Chapter 555: Tracking

As Chen Xiaolian was driving out of the residential complex, he subconsciously turned to look at the security guard keeping watch on the gate – naturally, the guard was not Da Gang.

Chen Xiaolian did not give it much thought. He continued driving into the street, got into a different lane and made a turn at a junction.

Unknown to Chen Xiaolian, around 100 metres behind him was a grey coloured sedan car with a foreign region’s plate number. It was slowly following Chen Xiaolian’s car. As it was drizzling lightly, Chen Xiaolian’s vision was affected and he was unable to detect that he was being followed.

Fatty sat in the driver’s seat of the grey coloured car. His tablet was on the dashboard. The screen of his tablet revealed a map and a moving dot of light.

Aunt Flame sat in the first passenger’s seat while Skyblade was in the back seat. There was a wooden expression on his face. Although his eyes were open, his entire being looked like that of a wooden puppet.

“Are we just going to keep following?” As he was slowing down to make a turn, Fatty took advantage of the time to ask. Then, seeing the traffic light on the street ahead turning red and Chen Xiaolian stopping the car at the junction, Fatty stopped the car somewhere inconspicuous behind Chen Xiaolian’s car.

“Follow him.” Aunt Flame considered for a moment and said, “Do not make contact first. Check out where this fellow is headed first. Didn’t you say he is very close with Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild? Maybe we can find something out from him.”

“However, is it a good thing to be following him secretly like this? This will cause a misunderstanding. What if he mistakes our actions as that of his enemies?”

Aunt Flame shot Fatty a glance and said, “Just do what I tell you to.”

Fatty followed for tens of minutes. When he saw Chen Xiaolian get onto the city’s expressway, a frown appeared on his face.

That moment was not a peak hour and there were very little vehicles there on the expressway. If he were to continue following Chen Xiaolian, the odds of him getting exposed would only increase.

“He’s entered the expressway.”

“Follow!”

Later, Chen Xiaolian moved out from the expressway through the expressway ramp and into another street. He was now in the southern outskirts of Nanjing, somewhere near a university.

Fatty followed attentively. It did not take long for him to see Chen Xiaolian’s car, which was in front of his, give the turn signal. Fatty quickly stopped his car by the street.

Chen Xiaolian got off the car and walked into a pastry shop located beside the street.

“What should we do?” Fatty asked. “He entered to buy stuff.”

“That is a pastry shop. How long would it take him to buy his stuff? Just wait!” Aunt Flame narrowed her eyes. She also rolled down the window; showing no hesitation, she lit a cigarette and took a deep drag from it.

…

Inside the pastry shop, Chen Xiaolian declined the attendant’s offer for help. Instead, he quickly ducked beside the display. Narrowing his eyes, he observed the street outside.

He was staring at the grey coloured car.

Chen Xiaolian looked at the mobile phone he was holding in his hand. The mobile phone’s screen appeared like a radar and a red dot was flashing on it.

This item was Roddy’s masterpiece, one of the few inventions Roddy came up with.

Chen Xiaolian had not realized that someone was following him when he left his house, but after driving for over ten minutes, he found out that he was being followed.

That was thanks to this mobile phone that Roddy had modified.

Chen Xiaolian was in the dark about the principles behind the device’s operations. However, according to Roddy, the device worked like a radar. It would automatically scan his surroundings for metal bodies with a volume exceeding one square metre.

Normally, the scanned results would not give a response and appear on the screen of his mobile phone.

However, if the scanned object remained detectable after 10 minutes, meaning it had remained close to him during that time…

“That means it is possible that you are being followed. 10 minutes. Even if we consider the possibility of the other party coincidentally using the same road, there are also the direction, velocity and various other factors to consider. 10 minutes is enough to rule out the possibility of it being a coincidence. If a target continues to stay close to you for 10 minutes, we can basically deduce that the target is following you.”

Those were Roddy’s exact words when he handed this little ‘toy’ to Chen Xiaolian.

Roddy had just come up with this device a few days ago. Unexpectedly, it would prove useful so soon.

Chen Xiaolian turned and looked at a female attendant standing in the distance. He then walked over.

“Excuse me? Does this shop have a backdoor?”

…

Ten minutes later, Aunt Flame, who had snuffed out her third piece of cigarette, began feeling irritable.

Fatty’s face was somewhat contorted and he said, “Why is he still not coming out?”

Aunt Flame tossed away the cigarette butt, pushed the door open and got down the car before walking toward the pastry shop.

One minute later, Aunt Flame quickly made her way back. After getting on the car, she revealed a dismal expression. “He is gone. We may have been found out. The target has run off.”

“Does he not want the car anymore?” Fatty was stunned.

“Fool. Parking the car here doesn’t mean throwing it away. At most, he would just end up with some summons.” Aunt Flame gritted her teeth. “This friend of yours is quite vigilant.

“What should we do now?”

“Check his position!”

Fatty quickly tapped on his tablet for a bit. Next, his face revealed a dumbfounded look. “He… … disappeared.”

“Disappeared? What do you mean by that?”

“It means the signal from the Storage Watch that I gave him has disappeared. I can no longer receive the signal.”

“He… … would never throw away the Storage Watch. There must be something else blocking the signal,” said Aunt Flame with a frown.

…

Chen Xiaolian stood inside an alley by the street. He was standing no more than 50 steps away from Fatty’s car.

He had already changed his outer clothes. To be exact, he had put on a very ugly looking high school uniform. He also placed a baseball cap over his head, pulling its brim low.

Most importantly, his left hand was in his pocket, gripping onto an item.

It was something like a metal fragment the size of a matchbox – to be exact, it was one of the broken parts of the mechanical octopuses (Electronic Guardians).

Roddy had said, “This thing is naturally equipped with the ability to interfere and block off all electronic signals.”

Chen Xiaolian was uncertain how the other party was following him. He did not know that it was due to his Storage Watch. However, for safety’s sake, he retrieved that remnant of the mechanical octopus and held it.

Better to take preventive measures.

A few minutes later, the grey coloured car began moving. It turned on its lights and slowly drove into the street.

Chen Xiaolian quickly rushed out from the alley and got into a cab parked beside the street.

It would appear that the driver was waiting for someone. As he was about to tell Chen Xiaolian to get down, a stack of bills was shoved before his eyes.

“Follow that grey coloured sedan car in front and don’t let them realize that we are following them. This money is all yours.”

The driver quickly swallowed his intended words. Without hesitating, he accepted the money and started the cab to give chase.

“Don’t get too close.” Chen Xiaolian sat in the first passenger’s seat and kept his eyes looking forward.

“Fellow student, what is this about?” asked the driver as he was driving.

Chen Xiaolian did not reply.

“A dispute between lovers?” It would seem that cab driver was used to this kind of thing. He said in a kind tone, “You youngsters. When you encounter issues, you must be sure not to act impulsively.”

The corners of Chen Xiaolian’s mouth twitched and he smiled, but he did not try to explain anything.

This cab driver’s driving skill was clearly several notches higher compared to Fatty’s.

Additionally, thanks to the fact that there were many other cabs on the street, the cab’s actions of following Fatty’s car became less conspicuous. After following Fatty’s car for seven to eight kilometres, he saw the car stopping before a very ordinary looking hotel.

“Move straight and don’t stop,” whispered Chen Xiaolian.

The cab continued moving forward. After going forward for roughly 300 metres, Chen Xiaolian got down.

He stood on the street and checked his surroundings. Next, he inserted both his hands into his pockets and swaggered toward the hotel.

The hotel was not a large building. Its surrounding conditions were also not that good. There was a very narrow street behind the hotel. Food stalls filled both sides of the street. Foods such as braised chicken rice, pickled fish, hot pots and various others were sold there.

Although the sky had yet to darken, some shops had begun to put up their barbecue pits, taking up a considerable amount of the street’s space.

The hotel had only around four floors. Additionally, it was converted from a residential building. Thus, the door of the hotel was very small.

Chen Xiaolian did not choose to enter through the front door. Instead, with both hands still resting inside his pockets, he circled around. After circling around the hotel once, Chen Xiaolian was able to get a rough picture of the surrounding terrain.

…

“Truth be told, there is no need for us to follow him like that. I know him. That fellow is quite a decent fellow. If I knew this would happen, I might as well just go meet him in person.” After stepping into the room, Fatty was unable to stop himself from grumbling.

Aunt Flame cast a cold gaze at him and said, “Now I know why Bluesea keeps insisting against you joining Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild – you do not have any sense of wariness at all. At present, something has happened to Zero City. At a time like this, any acts of caution on our part cannot be considered overboard in any way.”

“There is no grudge between him and me. Rather, we can be considered as friends. He would never harm me,” replied Fatty with a frown.

Aunt Flame ignored Fatty. Propping Skyblade, she led him into the room and onto the sofa.

Fatty looked at Skyblade and said, “Is my dad all right? You keep giving him that drug. Would it bring about any adverse side effect?”

“You are very familiar with that drug. It will not bring him any harm at all. If we allow him to regain consciousness, he will cause a ruckus. Could it be you wish to see me beat him senseless?” Aunt Flame snorted and moved to grab a glass of water. Gulping it down, she turned and said, “Here is the plan. Our plan to follow him has failed. However, we already know where this Chen Xiaolian resides. So, we can change our plans. Tomorrow, we will go to his place of residence and wait. After that, you go and make contact. Try to get some information from him.”

“What about you?”

“I will be hiding nearby. If the opportunity arises, lure him over to a suitable location.” Aunt Flame shook her head and continued, “I will deal with him.”

“I told you, he is not an enemy!” Fatty jumped up to his feet. “Aunt Flame! Why do you always like to resort to such extreme measures?”

“Friends and foes are hard to distinguish. It is never wrong to be a little careful,” said Aunt Flame coldly. “You said it yourself. He has a deep relationship with Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild! However, Zero City’s circumstance is now a mystery. If he really does have such a deep relationship with Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, how could he leisurely stay in his place of residence? How could he drive so slowly in the city just now? Logically speaking, he should be feeling very anxious. Anxious to find a way to contact Zero City! You have seen it for yourself just now, the speed at which he was driving did not exceed 60 kph!

“Don’t tell me he is afraid of getting a speeding ticket!

“So, what does that mean? It means he is not feeling anxious about anything.

“Think about it. After losing contact with Zero City, the both of us have become anxious to such a degree.

“Then, look at him.

“Is that not suspicious?

“There is nothing wrong with being a little bit careful!”

Fatty understood that there was no way he could win an argument with Aunt Flame. He simply gave a sigh, “Fine. Tomorrow, I will go find him and talk with him.”

“Remember, do not mention about me! Probe him with words. Don’t go asking about Zero City right from the start.”

…