F-class thief? Sorry, I can steal anything.

Chapter 61 One bait, one dragon, one ghost

Jiangcheng, the top floor of the Extraordinary Affairs Management Center.

Ye Tong stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

The sun shone brightly outside the window, but not a single ray of that dazzling light could penetrate the eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Team leader."

A figure entered the room silently. The person had a hideous scar above their left eye, which ruined the solemnity of the black uniform.

Should the "clearance" plan be implemented ahead of schedule?

Ye Tong did not turn around.

He raised his hand, examining his fair and slender fingertips.

"No need."

His voice rang out, flat and devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"The game is only just starting to get interesting."

Another subordinate with a scar on his right eye stepped forward, his tone tinged with confusion.

"Team leader, Chen Yifan's actions are clearly an attempt to delay our investigation using official instructions. We have every right to conduct a forced interrogation of him directly."

"direct?"

Ye Tong turned around.

His gaze, behind his glasses, fell on his subordinate's face.

"The direct consequence was that it alerted all the fish underwater, allowing that most cunning rat, hiding in the deepest part of Jiangcheng, to escape completely."

Night Eyes pulled up the death report for [Shadow Fiend].

"A high-level spatial assassin 'accidentally' crashed into a load-bearing pillar and died."

Night Eyes gently tapped the word "Accident" on the screen with her fingertips.

The sound wasn't loud.

This immediately put the nerves of the two subordinates on edge.

"This conclusion is itself the greatest insult to the word 'logic'."

There was a hint of inexplicable, non-task-related "interest" in his voice.

The subordinate with the scar on his right eye immediately added:

"Team leader, our initial landing in Jiangcheng was due to intelligence from 'Deep Web' that the legendary assassin codenamed 'Hundred Phases' was highly likely to be lurking here. 'Shadow Fiend' was just bait we used to lure him out."

"But now, the 'bait' is dead."

Ye Tong picked up the conversation.

There was no regret in his tone, only pure displeasure at the disruption of his plans.

"His death was so absurd, so illogical."

"This means that outside of our chessboard, there has emerged an incalculable 'variable.' A variable that could cause an S-class assassin to die 'accidentally.'"

Night Eyes' gaze slowly shifted from the death report of the Shadow Demon to the light spot representing the protagonist, Chen Yifan.

"The disaster in the Goblin Mine escalated inexplicably, and he was the only one to achieve an SSS rating."

He was the only witness to Shadow Fiend's escape.

"Now, the eldest son of the Li family has committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and he is still at the center of the media storm."

"An F-level thief, yet he always appears at the very center of the storm at the most crucial moment."

"Isn't it interesting?"

The subordinate with a scar on his left eye instantly understood:

"Team leader... do you mean he's that 'variable'? Or... is he a disguise for [Hundred Faces]?"

"No, he's not qualified."

Ye Tong shook her head, her tone carrying an absolute certainty.

"But he is the best window to observe this 'variable'."

He paused, a cold light reflecting off his glasses.

"According to the intelligence we received, the key was divided into two parts, but now... we have only obtained one key."

"We can turn him into a new 'bait'."

Night Eye's plan has finally revealed just the tip of the iceberg.

【Bai Xiang】lurks in Jiangcheng, like a ghost, leaving no trace.

The mysterious "variable" that led to the death of [Shadow Fiend].

It also cannot be locked.

Since that's the case, let's play along.

They pushed Chen Yifan to the forefront, making him the new "eye of the storm."

Regardless of that mysterious "variable".

Or perhaps it's the "Hundred Faces" who observes everything from the shadows.

When they see Chen Yifan, the "sole witness to the death of the Shadow Demon," or even the murderer, they will inevitably become very interested.

After all, Shadow Fiend is more than just Shadow Fiend.

That key... perhaps he 'took' it.

Whenever someone moves something, they leave a trace.

"So, not only can we not arrest him, we should make him... even more conspicuous?"

The subordinate with the scar on his right eye suddenly realized what was going on.

"Only a sufficiently dazzling 'bait' can illuminate the darkest abyss."

A hint of approval appeared on Ye Tong's lips.

"Wild dungeons are the best testing grounds. I need to assess their worth, to see if they are just lucky ants, or... a pawn worth my personal involvement."

"I want him to live, to become stronger, and to let the halo of 'coincidence' and 'luck' around him shine bright enough to sting all the eyes hiding in the shadows."

Ye Tong slowly raised her head, her gaze seemingly piercing through the thick walls, locking onto that distant abandoned industrial area.

"What I want to see is not the 'performance' he wants me to see."

"What I want to see is how, on this stage I've built for him, he'll have to resort to... what he's truly hiding in order to survive."

The two subordinates fell completely silent, exchanging a glance.

They finally realized that the team leader's interest in this matter had gone beyond the task itself.

Chen Yifan is the piece placed at the very center of the chessboard in this game.

"By the way," Nightshade asked casually, as if suddenly remembering something, "How's the investigation going with that ID 'Prophet'?"

A technician in charge of intelligence analysis strode forward, his back soaked with cold sweat.

"Reporting, team leader! We... lost them. Their counter-tracking capabilities exceeded our expectations; all clues vanished into thin air at an abandoned public network base station."

"Disappeared?"

Ye Tong slowly turned her head, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet to freezing point.

The technician's legs went weak.

"Team leader, I..."

"waste."

Ye Tong uttered two words, then looked at him again without glancing at him, her gaze returning to the vast expanse of sky and earth outside the window.

A perfect "bait".

A silent "dragon".

A lurking "ghost".

Now, there is another "prophet" whose numbers are countless.

Ye Tong's lips finally curved into a truly amused and excited smile.

"Jiangcheng..."

"This is really an interesting city."

"Pass the order down to the Jiangcheng Security Bureau to fully cooperate and have them compare all the prominent figures in the city."

"We cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom; we must take the initiative..."