It was 9 pm sharp. There were still three hours until the race started.
In front of a residential area in City S.
"Sir, all the entrances and exits to the residential area have been sealed off. We have sent people to watch the streets around the outer wall." A leading officer came to the car that Bao Qing was in and reported the situation.
"Okay, everyone is on standby. Wait for my order." Bao Qing nodded at the officer and waved the walkie-talkie in his hand.
The officer nodded and returned to his post.
"Then …" Two seconds later, Bao Qing turned around and asked the person in the backseat, "… what is your plan for the next step?"
At that moment, Feng Bujue, Wang Tanzhi, and Meng Jingchan sat side by side in the backseat of the Phaeton. Bao Qing sat in the passenger seat, and the person in the driver's seat … was Bao Qing's colleague, an agent from Nine Subjects.
"Wait." Feng Bujue only replied with one word.
"Wait for what?" Before Master Bao could ask, Xiao Tan asked.
"Wait for the call," Feng Bujue said as he patted his shirt pocket.
In his pocket … was Zheng Xian's phone.
"You mean …" Bao Qing said with some thought, "… the 'mastermind' will call Zheng Xian again?"
"That might not be the case," Feng Bujue replied. "So, I plan to wait and see."
"Er … Brother Feng." Brother Chan was panicking. "Is that really a good idea? The enemy's goal is to make it so that Phantom Dawn will not be able to make it to the race before midnight. Isn't wasting time playing right into their hands?"
"Ha!" Brother Bujue laughed drily. "Brother Chan, you seem to have misunderstood something."
Meng Jingchan heard that and asked with confusion, "What have I misunderstood?"
"Indeed, the enemy's goal is to make it so that Phantom Dawn will not be able to make it to the race," Feng Bujue replied. "But … to achieve that goal, there are many ways. The 'wasting time' that you mentioned is just one of them."
At this point, Meng Jingchan's expression shifted. He reacted quickly. After being reminded by Brother Bujue, he immediately understood the severity of the situation.
"Looks like you've already figured it out …" Feng Bujue saw the change in Brother Zen's expression, and he added, "Indeed, there are many ways to make Phantom Dawn unable to participate in the competition. There is no need to go through the trouble of 'kidnapping'. Just find someone to break a few of his bones or give him a mild concussion."
"Then, why didn't they do that?" Bao Qing asked.
"Hah … Of course, they have their own reasons …" Feng Bujue chuckled coldly. "Based on my personal conclusion … there are five types of abnormal behaviors that deviate from normal logic during the course of a crime. First, it is to disrupt the investigation. Second, it is to serve the purpose of the crime. Third, it is to follow some kind of special tradition. For example, there is an old tradition among thieves to poop at the crime scene before leaving. Fourth, it is a sudden inspiration.
Fifth, it is an idiot. "After Brother Jue concluded, he paused for two seconds before adding," Using this case as an example, I believe it is the second scenario. "
"To serve the motive of the mastermind?" Xiao Tan asked.
"Yes," Feng Bujue confirmed.
"Speaking of which," Brother Chan said, "I have considered this before … If Phantom Dawn is unable to participate in the race, then the direct beneficiary will be our opponent, Brahman. In that case, could the mastermind be someone from Brahman?"
"I don't think so." Feng Bujue glanced at Brother Chan out of the corner of his eyes. "Brahman has always been a well-behaved studio. You people in the industry should know that better than I do, right?"
"That is true … but other than them," Brother Chan said, "who else can benefit from this?"
"Hah …" Feng Bujue laughed. "Why are you still thinking about the obvious? Think about the illegal activities. "
"Er …" Something crossed Meng Jingchan's mind.
"Oh! I get it now! "Xiao Tan also raised his voice." Is it an outside bet? "
"Finally, I got it right …" Feng Bujue shrugged. "That is the most logical motive."
"Hmm …" Bao Qing followed his train of thought and said, "If you explain it that way, everything makes sense …" He thought about it and said, "With the attention and influence of today's competition, there must be more than one outside the competition. And this' mastermind 'of this kidnapping before us has no doubt placed a large bet on Brahman. He has to win …"
"I believe that the 'mastermind' did not plan to 'gamble' from the beginning. He was there to 'win' …" Feng Bujue continued the conversation. "Since he had already decided to rely on outside tactics to decide the outcome of the competition, naturally, he would place all his bets on Brahman, who had the highest odds …" He scratched his chin and said, "Therefore, he went to find the 'mastermind' and directed the show that he had created today."
"The 'mastermind' is indeed a very clever person …" Bao Qing muttered. "He planned a 'kidnapping', not an 'attack'. If it was an attack … it would be a violent crime, and the police would investigate it as soon as possible. But a kidnapping is different … As long as they don't call for ransom, even if the family members report the case, it is at most a missing person case. Plus, the person who went missing is a young man, and it was less than half a day ago. Normally, it would not attract much attention. "
"Besides …" Feng Bujue said, "The 'motive' of the mastermind can be well concealed." He used his finger to point at his forehead. "If what happened today was an attack, the headlines would be 'Famous eSports Player Attacked on the Day of Key Competition', but now … If everything goes according to the mastermind's plan, tomorrow's headlines will be 'Famous eSports Player Absent from the Key Competition for no reason, and the player claims that he was illegally detained at the time' …" Then, he turned to Meng Jingchan and said, "Can you tell me what the difference is?"
"The former means that someone is maliciously manipulating the competition." Brother Zen thought about it for a few seconds and said, "As for the latter … it is hard to say."
"In conclusion …" Feng Bujue continued. "Combined with the fact that the 'mastermind' told Zheng Xian to delay the investigation … at least for now, their plan should still be to restrict Phantom Dawn's freedom before the competition starts." He paused. "But … if we do not handle this properly or push them too far … they might escalate their plan …"
"When you say we do not handle this properly, you don't mean …" Xiao Tan seemed to have thought of something, and he turned his gaze out the car window.
"To alert them." Feng Bujue summed up the answer in four words.
"Then, what do you mean by 'escalating their plan'?" Brother Zen asked.
"Isn't that obvious?" Brother Zen narrowed his eyes. "With one call from the 'mastermind', the three kidnappers will give Phantom Dawn a good beating. So, who do you think is faster, them or us?"
"Now that you mention it …" Meng Jingchan frowned. "Let's not save this man …" Brother Zen's worldview was obviously on point. "The competition is small, but life is important. After all, they will release him after the competition. We should just wait here … The safety of the hostage is our top priority."
"That's right …" Xiao Tan concurred. "What if we alert them when we rush in, and they decide to fight us to the death?"
"Humph … You two are too naïve …" At that moment, Feng Bujue scoffed and interrupted the two. "Earlier, when Zheng Xian was brought into the interrogation room, we had already 'alerted the enemy'. There was no turning back for this matter …"
"What?" Bao Qing was startled when he heard that.
"Could it be that Zheng Xian has found a chance to tip them off?" Xiao Tan and Brother Zen had similar reactions.
Feng Bujue looked at the three of them and said darkly, "Hah … Have you forgotten? Before this, it was Zheng Xian who 'received' the call from the mastermind, and then he was forced to carry out the mission. Then … before that, how did the 'mastermind' know about the progress of the investigation? How did he know that you have already reported the case, where you have reported the case, and that the police have already formed a task force? "
When that was said, the expression of everyone in the car shifted.
Wu … Wu …
At that moment, a mobile phone vibrated, breaking the silence and stunned atmosphere.
Feng Bujue picked up Zheng Xian's mobile phone (which had been taken out of the evidence bag), looked at the caller ID, and picked it up. "You finally called. I was getting impatient."
"Actually, I could have not called you, but …" A husky voice that had obviously been manipulated came from the other end of the phone. "I'm curious … Who are you?"
"I wouldn't dare call myself a saint, but I'm more like a mad demon," Feng Bujue replied with a smile.
"Hah …" The voice laughed. "Okay, Mr. Feng …" He then threw a question at Zhao Yu. "It seems that you want to play a game with me?"
"Yes," Feng Bujue replied.
"Hah …" The other party sneered. "In this situation, do you really think you have a chance?"
"Of course I do," Brother Jue replied. "I'm just afraid that you don't dare to play."
"Hahaha … Hahahaha …" The mastermind laughed after hearing that. "You are very interesting …" He stopped laughing and said, "But being interesting doesn't mean you are capable."
"You are also very interesting," Feng Bujue replied in a lazy tone. "I'm already looking forward to your reaction when you lose."
As soon as he said that, the other end of the phone suddenly fell silent …
Three seconds later, the husky voice spoke again. "I'll give you fifteen minutes to find the 'exact location of the target' and text it to my number." He paused for half a second. "After fifteen minutes, this number will be invalid. By then … if I don't receive the text, or if you send the wrong answer, then we have nothing to talk about."
"Hah …" Feng Bujue chuckled and said, "Aren't you afraid that after I find the target, I will lead my men to break in … and use tear gas to hold everyone back before you can give any instructions?"
"You can try." After saying that, the mastermind hung up the phone …
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