novelraw Chapter 200 : Exposed Tracks
Chapter 200 : Exposed Tracks
At 8:30 AM, the entire city began to operate in an orderly manner.
Shen Han sat under the eaves in a corner of the yard, still able to hear the faint rumbling of the light rail passing by.
With over an hour left before their appointment, she wasn't in a hurry.
Sitting in the place where Teacher Tang had once stayed felt quite peculiar.
But as time passed, Shen Han's sense of wonder turned to strangeness.
A certain rebellious student in the throes of adolescence kept wandering in and out of her field of vision.
One moment he was watering the flowers and plants in the yard, the next he was cleaning.
More absurdly, he even came with a thermos to refill Shen Han and Fang Yue's tea cups.
This was clearly an attempt to ingratiate himself, and Shen Han could see right through it.
Combined with the awkwardness Sun Yu had shown when they met him at the gate earlier, she could guess that this change was probably triggered by her driving away the demolition team yesterday.
Fang Yue took a sip of tea and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Captain Shen, I take back my judgment from earlier at the gate."
"I think you might have gained another little fanboy."
Hearing this, Shen Han immediately looked up, pretending to casually glance over at Sun Yu.
The 'little fanboy' was crouching by the herb garden pulling out newly grown weeds. When he noticed the Alpha's gaze falling on him, his hands didn't stop moving, but his ears perked up.
Shen Han shook her head with a smile, no longer observing him.
After finishing with the herb garden, Sun Yu found he had nothing left to busy himself with in the yard.
So, he took his practice book and reluctantly approached Shen Han, asking, "There's a problem I can't solve. Can you help me take a look?"
"I can't do it either."
Shen Han's outright refusal made Sun Yu's face heat up.
He took a deep breath and frowned, "You haven't even seen which problem I'm talking about."
Shen Han took a sip of tea and said nonchalantly, "I can't do any of the problems. You should ask your tutor about this kind of thing."
At this point, she stared at the young man in front of her and smiled, "Didn't you always dislike me before? When we first met, you even wanted to fight me. Why have you suddenly changed? Have you realized you were wrong?"
How could a hot-blooded youth listen to such words?
Sun Yu immediately became angry from embarrassment: "I still don't like you now! I've never seen an Alpha as petty as you!"
After these words fell, he had already rushed out of the yard clutching his practice book.
He looked like an enraged little lion.
Fang Yue tugged at the brim of her hat and said softly, "Captain, just when the relationship was becoming harmonious, why did you deliberately anger him away?"
Shen Han leaned back in her chair and replied quietly, "His most important task right now is preparing for exams. He shouldn't focus too much on other things."
In fact, she had hidden concerns that she hadn't told her teammate.
Their current mission wasn't dangerous, but if they happened to cross paths with Takeda Tatsuya, a fierce battle would be inevitable.
If she allowed Sun Yu to hover around her and something unexpected happened, how could she explain it to Aunt Lin?
...
Sun Yu hadn't planned on going to the tutoring classroom today.
But after being angered out of the house by Shen Han and having nowhere else to go, he had no choice but to take his practice book to where the Elite Study Squad had their tutoring sessions.
Though he was sitting in the classroom, his mind wandered elsewhere.
'What exactly are Shen Han and Fang Yue's identities in the Free Federation? They must be extraordinary! If only I could be as capable as her.'
'I wonder how long they'll stay here? Will they leave after the auction?'
Just as he was lost in thought, a slightly shy female voice came from beside him: "Sun Yu, I see you brought the wrong practice book today. You can borrow mine."
The girl speaking was a college entrance exam candidate from another school. With pure looks and a sweet demeanor, she was the 'first love goddess' in many of her male classmates' hearts.
In the past, if such a pretty girl had come to chat with him, Sun Yu would have happily continued the conversation.
But now, he couldn't muster much interest in talking.
How could dry problem-solving compare to the excitement of watching Shen Han beat people up?
He wanted to experience a passionate battle himself, even just once!
Thinking of this, Sun Yu grabbed his practice book and walked out of the classroom.
"Sorry, I have some important things to do. I'll study with you next time!"
Leaving these words behind, Sun Yu had already slipped out of the tutoring classroom.
He left behind the pretty classmate with a puzzled expression and his close friends desperately winking and gesturing at him.
Once on the street, Sun Yu found a secluded spot and called his mother.
"Mom! I want to help! Just for these few days, let Shen Han take me along, please!"
...
In front of an office building in the city center.
Yan Lin put away her phone and looked at Shen Han with a somewhat complex expression: "That child Little Yu has my temperament. He seems easy-going, but he's actually very stubborn."
When Yan Lin was on the phone earlier, Shen Han was nearby.
Although she couldn't hear the exact words on the other end, she could infer the content of the conversation from the dialogue.
Therefore, after hearing Yan Lin's seemingly irrelevant but actually on-topic words, she gave her response.
"Aunt Lin, young people are curious about new things. I can understand and don't mind the trouble, but I'm afraid of unforeseen changes during the operation that might hurt Little Yu. I'd feel uneasy."
How could Yan Lin not understand this point?
But she knew her son even better.
In all these years, it was the first time her son had used the word 'please' to her.
If she didn't advocate for him, he would definitely find a way to follow Shen Han secretly. That would not only hinder matters but also increase many potential dangers.
In the end, Shen Han agreed to Yan Lin's request.
She figured that taking the child along wouldn't be a problem. If she sensed danger, she could arrange for him to leave in advance.
Time flowed like water, and with the auction day approaching, the top-ranked star hotels in White Light City were all fully booked.
The big-spending tourists boosted the entire city's economic vitality.
For a time, even when middle-aged women rushed to buy cheap vegetables in the supermarket, they would chat about information regarding the auction.
Everything was progressing vigorously.
However, Shen Han and Gu Junwan's surveillance and investigation actions had hit a snag.
The Yin Country delegation was behaving too calmly, a calmness that made one uneasy.
Based on Gu Junwan's understanding of her opponents, they couldn't possibly not have made a move.
If she couldn't uncover the most crucial information point, it could only mean that the other side's planning was more meticulous than hers!
In Shen Han's view, the only thing worth rejoicing about among all matters was the sudden disappearance of the demolition problem facing Aunt Lin's old house.
Just three days ago, numerous media outlets exposed information about a well-known real estate developer's capital chain breaking and imploding.
It was said that even the real estate company's headquarters building was smashed by angry creditors.
The demolition company that had come to cause trouble before was also swept into the vortex of events.
Quite a few people were arrested on suspicion of breaking the law, including the scarred man who had driven the van to attack Shen Han.
Looking at these pieces of 'good news,' while Shen Han cursed those people for getting what they deserved, she also felt a strange sense of premonition.
Mainly because this incident came too suddenly and too coincidentally.
It felt like karmic retribution that pleased people.
Shen Han naturally didn't believe that heaven had opened its eyes and struck down those villains with divine lightning.
She vaguely felt that this seemed like her wife's handiwork.
But Gu Junwan hadn't shown any indication during their daily video calls.
Shen Han also didn't feel comfortable asking directly, so she could only keep this matter suppressed in her heart for now.
After the current business was finished, she could inquire with her wife later.
A day passed, and it was the day before the auction.
At 9 AM, in the Elite Study Squad group chat, the wealthy classmate shared two videos.
Both videos were taken with night vision cameras.
One clip showed a middle-aged man kneeling formally in the courtyard, while the other showed an old man coming out of the house, saying something to the kneeling man, and then both of them entering the house one after another.
After the videos, there was also a voice message from the wealthy classmate.
"I bet my college entrance exam scores with you guys, the tenant I mentioned before really is problematic!"
"The videos were taken by me at midnight last night. Do you know what? The man in the first video actually knelt for two hours!"
"Look carefully at the straw sandals worn by the two men, and the socks that have been deformed by being tied inside the shoes! Don't you find it strange? I specially looked it up online, this is a way of wearing that only exists in Yin Country!"
The classmate continued excitedly saying something else, but Sun Yu had stopped listening.
He directly forwarded the videos to Shen Han, then typed out a message: [This was filmed by my classmate last night. He says the people in the video are from Yin Country.]
Having been with Shen Han these past few days, he naturally knew which key elements were in her operation.
After sending the information, Sun Yu started to feel nervous.
He desperately wanted to prove himself, yet worried that the information he provided would be of no use.
Soon, Shen Han's call came through.
"Where were those two videos you just sent me filmed? Why did the person filming decide to secretly record?"
"Can you contact him now to continue transmitting live images?"
Hearing this, Sun Yu became excited.
He knew that this time he had really been helpful!
He hurriedly told her all the information he knew.
After hanging up, he immediately contacted his wealthy friend using the script Shen Han had taught him.
Shen Han and Fang Yue rushed towards the old house on Dragon Cave Street while calling Gu Junwan.
While explaining the intelligence, Shen Han deeply experienced what it meant to 'search far and wide only to find it effortlessly'!
If Takeda Tatsuya learned of these coincidences, he'd probably have a stroke from anger.
Who the hell could have imagined that a rich second-generation preparing for college entrance exams wouldn't sleep at night, but would spend all day using expensive equipment to monitor the yard of his family's rented house!
How ridiculous could it get!
At the border hotel in the Jiying Empire.
When Gu Junwan learned of the ins and outs of all this, she also had a sense of unreality.
She never believed in coincidences, but this time, she felt that fate had truly stood on their side again!
After quickly reviewing all the information in her mind, she immediately began giving orders.
"Shen Han, have your original action team members rendezvous with you. Stay put at the house on Dragon Cave Street and await orders!"
"For the house where Takeda Tatsuya is located, I'll send the first and second reinforcement teams there. They're closer. Have Sun Yu's classmate help receive them. The patrols in that wealthy area are quite strict, so be careful not to alert the enemy."