Chapter 206 - Fierce Battle (Misleading)
"Oh, damn it."
Seeing Fu Li and Vill-V arrive, Charlotte muttered under her breath in frustration.
"I'm sorry, you two, but it looks like you're too late. She wasn't an old woman at all, but a rather agile young man. He probably anticipated we'd follow him, so he pulled a classic disappearing act."
"And it's obvious the murderer isn't working alone. It seems he has many people providing cover for him. Damn it, I messed up this time."
Charlotte had clearly already scouted the area around the car, so she looked genuinely troubled.
She frowned, her gaze sweeping疑惑ly around the car, but she still came up empty.
Just then, however, Vill-V suddenly spoke up:
"Hey, great detective, have you ever heard of magic?"
"Magic? I've heard of it. It's something like sleight of hand, right?"
Charlotte shook her head and smiled. "Are you trying to say the person is hiding in the car? Impossible. I already checked. There are no obvious signs of a hidden mechanism in the passenger compartment, and the trunk was opened earlier. There's no one inside."
"Mhm, that's just the prejudice of a layman. But if it's a prop that could fool even you, then I'd have to praise him for it. A pity..."
At this point, Vill-V raised an eyebrow. "He's not as good as me. Li, go!"
"Yes, yes, I understand."
Fu Li chuckled helplessly and raised a hand to hail the driver of that taxi.
"Hey, driver. I'd like to ask if someone just skipped out on the fare in your cab."
"Huh? Yeah, that's right. What about it? Don't tell me you know him?"
The window rolled down, and the driver inside spoke with a puzzled expression.
Fu Li could see that this driver was a burly man, wearing a mustard-yellow coat. Half his face was obscured by a wide-brimmed hat, and he wore sunglasses, looking very fashionable.
"That's right. In fact, he's our companion."
Fu Li lied without batting an eye. Seeing that Vill-V was still staring intently at the car, even kicking the undercarriage from time to time, he continued to stall for time.
"Actually, we were filming a show just now. The content is a prank magic show, and the scene you just witnessed was our performance. If you don't mind, please allow us to pay ten times the fare as an apology."
"What, ten times the fare?"
The driver was about to explode in anger, but hearing the offer of ten times the fare, he stopped. He looked Fu Li up and down.
"You don't even look like you're in middle school. Why are you doing this kind of thing? Do your parents know?"
"Ah, well, of course they don't," Fu Li replied, still smiling.
His tone had a slight upward lilt, like that of a young master from a rich family, putting on airs of superiority. Although it wasn't overt, he was deliberately provoking the man.
Because he knew very well that this driver's loved one had died at the hands of someone just like this. So, he was intentionally enraging him.
With that, without even looking, he pulled out ten crisp, green banknotes and waved them smugly.
"Is this enough?"
"You little brat, looking down on people at such a young age?"
Just as planned, his attitude made the driver's face darken. A vein throbbed on his forehead, and he looked like he was about to blow his top. In the end, however, he suppressed it, though his tone became extremely curt.
"Fine! Take your money and go crying home to your mommy, you damn spoiled heir!"
With that, the driver was about to drive away, but he saw that a little girl was now standing in front of his car, blocking his path.
He was about to yell at Vill-V to get out of the way when he saw her kick the front of the car several times. The hood suddenly flipped open, and a young man in his twenties stared up at the sky with a completely bewildered expression.
"Playing this kind of trick in front of a magician... you must be an idiot."
Seeing that she had successfully solved the mystery of the disappearing old man, Vill-V shot a mocking remark before shrewdly running over to the equally baffled Charlotte.
She was well aware of her own weakness: her body was too frail. If she were caught by that young man, she would definitely become a hostage.
So, she shouted loudly:
"Li! The driver and the man under the hood are accomplices! You take care of the driver! Charlotte, protect me!"
Hearing her words, Charlotte was the first to react, immediately assuming a Wing Chun stance in front of the young man.
As for the young man, upon realizing he'd been exposed, he didn't choose to fight immediately. Instead, he yelled.
"Oh, damn it! What the hell?! Drive, now!"
"Uh... huh? I'm on it!"
The driver, receiving his orders, first froze, then reached for the gear stick.
"Hey, did you forget about me?"
Fu Li chuckled softly. Then, with a speed unattainable by ordinary people, he grabbed the driver's wrist. Just as the man was about to stomp on the gas pedal, Fu Li executed a bizarre move, planting both his feet on the man's shoulders.
In a flash, with a crisp crack of bone, the driver was kicked clean out of the car, door and all, and sent flying onto the road.
Amidst a screech of brakes from the traffic, Fu Li stepped out of the car, his face expressionless, and beckoned to the driver who was crying out in pain.
"Come on. Continue."
"Shit! You little swine!"
The driver cursed loudly, then gritted his teeth and tried to reach for something inside his coat. But Fu Li stepped on his shoulder and, with a slight twist, his other joint was immediately dislocated.
"Pfft. I told you to continue, and you actually did. How dare you? Do you have any idea how much effort I'm putting in to not kill you instantly?"
With that, Fu Li crouched down, pulled a handgun from the driver's coat, and then pinned him firmly to the ground with his foot before looking over at the other fight.
On the other side, the young man's face had darkened upon seeing the driver subdued so quickly. He was about to escape when Charlotte intercepted him.
Unlike Fu Li, who had the leisure to toy with his opponent, Charlotte, despite her outstanding fighting skills, was at a slight disadvantage against the young man.
The young man seemed to be using a style similar to Jeet Kune Do, his movements fierce and full of variations.
Charlotte, on the other hand, although her Wing Chun could stand against him, was clearly less experienced in a real fight than the young man, being more used to using her brain.
She kept glancing at Fu Li, who was watching from the side, as if asking for help, but her pride held her back, preventing her from easily speaking up.
Just as she dodged another of the young man's punches, a silver glint seemed to flash in the corner of her eye. It made her hesitate for a second, and she was almost hit.
Then, she saw the young man suddenly let out a muffled grunt, his body going limp. Seizing the opportunity, she landed a solid punch on his jaw.
After seeing the young man collapse to the ground, Charlotte froze for a moment and took a few steps back. Only then did she see that Vill-V had, at some point, walked up.
The cover of the watch on her wrist was flipped open. As if to show off, or perhaps as a precaution, Vill-V gently pressed the dial again.
Instantly, the familiar silver glint appeared, and a barely visible fine needle shot into the young man's hand.
"Alright, two tranquilizer needles. That should be enough to keep this guy asleep until morning. So, great detective? Who do you think won our bet?"
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I know it's a duplicate. the author released 2 chapters with the same number