Yu Hanjiang instructed Xiao Lou and Shao Qingge to guard the supplies in the warehouse, while he quickly followed the boy.
Xiao Lou and Shao Qingge had no objection to Captain Yu's decision. After all, "tracking" was Captain Yu's specialty, and if they followed him, they would not only be too slow, but might also alert him.
The streets were extremely quiet late at night.
Yu Hanjiang walked out of the renovation market and soon spotted the boy.
Under the streetlights, the boy and his tricycle cast dark shadows on the ground. His stamina was average, and he was clearly struggling to ride the tricycle loaded with supplies. Yu Hanjiang walked briskly and quickly caught up with him, maintaining a distance of about fifty meters.
The boy seemed to sense something and turned his head to look behind him warily.
Yu Hanjiang immediately dodged into the shadow of the streetlight.
When the boy realized no one was behind him, he turned around and continued pedaling the tricycle. Every so often, he would glance around and behind him, showing extreme alertness, like a small animal sneaking out of the forest to forage for food.
Yu Hanjiang followed him discreetly.
After following for a while, Yu Hanjiang quickly realized that the guy was heading towards the outskirts of the city. He was very familiar with this direction because he had been keeping an eye on the construction site on the outskirts of the city for the past two days, and had the construction site as a backup plan—was this boy also going to the construction site?
The only place to settle in the northwest is the Construction Site, which is a desolate area without a single house in sight.
Yu Hanjiang frowned slightly—perhaps it was true, as Xiao Lou said, that this guy had been monitoring them and knew that he had been to the Construction Site these past few days.
Just as they were considering whether to continue following up, the boy rode his tricycle to the street corner, and suddenly two drunk men rushed out from the side road.
The two men supported each other, cursing under their breath, their steps unsteady, as if they might fall at any moment.
Upon seeing the boy, one of the drunkards immediately pounced on him, grabbed his garbage cart, and said with a grin, "Hey buddy, got any wine? I haven't had enough yet, wanna have a few drinks together?"
Another drunkard grabbed the boy's arm: "Come on, let's drink until we drop, let's drink until dawn!"
The boy was startled by the two drunkards who suddenly appeared, and his face paled slightly. However, he quickly composed himself and said with a smile, "Brothers, I don't have any alcohol. I'm just a garbage collector, haha, please continue drinking..."
However, the drunkards had no sense of reason and insisted on dragging him along to drink. One drunkard grabbed his tricycle, while another clung tightly to his arm, making it impossible for him to walk.
A minute later, the boy was clearly getting impatient.
With a flash of cold light from his fingertips, a 3m x 3m Nine Palaces Grid area appeared on the ground, freezing the two drunkards in place. The boy forcefully pried the drunkards' hands off and sped away on his tricycle.
The card he used was [ Nine Palaces Grid ]. This is a standard reward in the Square Block 2 Escape Room, and almost every Challenger has one. It can immobilize targets within the area for 9 seconds. This kid is quite clever, using this method to escape.
The boy rode his tricycle and suddenly disappeared around the corner of the street. Yu Hanjiang strode after him, only to find that the boy was already a hundred meters away.
It's impossible to ride a tricycle that fast.
Yu Hanjiang had maintained a distance of about 50 meters from him the whole time. How could the distance have exceeded 100 meters in just a few seconds? Could he fly?
The next moment, Yu Hanjiang knew the answer—
The boy and his tricycle, like ghosts, suddenly disappeared and then suddenly reappeared at the end of the street.
Teleportation.
If it weren't for the various strange and wonderful cards in this world, Yu Hanjiang would definitely think he was seeing things.
The streets were deserted and empty in the dead of night. The boy and his tricycle moved forward by "teleporting 50 meters at a time," and after five consecutive teleports, they completely disappeared from Yu Hanjiang's sight...
This is absolutely terrifying.
Whether the boy discovered that Yu Hanjiang was following him or was alerted by the two drunkards, he immediately activated his card skill and teleported away. Yu Hanjiang quickly lost his way.
Yu Hanjiang gently pinched the bridge of his nose—today was truly an unlucky day. He tried to catch a thief, but the thief killed his teammate and escaped; he even lost track of a teenager while following him.
It's clear that in the Card World, it's much easier for people to commit crimes than in the real world.
Cards that allow for teleportation, invisibility, and keys—these are all convenient for committing crimes. If they fall into the hands of thugs, the consequences will be unimaginable!
**
Yu Hanjiang quickly returned to the warehouse.
Xiao Lou guessed the result just by looking at his expression: "Does that boy also have a special card?" He believed that with Captain Yu's professional tracking ability, it was impossible for him to lose track of a tricycle full of supplies, unless the boy had other means of escape.
Yu Hanjiang nodded in agreement: "He has a teleportation card that allows him and his car to teleport 50 meters at once, disappearing within seconds."
Shao Qingge said with great interest, "He teleports himself, and the bike he's riding can teleport with him too? That card is really powerful!"
Seeing his smiling face, Xiao Lou couldn't help but ask, "You're not thinking of taking it from me, are you?"
Shao Qingge shrugged: "I'm not that violent... By the way, what fun cards do you guys have?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "We'll talk about it later, let's move first."
Yu Hanjiang pushed a cart
He, along with Xiao Lou and Shao Qingge, headed to the Construction Site with the supplies.
On the way, Xiao Lou said with regret, "I paid 80,000 for the room, but only stayed for three nights. In the end, I lost 10,000 more than Challenger, which charges by the day..."
Shao Qingge comforted him, "It's alright. Once the real estate stocks crash, I can make at least two million in profit. I'll then share half of that with you so you can smoothly pass the subsequent escape rooms and upgrade your contract book as soon as possible."
"That's great." Xiao Lou turned to look at him, her eyes crinkling into a smile. " CEO Shao really knows how to make money. I still have some savings in my bank account in the real world. If we can go back, can I give you the money to invest in stocks for me?"
"Of course, no problem… but the premise is that we can get back." Shao Qingge squinted at the empty and desolate street and said in a low voice, "This is only Spade 3, and the difficulty is already this high. I really can't imagine what the difficulty of Spade 10 and above will be."
"No matter the difficulty, we have to go back. We simply can't stay here any longer." Yu Hanjiang's voice was deep and steady, seemingly possessing a reassuring power in the dead of night. "The existence of various cards will help Challengers, but at the same time, these cards are also a breeding ground for crime. In the real world, there are laws and moral constraints, but here, many people will stop at nothing to survive."
"That's right. Some people will kill without hesitation, and what's even more terrifying is that they don't have to bear the guilt of killing." Xiao Lou's expression darkened, and he added softly, "The further we go, the more difficult the locked rooms become, and the more thugs like that will appear."
"In a dog-eat-dog world, ruthless people naturally have a higher survival rate." Yu Hanjiang paused, turned to look at the two of them, and said coldly, "But if you survive by killing, can you still be a normal person after returning to reality?"
Xiao Lou and Shao Qingge both fell into deep thought.
If, in order to survive, you kill others, stain your hands with the blood of your fellow human beings, and become a murderer, even if you survive, you might be plagued by nightmares every night... What is the point of living like that?
But in the secret chamber to come, these are also things they will have to face.
When only one of them can survive, they may be forced to make a choice.
The thought sent chills down Xiao Lou's spine. He didn't want to kill, but in a situation where he had no choice, he couldn't sacrifice himself for others. He wasn't a saint; he could only try his best to stay true to himself and not become a bloodthirsty thug who killed indiscriminately.
"We're almost there." Yu Hanjiang's words interrupted Xiao Lou's thoughts.
Xiao Lou looked up and saw a construction site with lights on not far away, but construction had completely stopped and there was no one in sight.
Yu Hanjiang said, "This building has three floors and hundreds of empty rooms. There are no residents around. The workers have gone on strike, so they should be able to live here without being discovered."
"Shouldn't we choose a room on the third floor with the best view?" Xiao Lou asked.
"I've inspected it. The room in the northeast corner of the third floor has a two-bedroom, two-living room layout, with windows on all four walls, allowing us to observe the surroundings without any blind spots. We can detect anyone approaching immediately," Yu Hanjiang said.
"Thank you for your hard work, Captain Yu," Xiao Lou said with a smile. "You can stay in that room."
The three of them worked together to move the supplies to the room in the northeast corner of the third floor.
However, as soon as he carried the boxes into the building, Yu Hanjiang suddenly stopped and whispered, "Someone's here."
Xiao Lou was stunned: "What?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "There are four people's footsteps in this building."
Hearing this in the middle of the night, Xiao Lou felt a chill run down his spine, his face changing slightly, as if he had just been "stumbled into a haunted house." He turned his head and saw that Yu Hanjiang's gaze was calm as he lowered his voice and whispered in their ears, "That person moved on the stairs just now, and I heard footsteps that were different from the three of us."
Xiao Lou asked worriedly, "Could it be that the thief who escaped today is following us?"
Yu Hanjiang shook his head and said, "It's more likely that it's the little guy who rode off on the tricycle earlier. I think he went in this direction. Maybe he also wants to use the Construction Site as a temporary place to stay."
Xiao Lou was very puzzled: "Is he copying our way of completing the game, or is it just a coincidence that he thought of the same thing as us?"
The two had been whispering to each other, and when Shao Qingge heard this, he also lowered his voice and asked, "Do you know him?"
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance and simultaneously denied, "We don't know each other."
Shao Qingge stroked his chin: "That's strange. Why did he copy our strategy? There are so many Challengers, and he only followed a few of us from the beginning. Did he think we had 'I'll definitely win' written all over our faces?"
Xiao Lou was both amused and exasperated: "Students copy homework during exams by copying from those with good grades. If he really wanted to copy our walkthrough, he wouldn't do it without knowing if we could pass the level, unless... he knew who we were and believed that we had a high chance of passing the level, then he would refer to our methods."
Shao Qingge understood: "You two have broken the world records for Heart 3 and Diamond 3. Captain Yu broke the record for Spade 2, and Professor Xiao broke the record for Diamond 2 solo. Your names have been on the news many times. Once he knows that your names are Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang, he will definitely think that he has met a master. He will be able to beat the game by following the master."
Yu Hanjiang made a "shh" gesture to his lips, indicating that the two should put their travel bags on the ground.
He took all the supplies out of the bag and then turned the entire travel bag inside out.
In the corner of each of the three travel bags, there was a fingernail.
Yu Hanjiang picked up a black button about the size of a cap, examined it carefully for a moment, and then wrote three words on the ground with his finger: " eavesdropping device ".
Shao Qingge: "..."
Xiao Lou: "..."
Holy crap! There was an eavesdropping device in their travel bag! That means their every move these past few days has been overheard!
Yu Hanjiang took out his phone and typed: "I'm sure no one has touched my bag. Where's Professor Xiao?"
Xiao Lou typed: "Me too. I only put enough food for three days in my travel bag. Except when I'm in a guesthouse, I put the bag on the floor. Once I go out, I never leave this bag with me."
Shao Qingge typed: "How was the eavesdropping device inserted?"
Yu Hanjiang suddenly remembered something: "On the first day we came into this world, we heard him sing two songs near Central Square."
Xiao Lou also came to his senses and quickly typed: "Yes, he sang 'Glorious Years' and 'Outside the Window' at the time. None of the local residents had heard of these two songs, but most Challengers had. He could identify the Challengers in the crowd based on the audience's reaction?"
Yu Hanjiang's gaze was profound: "This kid is busking in the square; it seems it's not just about making money."
The boy had seen Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang at Shanshui B&B, and then saw them standing and listening to him sing at Central Square. The familiar song brought back memories for Xiao Lou, and the expression on Xiao Lou's face at that time must have confirmed their identities as " Challengers " for the boy.
The three of them were completely unaware of when the eavesdropping device was placed inside.
Xiao Lou said, "He should have a card that allows him to place eavesdropping devices remotely within a certain range, and he can release several at the same time. This kid's cards are really strong."
One card allows for teleportation, and the other for eavesdropping. Although neither card has any offensive capabilities, these amazing cards make the boy's ability to escape and copy homework top-notch!
Even Yu Hanjiang, a professional criminal investigator, lost track of him and was eavesdropped on by him for several days.
The three looked at each other in bewilderment.
After a moment, Shao Qingge suppressed a laugh and said, "This guy is quite like a kitten with its ears perked up, alert and agile."
Xiao Lou laughed when he recalled the scene and typed, "I guess when Captain Yu and I were carrying out a bunch of boxes with 'glass inside, handle with care' markings, he secretly put eavesdropping devices in our backpacks. When he heard that we were storing our supplies separately, he copied us and even upgraded the process by using a garbage truck to put the supplies in the warehouse."
Yu Hanjiang said, "He overheard me observing the Construction Site, and he also came to the Construction Site to take a look and found that it was a suitable hiding place."
Xiao Lou said, "We were catching a thief in the middle of the night, but the thief unexpectedly killed our teammate and escaped. Captain Yu decided to move immediately. After hearing this, he was worried that the thief would return and cause trouble for the Challengers, so he also moved immediately."
Shao Qingge couldn't help but complain, "He's copying our strategy for clearing the game."
Xiao Lou said with a smile, "As his teacher, I can't help but praise him—he is the student I've ever seen who copies homework the best. He not only applies what he's learned, but also upgrades and modifies our strategies."
Captain Yu disguised the supplies as "contains glass, handle with care," but this guy actually disguised them as garbage bags and even spilled a bunch of egg whites and juice on them, making them so smelly that no one wanted to get close.
Captain Yu hired a moving company to move resources, and he got a tricycle that he could ride away at any time to pretend to be moving garbage.
To copy homework to this extent, all I can say is—this guy is too clever.
Shao Qingge asked, " What are Captain Yu's plans? Are you going to deal with him?"
Yu Hanjiang thought for a moment and typed a line: "He was just eavesdropping and imitating our way of clearing the pass. Moreover, he knew where we stored our supplies, but he never thought of stealing our things. Obviously, he has no ill intentions towards us, so there is no need to deal with him for the time being. What do you think, Professor Xiao?"
Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou and asked for his opinion.
Xiao Lou said, "If a student cheats during an exam, I will definitely catch them and warn them. But in this world, it's too hard to survive. Being able to pass the game by copying a strategy guide is quite an achievement." Xiao Lou paused, then typed, "Besides, I'm very interested in his two cards that have eavesdropping and teleportation functions."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Since you're interested, then grab him and take a look."
The next moment, Yu Hanjiang picked up the button-sized eavesdropping device and whispered, "I misheard. It wasn't footsteps. This place is so remote, there's definitely no one here. Let's continue moving supplies and put things away properly first."
Xiao Lou cooperated and said, "Okay, CEO Shao, you stay here. Captain Yu and I will go downstairs to move things."
Shao Qingge smiled and said, "No problem."
After speaking, Yu Hanjiang winked at the two of them and placed the eavesdropping device in the corner.
Instead of going downstairs to move the boxes, they went down to the second floor and followed the passage to the far west side. Then, quietly, led by Yu Hanjiang, they climbed up to the third floor without making a sound.
Yu Hanjiang is very familiar with the interior of this building.
On the third floor, in the northeast and northwest corners, there are two rooms with the widest views, but the windows only allow you to see the surroundings and the movements downstairs, not the interior of the building.
They walked from the second-floor passageway and climbed the stairs to the third floor, the whole process almost silently.
Yu Hanjiang entered the room in the northwest corner of the third floor.
Sure enough, there were a lot of supplies inside the room, and a thin boy was hiding by the window, looking down through the crack in the window.
Clearly, the boy overheard their conversation through the eavesdropping device and assumed they...
They continued to go downstairs to move supplies. But after observing for a long time, they still didn't see anyone downstairs.
The boy was puzzled when he suddenly heard a deep, cold voice behind him—
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "Don't bother looking, we're right here."
The boy shuddered violently, his body instantly stiffening as if frozen in place.
Xiao Lou said gently, "We found the eavesdropping device you placed. Captain Yu just said it to you on purpose to lower your guard."
Shao Qingge looked at him with a half-smile: "Don't get excited. You're on the third floor now. If you jump, you might break your leg."
juvenile:"..."
Shao Qingge continued, "If your Teleportation Card allows for vertical teleportation, you can also choose to jump through the window. However, this batch of supplies will belong to us." After saying that, he opened a black garbage bag, took out a well-packaged milk, and shook it in his hand. "Not bad, it's oat milk. I love this the most."
juvenile:"..."
A bunch of liars!
What happened to going downstairs to move supplies? Why did they sneak up to the west side of the third floor to catch him?
The boy saw three tall men, each a head taller than him, and his lips trembled slightly: "What...what do you want?"
The three of them: "..."
Shouldn't we be asking you that question?