Chapter 159 159 It seems like something is going to happen
For the next day and a half, except for Wang Yu and Lu Tingfeng who went to check Liu Xiang's social relations, the others took turns to follow Liu Xiang day and night. But Guan Xia and her group were different. Their task was to keep an eye on the supermarket where Liu Xiang worked.
So when Liu Xiang went to work, they also went to work, and when Liu Xiang got off work, they also got off work. It was obviously the time when time was the most tight and everyone was the busiest, but the three of them happened to live a relatively regular life.
Although their days were regular, they were not easy. Whenever the supermarket was open, and Liu Xiang didn't go out to eat or go back to rest, Guan Xia and the other two would stay in the car.
It was fine at the beginning. Guan Xia was very excited and thought that he would find some key person like last time, and make another breakthrough in the case. However, after following for a whole day and a night, he found nothing.
Many people came in and out of the supermarket, but none of them alerted Guan Xia's intuition. They had clearly speculated that both Liu Xiang and Geng Jing would have new targets and make big moves in the near future, but even Geng Jing didn't show up again.
It was evening again. Guan Xia sat in the back seat of the car and glanced at the time anxiously. There were only six hours left before the 48-hour deadline. If nothing was found, in order to ensure that Liu Xiang would not escape, she would have to be arrested.
Seeing that it was time for Liu Xiang to have dinner yesterday, Guan Xia looked up and saw Liu Xiang's figure appearing at the supermarket door as she did the day before. She seemed to be replying to messages while walking towards the food street across the street.
About two minutes later, Guan Xia saw Xu Nian and Pang Le. They were following Liu Xiang from a distance and also crossed the road.
Only after the three figures completely disappeared from sight did Guan Xia sigh, stretch, and say, "The 48-hour deadline is almost up. I thought I'd find something by keeping an eye on Liu Xiang, but a day and a half has passed and nothing has happened. Could it be that we were wrong? Liu Xiang and the others haven't taken any action recently?"
Zhong Xiaoyu also stretched and yawned. "Don't worry. A criminal gang like theirs, especially someone like Liu Xiang who appears to be very cautious, will hold their breath the closer they get to action. Who knows what they might do later. Liu Xiang's gone to eat, so let's go too. Should we go to the same cold noodle shop as last night?"
Qi Bai rubbed his stiff neck, which had been staring all morning, and said nonchalantly, "Sure, I'm fine with anything. The store is right across from the supermarket anyway. We can sit at the same table as yesterday. We'll be able to see anyone coming in or out."
Speaking of eating, Zhong Xiaoyu perked up. With eyes practically shining, she turned to Guan Xia and asked, "What about you? Guan Xia, can we go back to the cold noodles place we had last night? To save time, that one is the most convenient."
Guan Xia was so focused on the food she was working on that she didn't care what to eat, so she nodded and said, "Okay, let's go to that place."
Their proposal was unanimously agreed upon. Zhong Xiaoyu almost couldn't wait to open the car door and said, "Let's go. I'm already hungry. Let's go quickly. I'll come back to work after I'm full."
So the three of them got out of the car and walked a few steps to the restaurant where they had eaten yesterday.
It was the peak time for dinner, and the three of them waited for seven or eight minutes before they were seated at the seats they wanted. Each of them ordered a bowl of cold noodles with braised beef, and while eating, they kept an eye on the activities in the supermarket across the street.
Guan Xia originally thought that it was already this late and she might get nothing today. However, just when she was halfway through her cold noodles, a skinny young man with arms that looked not even as thick as Guan Xia's walked into the supermarket where Liu Xiang worked in a somewhat nonchalant manner. What concerned Guan Xia the most was that her intuitive reminder came again, as if it came with its own spotlight, making Guan Xia unable to take her eyes off him.
Guan Xia suddenly became excited. She knew that guarding such a hideout, there would be no gains.
Guan Xia stared at the young man's every move with burning eyes, watching him stagger into the supermarket opposite, then she looked away and winked at Qi Bai who was concentrating on eating across from her.
The three of them were very familiar with each other. Zhong Xiaoyu and Qi Bai almost immediately understood what Guan Xia meant. They looked at them with questioning eyes and even mouthed, "Accomplice?"
Guan Xia tried hard to keep her expression calm and nodded.
Now not only Guan Xia was in high spirits, but even Qi Bai's eyes lit up. He quickly finished the rest of the meal, scanned the code to pay the bill, and returned to the car.
Fortunately, they acted quickly, and after a few minutes, the young man still hadn't come out of the supermarket.
Almost as soon as they got in the car and the door closed, Qi Bai asked, "How many people are there? What are your physical characteristics? I'll contact Brother Jiang right now. He's on standby nearby and happened to be catching up with Sister Ji."
Guan Xia briefly described the young man's appearance. As she was speaking, she noticed that Zhong Xiaoyu's expression was not right. He frowned and stared outside the car, as if he had discovered someone suspicious.
Guan Xia subconsciously followed her gaze and looked outside, asking, "What's wrong? What did you find?"
Zhong Xiaoyu looked at it several times, as if confirming something, then pointed in a direction and said, "Look over there, at that fruit stand, the third one in front of the fruit shop to the right of Liangmian. There's an old man sitting there."
Zhong Xiaoyu's description was very accurate, so Guan Xia found it immediately. After looking over, he asked, "I saw it. Then what? Who's wrong?"
It was already past the closing time, and there were many pedestrians on the road. There were also several people crowded at the fruit stall buying fruit.
Zhong Xiaoyu, still staring out the window, replied, "That man and woman, the ones in matching outfits, look like they're buying fruit, but pay attention to their eyes. Whether they're looking down at the fruit or asking the shopkeeper for the price, they glance across every once or twice. That's clearly not right. Why do I feel like they're following me, too?"
As soon as Zhong Xiaoyu finished speaking, Qi Bai also said: "It is true that they are a bit similar. The way they move and the way they look, why do I feel like they are from the same industry?"
Guan Xia and Zhong Xiaoyu exchanged a glance, then looked at Qi Bai and asked, "You mean, they are also police officers, and they followed the young man Guan Xia just mentioned?"
Guan Xia was not very surprised. After all, it would be strange if there was someone in that criminal gang who had no criminal record.
Qi Bai said, "Looking at the direction they were staring at, it must be that supermarket. We've been watching for a whole day and haven't seen them. They showed up as soon as that young man arrived. It's obvious they followed him here."
Guan Xia glanced at the supermarket opposite again and saw the young man appear at the door of the supermarket. She immediately looked in the direction of the man and woman, and sure enough, she saw some changes in their expressions, but it was very subtle. If Guan Xia and the others hadn't looked carefully, it would have been difficult to notice.
"It seems like he really followed that young man here and he's not going away," Guan Xia said, "So what should we do now? Should we communicate with him? We won't alert the enemy, will we?"
Qi Bai frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Wait a minute, don't make any contact rashly. The four of them are too conspicuous a target. I'll report this to Captain Xu and see what he says."
As Qi Bai spoke, he lowered his head and started sending messages. Seeing this, Guan Xia continued to stare at the supermarket across the street.
The man stood at the entrance of the supermarket for a few seconds, spat on the ground, and then walked in the direction where Liu Xiang had gone with his hands in his pockets.
Guan Xia instinctively knew that the young man was going to look for Liu Xiang, so she immediately told Qi Bai, "That young man has moved. He's the skinny one, the one wearing a black T-shirt with a skull on it. I think he's going in the direction he's going to look for Liu Xiang."
Qi Bai kept moving his hands and replied without looking up: "Okay, I'll tell Captain Xu."
Guan Xia turned around again and looked at the man and woman who looked like police officers. Sure enough, the two of them left the fruit stall arm in arm and walked slowly forward. Although there was a narrow road between them, they were heading in the same direction as the young man.
Guan Xia watched the three people slowly cross the road. Zhong Xiaoyu suddenly said, "Look, Geng Jing is here too."
Guan Xia was startled when she heard this. She turned around and saw Geng Jing getting out of his online taxi. He did not go into the supermarket immediately, but stood on the side of the road, took out a cigarette and started smoking.
Guan Xia couldn't help but say, "Good fellow! No one showed up before, but now two have arrived. Do you think that young man knows Geng Jing?"
Zhong Xiaoyu shook her head and said, "I don't know, but I guess they don't know each other. The temperaments of these two people are so different, they are obviously not of the same kind. I guess the young man might be from another small gang, doing similar things to Geng Jing."
Qi Bai tapped away at the screen quickly, taking the time to say a few words even as he was busy. "It seems our previous speculation was correct. This Liu Xiang is indeed a key figure. But then, wouldn't the colleagues who came with that young man also be able to trace Liu Xiang?"
Qi Bai frowned as he spoke. "That's a bit troublesome. I don't know which precinct those two police officers are from. I'll have to tell Captain Zhou and have them go and negotiate. Otherwise, if you investigate yours and I investigate mine, it's very likely that we'll accidentally affect each other's plans."
The three of them discussed and shared the information with Xu Nian. After about ten minutes, Guan Xia saw that Geng Jing finally finished his cigarette, threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with his feet, then walked into the supermarket.
Just like before, Geng Jing didn't stay long. From the cigarettes and lighter in his hands, it could be seen that he came out just to buy a cigarette.
Guan Xia originally thought that Geng Jing would drive away as before after coming out, but after returning to the car, he did not start the car for a long time, as if he was waiting for Liu Xiang to come back.
Guan Xia couldn't help but ask with a bit of doubt: "Why is Geng Jing acting so different from usual? He's so eager and determined to see Liu Xiang. Does this mean they're going to take action soon, so they have to see Liu Xiang today?"
Zhong Xiaoyu also stared out of the car and said, "It's possible. Since Geng Jing is here, it means Captain Zhou and his men are also nearby. Should we ask them?"
Qi Bai had just put away his phone, but upon hearing this, he took it out again and said, "Then I'll call Captain Zhou and ask what's going on."
A few minutes later, Qi Bai put down his phone and said, "Captain Zhou said they've been following Geng Jing for several days and have discovered several suspected members of their gang. From the afternoon of the day before yesterday until today, contact has become more frequent. They suspect the crime took place within the past two days."
Guan Xia nodded. "No wonder Geng Jing insisted on meeting Liu Xiang today. Judging from the disappearance of Ning Xin and her daughter, Geng Jing came to see Liu Xiang. Could it be that he was trying to use Liu Xiang's friendly and enthusiastic appearance to lower the victim's vigilance and ensure the success of his crime, just like before?"
Guan Xia thought of something and asked Qi Bai, "By the way, Captain Zhou and the others have been following Geng Jing for several days. Did they follow Geng Jing to determine their target for this crime?"
Qi Bai shook his head. "No, but based on our previous experience, as long as they haven't lost track and are following closely enough, they should have discovered Geng Jing and the others' target."
Just as the three of them had reached this point in their discussion, Guan Xia noticed from the corner of her eye that Liu Xiang and the young man had returned together. The young man had an embarrassed yet somewhat flattering expression, while Liu Xiang seemed to be smiling, but her body movements showed some impatience.
Guan Xia was just about to say something when she saw Geng Jing open the car door and get out, walking towards the two of them in a rather menacing manner.
Judging from the expression Geng Jing showed when he got out of the car and briefly faced Guan Xia and the others, his mouth was tightly pursed and his brows were lowered. It was obvious that he was not in a calm mood and seemed to have bad intentions.
Coupled with Geng Jing's aggressive approach, the expressions of the three people, including Guan Xia, darkened. Qi Bai said nervously, "Oh no, Geng Jing's expression isn't right. It looks like something's going to happen."
The three of them were a little nervous, but at this moment they could only sit in the car and watch how things developed.
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