Chapter 31 Night Owl

"Jiang Shu, say something," Wolf sipped his milk tea, glancing at the silent Jiang Shu seated across the table.

Jiang Shu was staring intently at the Simulated Light Screen before him, not uttering a word, while A, B, C, and Ding huddled around him, ceaselessly operating, searching for any information on Liu Tingruo.

A: The neighborhood surveillance has been covered up.

B: There is no data in the police station database.

C: Surrounding monitoring did not capture relevant footage.

D: All consumption records related to Liu Tingruo have been deleted.

In summary, the conclusion from the four Tablet Spirits was that the person could not be found.

"How is that possible..." Jiang Shu grabbed his hair, bowed his head, and suddenly realized that he knew nothing about Sister Ruo.

Now that he thought about it, to create four Tablet Spirits with such high intelligence, Sister Ruo was probably not just a T2 Hacker.

Wolf had also received an investigative result from Kirie, which turned up nothing, so all he could do was comfort Jiang Shu, "It's okay, I will help you file a case. With the colleagues from the police station helping in the search, we'll find your sister very soon."

"There's no need," Jiang Shu shook his head. He knew very well that whether Sister Ruo wanted to hide or was taken by an unknown force, involving the police would only be a waste of their resources.

By now, he had also calmed down a lot.

Jiang Shu's gaze shifted to the several boxes of miscellaneous items and household appliances piled next to him.

Those were his things, some clothing and personal items, as well as a few electrical appliances he had purchased after moving in, such as a mini-fridge about half his height.

"A fridge? Right." Jiang Shu lifted the fridge out of the box, placed it on the table, then opened it.

The fridge only contained some raw vegetables and meat, which had not spoiled as it had been disconnected from power for a short time.

"The dumplings are gone, the pickled chili sauce and kimchi too." He stroked his chin, feeling slightly relieved. Since these foods had been taken, it at least proved that Sister Ruo must have been safe in the short term.

Only it was unclear whether she had decided to leave on her own or was taken by some organization, but there must be some unspeakable secret.

B: Have you ever considered that she might just be tired of you?

"..." Jiang Shu glared at it, not responding.

B: He's anxious! He's anxious!

Jiang Shu took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and quietly clenched his fists.

Stay calm, this is what Sister Ruo left for me, can't break it.

He glanced at the fridge again. There was a bag of chicken wings at the bottom of the freezer, a bag that he had not yet had the chance to cook for Sister Ruo.

Just a few days ago, she mentioned wanting to eat garlic chicken wings, which indicated that Sister Ruo's departure was an emergency.

At that moment, Little A approached, displaying a photo on its screen. It was a clandestine photo taken of Sister Ruo yesterday morning, and it had now zoomed in on a detail.

Sister Ruo had been sleeping on her stomach, in a messy position, exposing a fragrant shoulder outside the blanket. There was a tattoo on the shoulder, but only a part of it was visible.

"What's this..." Jiang Shu looked closely. It was an animal of some sort, appearing like the emblem of some organization.

Little A then combined the photos taken from different angles that morning by the four of them and extracted the full view of the tattoo.

"An owl," Jiang Shu recognized the creature. He showed the emblem to Wolf, "Do you recognize this? Is there an organization with this symbol?"

"Hm?" Wolf scrutinized it for a while, then shook his head, "Not sure, at least not in the nearby districts. No black organizations use a night owl as their symbol."

"However, it's possible that it's too well hidden," he added. "As you know, the police's control over Area EF is limited, that place is a mix of all sorts, can't say how many small organizations there are."

"No, it can't be a small organization." Jiang Shu was certain that no small group could handle Sister Ruo with her abilities.

Wolf said, "I will keep an eye out for you. Based on this situation, your sister was probably taken by some organization. Anyway, take it slow, you'll find her eventually."

"Okay," Jiang Shu nodded. Once again, he realized the importance of strength, or rather, power. Even if he found that organization with only the identity of the Magician, it would be difficult to seize the initiative.

Was it a coincidence?

"The Fox said the game was about to begin, so an organization, in a bid to strengthen its power, recalled Sister Ruo, which made perfect sense.

Then it seemed that I couldn't escape the game.

Jiang Shu remembered the day three months ago when Liu Tingruo walked up to him, stopped in front of him.

"Here, come with me, be my nanny, with room and board provided."

Liu Tingruo's appearance seemed only to rescue him from the predicament of his past life's dream. And then, once his life got back on track, she disappeared as quietly as she had appeared, without any warning.

"Yo, it's getting late," Wolf looked at the time and said to Jiang Shu, "The police station is holding an award ceremony, and you're invited. Shall we go together?"

"Me?" Jiang Shu instinctively wanted to refuse, as he always hated these things. "Forget it."

Wolf dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand, "That won't do; the Police Chief has already hyped you up."

"Ah?"

"Come on, you won't be disappointed. You're now the rising star of the police station!" Wolf pulled him up.

——

"The successful arrest of the Thirteen District's mechanical disciple owes much to our police station's Crime Consultant—Mr. Jiang Shu," the Seventh Police Station's Police Chief rambled on stage, "Moreover, this also reflects the advanced nature of our police station's system. Our police station is the first in Lonely City to implement the special consultant system..."

Jiang Shu sat in the front row, feeling sore all over from sitting so long. He really hadn't expected the Seventh Police Station's Police Chief to be such a talker; it had already been an hour.

He looked at Wolf, who appeared stern and serious, but Jiang Shu knew from the slight blue glow emanating from his Prosthetic Eye that the guy was surfing the internet!

Glancing around, he noticed that few others were showing any different expression.

Great, so it's just me who's actually listening.

"Now, I will present Mr. Jiang Shu with the Second-Class Meritorious Service Medal," the Police Chief Charles finally shifted the topic to today's main character. "Mr. Jiang Shu, please come to the stage."

Jiang Shu went up, received his medal, had an official smile, gave official responses, and only reverted to normal after stepping down.

As soon as he sat back down, he opened his wristwatch under the table and sent a message to Wolf.

Jiang Shu: How much longer?

Wolf: Depends, he loves to talk.

Jiang Shu: Anything to do with me afterward?

Wolf: Nope.

Jiang Shu: A second-class meritorious service just adds to the salary? No house or something?

Wolf: Wishful thinking. I've got a dozen second-class merits, this is Lonely City.

Jiang Shu: ...

Alright, an old city of crime.

Jiang Shu: Am I free to go then? I need to get back to my magic tricks. Remember to come to the show on Wednesday.

Wolf: You're leaving? This is your award ceremony!

Jiang Shu: I'm not even from your police station; if anyone asks, say I went to the toilet.

After sending the message, Jiang Shu quickly headed towards the back door and disappeared.

Today was already Monday, and Wednesday was the day of the next magic show—he still needed to get to the theater to prepare. Shouldn't he give Kirie a surprise?

Equipment that came knocking at the door had to be taken.

After leaving the conference room, Jiang Shu looked around, recognized the route after some effort, and found the exit. While finding his way, he saw a girl standing in a corner of the corridor with hands in her pockets and a slouched back.

The girl was wearing a white lab coat with a black police jacket thrown over it, dressed very casually.

At that moment, she stood facing the wall, as if reflecting upon her wrongdoing.

Kirie: Yo, isn't this Kirie-san? Haven't seen you for a few days, and you look so down?"