Chapter 51 Who Are You Really
Sophie did not need to do self-studying sessions on Saturday night, so she went to Monarch Mall and bought a gift. Just as she was about to head home, she encountered Eustace and the others.
Eustace looked like he was in the middle of an angry outburst, and the few technicians beside him barely dared to take a breath.
“Captain Sheppard, isn’t that Ms. Tanner? Maybe we should ask her for help.” Although Danny was embarrassed about failing the pursuit despite being a professional technician, he knew that Sophie was rather brilliant. Maybe she’ll be able to help us out.
“Ms. Tanner?” Eustace looked in the direction Danny was staring in and saw Sophie, who had her head lowered as she used her phone.
The young woman was wearing a set of ordinary clothes that she bought off Amazon. Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and she looked plain. Despite so, many people were still looking at her.
After all, she was pretty, and pretty people would always catch the attention of others easily.
“Yes.”
Eustace and Danny then walked over.
Noticing a sudden shadow looming over her, Sophie raised her head only to see Eustace.
“Anything I can help you with?”
“Ms. Tanner, can you do us a favor?” It was quite an urgent matter, and if they messed it up, everyone in Monarch Mall would die.
In response, Sophie took out a piece of chewing gum to put in her mouth before she asked, “What is it?”
Eustace pulled Sophie to the side.
“A desperado has run into Monarch Mall and is now hiding in here. It’s Saturday today, and there are lots of people in Monarch Mall.”
“Can’t you just go in and arrest him?” I’m not a police officer. I can’t help with that, can I?
“Well, the thing is, he has a bomb on him.”
If not for the bomb, I wouldn’t have called him a desperado.
“We’ll only give him too much pressure if so many of us enter. And a cornered beast will definitely do something wild and unpredictable. That’s why we need to pinpoint where he is. This man is an intelligent criminal. Our people can’t figure out where he is exactly, and the longer this drags on, the more danger the people inside will be in.”
They were in Jipsdale, and this was the Monarch Mall. If anything were to happen here, Chanaea would become the laughingstock of the whole world.
Most importantly, there were plenty of patrons in Monarch Mall, and they were all going to die.
After Sophie heard what was going on, she bobbed her head.
“Okay, I’ll help you out.”
Hearing that, Eustace led Sophie to a black car where a technician was still trying to trace the criminal’s whereabouts.
Sadly, he could not even find a single clue. He had never encountered someone as brilliant as the criminal. It was as if someone else was covering the criminal’s tracks for him.
Danny asked the technician before the machine to stand up and invited Sophie to sit down.
Still chewing on the gum, Sophie’s slender fingers danced elegantly across the keyboard.
Eustace watched her work from behind her, hoping that she could speed up even more.
“Someone’s helping him.”
Sophie frowned. She knew then the criminal case was getting complicated.
There’s more than one man, and they had entered Monarch Mall with ulterior motives.
“Do you have any way to track him down?”
“Yes.”
Lines and lines of code appeared on the screen as Sophie fought against the hacker behind the criminals.
Five minutes later, the screen of the other party’s computer turned black, and he could not turn it on anymore.
“What the f*ck? What kind of person did Eustace find who can actually hack my computer?”
Now that no one could help the criminal hide anymore, all Sophie needed was a minute before she found him.
A red dot appeared on the screen.
“You’re amazing, Ms. Tanner!” Danny could not help but cry out.
“You can go apprehend him now.”
“Thank you. I’ll transfer you the monetary reward for this.”
“Okay,” was all Sophie said.
Eustace then hurried away to arrest the criminal. As the criminal had a bomb on him, he also brought men from the bomb squad.
“Ms. Tanner, you’re fantastic! Can I ask you some questions?”
“Sorry, but I have some matters to attend to.”
With that, Sophie stood up to leave.
“Danny, who is she? She looks young!”
“Yeah, she’s only eighteen. Don’t feel jealous, though. Some are just born a prodigy.” Some people were gifted individuals who could do anything with ease. On the other hand, some could never become geniuses no matter how hard they tried. Nevertheless, all one needed to do was to do their best.
Just as Sophie stepped out of the black car, Tristan called.
“Where are you? I’m coming to pick you up.”
She doesn’t listen to anyone at all. I told her to rest at home because she’s sick, but she’s running everywhere!
“I’m at Monarch Mall,” Sophie replied.
After the call ended, she stayed in her spot and waited for him.
However, no one expected the criminal to jump off the building.
Many people were entering and leaving Monarch Mall at that time, so when they saw a man falling to his death from the building, they screamed.
Eustace immediately asked his men to seal off the place.
“Hurry up! He still has a bomb on him that hasn’t been defused!”
The men from the bomb squad rushed over. However, it was their first time seeing such a complicated bomb design, and for a moment, they had no idea what to do.
“Evacuate the people,” Eustace promptly ordered.
He then walked over to Sophie.
“Ms. Tanner, please leave quickly. The bomb will go off at any time.”
They haven’t dismantled the bomb even after such a long time?
“Captain Sheppard, seems like your men aren’t efficient at all!”
They can’t track down the guy, and they don’t even know how to defuse the bomb. The government’s wasting their money on them by giving them such high pay!
“The other party’s a Ph.D. student of the prestigious Athene University. He’s very smart.”
“I never thought that the famous Captain Sheppard would be scrambling for excuses.”
At that, Sophie handed him the bag in her hands.
“Hold this for me. This costs ten million, so don’t lose it.”
That was all she said before walking toward the bomb, about to defuse it.
Eustace grabbed her.
“What are you doing? Don’t you know how dangerous this is?”
Sophie pulled her hand away from his.
“Don’t worry. I won’t haunt you if I die.”
At that, Eustace handed the bag to his subordinate before entering the scene with Sophie.
“Captain Sheppard, leave now! There’s only a minute left!”
The men from the bomb squad had decided to retreat from the scene. After all, the people had all been evacuated, and what they prioritized most was the safety of the people.
“Move aside.”
“Young lady, this is too dangerous! You need to run, now!”
Sophie did not want to waste any more breath on him, so she shoved him aside and crouched down to take a glance at the bomb. Then, she took the equipment from the side.
“Captain Sheppard, this is a real bomb!”
This isn’t a game! Is this girl not afraid of dying?
“Both of you should evacuate now,” Eustace said to the two bomb squad technicians.
“Captain Sheppard…” was all the two technicians could say before they realized that there was no time left.
Thus, they began running away from the scene.
“Get down,” Sophie ordered.
Eustace had always been the one to order others around, but a young woman was now the one giving orders. Nevertheless, he still did as she said.
After Sophie cut the green line, she then cut the red one.
Everyone on the special police force was sprawled on the floor. Even the men from the bomb squad could not defuse the bomb, so all of them were sure that it would go off.
However, ten seconds passed. Then, twenty. Thirty. A minute.
Sophie stood up and began walking away.
When she saw Eustace still sprawled on the ground, her lips curled.
Her smile was what greeted Eustace when he lifted his head.
It was a blinding grin.
“Who are you really?” he asked, staring at the young woman in front of him in confoundment.
