Tracking Lu Xun
"Puxi? Why would he be there? Twenty minutes ago, wasn't he still over in Pudong?"
"..."
"He has no cash on him, and his transaction cards are all under our supervision. The surveillance of mainstream transportation tools hasn't found his figure either... How did he transfer back and forth between Pudong and Puxi in such a short amount of time?"
"..."
"Alright, I know... Tell them to keep a close eye, I'm heading over now."
Hanging up the phone, the figure walked straight towards a building behind him. At the same time, he dialed another number.
He passed through the lobby of the office building and walked straight into the elevator. As a card was pressed against the machine, the elevator immediately rose to the high floors... The red floor indicator lights jumped continuously. Through the transparent cylindrical glass, the neon-flashing metropolis was falling beneath his feet.
Dozens of seconds later, the elevator doors opened, and a massive top-floor helipad entered his sight.
The roaring sound of rotor blades came from afar. A black helicopter approached from under the night sky. He walked forward against the howling night wind, the hem of his clothes fluttering loudly.
The helicopter briefly hovered in the center of the building. He pulled open the cabin door and got in.
"Director, what's the situation?" A figure handed over an earpiece, while simultaneously asking over the sound of the wind.
"Lu Xun must have mastered some kind of ability capable of moving rapidly, and has constantly been transferring back and forth between Pudong and Puxi." The Director spoke in a deep voice. "How do you guys do things? You actually let him run out on his own?!"
"You really can't blame me for this, Director... Before this, Dr. Lu had always been very cooperative, no one thought he would leave midway... Furthermore, not a single one of the laboratory's alarms was triggered, we simply don't know how he left."
"What about Dr. Chu?"
"He is still on standby in the laboratory."
"... Lu Xun clearly has the ability to move rapidly, yet he hasn't left Shanghai this entire time, and he intentionally left clues along the way to lead us by the nose... What exactly does he want to do?"
"Director, should we contact That Grandmaster?"
"No, the higher-ups have stipulated that unless it's absolutely necessary, we should try to avoid having the grandmaster take action... I have already invited three 'Black Hand' members to return. If we still can't catch him like this, then we'll go invite That Grandmaster."
"Yes."
The helicopter sped through the night, passing through the brightly lit skyscrapers and the river flowing silently like a ribbon in the darkness, heading straight towards a certain location.
...
"Wow! Mom look! A Ferrari!"
At a Crossroads, a Boy pointed at the leading red sports car and spoke excitedly.
"You need to study hard. Only then can you afford to buy this car in the future, understand?" The woman glanced somewhat enviously at the roaring vehicle, then muttered constantly as she held the child's hand and walked across the road.
Chen Ling expressionlessly turned the steering wheel and drove towards an underground garage on the side.
"Are we almost there?"
"Mhm, it's just on the street across from here."
"Then why are we going down to the underground garage?"
"This appearance is too conspicuous. Since we've entered the city, we need to disguise it a bit."
While speaking, Chen Ling drove the car to an empty spot in the underground garage. After hacking all the surveillance, he reached out and patted the car's exterior shell again.
Strands of electric currents flashed past. The original red sports car transformed into an inconspicuous family sedan in the blink of an eye. Along another exit of the underground garage, it slowly drove back to the surface.
Chen Ling parked the vehicle by the roadside. After the two got out one after another, they looked at the neon building beside them.
Next to the building's elevator, all the businesses in this building were listed. After Chen Ling glanced at it, his fingertip tapped on the open-air cafe on the top floor.
"The address is here... Why is it a cafe again? Do you scientists all like to rendezvous in cafes this much?"
"What's wrong with coffee? When staying up late staring at experiments, we all have to rely on this stuff to sustain our lives... Oh right, what do you mean by 'all'? Who else likes to rendezvous in cafes?"
"... Nothing, let's go up first."
The two walked into the elevator, and Chen Ling directly pressed the button for the top floor. The elevator slowly ascended amidst bursts of old creaking sounds...
Just at this moment, Yang Xiao seemed to have remembered something:
"Oh right, actually I've always wanted to ask. You made an appointment to meet, did Old Lu tell you a time?"
"No... He only said the address."
"Then what if we arrive, but he's not there?"
Chen Ling paused for a moment and glanced at the continuously jumping floor indicator lights.
"He said... wait until we arrive, he will naturally come."
Ding dong—
As the elevator steadily stopped, amidst a notification sound, the elevator doors slowly opened...
...
Ding dong—
"First floor."
The elevator doors opened, and over ten figures walked out briskly from within. The Director's gaze swept over the surroundings and very quickly locked onto a teahouse in the bustling commercial district.
At this time around the teahouse, numerous figures in plain clothes were intentionally or unintentionally keeping an eye on the surroundings of the teahouse. Seeing these dozen or so people arrive, someone immediately ran up hurriedly.
"What's the situation right now?"
"Director, it's already been confirmed that Dr. Lu is inside." That person spoke with certainty, "Our people have already sneaked in to investigate, and saw Dr. Lu sitting in a private room drinking tea with their own eyes..."
"When?"
"Once fifteen minutes ago, and once five minutes ago. Furthermore, during this period, no one has entered or exited the teahouse."
The Director nodded slightly. "Finally caught him... By the way, what's the background of this teahouse?"
"It's just an ordinary teahouse. However, we investigated and found that every time Dr. Lu comes to Shanghai for a business trip, he comes here to drink tea, and has also recharged a card here. He can be considered a regular."
"Good. Later, directly rush in and capture him. Where are the 'Black Hand'?"
"Two have already arrived on the scene. However, [The Photographer] is late to arrive, saying his car fell apart on the road..."
"His car fell apart on the road??"
The Director was stunned, but immediately after, he shook his head. "Forget it, let's not wait for him... Organize our manpower, we act now!"
"Yes!"
Under the Director's order, the numerous plainclothes personnel hiding around got up one after another and surrounded all the doors and windows of the teahouse together. And within the crowd, two figures stood out particularly prominently.
One was a tall young woman wearing a white hoodie; the other was a tall Caucasian Man carrying an expensive mountaineering bag. After the two exchanged glances, the blonde woman walked towards the back door, while the Caucasian Man pushed aside the other plainclothes figures and walked straight towards the main door.
The palms of the two pressed against the surface of the teahouse's doors. After taking a deep breath, they pushed forcefully!
...
White water vapor rose from within the teacup.
Within the log-style private room, Lu Xun took a light sip of tea water, and then slowly placed it back on the table top...
"Have they arrived..."
He murmured, stood up from his seat, and walked to the window step by step.
He looked up. Outside the window was the flashing neon city, and the silent, pitch-black night... And at this moment, in the reflection of those deep eyes, a boundless sea of stars shone brilliantly!