"Three people are tailing him. Two are from your Special Intelligence Agency. What about the other one? Could they be a member of the Dawn Redemption Traitor Organization?"
"Regardless, I recommend taking down this third, unidentified tail and eliminating the security risk."
With that, An Xiaoxue looked at Zhou Sheng, director of the Special Intelligence Agency. "Director Zhou, will your people handle it, or should I?"
An Xiaoxue seemed eager to take action.
But Zhou Sheng looked troubled. He glanced at Colonel Liu Tianhu, then turned to An Xiaoxue. "Professor An, I recommend we maintain the current situation.
"The two agents should be able to ensure the safety of this student, Xu Tui."
An Xiaoxue's brows shot up. "What do you mean? You've discovered a suspected member of the Dawn Redemption Traitor Organization, and you're not going to act? What are you planning?"
An Xiaoxue was exceptionally clever. Seeing Zhou Sheng hesitate to speak, she immediately understood.
"Bait?"
An Xiaoxue suddenly slapped the table and stood up.
"Director Zhou, you've got some nerve, gambling with the life of a student from Gene Evolution University.
"Who approved using a student with fourteen Gene Points as bait?
"If something goes wrong, who will take responsibility?
"As far as I know, you don't have the authority to do that, do you?"
Zhou Sheng, director of the Special Intelligence Agency in Jincheng Prefecture, looked helpless. "Well..."
Just as Zhou Sheng was at a loss, Colonel Liu Tianhu, seated at the head of the conference table, spoke up. "I approved his plan after he submitted it to me. Do you have a problem with that, Professor An?"
An Xiaoxue's expression turned cold. "Colonel Liu, you're the commander of Jincheng Prefecture's defense forces. I can't take issue with your decision.
"Creating the Bait Plan is the Special Intelligence Agency's right, and approving it is your responsibility.
"But I have to say, the Special Intelligence Agency can't disregard students' lives just to earn merit. These kids have only just taken the Gene Aptitude Test. They have no way to protect themselves yet!"
Her words struck a nerve. The Special Intelligence Agency director, Zhou Sheng, instantly rose to his feet and fixed An Xiaoxue with a chilling glare. Liu Tianhu's gaze was just as icy.
A moment later, Zhou Sheng spoke. "Professor An, you're right, but that doesn't conflict with this fishing operation.
"We've already assigned special agents to follow and protect our chosen bait, and we've drawn up a thorough operational plan.
"We're doing everything we can to ensure the bait's safety.
"Besides, Xu Tui wasn't deliberately sent out as bait. Our intelligence personnel discovered early on that members of the Dawn Redemption Traitor Organization had targeted him, so the Special Intelligence Agency dispatched agents to protect him immediately," Zhou Sheng explained.
"Then why not arrest them outright?" An Xiaoxue asked.
"That would alert them. Besides, we want to use the fact that the Dawn Redemption Traitor Organization has targeted Xu Tui to our advantage. We're letting them think they're in control so we can play the long game and see if we can uproot the personnel involved in this operation.
"The goal is simply to find the Dawn Redemption Traitor Organization operatives hiding in Jincheng Prefecture before it's too late and minimize losses during the university arrival period."
"Use the situation to your advantage? Minimize losses. What if something goes wrong?" An Xiaoxue didn't flinch under Zhou Sheng and Liu Tianhu's stares.
"Something goes wrong?"
Zhou Sheng sneered. "There won't be any surprises. We've made thorough contingency plans to deal with any emergency.
"We've even accounted for an extreme scenario that should be all but impossible: the bait being abducted and taken out of the city.
"Of course, nothing in this world can be controlled with absolute certainty. If someone dies, I'll take responsibility. But we're doing everything we can to prevent that from happening."
"I want to remind everyone here that Jincheng Prefecture has been partially operating under wartime regulations since three days ago! I understand how Professor An feels, but once an operation begins, it has to be carried through. Abruptly calling it off will only lead to more accidents and injuries!
"That said, I'll order the Special Intelligence Agency to do everything possible to keep the students safe."
He claimed he was reminding everyone, but in truth, he was reminding An Xiaoxue.
An Xiaoxue bit her lip.
Wartime regulations.
Even a professor at Gene Evolution University like her couldn't interfere with those.
Not even someone from the Mysterious System.
"Professor An, do you understand?" Seeing An Xiaoxue back down, Liu Tianhu pressed his advantage and demanded in a raised voice.
"I understand." An Xiaoxue bit her lip again and slowly sat down.
"Director Zhou, tell those two stupid underlings you sent out to pay attention. How could they let a high school senior spot them? Can they get any stupider?"
Liu Tianhu's words made Zhou Sheng's face darken.
Fortunately, his two underlings weren't there. If they had been, Zhou Sheng would have wanted to kick them both.
They were seasoned agents and Gene Liberators, yet they'd been spotted tailing a student. It was simply... unforgivable!
Everyone thought the minor conflict—or interruption—would end there. But when Liu Tianhu saw An Xiaoxue start fiddling with her Personal Communication Device, his expression darkened again.
"Professor An, don't you understand wartime regulations?"
"You know the confidentiality level of this meeting. If you give that student information you shouldn't and cause the operation to fail,
"you'll find a seat waiting for you in the Gene Committee's tribunal."
An Xiaoxue laughed angrily.
She tapped her Personal Communication Device, projecting her chat with Xu Tui onto the screen before everyone.
"Xu Tui noticed he was being followed and got worried, so he asked me for help. Since Colonel Liu has brought up the confidentiality regulations, I won't reply to him," An Xiaoxue said.
The corner of Zhou Sheng's mouth twitched.
Xu Tui had noticed the tail and grown suspicious.
He'd asked An Xiaoxue for help.
And she'd stopped replying halfway through.
Who knew what might happen next?
A frightened eighteen-year-old high school senior might do something completely irrational—or even something bizarre.
If that happened, the operation could change course or even fail!
That was the last thing Zhou Sheng wanted.
And it was even less what Colonel Liu Tianhu wanted.
"Reassure him, but don't reveal the plan," Liu Tianhu immediately decided.
"Colonel Liu, you're the one telling me to reply. I'm not violating the confidentiality regulations," An Xiaoxue added, making sure to clear herself first. Then her fingers flew over the screen as she typed a message. She didn't send it right away, though. Instead, she displayed it for everyone to see.
"Xu Tui, I confirmed that two of the three people following you are special agents from the Special Intelligence Agency assigned to protect you. The third person's affiliation is unknown and they could be dangerous. Stay alert.
"I'm in a meeting. Please don't contact me again unless there's an emergency."
"Is this all right?"
An Xiaoxue pointed to the message on the screen.
Colonel Liu Tianhu and Zhou Sheng carefully read it several times. There was nothing wrong with it; in fact, it was quite good.
It let Xu Tui know that two Special Intelligence Agency agents were protecting him, calming him down and preventing him from doing anything rash that might derail the operation.
It was very reassuring.
"Fine," Colonel Liu Tianhu said.
An Xiaoxue tapped send. The message showed as delivered. She returned to her seat and said nothing more.
That was all she could do. She hoped the young man wouldn't have the worst luck.
Outside the milk tea shop, Xu Tui stared at the message in surprise and confusion.
Of the three people following him, two were Special Intelligence Agency agents. The third had an unknown affiliation and might be dangerous.
At first glance, Xu Tui was delighted.
Special Intelligence Agency agents—people he'd only ever heard about on the news—were protecting him.
That meant the government thought highly of him and had assigned people to look after him.
But Xu Tui's mind was remarkably clear. He quickly noticed a problem.
Those two agents were there to protect him.
Then why hadn't they dealt with the dangerous, unidentified tail?
If they hadn't noticed the person before, An Xiaoxue should have known by now, after checking, right?
And even if she didn't know, he could have asked her directly, since he had a way to contact her.
But neither of those things had happened.
And An Xiaoxue's reply was strange too—she'd told him to stay alert.
"In TV dramas and novels, people responsible for protecting someone nip danger in the bud.
"If there's a threat, they investigate it and eliminate it completely.
"If they notice a threat and leave it hanging, like they've done with me, then usually... you're bait!"
Damn!
Damn!
As soon as he reached that conclusion, a thousand imaginary horses trampled through Xu Tui's mind.
A genius with fourteen Gene Points, and they were using him as bait!
Xu Tui figured there was a seventy- to eighty-percent chance his guess was right.
His heart sank.
A sense of danger unlike anything he'd ever felt washed over him.
"Should I go sleep at the police station for two days, until school starts?"
It was the most cowardly option, and it would be difficult to pull off.
You couldn't just sleep at a police station because you felt like it.
And Xu Tui figured that if they'd chosen him as bait, they'd probably throw him out even if he made it into the station!
The Special Intelligence Agency had far more authority than the police.
As for the other options, they came with more uncertainty and danger.
He couldn't bring the danger home, either.
He had to save himself!
He had to put an end to the danger he was in!
Xu Tui's mind raced as he analyzed every factor he could use, every possible course of action, and all the potential outcomes.
At that moment, all three people following him were nearby.
They were all in line behind Xu Tui at the milk tea shop.
The two who had been smoking together earlier had split up. One was now standing not far behind Xu Tui, while the other had gone to buy fried chicken from the shop next door.
He took a bite.
Crunch.
The fried chicken no longer sounded appetizing to Xu Tui.
He could be sure that the two were Special Intelligence Agency agents assigned to tail and protect him, the bait.
They could be useful.
Xu Tui quickly came up with a plan.
His heart gave a few unsteady thumps, partly from nerves and partly from excitement.
"Stay calm. I have to stay calm!"
Xu Tui tried using the breathing technique he'd practiced during meditation: breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth, keeping each breath as long and steady as possible. After just a few breaths, he calmed down.
Not only that, everything within three meters of him became incredibly clear.
"One hot vanilla coffee milk tea, please. Make it extra hot."
"Use freshly boiled water at 100 degrees. It's for my girlfriend!" Xu Tui emphasized to the shop clerk.
The clerk gave Xu Tui a strange look.
Boiling water?
Were you trying to make your girlfriend swear off milk tea by scalding her?
But the clerk still did as he asked.
Xu Tui took the milk tea, turned around, and lifted the lid. Breathing in its hot, fragrant steam, he walked back along the line.
Soon, he reached the middle-aged man in shorts who had earlier bought fried chicken by himself.
In other words, the unidentified person following him.
Concentrating fully on his senses, Xu Tui suddenly detected something unusual about the middle-aged man.
The man's legs and nose seemed especially active.
"Is he a Gene Liberator?"
An unidentified Gene Liberator tailing him had to mean trouble.
Xu Tui didn't hesitate any longer.
Before you continue