Xia Lei’s gaze fell onto the face the software had pinpointed. As soon as he got a clear look at it, he had no doubt in his mind that it was Zhu Xuanyue.
Shown on the screen, Zhu Xuanyue was only dressed in thin clothes, sticking out like a sore thumb among the thickly-clothed Americans dressed for the winter. However, she didn’t seem cold and looked incredibly energized. Her eyes stared into a direction as if looking for something.
Currently, she was at the entrance of a supermarket. Her presence was coincidentally captured by the security cameras by the street.
Xia Lei took a look at the time stamp and his brain gave him an immediate calculation of the time difference. The footage was captured ten minutes ago, the direction of her feet seemed to indicate her urge to buy something from the supermarket. His fingers sent out a flurry of commands. Bringing up live footage from the vicinity.
Zhu Xuanyue was no longer at the entrance of the supermarket.
Following that, Xia Lei quickly pulled out Google Maps and found the exact location of the supermarket. Next, he found the franchise’s website on a billboard along with its customer hotline. Within two minutes, the man had hacked into the supermarket’s surveillance system. The laptop display was switched to show him the CCTV feedback inside the facility.
It didn’t take long for him to find Zhu Xuanyue. The woman was now standing in front of a rack of menstrual pads.
“Huh?” Xia Lei was shocked. “She actually needed those?”
To Xia Lei, Zhu Xuanyue’s existence was close to invincible. Heck, even her food was the human brain. The woman was certainly beyond the scope of the Homosapien and was definitely an advanced existence. It would only make sense that she was freed from mortally feminine concerns like menstruation!
Zhu Xuanyue finally settled on a certain brand and began walking towards the exit with the product in toll.
Xia Lei thought to himself bewilderedly. “She had constructed a near-perfect human female body for herself. I guess it’s only natural to share its issues.”
It had been a while since they last met. The current sighting of her made him excited and gleeful but her shopping needs overwhelmed him with awkwardness.
Zhu Xuanyue had no plans to pay for her pads, walking straight to the exit.
“Hey! Miss, you haven’t paid for that yet!” The young blonde cashier warned her.
Zhu Xuanyue halted her footsteps, turning her face to look at the blonde woman who called her out. There was a trace of anger in her gaze.
Sadly, the young blonde woman had no idea that she was messing with the devil. She continued to threaten, “What are you trying to do? Are you shoplifting? Pay and apologize or I’ll report you to the police!”
Zhu Xuanyue scowled. She started to approach the counter.
Xia Lei had a bad feeling of the events that may take place. He quickly entered a few more commands into the interface.
Ring… Ring…
On the computer screen, the telephone beside the young blonde cashier rang.
She instinctively picked it up. “Hello, this is…”
Xia Lei interrupted her in English. “Hi, please pass this phone to the woman approaching you.”
“You are…?” The cashier was understandably shocked, she spared Zhu Xuanyue another glance.
Xia Lei uttered, “Please stay calm. I’m an agent from the CIA. Your response will now determine the success or failure of my operation, your role is important. Please pass the phone to the woman in front of you.”
As soon as the cashier heard that he was a CIA agent, her expression warped into something more anxious and stern. Without hesitation, she extended the phone to Zhu Xuanyue. “Miss, a call for you.”
Zhu Xuanyue was stunned. “A call for me?”
“Yes. Please accept it, it’s very important.” The blonde cashier took a careful look of her surroundings before whispering, “It’s from a very important person.”
“A very important person?” A grin broke out on Zhu Xuanyu’s face. “Hehe, could it be from my Uncle Xia?”
Located a few tens of thousands of miles away, Xia Lei was about to spit blood.
The cashier shrugged. “I’m not sure, but please just take the phone.”
The scenario seemed almost stereotypical of an American spy movie. A sweet innocent girl had received a call from a self-proclaimed agent. The blonde cashier in front of her had clearly thought she was met with such a situation, long forgetting about Zhu Xuanyue’s shoplifting attempt. Right now, the most vital thing to her was to have Zhu Xuanyue answer the CIA agent’s call.
Zhu Xuanyue dropped the unpaid pack of pads onto the counter and brought the phone to her ears. “Hello? Is this Uncle Xia?”
Xia Lei wanted to die.
His mission was now exposed. If Xia Lei was at the supermarket right now, he would certainly hold her against her will and slap her ass vehemently. The man would not stop until her ass cheeks were swollen raw.
“Eh? Hello? Uncle Xia, is that you?” Zhu Xuanyue frowned worriedly. It wasn’t difficult to tell from her attitude that Xia Lei was an irreplaceable ‘relative’. He was someone of the utmost importance to her.
Xia Lei lowered his voice. “It’s me, your Uncle Xia.”
“Wow! It really is you! Uncle Xia, when are you coming to get me? I miss you so much!” Zhu Xuanyue was as excited as a child with candy.
“Shh, quiet down. Listen to me.” Xia Lei spoke in a stern voice. “Someone is trying to kill your Uncle Xia. You need to help me or I’ll be in danger.”
There was an abrupt coldness to her eyes, it was murderously terrifying. “Who’s trying to kill you?”
“The CIA.” Xia Lei went on, “It’s the American Intelligence Department. It’s not just one person, they act as a whole.”
“No matter how many people they have, if they want to kill you, I’ll have them all killed.”
Xia Lei uttered, “Langley… Do you remember that place?”
“Of course, I hadn’t forgotten it. But I can’t seem to find that place. I’ve asked many people but no one wants to help me. They all lied to me.”
“Did you kill them?”
“No! I didn’t!” Zhu Xuanyue shook her head violently.
Her mental age could not be over ten years old. Even the easy she lied was innocent and naive. She was a bad liar and it was obvious she wasn’t telling the truth.
Despite that, Xia Lei did not care about their pitiful fates. “Alright, I believe you. It’s actually pretty simple to get to Langley. All you need is some money, then order a cab and have the driver send you there.”
“So all I need is a driver?”
“Yes, it’s that simple.”
“Then what do I need the money for? I can make all the drivers obey me.”
Xia Lei stopped talking for a bit.
“Say, Uncle Xia. When are you coming to meet me? I miss you. I dreamt of you last night, I was sleeping with you and your body was very warm.” Zhu Xuanyue’s lips curled into a sweet smile, seemingly reminiscing the sweet dream.
Xia Lei’s heart was turbulent. “Trust me, we’ll be meeting each other very soon. For now, help me accomplish something.”
“Mm!” Zhu Xuanyue made a noise of acknowledgement.
Xia Lei instructed, “Try to get yourself a handphone and tell me its number.”
Following that, Zhu Xuanyue extended her arm towards the young blonde cashier. The woman said nothing but the cashier had brought her phone out and placed it in Zhu Xuanyue’s palm.
There was no difficulty in having anyone heed her desire for Zhu Xuanyue.
“Uncle Xia, how do I use it?” Zhu Xuanyue toyed with the phone.
Xia Lei was starting to get annoyed but found the whole scenario funny. The man taught her how to use the phone and soon enough she gave him her number. Xia Lei diligently record it down.
“Alright, bring this phone with you to Langley. When you’re there, I’ll give you a call and tell you what to do next,” said Xia Lei.
“Can’t I just barge in and kill them all?”
“Follow my instructions. It’s important that you do this. Follow everything I say or Uncle Xia is going to get mad. Once I’m angry, I won’t be coming to see you.” Xia Lei ‘threatened’ her.
“No, please! Don’t abandon me, Uncle Xia. I’ll listen to you, okay? I’ll do as you say. I haven’t been eating mindlessly now.” Zhu Xuanyue’s pitch heightened in anxiety.
That seemed to soften Xia Lei’s heart. He couldn’t help but pity Zhu Xuanyue. She had no friends and no family. She had spent most of her existence in solitary. Who could’ve understood her aching loneliness? It hadn’t been easy for her to acquire an uncle figure like him, but this Uncle Xia she held dearly had chased her to America.
There was always some element of unwillingness to life, there are things that you wouldn’t want to do but you couldn’t help it. In the end, you’d be forced to get it done.
“Xuanyue…” Xia Lei hesitated briefly. “Do you blame me for making you go to America?”
“Yes… No,” answered Zhu Xuanyue weirdly.
“What kind of answer is that?”
“I blamed you in the beginning but I finally understood that my actions were wrong. There are some things that could be eaten while some are off-limits. I’ve learnt how to differentiate them and now I only eat what I can.”
“How do you differentiate them?”
“Those who lie to me and trick me are bad guys. I only eat bad guys.”
Xia Lei felt a wave of comfort, prompting a smile to bloom on his face. “Well done. When you’re done with this task, I’ll come over to meet you.”
“Mm! You’re the best, Uncle Xia. I’ll go to Langley now.” Zhu Xuanyue was excited, extremely eager to head towards the location Xia Lei had instructed.
“Good. But before you move, could you have the girl in front of you forget about us?”
“Uncle Xia, I’ve already turned her into an idiot. She doesn’t remember anything and she has already forgotten how to talk,” replied Zhu Xuanyue.
Even though she could differentiate right from wrong, she was still a devil.
