66: Follow! - 3

For the rest of the journey, the difficulty of Jiang Ye's "reverse tailing" skyrocketed.

Because of that inexplicable "chill down his spine" earlier, Zhang Wenhai had become paranoid. While following Lin Wanxing, he kept looking back over his shoulder.

This nearly exposed Jiang Ye several times, and he only managed to hide thanks to parked cars, trash bins, and even an elderly man passing by.

"What the hell is this idiot looking back for? Is he a spinning top? He just won't stop turning!"

He "helpfully" helped the elderly man cross the street, only to look back and see the man, looking utterly confused, walk back to the other side on his own. Jiang Ye couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and curse under his breath.

Finally, just as Jiang Ye felt his nerves were about to snap, the progress bar in his mind jumped to [99%].

His spirits lifted. Seeing Lin Wanxing turn right at the intersection ahead, Zhang Wenhai immediately followed, no longer bothering to disguise himself as he dashed around the corner.

[Mission Progress: 100%]!

"Success!"

Overjoyed, Jiang Ye immediately stopped and waited eagerly for the system to announce the mission's completion.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... Nothing happened.

"Huh? System? Is it frozen?"

He called out in his mind: "The mission progress is at 100%. Where's the reward? Where's my halo?"

[Completion condition for the mission 'The Art of Reverse Tailing': Ensure the target female safely enters her residence or another secure location. The target has not yet entered a safe area. Mission incomplete.]

Jiang Ye: "..."

Damn, I forgot about that! Good thing this is a corner, or I'd have been exposed!

He peeked out and saw Lin Wanxing still walking ahead, with Zhang Wenhai still lurking suspiciously behind her.

No choice—a cooked duck must not be allowed to fly away.

Jiang Ye had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue this damned "nesting doll" tailing.

Fortunately, Lin Wanxing's place wasn't too far.

After walking another four or five hundred meters, she stopped at the entrance of a decent-looking residential complex. She took a card from her pocket, swiped it with a "beep" to open the pedestrian gate, and slipped inside.

The moment the gate closed completely, the long-awaited notification finally sounded:

[Ding! Target has entered a safe location! Monthly mission 'The Art of Reverse Tailing' completed!]

[Mission reward has been issued. Please choose: A. 'Presence Reduction Halo' (one-time use item) B. 80,000 yuan in cash]

"Is there even a choice? Of course, A!"

Jiang Ye made his choice without hesitation.

Cash is nice, but such a magical item can't be bought with money!

[Reward confirmed! 'Presence Reduction Halo' has been sent to the system storage. Activate by silently reciting its name. Effect lasts for 30 minutes.]

As the notification faded, he saw a new storage grid option appear in the system interface. Inside lay a halo icon emitting a faint white light, with simple usage instructions below.

"Hahaha! Awesome!"

Jiang Ye was overjoyed, already fantasizing about various application scenarios, each filled with pixelated content.

This isn't some gentleman mission—it's freaking Doraemon's Treasure Bag!

I wonder if there'll be a Little Alarm Clock that pauses time with a button press later... In high spirits, he glanced at the complex entrance.

Without an access card, Zhang Wenhai was clinging to the iron gate, craning his neck to look inside, hoping to piggyback on the next resident coming or going. But in the dead of night, that wasn't easy.

Watching his anxious expression, Jiang Ye felt a surge of contempt: "Hmph, lost her, didn't you? Serves you right! With your skills, you think you can be a tailing Pervert? Maybe in your next life! My job as a Guardian Knight is complete!"

Feeling his mission accomplished, he prepared to leave this troublesome place, his deeds hidden and his name unknown.

But just as Jiang Ye turned around and hadn't taken two steps, the sound of approaching police sirens suddenly came from nearby!

"Woo-wah—woo-wah—"

The sound quickly drew closer. A blue-and-white police car, lights flashing, screeched to a halt right at the complex entrance.

The doors opened, and three police officers quickly got out, instantly surrounding a bewildered Zhang Wenhai.

"Officers? I... what did I do?" Zhang Wenhai's face turned pale with fear, his hands instinctively raised.

The lead officer looked serious, sizing him up: "We received a report that you're suspected of tailing someone. Please cooperate with the investigation and show your ID."

"Tailing? No way! Officers, it's a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!"

Zhang Wenhai hurriedly defended himself, sweat beading on his forehead: "I... I was seeing my girlfriend home. She went up first after we had a fight. I just... I just don't have my access card!"

Seeing this, Jiang Ye was stunned at first, then almost clapped and cheered!

"Holy shit! Justice from heaven! Look at the efficiency of our Shengtian's public security! Perverts have nowhere to hide! Serves you right for causing trouble! Feeling good now, huh?"

He was gleefully watching the spectacle, thinking tonight's drama would end with a satisfying conclusion, when a familiar figure came panting from the direction the police car had come—it was the Righteous Older Brother he'd met earlier at the convenience store.

The older brother ran up to the police, pointed at the surrounded Zhang Wenhai, and shouted: "Yes! Officers, it's him! I saw it with my own eyes. He started following that girl in the long down jacket from Jinqiao Road, tailing her all the way, sneaking around. He was definitely stalking her!"

Zhang Wenhai was almost in tears: "Brother! Which eye did you see me tailing her? She really is my girlfriend!"

The Convenience Store Brother snorted, clearly not buying his nonsense.

Then, as if having completed his primary duty, he began to fulfill his second role as an "Outstanding Citizen."

His gaze swept the surroundings like a searchlight and soon locked onto Jiang Ye, who, sensing trouble, was trying to sneak away along the wall!

"And him!"

The brother's voice suddenly rose, his finger pointing unhesitatingly at Jiang Ye: "Officers! And this guy! He was following this Perverted Man the whole time! Sneaking around, even more suspicious than the first one! Most importantly—"

He paused, as if remembering something terrifying, his tone turning horrified: "He was hiding by the corner earlier, thinking about something good, and he lowered his head and chuckled creepily! That smile was especially eerie! Very perverted! I suspect they're in cahoots, or... or he's an even bigger Pervert, planning something with this Perverted Man!"

Swish, swish, swish!

Instantly, all the police officers' eyes, along with a few passersby drawn by the police car, focused squarely on Jiang Ye, who was trying to shrink into the wall crack.

Their gazes were filled with scrutiny, vigilance, and a sense of "finally caught you."

Jiang Ye's heart sank, his vision went dark, and he felt his life turn instantly gray... Half an hour later, in the mediation room of the nearby police station.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward.

After preliminary questioning, verification, and a phone call to the involved party, Lin Wanxing, to understand the situation, the "truth" of the matter became roughly clear.

Zhang Wenhai had indeed been tailing his girlfriend, Lin Wanxing, with impure motives. He was severely criticized and educated, and made to write a guarantee on the spot, promising not to repeat such behavior.

As for Jiang Ye... Officer An, a young police officer around thirty, handling the case, tapped the table with his pen, holding the statement, and looked at him with a complex expression:

"Jiang Ye, right? You say you were... conducting some 'reverse tailing'? To protect that Miss Lin?"

Jiang Ye gritted his teeth, trying to make his expression appear utterly sincere:

"Yes, Officer An! I swear! I saw that Zhang Wenhai acting suspiciously, sneaking after Miss Lin at the bar entrance. I was worried something might happen to Miss Lin, so I... followed behind, thinking if that guy tried anything, I could step in to stop him or call the police in time!"

Officer An raised an eyebrow, pointing to another part of the statement: "Then how do you explain the report saying you were 'evasive-eyed,' 'sneaky-behaved,' and 'staring at Zhang Wenhai with a perverted smile'?"

Jiang Ye put on an "innocent" face: "Officer An, a huge injustice! I was observing the environment, looking for good hiding spots to avoid alerting Zhang Wenhai! As for the smile... I was... thinking about soon being able to help someone, filled with righteous joy, and couldn't help but show a... gratified smile! Yes, gratified!"

Officer An's mouth twitched slightly, clearly not buying this explanation but unable to find evidence to refute it.

After all, surveillance showed Jiang Ye had indeed been following Zhang Wenhai the whole time, with no direct contact or threatening moves toward Lin Wanxing.

He closed the statement, sighed: "Young man, acting bravely for justice is good, but you need to pay attention to your methods. Your situation is easily misunderstood! Let it go this time. In the future, if you encounter something similar, the correct approach is to call the police immediately or, without endangering yourself, warn the victim directly, not sneak around behind them. Understand?"

"Understand, understand! You're absolutely right! I'll definitely pay attention to my methods next time!"

Jiang Ye nodded frantically, relieved, and quickly tried to curry favor: "Officer An, have you eaten? Sorry to trouble you so late. I saw a dumpling place still open earlier. Let me buy you two boxes?"

Officer An: "..."