Collection

The two women waiting for Tang Shizhe at the restaurant felt a little helpless when they heard his explanation.

After all, Tang Shizhe had missed their meetup because he was helping a poor soul who'd been in a car accident. Still, they weren't happy that he'd stood them up.

"Tang Shizhe, you're not getting away!" Yan Yanran and Yin Qi each snorted at their phones, then closed WeChat.

As long as Tang Shizhe was still studying here, he could forget about escaping. He'd have to make up for the meal he owed them—at least tenfold, maybe a hundredfold.

Tang Shizhe had no idea that two beautiful women had set their sights on him. He started the car and followed Tang Yi's van toward the accident site.

When they arrived, they found that the car was still where it had been, and no police had shown up.

The road seemed to be far too remote. On top of that, it was the middle of the day, when everyone was off eating or taking a nap. The area was deserted, and nobody had passed by.

Or perhaps someone had passed by and simply chosen not to get involved, leaving without a word?

"Boss, there aren't any cameras nearby." After carefully surveying the area around the accident, Tang Yi called Tang Shizhe.

They used phone calls because communicating through the Mental Network consumed energy. Tang Shizhe and the Splitters generally preferred to use their phones, reserving the Mental Network for urgent or highly confidential matters.

Tang Shizhe pulled up beside the Volkswagen and parked.

By then, Tang Yi and the others were already busy inside the car. They needed to find the woman's belongings so they could learn about her identity and habits.

"She's right-handed. The wear on the right side of the steering wheel is worse than on the left, so she clearly often drove with one hand."

"Other than the original accessories, the car is very simple and tidy. She clearly has a slight case of obsessive-compulsive disorder and doesn't make a habit of leaving things lying around. She doesn't even have a cushion." Tang Er climbed out of the back seat and reported to Tang Shizhe. His entire body was covered by his clothes, and he wore white gloves to avoid leaving any traces.

"There are three bottles of Chapai in the car. She clearly likes this drink, so that's important."

"Also, we found her handbag in the car. Judging by the brand and quality, it's definitely from Taobao. She must shop online often."

"This is a restaurant receipt we found in the storage compartment. More than half the dishes she ordered were meat, and many of them were spicy. That shows she likes meat and spicy food."

"This is the information we've gathered about her habits. To get a more accurate picture, we'll need to visit her home and look through her online history." Tang Yi took off his gloves and walked over to Tang Shizhe.

Tang Shizhe had just picked up a black wallet from the ground nearby. The cash inside was gone, but her ID card and bank cards were still there.

"Someone's been here. They only took the cash. They must have seen there wasn't much blood at the accident site, so they took the money and left without calling the police." Tang Shizhe rubbed his chin and pulled the woman's ID card out of the wallet.

The woman on the ID card wore a sweet smile. Her photo looked no worse than the retouched pictures of celebrities, but sadly, she was gone.

"Zhao Yin, a resident of Central District, Jiaodong City." Tang Shizhe tossed the ID card to Tang Yi.

Tang Yi caught the ID and wallet and nodded. He knew what to do next.

After putting everything in the car back where it belonged, Tang Shizhe called the police and told them that he'd found an injured woman nearby and taken her back to her home.

Meanwhile, Tang Yi and the others climbed back into their van and sped away with the keys they'd found in Zhao Yin's car.

They'd tracked down her home using the locations where she usually logged into WeChat and QQ.

Now they were going to her home to gather information about her daily habits and help the fake Zhao Yin blend back into society.

Tang Shizhe stayed behind to wait for the police and deal with them.

A little over ten minutes later, Tang Yi and the others parked their van beneath an old apartment building. Because the complex was so old, there was a camera only at the entrance; there were none inside.

Only then did Tang Yi and the others get out of the van with peace of mind and hurry into the building.

A few minutes later, the doorknob turned softly, and Tang Yi and the others opened the door and entered Zhao Yin's home.

They put shoe covers over their shoes before stepping onto the wooden floor.

"She's a little obsessive about cleanliness. Even the corners are spotless." Tang Yi lightly wiped a chair leg with his white-gloved hand. Not a speck of dust came off on the glove.

"She lives alone. Only one bedroom has bedding; the other has been turned into a storage room."

"There are no men's toiletries in the bathroom, and we didn't find a razor or anything like that. We didn't find anything in the bedroom or elsewhere that might have been bought for a boyfriend. That means she either doesn't have one, or they aren't close enough for him to come over."

"The dishes and chopsticks in the kitchen are for one person. The fridge is full of convenience foods, and there's only one pair of slippers. That means friends don't often visit her at home. She may be a bit of a loner." Tang Er came out of the bedroom, looked around, and reported.

"Her computer only has work documents and a few shooting games. There's no video software... This girl has some unusual interests." Tang Yi shut the spotless laptop and sighed.

They had thoroughly learned Zhao Yin's daily routines and eating habits. As long as the Brood Mother didn't get too close to anyone who knew her well, nobody would discover that Zhao Yin had become someone else.

"All right, let's go." Tang Yi waved for them to leave. Before they did, he also picked out a change of clothes for the Brood Mother.

As for Zhao Yin's speech habits, tone, voice, and intonation, they'd collected some videos and calls from her computer and phone. Once they organized them back at base, the Brood Mother would be able to study them.

Tang Yi and the others drove slowly out of the complex. The apartment looked as if nobody had ever been there.

Several hours later, Tang Shizhe returned to the base after dealing with the police.

By then, Tang Yi and the others had compiled all the information they'd gathered about Zhao Yin into a fairly complete dossier.

Now all they had to do was wait for the Brood Mother to finish splitting. Then she could go back to "her" home.

"Boss, we've buried Zhao Yin's original body underground. We've also used her contacts, WeChat, and QQ to put together a map of her social connections."

"Fortunately, she's a loner and doesn't have many friends. The ones she does have are just casual acquaintances. She also doesn't have a boyfriend. Her parents are retired, and she runs a shop herself." Tang Yi handed a file to Tang Shizhe.

"Got it. From now on, we can get snacks from her shop—as long as she carries them." Tang Shizhe nodded.