“But I don’t need your protection, and having Nihagel protecting me is enough.” Guan Yi said solemnly, “This is my order! You’ve dealt with Satanists in Africa. I believe you should be very experienced with their methods. Well, if you complete the mission, I can arrange to send you one of these bulletproof vests.”
Looking at the liquid body armor, Douglas's face showed a hint of longing. He had been outside and naturally knew what it was, and that for a soldier, such body armor meant a second life. However, after thinking for a moment, Douglas declined: "Miss, while this body armor is powerful, it's not invincible. Using it for a mission is certainly an extra layer of protection. But relying too much on it can lower one's vigilance. Protecting you is my responsibility, so I'd rather refuse."
Guan Yi was furious. At this moment, Chen Xu looked at Douglas and said to Guan Yi, "Forget it, if he's unwilling, then forget it. I believe that with Nangong Lan here, and his Baguazhang being so powerful, we'll be fine."
Upon hearing the words "Baguazhang," Douglas's face revealed a mocking smile. Guan Yi noticed this smile and frowned, asking, "What are you laughing at?"
“It’s nothing,” Douglas said solemnly. “I just wanted to remind your friend, Miss, that the enemy you’re facing isn’t a martial artist. It’s a mercenary, an assassin. A martial artist might be very strong in close combat, but when it comes to killing, they’re not professional enough, especially when facing a weapon.” Guan Yi frowned upon hearing this and said, “Douglas, since you’re an expert, I request that you become Chen Xu’s bodyguard. Don’t refuse yet. I know you’re fluent in five languages, so I believe you also know one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, called ‘Drawing the Firewood from Under the Cauldron.’ If we can’t catch the murderer, I’ll be in constant danger! If you help Chen Xu catch or deal with the murderer, then I’ll be safe. I believe my father needs protection more, so you’d better finish this matter quickly and return to my father’s side, instead of wasting your time here.”
Douglas hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
Seeing him nod, Guan Yi finally smiled: "That's good. Director Wang, you can now release information to the outside world, saying that there is intelligence that the black man has left Harmony City, or that someone has found the suspect in another city. At this time, let us all go back to the school and lure Miwad into the trap."
Chen Xu frowned: "Luring the snake out of its hole? Isn't that too obvious?"
Guan Yi raised an eyebrow at him smugly: "Of course I wouldn't make such a simple plan. Let me finish. After we get back to school, they'll still be on high alert, just much more relaxed. For example, you'll need to show identification to enter, and outsiders won't be allowed inside. And you, hmph, since you want to show off..." At this point, Guan Yi gave Chen Xu a threatening look. Chen Xu knew she was joking and could only smile wryly and gesture for mercy. Guan Yi then said smugly, "If you show up alone, they'll definitely notice something's wrong. You know they're not stupid! But what if Douglas is with you?"
Everyone present was intelligent, and they immediately understood Guan Yi's meaning. "You mean..."
“That’s right. I’ll spread the word that Douglas is your father’s bodyguard. Ha, a big black guy like him standing there is bound to attract attention. Douglas’s bodyguard status is ranked internationally, very high, but your father can definitely afford to hire him. So, anyone who investigates will know that you dare to swagger around now because you have a top-notch bodyguard by your side, which is why you’re so fearless!”
"Brilliant!" Chen Xu gave a thumbs up. So this was one of the reasons why the woman insisted on arranging a black bodyguard for him. Since the other party wanted to kill him, he would definitely not care about having a bodyguard by his side. On the contrary, he would lower his guard and would not think that this was a good show to lure the snake out of its hole. In this way, he would have an opportunity.
“With Douglas’s tracking skills, I believe he can protect you. Besides, you have a bulletproof vest,” Guan Yi said. “Let’s arrange things this way for now and see if the other side will show up. If he can remain silent, well, I have another plan.”
Chen Xu thought to himself that this woman was quite formidable. Guan Yi then proceeded to speak eloquently, outlining her plan, which was indeed astonishing. Director Wang and Captain Xu exchanged bewildered glances, both wondering, "Are we getting old? Can't even compare to these young people?"
The plan was temporarily settled, but after the meeting, Guan Yi privately approached Chen Xu, hugged him tightly, and whispered in his ear, "Although you have the protection of bulletproof vests and a comprehensive plan, it doesn't mean you're without any risk. You made the choice, and I made the plan. If anything happens to you, it's your own fault!"
Chen Xu smiled and hugged her: "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm the main character!"
Guan Yi smiled, released Chen Xu, and looked intently into his eyes: "But I also made the plan, so I bear some responsibility. If you are truly unfortunate, then I will go with you. I'm afraid I will never meet another friend like you in my life...."
Chapter 194: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole
After Chen Xu returned to school, he immediately attracted the attention of the entire school. When he walked down the street, almost everyone would point at him and say, "Look, stay away from him, or you'll get yourself killed!"
The news that Chen Xu might be hunted down quickly spread throughout the school. More importantly, Chen Xu was now constantly followed by a large black man and a handsome young man in white clothes... Nangong Lan.
When Nangong Lan heard that Chen Xu needed his help, he rushed over without hesitation. This touched Chen Xu deeply, because at that time, Nangong Lan hadn't mentioned the bulletproof vest, and more importantly, it was an extremely dangerous mission.
Nangong Lan smiled and said, "We martial artists believe in repaying kindness tenfold. You have helped me a lot, so it is only natural for me to come back and help you. There is no need for formalities. As long as I have a breath left, I will definitely not let you get hurt."
Chen Xu was very moved, but after that, he became somewhat frantic.
Are all the capable people these days so reckless? Douglas and Nangong Lan both refused to wear bulletproof vests, and Chen Xu finally had to lose his temper to force them to put them on.
Ever since he learned that someone was planning to assassinate him, which was the day Wu Yuan was shot, Chen Xu devoted all his spare time to virtual combat.
It can be said that this period was the time when Chen Xu trained the most diligently, and also the period when Chen Xu grew and improved the most.
Previously, Chen Xu's training, while not entirely inconsistent, was never very focused, resulting in only average performance—a state of being neither particularly outstanding nor lacking in ability. It wasn't until Xiao Min presented him with his first challenge, or rather, his future self presented him with his first challenge—reaching the C-level assessment in virtual combat—that Chen Xu began to put his mind at work.
But now, with his life potentially threatened, Chen Xu is truly focusing all his attention on this game.
Because Chen Xu had already laid a very solid foundation in the previous period, he trained diligently during this time and made rapid progress. After a week, Chen Xu was now able to spar with the one-eyed instructor for dozens of rounds without being at a disadvantage.
The one-eyed instructor is very strong. In Chen Xu's opinion, he's definitely no weaker than Nangong Lan and the black bodyguard Douglas, and might even be slightly stronger. Chen Xu doesn't believe that Miwad is stronger than them. When they meet, there's the bulletproof vest and the sonar gun. Tsk tsk, he really has a bit of Wei Xiaobao's style.
However, Miwad has yet to show up. It seems he disappeared after the last attack on Wu Yuan. This waiting is driving Chen Xu crazy.
"Have you found anything?" Three days after returning to school, Chen Xu and Guan Yi met up. They held a meeting in the school's student activity room. Besides Chen Xu and his group, several plainclothes police officers were also present... After all, such a big matter couldn't be ignored by the police.
These police officers are now disguised. Some are posing as students, others as people in the cake shop at Bixuan, and still others as people in other professions. Their purpose is to monitor the surrounding area for any suspicious individuals.
In Douglas's words, "An assassin who wants to attack a target will make thorough preparations. For example, the target's habits, daily routine, and so on. And if he wants to make a move, he must keep a close eye on the target at all times in order to find a good opportunity. So I believe that Miwad must be watching us from somewhere. Even if he doesn't show up, there must be someone else helping him gather information."
So the officers' task was to see if there were any suspicious people monitoring Chen Xu. If so, they believed he must be in contact with Miwad. And Miwad hadn't shown up yet. According to the police, there were only two possible reasons: First, he had already left Harmony City, so naturally they couldn't find him. Second, someone was helping him, so they couldn't find him either.
As for who was helping him, in this vast sea of people, the police didn't have any good solutions. After all, hiding someone is very simple; as long as they don't stay in places like hotels where their identity is easily exposed, they can just stuff them into any room. The police can't possibly search every single house.
Once the gang leader Miva's men are identified, catching Miva will be quick.
However, the other party was clearly more cunning than they had imagined, and so far they had gained nothing.
"If this continues, we'll collapse on our own without him even having to lift a finger!" Chen Xu complained. No one knew how much pressure he had been under these past few days. Every time he went out, he worried that someone might attack him. This life of high tension made him very irritable and depressed. Now he would rather find this Miwad and fight him face to face.
"Chen Xu, calm down." After saying this, Guan Yi looked at Douglas and said, "What's your opinion? I believe you're an expert in this area."
Douglas first nodded politely to Guan Yi, then said, "I believe the other side is definitely watching us, although we haven't found him yet. But you have to understand, this is a school. If Miwad's accomplice is Chinese, then I believe he or they can easily find someone inside the school to report on Chen Xu's situation. I believe that with the other side's intelligence, they should be able to detect our purpose and won't easily show themselves, so the best approach right now is to wait."
These words made Guan Yi blush slightly, because she was the one who planned this whole operation. But now she realized that she was far less experienced than those who had actually fought on the battlefield. Chen Xu shook his head and said, "I don't want to wait any longer. How about we move on to the next step of the plan?"
The next step Chen Xu mentioned was proposed by Guan Yi: to give Chen Xu a reasonable reason to appear in the public eye, and to find a suitable place for the other party to make their move.
Guan Yi's suggestion was to hold a "Martial Arts Tournament" in an internet cafe, specifically targeting the martial arts game.
The internet cafe could be located in the development zone. Given Chen Xu's current status as the number one ranked player in the national rankings of "Martial Arts Master," his influence as the champion would be significant, and word would definitely reach Miwad's ears. That area is sparsely populated, making it easier for the opponent to target him.
The suggestion was approved by everyone, even Douglas nodded in agreement, saying, "If Miwad really wants to kill Chen Xu, then this is indeed a very good opportunity."
“Let’s do it,” Chen Xu said. “If this continues, I think I’ll go crazy!”
Guan Yi looked at him and finally nodded.
The next day, a high-speed internet cafe near the university town announced the first Harmony City Martial Arts Championship. Registration was free for everyone. The competition would feature both individual and team events, with a first-place prize of tens of thousands of yuan. The first-place winner would also have the opportunity to face off against ICE, currently the highest-ranked player in the country!
The popularity of the game "Martial Artist" has completely surpassed classic real-time strategy games like Counter-Strike, StarCraft, and Red Alert. These days, you can walk into any internet cafe and see heated "gang battles," and the game's popularity has even affected the online player counts of games like World of Warcraft and Fantasy Westward Journey… After all, games rely on people to play them. While single-player fighting games and online games are not directly related, the large number of people playing "Martial Artist" naturally reduces the number of people playing online games.
Similar martial arts tournaments have been held many times before, and the Hexie University Student Union is planning to organize another one, hoping to develop it into an annual league like basketball and football. They had already contacted Chen Xu about this, but due to this unexpected event, the competition had to be postponed temporarily.
Chen Xu, having already become the undisputed number one player in "Martial Arts Master" after his previous solo battle against numerous top Korean players, attracted a large number of enthusiastic "Martial Arts Master" fans to sign up for the tournament.
But Chen Xu's real purpose was to lure Miwad into making a move.
He dared not move in the city, but what about the suburbs? The development zone was full of construction sites, including a newly built university town. The new campus of Hexie University was located there.
The road in that area has been built, but the surrounding buildings are still under construction. There's hardly anyone around on weekdays, and students joke that if you killed someone and dumped them in a haystack in the development zone, it would take at least six months for them to be discovered.
Chen Xu's route was also very clear. Every day at 5 pm, Douglas would drive him there and at 11 pm he would drive him back to school. The driving route was always the same!
I refuse to believe that you, Miwad, can be so patient!
Chapter 195 Assassination Attack, Sniper!
Chen Xu's participation in this competition was purely a publicity stunt, creating ample opportunity for Miwad to make his move. This so-called "Martial Arts Master" competition was orchestrated by Guan Yi behind the scenes, and the prize money was insignificant to them.
This move may seem risky, but it is actually quite safe.
Because along the way, they had studied all the routes using Google Maps. They had also carefully analyzed where the enemy could hide and what attack methods they could use. More importantly, this seemingly inconspicuous Mercedes-Benz was something Guan Yi had urgently asked her father for; it was a completely bulletproof car!
Furthermore, the car was equipped with an advanced tracking device. Once shot, this device could immediately calculate the exact location of the shot, facilitating tracking. Every day, as Chen Xu traveled back and forth, plainclothes police officers were lying in ambush on the routes the criminal might take in case of an attack, waiting for Miwad to take the bait!
But Miwad never showed up.
In the past few days, Chen Xu has been making his rounds at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m., especially at 11 p.m., when there are almost no people in the development zone, making it an ideal place for an ambush.
In the bustling internet cafe, Chen Xu and his friends were on guard, fearing that Miwad might take advantage of the situation.
But Mivad actually managed to hold back. He simply refused to make a move! It almost drove Chen Xu to the rooftop, yelling, "Mivad, shoot me!"
This went on for a full two weeks, and before we knew it, the May Day holiday had arrived.
Students usually love the May Day and National Day holidays the most, but during Chen Xu's freshman year, the National Day holiday was used to make the game "The Legend of Jin Yong"; and the May Day holiday was originally planned to be a group trip, but now it's ruined.
However, it must be said that there has been absolutely no movement for the past two weeks. This has inevitably lowered Chen Xu and his team's guard. They dare to go out alone now, although they still wear their bulletproof vests. Fortunately, the material of these vests takes comfort into account. They are very comfortable against the skin, keeping them warm in winter and cool in summer. Otherwise, in May, when the weather is already getting hot, wearing full-body, non-breathable bulletproof vests would have caused them to die from the heat, even if Miwad didn't show up.
Guan Yi felt powerless and frustrated by the failure of this "luring the snake out of its hole" plan. After all, this woman always considered herself very clever, and her plan was indeed quite good. But she overlooked the most important point... Mivad was a warrior.
A soldier who has spent many years on the battlefields of Afghanistan and West Africa!
Douglas was right when he said, "A truly excellent assassin strikes only when he has the best chance of success. To become such an excellent assassin, one must learn patience." Perhaps Mivald sensed a conspiracy against him, or perhaps his warrior's nature told him that now was definitely not the best time to strike. So he patiently waited for the perfect opportunity.
However, Chen Xu was already finding it hard to take it anymore.
The assassin's prolonged absence has caused their initial tension to gradually evolve into the current belief that "perhaps Miva is truly no longer in this city." Some even speculate that Miva has been captured by the all-powerful SMMH, but we simply don't know yet?
To this speculation, Chen Xu could only offer a helpless smile. If he were truly all-powerful, he would have already caught this bastard. Why would he be living in constant fear like this?
Before we knew it, the May Day holiday had passed quickly amidst the tension, and nothing much had happened yet.
At this point, apart from Douglas who remained vigilant, everyone else had largely relaxed. Even Chen Xu, whose attitude towards the virtual combat system had gradually become more lax. However, Chen Xu had lost his job working for Dr. Li. Because he had been absent for almost a month, Dr. Li couldn't very well neglect his regular duties while waiting for him. Therefore, Dr. Li had no choice but to select another student from the Department of Life Sciences, which delighted the dean of the School of Life Sciences. His wish had come true!
After May Day, the school started a new experimental course on computer hardware assembly and maintenance. This means giving students the opportunity to disassemble old, unused computers into their individual parts and then reassemble them. Later, they will learn how to troubleshoot and repair faulty computer hardware.
Chen Xu had been able to disassemble and reassemble computers since middle school; he had taken apart and reassembled his family's old computer countless times. He was very skilled at it. However, to earn credits and for group activities, Chen Xu didn't mind playing those old games again. And to be honest, while he could disassemble and reassemble computers, he wasn't capable of repairing them himself, so this was a good opportunity to learn.
However, the experimental classes are not held at the old campus where Chen Xu and his classmates currently live, but at the newly built campus in the Economic Development Zone, University Town. Therefore, they have to take the school bus to and from the campus for group activities.
Two weeks ago, Chen Xu would definitely have skipped class because it was too dangerous. But now, Chen Xu felt that living in constant fear was unnecessary, especially with Nangong Lan and Douglas by his side, so he didn't care.
The lab class was held once a week, and Chen Xu attended for three weeks without anything happening. More than a month had passed since Wu Yuan's shooting, so no one brought up the matter of Miwad anymore.
Today was the last lab class in May. Although Chen Xu had relaxed, he still brought Douglas and Nangong Lan with him. They arrived safely, but by the time get out of class ended, it was already past 5 p.m.
Because Hopson University's shuttle bus service is very limited, unlike some prestigious universities that have a fleet of dozens of buses, each bus can only seat about 70 or 80 people. With two small classes per trip, averaging 30 people per class, plus some teachers, the bus is always packed. If there are extra teachers, some might even have to stand.
However, there are exceptions. For example, some students finish their experiments early and take the bus home, or they are delayed by something and don't go home. So, there will be empty seats on the school bus. That's when some people get their hands on these seats.
The new campus is quite remote, and there are several other new university campuses nearby, but only one bus route, number 149, passes through the area. Moreover, Hopson University isn't even the starting point for that route. This means that every time students from the new campus go to or from the city, the 149 bus is packed like sardines, making it hard to breathe. And the bus journey from the city to the new campus takes about forty minutes—it's incredibly crowded!
When Chen Xu first arrived at university, he went to the new campus with the computer interest group. On his way back at noon, he missed the school bus because it was late and had to take the public bus instead… This was before Chen Xu was developing the drug “Rabies Killer,” so he was a poor student living on a few hundred yuan a month. He couldn't afford a taxi, so he took the bus.
But when the bus arrived… goodness! The new campus of Hefei University is the third stop on the way to the city, and theoretically, since it's not far from the starting station, there should be plenty of seats on the bus. But that day happened to be a Saturday, and there were even more students from neighboring schools going to the city!
The bus was packed with people!
A whole car full of living people!
But Chen Xu looks like a whole truckload of canned sardines...
After the dozen or so members of their computer interest group, along with other waiting passengers, squeezed onto the bus, it was crammed with at least two hundred people! Severely overloaded! And even at later stops, people were still getting on! Almost no one got off!
Since most of these students were going into the city, no one would get off at the bus stop inside the city. So Chen Xu squeezed his way here, and from then on, he vowed never to take the No. 149 bus again!
So every time the school bus arrives, there's always a group of opportunists who want to see if they can snag a seat on the bus, even if it's just standing.
Because school buses are not like public buses. They don't stop along the way; they take the shortest route to the city campus, so even if you're standing, it's comfortable.
Gao Xiaojie and her friends encountered this situation today, and the people who stole their car were a few seasoned veterans. The new campus of Hexie University is currently under construction. Apart from a few dormitories, teaching buildings, and the canteen, the rest of the campus, including the sports fields, is just a muddy mess. Moreover, it's far from the city center and there's nothing much around. So, this neglected location was assigned to the affiliated adult education college and the associate-to-bachelor degree programs.