Chapter 101: Shadows of Intrigue

Chapter 101: Suspected Spy

“Foreigners?”

In Xiao Yu’s hand was a set of personal files.

To be precise, they belonged to a person of Chinese descent.

His foreign name is Joey; his national name is also Joey.

Among all the off-road drivers under investigation, Joey was one – he held a national driver’s license.

The police had already processed all the other personnel.

Only Joey, although he had checked into a hotel, hadn’t returned on the night of the breakout.

To this day, Joey has not returned to the hotel…

They even found a car rental record for Joey from a local dealership.

An off-road vehicle!

Joey did not come to Bincheng alone.

Accompanying him was a white man.

A peculiar glimmer flashed in Xiao Yu’s eyes.

Two people?

Then there were Yang Zhichao, Yu Hongmei, Ma Hexuan, and Lu Jia – six in total.

At the scene of Yu Hongmei’s murder, Xiao Yu had caught the scent of exactly six individuals.

Apart from the smell of disinfectant on Ma Hexuan’s ‘Liùliùsān’ and Lu Jia…

Xiao Yu detected three odd, unfamiliar scents.

And these strange smells… could they be that of foreigners?

Different ethnicities and lifestyles mean different natural scents.

When he first noticed those three peculiar odors, Xiao Yu was baffled.

He had never encountered anything like them before.

But to test his theory, he went straight to the hotel.

He ordered the hotel to open Joey’s room as well as that of a white guest named ‘Grandi’.

Activating his Wangdie’s Nose, Xiao Yu’s face turned cold and stern.

“So it’s you all!”

A new mystery presented itself.

What exactly was hidden on that portable hard drive?

Was it just an artificial intelligence program?

That it had drawn foreigners into murder?

And to think, Yang Zhichao even carried a foreign-like scent.

With a steely expression, Xiao Yu pulled up Yang Zhichao’s file.

He had traveled abroad with his parents as a child without changing his nationality.

At 23, he returned to settle down, without a formal job, living idly, mingling widely, and never short on money…

In that moment, it felt as though Xiao Yu’s brain had been electrified.

A flood of pheromones and countless details surged through his mind.

Many previously overlooked details bubbled to the surface.

“Spy?!”

Xiao Yu, his face grim, hesitantly uttered the word.

Spies come in many forms.

Some serve nations.

Some work for corporations.

And some serve private interests.

So, could Yang Zhichao be a spy?

Otherwise, why would he conspire with foreign nationals

over a portable hard drive?

Hmm, it’s too early to jump to conclusions.

After all, the information was too sparse; a specialist needed to take over.

“List them as suspects and arrest them!”

After issuing the order, Xiao Yu turned to a National Security officer with a strange look, “Inform your boss—a suspected spy has been spotted!”

Who is best at catching spies?

National Security!

Five minutes later, Xiao Yu’s phone rang.

“Are you sure it’s a spy?” Wang Dong’s tone was cold.

“Brother Wang, I’m just a small-time cop.”

Xiao Yu retorted, “How can a National Security agent ask a professional question of a lowly officer?”

But if Yang Zhichao and those two foreigners really are spies…

The thought sent chills down his spine.

Why?

Things that catch the attention of spies

are never insignificant.

“Do your best to keep them from escaping; our guys will be there soon!”

Wang Dong, slightly embarrassed, tried to cover his awkwardness.

“How can you, a National Security agent, ask a small-time cop if there’s a spy? Have some pride!”

“The situation is serious—hurry up!”

Xiao Yu thought for a moment, “I’ll do my best to stop their escape.”

He could only say that; he wasn’t sure.

Living dual lives, this was the first time Xiao Yu had encountered a suspected spy.

He had no idea what tricks they might be capable of!

…

The arrest operation was still underway.

Two jailbreak convicts, Yang Zhichao, and two foreigners had seemingly vanished from the city.

Science?

Xiao Yu was perplexed.

Not to mention the two foreigners—don’t they want to return to their own country?

And there was also another white man, whose features made him unmistakable—how could he hide?

Just as his headache was intensifying,

a sudden twist occurred.

Lu Jia was dead.

Her body was discovered in a sewage manhole outside a residential complex.

“Damn it!”

Xiao Yu cursed and rushed to the scene.

Upon examination, the forensic report indicated she had been dead for two days.

Cause of death: strangulation by rope leading to asphyxiation!

How had Lu Jia’s body been found?

It was discovered by municipal sewage maintenance workers.

Someone had called for repairs; the worker, upon inspection, was nearly terrified by the corpse before alerting the police…

“Pull up all the surveillance footage from both inside and outside the residential area!”

Xiao Yu glared coldly at the nearby apartment complex.

Could she be hidden there?

Or was it used as a dumping ground?

“In older neighborhoods, it’s hard to get clear images—Tianyan Surveillance is so limited…”

An investigator shook his head, “They might have counted on that and dumped the body here.”

Xiao Yu nodded.

The veteran detective’s deductions were spot on.

The culprits weren’t fools.

Even rabbits wouldn’t nibble near their own burrow.

Dumping a body nearby would be too risky.

But still…

A glimmer sparked in Xiao Yu’s eyes.

Precisely because everyone could have thought of that.

Could they be using this expectation to their advantage—hiding in plain sight?

Xiao Yu scanned the surroundings.

A residential area with buildings on both sides and a road running through the middle.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

“Knock on every door and ask if anyone has external surveillance that captures the street.”

Xiao Yu issued the order.

Today, surveillance devices are common among civilians; many households have them.

But they rarely capture anything outdoors, as most cameras focus indoors to prevent theft.

Or monitor building interiors to deter objects from being thrown out.

Of course, some people have their own quirks—we all know how that goes.

But what if…

Such a clue is too important to overlook!

Police began questioning residents door-to-door about any surveillance that might capture the street.

In the end…

a surprising find: a bonus bottle of cheer!

There was actually one oddball who had mounted his camera on his window facing outwards.

What was it recording?

A recluse was filming the opposite building, tracking the schedule of a so-called ‘goddess’!

Recluses know well: you can see her, but never reach her.

That doesn’t stop them from their 0.6 infatuation…

At that moment, the time had come for the reclusive fellow to be exposed.

Xiao Yu glanced at the blushing youth before turning to the young man’s computer.

Ignoring that the youth had a partition labeled for his ‘T-wife’, he examined the partition containing surveillance videos.

It held numerous recordings, all focused on the building across the street.

There was even footage from midnight two days ago.

Because of the darkness, even with streetlights the video was extremely blurry.

But then…

Around 3 a.m., a tall figure appeared.

This man was clearly over 185cm tall and as solid as a mountain.

He was carrying a large suitcase, seen just off-camera.

Then he approached a sewage manhole, standing there as he lit a cigarette.

No—he was surveying the area.

Ten minutes later, he lifted the manhole cover.

He opened the suitcase and dropped a huddled…

Corpse!