Chapter 30

Chapter 30

After leisurely watching the excitement in her cat form for a while, Tang Qiu got up from the stone bench, stretched her limbs, and went home contentedly.

Tonight's operation had successfully yielded another item, and one related to weapons at that. Tang Qiu couldn't wait any longer.

Arriving home smoothly, Tang Qiu cautiously changed clothes and finished tidying up before plopping down on the sofa to study the new item.

"Retrieve the item," Tang Qiu commanded the system.

The system interface popped up a response.

"Retrieved."

Tang Qiu eagerly opened the pouch, but after waiting several seconds, nothing appeared inside.

Tang Qiu was puzzled for two seconds, then realized that this new item was called: Schrödinger's Knife.

Tang Qiu had heard of this theory but didn't know the specifics. She only vaguely remembered a few words, like certainty and uncertainty, the dual nature of things, and the superposition of possible outcomes.

Tang Qiu had only completed junior high before the apocalypse and had little opportunity to continue studying afterward. She didn't understand it, only guessing based on those few words that the knife might be related to her thoughts.

Thinking this, Tang Qiu immediately changed her sitting posture, calmed her mind, then concentrated and silently repeated in her heart, I want a knife, I need a weapon.

A few more seconds passed, and nothing happened.

Tang Qiu's eyelids twitched. Her joy instantly turned into anger. This item was too much. Not only was there no instruction manual, but it also discriminated against those without knowledge.

Tang Qiu gritted her teeth angrily. She instinctively reached for her phone to look up Schrödinger's cat theory, but feeling the cold outline of her phone, she realized she couldn't. According to the schedule of the original Tang Qiu she was maintaining, she should be sleeping at this hour, not searching for some theory in the middle of the night.

Although such a small thing seemed harmless, Tang Qiu was always cautious. She couldn't afford to reveal any detail.

So after careful consideration, Tang Qiu simply asked the system, "How do I use this item?"

The system's answer was very brief.

"It will only appear when you truly need it."

Tang Qiu glanced over the line of text, focusing all her attention on the word 'truly'. She couldn't help but wonder in her mind, when is it truly needed?

Under what circumstances does one need a knife? Tang Qiu almost without thinking, the words 'when killing' popped into her mind.

Thinking of killing, Tang Qiu suddenly understood. She sat cross-legged on the sofa again, cleared her mind, made a gesture of holding something in her right hand, and then began to recall in her mind.

She recalled the moments when she had to counterattack while being hunted, as well as the moment a few hours ago when she discovered the weapon and knew the target intended to kill her.

Without much effort, the murderous intent arose naturally in Tang Qiu's heart. It was a desire for life, a determination to eliminate anything that threatened her survival.

Almost instantly, as soon as the murderous intent rose in Tang Qiu's heart, she felt something fill her right hand, a cold and hard touch. Without needing to look, Tang Qiu knew she had grasped the weapon.

Opening her eyes, she saw a short knife with an ink-black blade from hilt to tip. The blade was sharp, with a blood groove, and even under the light, it showed no reflection, making it excellent for concealment in the dark. Combined with its ability to disappear when not needed, it was a perfect fit for Tang Qiu.

She waved it a couple of times. Without a specific target, the murderous intent in Tang Qiu's heart quickly dissipated. As her emotions calmed, the knife in her hand vanished right before her eyes in the next second—not invisible, but gone.

The touch was gone, the weight was gone, only Tang Qiu's hand remained in the motion of holding the knife.

Tang Qiu looked at her empty right hand, and a smile uncontrollably spread across her usually expressionless face. She praised inwardly, truly a fine blade.

...

Lei Yue was woken up a little after 3 a.m. on April 9th.

Having been busy for several days and finally able to catch up on sleep, Lei Yue went to bed early from experience. So when the phone woke him up, his emotions were stable. He first checked the time, then answered.

The call was from Director Zhang of the branch's criminal investigation unit, informing him that they had received news from the Beian branch that the mysterious person they had been tracking recently had appeared again.

Lei Yue rubbed his forehead, not surprised but helpless. He asked for the address, expressed some determination to his superior, and then hung up to notify the others in his team.

By the time everyone arrived at the crime scene, dawn was almost breaking. The pre-dawn blue sky perfectly captured the team's mood—complex and heavy. However, fortunately there were no fatalities. Although everyone looked grim, they felt a little more at ease than before.

Crossing the cordon, before Lei Yue could even get a clear look at the scene, a colleague from the Beian branch approached. "Captain Lei, you're here."

Lei Yue nodded, but his eyes didn't land on the person in front of him; they were still gazing at the scene over his shoulder. He politely said, "Captain Zhang, you've worked hard. Busy at this late hour. What's the situation at the scene?"

Captain Zhang walked shoulder to shoulder with Lei Yue into the scene, explaining, "The case is somewhat complex. We arrived at 1:42 a.m. Initially we thought it was a simple kidnapping case, but through scene investigation, we found that the two victims were somewhat special. They weren't just simple victims."

Captain Zhang seemed to be speaking in riddles, leaving the group puzzled.

"Two victims?" Si Zhao noticed something off and turned to exchange a look with Xiao Wenbo.

But Lei Yue focused on another question. "How were they special?"

Captain Zhang pulled out his phone and handed it over. "Captain Lei, take a look at the photos of the victims' wounds, and you'll understand."

Lei Yue took it and carefully examined the photos. Within two minutes, he understood what Captain Zhang meant. "Captain Zhang, are you saying that the two victims had been fighting before the attack, a fight that was actually an attempt at murder, and the person who attacked them actually prevented this murder?"

"That's right." Taking back his phone, Captain Zhang nodded.

Lei Yue thought for a few seconds, then thanked Captain Zhang. "Thank you, Captain Zhang. I understand."

Captain Zhang breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Then I'll leave the rest to you. We'll withdraw now."

Watching Captain Zhang leave with his team, leaving only his own people, Si Zhao immediately approached Lei Yue and asked in confusion, "How come the mysterious person changed this time? Did they switch people again? Why beat up the intended victim too? That hasn't happened before. Could it be they've finally decided to cross the line we established?"

Si Zhao pressed her lips together, feeling heavy-hearted and somewhat regretful. Although the mysterious person wasn't exactly a comrade or friend, they did the same thing—fighting crime. She felt a sense of affinity. She really didn't want to pursue someone like that.

Compared to Si Zhao's negativity, Xiao Wenbo was much more optimistic. He chuckled and said, "Not necessarily. Since the mysterious person only targeted suspects in previous cases, maybe it's the same this time. The reason they also beat up the intended victim could be that that person has other cases on their hands?"

Xiao Wenbo was just giving an example based on experience, but who would have thought it would come true?

After thoroughly investigating both people and getting confessions fairly easily, everyone, including Lei Yue, looked at Xiao Wenbo in surprise.

"Not bad, Brother Xiao," Si Zhao gave Xiao Wenbo a hearty slap on the shoulder, joking. "You've got a gift of prophecy. Looks like from now on, before any operation, we should ask you for a blessing. Who knows, it might turn bad luck into good luck."

Xiao Wenbo himself was very surprised, but he was good at taking jokes. He said cheerfully, "Sure, but blessing or not, whether it works is another matter. Everyone should still be careful."

"I know, it's just a psychological effect." Si Zhao grinned and high-fived Xiao Wenbo.

After chatting for a while, Lei Yue's expression turned slightly serious as he asked everyone, "Regarding the search for the cat earlier, what progress have you all made?"

Si Zhao was the first to speak, somewhat troubled. "We've searched everywhere we could think of. We found quite a few black-and-white tabby cats that look similar at first glance, but when checked carefully against the photos, the details don't quite line up. In short, no success."

Lei Yue looked at Xiao Wenbo. "What about you, Brother Xiao?"

Xiao Wenbo grew a bit more serious and said, "I tried to trace the cat's movement patterns through surveillance footage. I also went to the area and interviewed people. Many claimed to have seen a similar cat, or the actual one, but I couldn't find it at all."

Lei Yue looked at Ji Gan. Ji Gan didn't say much; he just shook his head slightly to indicate he'd found nothing either.

Lei Yue said casually, "Although we haven't found the cat yet, judging from this case, our investigation is headed in the right direction." Si Zhao often felt it was absurd, but after several cases, besides the two mysterious individuals, this cat was indeed the only lead and the biggest break. Everyone had analyzed many times that this cat should be the pet of one of the two mysterious figures. As long as they found the cat's exact activity range or frequent appearance locations, they would be close to reaching the mysterious figure.

Although they had discussed it countless times, mentioning that rather mysterious cat made them all chime in again, until Lei Yue's phone rang.

He answered and spoke a few words, then hung up and said with some excitement, "It's the traffic police. The gray van we've been looking for has been found."

Si Zhao perked up immediately and asked, "Where is it?"

Lei Yue said, "It's being held at the traffic police station. The driver fled to avoid a DUI checkpoint, and they've had it for two days but can't contact the owner."

Xiao Wenbo, with his experience, realized, "Fake license plates."

Lei Yue said, "Right, the original owner is serving time, so naturally he can't be reached."

"These cunning criminals," Ji Gan muttered.

With this new clue, everyone stood up one after another, walked out, and soon, led by the traffic police, found the location where the van was abandoned.

Looking at the large park in front of them, which covered a significant area, had many exits, and a complicated layout, everyone except Ji Gan smiled.

"What a familiar place," Si Zhao said, shielding the sun with the back of her hand and gazing into the distance.

Lei Yue looked up and scanned for surveillance cameras. Ji Gan, being sharp, immediately said, "I'll go contact the park management now and get a copy of the surveillance footage."

Ji Gan ran off with an auxiliary officer, and the remaining people followed the traffic police into the park.

As they walked, the leading traffic police officer recalled, "It was around the night of the 8th, early morning of the 9th, about 2:00 to 3:00 AM, when we chased the person who abandoned the car to this spot."

Hearing this time, Si Zhao exchanged a knowing glance with Xiao Wenbo. An hour or so after this time was when they had received the call and arrived at the crime scene.

The traffic police continued, "The person who fled was covered up tightly. Even though it's getting warm, they were still wearing a jacket. Based on body type, it was likely a woman. She ran very fast and was clearly familiar with this park. Without any hesitation, she darted into the woods just inside the park entrance. Several of us chased her for over ten minutes but couldn't catch up."

Talking, they arrived at the entrance where the traffic police had chased the person into the woods that day.

The group didn't go in directly. Except for the traffic police, the others first skillfully put on gloves and booties, then carefully stepped near the remaining footprints, crouching down to study them.

After looking for a while, Lei Yue stood up without surprise and said, "The footprints have been disturbed. Let's follow the trail and see if we can find any useful ones."

He said that, but neither Lei Yue, Si Zhao, nor Xiao Wenbo had much confidence. After all, so far, the mysterious person hadn't left any useful clues—oh, except for that cat.

Following the messy footprints for nearly half an hour, as expected, they found nothing.

Lei Yue stood up, clapped his hands, and suddenly asked the traffic police nearby, "When you were looking for the person who abandoned the car that day, did you see a cat?"

"A cat?" The traffic police officer looked puzzled, thought carefully for a moment, and shook his head. "It was too dark that night, and in the woods, there was no light, not even moonlight. Our flashlights had limited range. There might have been a cat, but I really didn't see one. However, I can ask my colleagues when I get back; if anyone saw it, I'll contact you."

Lei Yue politely thanked him.

With no useful clues found at the scene, the group returned the same way, pinning their hopes on the van.

On the way back to the police station, Si Zhao said, "Based on the available clues, the mysterious person is similar to the previous cases—following the victim, or rather, the person who is both victim and suspect—to the crime scene. But this time, the crime scene is in the middle of nowhere. From the fact that the mysterious person drove away the suspect's van, it seems she didn't use her own transportation. So how did she get there? Could she have hidden in the van of the person who is both victim and suspect? But how could a person that size hide? Like in the movies, clinging to the undercarriage? Over such a long distance, even Superman would have a hard time holding on."

Lei Yue said thoughtfully, "It's hard for a person to hide, but a cat makes it easy."

Si Zhao understood and widened her eyes in surprise. "A cat? Not that I'm downplaying cats, but animals are inherently uncontrollable. How can the mysterious person be sure the cat won't move or meow while hiding in the car?"

Xiao Wenbo didn't share Si Zhao's doubt. He said, somewhat enlightened, "A person really can't, but a cat makes it simple."

Si Zhao turned to Xiao Wenbo in disbelief. "How is a cat simple?"

Xiao Wenbo smiled and said, "Xiao Zhao, don't be so absolute. Pigeons can be trained to carry messages, so why can't cats be trained to lurk? Besides, it's not like we're asking the cat to do something difficult—just to follow and hide in the person's car to reach the destination."

Si Zhao wrinkled her nose, reluctantly convinced by Xiao Wenbo, but still looking a bit as if she had her worldview shaken. She really couldn't imagine that one day a cat would be involved in a case, in such a critical role.

Lei Yue said, "This explains why the same cat has been seen in the surveillance footage of every recent case. Perhaps human tracking is too risky—whether we discover it or the tracked person notices—but a cat makes it much easier. Who would suspect a common cat of tracking them? For the mysterious person, aside from the time-consuming process of training the cat, once trained, it's simple. Finally, just a small tracker, and the cat can appear at the crime scene without anyone knowing."

Si Zhao nodded involuntarily as she listened.

Xiao Wenbo agreed, "As for whether our speculation is correct, we just need to go back and check the surveillance footage of that person named Li Jianzhang, who is both victim and suspect, from his recent trips. If we find the same cat appearing, we'll know."