Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Like a Lover’s Hand Caressing Art…

Hacker Xi’er, sitting in front of the computer screen, began searching for surveillance cameras in the staff lounge, following Chi Yan’s instructions.

At first, he was indifferent and muttered anxiously, “Can’t find anything. There are no cameras in the staff lounge. Maybe it’s because of employee privacy regulations…”

Chi Yan, still sitting behind him, lightly flicked the ash from his cigarette with his slender fingers: “Women’s changing room.”

Xi’er: “Huh?”

But Chi Yan didn’t repeat himself a second time. Xi’er quickly realized and, after some swift operations on the touchpad, excitedly said, “Found it! There really is a hidden camera in the women’s changing room.”

The camera angle was extremely sneaky, facing away from the female employees, just enough to capture them changing uniforms.

Having been forced to pull an all-nighter, Xi’er’s eyes lit up: “This will definitely make some money on the dark web… Hotel guests have high status, so they wouldn’t risk being filmed casually. They turned their attention to female colleagues instead. Smart business move!”

He eagerly watched the provocative footage in front of him, thinking this overtime perk wasn’t bad at all, while also praising Chi Yan: “Mr. Chi, you really are a mastermind!”

Yet he noticed Chi Yan completely ignored these women, just lowering his head to smoke.

Smoke swirling around, he looked like a still sculpture by Bernini.

This cold demeanor made Xi’er instinctively shrink his neck, stop wandering thoughts, and focus on the surveillance again.

After a while, he perked up: Chen Songyu had arrived.

Miss Chen chatted casually with others and borrowed clothes with just a few words. At this point, her demeanor was even more relaxed than when she was pushing the food cart down the corridor earlier. If Xi’er didn’t know the background, he would have been completely fooled by her.

He muttered, “No way, this is way too natural. Is she really a director? Not an actress?”

He stubbornly opened another projection and pulled up Chen Songyu’s personal file mid-air.

For hackers of their caliber, ordinary citizens’ personal info was completely transparent. He didn’t even need half a second to flip Chen Songyu’s resume inside out.

At first, it was her films, screenwriting works, and a messy collection of awards. Xi’er impatiently skimmed through and kept scrolling, seeing her student years.

He showed a more shocked expression.

“She’s a top student!” Xi’er let out an incredulous wail. “How could she get A’s in every subject from childhood to now!! If her grades are this good, why didn’t she study finance or AI? Why film school? Is she out of her mind?”

He was too engrossed in gossip.

Even forgetting that his boss was still sitting right behind him.

Chi Yan slowly stood up.

He looked down arrogantly and glanced sideways at Xi’er, blowing a smoke ring onto Xi’er’s face.

“Focus on your work,” he said flatly.

Xi’er: “Oh, oh, okay…”

Then he watched helplessly as Mr. Chi pressed the cigarette butt firmly onto the ESC key on the touchpad.The touchpad emitted a sharp burning smell, and the projection instantly disappeared.

Xi’er felt like a duck with its throat squeezed, heartbroken and nearly in tears—this was his newly bought computer. Yet he didn’t dare say a word, only feeling a chill down his back and cold sweat dripping.

Because Mr. Chi was clearly hinting at him:

Focus on your work, or the next cigarette butt won’t burn the computer, but your fingers.

He nervously turned his head. The screen image made him dumbfounded.

He had forgotten that Chen Songyu had just borrowed clothes from someone.

Naturally, after borrowing clothes, she changed, and very naturally lifted the hem of her uniform—

The camera captured inch by inch her snow-white back, like a lover’s hand caressing a work of art. The lines were full and smooth, the texture delicate and flawless.

Obviously, she worked out regularly. Her back was evenly toned—not sickly thin—with a perfect uprightness and grace.

This scene was stunningly beautiful. Although Xi’er had admired many bare backs just now, none could compare to hers.

He never expected a top student to have such assets.

Xi’er watched in fascination, swallowed hard, mouth dry and laughing nervously: “Ha, ha, Mr. Chi, look at this female top student’s figure! You can tell she’s trained! Her waist is also…”

As the words left his mouth, his brain started ringing alarms: Damn, he was gossiping again.

But then he noticed—Chi Yan hadn’t scolded him yet— the atmosphere was so quiet it felt eerie.

He quietly raised his head.

Chi Yan was still staring at the screen.

The faint glow from the display lit up that handsome yet gloomy face.

In his normally calm eyes, there seemed to flicker faint, wavering tides.

Xi’er suspected he caught a glimpse of astonishment in Mr. Chi’s eyes—but the light was too dim, and he immediately dismissed the thought.

Impossible. This was Chi Yan. He hadn’t seen any women like that before.

He dropped his gaze guiltily. When he looked up again, he found Chi Yan’s eyes had returned to him.

At this moment, Chi Yan was clearly smiling, but there was no smile in his eyes.

“Enjoying the view?” he asked lightly.

A sense of crisis screamed in Xi’er’s mind; instinctively, he shook his head:

“No way! What’s so great about a top student? This woman’s bold and reckless. In my heart, she’s already dead—” Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he added, “I’ll delete this video right now! The hidden camera will be destroyed too! Bullying women—people in our gang despise that kind of person!”

Chi Yan gave a half-smile and glanced at him without saying anything, then sat back down and lit another cigarette.

But Xi’er knew he was still watching him.

That oppressive gaze could burn right through his back. His whole body tensed, not daring to relax even a bit.

After a while, he heard Chi Yan order: “She won’t go to the airport tonight. Check the underground hotels near the main hotel.”

Xi’er breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly answered, “Yes.” Only then did his dry mouth prompt him to reach out for his water cup.He felt a small uneven bump.

He realized that at some point, a deep hole had been burned into the desk.

It was exactly where his left hand usually rested.

He shuddered all over.

Outside the window, the night was still pitch dark, the cool breeze deep into the night. But the darkness was about to fade, soon it would be a new day.

They sat on the aircraft.

Xu Yang reported beside Chi Yan, “Brother Chi, just as you thought, Chen Songyu really did escape into an old inn near the hotel. She was very cautious; the surveillance on the entire street was broken. But there happened to be a homeless man at the corner who saw her.”

Chi Yan closed his eyes slightly, rubbed his fingers, and softly murmured, “Hmm.”

Xu Yang continued flattering, “You really have prophetic insight, guessing she didn’t go to the airport, but instead made a sharp detour nearby.”

Chi Yan chuckled softly, “Just following the script.”

This little bird flapped its wings, trying to fly out of the inescapable net under cover of darkness.

Unfortunately, they all had seen the same movie.

The group soon arrived at the inn.

The owner was suddenly frightened seeing several armed men walk in, trembling all over, skillfully raising both hands and stepping out from behind the counter.

Xu Yang asked, “Did a woman just come in?”

He described Chen Songyu’s disguise in detail; the owner didn’t dare conceal anything and nodded repeatedly.

“Give up the room number and key card, and it won’t be your problem anymore.”

But the owner’s expression turned hesitant. His eyes darted around, stammering, “B-but she never stayed here.”

Without a word, Xu Yang kicked him to the ground and aimed the gun at his head: “Don’t play tricks.”

The owner gripped his stomach in pain, closed his eyes, and shouted loudly, “R-really didn’t! She just borrowed a phone from me and left after ten minutes!”

It didn’t seem like a lie. Xu Yang gave a signal, and his men hurried to check the communication records.

Chi Yan hadn’t been paying close attention to the earlier conversation.

He sat aside smoking, meanwhile handling a more urgent matter: calming down Yang Yichuan.

Young Master Yang was unharmed tonight but was extremely shaken. After leaving the hospital and a brief rest, he didn’t even have time to see Chi Yan in person, rushing back to Capital Star. This clearly showed how dissatisfied his noble Duke father was with S Star’s security.

He apologized to Chi Yan again in a message and promised to thank him face to face next time.

—Such a fool. Sold out but still helping count the money for others.

Chi Yan smiled faintly and replied with a few polite and fitting words.

He also did a favor, arranging for Yang Yichuan’s private ship to use the VIP expedited channel.

With matters here settled for now, he just happened to hear Xu Yang continuing to interrogate the inn owner: “No hidden cameras?”The shop owner trembled and said, “W-we wouldn’t dare. In our line of work, the less you know, the better for yourself…”

Chi Yan interrupted, “Bring the homeless man in.”

The disheveled middle-aged man was immediately dragged in, kicked hard in the back, and forced to lie on the moldy tapestry. He glanced at Chi Yan through his fingers but quickly lowered his head in fear when caught by Chi Yan’s sharp gaze.

Xu Yang asked, “Did you see that woman leave the inn?”

The homeless man buried his head in the carpet and let out a dull, strange laugh.

His men kicked him hard again.

He winced in pain and stammered, “Sh-she was picked up by a flying craft—”

Xu Yang’s expression changed slightly, “What kind of flying craft?”

But the homeless man couldn’t say any more, just muttered on the ground.

Xu Yang signaled his men, “Go up and search every room. Tell them it’s a temporary security check.”

Several people filed in, making the old stairs creak. Soon from upstairs came sounds of banging on doors, women’s screams, and the dull crash of broken furniture—

This was S Star.

Chaos, danger, no order at all.

Whoever has fists and guns can do whatever they want.

The sounds made the homeless man shiver in fear. He dared no longer hide anything and trembled, saying:

“It was a black flying craft. Before leaving, the woman gave me some money, saying if anyone asked, just do her a small favor and only say you saw her enter the inn! Don’t say anything else!”

So, Chen Songyu had already anticipated the homeless man’s situation.

She had even deliberately set them up.

Xu Yang’s expression darkened further, “A black flying craft…”

In S Star, that was a symbol of status.

It meant the person who picked up Chen Songyu was either rich or noble, and it would make finding them again extremely difficult — but Chen Songyu was unfamiliar with S Star, so how could she have such connections?

Chi Yan pinched his cigarette and glanced sideways at the homeless man, smiling slightly: “You did well taking money to keep quiet.”

The man, unaware of the real meaning, breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn’t see Chi Yan slowly roll up his shirt sleeve, revealing a sinewy wrist. Then he grabbed a nearby metal chair and slammed it hard onto the man’s head.

“…Too bad, I don’t like being lied to.”

The aim was perfect.

The man was beaten until skin was split and flesh torn; he didn’t even have time to scream before losing consciousness.

A bloodstain blossomed on the old carpet; the faded mandala slowly stained bright red.

Even while committing such violence, Chi Yan’s expression remained cold and calm. He slightly tilted his head: “What about the communication records? Haven’t found them yet?”

A subordinate hurried over, out of breath: “F-found them. The number she dialed should be this one—”Chi Yan casually took it over. His fingertips stained with blood, smearing a circle of red on the electronic screen.

His expression slowly changed.

He stared at the string of numbers and let out a low laugh.

But the laugh was extremely dark, filled with an oppressive aura that sent chills down the spine.

“No need to look further,” he said.

This number was not unfamiliar to Chi Yan. Just minutes ago, they had contacted it.

It was Yang Yichuan’s private number.

With that, who picked her up was clearer than ever.

Chen Songyu must now be sitting on that private flying craft heading to Capital Star, and it was he who personally gave them—gave her—the green light.

“…She has already left S Star.”