30: Wisdom in hand

“Hmm?”

The old man walking ahead heard Liang Yuzhu's shout and turned back in confusion.

“Excuse me, sir.”

Looking directly into the old man's cloudy but bright eyes, Liang Yuzhu stepped forward, nodded slightly in greeting, and said with a hint of apology:

“When I came down from the sixth floor, I saw you tidying things up at the corner. Have you been staying on the sixth floor?”

Waving towards Lan Zijun, the old man with white hair and beard was amiable.

“No, my girl.”

The old man had a strong accent, sounding like someone from a coastal city, his words full of a 'sea oyster' flavor.

“I was just tidying up things at home, sorting out some unwanted waste bottles and paper. What's wrong, my girl?”

“Ah... like that.”

Liang Yuzhu nodded and continued to ask: “Sir, when you were tidying up, did you see any suspicious people in the sixth-floor corridor?”

“Suspicious people... No, my girl, didn't see anything.”

The old man looked up to the right, thought for a moment, and said with certainty.

“Okay, sir, thank you for your trouble.” Liang Yuzhu thanked him.

“No trouble. If there's nothing else, I'll be going, my girl.”

“Take care.”

The conversation ended, and the old man smiled at Liang Yuzhu, his wrinkled features crinkling together like a rose.

Watching the old man shuffle away, Liang Yuzhu quietly sighed.

She had originally thought that since the old man was in the sixth-floor corridor, he might have seen traces of the mysterious person.

Now it seemed there were no leads.

Just as she was about to leave, a sudden, jarring static sound came from Liang Yuzhu's pocket.

Liang Yuzhu immediately checked, reaching into her pocket to take out the walkie-talkie Lan Zijun had given her. The sound was coming from it.

Just as she was about to put the walkie-talkie back in her pocket, Liang Yuzhu suddenly froze, her whole body stiffening.

Wait...

The walkie-talkie in my pocket, I clearly set it to standby mode. It shouldn't suddenly make a static sound.

Its sudden activation means there's a walkie-talkie of the same model and frequency band nearby, causing signal interference and thus the static sound.

Before that grey-haired old man appeared, this walkie-talkie hadn't made any sound.

This means!

Ding—

A light flashed in her mind.

Liang Yuzhu's body trembled, and she shivered.

That old man might also have a walkie-talkie of the same model and channel on him!

This is what caused the static in the walkie-talkie in her pocket.

In other words, the old man just now was lying. He might have some connection to the mysterious person!

If I catch up to him, there might be clues!

“Was it him?!”

Realizing this, Liang Yuzhu took off running, chasing furiously in the direction the old man had left.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The wind whistled past her ears. Liang Yuzhu ran at a hundred-meter sprint speed, searching as she went.

But where was the old man?

Besides playing children, couples in love, and a hot dog vendor... there was nothing else.

“He disappeared so quickly?!”

Standing there with her hands on her hips, Liang Yuzhu was panting, inwardly blaming herself for being too careless, for letting the other person get away so easily.

“Damn it!”’

Liang Yuzhu bit her lip unwillingly and muttered resentfully.

Having lost track of the mysterious old man and with no better next step, Liang Yuzhu decided to go wait for Lan Zijun at their 'usual spot'.

...

Twenty minutes later.

Cape Coffee Shop.

In a corner seat away from the window and closest to the emergency exit, Liang Yuzhu held a cup of espresso, sipping it slowly, her eyes occasionally scanning the entrance.

Ding-a-ling—

The welcoming wind chime above the shop entrance rang out clearly and pleasantly as someone pushed the door open and entered.

Liang Yuzhu's eyes immediately followed.

Lan Zijun, who walked in, was tall with a cool expression on her pretty face. The clicking sound of her high heels hitting the ground attracted everyone's attention in the coffee shop, and their eyes followed her until she reached the seat opposite Liang Yuzhu.

After sitting down and ordering a coffee, Lan Zijun crossed her right leg over her left. Under the dim spotlight, her black stockings reflected a fuzzy sheen.

“Did you find anything?” Lan Zijun asked.

“Don't even mention it!”

Liang Yuzhu was a bit indignant. She slammed her cup down and recounted exactly what had happened just over ten minutes ago to Lan Zijun.

“... I was just shaken off like that. That hateful old man is surprisingly quick on his feet.”

After finishing, she picked up the cup again and took a big gulp, finding it too bitter, and spit some back into the cup.

Lan Zijun opposite her listened, her brow furrowed in thought, and then asked:

“What did that old man you mentioned look like?”

“Grey hair, and his eyes...”

After describing the old man's appearance in detail, Liang Yuzhu added: “What's wrong? Do you know him?”

“Hoo—”

Lan Zijun took a deep breath, steadying her intense emotions before answering in a low voice:

“The old man you encountered is the one who brought me the walkie-talkie.”

Based on Liang Yuzhu's description, Lan Zijun confirmed they had seen the same old man. This made Lan Zijun's heart particularly complex, filled with a chilling sense of being controlled and manipulated from the shadows.

The other party had been wantonly manipulating all of this!

“Ah?!”

At this moment, Liang Yuzhu was also so angry her fists were clenched. A feeling of being toyed with in a cat-and-mouse game surged in her heart, and she then analyzed:

“Then this old man is very likely that mysterious person—Yuan!”

“I can't believe it was him...”

Lan Zijun's face also turned a little pale, thinking about her previous interactions with the other party and how she hadn't noticed anything at all.

“When I get back to the Police Station, I'll check the surveillance footage along the way. Maybe we can find something.”

Her anger subsided after a moment, and Liang Yuzhu gradually regained her composure. Leaning forward, she asked eagerly:

“Did you find what that mysterious person named Yuan left for you?”

Lan Zijun nodded and took out a USB drive wrapped in a handkerchief from her bag.

“Yuan left this for me.”

Putting on her gloves, Liang Yuzhu picked up the USB drive and carefully examined it, confirming there was nothing unusual about its appearance; it looked like a regular USB drive.

Now they needed to see what information was inside when connected to a computer.

But neither of them had a computer with them, and they were eager to uncover its secrets.

Looking around, Liang Yuzhu saw a little girl with black-rimmed glasses to her left, watching 'One Piece' on a laptop.

“Hello, I am a Police Officer.”

Liang Yuzhu took out her ID, showed it to the little girl, and immediately said: “Excuse me, we have an urgent task. Can we borrow your computer?”

.....

Meanwhile, to the northwest, about 1 kilometer from Laifusi Plaza, inside a McDonald's restroom.

A man locked the door from the inside and slowly, bit by bit, peeled off the white beard stuck to his face, throwing it into the trash can.

Then he took off the old man disguise he was wearing, took out new clothes from his backpack, and changed into his usual casual wear.

After everything was packed away, the man put on his backpack, turned around, and walked out of the restroom as if nothing had happened.

He looked around; there was nothing unusual.

He pushed open the McDonald's door, walked quickly to the roadside, and casually unlocked a shared bicycle.

Then, he sped off towards the direction of his company.

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