Chapter 51: 45. The Special Case Team was shocked (Please vote for recommendations!)
Meanwhile,
Temporary residence, dormitory.
Listening to the noisy sounds from outside the door and in the corridor, along with various exclamations, the man dressed in a uniform and wearing gold-rimmed glasses was momentarily surprised.
Then, as if he had thought of something, he opened the door and grabbed an investigator, asking, "What's going on outside? Why is it so chaotic?"
The investigator, upon seeing the man in uniform, quickly saluted and said, "Investigator Cui, the criminal has escaped!"
"Escaped?" A flicker of surprise flashed in Investigator Cui's eyes as he asked, "How did he escape?"
The investigator shook his head, "Unclear. It's said that he just disappeared into thin air."
"Alright. I understand," Investigator Cui let go, then said, "You'd better go check it out. I'll get dressed and head over too."
"Yes!" The investigator nodded and then ran toward Fang Ze and Wang Hao's dormitory.
Meanwhile, Investigator Cui slowly closed the door behind him, his face disappearing into the darkness...
"Disappeared into thin air...?"
"Interesting, really interesting..."
"This periphery member is quite something."
"Fortunately, I had made arrangements early, just in time to give him a surprise...."
As he spoke, he thought of something amusing and suddenly let out a light chuckle,
"But.... it must be really fun at Bai Zhi's side right now, right?"
"She didn't prepare in advance like I did...."
...
Meanwhile,
Under the guidance of the Security Bureau Commissioner, Wang Hao also hurriedly arrived at the secret base.
When he reached the secret base, Bai Zhi was already standing there.
At this moment, Bai Zhi looked nothing like the gentle, charming woman she was initially. Her face was covered in frost, and her eyes, normally as placid as water, had frozen over.
She looked at Wang Hao coldly, then said, "Tell me the situation."
Not daring to delay, Wang Hao quickly recounted every detail of Fang Ze's unusual behavior earlier that night.
Bai Zhi listened with a stern face and then asked, "How did he disappear?"
Wang Hao paused for a moment and then gestured, saying, "Just like that. Suddenly 'whoosh' and he was gone."
"At that time, I was still holding him, but it still didn't affect his departure."
Bai Zhi's expression darkened as she murmured, "Is it a Transfer-type Awakening Ability? Or some kind of special artifact?"
"How could a commoner have such a precious item?"
After murmuring, Bai Zhi looked up at Wang Hao and asked, "Did he leave on his own?"
Hearing Bai Zhi's question, Wang Hao quickly said, "Not exactly."
"He took a lot of things."
Bai Zhi, "A lot of things? What did he take?"
As she asked, the door to the secret base was pushed open, and Bai Ling and Director Pang also ran in hastily from outside.
Director Pang's complexion was terrible, his forehead beaded with sweat, while Bai Ling looked utterly astonished; evidently, both had learned of Fang Ze's escape on their way.
Hearing the door open, Wang Hao involuntarily stopped talking.
Bai Zhi said in a stern voice, "Never mind. Keep talking. What did he take when he escaped?"
Wang Hao then awkwardly spoke, "He took some fruits and snacks that I usually gave him."
The three glanced at him.
A bead of sweat dripped from Wang Hao's forehead as he continued, "And some daily necessities that Chief Bai Ling bought for him the other day when we went out."
Bai Zhi and Director Pang turned to look at Bai Ling.
Bai Ling's small face was filled with innocence.
Wang Hao, "Lastly... he also took a chair."
At that, all three furrowed their brows and fell silent.
It was clear they didn't understand why he would take a chair.
After a while, Bai Ling sneakily glanced at Bai Zhi, noticing that Bai Zhi had no intention of scolding her, and then she looked at Wang Hao, asking, "What did he need the chair for?"
Wang Hao was taken aback, then he recalled something Fang Ze had said a few days ago when he was going on vacation to Qingshan City.
He couldn't help but repeat, "He seemed to say... worried about getting tired from walking, he could have something to sit on."
The room fell silent for a time.
After a moment,
"Crack!" A sharp sound.
A cup was furiously smashed to the ground by Bai Zhi, her chest heaving with anger, "Arrogant! Too arrogant! To think he dared to bring a chair for resting while escaping!"
After saying this, she spun around and shouted loudly at the Security Bureau members standing behind her, "Everyone, go after him, investigate!"
"Elementary Transfer abilities or artifacts can't move him far. He must still be nearby!"
"Also, with my command, send people to the four lower-tier cities nearby the Investigation Bureau, gather forces, and lock down the entire area. I refuse to believe he can just sprout wings and fly away!"
Hearing Bai Zhi's words, the Security Bureau commissioners hastily responded with a unified "Yes" and then prepared to leave to gather personnel.
Just then, the director, who had been standing by wiping sweat, hastily said, "Wait a moment."
Having seen how angry Bai Zhi was, no one dared to speak earlier; even Bai Ling, usually quirky and spirited, didn't dare to breathe loudly, for fear of catching any flak.
Yet unexpectedly, at that time, the director actually dared to oppose Bai Zhi's suggestions.
So, in that instant, Bai Zhi's eyes, filled with frost, had already shifted toward the director.
Seeing Bai Zhi's gaze, the director's forehead began to sweat "drip by drip," and he quickly piled on a smile, lowered his neck, and obsequiously pleaded, "Your Honor, Your Honor. Please, don't rush."
He leaned towards Bai Zhi, whispering, "Don't forget. Though Fang Ze has escaped, his accomplices might still be in the Special Case Team."
"What if you give the order for the Special Case Team to search and transfer personnel, and his accomplices take the chance to flee?"
"So...I think it would be better for you to personally communicate and arrange for other cities' Investigation Bureaus to investigate while the Special Case Team secures the area here, preventing Fang Ze's accomplices from escaping amid the chaos."
Upon hearing the director's words, Bai Zhi was stunned for a moment, and then she immediately felt that these were sensible words.
Indeed, though Fang Ze had escaped, he still had two or three accomplices in the Special Case Team. She could not afford to be rash out of excitement and end up allowing them to escape as well.
Thinking this, she nodded and then said, "That makes sense."
Then, she glanced at the commissioners in the secret base and said, "Let's not transfer personnel yet... continue the lockdown of the temporary residence downstairs. Then, review the members of the Special Case Team to see if anyone else has escaped or is missing."
After saying this, she nodded to Director Pang, Chief Bai Ling, and Wang Hao, saying, "Wait for me for a moment."
Then, she left for a while, seemingly to directly communicate and arrange the lockdown.
Shortly, she returned and then nodded to Director Pang, signaling him to carry out the plans.
Director Pang smiled obsequiously.
And perhaps because there was a chance to alleviate the mood, Bai Zhi gradually calmed down as well.
She no longer acted impulsively, but after being silent for a while, she looked towards Wang Hao again and asked, "By the way. Are there any other clues?"
Hearing Bai Zhi's words, Wang Hao quickly stood up straight and furrowed his brow in thought.
A second later, he remembered the instructions Fang Ze had left before leaving.
He couldn't help but glance at Bai Ling, then at Bai Zhi, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Officer Bai Zhi, Chief Bai Ling, the suspect... left something before he left."
Hearing Wang Hao's words, the three people turned their gaze towards him.
Bai Zhi looked over, "What is it?"
Wang Hao raised his hand, holding up the gray cloth bag he had been clutching, and then said, "Fang Ze said this was a parting gift for Chief Bai Ling, and asked me to pass it on."
Hearing Wang Hao's words, Bai Ling blinked, covered her mouth with her small hand, and exclaimed in surprise, "He indeed said he wanted to give me a gift yesterday."
Bai Zhi glanced at her, and Bai Ling immediately clamped her mouth shut, not daring to speak.
Then Bai Zhi held out her hand towards Wang Hao.
Wang Hao reluctantly looked at Bai Ling, but still had to pass the gray cloth bag over.
Just as Bai Zhi was about to take the gray cloth bag, Director Pang suddenly said, "Wait a moment, Lady Bai Zhi."
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Bai Zhi and Wang Hao's actions paused.
Having heard the sensible words from Director Pang just earlier, Bai Zhi calmly looked towards him.
Director Pang obsequiously cautioned, "Your Honor. This thing, after all, is given by a criminal. It could very likely be dangerous."
"Heh." Hearing Director Pang's words, Bai Zhi let out a cold laugh, about to say it wouldn't be a problem for her. But as the words reached her lips, she seemed to think of something, and paused abruptly.
Then she looked at Bai Ling and said, "Bai Ling, Director Pang has a point. I'll open it for you and check it before handing it over."
What could Bai Ling say?
She could only desperately gaze at the gray cloth bag, nodding her head.
Having found the perfect examination reason, Bai Zhi, with peace of mind, took the gray cloth bag and shook it.
The cloth bag was light to hold, and it made no noise when shaken.
A puzzled look appeared on her face, then she bent down, untied the gray cloth bag's string, opened it, and looked inside.
And the moment she saw what was inside, her face instantly showed a look of surprise.
Seeing her expression, the three people standing by also became a bit curious.
After all, there must be something incredible inside to surprise Bai Zhi.
Noticing the expressions of the three, Bai Zhi came back to her senses, her expression returning to calm.
Then she reached into the bag, touched the items inside one by one, confirming there were no dangers, and then she threw the gray cloth bag to Bai Ling.
Accompanying the throw, she also said with a complex look, "That guy sure is thoughtful."
The curiosity of the three had already been stirred by Bai Zhi's actions, and hearing her say this only increased their curiosity even further.
They were all wondering what exactly Fang Ze had put inside that made Bai Zhi comment like that.
A criminal, moreover a heavily monitored criminal by the Security Bureau and Investigation Bureau who even had to borrow money, what kind of good thing could he give?
Bai Ling took the gray cloth bag, looked at Bai Zhi curiously, then opened it.
"My goodness!" She couldn't help but exclaim after just one glance.
Because inside the gray cloth bag were ten differently colored crystals.
There were blue crystals, green crystals, and even the slightly more valuable black crystals.
With just a cursory look, the total market value of the entire bag of crystals was around 8000-10000 Lini.
Hearing Bai Ling's exclamation, Wang Hao and Director Pang couldn't resist any longer and also secretly peeked inside. After seeing the content, they too were a bit surprised.
So many crystals?
Such a valuable farewell gift?
What exactly is the relationship between Bai Ling and that suspect?
Meanwhile, Bai Ling gave a light "eh" and then dug around inside the bag, pulling out a note from underneath the crystals.
The note was filled with Fang Ze's handwriting.