Chapter 1421 Substitute

"The road she took leads to the old industrial area in the west of the city."

Team Leader Chen was quite familiar with the surrounding terrain. He whispered, "That area is a mixed bag, full of abandoned factories. Not many people go there usually."

Luo Feng didn't respond, his gaze falling on the woman's gesture of raising her hand to adjust the brim of her hat.

That hand was fair and slender, with a very faint scar on the second joint of the ring finger.

You can't see it at all unless you look very closely.

That was only because Luo Feng and Lin Naizi were close enough that he saw the exact same spot where Lin Naizi had been cut by broken glass during a bath.

His heart suddenly clenched.

If this isn't a coincidence, then the person behind it must know far too much about Rinnako's details.

Is it the Shadow Council? Or Thanatos? Or... is it a scheme orchestrated by Rinako herself?

But why would she do that? I just can't understand it.

Luo Feng's mind was in turmoil. He had considered many possibilities, but he didn't know which one was true.

As the car drove past the alleyway, the woman suddenly stopped in front of an abandoned factory covered in ivy and turned to look behind her.

Despite the distance and the car window, Luo Feng could still feel that cold gaze sweep over him.

The other party discovered it?

Team Leader Chen dared not continue driving.

After all, that woman was watching this place, and if she saw them again, she would know they were following them.

Most importantly, the two of them are still unable to determine each other's identities.

If he were to expose this and disrupt Luo Feng's plans, he would be filled with regret.

"Stop the car," Luo Feng said in a low voice.

Team Leader Chen did as instructed immediately.

The car came to a steady stop in the shadows at the street corner.

The woman stood at the factory gate, not going in immediately, but looking up at the rusted iron sign, as if confirming something.

A moment later, she turned and pushed open the door, her black figure in the trench coat disappearing into the dimly lit doorway.

Luo Feng opened the car door, and Team Leader Chen immediately followed, saying, "Mr. Luo, would you like to go in?"

Luo Feng stared at the creaking iron gate, clutching his phone tightly in his pocket.

If it's a trap, he must figure out the other party's purpose.

What if... it really is related to Rinako?

Moreover, he tried calling Rinako again just now, but received no response.

Furthermore, the woman's phone wasn't ringing, so perhaps the other party wasn't Lin Naizi; otherwise, she should have responded when Luo Feng called.

But it's also possible that the phone was muted, so Luo Feng decided to go and check it out anyway.

"Wait in the car," Luo Feng said in a deep voice, then got out of the car.

He didn't believe in coincidences. This woman was so similar to Lin Naoko in every way, even down to the smallest details.

Only those who are very close to Rinnako know these details.

Lin Naizi actually has very few close friends, and Luo Feng knows all those close to her. They wouldn't do such a thing.

The iron gate made a slight clanging sound behind me.

Luo Feng didn't believe the other party hadn't heard him.

The workshop was filled with the smell of rust and dust, and it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.

Luo Feng slowed his pace, his sharp gaze sweeping across his surroundings.

Machine tool wreckage was piled up like a small mountain, and spider webs swayed in the wind on the beams.

Ahead, a figure in a black trench coat walked unhurriedly, the sound of high heels clicking on the ground particularly clear in the empty factory, as if deliberately leading the way.

Luo Feng clenched his fists, his face icy cold.

The woman's left shoulder slumped slightly as she walked; it was a habit Lin Naoko had developed from carrying a backpack for a long time.

But the coolness I felt when we shook hands was clearly not her temperature.

Luo Feng realized that his mind was becoming somewhat disordered.

The woman then stopped in front of a broken wall.

This is a dead end; behind her is a mottled cement wall, and in front of her is only her solitary figure.

This shows that the other party was not familiar with the terrain at all, otherwise they wouldn't have been trapped here.

This is clearly a dead end, yet people still insist on going this way.

Luo Feng stopped and stood five meters away from her.

"Who exactly are you?" His voice echoed in the workshop.

The woman slowly turned around, her hat brim lifted, revealing her gray-blue eyes.

She raised her hand and took off her mask, a playful smile playing on her lips.

"Mr. Luo, you've been chasing me for so long, just to ask this?"

The voice was processed, with a deliberately lowered hoarse tone, but a familiar intonation was hidden at the end of the sentence.

Luo Feng's pupils suddenly contracted.

He suddenly noticed behind the woman's ear, where there should have been a small cinnabar mole.

Lin Naoko had said that it was something she was born with, but now it was completely smooth.

And those hands, although the scars were in the same location, there were no calluses on the base of the thumbs like those left by Lin Naoko from holding a pen for many years.

All these signs indicate that the other party is probably not Rinnako.

But if those similarities are truly just coincidences, Luo Feng cannot accept them; there must be a reason.

"You are not her."

Luo Feng's voice was low, carrying a hint of relief, yet also a touch of complexity.

The woman raised an eyebrow, neither admitting nor denying, but simply took a walkie-talkie out of her trench coat pocket and pressed a button.

"It seems the test results are in."

As soon as he finished speaking, a slight noise came from the shadows on the right.

Luo Feng turned his head sharply, his vigilance immediately heightened.

He didn't realize it might actually be a trap.

I also regret not calling Team Leader Chen over as well.

After all, this could very well be a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain, and they'll either take action against him or against Team Leader Chen.

Lin Naoko emerged from behind a pile of scrap, a reproachful yet smug smile on her face.

"You do have some good taste."

She walked over to the stunt double and gently patted her on the shoulder. "This is Eva, the character actress I hired." Eva nodded, her expression returning to its usual blank state.

Looking at the living Lin Naizi in front of him, with the cinnabar mole behind her ear clearly visible in the light, Luo Feng felt a huge weight lifted from his heart, followed by a surge of helpless anger.

"You're using this to test me?"

When Luo Feng saw Lin Naizi walk out from the side, he was not excited at all; instead, he was quite confused.

Although it didn't seem like a trap, and the feeling of familiarity with the other party was even stronger, given the precedent set by this woman, Luo Feng couldn't believe who the real Lin Naizi was.

Lin Naoko stepped forward, stood on tiptoe, and pinched his cheek, a sly glint in her eyes.

"Who told you to always say you understand me? Now you believe me, right? Your Luo Feng really does understand me well enough."

“You are my man. If you don’t even understand some of the details, how can I entrust myself to you?”

In the distance, Eva wisely turned and walked into the shadows, leaving the two of them alone.

Luo Feng pulled her into his arms, feeling the real warmth of her embrace, and whispered, "If you try this trick again, see how I deal with you."

Lin Naoko snuggled against him and chuckled sullenly, "That depends on whether you have the ability to catch me."

Luo Feng's hand was still frozen in mid-air, but the warmth in his arms eased his tense nerves slightly.

But that question still welled up uncontrollably.

"Now that you're here, why have you been hiding? Do you know how long I've been looking for you?"

Lin Naizi stepped back half a step from his embrace, the cunning on her face fading slightly. She reached out and took a brown paper bag from Eva's hand, handing it to him: "I'm not hiding, I'm checking something."

Luo Feng took the file bag and felt the rough texture of the paper.

Upon opening it, I found several sheets of printed paper covered with names and addresses, as well as a few blurry photos.

The top one clearly shows several names from the auction list.

“These people…” Luo Feng looked up at her.

"They were all participants in that day's auction."

Lin Naizi leaned against the broken wall, her fingertips tracing one of the addresses. "I found out they have private connections, and they're all involved with the Shadow Council."

"Do you think Thanatos dares to act so openly without anyone backing him up?"

She paused, a hint of seriousness flashing in her eyes, and said, "I suspect they are raising a sum of money for an unknown purpose."

"But it's no small matter if it can get so many big shots to be interested at the same time."

Luo Feng gripped the document tightly, his face turning pale.

He did find out that there was something fishy about the auction, but he never expected it to be so deeply involved.

No wonder Lin Naizi hasn't been able to meet with anyone lately; she's been investigating these matters. She wouldn't dare to come and see Luo Feng if she didn't get to the bottom of things.

"So you found a stand-in to test me?"

His tone softened a bit, but it still carried a hint of anger.

Lin Naoko stepped forward, gently tugged at his sleeve, and said in a softer voice, "Who told you to say in the last video that you'd still recognize me even if I turned to ashes? I just want to see if you were just bragging."

She looked up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes, and the cinnabar mole behind her ear was particularly clear in the light.

"However, you've passed."

Looking into the light in her eyes, Luo Feng's anger dissipated almost entirely, leaving only the relief of having regained what he had lost.

He reached out and pulled her back into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Next time you need to investigate something, take me with you."

"Okay," Lin Naoko replied sullenly in his arms, but her fingers secretly hooked the hem of his clothes.

In the distance, Eva had already disappeared silently into the shadows, leaving only two figures embracing in the empty factory.

The two walked outside, and Lin Naoko made a suggestion as they went.

"Actually, I think you should also get a body double. This person might be able to save your life in a critical moment."

Since Lin Naoko already has a stand-in, she actually wants to use this method to verify some things, or rather, to explore a possibility.

It would be difficult to fool someone you're very close to.

But if it's a stranger, maybe he's your resurrection armor.

Luo Feng paused, rubbing the edge of the file folder.

"A stand-in is not a pawn."

His voice was very soft, with a metallic, friction-like quality.

Luo Feng certainly agreed with Lin Naizi's statement. He had seen many big shots who had their own stand-ins before.

If something really happened, a body double could definitely save a life.

However, Luo Feng always felt that if he was using a stand-in, then he should cultivate the similarity between the stand-in and himself.

This is not what Luo Feng wants to see, especially since he has his nieces and nieces; he is worried about them.

"I know."

Lin Naizi withdrew her hand and put it in her pocket. "But having an extra layer of cushioning is never a bad thing."

The iron gate clanged again, and the wind outside blew in dust.

Team Leader Chen straightened up in the car, saw the two of them get out side by side, breathed a sigh of relief, and got out of the car.

“Mr. Luo.” His gaze swept over Lin Naoko, with a hint of surprise.

Luo Feng nodded, offering no explanation, but simply said, "Let's find a place to eat."

"Yes."

Half an hour later, Team Leader Chen turned the car into the hotel parking lot. Just as he turned the steering wheel, a black Bentley suddenly rushed out from behind and squeezed into the empty space in front of the car.

The sharp screech of tires rubbing against the ground was enough to make one's eardrums tighten.

Team Leader Chen gripped the steering wheel tightly and cursed.

"what!"

Luo Feng glanced at the Bentley and said calmly, "Let's look again."

Before the words were even finished, the Bentley's door opened.

A man in a silver-gray suit swaggered down, his hair slicked back, accompanied by two women in short skirts who were giggling and clinging to his arms.

"Oh, so there's nowhere to park?"

The man raised his chin in their direction, his eyes sweeping over Luo Feng with obvious contempt. "I was wondering why the parking lot smelled so bad. Turns out we attracted some people who shouldn't have come."

One of the women said in a coquettish voice, "Young Master Leng, don't get angry with them, it'll ruin our meal."

The man known as Young Master Leng chuckled and deliberately raised his voice.

"It's not that I'm being disrespectful, this place simply doesn't welcome people from China. Understand?"

Hello everyone, I'm the author, and I'm so glad you're reading my book! But I really need monthly votes. If I can get on a chart this month, I'll get a 2,000 yuan reward, so please help me out! I'd be very grateful!
Your monthly votes are my motivation! As long as I can keep updating non-stop, I'll keep going until you all are sick of reading! Please help me out, thank you! If I get 1000 monthly votes this month, I'll keep my promise and update 1 words a day! Thank you everyone! Please also send some recommendation votes, the author welcomes all! Everyone, please help me out this month, everyone contributes, and I really need your votes. Thank you all so much! Please vote more, thank you so much! Thank you for your recommendation votes, thank you for your monthly votes, thank you for your gifts, I'm very grateful! Thank you for your votes, I'll remember to work harder every day! Please vote more, vote more! The author needs your support, thank you everyone! Please give me your monthly votes, thank you so much!

The author really needs everyone's monthly tickets, so please everyone vote for them. It's not that I'm desperate, I wouldn't be begging you like this. Recommendations, monthly tickets, and even donations—all of these are welcome. With donations, the author will definitely update more frequently. Thank you all so much! I'm truly overwhelmed with gratitude! Without you all, the author wouldn't be where I am today, so the author should thank you for your monthly tickets! (End of Chapter)