26. Coincidence?

The stark red warning that appeared caused Lin Qing to feel as if he'd fallen into an ice pit, snapping him awake instantly.

Order Level decrease of 0.6 Level??

Moreover, it was blood red, indicating that the danger was directed at him!

The magnitude of the Order Level decrease reflected the level of danger he faced.

For instance, the fugitive he caught at the bar and the towering, brawny man next to Luo Tuo only triggered a 0.2 Level decrease when they harbored the intention to kill him.

But now it had dropped by 0.6 Level!

Could it be...

Someone had been secretly monitoring the Patrol's situation, and the moment they noticed he was moving the wardrobe, they harbored a killing intent towards him?

Looking at it this way, there really might be a secret hidden behind this row of wardrobes!

A mechanism? A hidden door?

This Red Oak Boxing Gym indeed had problems.

Perhaps, there really was a great merit...

Only—

"With my current strength, can I handle a danger of 0.6 Level?"

In that moment, this thought flashed through Lin Qing's mind.

After a slight hesitation, he released his grasp, about to move the row of wardrobes, and muttered to himself, "Judging by the size of this wardrobe, it couldn't fit a person anyway..."

Subsequently, Lin Qing maintained his composure and took another look around the other corners of the changing room before turning and walking out of the room.

[Order Level has increased by 0.6 Level]

The next moment, a line of green text appeared before his eyes.

Lin Qing let out a slight sigh of relief.

As expected, someone had been covertly observing him and withdrew their murderous intent once they realized he wasn't going to move the row of wardrobes.

Although his current strength was passable, he still wasn't clear on what exactly a 0.6 Level danger entailed.

Even if he carried a gun, he wasn't confident.

Uncertainty like this, where the gains were unclear, was not worth the risk.

"There's great merit, but also great danger. I'm not necessarily able to handle it right now; I need enough strength..."

Lin Qing took a deep breath, glanced at Teng Feiyu, who was still carefully conducting a search in the vicinity, and thought to himself with a sense of resignation, "Aren't they overestimating me? To let me take part in such dangerous merits. Or perhaps... he's not fully aware?"

"Squad leader."

At this moment, Zhao Jiayi approached, speaking timidly, "Did you find anything?"

"No," Lin Qing shook his head.

"Oh, I've only got the changing room behind you left to search," Zhao Jiayi said, "I'll go take a look."

Seeing her about to walk towards the problematic changing room, Lin Qing frowned slightly and immediately placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head, "No need to look, I've already checked it. There's no problem."

Zhao Jiayi turned to look at him, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then nodded and said, "Alright."

"We've searched enough, it's time to withdraw."

Lin Qing immediately picked up his work phone and issued the order to regroup.

He didn't think Zhao Jiayi, with her slight frame, would be able to move that row of large wardrobes, but it was still better to be safe than sorry.

If they really provoked the enemy lurking in the dark, that would be a different story.

Now that he knew the merit was hidden in this Red Oak Boxing Gym, he could always come back to claim it when his strength was sufficient.

He still had significant room for improvement.

Before long, both the second and the seventh teams had assembled.

"Squad leader, are we not continuing the search?" Teng Feiyu couldn't help asking.

"It's just an ordinary boxing gym, haven't we searched it all?"

Lin Qing spoke calmly, "There's no need to waste more time. We still have enough time tonight to conduct a search around Zhao Jiayi's residence."

Before Teng Feiyu could say anything more, Lin Qing led his team out of the boxing gym.

The person in charge gave a courteous smile, "Take care, everyone."

After the group of Patrol Officers had left, the person in charge turned and walked briskly into a resting room, closed the door behind him, and immediately knocked rhythmically on a part of the wall.

The wall slowly recessed, revealing a small, exquisite display screen. On the screen was a middle-aged man with a cold demeanor.

"Mr. Qi, what's the situation down there? I heard that the entrance at Qingtai Hotel was also searched," The person in charge asked somewhat nervously.

"It's fine."

The cold middle-aged man said, "We received the news in advance, and we were well-prepared. But just now, I thought that young Patrol Officer had discovered the entrance, and I was about to silence him."

"With the entrance being so well-hidden, and the soundproofing and camouflage being perfect, how could he possibly find it?" The person in charge shook his head.

"So you're saying... it's probably just a coincidence."

...

...

Zhao Jiayi lived at New An Road Time Square, which was not far away.

Before long, two Patrol cars arrived near Time Square and parked by the roadside.

"Where should we start looking?"

Lin Qing looked at Zhao Jiayi and asked, "I've checked the department's records, and there's nothing suspicious near your home. Where would you like to search?"

Zhao Jiayi thought for a moment, then said, "Is there really no place that might be breaking the law?"

"There are places, but none that warrant a search," Lin Qing shook his head.

"Where?" Zhao Jiayi asked, puzzled.

"A bath center," Lin Qing said. "The rest are either shopping centers or kindergartens. The only place open at night is the bath center."

"Uh..."

Zhao Jiayi hesitated and said, "Then let's just casually check out the bath center."

Han Ying, sitting beside her, couldn't help but snicker, "Jiayi, you're really adorably naive."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly, sent a message to Team Leader Han, then entered the address into the Patrol car and drove toward the bath center.

...

It didn't take long for the team of Patrol Officers to arrive near the bath center.

A colleague from Squad Two, who was familiar with Lin Qing, couldn't resist teasing, "Is Team Leader Lin planning to treat us to a foot bath as a reward?"

Lin Qing stood at the entrance of the bath center, called Junlan, looked around, and asked, "Is this place legitimate?"

A male colleague from Squad Two shook his head, "I've been here, it's very legitimate."

"That's good then," said Lin Qing casually. "Let's all put in a little more effort. Just do a face recognition check on the clients and staff of this bath center, and then we can call it a day."

"Pfft... I thought we were going to get a foot bath..."

"So boring, so boring..."

"Let's find somewhere to eat late-night food later."

After some idle chatter, the team of Patrol Officers headed inside the bath center.

The search task was too simple, and the atmosphere was fairly relaxed.

But then—

"Hm?"

For some reason, Lin Qing suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation, an instinctive unease. The seemingly ordinary bath center in front of him now felt like a den harboring a fierce beast.

This sensation seemed to come from the subconscious, just like when he was at the Red Oak Boxing Gym earlier, and he inexplicably suspected there was something off about that row of lockers.

Was there danger?

Lin Qing felt strange but didn't have time to think too much and immediately said in a deep voice, "Everyone, be vigilant and don't let your guard down."

...

The bath center wasn't very large, and after asking the front desk and manager, the team of Patrol Officers typically split into pairs to start checking the rooms.

Since it was the area where Zhao Jiayi lived, Lin Qing took Zhao Jiayi with him in a pair to start verifying the identities of the guests one by one.

Even if they encountered guests who were asleep, they had to wake them up for facial recognition.

"Team Leader, there's a small room over there."

Zhao Jiayi suddenly pointed to a rather narrow room around the corner.

"Let's check it out."

Lin Qing nodded slightly, but the unease in his heart became even more pronounced.

Upon opening the door, indeed, there were two guests lying on the two sofas in the small room.

Both were lying on their backs, seemingly asleep.

"Wake up."

Lin Qing narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Patrol, get up for a facial recognition check."

The next moment—

[Current Order Level has decreased by 0.2 level]

[Current Order Level has decreased by 0.2 level]

Two lines of scarlet prompts appeared before his eyes, one after the other.