After catching a glimpse of the photo in Jiang Bai Mian's hand, Long Yue Hong suddenly realized:
Since a gunman resembling Lei Yun Song has appeared, it's very likely that a gunman companion resembling Lin Fei Fei will also emerge!
--The information provided by Chen Xu Feng indicates that after the disappearance of the "Old Task Force," only these two members were reportedly seen.
How could I not connect these two things? Long Yue Hong couldn't help but raise his hand and pat his forehead, feeling that he still tends to get flustered when encountering problems, and his thinking becomes less active.
Shang Jian Yao wasn't surprised at all that Jiang Bai Mian took out Lin Fei Fei's photo, and said in a tone that suggested "you've finally reached this point":
"Where do we start asking first?"
Jiang Bai Mian frowned slightly:
"Are you suggesting that I should have been asking people with Lei Yun Song and Lin Fei Fei's photos before?
"The situation now isn't the same as yesterday, is it? Besides, this isn't a wide-net inquiry. Within controllable limits, we don't need to worry too much about alerting the enemy.
"Different times, different measures."
Asking people today if they've seen Lei Yun Song won't have any hidden dangers, as relic hunters throughout the city are looking for him.
But with Lin Fei Fei, we need to be relatively cautious because she hasn't been "exposed" yet.
Not giving Shang Jian Yao a chance to "defend" himself, Jiang Bai Mian glanced at the shops in Hong Luo Lane and said first:
"Give me a countdown."
She immediately walked towards the Huang Jiao Lane entrance and shouted loudly:
"Get ready."
When the second hand approached the hour, Shang Jian Yao raised his right hand with great interest and suddenly waved it down:
"Start!"
Jiang Bai Mian immediately lowered her body, swung her arms, and ran wildly, like a swift cheetah.
Long Yue Hong stared blankly at this scene, not having time to think about what the team leader was doing before Jiang Bai Mian had already run out of Hong Luo Lane and stopped beside Shang Jian Yao.
This kind of commotion naturally attracted the attention of the surrounding relic hunters and passersby, but they all looked blank, as if watching an idiot.
"How many seconds?" Jiang Bai Mian asked, panting.
Shang Jian Yao turned his gaze away from his watch:
"About four seconds."
It's not a digital watch, nor a stopwatch, so it can't be very precise.
"At the time, the gunman was still holding a sniper rifle, and there were many obstacles on the rooftop. Four seconds shouldn't be enough. Let's assume five to six seconds..." Jiang Bai Mian said, walking to the place where Liu Da Zhuang was shot and fell, then took a few steps back towards the entrance of Hong Luo Lane, muttering to herself, "Giving the gunman time to aim."
After standing still, Jiang Bai Mian raised her wrist, looked at the digital watch, and walked into Hong Luo Lane according to the stride and frequency of Liu Da Zhuang in her memory.
"One... two... three... four... five... six." Shang Jian Yao counted very cooperatively.
When six seconds were up, Jiang Bai Mian stopped immediately.
At this point, Long Yue Hong vaguely understood what the team leader was doing:
She was recreating a part of the shooting incident to determine the approximate location where Liu Da Zhuang was discovered by the gunman's companion!
Jiang Bai Mian didn't do anything strange anymore and called Shang Jian Yao over.
The onlookers of relic hunters gradually shifted their gaze away, with only a few still watching.
They believed that Jiang Bai Mian was trying to reconstruct the scene when the incident occurred, and this had already been done by veteran hunters, who found no useful clues, lacking sufficient value.
Once she was no longer the focus of attention, Jiang Bai Mian smiled at Shang Jian Yao and said:
"The gunman's companion couldn't have notified with a walkie-talkie as soon as he discovered Liu Da Zhuang, as that would have been noticed by the other party, who would have changed the route in advance."
As she spoke, she walked a distance forward.
"At this location, if you turned your back and the volume was low, Liu Da Zhuang shouldn't have been able to hear it." Jiang Bai Mian stopped again, pointing to the side of the street, "Take the photos and ask at these shops."
She was looking at Long Yue Hong not far away.
"Me?" Long Yue Hong silently pointed at himself.
Jiang Bai Mian nodded and said to Shang Jian Yao:
"You need to practice more."
Long Yue Hong took a deep breath, first walked to the team leader, quietly took the photo of Lin Fei Fei, and then entered an "electronics repair shop" on the side of the street.
"Boss, hello..." Long Yue Hong greeted somewhat nervously.
The repair shop owner was a man in his late twenties and looked a bit dirty.
He replied without looking up:
"Never seen her, really haven't! Every morning, dozens of people pass by my door, how can I remember them all?
"Liu Da Zhuang, never heard of him!"
Uh, some relic hunters have already come to ask... Long Yue Hong understood immediately.
In order not to let his "solo mission" fail before it even started, he mustered his courage and handed over the photo:
"I don't want to ask about Liu Da Zhuang."
In a slightly nervous state, he didn't know what he thought of, and blurted out:
"Boss, I'm a man, you're also a man..."
The boss looked up in surprise and saw the photo of Lin Fei Fei.
He immediately showed a knowing look:
"You're fascinated by her too?
"Where did you get the photo? You have a camera? That's a good thing!"
Long Yue Hong was stunned for a few seconds before saying:
"You've seen her?"
He had actually seen Lin Fei Fei!
The team leader is truly insightful!
Outside the shop, not far away, Shang Jian Yao, standing facing the road, suddenly muttered in confusion:
"When did he learn 'Reasoning Clown'?"
"That's called imitation, a lucky hit." Jiang Bai Mian breathed a sigh of relief earnestly.
Finding a useful clue at the beginning made her feel that today should be relatively smooth.
Inside the shop, the boss admired the photo, scratching his head:
"Just this morning, not long ago. When I opened the door, she was by that tree, blowing in the cold wind, a little shivering, looking heartbreaking.
"Hey, if I didn't have a family, I would definitely let her come in and wait."
Long Yue Hong saw that he had gained something and became excited, and asked quickly as if to confirm:
"Is it really her?"
"I just saw her, how could I be wrong? I remember this mole on her." The boss pointed to Lin Fei Fei's left eyebrow in the photo.
Long Yue Hong was relieved and asked:
"What happened later? Where did she go?"
"Wasn't someone shot over there? Maybe it scared her, so she went back." The boss pointed to his right, "She probably lives in this courtyard."
Long Yue Hong repeatedly thanked him and left the shop with a sense of accomplishment.
While no one was around, he walked to Jiang Bai Mian and Shang Jian Yao, and while returning the photo, he quickly repeated the clues he had found.
After speaking, Long Yue Hong showed a sincere expression of admiration and asked curiously:
"Team leader, how did you determine that you could find clues about Lin Fei Fei here?"
"I wasn't sure." Jiang Bai Mian replied with a smile.
She glanced at the relic hunters outside the alley and explained quickly:
"If I didn't find anything, it would mean I guessed wrong. Then I would combine the traces at the scene and investigate in another direction.
"There's an old saying in the Old World: 'Be bold in hypothesizing, be careful in verifying.' In the matter of finding clues, don't be afraid of making mistakes. Every mistake you make proves that you have eliminated a possibility and are getting closer and closer to the truth.
"However, you can't do this on the battlefield. If you make a mistake, there might not be a next time."
Long Yue Hong said in a tone of "I've learned something again":
"I understand."
He stopped lingering and left Shang Jian Yao and Jiang Bai Mian, returning to Bai Chen's side.
Jiang Bai Mian then looked at the courtyard that Lin Fei Fei had entered and smiled at Shang Jian Yao:
"It's your turn."
The target was the old gatekeeper guarding the courtyard entrance.
He was in his fifties, wearing a military green cotton hat, a blue shirt, black pants, and brown cotton shoes, looking very bloated and completely without style.
"Can I use my abilities?" Shang Jian Yao wasn't in a hurry to go over.
"Yes." Jiang Bai Mian nodded, "Having reached this point, everyone may be related to the 'disappearance' of Lin Fei Fei and the others. We can't be careless."
Shang Jian Yao first took a breath, watched it dissipate into white mist, and then walked towards the courtyard enclosed by the buildings with a slightly excited expression.
Soon, he arrived at the entrance and smiled at the old gatekeeper sitting in the sentry box:
"Uncle..."
The old man glared and interrupted Shang Jian Yao:
"Give money first if you want to ask questions.
"You relic hunters are all clever!"
Shang Jian Yao's "Reasoning Clown" speech, which he had been preparing for a while, was suddenly blocked back.
He wasn't annoyed and asked with great interest:
"Can I ask anything?"
The old man was stunned for a moment, always feeling that this guy in front of him was a little strange.
He replied after considering it:
"It depends on how much money you can give."
"Uncle, look." Shang Jian Yao put on a bargaining posture, "You're a man, I'm also a man, you want to take the opportunity to make some money, I also want to take the opportunity to make some money, so..."
The old man was confused for a moment and sighed:
"Hey, don't make things difficult for poor people.
"Speak, what do you want to ask?"
"Have you seen this person?" Shang Jian Yao handed over the photo of Lin Fei Fei.
"Seen her, she lives in the courtyard." The old man pointed to the building near Huang Jiao Lane, "See it? That building."
"Which floor, which room?" Shang Jian Yao asked further.
"I heard Lao Zheng from that building mention that she lives on the 2nd floor, the innermost room, on the side near the gate. I don't know if that's exactly right," the old man replied.
"Thank you." Shang Jian Yao took out an energy bar and handed it to the old man.
This way, even if the old man recalls it later, he won't suspect that he was bewitched. He will only think that he was bought off with food.
Sure enough, the old man's face lit up as soon as he saw the energy bar:
"No need, no need."
He said no need, but he took it anyway.
With this transaction, the old man didn't stop Shang Jian Yao and Jiang Bai Mian from entering the courtyard.
Arriving at the corresponding building and going up to the second floor, Jiang Bai Mian wasn't in a hurry to find the target room. She waited patiently for a while.
After a while, her walkie-talkie gave a prompt, and Bai Chen's voice then sounded:
"In position."
Jiang Bai Mian no longer hesitated and walked along the corridor towards the side near the gate.
After only a few steps, she frowned:
"There's no one in either room."
--There are two rooms at the innermost end, one facing the courtyard and one facing Huang Jiao Lane.
According to Jiang Bai Mian's judgment, Lei Yun Song and Lin Fei Fei should be living in the outer room for easy transfer. Bai Chen and Long Yue Hong were going to Huang Jiao Lane to prevent anyone from jumping out of the window.
"No one." Shang Jian Yao repeated Jiang Bai Mian's words.
Jiang Bai Mian immediately quickened her pace, came to the target room, took a small tool hanging on the armed belt, and easily opened the slightly old lock.
The layout inside was similar to where they rented, with bunk beds and desks and benches.
The room was cleaned very neatly. At a glance, there were no belongings left by the tenants.
"Did they give up on this place?" Jiang Bai Mian didn't slack off and searched carefully.
Shang Jian Yao even lay down on the ground and looked under the bed.
"There's a piece of paper." He said suddenly.
"What paper?" Jiang Bai Mian stopped moving.
Shang Jian Yao reached out and took out the piece of paper, then unfolded it while standing up.
The next moment, he and Jiang Bai Mian simultaneously saw the front of the paper.
It said:
"Thinking is a trap, knowledge is poison...
"Don't touch books anymore...
"Can't repeat the old world's mistakes..."