Chapter 170: A Terrifying Incident on the Road

Since obtaining the system, this was the first time Xiao Yu hadn’t triggered a system sign-in when dealing with a case. It was odd, almost illogical.

‘Could it be that this isn’t a case?’ he thought.

Furrowing his brows, he walked out of the food street and headed towards a luxury car parked by the roadside.

The persona he was playing now was that of a young rich man—an orphan who had inherited a sizable fortune. Luxurious cars and beautiful women were part of the facade… well, maybe not the women. If his wife found out he was flirting with other women for the sake of a case, she would team up with their mother and deal with him in a very unpleasant way.

What was unpleasant? 

For a man, it was breaking three of his legs. For a male dog, it was breaking five.

Xiao Yu opened the car door, sat in the driver’s seat, and started the engine. But instead of driving off immediately, he picked up a card from the passenger seat.

This card was the one he had purchased from the dark web for five hundred thousand yuan. The delivery method was quite unusual. It wasn’t sent by courier or delivered by hand. Instead, a small drone flew in, dropped an envelope, and then flew away. 

To avoid alerting anyone, Wang Dong and his team didn’t touch the drone. The envelope contained the card—ordinary, with no contact information.

It had been three days, and Xiao Yu hadn’t noticed anyone following him or watching him from a distance. He couldn’t figure it out.

Suddenly, Xiao Yu paused. He felt a strange, indescribable sense of danger. An eerie, almost animalistic intuition that danger was lurking nearby.

Was it just his imagination? 

Xiao Yu considered this for a moment before shaking his head. Shifting gears, he pressed the gas pedal, and the car moved onto the road.

Since it was nighttime, traffic was light, so Xiao Yu accelerated to 50 kilometers per hour. Anyone who drives knew that the speed limit in urban areas was usually between 30 to 60 kilometers per hour, so going much faster wasn’t feasible.

But something wasn’t right.

After accelerating slightly, Xiao Yu released the gas pedal to slow down gradually. To his shock, the car didn’t decelerate. 

54 kilometers per hour?

He lightly tapped the brake pedal, and his heart sank as if plunged into an icy abyss, his whole body going cold. The brake was stiff and unresponsive. He couldn’t press it down.

Any experienced driver knows that a hard brake pedal could mean a few different issues: the vacuum booster has lost pressure, there’s a leak in the brake booster and mechanical failure of some component.

Could the car, which Wang Dong arranged, really have a problem?

If you rule out those possibilities, what else could it be?

Someone might have tampered with the brakes while he wasn’t paying attention.

“Who wants to kill me?!”

As he continued driving smoothly, carefully monitoring the road ahead, Xiao Yu’s mind raced. He quickly dismissed this thought. It couldn’t be that. While he was eating barbecue, the car was always within his line of sight. No one got close enough to mess with the brakes.

Sabotaging the brake booster isn’t something that can be done easily.

“Is this just an accident?”

Xiao Yu’s face showed a trace of disbelief. It didn’t make sense. It was beyond what his mind could logically deduce.

Wait… an accident?

His heart suddenly skipped a beat. He thought of one possibility… the assassins.

“Is it you guys?” he muttered, his expression becoming more peculiar. 

‘Or maybe… is this just a way to test if the client is law enforcement?’

As he continued to drive and analyze the situation, Xiao Yu kept his focus on the road. 

Damn… a red light!

Ahead of him, a line of cars was stopped at the light. Xiao Yu’s heart raced. He took a deep breath. It was time to show off his skills. Driving expert mode activated.

Vroom!

He floored the gas pedal and yanked the steering wheel hard. The car skidded and spun across the road.

Why didn’t he use the handbrake?

He figured it wouldn’t work either.

At the intersection, the car spun onto the pedestrian crossing, causing a chorus of startled shouts from onlookers, before veering into the right-hand lane.

Why not go straight instead of turning right?

Using his Falcon’s Eye, Xiao Yu had spotted a guardrail not far down the right lane.

Guardrails were common on major roads for two reasons. They separate opposing lanes of traffic and they provide basic safety measures.

Xiao Yu steered the car directly toward the guardrail.

Did you really think he was about to pull off some speed-style stunt, driving a brakeless car at high speeds?

How much fake booze would you need to drink to try something like that?

Boom…

With the gas pedal pressed down, the car, now skidding sideways, changed lanes and slammed directly into the guardrail. The collision caused the car to momentarily slow down.

In that split second, Xiao Yu shifted the car into park (P).

What was so special about the P gear?

It uses a mechanical system to lock the vehicle’s transmission, preventing the car from moving. The car’s wheels were locked in place by the mechanical parking gear, preventing any rolling—exactly what “park” is supposed to do. 

Sure, a skilled assassin might be able to tamper with the brakes, but the transmission? That would leave too many traces of foul play. A brake failure could still be explained away as an accident, but messing with the gearbox? That would raise red flags.

After the car finally came to a stop, Xiao Yu killed the engine and stepped out, his face displaying a look of pure terror.

Of course, he was faking it.

But the expression was exactly what you’d expect from someone who just survived a car crash. It was an act put on for the benefit of anyone who might be watching.

‘Whoever you are, wherever you’re watching from…’ 

Xiao Yu slumped to the ground, playing the part of someone in shock, frantically scanning the area with his eyes, as if searching for danger. His peripheral vision discreetly checked all the possible spots where someone could be surveilling him. 

Close-range? Nothing suspicious.

Long-range? Too far to confirm.

“What’s going on?” came Wang Dong’s panicked voice through the hidden earpiece in Xiao Yu’s ear.

Keeping his face unchanged, Xiao Yu maintained his terrified facade, his mouth moving as though gasping for air, but he managed to murmur one word, “Kill…”

“Assassin?” Wang Dong’s voice was laced with shock. “You can’t talk, can you? They might be watching you?”

“Ah!” Xiao Yu cried out, seemingly still in distress.

Wang Dong quickly pieced together what was happening. This little brother was putting on an act.

“Alright, I won’t send anyone over,” Wang Dong responded swiftly.

“Mm…” Xiao Yu made a sound of agreement, taking a deep breath before looking back at his car with an expression of fear. 

By now, a crowd of onlookers had gathered. It didn’t take long for the traffic police to arrive, starting their investigation into the incident.

Xiao Yu was taken to the traffic police department for questioning and to check for DUI. They also needed to examine the car to determine if it was a brake issue. Finally, there was the insurance process.

Even after leaving the traffic police station, Xiao Yu kept his guard up, his face still showing signs of shock-induced paleness.

Just as he was about to hail a taxi, one pulled up right in front of him.

“Someone wanted you to have this,” the driver said, handing Xiao Yu a phone before driving off.

　【Ding!】

　【Case triggered successfully.】

　【Police God Case Sign-In activated.】

　【Would the host like to sign in?】

Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up. It was on!