"Show me every surveillance video from yesterday up until noon today."
The hotel manager braced himself for another round of Situ Hao's biting sarcasm, but instead, the man issued this unexpected command.
"What?"
The manager was caught off guard, his question slipping out before he could stop it.
"Do you need me to repeat myself?"
Situ Hao's brows were tightly knit, his gaze icy as it fixed on the manager.
"Oh, right away. I'll call the head of security and get the footage for you."
The manager looked into the eyes of this impeccably dressed, commanding man. The chill he saw there was indescribable, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine. He scurried off to carry out the order. In that moment, he was no longer the hotel manager but a subordinate of Situ Hao.
It wasn't that he lacked competence; it was that this man's presence was simply overwhelming. Instinctively, he had chosen to comply and yield.
Chu Xialin sat tucked away in an obscure corner, watching the exchange with clear confusion in her eyes. She wondered why he wanted to review two days' worth of hotel footage. The most critical minutes had already been disrupted, reduced to static-filled snow on the screen. Even if they looked at everything else, they wouldn't find any clues about how Xiaowei had vanished.
"Brother-in-law, the footage from the time my cousin disappeared wasn't recorded at all. I don't think you'll find any leads by watching the rest."
Jian Xi'er stepped forward bravely, speaking to Situ Hao with caution.
Situ Hao didn't even glance at her.
"Christopher, clear the lounge of anyone irrelevant."
The moment the words left his mouth, Jian Xi'er's face drained of color. Her cold, beautiful features twisted into an expression of embarrassment, her complexion shifting between pale and red. Her agent grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the lounge before she could utter another word. He didn't give her a chance to plead, terrified she would provoke the CEO further.
Christopher Martin looked at Chu Xialin, his eyes signaling her to leave as well.
"Well, Mr. President. I'm worried about Xiaowei. Could I please stay?"
Chu Xialin's voice was soft and submissive, but her words were clear. Situ Hao turned his head, gave her a faint glance, and then turned back. Christopher understood this as silent permission for her to remain. He nodded discreetly at Chu Xialin, who pursed her lips into a small smile before melting back into the shadows, returning to her chair.
"Auntie, can't you see the president has run out of patience? How dare you provoke him? Do you really not want to come back?"
The agent dragged Jian Xi'er into another lounge, the one where she had just given her press interview. He spoke to her in a hushed, urgent tone.
"I was just stating the truth. I know he's worried about my cousin, but watching all that footage is a waste of time. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Besides, my cousin is missing. Do you think I want him to fail? I just don't want him to waste his energy on something futile."
Jian Xi'er's rebuttal was logical, and her agent chose to believe her.
"Whatever you say. But you'd better stay put and keep quiet. Don't say anything else that might anger the president. My heart can't take another scare like that."
The agent patted his chest, trying to calm himself.
"It's all your fault anyway. If you hadn't insisted on inviting my cousin, none of this would have happened."
Jian Xi'er couldn't help but complain about her agent.
"If I hadn't let you invite your cousin, would the major media have agreed to interview you alone today? I did it all for you."
Seeing her agent getting angry, Jian Xi'er quickly softened her tone. The two of them waited quietly in the lounge, hoping to hear any new news about Jian Yunwei.
"Here are all the tapes you requested. I've gathered them all."
The hotel manager placed the surveillance footage in front of Situ Hao, who signaled Christopher to review it. Although the manager didn't think they would find anything useful, he dared not say so.
No one expected that an hour later, Situ Hao would spot a clue.
"Christopher, freeze the frame here. Zoom in."
Situ Hao gave the order abruptly. Christopher enlarged the image of a man wearing a black mask and a black baseball cap.
Situ Hao asked the hotel manager if the man was a guest at the hotel. After checking with the front desk, the manager shook his head. The man hadn't checked in yesterday. Because he was wearing a mask, he stood out. The front desk staff had noticed him, assuming he was looking for a friend to dine at the hotel restaurant. So they hadn't thought much of it.
Situ Hao instructed Christopher to pull up footage from the hotel restaurant. In the hours before and after the man appeared, he was never seen inside the restaurant. In fact, he was difficult to spot anywhere.
"It seems he was deliberately staying in the hotel's blind spots, making it hard for the cameras to capture him."
Christopher said to Situ Hao. Situ Hao nodded faintly, his eyes locked on the man with sharp intensity. At that moment, Captain Reed returned from outside, reporting that he had found no clues.
"Give this man's image to the tech department. Have them analyze his full appearance. Then send people to track down his current location in City A."
Situ Hao asked Christopher to print out the masked man's image from the footage and instructed Captain Reed to take it to the police station's tech department for facial reconstruction.
"Don't worry. Once we know what he looks like, things will be much easier."
After hearing Situ Hao's analysis, Captain Reed agreed that this man was the most suspicious lead. He immediately left to contact the tech department. No one noticed that Chu Xialin, who had been sitting in the corner, had quietly slipped out of the lounge.
Yan Lie went upstairs and returned to his room. Instead of going to bed, he made a phone call.
A hoarse, icy voice answered on the other end.
"Is it done?"
The raspy voice asked slowly.
"She didn't succeed. Her husband discovered her. I'm afraid I've let the boss down this time."
Yan Lie's tone was light as he spoke to the person on the phone.
"I didn't expect there to be something you couldn't handle. You're a veteran of our organization."