Chapter 126: Sentinel & Guide (III)

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Chapter 126: Sentinel & Guide (III)

Yonis stared at the surveillance footage for a long time. The figure appeared on-screen for only a little over ten seconds in total—getting into the car, jumping out, and fleeing. He wore a hooded tracksuit that completely concealed his face, so all Yonis could determine was that he stood around 178 centimeters tall and was probably fairly young. Otherwise, he could not have possessed such agility and reflexes.

Just then, an officer knocked and entered. After saluting, he began reporting the results of the investigation into the mall hostage incident.

“We found a total of fifty high-explosive bombs throughout the mall. There’s no way that many could have been installed in only a day or two, so we focused our investigation on the mall’s staff and eventually narrowed it down to these three people.”

Images and identification records for three people appeared on the virtual screen in front of Yonis. One had used a temporary ID card, while the other two had used forged identities.

Yonis’s gaze lingered briefly on the image of the red-haired man before he dismissed the possibility in his heart. The guide he had glimpsed at the mall had also been a redhead, but Yonis could not believe that his guide would be this gloomy-looking man.

He glanced instinctively at the name: “Seir.” But since the identity was fake, the name itself had little investigative value.

“After the hostage incident, all three disappeared. The Head of State has issued a Class-A wanted notice, so I believe we’ll have good news before long.”

Yonis considered this for a moment. “Those terrorists kept the mall sealed off for three or four hours. They had already achieved their goals of delaying us and creating panic. Why did they keep waiting instead of detonating the bombs?”

“Maybe we happened to move in at exactly the right time?”

Yonis glanced at him. “They planned a terrorist attack on a scale that would shock the world, only to fail completely because they miscalculated the timing?”

His gaze returned to the three people on the screen. “If one of them was the inside operative, then that person must have still been carrying a detonator at the time. The question is why he chose not to use it.”

The officer’s expression changed. “If that’s true, then…”

Once the terrorists had been subdued, many people had lowered their guard. If the bombs had been detonated at that moment, the casualty count would undoubtedly have doubled.

At the thought, a chill ran down the officer’s spine. Suicide attacks like this were the most troublesome because there was virtually no way to predict them in advance and stop them in time. This incident had indeed been resolved far too easily. If the terrorists had truly possessed no backup plan, they should have detonated the bombs an hour or two earlier.

Just then, the guard captain responsible for investigating the previous night’s sniper attack arrived to report on his progress.

The officer had been about to leave when the guard captain stopped him. “Captain Avery, I think you should stay.”

Avery gave him a puzzled look, then, after receiving a signal from Yonis, silently remained standing to one side.

“Based on the traces left at the scene, our preliminary conclusion is that the people who attacked the mysterious passenger belonged to the same group responsible for the mall hostage incident a few days ago.” The guard captain’s very first sentence startled both Yonis and Avery.

He continued, “The weapon models and ammunition composition are extremely similar. Their methods were ruthless and their movements efficient, leaving very few useful clues for us to track.”

“What about the passenger’s identity?” Yonis asked.

The guard captain brought up several files as he explained, “We extracted fingerprints from inside the vehicle, but they didn’t lead to any traceable record of the passenger’s daily life. We believe this person has deliberately concealed his movements for years and rarely uses devices or services that require fingerprint verification.”

Yonis frowned but said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

“However…” The guard captain pulled up another file. “We did find information on the owner of those fingerprints in a hospital medical report from ten years ago.”

“A medical report from ten years ago?”

“Yes.” The guard captain placed the report on the screen, anger written across his face. “The patient was a ten-year-old boy named Zeder. He had been brutally beaten by his biological father and was barely breathing by the time he arrived at the hospital. Emergency treatment was the only reason he survived. During treatment, the doctors discovered that in addition to the fresh injuries, the boy had numerous old wounds. It was obvious that he had been suffering long-term abuse. The hospital preserved the evidence, filed a complaint with the Child Protection Association, and the boy’s father was sent to prison.”

Yonis stared at the horrifying injuries covering the boy in the photograph, his fists slowly tightening. “Our country has strict laws protecting minors. How could a child endure abuse for so long without anyone intervening?”

The guard captain replied, “Because that animal of a father never took him to a hospital after beating him. The only reason there was any official record this time was because he nearly beat the child to death.”

“Bastard!” Avery, who had remained silent until then, could not help cursing aloud.

Yonis’s expression was equally grim. “What happened to the boy afterward?”

“After the complaint was upheld, the boy was placed in a children’s home and lived there until he was fifteen. Then he disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Yonis frowned.

The guard captain sighed. “His father was released when the boy was fourteen. I suspect he eventually left the children’s home to escape him and began living under an assumed identity. This is the only fingerprint record I’ve been able to find.”

He had disappeared at fifteen and was only in his early twenties now. Six or seven years of wandering from place to place, constantly living in fear—how had he survived?

An inexplicable mixture of heartache and anger rose within Yonis. Had that man really grown up in such a twisted environment? He was a guide. He should have lived a life free from material worry, enjoying treatment comparable to the nobility. Instead, he could only hide in the shadows and remain constantly on guard against persecution.

“Where is his father now?” Yonis asked without expression, faint murderous intent radiating from him.

“Two years ago, he fell deeply into debt and had both legs hacked off. He died not long afterward.”

“Serves him right!” Avery snorted.

“Keep searching for him,” Yonis ordered. “I suspect he may possess information that could harm those terrorists. That would explain why they tried to kill him.”

The guard captain looked toward Yonis solemnly. “I’m afraid we’ll need your assistance, Sir. Zeder has hidden himself too thoroughly. We’ll need your Class-A clearance to access the National Information Center’s fingerprint database.”

The fingerprint database was linked to every person’s identity card. Normally, there was no need to consult the National Information Center when tracing someone. Modern life, entertainment, and employment all relied heavily on fingerprint verification, making it nearly impossible to erase one’s public activity unless one stayed far away from advanced technology.

Yet Zeder had managed exactly that.

He had probably been living in near-total isolation, making purchases only with anonymous prepaid cards and avoiding virtually all social activity.

In the highly technologically advanced nation of Ta, such a lifestyle was almost unimaginably dull and primitive.

Of course, a forged identity could fool the system temporarily, but security networks periodically scanned and verified people’s identities. If someone’s fingerprints failed to match their registered identity, the discrepancy would quickly be discovered.

The false identity Shang Ke had created using his hacking skills only worked with a low-level ID card. People holding such cards could apply only for the most ordinary jobs and were ineligible for most benefits or protections. In exchange, naturally, they were also subject to far less stringent monitoring.

Even so, despite being attached to only a low-level ID card, his fingerprint data would still have been entered into the National Information Center.

“Give me three days.” Yonis agreed without hesitation. Accessing information from the National Information Center required Class-A clearance or higher as well as formal review. Three days was already the fastest possible turnaround.

Three days later, Shang Ke’s current identity was finally uncovered. He had used his real name, Shang Ke, and listed his age as twenty-two. The photograph showed his appearance after disguising himself. Although he looked very different, Yonis and the others still recognized him as one of the three mall employees who had disappeared after the hostage incident.

“If our theory is correct, then it makes perfect sense that the terrorists would try to assassinate him,” Avery said gravely. “He abandoned the plan at the last moment. To the organization, that amounts to betrayal.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions yet.” Yonis stared at the red-haired man on the screen, his brows tightly furrowed. He could not tell whether what he felt was disappointment or simple dejection, but his enthusiasm for continuing the search suddenly faded. “Find him first. We’ll talk after that.”

Once Shang Ke’s identity was exposed, the Anti-Government Alliance received the information as well. From then on, he could no longer look for work, go to a hospital, or casually expose his face in public. He had only a little over a hundred thousand points remaining on his anonymous shopping cards; even living as frugally as possible, they would not last him three months.

He stayed hidden every day, living like a spy and maintaining a state of high alert twenty-four hours a day.

On one side was the Class-A wanted notice issued by the government. On the other was the Anti-Government Alliance watching for any chance to kill him. On top of that, he was rapidly running out of both money and supplies.

No matter how many skills Shang Ke had up his sleeve, fighting his way out of a situation like this was going to be difficult.

While Shang Ke was still considering his options, the second assassination attempt quietly arrived.

The Anti-Government Alliance’s usual policy was simple: better to kill the wrong person than let the right one escape. They cared nothing for the lives of innocent bystanders.

One pleasant evening, someone knocked on Shang Ke’s door. A smiling deliveryman stood outside holding takeout.

Shang Ke was just about to open the door when his spirit animal, Wave, once again sent him a warning of danger.

Without wasting a second, Shang Ke slung on his backpack and prepared to jump out the window. But just as one leg crossed the sill, the blast behind him hurled him outward and sent him flying straight toward the opposite wall.

A row of metal lamps had been mounted there. Their ornate brackets were edged with viciously sharp hooks. If he crashed into them, he would undoubtedly be impaled through the abdomen and die a gruesome death.

Shang Ke twisted rapidly in midair and turned feet-first, narrowly planting both feet in the gaps on either side of the metal lamp. The sharp hooks were no more than four or five centimeters from his crotch.

If his knees had bent even slightly farther, he probably could have kissed all future sexual happiness below the waist goodbye.

His body remained suspended there for barely a second before gravity dragged him downward.

A vehicle was parked below, with a man standing on its roof holding a gun.

Fuck!

The instant the man fired, Shang Ke violently twisted his body and threw himself toward a glass window in the neighboring building.

With a tremendous crash, he smashed through the glass and tumbled into a room.

“Ahhh—!”

The room’s owner had just stepped out of the bathroom when Shang Ke came crashing in covered in shards of glass. She let out a deafening scream and did not even notice her bath towel slipping to the floor.

Shang Ke had no time to appreciate the beautiful woman’s naked body. He sprang to his feet and rushed out of the room.

Instead of taking the main exit, he chose a side window on the opposite end. He refused to believe the Anti-Government Alliance had actually laid ambushes in every direction.

Unfortunately, Lady Luck had apparently abandoned him.

Those bastards really had surrounded the building from all four directions.

Spotting the waiting men below through the window, Shang Ke gritted his teeth. Instead of going down, he turned around and sprinted for the roof.

His backpack contained a grappling line, which meant he could try his hand at being a flying acrobat.

As a result, the nearby residents were fortunate enough to witness an otherworldly version of Spider-Man.

His movements might have looked spectacular, but in reality, his clothes were already soaked through with blood.

His previous injuries had not yet healed, and the blast just now had torn them open again, leaving his back in a complete mess. The evening light was already fading, so bystanders could see only an agile figure swinging between buildings. None of them could make out the bloody state he was actually in.

Shang Ke landed in an alley between two buildings. His face was deathly pale, his breathing ragged, and sweat rolled down from his temples, yet his lips were strikingly red.

A moment later, a sharp light flashed through his eyes as though he had finally made a decision. He straightened his back, strode out of the alley, and headed directly toward a nearby police station.

The officer on duty saw a blood-covered man in shredded clothing approaching and immediately placed a hand on his weapon. “What happened to you? Are you in some kind of trouble?”

Shang Ke pushed back his hood, revealing his strikingly handsome face, casually dropped his backpack onto the desk, and smiled.

“I’m here to turn myself in.”

【Congratulations, Host. You have successfully survived the second assassination attempt.】

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