Chapter Twenty-Four: Stirring the Grass and Startling the Snake

"Parallel space?"

Inside the car, Granny Liu and Liang Bing cried out in unison.

Gao Ning nodded.

"That’s all there is to our conversation!"

After parting ways with Old Gun, Gao Ning hesitated briefly, but ultimately decided to call Granny Liu and Liang Bing, arranging to meet them at the parking lot across from the mansion.

Upon receiving Gao Ning’s call, the two hurried over immediately.

The three sat face-to-face as Gao Ning recounted the night's events, selectively choosing what to say.

In Gao Ning's version, the American soldiers became police colleagues, and the sudden dispatch that night was due to an anonymous call. Someone reported seeing two men being dragged into a villa in the same neighborhood where that morning's traffic accident had occurred.

Based on the suspect descriptions, the dispatch center determined they were the two recently reported missing, and promptly notified their superiors.

Though Gao Ning was only a rookie officer, he had handled that morning's accident and had been to this neighborhood, so he and his colleague were called to the scene.

As for his dealings with Old Gun, Gao Ning shifted the initiative: instead of taking the lead, he made it seem that Old Gun had approached him out of internal strife and because he had seen through Gao Ning’s disguise.

Although the structure and sequence of events had changed somewhat, the information he conveyed remained the same.

Judging by their expressions, it was clear Granny Liu knew nothing about the option to strike out solo after five mission worlds. As for the compulsory mission, neither seemed concerned.

Parallel space truly was a bombshell, not only stunning Gao Ning at first, but also leaving Granny Liu and Liang Bing momentarily speechless.

Granny Liu sighed, "If it's parallel space, things get much more complicated!"

Liang Bing said, "And with the Du Fulin incident blowing up like this, even the police have caught wind. The CIA is surely prepared by now. Using petty tricks like commercial espionage or private investigators will only expose us!"

Granny Liu replied, "In that case, we might as well be straightforward!"

Gao Ning asked, "What do you mean?"

Granny Liu didn’t answer directly, but countered, "Can you get ahold of Cheng Long or Du Fulin?"

In Gao Ning’s retelling, the police took the initiative, and both Cheng Long and Du Fulin were rescued.

Du Fulin, however, had suffered harsh interrogation, while Cheng Long was simply unconscious but unharmed.

Gao Ning knew there must be loopholes in his hurried explanation, but also knew neither Granny Liu nor Liang Bing cared to verify the details.

All they wanted was results.

For them, this was just a minor episode within the mission world, not worth wasting energy on.

Gao Ning hesitated, "The CIA only cares about Du Fulin, and the police consider Cheng Long a simple victim, so there’s no guard at the hospital. Maybe I can give it a try!"

"Excellent," Granny Liu nodded. "Go and bring Cheng Long here. Keep him unconscious if you can! Bing, get a car and a handgun ready. I’ll fetch some hippie clothes. We'll meet back here in thirty minutes!"

Liang Bing was startled. "You’re planning to go in hard?"

Granny Liu squinted, her kindly smile appearing. "If you can’t see how deep the water runs, you might as well throw in a stone to test it!"

Now Gao Ning understood the old woman's intentions.

Though his face showed little emotion, inwardly he nodded in approval. So decisive! No wonder she’d survived three missions.

Wait!

Suddenly, Gao Ning realized that since Granny Liu could use skills, she must have completed three missions already. This current world was her fourth.

According to Old Gun, this should also be a compulsory mission for Granny Liu.

But judging from her actions, she didn’t seem concerned at all.

What was going on?

Or was Old Gun’s information wrong?

Gao Ning kept his doubts to himself, only nodding to show he understood his task, then pushed open the car door and left.

The three split up, agreeing to reconvene in thirty minutes.

Judging by the difficulty of the tasks, Gao Ning’s was the most troublesome.

But Gao Ning had never told the truth from the beginning; not only Cheng Long, but even Du Fulin was in his hands, hidden by the soldiers in a secret place.

He stood by the roadside for a moment until a taxi slowly pulled up.

Gao Ning climbed in. The driver was one of the soldiers.

With the command already given in his mind, there was no conversation between them. The car circled the community hospital, then turned into a small alley.

When they emerged, an unconscious Cheng Long was now in the car.

In less than twenty minutes, Gao Ning returned to the parking lot with Cheng Long.

Granny Liu was the first to arrive, still driving her brown vintage car. But this time, a burly white man in hippie attire sat in the passenger seat.

From his vacant stare and ashen eyes, it was clear he was a corpse.

As soon as Granny Liu greeted Gao Ning, Liang Bing pulled up in a light green Chevy van.

She hopped out and tossed Granny Liu a 1911 pistol.

Granny Liu expertly checked the gun, even spinning it in her hand before tossing it to the hippie.

Both of them looked at Gao Ning, and without a word, he loaded Cheng Long into the back of the van.

Then all three got into Granny Liu’s car, while the hippie drove Liang Bing’s vehicle, taking the unconscious Cheng Long out of the parking lot.

Granny Liu handed out two binoculars. Gao Ning and Liang Bing took them and looked across the street.

As expected, a dead hippie was still a hippie. His wild, reckless driving style, punctuated by screeching brakes, quickly drew the attention of the mansion’s security.

Mr. Du Fulin played the role of a man of status—a tycoon, with a mansion, a yard, security, and a housekeeper, all standard features.

Though it was late at night, security guards still patrolled the grounds.

The grating sound of brakes echoed from afar, then two headlights swept into the driveway, prompting the guards to run for the main gate.

But before they could reach it, the iron gate was slammed open with a bang, and a light green car shot in, drifting sideways to a stop atop a flower bed.

"Hey!"

A guard shouted, eyes fixed warily on the car, grabbing his radio to yell for backup.

The car had come in so aggressively that he hesitated—after all, this was just a job.

Then the car door was kicked open, and a hippie-looking man, blood streaming down his head, dragged Cheng Long from the car. He nearly stumbled and fell as he got out.

Swaying unsteadily, he managed to remain upright, spotted the guard, weakly raised his arm in greeting, and then, as if completely drained, collapsed backward onto the ground with Cheng Long in tow.