Chapter 55: The Aloof Female Soldier, Ouyang Nanyu

"The only confirmed intelligence on the spy ringleader is her gender, female, and a surveillance screenshot of her back as she casually lights a cigarette while crossing the border?"

Qi Tian opened his phone, bypassing the identity clues of the other five spy operatives.

Instead, he aimed his focus squarely at the spy ringleader!

As the saying goes, capture the ringleader first to capture the rest!

If he failed to catch this person, arresting all of her subordinates would hold very little significance.

Yet when he looked at the meager stored data, Qi Tian was almost dumbfounded.

Could this screenshot possibly be of any use?

Standing beneath a streetlamp, Qi Tian stared at the photograph, pondering for a long time before finally spotting two clues.

First, the pattern on the side of the lighter the spy leader was using to light her cigarette.

It was a red logo featuring a bird motif.

Qi Tian zoomed in completely on the image and used image-recognition software to identify it precisely. It turned out to be the logo of Phoenix City, a domestic bathhouse chain.

A map search revealed that there were exactly ten Phoenix City bathhouse locations in Jiangnan City alone, not to mention other regions.

Having established this, Qi Tian temporarily put the lighter clue to the back of his mind and focused intently on the second clue.

The watch worn on the spy's wrist!

After image recognition, it was identified as a new women's model from Patek Philippe.

Qi Tian knew that with high-end luxury brands like this, purchase records were almost always kept upon sale.

Therefore, he immediately set off at top speed toward the nearest Patek Philippe boutique.

Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures.

Qi Tian could no longer afford to wait for dawn and for the boutique staff to arrive for verification.

He had to find a way to slip inside first and check the purchase records.

As for the remaining formalities, there would be plenty of opportunities to make up for them after the assessment ended!

At a little past two o'clock in the night.

Deliberately disguised in ragged clothing, Qi Tian quietly sneaked into the fire escape of the Jiangnan Department Store and headed straight for the second-floor Patek Philippe boutique.

Cloaked by the night and aided by the reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance skills he had previously acquired,

Qi Tian's movements were extremely light, ensuring he would not alert the security guard on duty at the building's entrance.

Just as he pushed open one half of the fire exit's iron door, however,

he saw a furtive figure inside the opposite Patek Philippe boutique, rummaging through something beneath the cashier counter.

The figure was somewhat slender, approximately one meter sixty-five in height, with ear-length short hair and remarkably agile movements.

"Is that the female soldier?!"

Qi Tian's eyes narrowed slightly as a figure quietly flashed through his mind—a figure he had just seen not long ago at the Special Police Detachment!

"Hey!"

Qi Tian walked on tiptoes to the entrance of the Patek Philippe boutique and called out to the female soldier who was rummaging back and forth for records inside:

"I am also one of the participants in the Reconnaissance Company assessment. It seems our targets are the same, and we both focused on the watch worn on the spy leader's wrist!"

The female soldier seemed to have anticipated long ago that other candidates would sneak in here.

Hearing Qi Tian's voice, she showed not the slightest hint of surprise.

After turning her head to glance at Qi Tian, she didn't speak, simply continuing to meticulously flip through the purchase records in her hand.

There was only a single purchase record book. Helpless, Qi Tian had to step up beside the female soldier and flip through it together with her, saying as they looked:

"According to my investigation, there are a total of three Patek Philippe boutiques in Jiangnan, and we cannot rule out the possibility that she purchased it out of town.

For both of us to screen the same place simultaneously makes little sense, and I believe you must have also noticed the lighter she was holding.

The logo on it belongs to the Phoenix City Bathhouse Center. My suggestion is that we split into two paths. After you and I separately investigate the other two Patek Philippe boutiques,

we can directly screen all the remaining bathhouses as well. I'm certain we'll eventually find some traces!

The enemy we are facing now consists of trained overseas spies, and we must take them seriously. Otherwise, the innocent people of Jiangnan City will suffer!"

Though he still didn't know her name,

Qi Tian had already regarded her as a comrade-in-arms and laid out his entire plan.

In Qi Tian's eyes, national security far surpassed personal prospects.

Catching that spy ringleader as early as possible—

no matter who ultimately passed the assessment—would be a wonderful thing for the common people!

Cooperating at this moment would undoubtedly allow both parties to achieve a win-win outcome.

To take a step back, even if the spy ringleader were ultimately captured by the female soldier beside him,

Qi Tian had great confidence in prying intelligence about the other spies out of the ringleader's mouth.

Then, he would arrest them as swiftly as possible and pass this Reconnaissance Company assessment!

However, the female soldier beside Qi Tian showed no intention of accepting his goodwill.

She turned her head slightly to scan Qi Tian and said expressionlessly, "Not interested!"

With that, she resumed flipping through the purchase records in her hand without uttering another half-word!

Seeing that the other party had no intention of cooperating with him, Qi Tian let out a helpless, long sigh, slowly stood up, and said:

"These are all clues. If you won't investigate them, I'll investigate them myself. Even if I fail this assessment, I'll drag that spy ringleader out!"

Having said that, Qi Tian moved swiftly and walked briskly toward the fire escape.

Right at that moment, a new clue flashed across Qi Tian's mind, causing his eyes to light up sharply.

The surveillance screenshot displayed on his phone was clearly left behind by the target overseas.

Yet now, the target was hiding somewhere in Jiangnan City, plotting espionage activities.

In other words, the target must possess legitimate and legal documentation allowing her to enter and leave the Dragon Country freely, such as a passport.

And the reason the target chose to operate in Jiangnan City was most likely because she was a local.

As everyone knew, the news that an augmented regiment was stationed in the outskirts of Jiangnan City was no secret within the city.

No matter how daring these spies were, they wouldn't dare act recklessly right under the military's nose!

Unless the target was confident that while carrying out espionage activities here,

even if her identity were exposed, she could still make a safe getaway.

Qi Tian couldn't think of a second answer other than her being a native born and raised on this land!

With this thought in mind, Qi Tian quickly pulled out his phone and searched for the location of the Jiangnan City Public Management Entry-Exit Administration on his mapping software.

Just then, the female soldier who had just crossed paths with the others also arrived at the fire exit.

Her eyes were exceptionally sharp.

Despite being two or three meters away from Qi Tian at that moment,

she still caught a glimpse of the content displayed on Qi Tian's phone screen.

"Interesting!"

As the female soldier uttered those words, as if suddenly remembering some important matter, she broke into a light jog downstairs.

Hearing this, Qi Tian quickly put away his phone and chased fiercely downstairs.

"Female soldier, I don't mind that you saw the clue I thought of just now.

I just want to ask, are you restricted in what you say?

Is there a rule that you can't speak more than three words at a time?!

Shall we introduce ourselves first? We'll be comrades in the same regiment later on. My name is Qi Tian—the Qi Tian of the Monkey King!"

The two of them arrived outside the department store almost simultaneously.

Qi Tian took the initiative to introduce himself and extended his right hand toward the female soldier.

Yet the female soldier remained as aloof as ever, not giving Qi Tian the slightest hint of a smile.

Instead, acting as if she found the scent on Qi Tian thoroughly repulsive, she took two steps back: "Ouyang Nanyu."

"A double-surname? Such a pretty name, though it doesn't quite seem to match you personally. Your personality is freezing cold, yet your name means warm jade."

"Psychopath!" Ouyang Nanyu glared at Qi Tian and immediately stopped talking.

Seeing that a bicycle parked in front of them was unlocked, she vaulted directly onto the bike and rode rapidly away into the distance.

Her movements were exceedingly fast—

so fast that Qi Tian, exhausted physically and mentally after five days of selection, failed to react before her figure vanished at the edge of his vision!

"What a decisive and efficient female soldier. She didn't even need to look at a map to know where to go. Could she also be a local from Jiangnan?

Wait! That damn bike looks like the one I unlocked! Ouyang Nanyu, you rode away with the bike, how am I supposed to get there?!"