Chapter 10: The Little Spy (Fourth Update)
Inside the grand theater, at the entrance, Su Xiao sat on a waiting bench against the wall, a book in his hands. A mechanical eye floated above him, pressed close to the corner of the ceiling.
Bubu Wang wasn’t around right now. If that guy were here, the mission’s difficulty would drop by at least 20%.
Su Xiao appeared to be reading, but he was actually observing the crowd at the ticket counter. [Apostle’s Eye] had a detection function, usable once every five minutes with no cost. However, repeated use would reduce the equipment’s durability, so it wasn’t entirely free.
Inside the pages of Su Xiao’s book was a tablet, its screen displaying the images transmitted by Apostle’s Eye.
Everyone buying tickets was marked by Apostle’s Eye. If a suspicious target appeared, Su Xiao would use it to investigate their information.
Su Xiao was using the process of elimination. The spy and traitor meeting tonight had likely purchased tickets in advance. If so, that would rule out most of the audience.
As for whether they would meet inside the screening room—there was over a 60% chance of that. Choosing a theater with massive foot traffic was clearly meant to use the crowd as cover.
Mark, observe. Half an hour later, Su Xiao’s eyes began to tire. Searching for people was no easy task, which made it easy to imagine how exhausting it was for contractors scouring the world for World Sources. If a war world was won, they deserved at least 30% of the credit.
Su Xiao stretched his neck and glanced toward the theater entrance. Three men and one woman pushed through the door. From their behavior, they weren’t together.
Just as Su Xiao was about to look away, his eyes met someone’s.
One second, two seconds, three seconds. The bald middle-aged man who had locked eyes with Su Xiao looked away.
Su Xiao had a personal habit: when he made eye contact with someone, there was no hostility in his gaze, but he never looked away first. This helped him gauge whether the other person had hostile intent, with a success rate of over half.
A few seconds after the bald man looked away, he glanced at Su Xiao from the corner of his eye. He found that Su Xiao was still staring at him.
Their gazes met again. The bald man muttered something under his breath, as if cursing quietly.
Su Xiao’s gaze shifted back to the book in his hands. Thirty seconds later, the man checked Su Xiao through the reflection of a pillar. Seeing that Su Xiao wasn’t watching him anymore, the man secretly relaxed. He sat down on a chair at the entrance, waiting for the next movie to start. His eyes occasionally drifted toward Su Xiao, but he was cautious, never staring directly.
“One, two, three, four.”
The timer in Su Xiao’s hand ticked, eventually giving a faint vibration.
Not long after, a little boy in a cap and bow tie ran toward Su Xiao.
“Where’s my candy?”
The boy had the air of a bratty kid. He snatched the book from Su Xiao’s hand with a bit of force, making Su Xiao look somewhat “helpless.”
“We’ll buy it later. There’s still half an hour until the show starts. What’s the rush?”
“I don’t want to wait.”
The brat’s voice rose, puffing his cheeks as he glared at Su Xiao.
“Fine.”
Su Xiao stood up, took the boy’s hand, and headed toward the theater’s main entrance. The “fish” had been hooked, and the little actor had made his entrance to help him slip away.
After leaving the grand theater, Su Xiao wandered through a few twists and turns until he reached a small alley. He pulled out 1000 Rank and handed it to the boy.
“Sir, I don’t need payment.”
The boy adjusted his cap, revealing two canine teeth as he smiled. The look in his eyes was far too mature for his age.
“Take it if I’m giving it.”
“But if Mr. Laizong finds out…”
The boy—no, the little spy—seemed a bit nervous, but his clever eyes kept glancing at the ten Rank notes in Su Xiao’s hand. With that money, he could do a lot, like improving the meals for the hundreds of younger siblings at the orphanage.
This was the Geya Alliance. Capable people, even if only ten years old, could be trusted with important tasks.
“Five, four, one.”
When Su Xiao’s countdown jumped from four directly to one, the little spy raised his hand.
“Thank you, sir!”
The little spy snatched the ten Rank notes, looked up at Su Xiao, and grinned, baring his teeth.
“Tell Laizong I owe him a favor.”
“Got it.”
The little spy ran off to notify the other nearby spies that they could stand down.
Laizong was no ordinary diplomat. Earlier, when Skain shot the assistant’s head off with a single gunshot, Laizong didn’t even blink. Instead, he pulled out a handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth. That wasn’t something an ordinary person could do.
The deafening gunshot, the spray of blood—even a trained soldier would instinctively blink or stand up. But Laizong remained calm throughout, and afterward, he even took the chance to annoy Skain, who had just killed someone.
While serving as a diplomat, Laizong was also the leader of an intelligence organization called the Eye of Losqi. Its influence covered the capital and four surrounding major cities.
Su Xiao had managed to find the Geya Alliance traitor thanks to the fourteen spies from the nearby branches.
Laizong had only agreed to send spies because Su Xiao used his own authority to force the issue. This infuriated Laizong, who swore that if this matter didn’t benefit the alliance, he would have Su Xiao sent back to the Gakbak Prison within half a month.
In the end, Laizong grudgingly sent fourteen spies, ten of whom were little kids. This was his way of getting back at Su Xiao—holding grudges was one of Laizong’s defining traits.
In the alley, Su Xiao pressed a transparent mask onto his face, slightly altering his features. The traitor had already seen him. If he wanted to re-enter the theater with his original face, he’d have to bring the little spy along, which was too troublesome.
After changing his clothes, Su Xiao waited in the alley for over twenty minutes before heading straight back to the grand theater.
Passing through the entrance, he showed his ticket and entered the screening hall. The Jegang Grand Theater had six screening rooms. Due to the exorbitant cost of the projection equipment, each room held over 400 people. The viewing experience in the back rows could be imagined.
Su Xiao had bought twenty tickets in total. No matter which screening room the target was in, he could enter.
The movie was set to start at 10:20. The audience gradually took their seats. The screening room was brightly lit. Su Xiao found a random spot and sat down.
Three mechanical beetles appeared in Su Xiao’s hand. He tossed them under the seat and attached electrode pads to his temples.
A virtual screen, invisible from the outside, appeared before Su Xiao’s left eye. Using a micro remote control, he directed the black beetles under the seat.
Soon, the three beetles crawled under a specific seat and entered standby mode.
The middle-aged man who had made eye contact with Su Xiao earlier was sitting in that seat. Through Apostle’s Eye’s detection, Su Xiao confirmed he was the traitor.
The man’s name was Duke. His physical stats were slightly above average for an ordinary person. The file didn’t mark him as a traitor, but a certain ability gave him away: a passive skill called “Blessing of the Dawn Goddess,” which increased luck attributes over time and ensured his health.
Would an ordinary citizen of the Geya Alliance worship the Dawn Goddess and receive her blessing? Clearly, this was a reward for betraying the Geya Alliance—luck and health.
Su Xiao didn’t act immediately to capture the traitor. He was waiting for him to meet with the Sun Kingdom spy. After they met, Su Xiao still wouldn’t strike. Instead, he would continue tailing them, hoping to follow the thread and uncover more.