Chapter Twenty-Seven: I Became a Spy Among Spies
He memorized the location, packed away the military climbing hook, and moved quietly along the rooftop edge until he was above the room where the Hanged Man stayed.
Once again, he anchored the climbing hook to the rooftop edge, took out his phone, gripped the rope, and inverted his body, lowering himself headfirst, slowly approaching the fourth-floor window.
He didn’t dare reveal his face at the window’s edge; instead, he extended his phone, using its top camera to shoot a short video inside the room, then swiftly returned to the rooftop.
He checked the video, confirmed he’d captured the interior, then packed up his climbing hook and carefully retraced his steps, quickly climbing back through the window into his own room.
He took out the black pen given by the Hanged Man, drew the investigative form delivered by the black-faced security guard, and filled in information that would neither provoke greed nor suspicion from the Hanged Man and his group—details that would neither make him a target nor let them take him lightly.
After filling it out, he took the form and pen to Room 203, left of his own.
He knocked. The black-faced security guard soon opened the door.
“I’ve filled out the form. This pen was given to me by your manager—the one in the mask. Please return it to him for me, thank you.”
“All right, let me have a look.” The security guard kept his professional smile.
Shang Yi returned to his room, immediately racing against time. He took out the military climbing hook again and retraced his path, quickly arriving once more above the Hanged Man’s room.
Switching his phone to selfie mode, he extended it to the curtain’s edge of the window, carefully angling the camera so he could still see the room’s interior.
“I hope the black-faced security guard returns that pen quickly. No matter how fit I am, even I can’t hold this inverted position for long.”
His luck held. After just over a minute, he saw the guard enter the Hanged Man’s room with the black pen and the completed form.
He immediately switched his phone to video recording.
“This is the completed form from the guest on the second floor. I checked it—doesn’t seem like a good target. Boss, what do you think?”
“Filling out forms doesn’t always mean much. I haven’t found anything on this kid, but something about him gives me a bad feeling.”
“Shall I take him out? Killing a young guy like that would take me just a second.”
“Not yet. Wait till dawn, let him pay up, then we’ll verify the information he filled in and decide.”
“Better safe than sorry. The Fool told us never to mess with the police, especially the West Suburb station.”
“Understood. I’ll head back. Boss, get some sleep. We have an early morning.”
The security guard left. Shang Yi ended the recording but continued observing.
After a while, he saw the Hanged Man take off his outer clothes—preparing to shower. Shang Yi watched closely as the man placed his clothes on the bed near the window, donned slippers, and stepped out to the bathroom.
Shang Yi put away his phone, lengthened the rope, turned feet-down, and gently slipped into the Hanged Man’s room, landing on the window ledge.
He bent to search the Hanged Man’s clothing, soon finding a black tag in the inner pocket.
He quickly pocketed the tag, then tucked the false divider he’d prepared into the Hanged Man’s inner pocket.
Carefully, he restored the clothes and bed linens to their original state, wiped away his footprints from the window ledge with his sleeve, grabbed the climbing rope, and swiftly climbed back to the rooftop, returning by the same route to his room.
The whole operation was as thrilling as a spy film. Back in his room, Shang Yi found himself drenched in sweat.
He had no time to pay attention to the livestream—he hurriedly sent the video he’d just recorded to Tian Yuan via PalChat.
Shang Yi messaged: “Urgent! Please send this video to Yuan Rushuang’s father as soon as possible and ask if it’s grounds for an immediate police report!”
Tian Yuan quickly replied: “Got it. Sending now.”
Shang Yi steadied himself and examined the black tag.
He couldn’t tell what material it was made of—glossy, jet-black, and surprisingly light.
It was almost identical in size and weight to the divider he’d made.
Other than that, it showed no distinguishing features.
Just then, Tian Yuan replied in PalChat: “Captain Yuan has reviewed the video. Combining it with the livestream, he’s sure it was shot just now.”
“He also had colleagues at the station use equipment to locate your position. You’re confirmed to be inside the Yong’an Apartment, the scene of the crime.”
“The police are already on their way. He told me to remind you: don’t act rashly, keep yourself safe, and if necessary, take emergency measures to protect yourself. The police will arrive soon.”
Shang Yi replied at once, “Understood. Thank you, truly.”
Tian Yuan sent another message: “Boss, are you still streaming?”
Shang Yi replied, “Of course! Why not?”
Tian Yuan responded instantly: “They’re out to kill you, and you’re still running around the apartment streaming? When the police arrive, I’ll probably be there to collect your body.”
Shang Yi laughed: “Maybe you’ll be collecting a body, but it won’t be mine—it’ll be theirs.”
After a pause, Tian Yuan replied, “Boss, you’ve got me on my knees.”
Shang Yi ended the chat and, feeling his strength return, put the detector into his inventory. He checked the corridor—no one around—then hurried to the first-floor bedroom, temporarily blocking the livestream camera, and quietly explained his purpose to Xue Ling.
Xue Ling was surprised that Shang Yi had managed to steal the detector from the Hanged Man so quickly, even a little incredulous.
When Shang Yi produced the black tag out of thin air, true astonishment finally showed on her face.
With the Forbidden Domain Detector in hand, Shang Yi and Xue Ling conducted a test.
When the distance between the living and the ghost exceeded five meters, the detector remained silent.
When the distance was less than five meters and stayed so for over thirty seconds, red text appeared on the detector:
Number of Hosts: 1
Current Host: Xue Ling
Host Type: Ghost
Host Level: Fierce Ghost
Forbidden Domain Type: Death Zone
Forbidden Domain Rank: Moderate Danger
Forbidden Domain Name: Dance of Red Lotus Tongue
Forbidden Domain Effect: The dancing fire tongue can rapidly attack and ensnare targets within ten meters, with a burning effect.
Forbidden Domain Duration: Up to five minutes, with a minimum ten-minute cooldown.
Below this, there were two dark red buttons: [Previous Host] and [Next Host].
Staring at the detector’s display, Shang Yi and Xue Ling exchanged astonished glances, as if they’d discovered a new continent.
“Didn’t you say you had a Forbidden Domain too? Why doesn’t it show yours?”
Shang Yi had been pondering the same question and patted his head. “Maybe mine’s too advanced for this detector to pick up.”
Xue Ling rolled her eyes at him but had no rebuttal.
Shang Yi quickly photographed the detector’s display with his phone.
“Take this detector and make a round of the apartment—try not to let them notice you. Scan the Hanged Man’s subordinates, and also Tan Gong and Xiong Xia.”
Xue Ling was puzzled. “Why scan Tan Gong and Xiong Xia as well?”
Shang Yi smiled. “As the Art of War says: ‘Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles.’ Before we had this detector, did you know the activation and recovery times of your Forbidden Domain?”
Xue Ling shook her head in bewilderment.
Shang Yi handed her the detector. “Exactly. Knowing the enemy’s Forbidden Domain means knowing their weaknesses. We need to know our own as well. If there’s a fight, we need to know what we’re working with.”
He suddenly thought of another problem. “According to this detector, if the target is more than five meters away, nothing shows.”
“With so many people and ghosts, each display disappears as soon as you leave range. Can you remember all that information?”
Xue Ling shook her head. “No way. What do you suggest?”
Shang Yi thought for a moment. “Do you still have your phone from when you were alive?”
“Yeah, after the incident, the police kept it for a while but found nothing, so they gave it back. It’s in the bedside drawer.”
Shang Yi opened the drawer—a smartphone and charger were inside.
He plugged in the charger, connected the phone, and saw the screen light up with the charging symbol—it was still usable.
“This phone needs a bit to charge. Let’s check Tan Gong and Xiong Xia in the courtyard first.”
The living and the ghost slipped out, crossed the empty living room, and reached the bungalow where Tan Gong stayed.
Seeing Shang Yi and Xue Ling arrive, Tan Gong quickly appeared. “Have you made progress?”
Shang Yi gestured to Xue Ling to show the detector. “I’ve already obtained evidence that the Hanged Man and his group are plotting murder. The police are on their way.”
Noting Tan Gong’s surprised expression, Shang Yi continued, “I’ve stolen the Hanged Man’s Forbidden Domain Detector. Let’s check our own data first, then the enemy’s.”
“After that, I’ll try to lift the Hanged Man’s seal on your Forbidden Domains. Before the police arrive, we must take control here.”
By this time, the detector in Xue Ling’s hand had already scanned two ghosts. She tapped to the next page and showed Tan Gong his own Forbidden Domain data.
Number of Hosts: 2
Current Host: Tan Gong
Host Type: Ghost
Host Level: Half-Fierce Ghost
Forbidden Domain Type: Death Zone
Forbidden Domain Rank: Low Danger
Forbidden Domain Name: Eye of Weakness
Forbidden Domain Effect: Targets stared at by the host receive double damage.
Forbidden Domain Duration: Up to two minutes, with a minimum five-minute cooldown.
Shang Yi immediately photographed Tan Gong’s data with his phone.
For the first time, Tan Gong learned the duration and cooldown of his Forbidden Domain, as well as his own level.