Chapter 400: Chapter 400: A Different Approach
...
The so-called underground hotel is not actually below ground; it’s essentially like a guesthouse for people with sensitive identities, usually converted from apartment buildings or motels, belonging to gang territory. You must be considered one of their own to be allowed to stay.
Evidently, the three of them were not on that list.
So when Chen Xuan pushed aside the "guard" at the door holding a baseball bat and boldly barged into the hotel lobby, a few thugs immediately lifted their shirts to reveal guns tucked into their waistbands.
Chen Xuan simply snapped his fingers.
"Freeze."
All the thugs stiffened in place, only able to gape at the three of them with their curses stuck in their throats.
Now, when dealing with ordinary people, his Law Decree True Words could last for over ten minutes, rendering them powerless even if they had firearms.
Reid was equally astounded.
On their drive over, they had discussed how to storm the hotel. Based on past experience, Reid just needed to shoot down one or two troublemakers, and these cowardly gangsters would scramble away. But he intentionally wanted to see the capabilities of the other two, so he pushed the task of leading the charge onto them, which Chen Xuan readily accepted as if it was no big deal.
And his performance was indeed as calm as his attitude suggested, suppressing the entire scene in an instant, even exceeding Reid’s best expectations.
But then something even more unbelievable happened.
Chen Xuan dragged out the man with dreadlocks from the front desk, flashed Abdullah’s photo before him, and let out a strange hoarse shout.
The latter immediately sprang into action, leading them through the lobby and up to the second floor, twisting and turning through the dim and narrow corridor, finally stopping in front of an inconspicuous iron door.
With a flick of Chen Xuan’s finger,
Reid couldn’t even make out what he did; the lock had already been cut. Pushing open the door, they saw a half-naked woman gasping on the desk, while a man was frantically putting on his pants, clearly planning an escape.
Reid instantly recognized the man as Abdullah.
Apparently, the man had seen intruders through the surveillance but hadn’t expected them to arrive so quickly.
"That shout you just made... were you imitating Guagua?" Honglian whispered to Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan nodded slightly.
Even he hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly before.
Guagua’s speech often consisted of a short yet varied shout, roughly translating to a two-character phrase. For example, the command he shouted out when he showed the photo was "Find him."
This is the power of linguistics!
Facts have proven that the Law Decree True Words work by imposing the will of the speaker on the listener; even if the listener has never heard the language before, they are subdued by the will formed by the language.
"Who the hell are you guys? This is Six Street Gang’s turf; if you mess with me, your families won’t have peace!" Abdullah warned, his voice fierce but empty.
"He’s yours," Chen Xuan turned to Reid.
The latter nodded, "You guys wait outside, and make sure to close the door."
Soon, gut-wrenching screams echoed from the room, audible even through the thick iron door.
Reid emerged after just a minute.
Chen Xuan peeked through the door to see Abdullah lying flat on the floor, a gaping hole in his chest. There had been no sound of an explosion, indicating he most likely died from Reid’s ability.
"You killed him?"
"Just a local thug, colluding with the Evangelical Association, his death is no loss," Reid replied, "Don’t worry, the logistics team will clean up, the police won’t trace back to us."
Honglian frowned slightly, clearly disliking the agency’s way of handling things, "Did you get any information?"
"Of course, this guy wasn’t as tough as I thought. He gave up an address, saying members of the Evangelical Association live there."
"So we’re going to battle the Evangelical Association next?" Chen Xuan shrugged.
"Exactly, this job can only be done by us. If we notify the New City division, there’s a high chance the news will leak," Reid said solemnly, "Let’s go quickly, in no time, Six Street Gang reinforcements will surround this place."
...
Half an hour later, the three arrived at the given address, in front of a cheap apartment building in the same district.
But unfortunately, they came up empty-handed; there was no one in the room. From the ash and instant coffee packets scattered on the floor, someone had indeed been living there, and had not left long ago.
"We’re a step too late," Honglian sighed, "Someone else in the hotel must have tipped off the Evangelicals."
This is the disadvantage of being short-staffed.
If the agency could utilize the division’s resources, they could surround the entire underground hotel, and after cutting off the internet and blocking signals, they could go in and arrest everyone, ensuring not even a fly could escape.
"A bit late indeed, but we’ve caught up to their trail," Reid was still confident, "These people left in a hurry; they’re bound to leave some traces... fingerprints, hair, bodily fluids can all be used as tracking clues, and the surveillance around the apartment too. Now we’ll leave it to Abigail, she’ll point us in the right direction."
"Could she be a detective on the side?" Honglian asked curiously.
"No, she has connections in New City; it just takes some time," Reid put on a pair of rubber gloves and started searching the room, "The efficiency of an extra helper can’t compare to the agency’s logistics team, so we can start with some preliminary work ourselves..."
"Like what?"
"If you haven’t searched a crime scene before, go find the apartment manager and retrieve the surveillance. I’m sure you two have a way to get him to cooperate."
"... I understand," Honglian said, preparing to head downstairs, but noticed Chen Xuan standing still.
"Shixin?" she asked.
"Too slow," Chen Xuan shook his head, "The Evangelicals will now surely be aware that someone is after them, and they’ll be even more discreet in their next move. Even if we confirm their identities, if they hide well enough, we won’t be able to do anything."
Showering and changing clothes can break the scent trail.
Disguises and sunglasses can evade camera searches.
Using fake IDs is enough to circumvent governmental systematic investigation.
In a city with a population in the tens of millions, hiding in a basement is essentially disappearing without a trace. Of course, they can run for a while, but not forever; as long as they’re still hunting Rodiya, they’ll leave new clues. Accumulating these clues will eventually leave them without escape.
But Chen Xuan’s goal was not to eliminate them.
He had to find Rodiya before the Evangelicals do.
This tracking-investigation method cannot be said to be ineffective, but the extended duration would cause them to fall behind and lose the initiative.
"Mr. Shixin, unless you have a better plan, this is our best solution," After the underground hotel raid, Reid had noticeably taken his attitude much more seriously.
"I do have one." Chen Xuan nodded, "Didn’t Abigail suspect there’s a mole for the Evangelicals within the division? Such a person wouldn’t be a minor player, they must be privy to every move of these hunters."
If the Evangelicals searching for Rodiya were the "Execution Team," then the mole would undoubtedly be part of the "Intelligence Team," and Rodiya’s presence here must have been communicated to Europe by this individual.
"The boss considered that early on," Reid spread his hands, "If we could identify the mole, everything would be easily handled. Unfortunately, everyone’s records are spotless, their past documents show no interactions with the Evangelicals. Without evidence, the boss can’t challenge the entire division, or else if it reaches headquarters, she’ll be the unlucky one."
"What if I can help her find out who the mole is?"
"What?" Reid’s eyes changed, "Are you sure?"
"This isn’t the place to discuss it; let’s go back to the Manhattan District first," Chen Xuan headed for the door, "If you don’t believe me, you could stay here rummaging through things, but I won’t be joining you."
He frowned, cursing "damn it" under his breath, but ultimately chose to follow.
"At least tell me your plan!"
"The plan is simple, call Abigail out," Chen Xuan nonchalantly said, "and I’ll tell her how to identify the mole."
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