Chapter 38: Card Games Are Boring, Raise the Stakes

"It shouldn't be; there's no way he could have gotten away…"

Han Fei, with a cigarette in his mouth, already had his brows knit into a knot.

For more than half a night, the officers had been searching this area nonstop.

They turned the area over and over, searching many times, yet they still couldn't find even a trace of Xu Mo.

Besides Han Fei, the other three members of the Investigation Team also had furrowed brows, pondering where Xu Mo could have gone and how he could have fled.

After extinguishing his cigarette, Han Fei looked at the equally frowning Shen Manni beside him: "Analyzing from a criminal psychology standpoint, where do you think Xu Mo might be?"

Shen Manni first shook her head slowly, then looked at Han Fei.

"If he were an ordinary criminal, he would definitely choose to run now, the farther the better, but Xu Mo wouldn't; he's different from other 'Escapees'—he's very clever and knows that the most dangerous place is the safest place…"

After a pause, Han Fei and Shen Manni exchanged a glance.

In unison, "Dark under the lamp!"

"Xu Mo is definitely still hiding nearby; everyone, push yourselves and search again. No spot around here can be missed! Search bit by bit, meticulously!" Han Fei said, looking at the officers.

Thus, the officers meticulously searched every nearby location again, this time even the trash cans by the road were not left unchecked.

It can be said that any place capable of hiding a person did not escape their search.

Yet even so, they still couldn't find Xu Mo.

They searched once more, still came up empty, and when they returned, the officers' faces were all marked with dejection.

"Still not found?" Although he already knew the answer, Han Fei still wanted to ask.

"No, we've searched every place; we didn't see Xu Mo."

"We didn't find him; any place that could hide a person we have checked, even the trash cans were turned over."

"The kid seems to have vanished into thin air."

……

Pat—, Han Fei lit another cigarette.

"That's not right; there must be some place we missed… Xu Mo is definitely still hiding nearby; he certainly hasn't left."

After a brief pause, Han Fei's sharp eyes swept over every officer present.

"Are you sure you've searched every place that could hide a person?"

"Sure, we've covered everything; there's really no one."

"If Xu Mo were truly hiding nearby, he would have been found long ago."

"Judgment error? Not Dark under the lamp?" Han Fei muttered to himself, "It can't be… we arrived first, Xu Mo never had a chance to run."

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought of something.

Until now, he had been convinced that Xu Mo had definitely not left this area.

Moreover, this wasn't just his view; even Shen Manni, proficient in criminal psychology, thought the same.

If only he thought so, the inference might be flawed, but Shen Manni also felt Xu Mo should be nearby, so it couldn't be wrong!

Can the shared intuition of two veterans be wrong?

Obviously not.

Just now, he recalled the place most likely to have been overlooked.

A very conspicuous spot that the officers would never search!

Having figured it out, Han Fei smiled.

"I know, I know where Xu Mo is hiding, Dark under the lamp… clever kid, you've fooled us for so long."

"Where is he hidden?" Shen Manni asked immediately.

"Our earlier thinking wasn't wrong; only the search direction was. He wouldn't hide in a trash can, nor slip into an empty alley, because those spots aren't conspicuous enough to be true Dark under the lamp. The most dangerous, most conspicuous place is the truly safest place."

"The more conspicuous, the safer; hidden right under our noses, that's what Dark under the lamp means."

"If my guess is correct, Xu Mo's true hideout is there," Han Fei said, pointing at a very conspicuous building not far away.

Looking in the direction Han Fei pointed.

Li Chen frowned, "Public restroom?"

"To be precise, it's a Female Restroom. This time, all the officers assisting us in the raid are male, so even if we searched a public restroom, there would still be oversights."

The officers all nodded at that moment; they truly felt embarrassed to enter the Female Restroom to search.

Seeing this, Shen Manni, the only woman in the group, volunteered.

"I'll go take a look."

Having said that, she walked toward the nearby public restroom.

But soon, she came out.

She shook her head at Han Fei and the others, "Not there."

"Not there?"

The lead was cut off again.

This time, even the experienced Han Fei couldn't think of any other place to hide a person.

They had turned the place upside down, yet still couldn't locate Xu Mo.

Or perhaps this guy didn't hide here, but ran away?

Han Fei always felt he missed something; it's an intuition from an experienced criminal detective.

But if forced to explain, he couldn't articulate a reason.

He looked around, and finally his gaze settled on a hotel by the road.

……

In the Presidential Suite.

"Three plus one, want it? If not, I'm leaving."

Xu Mo won another round.

Dou Di Zhu is far too simple for Xu Mo, whose brain has only two active cells.

From the start until now, he hasn't lost a single round!

Xu Mo raised an eyebrow.

"Playing straight is boring; how about we raise the stakes and do a little side game?"

Hearing that, Flight Attendant Wan Hanyu suddenly became a bit excited, and a flush rose on her face.

Finally… is it about to start?

I told you rich people wouldn't be that bored!

Two women and a man booked a room; how could they possibly play Dou Di Zhu all night inside?

How could nothing happen?

Just now while playing Dou Di Zhu, she almost fell into depression from the game.

She was holding two Kings in her hand and didn't play them.

She even began to wonder if she lacked charm.

Now it seems she was just overthinking!

Lowering her head, Wan Hanyu shyly said, "Anything… anything works."

Yang Jingxuan squinted, staring at Xu Mo.

Good for you, Xu Mo!

Seeing how intensely Xu Mo was playing Dou Di Zhu just now, I thought his earlier talk about a hookup was just a joke.

Who knew that after only a short while of playing, his true colors would show?

Still want to do a little side game?

Ugh!

Just craving this Flight Attendant's body—how despicable!

Sure enough, men… huh.

Only when hanging on the wall can they be honest!

In an instant, Yang Jingxuan felt a bit indignant again.

In terms of temperament, looks, and figure, what does she lack compared to this Flight Attendant?

Xu Mo would rather crave the Flight Attendant's body than his own?

No, absolutely not.

Come up with a move, but it still has to make Xu Mo crave herself.

Otherwise, saying it out loud would sound terrible!