Michelle responded without hesitation, "Nonsense!"

I had no choice but to say, "What should I do now?"

"We've already alerted the enemy; we can only wait and see," Michelle's command of Chinese surprised me.

"Will he fight back viciously?"

"Hasn't he already?"

"That... is true."

"He probably won't make any drastic moves, because doing so would expose him. He isn't that foolish."

"But can we anticipate his actions?"

"That, I can't answer with certainty, but there is a way we can probe him."

"I warn you, don't use me as an experimental subject."

"Absolutely not."

"Fine, I'll try again."

Following Michelle's perspective, Chen Yujia was an exceptionally clever man, and such people shared a common trait: arrogance. Therefore, dealing with this kind of person required the most seemingly foolish approach—of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, 'to retreat is the best policy.' Simply put: if you can't afford to provoke him, you can afford to hide.

However, he wasn't asking me to hide and do nothing.

Soon, my passport for going abroad was ready, and I arrived at the airport exactly on time. After boarding the plane, I went into the lavatory, changed my clothes, disguised myself as a man with a thick beard, and then disembarked. Of course, all the expenses for this were sponsored by Michelle.

The moment I left the airport, I felt an opportunity materialize before me; if I could seize it, Chen Yujia would fall into the net of justice.

Simultaneously, I began to harbor doubts about Michelle. If he truly wasn't Chen Yujia's equal, Chen Yujia certainly wouldn't regard him as a rival. It was just that Michelle hadn't had the chance to show his capability in front of me yet. I believed he possessed his own unique strengths that Chen Yujia would find deeply concerning.

I hailed a cab to an ordinary residential complex, made a phone call, and followed the instructions given over the phone to Building 12, Unit 3, Apartment 402.

The door opened, and a man rushed out, saying, "Wang Lei, this is the last time I trust you. If there's another mistake, I'll personally send you to Shipanshan!"

Faced with Governor Jiang's blatant threat, I replied glumly, "If I fail again, you won't need to send me."

"Let's be clear beforehand: if we succeed, this will be credited to the Special Affairs Office. The expenses for the passport and airfare can be reimbursed; otherwise, not a single penny comes from me."

"It's a deal. I am not someone who goes back on his word."

I stayed at Governor Jiang's residence for a whole week. Only Governor Jiang knew about this matter, and he was also responsible for spreading the word within the Bureau that I had gone to the U.S. to meet with Professor Michelle. I was certain this news had already reached Chen Yujia’s ears.

This was the first step of Michelle's plan: he wanted Chen Yujia to believe I had joined forces with him to fully confront him. This would prompt Chen Yujia to start preparing, such as destroying any evidence that might have been left behind.

If things unfolded exactly as Michelle predicted, not only could a formal criminal investigation into Chen Yujia be launched, but it might also lead us down a rabbit hole to find concrete evidence of his crimes. For me, he was already guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, but a court could never accept testimony obtained through hypnosis, and I certainly couldn't walk around in the illusory realm of hypnosis carrying a tape recorder.

Evidence. I needed evidence in the real world!

Once I secured that, I could bring him to justice.

But would a demon-king with an IQ bordering on monstrous, like Chen Yujia, leave behind evidence?

Yet, wasn't Michelle also a prodigy, and one who was already a prodigy before Chen Yujia even earned that title? I trusted his understanding of Chen Yujia must exceed my own imagination; his arrangement must have been made after meticulous consideration.

Professor Michelle informed me that the most likely action Chen Yujia would take now was silencing the driver who intentionally ran over Gao Jianning forever.

That was his only vulnerability. At the time, according to his original plan, it was flawless because the driver was terminally ill; in a year or eighteen months, God would step in to silence him, making him disappear automatically. However, he hadn't anticipated that I would suddenly ally with Professor Michelle, thus overturning all his schemes. As a result, that driver, not yet claimed by the Grim Reaper, had become an extremely volatile bomb.

Of course, I wouldn't expect Chen Yujia to have met the driver face-to-face when plotting, but the driver must have clues. Although many leads surface during an investigation, most are useless, the clues provided by the driver were different.

Because now I was certain Chen Yujia was the mastermind who ordered the driver to kill. Whether he showed up in person or met the driver through a proxy, persistent investigation, bypassing all countermeasures on the road, would eventually lead to Chen Yujia’s face at the terminal end of the clues!

This was something even a blockhead like me could figure out, so Chen Yujia would surely act.

Currently, the driver had been released from the detention center. This was because, according to national regulations, he had provided sufficient compensation, and the traffic police determined he was not entirely at fault. Under these circumstances, as long as he paid restitution, he would not be sentenced.

Governor Jiang fully supported this, having secretly arranged personnel to monitor the driver around the clock. The reason for his extreme effort was that when I persuaded him, Professor Michelle had personally communicated with him once. A globally renowned master of psychology was certainly enough to sway Governor Jiang’s attitude.

One day, Governor Jiang suddenly called.

"Someone will be coming to my place shortly; you entertain them."

I froze momentarily. I was operating underground here; how could I casually meet visitors? But upon second thought, since Governor Jiang asked me to host this person, this individual must not be ordinary; perhaps he was one of that secret contingent. Thinking of this, my mind began to race, wondering if this fellow possessed any magical arts or perhaps mind-reading abilities.

Then, Governor Jiang added, "While you're at it, go buy some beef. It’s been a long time since I had Gan Bian Niu Rou Si (Dry-fried Shredded Beef). Make sure you get the flavor right, you hear me?"

Sighing, I hung up the phone. I was supposed to be working, yet Governor Jiang was treating me like a full-time nanny. His daughter was studying out of town, and his wife, Aunt Jiang, was on a business trip. My arrival was timely for him to delegate housework, cleaning, and cooking daily, which was driving me crazy.

Muttering my grievances, I put on a cap and headed to the supermarket outside the complex. I bought two catties of beef, along with some vegetables and fruit, and headed back carrying the plastic bags.

Suddenly, I whipped my head around to look back, but the street was filled with people coming and going, and I saw nothing. A flicker of confusion crossed my mind: "That person seemed familiar, but that's impossible. What was going on? Maybe they just looked alike?"

But when I tried to recall who that person resembled, I couldn't remember. Perhaps the sheer impossibility of the situation had erased that person from my memory.

Returning home, I miserably tied on an apron and began my Dao Jian Ru Meng (Sword Dream). Still, my knife skills were decent; look how thinly I sliced those potatoes—like matchsticks, almost as good as in a restaurant.

Just as I was struggling to julienne the beef, a knock sounded at the door.

The master has arrived!

I immediately rushed to the door and pulled it open with a whoosh, only to freeze. Standing before me was someone resembling me. More precisely, this person wore the same kind of wide-brimmed hat I had worn when I went out, his entire face hidden beneath it.

"You are..."

"I am..."

The moment the wide-brimmed hat lifted, I was stunned, as if struck by lightning—though I'd willingly take such lightning a thousand, ten thousand times.

Gao Jianning's infuriating face stared at me with a hint of surprise!

Am I dreaming?

I pinched my thigh hard; the sharp pain sent a chill through my body: No, I've encountered a ghost!

I had rushed out too hastily, still clutching the kitchen knife. I waved the blade wildly and shouted sternly, "Cousin, go wherever you came from! I'll burn paper for you in a few days, don't bother me!"

"Didn't you go to the U.S.? Why are you hiding here?" Gao Jianning asked, astonished.

Huh? That's not right. This guy knows I went to the U.S. He must not be a ghost. Could it be...

At this moment, Gao Jianning broke into a smug smile and lightly pushed the knife in my hand aside: "What, Brother? Do you really want me to become a ghost?"

Speaking like that, this fellow had to be human.

I lowered the knife and suddenly roared, "Hurry up and get inside! Spill everything that happened, word for word, or this knife won't recognize you!"

You have to understand, since this guy 'died,' I had suffered immensely. Not only was I heartbroken, but my colleagues hated me, and I couldn't face my aunt—I was nearly driven to kill myself in front of her.

But now, what in the hell was all this?!

Holding the kitchen knife, gritting my teeth, one foot braced on a chair, I glared fiercely at Gao Jianning: "Why didn't you die? Why didn't you die? Do you know the suffering I endured for you? If it were someone else, this blade would have chopped you down already!"

"Hehe, Brother, this was all Governor Jiang's idea. If you're going to chop someone, chop him. Though I heard you couldn't last a single round against his subordinates. Going over there would just be sending yourself to die, right?" Gao Jianning’s true colors were fully revealed, confirming this was indeed the genuine Gao Jianning.

"Governor Jiang?" I frowned. "What exactly is going on? The more I listen, the weirder it gets, like there’s a conspiracy."

When I humbly asked, Gao Jianning's spirits immediately lifted. He beamed excitedly, "It was truly dangerous back then. That car grazed right past my rear. Thinking about it now, it still feels cold back there. But it was too coincidental; as I was crossing the zebra crossing, I saw a pedestrian coming from the opposite direction who looked strangely like me. I thought I was looking in a mirror."

I immediately understood why the person I saw in the morgue that day looked like Gao Jianning: because his appearance was already similar to Gao Jianning's, made even harder to distinguish by the blood and mud.

Gao Jianning continued, "I was just about to turn around and greet him—after all, in the vast sea of people, across the endless horizon, finding someone exactly like you..."

"Stop the nonsense, get to the point!" I waved the knife.

Gao Jianning quickly said, "Then the light turned red, and suddenly a car sped over and ran that person over. I wanted to turn back to help rescue them, but right then, my brain started operating at ten CPUs worth of speed, and I instantly realized the person the car truly intended to hit might have been me!"

"Spare me the self-praise. Anyone would think of that in such a situation," I scoffed, though inwardly I truly admired his quick thinking in that critical moment.

Gao Jianning ignored me, as if reliving that moment. He continued recounting, "I immediately lowered my head and hurried forward, then called Governor Jiang. When Governor Jiang heard it, he immediately told me to rush to the nearest hospital and wait for his people there. Shortly after I arrived at the hospital, the people sent by Governor Jiang showed up. They asked me to hand over my phone and personal belongings, then gave me a hotel key."

"What? You've been staying in a hotel every day for the past month?" My anger flared up.

Good old Governor Jiang! He puts Gao Jianning up in a fancy hotel, but makes me work as a nanny at his house! Does his favoritism reach the Pacific Ocean?

Gao Jianning didn't realize why I was angry and nodded, "Yes, the Hongyun Grand Hotel. The manager there is an old comrade-in-arms of Governor Jiang, so it was free of charge, so I just stayed there."

My dear mother! He wouldn't even let me stay there for free, yet he clearly tricked me into being his domestic servant! I was furious!

Gao Jianning then noticed the apron on my body and laughed, "Brother, I thought you went to the U.S. to relax. Turns out you're in hiding too. Today, Governor Jiang pulled you out to cook."

"What 'today'? I've been here the whole time, cooking for Governor Jiang every day, and he’s still picking flaws, demanding a different dish every day!" I threw the apron to the floor in extreme anger and shouted, "I quit!"

Gao Jianning's face broke into a grin; the one thing this kid was naturally talented at, aside from nothing else, was schadenfreude and kicking someone when they're down. He chuckled, "I know Governor Jiang's temper. If you dare to go on strike, he certainly has more than ten ways to deal with you."

I scowled, but still emotionally charged, I hugged Gao Jianning tightly! Tears streamed down my face onto his right shoulder. This was the first time since childhood that I had lost control like this in front of him, but it was the most honest expression of my inner feelings. My brother wasn't dead; he was alive and standing before me. Overwhelmed with emotion, all the feelings suppressed during our conversation burst forth. After all, he was the little brother I watched grow up, the one I saw running around in diapers. Even though I wasn't much older than him, even though I always provoked him with words, even though I always criticized his lack of achievement then and now... Suddenly feeling that this kid was about to say something comforting, I immediately pushed him away: "Go, come into the kitchen with me!"

I might not be able to handle Governor Jiang, but Gao Jianning was another story. Under my stern, menacing threats, he dropped his previous demeanor and obediently followed me into the kitchen.

"What is Governor Jiang's ultimate goal in doing this?" I asked Gao Jianning, who was currently peeling garlic.

"To protect my safety, of course. If the other side found out I wasn't dead, wouldn't they try to assassinate me again!"

"Hmph, you really think highly of yourself, acting like some Fascist leader. But Governor Jiang definitely has more than one reason. Come on, spill it—what have you been up to all this time?"

If Governor Jiang hadn't told me Gao Jianning's true identity back then, I would still believe he was just a mediocre computer clerk. So, even though this guy usually sounded rambling, he was actually very tight-lipped; without some forceful measures, he wouldn't volunteer information.

"Didn't do much, just kept an eye on that driver. But back then, Governor Jiang didn't know about Chen Yujia's situation, so our actions were relatively blind."

It seemed Governor Jiang was indeed shrewd. Even without knowing anything, he managed to intuitively find the most correct path. His arrangement for Gao Jianning to fake his death was definitely not a whim; it was a major decision, because the sacrifice of a police officer involves many aspects. If he hadn't made such a resolute decision then, he wouldn't have done it. He made that resolute decision because, based on years of experience, he sensed the strangeness and importance of the matter, which is why he acted.

"Any updates?" My heart suddenly grew tense, fearing news that the driver had died might pop out of his mouth.

Gao Jianning tossed a garlic clove into the bowl: "Nothing. This guy does nothing all day but eat, sleep, wander around, or listen to operas and play chess. But I did find out he has a terminal illness; he might only have seven or eight months left to live."

"You didn't check his bank accounts?"

"I did. Nothing unusual."

My brow furrowed. Governor Jiang had already told me Chen Yujia's bank account showed no issues, and now the driver's was the same. So, how were they making transactions?

There are two possibilities: First, cash transactions. Chen Yujia had accumulated a large sum of money beforehand, withdrew tens of thousands in cash, and handed it to the driver, who, as instructed, didn't deposit the money in a bank, so its movement wouldn't show up in bank accounts. Second, Chen Yujia used someone else's money to pay the driver, achieving the same result of coming and going without a trace.

However, these days, too many people use false identities to open bank cards. So Chen Yujia could also use someone else's ID to open a card and conduct this transaction. In that case, the scope becomes too vast; from an investigative standpoint, it's virtually searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Didn't he compensate your family a sum of money? Did you check that money?"

"Checked it. At that time, his car had the highest insurance coverage, so about eighty percent came from the insurance company. The remaining twenty percent was his family's savings accumulated over decades—no weak spots whatsoever."

My eyes darted, and I suddenly asked, "You didn't actually pocket that money, did you, you brat?"

Gao Jianning sighed mournfully, "I wish I could, but how could I? The money was privately given to the deceased's family, and the Bureau also added a small confidentiality fee."

I considered it—this matter involved the organization; how could he skim off the top?

It seemed this driver wasn't simple either. Where was he hiding such a large sum of money? Furthermore, looking at this, he would absolutely never tell us the truth, because revealing the truth would mean not only spending his remaining few months in jail but also forfeiting the fortune that would sustain his wife and children.

A person with only a few months left to live has already seen through life and death and is about to step into eternal darkness. Therefore, besides a primal fear of death, there is nothing else for such a person to fear. I believed that even the world's most excellent detectives or interrogation experts couldn't make him speak.

No wonder when I initially suggested focusing on the driver, Michelle immediately stopped me. It seemed his understanding of human nature far surpassed mine.

Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat: If Chen Yujia also thought of this, would he simply ignore the driver?