66: Chapter 66: The Intruder (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote) 66: Chapter 66: The Intruder (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote) Regit, despite his age, hadn’t beco forgetful enough to leave his door unlocked.
He Ao’s gaze shifted downward, eyeing the handle of the door in front of him.
The smart anti-theft lock was intact and seed to have been hacked.
The apartnt Regit rented was cheap and narrow, and the smart lock wasn’t sophisticated, so it being hacked wasn’t unusual.
The residents here generally didn’t possess valuables that needed protection from thieves.
He Ao thought for a mont, but didn’t move forward.
Instead, he gently pushed the door open and stood to the side, leaning against the wall beside the door.
The old security door creaked open slowly, with no reaction from inside.
He Ao waited a mont, ensuring no sounds erged before he slowly edged out a leg, then his body, and finally his head,
Still no reaction.
He Ao frowned slightly and then he cautiously entered the room.
Bang—
The sound of a window suddenly being thrown open echoed.
He Ao imdiately chased after the noise, and by the ti he reached the window, all he could see was a figure vanishing into the distance on a tri-wing glider.
The foldable intelligent tri-wing glider was not cheap; the combat suits of the Federal Bureau of Investigation were equipped with this kind of glider for ergency escape from high altitudes.
It was unfortunate that Regit was not skilled with firearms, and he didn’t keep guns at ho; otherwise, He Ao could have attempted to mark the fleeing figure with sothing.
During the brief mont He Ao observed, the figure supported by the glider had already shrunk to a dot, disappearing between the skyscrapers.
He Ao retracted his gaze and turned on the lights inside the room.
His apartnt was a duplex, divided into two floors, with the bed upstairs and a small living room, kitchen, and bathroom downstairs.
At the mont, the entire living room was in disarray, with every cabinet, drawer, and lid flung open.
He Ao went upstairs and discovered his bedding had been thrown into complete chaos as well.
He checked the smart devices and valuables inside the house, finding nothing missing.
Certainly, the intruder had not co to steal but to search for so specific item.
An ordinary thief couldn’t afford such an expensive foldable glider.
He Ao inspected the entire house once more and then discovered a black micro-cara on the cabinet by the door.
The cara faced the direction of the door, able to clearly record the appearance of anyone entering.
He Ao picked up the micro-cara and looked at it closely; it was a cheap model produced by the Tevina Communications Group.
This type of cara was a hot seller on the underground black market in Dawn City, not only because of its affordability but also because its system was easily hacked, allowing modification into an untraceable “black cara.”
Clearly, this cara was a “black cara” from the black market.
He Ao crushed the micro-cara in his hand, his expression growing solemn.
He began to review the entire incident.
The person who had broken into his ho had used advanced equipnt and taken no valuables, indicating that the intruder was not after money but so specific items.
Typically, a hoowner, upon entering, would lock the door behind them; this would alert the intruder to their return and give them ti to hide or escape.
The door being left ajar could only an one thing: the intruder wanted to attract soone into the room.
This was also why He Ao had acted with a series of cautious movents earlier; he had been concerned about an intruder waiting to attack him at the entrance.
But the intruder didn’t attack the person opening the door; instead, they had left a cara there.
The purpose of the cara was simple: to record footage and docunt the appearance of the one who opened the door.
But if he wanted to record what Regit looked like, there was no need.
Because Regit himself was the master of this house, and he would definitely co ho.
All one had to do was squat nearby for a few days or rent a house next door, and they could confirm who the owner of this house was.
For the intruder, who seed to display considerable financial resources, this wouldn’t be difficult.
So what if, the person he was waiting for was not Regit, but soone coming to ‘visit’ Regit?
A guest arriving at the doorstep of their host, finding the door ajar, knocking, pushing the door open, and entering with curiosity— all would be considered normal actions.
By then, this cara would have recorded the ‘visitor’s’ face, allowing the intruder observing from the other side to make their next move.
When He Ao deduced to this point, his train of thought stalled, as he searched through all of Regit’s mories and couldn’t find a ‘guest’ that fit this scenario.
Imrsed in Martial Arts practice, Regit hardly had any friends, and among the very few he did have, none knew where he lived.
In other words, the ‘visitor’ didn’t exist at the beginning of this logic.
Regit would not have any visitors.
This problem couldn’t be deduced any further from here, so He Ao withdrew his thoughts and began to ponder the significance behind this matter.
It appeared that Regit had gotten involved in so affairs he shouldn’t have and may even have gotten hold of sothing he shouldn’t have.
He Ao once again recalled Regit’s recent mories—up until the encounter with the ch Cultist, Regit’s life had been regular and stable: working at the library, talking to visitors, and practicing Martial Arts in his spare ti.
He hadn’t received any items, not even via online shopping.
Elderly individuals typically have few desires, and Regit had neither a wife nor children; his only hobby was practicing Martial Arts.
The case was becoming interesting.
He Ao glanced at his wristband; it was now 9:17 p.m.
By this ti, Regit would usually have already returned ho.
The incident three days ago with the thugs happened because a volunteer had taken leave, and he had to stay late to rearrange the bookshelves.
Most of the ti, Regit would have been ho by now.
Did the intruder break into the room at this ti because they were confident they wouldn’t encounter the room’s owner?
Or because they had surveilled for a long ti and confird that the owner wouldn’t be coming ho today?
Or perhaps, they thought that the room’s owner would never co back?
One thought after another erged in He Ao’s mind, these clues like a tangle of unruly threads, intertwining with each other.
He Ao took a deep breath to suppress the doubts in his heart.
He double-locked the door, tidied up everything at ho, and then contacted the library manager to confirm that he could go to work the next day.
When all clues halt at a critical point, venturing into new territory to find new clues is an excellent thod.
——
The next morning, He Ao changed into suitable clothes, grabbed the cane leaning against his bed, placed a strand of hair in the door gap, and headed off to the library for work.
By the ti He Ao reached the library, limping with his cane, it was already 8 a.m.
The library opened at 9 a.m., but He Ao needed to arrive early to perform a security check, do so simple cleaning in the main hall, and check for any books not sorted from the day before.
Therefore, he needed to be there ahead of ti.
He Ao completed these tasks quickly, and by the ti everything was done, it was just about 8:30 a.m.
According to Regit’s routine, this would usually be the ti to practice Martial Arts for a while.
However, He Ao sat down in front of the library’s computer, launched the image search, and uploaded a picture that looked like a pictogram.
It was a copy he had made of the first character from that ‘Martial Arts booklet’.
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