Stuck in a Chinese novel - Chapter 194

Chapter 194: How to frame (2)
Chapter 194

“She wasn’t home?” Arlert asked.

“Yes. It was empty.” Shao Chen replied while he settled on the couch.

“That’s strange,” Arlert said.

“What so strange about it? She disappeared to avoid me. It makes sense.” Shao Chen said.

Of course, to Shao Chen, it didn’t make much of a worrying reason but for Arlert, who was more experienced in such a world, it did.

“If she disappears, the police’s first suspect would be you. And if they cannot find her in seven weeks, you would be charged with murder.” Arlert replied.

Shao Chen looked at Arlert as if he had heard a ridiculous statement and said, “First, I had nothing to do with her, and two, they cannot tie me to the scene because there’s no evidence of me being there.”

“He’s right. We checked all the CCTVs. There is no chance of anything showing up.” A skinny man with glasses said.

Arlert nodded at the reassurance from his team and said, “Very well. Then we have a target to take care of. Let’s focus on that.”

Arlert and the rest were about to continue when the doorbell rang.

Shao Chen stood up and made his way to the door.

Outside the door, there were the two men from yesterday, only this time, there were a lot more men in black clothes with them.

There were twenty six of them and from their power, Shao Chen was sure his entire team wouldn’t be able to take them on.

“What is going on?” Shao Chen cautiously asked.

“Mister Shao Chen,” the man in black from yesterday spoke, “After your release yesterday, did you contact Miss Fang Mei in any way?”

“No.” Shao Chen replied.

“Mister Chen, you will have to come down to the police station with us.” The man said.

“Why?” Shao Chen asked.

“Because Miss Fang Mei’s whereabouts are unknown. We need you to come down to the station to sort this out.” The man said.

Seeing no other choice, Shao Chen nodded and said, “Am I under arrest?”

“No.” The man said. Since there were no cuffs, that reply would have been trustworthy but with the number of cultivators outside Shao Chen’s door, it was clearly an arrest.

Shao Chen nodded and turned to Arlert who had come out at some time and told him the situation. Arlert nodded in understanding and said, “I will have the lawyer come down.”

After that, Shao Chen was taken away.

When he was, Arlert turned to the skinny man in glasses and said, “Hack into the necessary authorities. See if there is any evidence against Shao Chen.”

“But there is no evidence of him going there.” The skinny man argued.

“Do it anyway. We can’t be too lax.” Arlert replied and left for the police station while he called the lawyer.

*************

While Arlert was on his way to the police station in the car, he received a phone call from the skinny man.

“You were right, boss. The police had CCTV footage that wasn’t supposed to be there because it has no record of being installed.” The skinny man told Arlert.

“And?” Arlert asked.

“I have deleted the footage from the police database but there is still the matter of where the footage came from.” The skinny man said.

“From where?” Arlert asked.

“The record shows that it was given by the Ruan Enterprises. The video is still present in their mainframe.” The skinny man reported.

‘The Ruans? How did they?’ It didn’t take long for Arlert to make a connection and he instructed the skinny man, “Collins, delete the footage from there as well.”

The skinny man named Collins replied, “I can’t, boss. Their system is too well-guarded. I would have to get inside.”

Arlert thought for a few more seconds before he said, “Get everyone ready. Let Bernard and Hei Chu take care of the secondary target. You and the rest get ready. As soon as I return after this, we go to the Ruan Enterprises.”

“Got it, boss,” Collins said before he ended the call.

**********************

“What do you mean the footage’s missing?” Qun Yui asked the operator.

“I don’t know. It’s just missing. I’d say someone hacked in but I can’t say for certain.” The police operator replied.

“And? Do you not have any backups?” Qun Yui asked, aghast at the nonchalance of the operator.

“Tons. But they’re gone too.” The operator replied.

“Then get more.” Qun Yui said.

“Can’t. The footage came from Ruan Enterprises. They don’t open until nine in the morning.” The operator replied.

“So what now?” after the call ended, Qun Yui asked the cultivator.

“We can keep him for the night. We’ll worry about the rest later.” The cultivator said and the night came to an end.

Qun Yui nodded and headed to the investigation room where Shao Chen and his lawyer were present.

“Mister Chen, you claimed that you didn’t know Miss Fang Mei, is that correct?” Qun Yui asked.

“Yes.” Shao Chen replied.

“Then how did you know where she lived?” The cultivator asked.

“I don’t.” Shao Chen said.

“Is that so?” Qun Yui asked.

“Yes.” Shao Chen replied.

“Are you sure, Mister Chen? Do know that this conversation is being recorded and if you make any false statements, they would be sued against you in the court.” Qun Yui informed.

“I haven’t said anything that is not true so far.” Shao Chen said.

Qun Yui and the cultivator looked at each other and said, “Well, I guess he is telling the truth,” said the cultivator and Qun Yui replied, “And we should believe him, right? After all, he is a nice man.”

“Is this a joke?” The lawyer next to Shao Chen said.

“Mister Chen, where did you go after you were released?” The cultivator asked instead of replying to the lawyer.

“I went straight home.” Shao Chen replied.

“Again, are you sure?” Qun Yui asked.

“Yes, I’m sure.” Shao Chen replied.

“Then how come you were seen near Miss Fang Mei’s house?” Qun Yui asked.

“What?” Shao Chen was taken aback but he didn’t let it show in his actions.

He didn’t know that the police had already seen the video and that they knew he was there that night. Since Arlert wasn’t allowed to meet him, he couldn’t inform him of the situation as well.

He couldn’t tell the lawyer as well because the lawyer didn’t know a thing about them.

“That’s right. We have a witness putting you at the scene. The witness called the police after which the police were able to find that Fang Mei was missing.” Qun Yui said.

“Has that witness given a testimony?” The lawyer asked.

“Yes, they have. It will be presented to the judge.” Qun Yui said.

However, it was also true that the police lacked any actual evidence. They didn’t have anything to pursue this case and until they were able to get the video again, they were at a loss. They couldn’t even keep Shao Chen in holding without proof so they were trying to bluff.

“Then if you have already decided to make it a court case, why bother with this investigation?” The lawyer asked.

“We just want to get the facts straight. No one here wants to waste the court’s time.” The police officer said.

“Of course.” The lawyer said with mockery in his tone and added, “If you guys have evidence to arrest my client, then do so, but if you don’t, then he’s walking out of here.” The lawyer said.

“I’m afraid we cannot do that. He’s our lead suspect, we cannot just let him go.” Qun Yui said. Although he knew he was bluffing, the fact that Shao Chen was the lead suspect could also be a good reason to keep Shao Chen for the night.

The lawyer hesitated. He didn’t know whether the police had any evidence or not but even if they didn’t, he was the lead suspect.

“You cannot keep him in jail, but if you want, you can attack surveillance if my client permits it.” The lawyer said and looked at Shao Chen.

Shao Chen sighed and said, “I’m willing to cooperate.”

“Very well.” Qun Yui said with a smile.

***********************

“As you asked, boss. I have left a trail back to us.” Li Wei informed Wei Jun while he was sitting in his office over the phone.

Wei Jun smiled and asked, “And?”

“The other guy was good. But sadly, he wasn’t good enough to match me.” Li Wei bragged about herself before she continued, “I have made sure to point them to the Ruan Enterprises mainframe. You can be assured of them knowing. But whether they make a move or not, well, I can’t predict that.”

Wei Jun nodded and said, “You leave that part to me.”

Wei Jun then stood up to leave. He knew what he was about to do was risky but he was sure he would be the winner. After all, he would have a weapon he didn’t have when fighting the aura master, Jasper.

[Death Qi: 198198]

Wei Jun headed for the door but just as he was about to open it, he received sudden notifications from the system.

[An emergency quest has arrived]

[Choice of the invader]

[Grade: S]

[Limited to the user]

[Description: Make a choice]

[Task: …

[….]

[….]