Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Li Yuebai and Ye Qing’s figures quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Wang Wen watched them go, then his expression suddenly turned serious.
He took out a small remote control, pressed a button, and the surveillance cameras in the repair room went black instantly.
Then, Wang Wen stood up, and with a gentle tug on his handcuffed right hand, the door frame attached to the handcuffs fell down.
“I thought that Gu Xisha was so powerful, but now it seems he’s nothing special.” Xiao Tian got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and casually took off his black-rimmed glasses and threw them into the trash can.
He looked very well-behaved and cute when he wore glasses, but after taking them off, although his face was still childish, his eyes were full of sharp light and malice.
“Stop talking.” Wang Wen whispered to stop him.
“That’s true. If we’re talking about judgment, I’m afraid Officer Ye is slightly better.” Xiao Tian grinned, rolled up his sleeves, and walked towards a machine about the height of a person next to him.
The machine was used for cleaning cultural relics. It was an old-fashioned, large machine that had recently been cleaned and repaired, and new lubricant had been applied. It was still very easy to use. The most ingenious feature was a cabinet door. Opening the cabinet revealed a cavity amidst the tangled wires inside— large enough to fit a person.
Zhuo Zhuo lay unconscious among the wires and pipes in the cavity, motionless and as still as if dead.
He was still tightly clutching the clown wood carving.
Xiao Tian pried his fingers open and took the clown wood carving away.
Speaking of judgment, Zhuo Zhuo might have been quite good at it, but only in the area of news and cultural relics.
Zhuo Zhuo was always very sensitive to the news, so he recognized Gu Xisha at a glance. Although he didn’t know the inside story of the vampires, he had heard some rumors as an expert and knew that some Western European cultural relics were unsafe.
Therefore, based on his intuition, he immediately sensed that there was something wrong with the clown wood carving, so he immediately locked it up and reported it.
Of course, due to his personality and consistent style, his actions were interpreted as routine tyranny and domineering.
Wang Wen’s apparent identity was that of a high-ranking staff member at the museum, but he also had a deeper identity— Gao Chengyu’s subordinate. After learning of the existence of the clown wood carving, he immediately accepted the task. He used his position to apply for the position of leader of the restoration team and also recruited Xiao Tian, who was also under Gao Chengyu.
It shouldn’t have been so complicated, but the museum’s security measures were too good, and the safe’s security was too strong. Although Wang Wen wasn’t exactly an honest good person, he was still just an ordinary human being. He couldn’t go anywhere, break through walls, or steal the clown wood carving without anyone noticing. He could only use this conventional method, placing himself next to Zhuo Zhuo, waiting for an opportunity to seize the wood carving.
Things were proceeding smoothly— once Zhuo Zhuo’s application was approved, the clown wood carving would be taken out of the safe and transported to the Capital Museum. He just needed to seize this opportunity.
But unexpectedly, Gu Xisha and Ye Qing suddenly arrived.
The most surprised weren’t Zhuo Zhuo, but Wang Wen and Xiao Tian.
Although they had never met Gu Xisha, they had long heard of his name; it was practically legendary.
Moreover, their boss, currently in Europe, had seemingly warned them to be wary of Gu Xisha when giving them orders.
Therefore, despite outwardly appearing impeccable, they were inwardly uneasy, constantly on guard against this fearless individual.
Fortunately, Zhuo Zhuo was far inferior in his judgment of people.
Zhuo Zhuo’s father was a prominent figure in the domestic academic community, so he grew up in an academic environment, then turned spoiled and unruly by his peers. However, a family tragedy caused his personality to become distorted, turning him into a domineering and aggressive individual. Because of his unique experiences, Zhuo Zhuo developed a bias in his judgment of people— overly sensitive and suspicious, always feeling that everyone was against him and wanted to take something from him. He was especially prone to assuming the worst about those he disliked.
Ever since seeing Gu Xisha’s case on the news, Zhuo Zhuo had disliked him intensely, believing Gu Xisha to be autocratic and with impure motives, and had long been wary of him.
Moreover, Gu Xisha’s visit to the restoration room, ostensibly for a tour, while actually targeting the clown wood carving, being determined to get his hands on it, only increased Zhuo Zhuo’s distrust.
So Zhuo Zhuo recklessly confronted Gu Xisha.
Wang Wen observed this undercurrent of tension, secretly pleased.
With a little more effort, he could completely clear himself of blame, perhaps even managing to deceive Gu Xisha.
Therefore, while feigning innocence, he secretly hinted at Zhuo Zhuo’s suspicious behavior to Gu Xisha.
The so-called Zhuo Zhuo’s recent secret contact with some strange person and unusual actions… all of this was fabricated.
Sowing discord between distrustful people was very easy, and soon it became clear that Gu Xisha and Ye Qing were increasingly suspicious of Zhuo Zhuo, even directly concluding that he was Gao Chengyu’s subordinate.
Finally, the crucial moment arrived.
The application was approved, and Zhuo Zhuo was to open the safe and take out the clown wood carving in front of everyone.
Xiao Tian, as an intern, was Zhuo Zhuo’s sidekick, so he naturally followed behind Zhuo Zhuo as usual. Even though he was standing a little close, no one suspected anything.
Just as Zhuo Zhuo took out the clown wood carving, walked over, and gave Gu Xisha a provocative smile, Xiao Tian quietly threw a pre-prepared smoke bomb on the ground near Zhuo Zhuo’s feet.
Xiao Tian was holding Zhuo Zhuo’s white coat at the time, covering his hands, so no one could see what he was doing.
Smoke rose and filled the entire restoration room, making everyone invisible for a moment.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiao Tian covered Zhuo Zhuo’s mouth and nose with a handkerchief soaked in ether, silently knocking him unconscious and stuffing him into the nearby equipment.
He was already standing very close to Zhuo Zhuo, and the whole process was very quick, unnoticed by anyone.
Wang Wen’s fleeing footsteps were merely a ploy to mislead Gu Xisha and divert his attention. However, Gu Xisha was too easily fooled and followed the footsteps to Wang Wen.
This was why Xiao Tian said Ye Qing’s judgment was even better than Gu Xisha’s.
Ye Qing, at least, went in the right direction, astutely locating Zhuo Zhuo’s original position amidst the noise.
However, Zhuo Zhuo had already been replaced by Xiao Tian at that location.
When the smoke cleared and everyone realized Zhuo Zhuo was gone, they naturally assumed he had escaped with the clown sculpture.
Especially Gu Xisha and Ye Qing, who were completely unaware of the device’s secret and couldn’t possibly know that someone else could be hidden inside.
The current situation was entirely within Wang Wen’s expectations. He had successfully obtained the clown sculpture, and with no one watching him anymore, he could take the opportunity to escape.
Of course, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to take the clown sculpture out directly; that would obviously be noticed.
Xiao Tian casually picked up a razor blade from the table and lightly sliced the clown wood carving in two, revealing a hollow cavity inside a small black coffin tightly bound by a silver chain.
Wang Wen quickly grabbed the coffin: “Let’s get going!”
“Wait a minute.” Xiao Tian wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, he grabbed some special glue from the table and reattached the clown wood carving. At first glance, it was impossible to tell that it had ever been cracked.
“I have learnt a bit of Expert Zhuo’s artifact restoration techniques,” he chuckled, tossing the carving back into the instrument before fleeing with Wang Wen.
In this situation, climbing over walls or through windows was suspicious. The best course of action was to run out in a panic, like a victim, and ideally, call the police.
Wang Wen stumbled out the door, his face still showing shock.
Unexpectedly, he bumped into Gu Xisha, who was turning back from outside, as soon as he stepped out of the corridor.
“Mr… Mr. Gu! How is it? Where’s Officer Ye?” Wang Wen stammered.
“Team Leader Wang?” Li Yuebai frowned. “What’s going on? I haven’t even unlocked your handcuffs yet, how can you leave?”
Wang Wen was stunned for a moment, instinctively wanting to grab his weapon and attack, but then he heard the sound of bullets whistling through the air.
It sounded like it was coming from a distance.
Looking in the direction the bullets came from, he saw Ye Qing.
Ye Qing calmly carried a long gun, the muzzle pointed directly at him, and he even seemed to smile at him.
In an instant, a tranquilizer dart pierced his shoulder. Wang Wen had no chance to dodge, and he fell backward, losing consciousness.
Li Yuebai took the black coffin from his arms and put it away.
“Master.” Ye Qing’s calm voice came from behind him: “Take cover.”
Li Yuebai didn’t hesitate for even a millisecond and quickly dodged to the side.
Several smoke grenades were thrown again. It was Xiao Tian, who was trying to escape in the chaos again.
Ye Qing’s tranquilizer grenades pierced through the smoke and shot straight at him.
Li Yuebai heard the sound of tranquilizer grenades piercing human flesh.
Was it that the minor villain’s fighting skills were too low, or that Ye Qing’s marksmanship was too strong?
The first time Li Yuebai noticed something amiss was when he shook hands with Wang Wen. He noticed that Wang Wen’s hands seemed meticulously cared for; some calluses had been carefully smoothed out.
An ordinary person might not notice the difference in skin without calluses, but Gu Xisha’s senses were extremely sharp. If the calluses were restored, he could deduce that these were hands that frequently handled guns.
So, Li Yuebai deliberately found an opportunity to splash tea on Wang Wen.
Through the tea-soaked shirt, he could indeed vaguely see scars and tattoos on the skin beneath.
The original owner of this body, Gu Xisha, had collected a lot of information on Gao Chengyu’s subordinates, and Li Yuebai had carefully reviewed all of it, memorizing many important details.
One subordinate, whose identity was highly secretive, worked in the cultural field and had a uniquely shaped scar and tattoo on his abdomen…
The description in the information overlapped with Wang Wen’s characteristics.
Then there was Xiao Tian. Xiao Tian’s disguise was almost flawless, but unfortunately, Li Yuebai had a written conversation with him.
Ostensibly, this conversation was to inquire about Zhuo Zhuo’s suspicious behavior, but in reality, it was to examine Xiao Tian’s handwriting.
Although Xiao Tian appropriately switched to his non-dominant hand to write, he hadn’t anticipated that Gu Xisha’s previously collected materials included information about his handwriting using his non-dominant hand.
Li Yuebai thought it over and over, and felt that he had only made a tiny contribution to this operation; the credit still went to the original owner, Gu Xisha.
Regardless, he had carefully examined the materials, so his hard work had paid off…
The moment the smoke bomb exploded, Li Yuebai had already focused on Wang Wen.
He wasn’t misled; he had been chasing Wang Wen all along.
Wang Wen, in order to better disguise himself, didn’t even resist, so Li Yuebai took the opportunity to search him— but didn’t find the clown wood carving on Wang Wen.
The only possibility was that these two had hidden the clown wood carving, along with Zhuo Zhuo, somewhere.
The best approach thus, of course, was to pretend to chase after them while actually waiting outside for them to find the item themselves.
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