Chapter 33 Your Clues Successfully Helped the Police Stop a…

Chapter 33 You Successfully Provided Clues to Help the Police Prevent a...

Under Guan Xia and Pang Le's pretty obvious staring, the man quickly stuffed the remaining food and water messily into the trunk, immediately jumped into the driver's seat, and took off.

Pang Le got nervous right away, glanced back at the gas that wasn't done pumping yet, and asked Guan Xia, "Did you remember the license plate number and the man's appearance just now?"

Guan Xia wasn't confident in her own memory but trusted the system interface completely. She nodded and said, "Don't worry, if there's really a problem, he definitely won't get away."

Only then did Pang Le let out a sigh of relief, muttering to herself, "This is so weird. We just got off the high-speed train less than two hours ago. But that guy was super obvious. Look, it's not just us—others thought something was up too."

Guan Xia looked up and saw two other car owners who were also refueling, their expressions suspicious as they watched the direction the man had driven off. Probably thinking they were overthinking it, they looked away after a few seconds and started shooting the breeze with their companions.

"But honestly, if it weren't for the two cases we experienced before," Pang Le said, "I might have thought I was overthinking it too."

After waiting a bit longer, the refueling was finally almost done. Pang Le rushed to pay, returned just as it finished, quickly got in the car, drove out of the gas station, and pressed urgently as soon as they passed the barrier, "Hurry, call now! If there's really a problem, don't let that man get away."

Guan Xia's right eye was still twitching. Almost as soon as Pang Le spoke, she had her phone out and swiftly called Xu Nian.

Xu Nian answered as quickly as ever, cutting right to the chase: "Guan Xia, did you discover something?"

As the last word left Xu Nian's mouth, the system interface indeed came up.

You have been questioned by the police. You suddenly remember that at 1:22 PM on the afternoon of May 14th, you encountered a middle-aged man at a gas station who behaved suspiciously and looked tense. You noticed a few long black hairs caught in the zipper of the suitcase in his trunk. This suitcase was large enough to fit a petite adult woman. You keenly sensed something wrong with this suitcase and decided to inform the police.

The appearance of the system interface confirmed Guan Xia's intuition, letting her relax a little. However, after reading all the text, her stomach dropped, especially at the words "adult woman."

Not stopping to think more, Guan Xia said in a rush: "Xu Nian, I'm in Qu Chun City. I just got off the high-speed train and saw a suspicious person. He bought a large amount of instant food and water at a gas station convenience store, and there's a roughly 32-inch suitcase in the trunk with a few long black hairs tangled in the zipper."

Guan Xia only told him what she saw, without adding any other inferences.

Hearing the words "a few long black hairs," Pang Le shot Guan Xia a strange look.

Xu Nian's response was straightforward: "I'll contact my classmate in the Qu Chun City Criminal Investigation Team now. Make sure your phone stays on."

Guan Xia said okay and hung up. Within two minutes, an unfamiliar number called.

It was a slightly husky, very steady female voice: "Hello, Guan Xia, my name is Shao Ying. I'm the deputy captain of the 3rd Squad of the Eastern Ning District Criminal Investigation Department in Qu Chun City. Xu Nian filled me in on the basic situation. Do you remember the license plate number? Can you provide the direction his vehicle was heading?"

The system interface froze the image and zoomed in on the scene Guan Xia had just witnessed in response to Shao Ying's questions. Guan Xia immediately replied, "The license plate number is NF662. After leaving the gas station, he drove onto..."

Guan Xia paused, glanced at the car's navigation, and continued, "He drove onto Jianshe Road, heading east from the west."

Shao Ying said thank you and hung up.

Guan Xia put her phone away, feeling like a weight was lifted, and slumped in her seat.

Pang Le, who had also been somewhat tense, relaxed upon seeing this and glanced at Guan Xia. "A few long black hairs—you could see that from such a distance? Your eyes must have mutated."

Guan Xia dodged: "Maybe I'm just sensitive to colors. After all, I study art."

Pang Le didn't doubt it: "That makes sense. It's like how martial artists might seem no different from ordinary folks, but our tendons and bones are definitely stronger."

Guan Xia nodded, agreeing that Pang Le was right, but she couldn't help thinking about the system's hint of an "adult woman."

Although the system seemed kinda dumb at times, its hints were never random. If it hinted at this, it was highly likely that there really was an adult woman stuffed inside—she just didn't know whether she was dead or alive.

Pang Le, driving while glancing at Guan Xia's expression, couldn't help asking, "What are you thinking about?"

Guan Xia hesitated: "Don't you think that suitcase could just fit a petite person? And those few long black hairs tangled in the zipper..."

Pang Le immediately understood: "You suspect there's a woman in that suitcase? Maybe even alive?"

"Whether she's alive or not, I don't know," Guan Xia said, "but it's almost certainly a woman."

Pang Le cursed again: "Damn, I kind of regret it now. We should've restrained him right at the gas station. If she's stuffed in a suitcase without struggling, even if she's not dead, she's definitely injured. It's been so long already..."

Guan Xia checked her phone. It had been about fifteen minutes since the man drove away. Even with the 40 km/h speed limit on Jianshe Road, he would have covered at least ten kilometers by now.

Guan Xia didn't regret it, though. She knew how passive the system was. Unless a police officer was with them, even if time reversed, without the system interface triggering, the two of them would make the same choice again.

But with this analysis, her recently relaxed heart tightened again.

Pang Le began studying the navigation while driving, constantly zooming in and out and swiping across the screen, seemingly researching the possible directions the man could have taken.

However, despite her research, Pang Le ultimately knew her limits and didn't change their route, still following the navigation to the X restaurant she had booked based on her earlier plans.

But there was good news too. As soon as the car parked and before Guan Xia even unbuckled her seatbelt, Shao Ying's phone rang.

Hearing the ringtone, both Pang Le and Guan Xia's eyes lit up.

Guan Xia quickly answered, hearing Shao Ying say: "We've apprehended the man and rescued the person in the suitcase. They've been sent to the hospital and still have vital signs."

Guan Xia felt relieved but also tense: "Are the injuries severe?"

Shao Ying was concise: "In a state of shock. I'll call you again after the rescue is over."

"Okay, okay. Thank you, Captain Shao." After hanging up, Guan Xia briefly updated Pang Le on the situation.

Pang Le cursed: "That bastard. I hope that woman will be okay."

Guan Xia prayed too.

The two sat in the car for a few more minutes before getting out to eat.

The system settlement finally arrived, albeit belatedly.

You successfully provided clues to help the police prevent a homicide. Reward obtained: One LowProfile Aura charge.

Charging...

Charge successful.

Current LowProfile Aura intensity: 100%.

Guan Xia was both expectedly and unexpectedly surprised. It seemed she had figured out another function of the system: not only could solving cases charge the aura, but saving victims and preventing homicides could too. What she couldn't figure out was why discovering a wanted criminal's whereabouts and helping the police capture them didn't count. Was this system being kinda cheap?

Guan Xia complained to herself as she followed Pang Le to an empty table and sat down.

This was a specialty hot pot restaurant. The place was large, with over a dozen tables simply decorated and not looking too clean. Yet, even past meal hours, it was surprisingly crowded, with only a few tables empty.

Pang Le pulled out a wet nap, wiping the table as she said, "I spent days checking food recommendations and searched reviews of this place on several platforms. There were relatively few negative reviews. Both tourists and locals rave about this restaurant, so I booked it."

Pang Le glanced around but wasn't bothered by it. After all, her life had only improved in recent years. In the past, she could only swing coming to a place like this once a year.

After selecting a bunch of dishes she liked, Pang Le got out the plastic utensils for both of them and began casually checking the place out.

Guan Xia knew exactly what she was thinking and couldn't help giving Pang Le a nudge: "Act normal. What are the odds? We just dealt with one, and now another right after?"

Pang Le whispered: "You never know. Although Qu Chun City isn't a big city, its tourism industry is booming. Don't crime shows always say places with all kinds of people are where anything can happen?"

Guan Xia really felt Pang Le was a bit obsessed; she hadn't been normal since getting on the high-speed train, and the man at the gas station had only made it worse.

Guan Xia was somewhat speechless and couldn’t be bothered to argue further. She asked a server for a pot of water to make tea for both of them.

After just a few sips, Pang Le suddenly shot Guan Xia a look and whispered, "Look over there, the table diagonally behind us to the right."

Guan Xia’s heart sank, thinking to herself, no way it was actually such a coincidence. She cautiously glanced in the direction Pang Le indicated.

Unlike Pang Le, who was being so obvious, Guan Xia was very careful, pretending to glance around casually multiple times before she noticed something unusual.

At the table diagonally behind them to the right sat four people. Although they were eating, drinking, and chatting lazily, one of them kept occasionally glancing at the next table, as if observing something.

Guan Xia thought it didn’t look like wanted criminals but more like a scene from a crime drama where police are tracking suspects.

Realizing this, Guan Xia quickly nudged Pang Le and said, "Stop looking, be careful not to raise suspicion."

Pang Le toned down her slightly excited emotions and didn’t dare to look around anymore. Speaking at a normal volume again, she said, "After eating, let’s go to the temple to pray. My plan was to go to the food street in the evening. There’s also some newly opened historic district nearby—I heard it’s very lively and really photogenic. Want to go check it out after we eat?"

Guan Xia nodded indifferently, "Sure, I’m just along for the ride. You make the arrangements."

Pang Le opened her travel plans and said, "The hotel I booked is near the food street. After we come down from the mountain, we’ll check in, rest at the hotel for a bit, then go out for dinner and stroll around the ancient city to walk it off. Perfect."

Guan Xia also thought this plan was very reasonable. The two chatted while waiting for their food, but a few minutes later, when the diners being observed by the four people got up to pay, they both fell silent simultaneously.

It was a short man who looked to be in his forties or fifties. As he stood up and walked to the counter to pay, the four people who seemed like police also stood up. The moment the man finished paying and exited the restaurant, all four immediately tackled him to the ground.

The sound of him hitting the ground hard made even Guan Xia wince in sympathy, but Pang Le watched with shining eyes, craning her neck to watch until the four escorted the man away. Satisfied, she said, "That was so thrilling! It’s like a crime drama come to life. Honestly, going out with you really doubles the surprises. Even though we haven’t gone up the mountain yet, the purpose of this trip is already accomplished."

Compared to Pang Le’s excitement, Guan Xia was over it. This test trip had indeed been very eventful. Although they weren’t major cases and ended quickly—with one of them just being bystanders—the frequency was already bordering on absurd.

Guan Xia was even starting to worry whether the frequency of cases like the one in Yongquan City would also increase in the future.

She had a chilling feeling that she might soon be surrounded by criminals.