Chapter 903: Chapter 650: Missing
Due to the sensitivity of his profession, Yang Xiao never kept any paper documents that could expose his identity in his room. After swiftly packing up, he didn’t use the door but instead utilized the ability of the Soul-Capturing Mirror to teleport several times, distancing himself far from the apartment.
Without hesitation, he returned directly to the Patrol Defense Office, settled into the Director’s office, grabbed a blanket, and slept on the sofa.
At this moment, the safest place was the Patrol Defense Office. He didn’t believe anyone would dare to storm into the Patrol Defense Office, especially to commit murder in the Director’s office. That wouldn’t just be personal vendetta; successful or not, the perpetrator would face the retaliation of the entire Patrol Defense Office.
Heavy matters outweigh light ones, any fool could see that.
Of course, all this might just be his own paranoia, merely outwitting the air, but Yang Xiao didn’t care about losing face or the trouble; safety came first.
By the time he arrived back at the Patrol Defense Office, it was already early morning. After such an event, Yang Xiao found himself sleepless. He turned on the light and, lying on the sofa, listed potential suspects until the break of dawn, yet still without a clue.
After a brief nap in the morning, he got up, washed his face with cold water, went downstairs to the cafeteria for breakfast, and then began another day’s work.
He was being promoted to Deputy Director, and needed to learn to alleviate some of Director Nalan’s worries. Nalan Shuo had been good to him, and Yang Xiao resolved to return the favor whenever possible in the future.
At precisely 10 am, Yang Xiao was deep in thought over a document on his desk when suddenly, the office door was pushed open and Xi Menxiu rushed in with a tablet in hand, "Xiao, I have something to..."
"Next time knock before entering, and use formal titles at work!" Yang Xiao frowned as he was interrupted.
"Yes, Captain, no... Acting Director, you asked me to keep an eye on a homeless man, do you remember him? He disappeared last night," Xi Menxiu said urgently.
"Homeless man..."
His thoughts immediately took Yang Xiao back to several days ago before he followed the Director into the Nightmare World. He had secretly let Sui go, and indeed there was a homeless man at the scene who was sent away by the Director with some money.
Xi Menxiu handed over the tablet, placing it on the desk to show Yang Xiao a video. The video was quite blurry, shot at night from what seemed to be a surveillance camera at a corner of an alley.
A person in dark clothing, back towards the surveillance camera, was sneaking into the alley, occasionally looking back around. Xi Menxiu paused the video at the right moment and zoomed in on the person’s face.
Memories flashed before him; yes, it was the homeless man the Director had let go. Yang Xiao even remembered eating some sweet potatoes from him.
"What happened?" Yang Xiao’s eyebrows sank, sensing danger.
"This man had been living in a nearby small hotel for several days without going out, but somehow, he sneaked out last night and never returned. We had to check the nearby surveillance to find this, but we only saw him entering, no footage of him leaving."
Xi Menxiu paused, then explained softly, "I think something happened to him. The innkeeper reported that he still had three days of room rent paid, there were instant noodles and sausages on the table, and some clothes he did not take with him. Logically, as a penniless homeless man, he wouldn’t leave these things behind."
Yang Xiao remembered the Director had warned him to take the money and find somewhere to hide, not to return for a week, but he hadn’t expected the man to ignore the advice, likely unable to part with the items in the shabby room.
But who would trouble a homeless man? The result was becoming clear, Yang Xiao slowly exhaled, a murderous look in his eyes.
His premonition last night was right; indeed someone was watching him, and... he now knew the identity of the mysterious person from last night.
"I understand this matter. Go back and prepare a detailed report, hand it to Director Nalan when he returns."
"Understood."
After Xi Menxiu left, Yang Xiao thought for a moment, picked up his phone, found a number, and dialed, after a few seconds, the call connected:
"Captain Qu, this is Yang Xiao."
...
Yang Xiao was busy in the office all day, as the Patrol Defense Office had multitudes of complex issues, many of which required the personal attention of the Acting Director. Stretching his wrist, he couldn’t help but sigh; indeed, the higher the position, the greater the responsibility, and Nalan Shuo’s life was far from as glamorous as he had imagined.
Luckily, he had the support of Ms. Wen and Huang Qiang, one in charge of internal affairs and the other external. Yang Xiao often felt he was the redundant one here; the work could entirely be handled by these two, who would probably do a better job than him.
Compared to that, Yang Xiao missed the times when he was a Captain, his investigative team rarely deployed unless in emergency situations, and Huang Qiang once candidly stated that a true emergency might not occur even once in half a year before his arrival.
By evening, Yang Xiao’s day’s work was done. He headed downstairs to the cafeteria and thoroughly enjoyed a big meal, adding three chicken legs. After eating, he briefly exercised then went back to his office to rest, sleeping until past 9 pm.
Feeling refreshed, he took out his backpack, removed his clothes, and expertly changed into his Drama Robe, an old habit; wearing it closest to the body with a dark coat over it to fully cover up.
