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Chapter 126: Sentinel & Guide (III)

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Yonis watched the surveillance video for a long time. The figure spent only a little over ten seconds between getting in the car, jumping off, and promptly running away. He was wearing a hooded sportswear, so his appearance couldn’t be seen at all. He could only guess that the man was about 178 centimeters tall and shouldn’t be too old, otherwise, he wouldn’t have such agility and reflexes.

Suddenly, an officer knocked on the door and entered. After saluting, he crisply reported the investigation results of the mall hijacking to Yonis.

“We found fifty high explosive bombs in the mall, which couldn’t be dismantled in a day or two, so we focused on the internal staff and finally locked onto three people.”

The virtual screen in front of Yonis instantly displayed three people’s images and information. One of them used a temporary identity card, while the other two had fake ones.

Yonis’ eyes lingered for a moment on the image of a red-haired man before rejecting it with all his might. Though the guide he spotted at the mall was also a redhead, he didn’t believe that his guide would be this gloomy man before him.

He subconsciously glanced at his name, ‘Seir’, but it was a fake identity, so the name was of little investigative value.

“After the hijacking, all three men disappeared. The head of state issued a Class A wanted notice. I believe there will be some good news soon.”

Yonis mused, “Those terrorists had blocked the shopping mall for three or four hours and had already achieved their goal; stalling for time and creating panic. Why didn’t they detonate the bomb?” 

“Maybe it’s because we got there at the right time?”

Yonis glanced at him, “A well-planned terrorist attack like this that shocked the world failed because it was timed poorly?” 

He looked at the three people on the screen again, “If the inside man is one of them, surely that person had a detonator hidden with him then. The question is, why didn’t he detonate?” 

The officer’s face changed slightly, “If that’s true, then…” 

After the terrorists were under control, many people relaxed their vigilance. If the bombs had detonated during that moment, the number of casualties would definitely have doubled.

As he thought of it, the officer was struck with fear and felt his back chill. This kind of suicide terrorist attack was the most troubling, because there was no way to predict it in advance and stop it in time. They truly resolved this incident too easily. If the terrorists had not resorted to any tactics, they should have detonated the bomb an hour or two earlier.

Just then, the captain of the guard in charge of investigating the sniper incident last night came to report on its progress.

The officer was about to retire, but the guard intercepted him.

 “Lieutenant Ive, I think you should stay.”

The officer gave him a strange look but stood aside in silence after receiving a sign from Yonis.

“According to the evidence found at the scene, we tentatively identified that the person who attacked the mysterious passenger belonged to the group of terrorists that hijacked the shopping mall the other day.” The first sentence of the captain surprised the two of them.

He continued, “The type of weapon they used is very similar to the composition of the ammunition used by the terrorists. Their methods were brutal and swift, leaving very little clues for tracking and investigation.”

“What is the identity of the passenger?”  Yonis asked.

The captain brought up several documents and answered as he showed them, “According to the fingerprints extracted from the car, there’s no trace of the passenger’s life. We estimate that this person has been hiding his whereabouts all year round, and he rarely used equipment that needs fingerprint verification.”

Yonis frowned and did not speak. He waited for more.

“However,” the captain dug up another document, “we found information on the fingerprint’s owner in a diagnosis report from a hospital ten years ago.”

“Diagnosis report from ten years ago?”

“Yes.” The captain put the report up on screen and continued with a scowl on his face. “The subject of the diagnosis report is a ten-year-old boy named Zeder who was beaten by his father. On his way to the hospital, he almost stopped breathing, and they could only save his life via emergency procedures. During the treatment, the hospital found out that besides the fresh injuries, the boy had many old injuries as well, which were obviously the result of long-term abuse. So they kept the relevant evidence, filed a complaint with the Child Protection Association, and sent the child’s father to prison.” 

Yonis looked at the boy’s shocking scars in the photo, and his fists tightened. He asked in a deep voice, “Our country established strict juvenile protection laws. Why was this child abused for a long time with no one’s notice?” 

The captain replied, “Because his father, that monster, didn’t send him to the hospital for treatment after every beating. They could only get a record this time around because the child almost perished under his hands.”

“Bastard!” Ive, who had been silent, could not help shouting.

Yonis also looked sullen, “What happened to the child?”

“After the appeal was successful, they sent the child to a welfare home, and he lived there until he was fifteen years old. Then, he disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Yonis frowned.

The captain sighed and said, “When he was fourteen years old, his father was released. I think he left the welfare home because he was trying to avoid that person. He went incognito ever since. That’s all the information I could find.”

He disappeared at fifteen, and he was still in his early twenties. How did he survive a life of displacement and fear for six or seven years?

Yonis felt inexplicable regret and anger. Did that person grow up in a twisted environment? He was a guide. He should have lived a comfortable life with food and clothing and enjoy aristocratic treatment. But now, he could only hide in a dark corner, guarding against the persecution of others at all times.

“Where’s his father now?”  Yonis asked without expression, faintly emitting a murderous air.

“Two years ago, he ran into debt and died soon afterwards.”

“He deserved it!” Ive grunted.

“Keep looking for him,” Yonis ordered. “The terrorists may have attacked him because he has information against them.”

The captain looked at Yonis and said seriously, “I’m afraid we need the help of higher ups. Zeder is so well hidden that we have to consult the National Information Center’s fingerprint database with an A-level authority.”

This fingerprint database was bound to the identity card. Ordinary people didn’t need to use the National Information Center for fingerprint inquiry, because today’s life, entertainment and work couldn’t be done without fingerprints. Unless they were far away from high-tech society, it would be difficult to erase their activity track in public. However, Zeder did. He could have been living in isolation all this time, spending through anonymous gift cards and not taking part in any social activities.

His way of life was likely unimaginably dull and primitive in their highly developed country.

Of course, if one could forge his identity, he could muddle through life for a short period, but the security monitors would scan everyone’s identity regularly. If the fingerprint didn’t match the identity, they would eventually discover it.

The identity information forged by Shang Ke’s hacker abilities was also only applicable to low-level identity cards. Those who held such cards could only apply for the most common jobs and couldn’t obtain any benefits and protection. In contrast, there would naturally be a less strict monitoring system.

However, although it was a low-level identity card, his fingerprint information would still be entered into the National Information Center.

“Give me three days.” Yonis agreed without hesitation. One had to have A-level authority or higher to acquire information from the National Information Center while going through examination and verification. Three days was already the fastest speed.

Three days later, they’d unearthed Shang Ke’s current identity. He used his real name, ‘Shang Ke’, age twenty-two, and the photo he took after changing his appearance. Despite the significant changes, Yonis and the others recognized him as one of the three staff members missing in the mall.

“If our conjecture is correct, then it is understandable that the terrorists would target him,” Ive heavily began. “He gave up the plan at the last moment, which is tantamount to betrayal in the organization.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions for the time being.” Yonis looked at the red-haired man on the screen and frowned, his eyebrows tight. He didn’t know if he felt disappointed or depressed, but he suddenly lost interest in pursuing. “Find the person first.”

As Shang Ke’s identity came to light, the anti-government union also received inside intelligence. Eventually, he couldn’t find a job, go to the hospital, or expose his appearance casually. There were only a few hundred thousand points left on the anonymous shopping card, and he couldn’t live off it for three months, even by living frugally. Every day, he lived in seclusion, and like a spy, he stayed on high alert twenty-four seven.

On one hand, there was the Class A arrest warrant issued by the state, while on the other, there was the anti-government union attempting to assassinate him. He was also facing the desperate situation of running out of supplies and food. Even though Shang Ke had eighteen martial arts skills, it would be very difficult for him to fight his way out under such circumstances.

While Shang Ke was still pondering about countermeasures, the second assassination came quietly.

The anti-government union’s style of action was that they would rather kill by mistake than let go, and they didn’t care about the life and death of passersby.

One beautiful evening, there was a knock on Shang Ke’s door, and a little brother with takeout in his hand stood grinning outside.

Shang Ke was about to open the door when his spirit guide, Waves, sent another signal of danger.

Without further ado, he took up his backpack and was ready to jump out of the window. But just as he crossed the windowsill, he was pushed out by the blast behind him and crashed straight into the opposite wall. A row of metal lamps were installed on the wall, and the lamp holder had a complicated pattern with sharp barbs on the edges. If he had hit it, he would have definitely broken his gut and died miserably.

Shang Ke quickly turned in the air and stepped dangerously on the gap between the two sides of the metal lamp with his feet facing forward. The sharp barbs were only four or five centimeters from his crotch. If he had bent his knees a little more, he’d probably never have sex with his lower body in this life.

Shang Ke’s body was at a standstill in mid-air for a second before gravity forced him down.

There was a car parked below and a man with a gun on the roof.

Shit!

The moment the other shot, Shang Ke spun around and crashed into one building’s windows.

There was a thud as he broke the window and fell into a room.

“Ah—!” the owner of the place had just come out of the bathroom and suddenly saw Shang Ke covered in glass shards. She released a deafening scream and didn’t even notice that her bath towel had fallen.

Shang Ke didn’t have time to appreciate the beauty’s body. He jumped up and rushed out of the room.

Instead of going out of the main entrance, he chose a window on the side. He didn’t believe that the anti-government union would set up ambushes in all four directions.

However, the god of fortune did not favor him, as those guys really set up ambushes in all four directions.

Through the window, he saw a head below lying in wait. Shang Ke grit his teeth and rushed up to the top floor instead.

He had cables in his backpack so he could do a trapeze act. As a result, people nearby were lucky enough to witness a different version of Spider-Man.

Although Shang Ke moved like it was a breeze, his clothes were in fact getting soaked with blood.

Before the old injury could recover, the explosion hit him, which caused his wound to split open, and his back to be in even worse condition. The sky was currently dim, so others could only see a flexible figure flying between buildings, but not his bloody appearance.

Shang Ke landed in an alleyway between two buildings. With sweat rolling down his forehead, his face was white, and his breath was short, but his lips were an astonishing red.

Moments later, his eyes flashed with two dazzling lights as if he’d come to a decision. He straightened up, strode out of the alley and walked straight into a nearby police station.

The guard on duty saw a bloody man with worn-out clothes come in and immediately placed a hand on his weapon. He asked warily, “What’s the matter with you? Did you run into trouble?”

Shang Ke uncovered his hood and revealed his dazzling handsome face. He casually placed his backpack on the table and smiled, “I’ve come to surrender myself.”

【Congratulations to Host for surviving the second assassination attempt.】

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