Chapter 21: The Ministry of State Security Comes Knocking?
Tan Xiaoxiao's face instantly flushed crimson as she withdrew her hands from Du Xin's embrace; however, upon seeing the newcomer, she immediately placed her hands back around him, glaring at the woman with palpable hostility.
Driven by an intense loathing for game cheaters, Han Yawen had managed to track down the URL Du Xin used to log into the game. Coincidentally, the "Captain China" incident had just caught the attention of the Ministry of State Security—the very department she belonged to. She had promptly volunteered to assist with the investigation, and finally, two days later, she cornered Du Xin right outside his residential complex.
"Excuse me, can I help you? Uh... would you like to buy some steamed buns?"
Du Xin was equally perplexed; he couldn't fathom why this beautiful stranger—whom he didn't recognize—was glaring at him with such hostility. To Tan Xiaoxiao, however, that look resembled the expression of a wife who had just caught her husband cheating; she couldn't help but cast an anxious glance at Du Xin.
"Are you Du Xin?"
"Uh... I am Du Xin, but I might not be the *particular* Du Xin you're looking for."
"Do you live here?"
Du Xin turned to look at Tan Xiaoxiao, silently asking if she had any connection to the woman. Realizing that Han Yawen had nothing to do with Du Xin, Tan Xiaoxiao had already let go of his arm; she shook her head in bewilderment, indicating that she didn't know her either.
"Yes, I do. I'm an owner here at Century Garden."
"Then it's definitely you! Come with me!"
With that, Han Yawen strode purposefully into the residential complex, while Du Xin and Tan Xiaoxiao followed behind, still thoroughly baffled.
"Do you know her?"
Tan Xiaoxiao whispered into Du Xin's ear. As Du Xin turned his head to answer, their faces suddenly came within inches of each other; Tan Xiaoxiao recoiled instantly, blushing once again. Du Xin simply shook his head.
"Never seen her before. She probably escaped from a mental institution somewhere. We should call 120 in a bit."
As he spoke, Du Xin tapped his finger against his temple, miming that Han Yawen was mentally unstable.
Han Yawen, walking just a short distance ahead, clearly overheard his remark; she merely frowned slightly but said nothing.
Han Yawen continued walking straight toward Du Xin's apartment. Du Xin began to sense that something was amiss; he had only moved in recently, and aside from a select few people, no one else knew his address. The fact that she knew exactly where he lived suggested only one possibility: she had the means to access his personal information. In other words, Han Yawen was someone operating within the system—a government agent. It wasn't until they arrived at Du Xin's home that Han Yawen finally stopped, signaling for Du Xin to open the door.
"Beautiful lady, barging into my home without any justification like this puts me in a real bind. You have to understand, I am—"
While Du Xin was rambling on incessantly, Han Yawen whipped out an ID badge—an act that instantly silenced him.
"...Fine. If you want the door opened, then I'll open it!"
Gazing at the National Security Bureau credentials in Han Yawen's hand, Du Xin resignedly unlocked the door. Tan Xiaoxiao, startled by the sudden turn of events, assumed Du Xin had committed some crime and hurriedly grabbed hold of him.
"It's okay; it's nothing serious."
Du Xin wasn't actually all that panicked. He didn't believe the state would move directly against an individual possessing superpowers who hadn't posed a threat to the nation. He figured the authorities must have uncovered something and wanted to negotiate with him. However, what Du Xin couldn't wrap his head around was why they had sent a young girl—and such an arrogant one at that. Was this a "honey trap"? Or was she just the "tsundere" type?
While Du Xin was lost in his own wild speculations, the three of them entered his home. Han Yawen walked straight into the living room and sat down without hesitation; Du Xin followed suit. Only Tan Xiaoxiao remained standing, unsure of how to react to Han Yawen—who clearly looked like she was there to pick a fight.
"Xiaoxiao, sit down. It's fine."
Du Xin reassured her, and Tan Xiaoxiao, still knitting her brows in concern, reluctantly took a seat.
"Do you know who I am?"
"I do. Someone from the National Security Bureau."
"Do you know why I'm here?"
"I don't."
"Do you have *any* idea what you've been up to these past few days?"
In that instant, Du Xin realized exactly what this was about: his public debut as "Captain China" had been discovered.
"Let me jog your memory! Four days ago! At night! What exactly did you do?"
"I don't know!"
"You don't know? Do you realize the magnitude of the harm you've caused—to me... and to the nation?"
Harm? Hadn't he actually *saved* people? Plus, he had held back his strength; not a single one of the robbers had died! Before Du Xin could fully process this, Han Yawen pressed on. "Do you have any idea how much damage you've caused to the national network? I'm here to inform you right now: you've broken the law! Specifically, the *Measures for the Administration of the Security Protection of Computer Information Networks Connected to International Networks*! Are you familiar with it?"
"Huh?"
"Don't you 'huh' me! Do you realize how severe the consequences of using hacks are? How much it disrupts the peace of the network? I have the authority to cut off your internet access!"
Han Yawen continued to rant furiously, while Du Xin remained utterly bewildered.
"But... I wasn't using any hacks?"
"Still denying it? In less than ten minutes, you solo-killed me... you solo-killed their ADC eleven times! What? Do you still have doubts?"
"Wait—are *you* that Caitlyn who got lost in the jungle? I really wasn't hacking!"
Han Yawen's pretty face flushed crimson, followed immediately by the indignant fury of someone whose embarrassing blunder had just been exposed.
"You *still* won't admit it? How could a human possibly possess such reaction speeds? Who do you think you are—?! I'm warning you: resistance will be met with severity; full confession will be met with leniency!"
Du Xin, having long since figured out the true nature of the situation, watched Han Yawen with a teasing smirk—causing her face to turn an even deeper shade of red.
"If you don't believe me, then come on over!"
With that, Du Xin headed toward the study. Han Yawen glared at him as she followed close behind, leaving only Tan Xiaoxiao standing there, dumbfounded and still struggling to process what was happening.
Du Xin booted up his computer, launched the game, and prepared to use his actual gameplay to prove once and for all that he hadn't been hacking.
Twenty minutes later...
"Master!! Please, teach me your ways! I want to hit Challenger! No—Diamond is fine, actually!"
Du Xin was drenched in sweat. He realized now that he should have just admitted to hacking earlier; dealing with the current situation was proving to be far more troublesome.
"Um... I don't actually play that often."
"It's fine! I don't play that often either!"
Han Yawen's eyes sparkled with starry-eyed admiration—a look that sent shivers down Du Xin's spine. Having racked up a stat line of 46 kills, 0 deaths, and 2 assists in just sixteen minutes, Du Xin had completely won Han Yawen over.
Tan Xiaoxiao stood to the side, puffing out her cheeks as she glared indignantly at Du Xin and Han Yawen. In her eyes, it looked as though Du Xin was deliberately flirting with Han Yawen; a girl she had previously dismissed as a non-threat had now suddenly become a formidable rival. Unable to hold back any longer, Tan Xiaoxiao promptly charged over to join them. "Du Xin, I want to play too! I want to hit 'King' rank!"
Each girl clung to one of Du Xin's arms, shaking him incessantly. Du Xin found himself in a state of blissful agony; although he could have easily shaken them off with just a hint of effort, having never experienced such sensations in his entire twenty-odd years of life, he had—quite evidently—succumbed to the pleasure. A glint of pure satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
"You pervert!" Catching sight of the lewd grin plastered across Du Xin's face, Han Yawen blushed crimson; she yanked her hand free and bolted out of the room.
Tan Xiaoxiao, too, seemed to have noticed this detail; she hurriedly let go of Du Xin's arm.
"Um... well... I-I have work matters to attend to at the company. I'll be going now."
Without waiting for Du Xin to try and stop her, Tan Xiaoxiao covered her face with her hands and fled.
"Sigh..."
Watching the two girls run off, Du Xin let out a soft sigh of relief. Yet, as he thought of them, a smile began to spread across his face; lingering on his arms was the faint sensation of their touch—and in an instant, that smile turned decidedly lewd once again.
Du Xin closed the door, relishing the thought that he could finally enjoy a moment of peace and quiet. He switched on the TV in the living room and settled in to play some video games—naturally, he selected the highest difficulty settings for every title, yet he proceeded to breeze through them all, clearing stage after stage as if he were using cheat codes.
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