Qin Sixiang wanted to find the police and make a clean getaway, and I wanted to find the police and catch them in the act. After I got back, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Just then, I heard a slight noise at the door.
Someone's here?
It was past midnight, who would come to my room. I got up and took the dagger I kept under my pillow for self-defense. I tiptoed to the door. Because of the carpet, I was as silent as a cat.
The door opened gently, and I immediately put my opponent's hand on their neck. At the same time, I smelled perfume. A woman? Very familiar! Just as I was slightly distracted, the other party grabbed my wrist, executed a clean back throw, then twisted my arm, and pressed my back with her knee, whispering, "Don't move."
...
Back home, I had beaten my coach and was very confident. I didn't expect to be so vulnerable in front of a girl. The other party spoke in a changed voice, but I recognized her. I took a deep breath and said, "Yu Xiaoluo, can we talk properly?"
"How did you know it was me?"
"I smelled your perfume."
"Nonsense, I specifically used Qin Sixiang's perfume."
This girl is really brainless. I even laughed when I was subdued. Yu Xiaoluo also realized she had said the wrong thing and applied a little more pressure.
"Slow down, it's going to break, it hurts!"
"Speak."
"When I put the dagger on your neck, I saw your collarbone. Have you never heard the saying that a person's appearance reflects their bones?"
"Pervert."
"Alright, let me go first, what do you want?"
...
Yu Xiaoluo released me. I stretched my shoulder, which felt almost dislocated, and turned on the light, looking at her. She was wearing ordinary clothes and not exposing her collarbone at all. What a foolish girl, imitating someone else's voice with a mask on, and I saw through her in minutes.
"This is my identification."
SWAT? My scalp tingled. This twenty-five-year-old girl was a legendary special police officer. No wonder my so-called skills were worthless in front of her.
"Hello, Special Police Sister."
"We have investigated your identity. What era is this, still wanting to be a knight-errant? Last year, you were scammed, and while recovering your losses was one thing, you really see yourself as a lone hero, getting involved in everything. Do you know how terrifying Qin Sixiang, whom you're dealing with, is?"
"Since I'm already here, I will cooperate fully with the police. Moreover, I didn't get involved in this willingly. They dragged me into it. I'm not here to be a lone hero, but to repay a life-saving debt, and instead I got caught up in this. You should know how I was scammed into this. Tell me, shouldn't people like them, such as these scammers, be exposed and brought to justice?"
"I know you went to their forgery base. Where is the base?"
"A small courtyard in an old residential area. I really can't give you the exact address. How did you know I was there?"
"Li Dazhi told me."
Li Dazhi took me there today, and later reported back to Qin Sixiang. Qin Sixiang invited me to dinner. I roughly traced Li Dazhi's movements and then asked Yu Xiaoluo, "Were you present when Li Dazhi reported this matter to Qin Sixiang?"
If Yu Xiaoluo was present, then I would have to think carefully about Yu Xiaoluo coming here.
Yu Xiaoluo shook her head, "I wasn't present."
"Eavesdropping?"
"Why do you need to know so much? Just tell me the forgery address."
"I'll draw you a map."
I found a piece of paper and drew carefully. I smelled the perfume on Yu Xiaoluo again, it was indeed very familiar. Thinking back carefully, Qin Sixiang did have a faint, elegant perfume on her when we had dinner.
"Next time, don't casually touch Qin Sixiang's things, and don't imitate others' speech, you don't have that kind of mimicry."
"Is that your business?"
"Not at all, not at all, I'm just giving advice."
I carefully drew a map, ensuring the police could find the place.
"Now that you know the forgery location, shouldn't it be time to cast the net?"
"We still need to find the criminals controlling Qin Sixiang."
"Are you sure there are criminals behind Qin Sixiang?"
I was trying to be helpful. From any perspective, Qin Sixiang was the mastermind of this scheme. I don't think there were criminals behind her.
"Yes. The organization analyzed it."
"How did they analyze it?"
"From a financial perspective, Qin Sixiang has channels for money laundering. Why are you asking so much? Tomorrow, the forgery location will be raided, and Qin Sixiang will definitely suspect you. For your safety, you should leave. Oh, right, you can apply for police protection."
I looked at Yu Xiaoluo and thought a lot. Perhaps Yu Xiaoluo was right. Qin Sixiang really had someone behind her. I hadn't considered the financial aspect. In that case, Qin Sixiang was not purely a mastermind. She relied on an organization. Could it be the organization Old Ghost mentioned, called 'Logical Paradox'? The matter was getting more and more interesting. This was the life I wanted. How could I back out now?
When Yu Xiaoluo left, she gave me a phone number for my safety. It was probably the number of the task force.
I didn't call it!
Around noon the next day, I arranged to have dinner with Qin Sixiang. It was at a small restaurant, crowded in the hall, and we were eating crossing-the-bridge noodles. The place was steamy. Qin Sixiang and I sat opposite each other. I smelled her perfume, and the plan I had thought of last night surfaced.
"Your office should be bugged."
"I know. They want to find the person behind me. How did you know?"
I pondered for a moment and said seriously, "Yu Xiaoluo, who is by your side, is a police officer. She came to see me yesterday."
"That girl acted very dedicatedly, and I even conveniently assigned her an important position. However, she was too impatient, exposing herself for a forgery location."
Yu Xiaoluo's skills were good, but she wasn't a great actress. It was normal for Qin Sixiang to see through her. After I understood the situation, I was thinking about how to tell her about the leakage of the forgery address, but Qin Sixiang asked first.
"Yu Xiaoluo knows the forgery address?"
"Yes, I couldn't refuse her. Do you have a plan?"
Qin Sixiang's brow didn't even furrow. She elegantly scooped some noodles into her spoon and blew on them lightly.
"Yesterday, I had already instructed Li Dazhi to transfer the finished fake raw jade. The master from Myanmar and his apprentice are both here. The police should be satisfied."
Hearing Qin Sixiang say this, I gave a wry smile, "Impressive, every step of the way."
"It was only a matter of time before this scam was discovered by the police. As the mastermind, we can't expect to never be discovered. Instead, we should let them discover the clues we give them gradually, so that we can escape successfully, right?"
"Are you about to achieve your goal?"
"Mm-hmm. With one more auction, after deducting costs, my goal will be achieved."
I was still completely clueless, and Qin Sixiang was already preparing to leave this game. I had to admire Qin Sixiang. She told me her plan very honestly. In fact, she was telling me that even though I had reached the stage of understanding the game clearly, I had no time to lay my own traps. Moreover, my involvement had become a tool for her to advance the police investigation.
This woman is so powerful!
"By the way, there will be many people coming this time, so we need more kilogram-grade materials. I saw you contacted the "Robber" recently. Help me buy more kilogram-grade materials."
"Is there going to be a big one?"
"Yes!"
Qin Sixiang agreed, handed me a card, and said, "There's three million here. The password is written on the back. You help me buy it. I'll have Yu Xiaoluo contact you, so it will be convenient for you to provide evidence to the police."
"What exactly do you want to do?"
I couldn't help but ask. From Old Ghost, I knew that if there was a smart person in the game, they would play more boldly. Therefore, I wanted to be Qin Sixiang's collaborator and even betray the police to gain Qin Sixiang's trust. But from the current situation, Qin Sixiang was even bolder than me. She was clearly telling the police everything, confident that she could escape successfully under the heavy encirclement of the police.
"Escape!"
The answer was as I imagined, but not what I wanted. I didn't think it was the whole truth.