Chapter 48: Probing

The viewers in the Live Stream Room had even more complex feelings about this than the two bewildered girls.

Most of them had tuned in today hoping to see a notorious villain fully expose his ugly side, or be brought to justice, to achieve the closure that reality had failed to provide. They never expected to witness a silent, cruel punishment instead.

What did it feel like to be isolated by the entire world? There was none of the tragic heroism of a superhero, only sheer sorrow.

That sense of helplessness was like wandering through high mountains where the air was thin, looking around to find absolutely no one. It was amid that very despair that Fan Huai embarked on a path of endless flight.

His voice would never be heard by anyone again. The shackles of justice tightly sealed his mouth and imprisoned his life.

Nearly half a year had passed since Fan Huai completely vanished. Many of them had participated in that massive crusade against him, and even to this day, they still did not know the truth. If they had not joined this live stream, they might have almost forgotten that, oh, this was someone they had once hated so passionately, a hatred that had turned them vicious and cruel.

“When the media was denouncing the authorities back then, I also felt the police announcements sounded incredibly brainless, lacking even a shred of sincerity. Thinking about it now, I think our emotions were just too volatile. The frenzied atmosphere online turned questioning and venting into a form of political correctness, driving many people’s thoughts toward pessimism and extremes. 【Tears】 So I was wrong again, wasn’t I?”

“I was too angry to follow up on it later. Was this case actually like this? 【Dazed】 But I swallowed so much brainwashing material back then. It felt so logical and well-supported, with no chance of a twist, which is why I joined the fray.”

“Did Sanyao tweak and polish the storyline related to Fan Huai, or was he really such a tragic figure? 【Web Link】 I’ve brought over all the police announcements, see for yourselves.”

“Thinking about it, that makes sense. Because of Fan Huai, the ancestors of the officer in charge of this case were cursed to high heaven. How could they possibly cover for him?”

“A three-minute silence, but I’ll do it again next time: the mindset of modern netizens. 【Shrug】”

·

The police dragnet had begun closing in on the commercial street in an orderly fashion, yet Qiong Cang seemed to have forgotten her situation, continuing to wander aimlessly from shop to shop.

During this time, she went to a key shop in a small alley to buy a set of model car keys, bought a dozen strange items at a hardware store, and picked up an umbrella for herself at an accessory shop, leaving the viewers completely unable to guess what she was thinking.

Watching the beat officers draw closer to Qiong Cang’s position while she strolled through the mall with her hands in her pockets, the netizens could hardly contain their anxiety. They practically wanted to smack her behind to get her moving.

This was an escape game, wasn’t it? Not some playground game.

Perhaps the way geniuses approached a problem was just different from ordinary people, and they really couldn’t wrap their heads around it.

After browsing around in a superficial manner for a while, Qiong Cang finally stopped when she reached a coffee shop at the end of the commercial street.

The shop did not seem to be doing very well. Its location was somewhat out of the way, and it faced stiff competition from several nearby milk tea shops and an internet cafe, leaving it with very few customers.

Qiong Cang stood outside the glass window for a moment, observing who knew what. When her gaze landed on a certain spot, a faint smile appeared on her face, and she walked inside with steady steps.

She chose a window seat, placed her bag on the empty chair beside her, pulled out a book, and began flipping through it with her legs crossed, looking as if she were enjoying a leisurely afternoon.

Sitting in front of Qiong Cang was a young man. He was not very old, likely still a student, carrying a black backpack with several shopping bags resting beside it. He had probably come to the cafe to use the free Wi-Fi after shopping nearby.

His profile was sharp, and he was actually quite good-looking. However, because he did not care much for his appearance, he wore an unflattering hairstyle. Combined with long, unwashed bangs, he looked rather disheveled, making it easy to overlook his features.

Qiong Cang withdrew her gaze and turned a page of her book.

The light filtering in from the window, combined with the bright lighting inside the shop, made her stand out exceptionally on this gloomy, overcast day.

The netizens in the comment section were screaming at her to run. The police had already begun searching the commercial street and would soon reach the coffee shop. Qiong Cang was wearing such conspicuous traditional clothing and sitting right by the window; she was bound to attract their attention. It was practically suicide.

Unfortunately, Qiong Cang could not see their warnings, completely ignoring the approaching danger.

After a short while, Qiong Cang stood up, walked over, and tapped the young man on the shoulder.

The young man took off his headphones, startled to see her. “Can I help you?” he asked.

Qiong Cang lifted her bag slightly. “Hi, I need to use the restroom. Could you watch my things for a moment?”

The young man had no suspicions and readily agreed. “Sure.”

Qiong Cang smiled. “Thanks.”

Qiong Cang went out alone. About six or seven minutes later, she returned to the coffee shop, now holding two drinks.

“Thanks again,” she said.

Qiong Cang thanked him once more and handed him the cup in her left hand.

“Oh, no need,” the young man quickly declined. “I just kept an eye on your bag. No one really came in anyway.”

Qiong Cang said, “It was a limited-time buy-one-get-one-free promotion. I saw it and bought them. If you don’t take it, I won’t be able to finish both anyway.”

The young man hesitated for a moment before accepting the drink.

Qiong Cang naturally sat down across from him and struck up a conversation.

“Are you a student too, man? What are you doing here all by yourself?”

“What about you?” the young man asked. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“Just buying some things. I didn’t feel like changing after my club activities, so I came straight here,” Qiong Cang said with a knowing smile. “Besides, girls like this look, don’t they?”

The young man burst out laughing. He was about to tease her back, but his smile gradually distorted, taking on a hint of pain.

He grimaced, sucking in a sharp breath. “My stomach hurts a bit.”

“Huh?” Qiong Cang frowned with concern, pulling a pack of tissues from her bag. “Do you need to use the restroom? Is it because you have a weak stomach and drank something cold?”

The young man took the tissues, enduring waves of pain. “Probably. It’s an old issue.”

Qiong Cang said apologetically, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bought you a cold drink.”

“No, no, it’s not your fault.”

The young man stood up to go to the restroom, but Qiong Cang spoke first. “The restroom in the cafe is for staff only, and they don’t like letting customers use it. I just went to the KFC down the street. If you’re feeling bad, you should head over there quickly. I’ll watch your bag for you.”

Without thinking twice, the young man nodded. “Okay, thanks.”

Watching the young man hurry away, Qiong Cang let out a sigh of regret.

Never drink anything given to you by a stranger. He’s a grown man, yet he still hasn’t learned this lesson.

Qiong Cang stood up and moved to the seat opposite her.

The way average guys hid their things was incredibly easy to figure out. They would put IDs, transit cards, and similar documents in the most easily accessible places.

With a casual search, Qiong Cang found several electronic cards in the side pocket of the backpack. Using her long sleeves as cover, she quickly slipped his ID card and student ID into her own bag.

After stealing his identification, Qiong Cang pulled out a pen and paper and left a note on the table. It said she had to leave early due to an urgent matter and had left his things at the front desk.

She pinned the note under a cup in the middle of the table, then picked up her bags and walked to the front desk. After leaving a few instructions with the waiter, she departed.

Second-generation ID cards¹ could still be used even after they were lost, as their chips remained undamaged. Although the police could track whether a card had been reported lost, the process was complicated, so they usually didn’t bother.

Nowadays, most ID card usage was linked to fingerprint or facial recognition, making someone else’s card practically useless. However, Qiong Cang happened to need one, so she had to borrow it temporarily.

·

Qiong Cang walked out of the cafe and strode in the direction leading away from the commercial street.

If she could see the bullet comments², she would find the screen filled with shouts like “Danger ahead!”, “Don’t go forward!”, and “The game is about to end!”

Several people in police uniforms were stationed at the intersection, conducting detailed inspections of the pedestrians.

Unsurprisingly, Qiong Cang ran right into them.

The moment Qiong Cang appeared, the eyes of two nearby young officers swept over to her. There wasn’t much suspicion in their gaze; they were simply drawn to her unusual attire.

This batch of new Players was not professional, but they respected professionalism. They strictly followed Zhang Wuping’s instructions, striving to ensure the grassroots screening was airtight. As long as someone was of a similar height, they would step forward to verify their identity. They no longer limited themselves by age or build; after all, they had heard plenty about the legendary power of domestic makeup techniques³. They didn’t even let people of a different gender slip by.

This was the second time Qiong Cang had run head-on into the police. She was mentally prepared, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly. Turning around now would look too suspicious, so she simply walked to the intersection and stopped, looking up at the traffic light, reacting just like any other pedestrian on the street.

An officer took off his cap and walked over to her.

“Hello, do you have your ID card with you?”

Qiong Cang feigned a touch of surprise, nodded cooperatively, and pulled the ID card from her pocket to hand it over.

She had wandered around for so long specifically to choose that person. The two of them were at least thirty percent similar, which should be enough to fool them.

The officer took the card and looked at it closely. The person in the photo had his hair slicked back, exuding a strong otaku vibe, which was a far cry from the radiant person standing before him.

The young officer screamed “Holy crap!” in his mind. Witnessing such a drastic before-and-after makeup transformation in person made him almost question reality. However, he still remembered his duty. He flipped the card back and forth, shifting his gaze inch by inch across Qiong Cang’s face.

He felt a strange sense of familiarity with the person in front of him, but he couldn’t quite place it. Finally, he asked tentatively, “This doesn’t look much like you. Is this really you?”

Although he asked, he still didn’t have many doubts.

In the subconscious of most people, fugitives were down-and-out and gloomy, wishing for nothing more than to hide in the crowd. Even if they had to live like rats in the street, avoided by everyone, they would never deliberately stand out or act so flamboyantly.

Qiong Cang leaned her head closer, looking at the photo. “What do you mean it doesn’t look like me? This is clearly me. The photo was taken three years ago. Who didn’t look like this in high school? People definitely change in college.”

The officer thought to himself that he certainly hadn’t changed; no matter how many years passed, he was still the same youth he had always been.

He held the ID card next to Qiong Cang’s face to compare them up close.

Qiong Cang felt uncomfortable under his intense stare. She wrinkled her nose and pulled back slightly.

If he were a professional officer with years of experience, he would have been able to quickly spot the differences even from a blurry photo. But the Player in front of her was not.

Even if most people didn’t have severe face blindness, they were not particularly sensitive to facial features. That was why they often couldn’t tell one influencer face from another.

After staring at the ID card for so long, the officer felt like he was hallucinating, finding that the two faces actually overlapped to a large extent.

“Your case is… pretty complicated,” the officer said uncertainly. “To say it looks like you would be lying to myself. But to say it doesn’t, it actually does look a bit like you. The facial contours are the same. The mouth is quite similar, too. The eyes are completely blurry in the photo, and it’s hard to tell about the nose without a profile shot.”

“That’s just what makeup does! What do you mean ‘looks like’? This is me!” Qiong Cang said, her voice rising as she put on a horrified expression. “You’re not going to make me remove my makeup right here, are you? That’s crossing the line, buddy. Don’t even think about it.”

A passerby who overheard laughed and spoke up for her. “Some cosplay makeup is quite exaggerated, otherwise the photos won’t turn out well.”

“ID photos always look terrible anyway. Is there really a need to check so strictly?”

“There are suddenly so many police around here. Did something happen?”

With a helpless expression, Qiong Cang pulled out her student ID and said, “It really is me. I’m a student at C University, majoring in chemical engineering. Do you want me to explain the development technology of fluidized bed reactors to you?”

Hearing her casual suggestion, the officer’s eyes lit up. It made a lot of sense. Ning Dongdong had been in prison since he was sixteen. Let alone going to university, he hadn’t even graduated from high school. He probably didn’t even know what a fluidized bed reactor was.

Even if the Player playing the role knew the answer, using knowledge far beyond the character’s level to escape capture would still count as OOC.

“Go ahead and explain it, then.”

Qiong Cang laughed along with the onlookers. She briefly explained the relevant concepts, including the system’s advantages and disadvantages.

The young officer was not in a related field and found himself completely lost, but the technical jargon sounded impressive enough. He handed the ID back to Qiong Cang and said, “Alright, you’re good to go.”

Qiong Cang waved. “Thanks, officer.”

Just as the traffic light turned green, Qiong Cang smoothed her long, hanging sleeves and walked across the street, her clothes fluttering in the breeze.

Once she was out of sight, the officer tapped his earpiece and boasted to his colleagues, “Guys, I just figured out a quick and effective way to spot an academic slacker⁴!”

The others chimed in, discussing the idea before ultimately finding themselves impressed by their colleague’s quick wit.

“Damn, that actually makes sense!”

“Ning Dongdong only went as far as his freshman year of high school, right? After all these years, he’s probably forgotten everything. Can we test suspects with college entrance exam questions?”

“Don’t they offer classes in prison? High school material might not be a safe bet. We should stick to college majors.”

“Wait, normal people can tell just by looking. How face-blind are you guys that you have to rely on academic tests? Are you trying to drive all the slackers into a corner?”

Over the comms, He Jueyun spoke up, sounding rather puzzled. “Who told you Ning Dongdong was a bad student?”

Everyone: “…Huh?”

“How could he not be? He’s in prison.”

He Jueyun fell silent for a long moment before saying, “He has a very high IQ. He’s already self-studied several college courses and even had a dedicated tutor.”

Zhang Wuping chimed in as well. “The Player playing Ning Dongdong has incredible mental fortitude. Do not let your guard down, everyone!”

The officers quickly voiced their agreement and went back to their tasks.

Translator’s Notes