Chapter 121: The Intruder
"At least we know the motive of the 'Zodiac,'" Qi Xia said. "Doesn't that count as having a hold of their weakness?"
"This..." Officer Li shook his head with a troubled expression. "If this contract is real, then it's possible."
"What do you mean?"
Officer Li pointed to articles five through ten of the contract and said, "The contract states it only has four categories, which means these clauses shouldn't exist in the contract. Does that mean the contract was altered?"
"That's true," Qi Xia nodded. "But that's not surprising, is it? You can conjure a cigarette out of thin air, so I can accept words appearing out of nowhere on a contract."
"Your tolerance for understanding might be a bit too strong," Officer Li sighed helplessly. "How come I can't understand it..."
"According to the contract, if the Ram sees more than four clauses, it proves his mind is unclear," Qi Xia pondered for a moment and continued. "But as it turns out, we can see more than four clauses too, so it has nothing to do with clarity of mind. We can't rule out the possibility that 'Heavenly Dragon' is using this method to eliminate the Ram."
"But the Ram was suspicious, so he didn't tear up the contract and kept it on him instead?" Officer Li asked.
Qi Xia turned around, a corner of his mouth lifting. "Officer Li, I'd say your tolerance for understanding is pretty strong too."
"Don't make fun of me," Officer Li shook his head. "I studied proper criminal investigation—the techniques of interrogation, inspection, examination, search, and seizure don't come in handy here."
"In any case, let's not tell anyone else about this contract for now, until we meet another 'Echoer' we can trust." Qi Xia folded the contract and put it in his pocket.
Officer Li nodded, temporarily burying the matter in his heart.
"Oh, right." Officer Li took four pieces of "Tao" from his pocket. "Qi Xia, take these."
"Give them to me?" Qi Xia didn't reach out to take them, instead shaking his head. "Officer Li, we belong to 'Heaven's Gate' now. They want us to risk our lives, so they should provide the 'Tao.' Keep these four for your own safety."
"Then you keep them for your safety instead," Officer Li said. "You know how to use 'Tao' better than I do. They'll be twice as effective in your hands. With me, it's a complete waste."
"Hmm..." Qi Xia pondered for a moment, then took one piece of "Tao." "How about this—if I take them all, it'll definitely upset the 'moral experts' in our group. Last time I gave you one, now I'm taking one back. Consider it even."
Officer Li sighed helplessly and agreed to the plan. The two turned around and headed back to the teaching building.
In this brightly lit teaching building, Qi Xia felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
It was the feeling of living among "people."
Faint rustling sounds still came from the distant road—the "bugs" were already on the move.
But they were instinctively staying away from this place. It seemed the more people gathered, the safer it was. If the bugs were going to do anything out of line, "Heaven's Gate" wouldn't have been able to maintain its presence so openly for so long.
When they returned to the room, most people had already gone to sleep.
Officer Li and Qi Xia exchanged a glance, found a spot to lie down, and soon snoring could be heard.
Qi Xia casually confirmed Han Yimo's condition, then turned back to close the classroom door. He grabbed a plastic lighter from nearby and placed it on the door handle.
After doing all this, he went to a corner, picked up the previously heated can, ate a few bites, and then found a chair to sit on.
Since arriving at this godforsaken place, this was the first time he could sleep peacefully.
Between wakefulness and sleep, Qi Xia closed his eyes.
He didn't know how long had passed before a barely perceptible sound reached his ears. Qi Xia immediately opened his eyes.
The sound of the lighter hitting the cement floor wasn't even as loud as the insects chirping outside, but Qi Xia rarely let himself fall into deep sleep, so he woke at the slightest disturbance.
The campfire had completely gone out. The room was pitch black, and it took Qi Xia a few seconds to roughly make out his surroundings.
It seemed someone had opened the door and come in.
Qi Xia initially thought it was a teammate returning from a late-night bathroom trip, but if that were the case, the lighter should have fallen much earlier. In other words, this was the first time the door had been opened tonight.
Thinking this, he counted the eight dark figures lying in the darkness, confirming his deduction.
Besides himself, there were eight people lying down and one person standing.
Who was the one standing?
Qi Xia sensed something was wrong. He remained quiet, felt his pockets, and found he had no weapon for self-defense.
The dark figure slowly walked over to a person lying down and looked down at her.
If Qi Xia remembered correctly, that was Lin Qin.
"Could someone have ill intentions?"
Qi Xia slowly stood up, moving his feet cautiously.
The other party was careless—they couldn't have anticipated that someone in the room would spend the entire night sleeping sitting up.
The figure reached out and stroked Lin Qin's hair, then lowered their head to sniff her fragrance before turning and walking toward another person.
Qi Xia stopped in his tracks, watching carefully.
The figure approached Han Yimo. This time, they didn't move, just stood beside him quietly for a moment.
Just as Qi Xia was feeling puzzled, the figure headed toward another person. By the direction, it seemed to be Officer Li. Officer Li was snoring loudly, completely unaware of the change beside him.
After a few seconds of standing still, the dark figure let out an almost inaudible whisper: "Strange."
Then they moved again, as if searching for something in the room.
Qi Xia had been standing not far behind the figure the entire time, following their movements, always staying out of their line of sight.
As the dark figure began inspecting the room, Qi Xia remained three to five steps behind them.
For Qi Xia, the dark figure hadn't done anything outrageous yet. Even if he subdued them, he wouldn't have a valid reason.
What if the figure was from "Heaven's Gate," pretending to check on how everyone was settling in?
Or what if they claimed to have entered the wrong room?
As the saying goes, "To catch a thief, you need the stolen goods." Qi Xia could only keep a close watch on the dark figure, ready to strike at any moment.
After looking around the room, the dark figure touched their chin in confusion, then held up fingers to count the eight people lying down.
A moment later, they froze in place.
Qi Xia frowned slightly, sensing something was wrong.
If the figure was familiar with everyone in the room, they would realize one person was missing.
With this thought, Qi Xia immediately turned back to close the door.
At the same time, the dark figure bolted toward the exit.
Both of them rushed for the classroom door at almost the same moment. Qi Xia knew closing the door was no longer possible, so he reached out to grab the figure. But the other person turned and dodged.
"Decided to run the moment they realized it... not an idiot either..."
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then shouted, "Stop!"
The loud shout startled the entire teaching building.
If anyone else woke up, the dark figure would have nowhere to hide.
The figure didn't hesitate and ran down the hallway at full speed, with Qi Xia only three to five steps behind.
Just as he was about to reach out and grab them, Qi Xia saw the figure jump slightly on the flat ground.
Before he could process what it meant, his foot caught on something. He was sent flying forward and crashed to the ground.
The other party had set up a rope trap in advance on the floor!
Seeing the figure vanish at the end of the hallway, Qi Xia felt a sense of urgency. Ignoring the pain, he thought quickly, then turned and ran back to the classroom. The others were gradually waking up.
"Qi Xia, what happened?" Lin Qin asked with concern.
"Someone broke in!" Qi Xia pulled open the classroom window and vaulted into the yard.
Hearing this, Qiao Jiajin furrowed his brow and quickly followed.