoroughly when we get back."
Xin Ran took out a piece of metal from somewhere and handed it to the police officer, saying, "We found this at the scene when we were putting out the fire. See if you can find any clues."
The officer took it and examined it carefully. Then, excitedly, he pointed to a section on the back that was burnt and blurred, but the lettering was still faintly legible. "It's a bomb! This is the special designation for this type of bomb!"
Chi Xia glanced at Xin Ran, thinking to herself that this man was frighteningly meticulous. It must have been when she went to check the body that he quickly examined the scene again. Other devices on the bomb could not immediately identify it as a bomb, but this part had a special number, which would be immediately recognizable to the police or relevant departments.
The officer gripped Xin Ran's hand tightly. "Thank you so much. The clues you provided are crucial. At least it confirms that tonight's car accident was a premeditated murder!"
Xin Ran smiled in a very confusing and silly way, "As long as it's useful, that's good. It would be embarrassing to spend half a day working on something and not find anything useful."
The officer looked serious, glancing at the body not far away and then at his comrade who was breathing steadily. "Don't say that. You guys were a huge help tonight, helping to put out the fire, find evidence, and save lives. I'll go back and have the police station send you a banner of appreciation to the academy."
Xin Ran continued chatting with the police officer while smiling. Xun Jiang, who had been watching Chi Xia closely, softened his tone after his initial anger subsided, asking, "Are you cold?"
Chi Xia crossed her arms and looked at the torch. Her mind was a little chaotic, but her words came out in a calm tone, "There's fire, so it's not cold."
Xun Jiang: "Aren't you sleepy? Why don't you go back to the car and take a nap?"
Chi Xia shook her head, "I can't sleep after something like this happened."
Xun Jiang quietly moved closer and asked in a low voice, "Do you like women younger than yourself?"
Chi Xia: "I think being single is great. No one in my family is pressuring me to get married or date."
Xun Jiang wasn't in a hurry at first, but when he heard that the young boy was being so brazen and directly pursuing his crush, and the key point was that the other person was seeing Chi Xia all the time, he absolutely couldn't show weakness.
"How about we try dating? If you really don't like it, then we can break up?"
Chi Xia has very keen hearing. She looked up and pointed to the light in the sky, "The rescue has arrived."
Xun Jiang insisted, "Is my suggestion acceptable?"
Seeing that she couldn't avoid it, Chi Xia had no choice but to refuse directly, "Dr. Xun, I will not accept a student's confession, nor will I accept you, because I really have no plans to date or get married."
"Why?"
Assassins find it hard to trust their partners.
But she couldn't give it directly. Chi Xia thought of the profession she had made up with Ye Feng, "Maybe it's because I've seen so much life and death, and I just want to live a simple and happy life on my own."
Xun Jiang frowned, pointing at himself, "I'm a doctor, and I wouldn't even dare say I'm used to seeing life and death. Where have you seen it? And you're used to it?"
Chi Xia leaned closer and said mysteriously, "Take a guess."
Xun Jiang suddenly opened his eyes wide, "Could it be...?"
"That's right, just like you think. Actually, I used to work at a funeral home. My hands have comforted every corpse that was still alive after death, whether male or female, they were all the same to me."
Xun Jiang: "..."
"Buzz!"
Chi Xia stood up. "My students' rescue team has arrived."
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