It wasn't that Duan Chen didn't go, but that An Qi had an intense aversion to males. Out of humanitarian concern for the victim, it was not advisable to read her mind in her current state.
Duan Chen had tried to approach her slowly, but An Qi would start to go crazy. To avoid overly stimulating the victim, he had to temporarily give up.
"Keep observing, maybe a few keywords will pop out."
"Yes!" Several officers went back to their work.
It seemed like nothing could be pried from her, but Duan Chen's intuition always told him that this woman was not right.
Qin Yuanlong personally came to comfort his subordinate, expressing that all her medical expenses would be covered by their company. Although the car dealership had issues and needed to cease operations for a while, this did not affect Duan Chen's use of a car.
He would also dispatch personnel to guard the 4S shop and report any anomalies immediately.
Duan Chen nodded, then his mind turned, "Mr. Qin, don't 4S shops usually install cameras? Why is there no surveillance footage."
Qin Yuanlong shook his head and sighed.
"This is my fault. When I took over this shop, I only intended to serve Brother Jiang. But given your special status, I was afraid you would be wary of surveillance and wouldn't feel free. I also worried that the surveillance footage might be used by malicious individuals, so I ordered the cameras to be removed... I never expected my good intentions to cause trouble."
Duan Chen, of course, activated his mind-reading ability—
(Qin Yuanlong's inner monologue: The female sales representatives in the store are all quite attractive. What if Duan Chen fancies one of them and wants to engage in activities that wouldn't pass review? Having cameras would be inconvenient.)
Heh, worried about me not feeling free about this? Engaging in unspeakable acts with a saleswoman in the store?
Duan Chen snorted coldly. Such was the mindset of a businessman, where even sales representatives were seen as "merchandise" in their eyes.
Qin Yuanlong's forehead broke out in a fine sweat. "I'll order the installation of surveillance cameras immediately when I get back. Brother Jiang, please rest assured."
(Qin Yuanlong's inner monologue: Not good, Duan Chen is angry. If this ruins my son's chances, how can I face my son?)
It seemed the surveillance issue was a mere coincidence. Duan Chen deactivated his mind-reading ability and patted Qin Yuanlong's shoulder.
"Mr. Qin, there's no need to be nervous. Please take care of the dealership. Inform me immediately if there's anyone suspicious."
"Absolutely!"
Qin Yuanlong felt an invisible pressure and involuntarily lowered his head.
...
After returning home from the hospital, Duan Chen caught the little "Jian Jian" who leaped into his arms. Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
[idiot Wu Suowei]: Is Little Jian Jian behaving recently? I'll be back soon.
Duan Chen tossed Little Jian Jian onto a ten-story multi-level cat tree and locked the small door. He placed a small bag of Little Jian Jian's favorite dried fish at the top, requiring it to overcome layers of obstacles before a final leap.
Thus, the greedy cat began its ascent and descent, exercising tirelessly.
In a certain unknown space, Wu Suowei, who was watching Duan Chen's "live broadcast," was speechless.
This cat had only been with Duan Chen for a few days, and its lazy, elegant demeanor was completely gone.
Before, it would meow and act spoiled at the sight of a bug. Now, if it were entered into a mouse-catching competition, it would probably win first prize.
"... Are you satisfied only when Little Jian Jian has muscles?"
[idiot Wu Suowei]: Little Jian Jian is an ordinary cat. You don't need to train it like a mystical beast.
Duan Chen: ???
I suspect he's installed a camera in my house.
Duan Chen looked around suspiciously, seeing nothing amiss. He then added a bit more chicken breast to the top of the cat tree, and Little Jian Jian scrambled up with even more vigor.
Duan Chen replied casually:
[Your cat is too hard to raise. I think the feeding costs should be doubled.]
[idiot Wu Suowei]: Okay.
"..."
Duan Chen looked at the curt "Okay" and felt extremely displeased.
"Damn it, I should have said five times as much. I still lack experience."
Duan Chen was certain that the locks on the small building had been replaced, and the doors and windows were tightly shut with no signs of anyone entering or exiting.
Suddenly, his gaze fell beside the pillow, and he noticed an envelope with a black feather affixed to it.
"..."
Duan Chen concentrated and picked up the envelope.
How did this letter appear beside his bedroom pillow?
The sender was a capable individual, and this black feather was his declared identity—
The Watcher organization, [Raven].
Duan Chen removed the black feather, and the envelope instantly transformed into a flapping crow.
"Caw—caw—caw—!"
The crow squawked loudly.
"Mirror! Mirror! The secret to the sea!"
"Northwest! Northwest! The tombstone in the depths of the swamp!"
It repeated twice more.
Bang!
The crow exploded into a cloud of black mist, and fragments of the black feather scattered throughout the room.
"......"
Duan Chen was utterly speechless.
Can't they just say what they have to say properly? It's not like I'm blind and need it to read to me. And after reading, it couldn't even fly away by itself, forcing me to clean up all these feathers in the room?
On the bed, on the floor, on the carpet, on the cute girl figurines... there were fine, fluffy black hairs everywhere!
This is outrageous! Duan Chen's temper flared.
Duan Chen got up, grabbed his suit jacket, and strode towards the door.
"Eye of God!!"
A circle of holy white light emanated from his left pupil and expanded. The perspective ascended, reaching mid-air. Duan Chen mounted his MC12, gunned the engine, and sped away.
At this very moment, in the bathroom of a luxurious hotel near the airport.
A silver-haired, red-eyed, handsome young man was half-reclining in a bathtub filled with bubbles and flower petals.
Two jet-black crows stood at the edge of the bathtub, like the most loyal guards.
The young man was playing on his phone, and the match-three game emitted "yah oooh yah oooh" sounds. Soon, a pleasant victory tune sounded.
He grabbed a strawberry donut from beside the tub, took a bite, and chewed it slowly.
"What do you think his expression will be when he sees the clues? Will he jump for joy?"
Crow: Caw—!
"Mmm~ If the high-ranking agent is kept away, dealing with Gu Sang will be much easier."
Crow: Caw—!
"That's right. If Gu Sang is arrested by the police, interrogated in a dark, confined space, his eyes bloodshot under the glare of incandescent lights, then locked up in a filthy underground prison full of cockroaches and rats, and finally tried in full view of everyone... it would be too tragic."
Crow: Caw—!
"So we traveled all this way to kill him, hoping Gu Sang will be eternally grateful."
The young man spoke the most bloodthirsty words in the gentlest tone. The donut he had taken one bite of was thrown to the flock of crows, who eagerly fought over it and finished it.
"Bai Ye! Are you done bathing? If you don't come out soon, you'll get waterlogged." A girl's forceful knocking sounded from outside the bathroom.
Swish—!
A red-haired girl directly pushed open the bathroom door and threw a standard hotel bathrobe onto the silver-haired young man's head.
"Hey, hey, I'm completely naked now. Zhu Fanfan, can you show some respect for the review process? This is challenging the authority of the review." Bai Ye smiled faintly.
"Pfft! Besides your head, what else is exposed? Your little brother? You can't expose that in this position."
Zhu Fanfan glanced disdainfully at that area.
"Do you want to see?" Bai Ye stood up from the bathtub with a gentle smile. The pearly white foam scattered on the floor, revealing an indescribable scene in the misty vapor.