TTAETSC Chapter 26.3 - Little Octopus' Key Operation

Translator: Deyonna

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At that moment, Yuan Ye, who was “allergic,” was completely unaware that the “little jellyfish” on his shoulder had sighed countless times already. When he took off his glove, sure enough, the palm of his hand was slippery.

Since there is no water available, Yuan Ye can only grab some clean leaves and rub them off forcefully. Afterward, he puts on his glove again, covering all his skin tightly and securely.

However, this method seems to have little effect as the sensation from before seemed to have penetrated deep into the flesh, silently and subtly teasing every nerve ending in the most innermost and hidden place.

Yuan Ye took several deep breaths, rubbed his fists hard several times, and only then managed to calm down, returning to his usual calm and indifferent demeanor.

Because at this time, they had already arrived at the entrance of the temporary signal station, where Chen Xinyue was negotiating with the military investigators guarding the area.

“I am Chen Xinyue, a B-level investigation officer. I received an urgent recall order from the royal court this afternoon and now need to use your temporary signal station for communication.”

After carefully inspecting Chen Xinyue’s investigation officer credentials, the guard immediately called the person in charge of the area.

The person in charge was a young man in his early twenties. He scanned the three individuals one by one with his gaze.

His eyes lingered for a long time on Chen Xinyue, Yuan Ye, as well as the pink “little jellyfish” on his shoulder.

The reason is that Chen Xinyue is a very rare female investigation officer, and Yuan Ye is not wearing the investigator’s combat uniform.

As for the pink “little jellyfish,” it is incredibly exquisite and beautiful. Even if it were taken to the best auction house in the main city, it would still be considered a rare item.

Liu Shan couldn’t help but take a few more glances, but he also didn’t forget about the task at hand.

“Alright, Officer Chen, please follow me.”

Chen Xinyue was not surprised. After all, Liang Kun was a smart person. When she accepted the small box containing eight identity tags in the afternoon, it meant that the confrontation between her and Liang Kun had come to an end.

Borrowing the temporary signal station is a favor, and Liang Kun couldn’t wait to have Chen Xinyue immediately owe him a huge favor. Therefore, he wouldn’t refuse to help with this small favor.

As they walked in, Chen Xinyue finally glanced back at Yuan Ye with the corner of her eye. The latter’s face was cold and calm, as if the others strangeness just now was only their imagination.

Sigh—

Captain Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The culprit, the little octopus, also breathed a sigh of relief, and its ears, which were drooping against its head, finally perked up again.

He looked around, observing the temporary signal station that was set up. The ground was still dirt, surrounded by wooden fences, with small lanterns hanging every few meters.

Ye Yunfan saw many military tents, with four very large vehicles in the middle that looked like light vans on the outside. They were parked in a circular formation, with sunroofs on the top, and signal poles extending over ten meters high.

From the looks of it, it does indeed have a temporary setup style.

The person in charge led them to the vicinity of the signal cars and said in a friendly tone.

“Officer Chen, please go ahead.”

“Thank you. You’ve worked hard. May I ask what your name is?”

She suddenly asked.

The person paused and said in reply.

“Oh, my name is Liu Shan.”

Chen Xinyue’s usually serious face suddenly revealed a kind and gentle smile, making her already beautiful face look even more charming.

“I’m really sorry, Officer Liu. If we weren’t in a hurry to leave tomorrow, we wouldn’t have come to disturb you so late.”

Jon, on the side, immediately widened his eyes and suddenly became hostile towards the man in front of him.

Why is the captain smiling at this guy!

The captain has never smiled at him before!!!

The curly-haired puppy was indignant, his heart full of grievances, consumed by jealousy to the point of being unable to reconcile.

Liu Shan’s face blushed slightly, feeling a bit flattered. After all, the number of women in the investigation corps was pitifully low, especially in their barren border region. He repeatedly waved his hand and said.

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing, Officer Chen. Our Team Leader Liang has told us you are the main contributor to this incident, so whatever you request, we will do our best to fulfill.”

Chen Xinyue squinted slightly.

Sure enough, Liang Kun had already made arrangements.

—That makes things easier.

Chen Xinyue quickly showed a slightly embarrassed expression.

“So, it’s like this: the information I have is very important and needs to be passed on to the court immediately. It’s highly confidential. Could you…”

“Oh, sure, sure.”

Liu Shan clearly understood her unspoken words. Chen Xinyue’s attitude was humble, and with the leader already making arrangements, he agreed very willingly.

“It also happens that the night is getting late. I’ll let my brothers rest for a while, have something to eat, and when you’re done, just call me.”

After saying that, he called for the communications officer and technician who were originally guarding the car to leave.

“Go, go, go. Everyone, rest for a while and have something to eat.”

The little octopus lay on Yuan Ye’s shoulder, looking at the backs of those people leaving, once again sighing at the all-around skills of Captain Chen.

She excels in battle tactics and in dealing with people, being tough when necessary, soft when required, utilizing her strength effectively while still upholding principles. Truly exceptional in all aspects.

Suddenly, Ye Yunfan inexplicably felt that she was very suitable to be a commander.

Not just a mere captain, but a higher-level commander and leader.

By the time Liu Shan left, Captain Chen, who had a smile at the corner of her lips, immediately returned to her usual serious and stern appearance.

“There are four signal cars here. The main control should be the one we are in. Time is limited. Shall we split up and search?”

When she said the last sentence, Chen Xinyue looked at Yuan Ye, clearly seeking his opinion.

“En.”

Yuan Ye had no objections because this was indeed the fastest and most efficient way. He turned his head, got out of the car, and walked towards the closest vehicle on the left.

Because Chen Xinyue’s excuse was to report back to the main city, therefore she had to stay in that main control vehicle, pretending to be communicating.

Seeing that the real business had begun, the little octopus spirit immediately perked up. While others were probably carpet-searching* for the chip, only he knew the exact target.

*Thorough and meticulous search.

Spare tire!

Ma Lin said before he died that the chip was inside the spare tire!

He just needed to find the spare tire.

However, Ye Yunfan had never seen this signal car similar to a light van before. He wasn’t too sure where the spare tire was placed, but it should be in one of three locations: at the car front, on the roof, or underneath the vehicle.

Inside the car were many large pieces of equipment, with bundles after bundles of wires of various colors, and on the control platform in the front, there were a dense number of buttons.

In short, Ye Yunfan was unable to make sense of what he was looking at.

But Yuan Ye appeared very familiar; his movements were agile, his limbs extremely quick, as he immediately located the communication recorder inside the vehicle. If they were to switch the chip, this was the most likely location.

The little octopus took the opportunity to jump down from the youth’s shoulder. However, instead of immediately going to find the spare tire, he circled around Yuan Ye, poking here and there, looking around.

Sure enough, Yuan Ye, busy with the task at hand, just glanced at him and didn’t pay any more attention. Ye Yunfan searched around and first found a piece of metal to show Yuan Ye.

After all, one of his current octopus persona is that he likes to collect metal pieces. Yuan Ye took a moment to look and said.

“Too big.”

He meant that it was too big to be embedded in the metal-patched wrist guard.

The little octopus tilted its head, dropped the piece of metal in its hand, and ran off again. Yuan Ye didn’t pay attention to it and continued searching.

He found a chip inside the communication recorder, but the chip’s model matched the recorder, and he specifically checked the signal time records inside, which were not the ones they were looking for.

Just then, the little octopus brought an even smaller piece of metal and raised it up high with great effort to show Yuan Ye.

“This one won’t do either.”

The young man replied indifferently.

A few minutes later—

“This one is too heavy.”

“This one is in the wrong shape.”

“This one is an important part. Can’t take it.”

“......”

After spending more than ten minutes, the little octopus diligently strengthened its false octopus persona of liking metal pieces, then finally began to do the real work.

He quietly slipped out of the car and quickly searched for the spare tires of each signal car.

Twenty minutes later, he obtained two types of news.

Good news: every spare tire is hidden underneath the vehicle.

Bad news: there’s no chip in any of the spare tires.

The little octopus who was originally full of confidence: “…???”

Could it be that he was deceived?!

No, no, no.

Ye Yunfan immediately dismissed this speculation. At that time, Ma Lin was already in his last breath. His consciousness was not even clear. It was because Ye Yunfan used his skill that he could extract the information from Ma Lin’s mind.

So what Ma Lin said must be the truth.

Could it have been taken away early by the assassin who wanted to silence Ma Lin? Hmm... that’s also unlikely.

At this moment, the little octopus’ thoughts were spinning rapidly, and the little tentacles were about to cry out and feel dizzy again, but Ye Yunfan was able to fully block them.

He carefully sorted out his thoughts.

The assassin had let Ma Lin go, intending for Ma Lin to lead him to the chip or to obtain clues about the chip’s hiding place from Ma Lin while he was alive.

Ma Lin had not run far when he was caught by Chen Xinyue.

Therefore, the other party did not obtain any clues and would never know that the chip was hidden inside the spare tire.

Taking ten thousand steps back*, even if the other party was exceptionally clever and guessed the signal cars, it is absolutely impossible that they would accurately guess the spare tires. If they wanted to find it, they would have to do carpet-searching.

*to consider a situation from a very distant or extreme perspective, implying a thorough analysis of all possible outcomes.

Moreover, from what they have seen just now, these signal cars have always been guarded, so the possibility of someone taking the chip is slim.

Ye Yunfan repeatedly deduced his own speculation several times and confirmed that there were no logical issues.

So since what Ma Lin said is true, and the logic of his speculations is also sound.

But why couldn’t the chip be found inside the spare tire?

The little octopus was tangled, so tangled that its tentacles were tied up in knots.

During this time, Yuan Ye, Chen Xinyue, and Jon searched through each signal car, including the car engine in the front, under the car, and roof.

Nobody has gained anything.

In the main control vehicle, Chen Xinyue’s face turned a bit pale. She glanced at the watch and realized that nearly forty minutes had passed.

Generally speaking, even for the most important messages, around half an hour should be enough. If her guess is correct, Liu Shan should be bringing people back soon.

Yuan Ye stood by the side, with a slight frown on his brow, as if still pondering something. Jon was under the car outside, still searching, apparently unwilling to give up.

At that moment, the curly-haired puppy suddenly felt a tightness around his ankle, and the next second, he was dragged out by a large hand.

“Who are you?!”

The man’s voice was rough, like muffled thunder.

“Dare to tamper with the signal car?!”

Signal cars are highly confidential equipment, and typically, unrelated personnel are not permitted to approach them. If it weren’t for Liang Kun’s heads up, they wouldn’t have been able to get close so easily.

Jon was dragged by the man until he was covered in mud and kicked in the stomach several times. The blows were forceful, as if the other party was intentionally venting anger rather than giving a warning or a lesson.

It’s all because of these guys causing trouble, otherwise, how could their matters about the death gratuity be discovered!

The man thought angrily, each kick more forceful than the last.

Jon tried to open his mouth to explain, but couldn’t utter a word. Fortunately, at that moment, Chen Xinyue heard the sound and quickly got out of the car to intervene.

“Stop—!”

At the same time, Liu Shan returned with the communications officer who had finished supper. He was a bit anxious and somewhat surprised.

“What’s going on, Bernie?”

The man named Bernie spoke gruffly, pointing at Jon on the ground with malicious eyes.

“I just saw him sneaking around under the signal car as if looking for something.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Shan’s eyes flickered slightly; however, he did not immediately flare up in anger. Instead, he simply smiled and looked at Chen Xinyue.

“Captain Chen, are you looking for something? If you are, just give the order, and we will all help you find it.”

Chen Xinyue’s face revealed a smile as she quickly searched for a reasonable explanation in her mind. Just then, a cold male voice came from behind.

“My ‘little jellyfish’ is missing.”

At that moment, everyone turned to the sound and saw Yuan Ye standing not far away.

“What?”

“Little jellyfish?”

☰