Chapter 23: Returning to Reality, Surveillance

After pulling the door handle of the Private Space inward, a massive stream of white information instantly engulfed Bai Cangshu.

By the time his consciousness returned to his body, he was already sitting back in his dormitory chair.

His body felt slightly stiff, and the clothing on his body had also automatically switched from Tao Baibai's robe back to his previous shirt.

Bai Cangshu looked at the back of his right hand; the Infinite Dimensional Space Backpack could still be accessed at any time.

Knock, knock.

At this moment, a knocking sound rang out. With a thought from Bai Cangshu, his breathing rhythm returned to normal, and the Ripple Qigong automatically deactivated.

He stood up and opened the dormitory door, and sure enough, he saw that Song Jingguan, whose complexion looked weathered by the elements, had appeared again.

"Heh heh, Student Bai, sorry, I forgot a few things just now and only remembered after a colleague reminded me. Is it convenient to talk a bit more?"

Song Xian had been a criminal police officer for over a decade, and after becoming a person of that space in that project, he was extremely experienced in both physical control and interpersonal conduct.

At this moment, his display of embarrassment did not have a single trace of unnaturalness.

It was as if he were truly just a police officer requesting a university student to cooperate with an investigation.

Because Bai Cangshu had opened the dormitory door, the window behind him let in a breeze, and his white shirt and black short hair fluttered violently in the strong wind.

He also rubbed his head and revealed an embarrassed smile; even Song Xian himself did not notice that the angle of Bai Cangshu's smile, his movements, and the timing of his lip and facial muscle twitches were exactly the same as his own.

"It's fine, Song Jingguan. Actually... I also just remembered that there were some things I didn't explain clearly just now."

Song Xian looked at the young man before him, whose handsome appearance was almost unreal, and suddenly had a premonition that today's operation would not go very smoothly.

As soon as Song Xian sat down, Bai Cangshu took out a mobile phone and handed it to him.

"Song Jingguan, I'm really sorry. In fact, I received a few rather strange text messages yesterday, all from internet numbers..."

He scratched his hair and continued, "I originally thought it was some new type of scam message, but later I guessed it was probably information from Chu Qi. When you asked me today, I was scared, so I didn't say it right away."

Bai Cangshu kept his head lowered, as if sincerely admitting his mistake.

Song Xian looked at the text messages on the phone and confirmed in his heart that Chu Qi had indeed contacted Bai Cangshu, and the "hot potato" that many people were scrambling for, as mentioned in the messages, was clearly the 【Card】 from the intelligence! Song Xian's expression turned serious, and he no longer beat around the bush with Bai Cangshu.

Song Xian tensed his legs, his body half-rising; this movement was very strenuous, but it was an excellent starting posture.

While the movement was very subtle, it also made it impossible for others to judge his subsequent choices.

Bai Cangshu acted as if he hadn't seen Song Xian's change and continued, "Song Jingguan, actually, I even snuck out of school last night to go to the old street where Chu Qi and I used to play in middle school to look around, but I didn't find the thing he mentioned. I don't know what's going on..."

Song Xian stared into Bai Cangshu's eyes; the latter's gaze remained flawless.

Not only that, his heartbeat, breathing, and even his pulse were completely without flaws.

Song Xian stared into Bai Cangshu's eyes for nearly five seconds; Bai Cangshu's face turned slightly pale as if he were somewhat at a loss, and his breathing became slightly disordered.

All these manifestations were consistent with the posture of a student being suspected by the police.

But Song Xian began to find it difficult to distinguish the truth of the other party's emotions.

He nodded, took Bai Cangshu's phone, and stood up.

"Student Bai, the intelligence you provided is very important. How about this: I will first contact my colleagues at the bureau to confirm the situation at the old street."

Having said that, he turned around and began to take out his own phone to dial, completely undefended with his back to Bai Cangshu.

Bai Cangshu sat in the chair, watching Song Xian, who had his back to him; the other party's muscles had actually relaxed, like prey that had let down all its guard.

Song Xian suddenly felt the skin on his neck turn cold; a gust of wind blew, and goosebumps instantly rose on his skin.

He subconsciously turned around in an instant, his hands turning pitch black.

Bai Cangshu's file scrolled through his mind in an instant like a movie.

Isolated by all his classmates in his youth, he had the nickname "Monster." In middle school, he clashed with local thugs for unknown reasons, and several adults ended up hospitalized. During high school, he seemed to have reined it in a lot; because of the name "Monster," he was feared in school, but no malicious cases occurred.

During his four years of university, this young man seemed to have studied a lot of law; every conflict ended in "self-defense," but in all those cases of self-defense, he never once entered a hospital.

Even with Song Xian's experience as a veteran criminal police officer and a Reincarnator, he had not seen many young people as abnormal as this.

It was as if he were a special talent who had grown up in those chaotic countries where shootings were constant.

When he turned around, Song Xian's pupils shrank; the young man he had identified in his heart as an Outlier was sitting properly in the chair, still with his head lowered, making no move.

As if he were a student who had done something wrong...

No, the other party was a student to begin with.

In an instant, Song Xian's judgment from before wavered in his heart.

Was he being biased? This young man, in essence, had no criminal or disciplinary record at this time.

In a strict sense, the other party was a "good person."

Was he setting a position in advance because of personal prejudice?

Song Xian fell into a dilemma; he pondered for a moment and actually dialed a phone number.

"Hello, Old Yang, help me check last night..."

"Yes, confirm if any suspicious individuals appeared at the old street before that."

Song Xian made several calls, and the intelligence he received was also complex; individuals of unknown identity had indeed appeared in the old street area, and in the surveillance, Bai Cangshu had indeed appeared, but there was nothing special about his behavior.

The suspicion could not be cleared, but it could not be confirmed either.

After the "sting operation" just now, Song Xian ultimately developed a bit of trust in Bai Cangshu, along with a small amount of guilt based on his previous suspicions.

Therefore, he made a decision.

"Student Bai, this matter is of great importance. I hope you listen clearly to what I say next."

"I am now formally notifying you in the name of the 【Dongxia Bureau of Special Affairs】 that you will be monitored by our bureau under 【Observation Level: Danger】 for the next period of time."

"During the monitoring period, you must remain within the residence area and are not allowed to leave; otherwise, our bureau will impose mandatory measures."

Song Xian's expression was serious, while Bai Cangshu nodded repeatedly, then seemed to remember something and asked, "Song Jingguan, I still have to attend classes. It should be fine if I move around within the school, right..."

Song Xian nodded; he did not explain what kind of organization the Dongxia Bureau of Special Affairs was, nor did he explain how they would monitor him.

But it seemed that this student, Bai Cangshu, was not concerned about these things either, showing considerable cooperation.

After explaining some precautions, Song Xian left Binhai University in a hurry.

Not long after Song Xian left, another person knocked on Bai Cangshu's dormitory door.

"Brother Bai, someone was just asking about you at the bar street in the University Town; do you want the brothers to give him some hospitality?"

The person who arrived had dyed yellow hair and a black rose tattoo on his neck, his hoodlum-like temperament appearing completely out of place among the students of Binhai University.

Yet he was extremely polite toward Bai Cangshu, keeping his head lowered while speaking and using his hand to cover his mouth to prevent the smell of smoke from entering Bai Cangshu's dormitory.

Upon hearing this news, Bai Cangshu revealed a knowing smile.

"Xiao Ning, give me a mobile phone; send me his location and photo later, and I will give you guys word."

The yellow-haired man nodded and handed over his own new model fruit phone without the slightest hesitation; seeing the smile on Bai Cangshu's face, he subconsciously shivered.

He knew that the true Monster of the underground world in this region was about to make a move...

(End of this chapter)