Chapter 1 Evening

Nine p.m., three hours until the start of the competition...

City S, in front of a residential area.

"Officer, all entrances and exits of the complex have been sealed off, and the streets around the outer walls are also being watched." A police officer leading the team came to Bao Qing's car and reported the situation.

"Okay, everyone stand by and wait for my orders." Bao Qing nodded to the officer and raised the walkie-talkie in his hand.

The police officer responded and returned to his post.

"So..." Two seconds later, Bao Qing turned his head and said to the person in the back seat, "...what are your plans next?"

At this moment, Feng Bujue, Wang Tanzhi, and Meng Jingchan were sitting side by side in the back seat of the Phaeton car. Bao Qing was in the front passenger seat, and the person in the driver's seat was Bao Qing's colleague and an agent of the Ninth Division.

"Wait." Feng Bujue replied with only one word.

"Wait for what?" Xiao Tan asked suspiciously before Bao Qing could.

"Wait for a call." As Feng Bujue spoke, he patted his jacket pocket.

What was in that pocket was Zheng Xian's cell phone.

"You mean..." Bao Qing continued thoughtfully, "...the 'planner' will call Zheng Xian again?"

"Not necessarily." Feng Bujue replied, "That's why I'm going to wait and see."

"Uh... Brother Feng." Chan-ge was a little anxious at this moment, "Is this really okay... The other party's purpose was to prevent Gui Xiao from getting to the competition before midnight... Wouldn't wasting time be exactly what they want?"

"Ha!" Jue-ge gave a dry laugh, "Chan-ge, it seems you've misunderstood something..."

Meng Jingchan heard this and looked doubtful, "What did I misunderstand?"

"Indeed, the other party's purpose is to prevent Gui Xiao from getting to the competition..." Feng Bujue replied, "But... there are many ways to achieve this goal, and what you said about 'wasting time' is just one of them."

At this point, Meng Jingchan's face changed. He reacted quickly, and after Jue-ge pointed it out... he immediately understood the seriousness of the matter.

"It seems you've already thought of it..." Feng Bujue said after seeing the change in Chan-ge's expression, "That's right, there are plenty of ways to keep Gui Xiao from participating... There's no need for such a troublesome 'kidnapping'... Just have someone break a few of his bones, or give him a mild concussion or something... and it's done."

"Then why didn't they do that?" Bao Qing asked at this time.

"Heh... of course they have their reasons..." Feng Bujue sneered, "According to my personal summary... there are roughly five situations in which abnormal behavior that deviates from general logic occurs during the commission of a crime—one, to disrupt the investigation and do it on purpose; two, to serve the criminal motive; three, to follow some special tradition (for example, there is an old tradition in the thief business to take a dump at the crime scene before leaving); four, a sudden whim; five, stupid."

After Jue-ge finished his summary, he paused for two seconds and continued, "Taking the current case as an example, I think it's the second situation..."

"To serve the 'mastermind's' motive?" Xiao Tan asked.

"Yes." Feng Bujue affirmed.

"Speaking of this..." Chan-ge continued, "I've also considered... if Gui Xiao can't participate, then the direct beneficiary is our opponent 'The Gods'; in this case, is the mastermind someone from The Gods studio?"

"Not necessarily..." Feng Bujue glanced at Chan-ge and said, "The Gods has always been a very disciplined studio, shouldn't you insiders know better than I do?"

"That's true... but besides them..." Chan-ge muttered, "Who else could benefit from this?"

"Heh..." Feng Bujue smiled, "Why are you still thinking about those obvious things? Think about illegal dealings."

"This..." Something flashed through Meng Jingchan's mind.

"Oh! I know!" Xiao Tan also said loudly at this moment, "It's the off-site betting?"

"You finally guessed it..." Feng Bujue spread his hands and said, "This is the most reasonable motive."

"Mm..." Bao Qing followed his train of thought and said, "With the attention and influence of today's competition, there must be off-site gambling, and more than one; and the 'mastermind' of this kidnapping event has undoubtedly placed a large bet on The Gods on some betting site... They must win..."

"Presumably, the 'mastermind' never intended to 'gamble' from the beginning, he was going to 'win'..." Feng Bujue took over the conversation again, saying, "Since he had already decided to use off-site means to influence the outcome of the competition, he would naturally put all the money on The Gods, who have higher odds..." He stroked his chin and muttered, "So, he found that 'planner' and directed today's good show."

"That 'planner' is indeed a very clever person..." Bao Qing pondered, "He planned a 'kidnapping', not an 'attack'; if it were an attack... it would be a violent crime, and the police would investigate as quickly as possible. Kidnapping is different... As long as they don't call for a ransom, even if the family reports the case, it's at most a missing person case... And the missing person is a big guy, and it hasn't even been half a day, so it generally won't attract much attention."

"In addition..." Feng Bujue added at this time, "The mastermind's 'motive' can also be well concealed." He pointed his finger at his forehead, "If today's event was an attack, then the headlines of the major media afterwards would definitely be—'Well-known e-sports player attacked on the day of a key competition'; but what about the current situation... If everything goes according to that 'planner's' plan, the media tomorrow will write 'Well-known e-sports player absent from key competition for no reason, the person concerned claims to have been illegally detained at the time'..." After saying that, he looked at Meng Jingchan and said, "Do you understand the difference?"

"The former is a clear indication that someone is maliciously manipulating the competition." Chan-ge thought for a few seconds and replied, "The latter... is unclear."

"In summary..." Feng Bujue continued, "Combined with the 'planner's' instructions to Zheng Xian to delay the investigation... at least at this stage, their plan should still be 'restricting Gui Xiao's personal freedom before the start of the competition'." He paused, "However... if we don't handle it properly, or if we push them too hard... maybe the other party will escalate their actions..."

"You're talking about 'improper handling', wouldn't that mean..." Xiao Tan seemed to have thought of something, and he turned his gaze to the outside of the car.

"Tipping our hand." Feng Bujue summarized the answer in four words.

"Then what is the 'escalation of action' you're talking about..." Chan-ge asked again.

"Isn't it obvious..." Jue-ge squinted his eyes and said, "As long as the 'planner' makes a call, the three executors who kidnapped Gui Xiao can immediately give Gui Xiao a sap, would you say they're faster or we're faster?"

"After you put it that way..." Meng Jingchan frowned, "Let's not save this person..." Chan-ge's values are obviously still relatively upright, "The competition is small, life is big... Anyway, they will release him after the competition time. Let's just wait here... with the safety of the hostage as the top priority."

"Yeah..." Xiao Tan also echoed, "What if we startle the other party in the process of rushing in, and they decide to fight to the death..."

"Hmph... you guys are too naive..." At this moment, Feng Bujue snorted coldly and interrupted the two, "As early as when Zheng Xian was brought into the interrogation room, we had already 'tipped our hand', there's no turning back from this..."

"What?" Bao Qing was stunned when he heard this.

"Did Zheng Xian find a chance to tip them off?" Xiao Tan and Chan-ge had similar reactions.

Feng Bujue glanced at the three of them and said in a deep voice, "Heh... Did you forget... Before, Zheng Xian 'received' a call from the planner, and then passively carried out the task. So... before that, how did the 'planner' know the progress of the investigation? How did he know that you had reported the case, where you reported the case, and that the police had set up a special task force?"

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone in the car changed.

Woo—Woo—

At this moment, the vibration of a mobile phone... rang in the atmosphere of silence and astonishment.

Feng Bujue picked up Zheng Xian's mobile phone (which had been taken out of the evidence bag), glanced at the caller ID, and answered it casually: "You finally called, I was getting impatient waiting."

"Actually, I could have not made this call, but..." A hoarse voice that had obviously been processed came from the other end of the phone, "I'm just curious... What exactly are you?"

"I wouldn't dare call myself sacred, but I'm almost a madman." Feng Bujue replied with a smile.

"Heh..." The voice also laughed, "Okay, Mr. Madman..." He then threw a question, "It seems that you plan to play a game with me?"

"Indeed." Feng Bujue replied.

"Heh..." The other party sneered, "In this situation, do you really think you have a chance to play?"

"Of course I do." Jue-ge replied, "I'm just afraid you won't dare to play."

"Hehehe... Hahahaha..." The planner laughed repeatedly after hearing this, "You are very interesting..." After he restrained his laughter, he continued, "But interesting doesn't mean you have the ability."

"You are also very interesting." Feng Bujue replied in a lazy tone, "I'm already looking forward to your reaction when you fail miserably."

As soon as these words came out, the other end of the phone suddenly went silent...

Three seconds later, the hoarse voice spoke again: "I'll give you fifteen minutes to find out the 'exact location of the target' and send it to this number by text message." He paused for half a second, "Fifteen minutes later, this number will be invalid, and if... I haven't received the text message, or you send me the wrong answer, then we have nothing to talk about."

"Heh..." Feng Bujue chuckled and said, "Aren't you afraid that after I find the target, I'll directly lead people to break down the door... and use a tear gas grenade to hold the whole place before you can issue any instructions?"

"You can try." After the planner finished speaking, he hung up the phone...