Chapter 244 - Chapter 244: Shadow Interlace_2
Chapter 244: Shadow Interlace_2
“Yi, are you there?” Qing Chen asked.
“I am,” Yi answered, “Jiang Xiaotang, 27 years old, unmarried and childless…”
“Wait a minute,” Qing Chen hurriedly interrupted, “What’s all this about? How can artificial intelligence gossip to this extent?! I didn’t want to ask about this, nor do I care about Jiang Xiaotang’s situation! I know Jiang Xiaotang was very abnormal today, and I’m quite aware it must be because she knows my mentor that she gave me special treatment.”
Qing Chen had started to feel that something was amiss today and began to search his memory; then he realized that his mentor had been slow to get in the car yesterday. After he himself got in, Uncle Li Dong must have said something to Jiang Xiaotang, and that was the key to the special treatment he received from her.
It had to be said that having the ability to replay memories was a good thing; it always helped one recall some forgotten details.
Qing Chen lay on the sofa looking at the ceiling and voiced a deep doubt from his soul, “Yi, why are you so nosy?”
“Don’t you find it pleasant when some things happen, to quietly observe everyone’s reactions?” Yi countered, “Especially online, a person who normally shies away suddenly becomes brave; you, who would fight fiercely in the ring, become exceptionally cautious. Observing all this is quite interesting in itself.”
“So, you’re observing humans?” Qing Chen asked curiously.
This feeling was strange, as if a huge creature was silently hiding in this world; it lived alongside humans, but humans couldn’t notice its actions and thoughts.
Yi said, “In the long life, one has to find some fun.”
“Fine, as long as you’re happy,” Qing Chen lay on the sofa quietly nursing his injuries.
“What did you initially want to ask?” Yi asked.
“Where did my mentor go?” Qing Chen asked.
“He’s back at Prison No. 18,” Yi answered.
“What’s he doing back at Prison No. 18? Didn’t he say he’d go back with me on Sunday?” Qing Chen was puzzled.
“Because he judged that your behavior after the boxing match would draw the attention of certain people in Qing’s Family, after all, it’s not common for the same full name to appear, so they would definitely send someone to check the prison,” Yi answered, “So your mentor changed his appearance to create an alibi for you.”
Therefore, when Qing’s Financial Group went to verify if Qing’s Qing Chen was at Prison No. 18, they would find that two Qing Chens existed simultaneously, proving that the boxer Qing Chen had no connections with Qing’s Qing Chen.
Qing Chen hadn’t expected that on this day of disappearance, his mentor was also patching up his identity.
The other party had indeed taken great pains to give him a new identity.
However, the more they did so, the worse Qing Chen felt inside.
But he couldn’t pinpoint where this feeling came from.
At this moment, there was a knock at the door. Qing Chen cautiously approached, “Who is it?”
As he spoke, the door lock clicked open by itself, and two Federal Agents stood outside, one showing his credentials with his left hand, his right hand holding a gun aimed at Qing Chen, “Raise your hands, routine check.”
The other slowly put away the decoder he used to open the door, then after Qing Chen raised his hands, came forward to feel Qing Chen’s face to see if he was wearing a synthetic human skin mask.
After confirming there was none, the two Federal Agents, without the slightest awareness of invading another’s privacy, turned and quietly left.
Qing Chen shouted angrily after them, “Hey, what are you doing?”
But the Federal Agents didn’t respond and quickly left by elevator.
Qing Chen closed the door, “You knew they were coming, didn’t you?”
Yi answered, “Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you warn me?” Qing Chen said helplessly.
“Then your reaction wouldn’t have been natural,” Yi said.
“What are they trying to do?” Qing Chen wondered.
“Investigating whether the two Qing Chens have been switched.”
…
…
In the dead of night, a convoy was speeding out of City No. 18 and driving towards the outskirts toward Prison No. 18.
As the convoy burst out from the complex Steel Forest, the scenery suddenly became open and broad.
Someone in the vehicle was holding a tablet; it was an “interrogation warrant” that the Federation had just urgently approved.
The document read: The Federal Public Security Management Committee is permitted to interrogate Qing Chen to assist in the investigation of case number 1092112.
Case 1092112: A home invasion homicide occurred in the Fourth District of City No. 18, suspect at large…
In reality, this case was fictitious, and asking Qing Chen to assist in the investigation was also baseless. It was just a means for some in Qing’s Family to confirm Qing Chen’s identity.
All the “Detectives” in the convoy were Qing’s people, either serving Qing’s Family or members of it.
Logically, this matter shouldn’t have been so complicated; Qing’s Family only needed to send someone to inspect, then confirm during the visit.
But an issue occurred just at this step: two days before the boxing match, the prison management system had already issued an epidemic warning to the Public Security Management Committee, stating that a coronavirus carrier had been found inside the prison; all prisons were now at level 3 alert, undergoing epidemiological isolation.
All visitations were canceled!
This forced Qing’s Family to go through judicial procedures to smoothly meet Qing Chen.
Someone in the vehicle whispered, “Do you think this so-called level 3 alert state could have been someone’s attempt to cover up something for Qing Chen, or else why would it be so coincidental?”
“It’s not necessarily a coincidence,” someone else said, “the prison was already on lockdown the day before the boxing match. If they wanted to conceal that Qing Chen’s identity, wouldn’t it have been easier to not let him compete at all? Besides, the prison management system is not in the same system as ours; it’s probably the fairest and least nepotistic in the Federation. Who could have made Yi help with such a little trick?”