The End of the Trail

Xuanning District.

At this moment, Kang Shuwei was sitting on the couch in a guesthouse's living room.

He observed the middle-aged woman before him, whose voice trembled as she spoke. His brows were tightly furrowed.

This nervousness only intensified for the middle-aged woman.

She stuttered, "Officer, I've told you everything I know..."

"I'm not hiding anything. My mother is getting old and confused, and with her failing eyesight, she didn't recognize the photo of Xiao Wang."

"I absolutely, absolutely wouldn't harbor a fugitive!"

Kang Shuwei's train of thought was interrupted.

His brows relaxed a bit as he looked at the middle-aged woman and asked, "What did you say?"

This question further unsettled her.

She clutched her forehead, swayed where she stood, and nearly fell.

Quick to react, Ye Gaoyi caught her.

"Sister, are you alright?"

"High blood pressure?"

"I told you to sit down earlier, but you insisted on standing."

However, the words of Ye Gaoyi fell on deaf ears. The innkeeper felt dizzy, her vision spinning in circles.

Approaching, Lu Lan flipped open her eyelids, then looked at Kang Shuwei. "You scared her."

Kang Shuwei shrugged helplessly. "I didn't do anything, though."

He didn't say much more, simply stood up from the couch, stretched his arms, and said, "Alright, we've got a pretty good understanding now. Let's go."

"Oh, by the way, Lu Lan."

"Stay here and take care of her. If there are any issues, arrange for her to see a doctor promptly."

With that, he left the guesthouse.

Lu Lan widened his eyes and grabbed Kang Shuwei's arm. "I mean, seriously, Shuwei! I'm..."

He got to a certain point in his sentence, then remembered something. He looked back at the still dazed innkeeper, then lowered his voice. "I'm a forensic expert! Not a medical doctor!"

Kang Shuwei shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, they're all doctors, right?"

Then, he led everyone else away, leaving Lu Lan behind...

He watched Kang Shuwei's departing figure, then looked at the suppressed grins on the faces of Sun Ting and Dong Yang. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright, alright..."

"You bunch..."

"I shouldn't have come!"

He turned and walked into the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and added some white sugar.

Then he sat on another couch, took out his phone, and waited for the innkeeper to wake up.

...

In an office within the Jinling City Police Department.

Kang Shuwei stood before a large Jinling city map.

His arms were crossed, and his brows were tightly knitted.

Behind him stood five other members of the special investigation team.

Ye Gaoyi, the representative from the Criminal Investigation Division of Zhonghai City Police Bureau.

Sun Ting, a beautiful policewoman from the Jinling City Police Bureau, originally assigned to the technical department, specialized in investigating cybercrimes, and was an expert in computer technology.

Dong Yang, not a part of the police bureau, was a civilian artisan with expertise in explosives. He used to work in a firecracker factory.

Tao Xiaoyi, a retired military personnel from the military district, a champion in sanda (Chinese martial arts).

Zheng Ze, a linguistic scholar and a professor at the Jinling Foreign Language College.

These five individuals, except for Ye Gaoyi, whose skills were occasionally utilized, spent their days in boredom, unable to put their expertise to practical use.

This time, they had come together with the intention of showcasing their talents, but unexpectedly ended up a month-long endeavor of monitoring and investigating recorded videos.

But now, they had finally sparked their interest.

They had finally discovered Li Xuan's whereabouts!

Kang Shuwei gazed at the map for a while before speaking, "Now we can confirm some of Li Xuan's movements."

"Firstly, after leaving Jinling Station, he directly found a place to stay without leaving any traces. He stayed there for a whole month."

"During this period, he must have been preparing for something after leaving. What kind of preparation takes a month?"

"Secondly, after finishing his preparations, he went directly to the next location."

"The date was September 1st."

"Is there anything special about that day?"

"Thirdly, Li Xuan said he was going on a trip... What could that mean?"

"Kang Bro, it definitely has nothing to do with the date."

When Kang Shuwei finished, Sun Ting shook her phone and said, "September 1st is filled with all sorts of random holidays and odd commemorations."

"This couldn't possibly be the reason for Li Xuan's actions, could it?"

"Moreover, I feel that Li Xuan wouldn't have left us any clues related to this date."

Linguist Zheng Ze chimed in, "If he's going on a trip... To be honest, what Li Xuan is doing now is quite similar to traveling."

"This might be his true intention."

"A person can't live under a mask forever, right?"

Kang Shuwei nodded, although his expression didn't relax.

After staring at the map for another while, he spoke, "Li Xuan isn't someone whose motives can be easily discerned."

"We can't make assumptions."

"You all can head back. I'll think it over some more."

Upon hearing this, the others exchanged glances, and Ye Gaoyi took the lead, saying, "Shuwei, take care of yourself."

"We'll go now."

Kang Shuwei nodded and said, "Don't worry."

As the others left, Kang Shuwei pulled over a chair, sat down, closed his eyes, and began to ponder, "Where did you go?"

Kang Shuwei knew where his strengths lay.

He had connections, support, and had yet to reveal himself to Li Xuan's gaze.

He was in the shadows, while Li Xuan was in the light.

Could Li Xuan truly remain vigilant throughout an entire month?

From a psychological standpoint, Li Xuan couldn't possibly be completely alone.

Humans were social creatures after all. Being part of society meant he had to interact with others.

And that would inevitably leak some information...

Perhaps the message of "travel" was indeed genuine?

But what did September 1st signify?

Was Li Xuan still in Jinling?

The more he thought, the more conflicted Kang Shuwei's expression became.

He knew he was trapped in a paradox named "Schrödinger's Li Xuan".

If he couldn't break free from this paradox... he would forever be at a disadvantage in his game against Li Xuan.

He suddenly opened his eyes, took out a stack of blank paper from a drawer, and began to write and draw on it...

In the quiet of the night, only the guard room and the special investigation team's office were lit in the entire Jinling City Police Department building.

A night passed.

September 19th, early morning.

When Ye Gaoyi pushed open the office door, he was taken aback by the scene before him.

Kang Shuwei was currently sprawled across a pile of scattered white papers on the desk, fast asleep. Those pieces of paper were filled with writing.

The lines and characters on those papers were messy, but somehow arranged artistically.

Ye Gaoyi murmured in surprise, "You... figured something out?"