Chapter 44
Chapter 44
Nan Mu was having a beautiful dream. In it, Wen Miao was cuddling his arm…
Just as he was holding her cheeks and leaning in for a kiss, an earthquake suddenly struck, and his entire body began to shake…
He opened his eyes only to find that someone was shaking him awake.
What bad luck…
He rolled over and saw that it was Wen Miao. She had gotten up early because she had morning classes and needed to rush back to A University of Science and Technology.
Nan Mu was close to tears, forced to push his romantic dream to the back of his mind.
Before Wen Miao left, he scribbled several dates and names on a piece of paper and handed it to her.
April 5th-Zhaodi;
April 12th-Wen Miao;
April 18th-Chat logs with anyone (this line was followed by a hand-drawn red star);
Gu Zhishu likes to post book reviews; check his interactions with fans on Douban.
Wen Miao recalled seeing these notes before in the small notebook Nan Mu always carried with him.
“Is there anything else I should look into?”
“Let’s start with these and see if there are any leads. If not, we’ll keep looking,” Nan Mu said, pausing before adding, “Oh, and see if there’s any unusual connection between Gu Zhishu and Xu Lei.”
“Okay,” Wen Miao replied. She closed the hospital room door and hurried back to campus.
***
Wen Miao had been in such a rush that she had only managed a quick splash of water on her face in the restroom. Her clothes were wrinkled and messy from being slept in the night before.
As soon as she got off the bus, a gust of autumn wind blew her bangs back, exposing her forehead.
She thought she looked disheveled enough, but then she spotted two people running toward her from the school gate who looked even worse. Their blue jeans were caked with mud, and their hair looked like a lion’s mane after an explosion.
Wen Miao looked closer and realized it was Wen Tangtang and Wen Xin. She couldn’t help but ask in surprise, “What happened to you two?”
As they drew closer, she saw it even more clearly-Wen Tangtang’s elbows and knees were covered in mud. She looked like a total mess.
Wen Tangtang seemed to only just notice the mud on herself. She brushed at it and said nonchalantly, “It’s fine, it’s fine.”
Wen Miao frowned and glanced at Wen Xin.
Wen Xin hesitated, his explanation vague. “It’s nothing. We just went to check the DNA Database.”
Wen Xin had mentioned this to Wen Miao before. They had successfully analyzed the blood sample from the Motorcycle Man who had attacked her, but to find him, they had to cross-reference it with a DNA Database. Since there was no comprehensive national DNA Database in the country, Wen Xin had to check the various existing databases one by one.
There weren’t many civilian DNA databases, and most were used for finding lost relatives or missing children. Although they knew the probability was low from the start, they decided to give it a try anyway. The result was predictable: no match.
To access the database containing criminal records, they would have to hack into the public security system. Fearing that the police would trace them back, Wen Xin didn’t dare use the university’s network or computers. Instead, he had taken a high-speed train to a neighboring county to do the job.
“Were you chased by the police?”
Wen Tangtang shrugged. “Fortunately, because it was cross-jurisdictional, it took the police some time to coordinate… If you ask me, Wen Xin’s skills just suck. He said he’d crack the password in ten minutes, but it took twenty. He said the matching would definitely be done in an hour, but he went way over time-it took almost two hours…”
Wen Xin was indignant. “It’s not that my skills suck! At most, you can say I had bad luck… I was being very careful, but I didn’t expect them to react so quickly. They must have been running a cybersecurity drill today or something…”
“Why do you have so many excuses?” Wen Tangtang put her hands on her hips, dissatisfied. “How do you know they were running a drill? Maybe they’re just highly skilled and caught you immediately. Or, maybe your skills really are just subpar…”
“My maneuvers were definitely fine…”
“Fine? Look at the state of me! If it weren’t for your terrible skills, we would’ve escaped long ago. Would we have ended up in a heap like this?”
Seeing the two of them on the verge of another argument, Wen Miao quickly stepped in to play peacemaker.
“Stop, stop, stop-you two, let me ask one important question. Did you get a match on the sample?”
The two fell silent for a moment before answering in a dejected unison, “No.”
“This person likely has no prior criminal record,” Wen Xin added.
Wen Miao thought back to that arrogant Motorcycle Man and remained silent for a while. “But his movements were so practiced, and he didn’t hesitate for a second when he went for the kill. It really didn’t seem like his first time…”
Wen Tangtang speculated, “Maybe he’s someone extremely capable. He could have committed several crimes already without ever being caught.”
As soon as Wen Tangtang finished speaking, Wen Miao and Wen Xin glanced at each other simultaneously. Both saw the same chilling realization in the other’s eyes.
If Wen Tangtang was right, it meant their opponent was far more difficult to deal with than they had imagined.
Wen Miao hesitated for a moment. “I actually have a suspect in mind.”
“It couldn’t be Xu Lei, could it?”
Wen Xin picked up on her hint immediately, but Wen Tangtang was left completely bewildered. “What? What’s this? The Motorcycle Man is Xu Lei? That’s impossible; he doesn’t seem like that kind of person at all…”
Wen Xin frowned. He had only made that guess because Wen Miao had asked him to look into Xu Lei’s information back at the cafeteria. However, he regretted saying it the moment the words left his mouth. Wen Tangtang’s current research project was a joint collaboration with Wisdom Biotech Company, which meant she would have frequent contact with Xu Lei during their work.
Wen Tangtang had a bit of a big mouth, and he was afraid she might let something slip and tip the man off.
“I think you should just tell me these things in the future. Don’t tell her,” Wen Xin said, nudging Wen Miao’s arm.
Wen Miao was stunned for a second, but she quickly understood Wen Xin’s point. Before she could say anything, however, Wen Tangtang’s indignant voice drifted over from her side.
“I can hear you, you know!”
Without waiting for Wen Xin to explain, she cut him off. “What gives you the right to tell Wen Miao to keep me in the dark? Wen Miao, you’re not allowed to play favorites. You have to tell me everything first.”
Under Wen Tangtang’s relentless pestering, Wen Miao had no choice but to promise she would keep her informed. She also gave her a reminder: “I’ll also need your help to see if you can get a biological sample from Xu Lei for testing.”
Having secured a promise, Wen Tangtang looked quite satisfied and shot Wen Xin a provocative glare. “Stop trying to drive a wedge between us.”
Wen Xin let out a cold snort. “I swear you must be the reincarnation of a Blue Marlin. You always have to have the last word.”
With that, he turned and headed toward the school.
Wen Tangtang pulled Wen Miao along as they followed him, but she looked utterly confused. After walking for a while, she leaned in close to Wen Miao’s ear and whispered, “What did he mean by that? What’s a Blue Marlin reincarnation?”
Wen Miao burst out laughing. She tilted her head and whispered back, “Do you know what a Blue Marlin looks like?”
“It’s just a fish, isn’t it?” As a biology major, this was easy for Wen Tangtang. “An oceanic migratory fish, carnivorous, a medium-to-large predatory species…”
Wen Miao nodded and offered a hint. “Its snout is as sharp as Suneo’s hair from Doraemon… and since it’s a carnivore, its teeth are sharp too…”
Wen Tangtang froze for three seconds. Her expression shifted as she realized the insult. Looking puffed up with rage, she broke into a sprint toward Wen Xin. “Why, you, Wen Xin! How dare you call me sharp-tongued and petty!”
“Is your reflex arc routed through the soles of your feet? Why is it so long?”
“Agh! Stand still and take your medicine!”
“Only an idiot would stand still!”