The Protagonists Keep Adding Scenes For Me | Chapter 28 | A Misguided Rescue | Novela.app

Shen Feibai sat in the cafe, gazing leisurely out the window. A youth sitting alone beneath the shade of a tree caught his attention. It was the boy from the other day. *Strange,* he thought. *After that incident, is that young man really comfortable leaving him all by himself?* The more he looked, the more he felt that leaving the boy alone was far too risky. Just as Shen Feibai stood up, intending to bring the boy inside the shop to rest, his earpiece crackled to life. The voice of his partner, Mo Yuan, came through—calm, yet laced with a distinct chill. "Where have you rolled off to slack this time?" "Shen Feibai." Mo Yuan was usually the picture of self-restraint. He was patient and serious with every partner he worked with, maintaining a gentle demeanor and striving for harmonious, perfect cooperation. However, that restraint invariably reached its limit with Shen Feibai. In every case, this excessively capricious "genius detective" would abandon everyone else at the scene who was still mired in confusion. He would skip all necessary reasoning, toss out a conclusion, and then pat his backside and leave, giving absolutely no thought to explaining himself or following mandatory procedures. Sometimes, Shen Feibai wasn't even in a hurry to uncover the truth; he was more interested in trivial details that had nothing to do with the case. Even though the regulations were already very accommodating toward these special external detectives, such recklessness was simply going too far. When Mo Yuan was transferred to work with Shen Feibai, he never imagined that after years of diligently handling cases with other detectives, he would now have to follow behind Shen Feibai to clean up his messes and complete the necessary paperwork on his behalf. Today was no different. "What is the excuse today?" Shen Feibai spoke with total confidence. "A legitimate one, of course..." His eyes darted around, using the youth not far away as a shield. "I intend to exercise my duties as a specially appointed officer—by helping a vulnerable citizen." There was a hint of helplessness in Mo Yuan’s voice. "Why don't you first exercise your duties as a partner... Forget it. Where are you?" "In that corner cafe where three suspects once hid." Mo Yuan: "...Can't you at least try to remember a street name? Now, go outside and look at what the cafe is called." "Alright, alright~" Shen Feibai stepped out of the cafe. He turned around, and just as he was about to look up at the sign, a strange intuition prompted him to glance toward the street corner first. At the corner, a boy in a hoodie lifted his eyelids. Sensing the scrutiny with sharp sensitivity, he flashed a smile that looked perfectly harmless. The face hidden in the shadows felt somewhat familiar to Shen Feibai. "Hmm... Jiayang Cafe. That's the name." Shen Feibai withdrew his gaze naturally. He raised a hand to press his earpiece, looking up at the sign before him. "I've told you many times, don't stand me up." Mo Yuan: "...What's the situation?" "Oh, I've discovered a very 'delicious' new item... though it's possible I'm just ignorant and haven't heard of it before." Mo Yuan: "Maintain observation for now. Do not act rashly." "Fine, fine. I'll just sit at the door and wait for you, okay?" Shen Feibai pulled out a chair by the entrance and sat down. After cutting the communication, he took out his phone and began scrolling. He appeared to be playing on his phone, but in reality, his peripheral vision was constantly tracking the hooded boy. His observation was meticulous and cautious; the other party didn't seem to notice. Dark, sunken eyes. A subtle smile. Exposed bandages. ...And, carried on the wind, the scent of disinfectant mixed with a faint trace of blood. *Looks like a big heap of trouble,* Shen Feibai thought. He raised an eyebrow and followed the direction of the boy's gaze. *Let's see which poor little soul has been targeted—* At the end of that gaze, the youth under the tree sat in his wheelchair. He reached out a hand to catch the sunlight filtering through the leaves, his expression peaceful and soft. He looked like a small animal basking in the sun, its fur fluffed up in total contentment. *Well then.* Shen Feibai’s expression turned subtle. Just how thick-skinned—or thick-headed—did that young man have to be to leave this boy all alone? *** Mu Ran blinked in confusion. He felt a very strange gaze fixed upon him. However, with his current vision, he truly couldn't distinguish who it was among the people around him. Just as he began to look around nervously, the gaze suddenly vanished. Mu Ran: *?* *Was it one of the protagonists?* He reached into his bag to touch the prop. The temperature of the item made his heart race instantly. [Mu Ran: Come quickly! It's time to retreat.] ... The System arrived right on time as the experiment concluded, and the two of them left without any hindrance. Nothing happened. Mu Ran, who had been mentally prepared for a confrontation: *?* *Oh, right... this prop only indicates the protagonist group's proximity to the user. It doesn't mean they'll definitely pay attention to me just because they're close! As long as there's nothing strange about our experiments, the protagonists have no reason to focus on us!* Constantly avoiding the protagonist group and fleeing in a panic whenever the prop reacted not only delayed the experiment's progress but might even backfire by attracting their attention. Mu Ran grew thoughtful and set the prop aside. *Maybe I won't run next time?* *** Just as Mu Ran and the System returned to the shop to review the day's work, Shen Feibai followed the hooded boy's trail to the vicinity of the store. The target was extremely vigilant. Upon realizing he was being followed, he had nimbly shaken off his pursuer and vanished to who-knows-where. The last traces ended near this shop. "I found it." Mo Yuan flipped through various pieces of information pulled from the database. "The owner of this shop is the youth you mentioned." Handing the tablet to Shen Feibai, Mo Yuan asked, "What is it? You think he's a problem?" "Hmm... it's not exactly that *he* is the problem." Shen Feibai rested his chin on his hand, scanning the text rapidly. "Not much useful information here..." Mo Yuan rubbed his forehead and sighed. "You'd better actually uncover something... That person intentionally avoided the surveillance cameras. Aside from you, no one knows what he looks like. The technical department can't identify him." The implication was clear: if Shen Feibai’s judgment was wrong, it would be embarrassing. "Hmph. Most ordinary people don't have that kind of anti-reconnaissance instinct," Shen Feibai grumbled. "If I hadn't forgotten my field gear and couldn't win a fight, I would have caught him already." "You sound quite proud of yourself. Who was it that skipped physical training, resulting in having to rely entirely on gadgets to catch criminals? Oh, that person is currently boasting to me." Shen Feibai wilted. "...Let's just focus on the boy who's being targeted for now." "Shall we go gather some information nearby?" ... "Oh, you're asking about that child? I heard it was originally his grandfather's shop, and now the boy lives there." "His health is so poor, poor thing! The other day, a few of us brought some baskets of things to visit him. We didn't realize and turned on the bright overhead lights—it nearly hurt his eyes. You tell me, what's the use of having such beautiful eyes if they're like that? Such a shame!" "Fortunately, he has an older brother there to help him. Otherwise, how would he survive?" "..." After patiently listening to a conversation with a very low density of useful information, Shen Feibai pondered for a long time without gaining much. He simply asked Mo Yuan to look into the "brother's" information again. However, the blank page that appeared surprised them both. "Nothing?" Shen Feibai leaned in. "No way. Did we just stumble upon an unregistered citizen?" Mo Yuan frowned. He pulled up the youth's file; there was absolutely no mention of an older brother. "That shouldn't be... every citizen is recorded in the information database." "Unless..." Shen Feibai pressed, "Unless what?" Mo Yuan had intended to wait until they had spent more time together before revealing this. But since they had already encountered a real-life example... "Unless he is a member of *that* organization." Mo Yuan’s eyes darkened. "They select and train people from infancy, cutting off all contact with normal society. People like that definitely wouldn't have a record." "You said before that you felt that young man was very capable, right?" Shen Feibai recalled. "...Indeed. I could tell his movements became slightly more restrained after he noticed me, but his combat prowess is clearly not something a normal person would possess." "Excellent. And yet you still let them walk away," Mo Yuan said, his tone turning cool. Shen Feibai countered, "There are strong people in the force too! It's unusual, but they exist! Besides, at the time, that guy was just protecting..." He stopped mid-sentence as a realization struck him. If that young man really was from the organization, and then there was that dangerous hooded individual he'd seen... *Hey, that sickly boy is being targeted by two formidable people!* And judging by how much the boy relied on the young man, calling him "Brother" so affectionately, he had clearly been completely deceived! *No, this is too pitiful.* "If your theory is correct..." Mo Yuan agreed with Shen Feibai’s line of thinking. "We have an obligation to ensure the safety of ordinary citizens." Since the boy's personal freedom wasn't being restricted, perhaps they could smoothly rescue him from the clutches of those two dangerous individuals. Thinking about how the young man had twice left the boy unattended, only to suddenly appear when the boy interacted with others... *Terrifying. Is this some new type of psychological manipulation?* However, the young man's status as an organization member was still just a guess... For now, they could only observe. *** Encountering the youth alone once again, Shen Feibai felt a flicker of displeasure. Leaving a boy who clearly had no way to protect himself in a high-traffic area time and time again was enough to demonstrate the young man's coldness, wasn't it? Or did he simply enjoy the feeling of being treated as the boy's savior? If a passerby showed concern for the boy, he would appear just in time to drive them away... What kind of behavior was that? Shen Feibai frowned, feeling increasingly annoyed by his own speculations. He scanned the surroundings and spotted the hooded boy from the other day again. *Good... this distance is enough to avoid being noticed.* Using a feint, Shen Feibai managed to snap a photo of the boy and uploaded it to the database for comparison. The database returned no results. At the very least, it proved this guy was also a complete "black household" ghost. Shen Feibai thought for a moment and sent the photo to a senior colleague. [Do you recognize him?] The senior replied quickly, his message tinged with excitement. [Holy sh*t! How did you find him!!] [Send your location!! Stall him for a few minutes, we're on our way!!] After seeing the sender's name clearly, the senior's tone calmed down. [Forget it, don't try to stall him. Your scrawny frame won't last a few hits against him, and your gadgets won't work either. Just send the location.] Shen Feibai: "..." *Fine, I won't stall him. I'll go save the victim.* This attitude was proof enough. At the very least, this guy was definitely a dangerous element. As for that "brother"... if the boy could provide a reasonable explanation, that would be fine, but he had to be under their protection first. ... "It's okay, someone is coming to pick me up," Mu Ran said, waving to a girl who was reluctant to leave. As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the wheelchair pause. Someone had placed their hands on the push handles behind him. *Oh, the System is early today!* Mu Ran blinked. He didn't turn around, but instead smiled and waved goodbye to the girl again. "Bye-bye~ I had a great time today, thank you~" After being pushed a few steps, time and space seemed to stagnate for an instant; the experiment was over. Mu Ran turned back happily. "Let's go back... huh?" His cheerful words died in his throat. Even with his blurred vision, he could tell that the person behind him was absolutely not the System! ...Instead, it looked more like the protagonist he had been trying so hard to avoid. Mu Ran: *Wait, what's going on? Why are they targeting me again all of a sudden!!* *Help!!* *** Arriving a step too late, the System stared at the empty spot under the tree: *?* [System: Where are you?] There was no reply. The System scanned the area and spotted a familiar figure hiding in a corner. Ye Xuan, feeling like he might be misunderstood: "..." He originally wanted to explain, but then he remembered the grudge from being beaten up last time. His words took a sharp turn as he provoked the other with a grin. "What's wrong~? Can't find your little brother?" "Guess where he is?" *** **Glossary** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation ---|---|--- 嘉阳咖啡馆 | Jiayang Cafe | The name of the cafe where the characters meet. 特聘警官 | Specially Appointed Officer/Detective | A special rank for external consultants like Shen Feibai. 黑户 | Unregistered Citizen / Black Household | A person with no legal identity or record in the government database. 那个组织 | That Organization | A mysterious criminal group mentioned by Mo Yuan.