Downstairs the dormitory building.
Xu Wenliang sat on the flower bed opposite the dormitory building, calling his team leader.
Lin Beichen had not left the school for several days, nor had he seen any suspicious persons, so Xu Wenliang hadn’t reported anything.
Six days have passed.
Thinking it was time for a periodic report since Lin Beichen finally left the school today, he made the call.
Soon, the call connected and Wang Kai’s voice came through.
"Hello, Liangzi, what’s up, any updates?"
"Reporting to the team leader, there’s no major situation."
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Xu Wenliang heard a lot of noise on the other end, and Wang Kai sounded hurried. Realizing his leader might be busy, he got straight to the point: "Lin Beichen stayed on campus these past few days. Initially, he would occasionally go to secluded places around the school for unknown reasons, sometimes behaving strangely, showing signs of sudden pain. I thought he might be under attack from a distance or drugged, but later found this wasn’t the case. Several times, students brought in the school doctor after seeing him like that, and they found nothing wrong. Since then, he’s mostly stayed in. Today, he left school, went to a department store, and bought a bunch of camping gear. I don’t know what he’s up to, but he’s back in the dorm now."
Strange behavior?
Bought a tent?
Wang Kai was puzzled for a moment, but then dismissed his doubts. Those were personal matters, nothing worth focusing on.
"As long as Lin Beichen’s life isn’t threatened, nothing else matters."
Having done the calculation, Wang Kai added, "Today should be the sixth day. If the traffickers wanted revenge, they should have struck already. We can almost lift the threat on Lin Beichen. Continue to protect him discreetly for a little longer, then report back before dusk tomorrow. We have a new development in the elimination operation and need more manpower."
The elimination operation referred to was targeting the human trafficker gang behind Li Youquan.
"Yes!"
Xu Wenliang responded.
The call just ended.
He saw Lin Beichen exiting the dormitory building and quickly followed him.
He followed all the way to the sixth teaching building.
Lin Beichen went straight to the third floor, knocked on the counselor’s office door, and went in after hearing "Come in" from inside.
The counselor seemed to be surprised to see Lin Beichen, but quickly showed a very kind smile and asked gently, "Lin Beichen, what brings you here? Is there a problem?"
This was the genius who scored full marks in the college entrance exam, and also a brave young man. As his counselor, she was very proud of him.
"Counselor, I need to leave for a few days, so I would like to ask for leave."
Lin Beichen didn’t really want to ask for leave, as he hadn’t even attended classes since the start of term.
But this time was different. He would be leaving campus for more than a week. If he left without notice, it would be discovered during checks, causing more trouble than asking for leave.
"Leaving?"
The counselor didn’t immediately grant the leave, asking, "Lin Beichen, where are you going? How many days?"
It was fine to ask for leave, but since it involved going out, she needed to know the details, as the school was responsible for students’ safety.
"Wuling Mountain, probably about a week, maybe longer."
"Wuling Mountain in Yunmi County?"
Seeing Lin Beichen nod, the counselor asked, "That place, though scenic, can be fully explored in two or three days. You’re asking for a week off? This..."
Seeing her determination to get to the bottom of it, Lin Beichen laid his cards on the table, ambiguously saying, "Counselor, it’s not really a trip. From tomorrow, Wuling Mountain will have thunderstorms for over a week. I plan to study the natural phenomenon of lightning."
Research lightning?
Sure enough, the counselor was dazed for a moment but quickly remembered that Lin Beichen had mentioned lightning research when applying to Imperial Capital University.
No wonder he was a genius with full marks, his dedication was exceptional!
She wondered what he had achieved after such long research...
Could he make a name in the scientific community?
As his counselor, she felt a shared sense of pride and hope for his success.
"Alright, no problem."
She didn’t hesitate, promptly issued a leave note, and advised, "Make sure to stay safe on the mountain, research is fine but don’t get hurt. Or else, I won’t approve such leave next time."
"Yes, I understand. Thank you, counselor."
Lin Beichen took the leave note, said goodbye, and left the office, heading back to the dormitory.
Xu Wenliang didn’t know what he did in the office, and didn’t care much, as long as Lin Beichen was safe. He followed him back to the dormitory building.
"One more day of protection, report back before dusk."
Thinking this, he watched through the night.
Early next morning, he saw Lin Beichen leaving the dormitory with a lot of bags.
"Early departure today?"
Xu Wenliang didn’t think much, it was his last day of protection, he just followed.
Lin Beichen walked among the students heading to class with books and snacks, heading in the opposite direction to the school gate.
Several coaches were parked at the gate.
Xu Wenliang watched him board a blue coach.
The coach was a medium-sized tourist bus, with a white rectangular sign in the lower right corner of the window, reading "Imperial Capital University — Wuling Mountain Special Line" in red letters.
"Wuling Mountain?"
"Lin Beichen is going to Wuling Mountain?"
Xu Wenliang was briefly surprised, thinking no wonder he bought a tent and other camping gear yesterday—he was going camping at Wuling Mountain.
But soon, he realized an issue.
If he continued to follow Lin Beichen to Wuling Mountain, he couldn’t return before dusk, let alone report back to the police.
Xu Wenliang quickly decided, given the urgent need for manpower for the elimination operation, considering the threat to Lin Beichen had been lifted, and not having seen any suspicious persons for days. Even he only just learned that Lin Beichen was going to Wuling Mountain, so he wouldn’t follow him there.
However, he didn’t leave immediately.
He continued to observe the surroundings and scrutinize people boarding the coach until it departed, finding nothing suspicious. Only then did he drive away.
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