Chapter 3: Locking Oneself In

"Zhang Yunhang is a bit arrogant. Intelligence is both an asset and a liability. This matter isn't particularly difficult; it just requires relying on the reality of the situation. I'll search for a solution as I go—no need to rush."

Daydreaming is useless. Han Ling needs to make the best choice based on the reality of the situation and the available environment.

He reconfirmed the positions and search direction of Zhang Yunhang and his five companions, then slipped into the darkness.

Ten minutes later, Han Ling was strolling along the street, glancing back occasionally, carefully maintaining the distance between himself and the group of six.

There were pedestrians on the street; some were even sitting outside shops, drinking. When Han Ling passed by, they merely gave him a casual glance before turning away, showing no interest whatsoever.

The extras were dedicated and professional. During the drills for handling mass incidents a few days ago, these people had played a crucial role. One ought to be grateful to them for their wholehearted support of the public security bureau's work.

Han Ling walked and stopped, moving in and out of the buildings on either side, looking for a suitable location. In the current situation, there were only two plans to trap Zhang Yunhang and his group in a short amount of time:

First, lock the six of them in.
Second, lock himself in.

He arrived at a coffee shop and pushed the door open. Inside, the shop was fully equipped and kept very clean. Directly ahead was a bar counter, with tables and chairs neatly arranged. The shelves were empty, as was the bar; these were likely only set up when filming was taking place.

Han Ling took a rough look around. It didn't meet his needs, so he turned to leave, but his gaze shifted to the right. There was a corridor there, and at the end of the corridor was a window facing the entrance. He stepped closer and, by the dim moonlight, managed to read the sign: it was a restroom.

Han Ling continued forward, noticing a passageway on one side of the corridor, and wanted to see what it was. Upon reaching it, he saw a staircase leading downward—only five steps—ending at a door.

Han Ling took out his Nokia phone and turned on the flashlight. In the beam of light, he could see a piece of paper with black text on a white background pasted on the door, reading "Storage Room." The paper was old, with curled edges and a yellowish tint. The storage room was locked, with a key left in the lock.

If the lock was functional, he could lock the door from the outside.

Han Ling stood there thinking for a moment, then shifted the flashlight to the stairs. The staircase wasn't finished; it was still raw concrete, covered in a thick layer of dust. It had clearly been abandoned for a long time. Looking at the corridor floor, it was shiny porcelain tile; unless one's soles were perfectly clean, it would be difficult to track footprints without professional forensic equipment.

Time was tight; Zhang Yunhang and the others were closing in. Han Ling didn't want to waste any more time. He turned back to the corridor entrance and flipped the wall switch.

*Click!*

The lights above the corridor turned on, illuminating the entire space. The light was close to the stairs and hit half of them; if there were footprints, they would be very clear.

Satisfied that the lights worked, Han Ling turned them off, returned to the stairs, and rushed down at top speed, his soles leaving clear impressions in the thick dust. Arriving at the storage room door, he turned the handle and opened it. He didn't care what was inside; he simply stepped forward, leaving his final footprints in the threshold.

When the door closed again, two-thirds of the footprints remained inside, and one-third remained outside. Even without footprints, Zhang Yunhang's group would have searched, but with them, they would be certain he was inside, significantly reducing the variables.

He locked the door and shook it hard; it was sturdy. What if Zhang Yunhang chose to break the door down? He had already observed that the six of them were empty-handed. Even if they chose to force entry, they would need time to find tools, which weren't available in the coffee shop. Furthermore, given Zhang Yunhang's personality, he would likely be unable to resist gloating as victory approached—a defeat caused by talking too much.

With that done, he took out his phone, turned on the flashlight again, and carefully backed away, stepping exactly into his original footprints to match them as closely as possible. Perfect alignment was impossible, but this was a drill; once Zhang Yunhang and his team were convinced he was in the storage room, they wouldn't bother with footprint analysis. Han Ling was certain Zhang Yunhang wouldn't notice the discrepancy.

Reaching the top step, Han Ling leaned against the wall, took off his shoes, and without minding the dirt, carefully wiped the dust off the soles with his clothes before putting them back on and returning to the corridor.

He shone the flashlight: there were now two rows of clear footprints on the stairs, extending all the way to the storage room at the end. The storage room door was locked.

He had succeeded: he had locked "himself" in.

All that remained was to lead Zhang Yunhang's group here while "disappearing" from the coffee shop.

Returning to the main hall, Han Ling looked for a hiding spot. Under normal circumstances, there were many places to hide in a coffee shop, such as ventilation ducts, access panels, the space above the restroom ceiling, or behind partition walls.

Han Ling checked around and finally came to the bar. He crouched and tapped the inside—it was hollow. He soon found the latch for a partition panel. The film studio was only for shooting, so the construction wasn't sophisticated; it favored high efficiency and low cost. The hollow design of the frame, meant to save money, had worked in his favor.

Everything was ready. Han Ling went to the front door of the coffee shop and stood to the side, observing the situation outside.

"Many extras saw me when I came in. If Zhang Yunhang and his team are smart, they won't ignore the role of the extras. In the drill, the extras are the 'public,' and seeking assistance from the public is part of the police academy curriculum."

On the other side, Zhang Yunhang and his five companions had arrived. They weren't searching aimlessly; just as Han Ling predicted, they were asking every extra they encountered. Though it was a drill, it was very close to reality.

"Excuse me, we're police. Have you seen a young man in a gray T-shirt pass by?"

"Yes, he went that way," the extra said, pointing in the direction Han Ling had gone.

"Thank you."

The six quickened their pace, asking as they went. The coffee shop was not far ahead. Just then, a figure walked out of the coffee shop.

Zhang Yunhang saw him and subconsciously slowed his pace. They stood dozens of meters apart, staring at each other.

"Han Ling!" Zhang Yunhang shouted.

Han Ling clearly froze for a second, then, without hesitation, turned and bolted into the coffee shop.

"Han Ling! Stop right there! Why are you wasting time?!"

Zhang Yunhang rushed forward. As he passed the alley, he glanced at the window on the side of the building and shouted, "There's a window! Two of you, go block it!"

Hearing this, two of the five changed direction and went to guard the window. The remaining four charged into the coffee shop.

The coffee shop was dark. Zhang Yunhang immediately looked for the switch and turned on the lights. In an instant, the entire shop was brightly lit, yet there was no sign of Han Ling.

"Han Ling! Come out! It's such a small place, surely we don't need to search!"

There was no response.

"One person guard the door, the rest search!" Zhang Yunhang already possessed the aura of a leader and issued his orders.

The three of them fanned out. In truth, there was no need to search; the entire coffee shop was visible at a glance, and there were no apparent places to hide.

*Click!*

Zhang Yunhang turned on the corridor lights, quickly walked to the window, and seeing nothing unusual outside, turned back, stopping before the stairs to the storage room.

Under the light, the footprints on the concrete floor were striking. He took out his own flashlight and turned it on; the beam led straight to the storage room door. The footprints went right up to it.

He crouched to inspect them—they were fresh, just left. Zhang Yunhang was speechless and nearly laughed out loud.

"Come over here! Han Ling is in here!"

Hearing the call, the three guarding the window and the door quickly arrived, and Peng Yao and the other searcher joined them, gathering in front of the stairs.

"Look, he's hiding inside," Zhang Yunhang said, shining his flashlight on the trail of footprints. "This is a classic textbook example of what not to do. Many suspects think they're clever, not realizing they've left behind a trail of evidence."

Hearing Zhang Yunhang's voice, Han Ling, who was slowly crawling out from under the bar, rolled his eyes, quietly pushed the partition back into place, and slipped out of the coffee shop.