Chapter 40.2 – Luosa Tree (2)
At the back of the grove, in a corner enclosed by towering walls, the branded man limped along, holding a phone:
“The final branch release of the Luosa tree failed; I encountered an attack, the branch was destroyed. But judging by the previous releases, the branches possess strong survival capabilities, indicating the successful cultivation of the Luosa tree.”
“The assailant might have been Shi Bu, but it’s still unclear.”
He hadn’t avoided surveillance cameras along his path. The ones who swiftly located this place might either belong to the SIU, capable of accessing surveillance permissions, or potentially, Shi Bu, skilled at manipulating cameras.
Back in F City, he had only realized the presence of the arms manufacturer, Shi Bu, within the park when he heard the sounds of firearms and more potent weaponry from a distance.
Given his capabilities, Shi Bu might have already sensed that he was behind the deployment of the Ant Walkers. None of the people emerging from the Game bore no grudges. Due to the Ant Walkers, it wasn’t implausible for them to keep an eye on him till now. The two little ghosts tracking him weren’t strong enough to confront him, so they could be disregarded. If the SIU found him, they wouldn’t simply let him go without questioning. Apart from Shi Bu, he couldn’t fathom who else would abruptly intervene and then leave just like that.
The person opposite him offered no response, only instructing him to go back without attracting too much attention.
*
Spending hours trying to find someone just to give them a beating left Jiang Yujin feeling relieved and idle afterward. His movie companion was dealing with Luosa tree matters, with his day off completely ruined.
Jiang Yujin decided to find a nearby cinema, watching the annual blockbuster “He Loves Her, She Loves Him” alone. After finishing the movie, he headed home and had a delicious dinner, including the missed lunch.
After dinner, in pajamas, lying on the couch watching a soap opera, his movie companion called, lamenting about his day-off and not finishing “The Great White Shark vs. The Man-Eating Flower.”
Jiang Yu Jin’s gaze remained fixed on the TV, nodding lightly. He casually responded, “I’m also sorry you couldn’t finish The Man-Eating Flower vs. The Great White Shark.'”
Xu Gao corrected, “It’s The Great White Shark vs. The Man-Eating Flower.”
After earnestly correcting him, Xu Gao resumed complaining.
They put in a lot of effort today, traversing several places to finally deal with that damn Luosa tree. Afterwards, they were assigned to investigate the person responsible for releasing the Luosa tree branches. After searching for hours, all they found was that the person entered an amusement park. After that, there was no trace of them on the surveillance footage. They even went around asking people, but it seemed like the person had concealed their identity, changed their appearance, and no one admitted to seeing them.
The pleasant day-off ended because of this person. Xu Gao sounded genuinely infuriated, grinding his teeth, each word forced out from his throat. He said, “If I catch him, I’ll give him a right hook first, and then…”
Jiang Yujin cut in, “Done.”
Lost in his daydreams, Xu Gao didn’t catch what Jiang Yujin said, “What?”
He asked, “What did you just say?”
Jiang Yujin casually tousled his hair, eyes fixed on the TV screen, “I said, I support you.”
After finishing the complaints, Xu Gao went to the convenience store to buy his dinner and hung up the phone.
After ending the call, the high schooler finished washing dishes in the kitchen, dried his hands, and sat on the other end of the couch, asking, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Yujin didn’t speak but brought up what happened at the cinema today.
Speaking in a nonchalant tone, as if recounting an ordinary incident from life, after living together for so long, Chen Jing had a good understanding of this person. His behavior wasn’t surprising. Chen Jing glanced at him and then looked away, asking, “Do you know who did it?”
“I caught a glimpse,” Jiang Yujin nodded, “It was someone with a circle drawn on their face.”
Chen Jing sat up slowly, asking, “Can you be more specific?”
*
Early the next morning, the high schooler woke up and left while Jiang Yujin was still halfway asleep, faintly hearing some noises but didn’t pay much attention. He went back to sleep and only opened his eyes again around noon.
He marveled again at the high schooler’s energy. Standing by the sink, brushing his teeth and rubbing his wrinkled pajamas, eyes barely open, he heard a knock at the door.
A fairly young woman stood at the door. She entered cautiously, glancing behind her before swiftly closing the door—a movement, to some extent, more adept than that of Xu Gao, a member of the SIU.
An unexpected request after such a long time.
With a toothbrush in his mouth, Jiang Yujin tried to speak, “I-is something w-wrong?”
“…”
The woman was willing to wait until he finished brushing and changing before talking.
When he reappeared in the living room, Boss Jiang finally looked somewhat presentable.
The woman sat across from him and handed him a photo.
Boss Jiang took the photo and glanced down, seeing a curly-haired man. While he looked at the picture, the woman said, “This is my boyfriend, Cha Nan. I want you to help investigate if he’s cheating.”
Jiang Yujin instantly became alert, sitting up straight without realizing it.
The woman explained that she and her boyfriend went to see a highly anticipated annual movie together yesterday. However, an unexpected event occurred midway—an odd creature appeared, and her boyfriend immediately jumped out of his seat.
The plot sounded eerily familiar, almost like it happened yesterday. Jiang Yujin fell silent for a moment.
Continuing her story, the woman mentioned that her boyfriend, while in a rush, accidentally dropped his phone, and she, trying to overcome her fear, picked it up. She accidentally glimpsed at the contents—a chat interface. Despite not seeing the entire conversation, she noticed the word ‘Baby’ in it.
She confronted her boyfriend on the spot, and he explained. She pretended to believe him temporarily while discreetly gathering evidence of his infidelity.
Jiang Yujin nodded vigorously, “And then?”
His attentive attitude seemed to encourage the woman to talk more. She detailed various unsettling incidents that had been happening for a long time, and Jiang Yujin listened, even pouring her a drink midway.
“In short, he told me he was going on a business trip today, but he never left at all. He got up early and made a call, saying he was heading to Goose Square.”
So, she went to work as usual today and came here during her lunch break.
Jiang Yujin nodded.
The woman had to get back to work. After venting and sipping her drink, she hurriedly returned to the office.
Boss Jiang, responsible for the task, headed to Goose Square after the woman left. It was hard to say if the person had stayed there after leaving early in the morning, but a quick look wouldn’t hurt.
Goose Square, a renowned spot for romantic rendezvous, an area singles generally avoided. Jiang Yu Jin walked through without any discomfort, focusing on searching for Cha Nan, the curly-haired man.
The probability of finding someone among a crowd who might not even be there was small, but surprisingly, he found him. Not far away, by a popular spot for couples, two people stood holding bubble tea, sweet and tender, the man’s curly hair matching the photo from noon exactly.
Jiang Yujin approached and naturally blended in, offering to take their photo when they reached the photo spot.
The couple thanked him, engaged in a friendly chat after the photo. They asked why he was alone there, and with a sincere face and unchanged demeanor, he replied, “Waiting for my boyfriend.”
They nodded, bid farewell with regret, and entered a themed restaurant for couples.
*
Xu Tonggui and Hu Li were on a mission today.
Yesterday, someone searched the amusement park where the suspect vanished. They inquired with the security and janitors and eventually found a Luosa tree branch amidst the trash by the edge of the small grove, still alive with buds.
The Luosa tree had a peculiar characteristic—its alive but not fully grown branches maintained a connection with the main tree through perception, constantly aligning toward it.
Following this trail, they arrived here and so far hadn’t found any similar trees.
Hu Li, wearing a floral shirt, focused solely on finding the tree without glancing around. This place had been part of his future travel plans, but in those plans, he was with an office colleague—a female. Unexpectedly, he was accompanied by an adult man, sparking no interest whatsoever.
Perhaps the most out-of-place here was Xu Tonggui—clad in all black, a face expressionless and cold, emanating an aura of aloofness.
While they were searching, someone passed by, wearing a familiar thin jacket with disheveled hair.
The person went into a themed restaurant for couples, then came out, dialed a number on their phone, holding it to their ear—a clear indication of making a call.
Hu Li raised an eyebrow, “Looking for someone to have a meal with.”
In a place like this, the type of company one seeks was quite obvious.
Xu Tonggui glanced at his phone.
No missed calls.
