Chapter 17: The Person in the Mirror (2)

“So, what’s going on now?”

Qiao Anni felt a bit confused.

Fifteen minutes ago, she had been sleeping in for a nap on the sofa at the agency, and now she had inexplicably been dragged into Olivia’s car.

By the way, it was a rather high-end white sedan.

Initially, Olivia had only come to deliver something, so why had it turned into the three of them going shopping together?

“However, this car looks really nice.”

Sitting in the back seat, Qiao Anni stroked the leather cushion.

It felt very comfortable.

“Of course, I take good care of it,” Olivia said proudly.

“Unlike someone’s car—it’s only a few years old and already falling apart.”

“Hey.”

Bres sounded somewhat annoyed.

“It’s not my fault—your car wouldn’t be any better if you left it here for a few years.”

“Mr. Bres’s car… the one at the alley entrance?” Qiao Anni asked.

Bres, sitting in the passenger seat, nodded.

When she came and went, Qiao Anni often saw a black Jeep covered in scratches and peeling paint.

It really was beat up.

“Trust me, if you park a shiny new car in a place like this for a long time, within a week someone will scratch it up or just pry the door open and drive it off,” Bres declared confidently.

“Leaving it looking messy on the outside is the safest choice.”

Qiao Anni thought of the cars parked on the street—they were all in tatters.

Maybe that was a kind of protection measure too.

Olivia’s driving was excellent.

The sedan glided smoothly through the narrow, crowded streets.

Several times, it narrowly passed heavily modified motorcycles and refurbished bikes that roared with deafening noise, yet there wasn’t a single scratch or accident.

After driving peacefully for half an hour, Bres spoke up.

“Where are we going?”

“Where else? Shopping for clothes?” Olivia looked confused.

“Then shouldn’t we go to the Fifth District? There’s plenty of light and durable clothes there,” Bres said, pointing at the intersection they had just passed.

“That’s the biggest secondhand market in the Lower City District, isn’t it?” Olivia shot him a glare.

“Can’t you get your niece something decent to wear?”

Bres squinted, trying to make out the direction the car was heading.

“You’re taking her to the Upper City District?”

“I know a nice shop over there. I want to take her to try some things on.”

“And what about the checkpoint inspection? She doesn’t have an ID or a pass, does she?”

Actually, a few days ago Bres had taken Qiao Anni to register for a resident identity.

Of course, the documents were forged—Yifulin had helped a lot in the process—and Qiao Anni had passed the review smoothly.

But the official ID wouldn’t be issued for about a week.

Besides, since they hadn’t considered any short-term travel needs at the time, no temporary documents had been applied for.

“Leave it to me,” Olivia said, giving a thumbs-up.

A moment later, a towering wall came into view.

The dark gray wall stood silently, as if it were splitting the sky itself.

“We’ll pass through the checkpoint soon,” Olivia said.

She looked out the window.

Outside the checkpoint, there were few people—only a handful waiting in line for inspection.

An electronic light strip wrapped around the entire checkpoint, flashing red and blue, scrolling the words “Please Cooperate with Inspection” in multiple languages.

“Are they going to the Upper City District?” Qiao Anni asked.

“Technically, they’re going back to the Upper City District. These are usually company employees on business or tourists coming to see the Lower City District for the first time.”

A commotion came from the front of the line.

Qiao Anni looked toward it.

A man was being dragged out by the checkpoint guards, his arms held tightly.

He struggled and shouted, but it was useless.

“That man…”

“Probably a stowaway trying to get into the Upper City District without a permit.”

Residents of the Lower City District who needed to go to the Upper City District for non-work reasons had to undergo multiple checks—income proof, criminal record, and so on—and their stay time was strictly limited.

Comfort wasn’t something just anyone could easily obtain.

As the man was dragged closer, his shouts became clearer: “Have mercy, brother. My wife really needs medicine from the Upper City District! See, I brought enough money…”

Perhaps because he had been pestering them too long, the two guards dragging him were clearly angered.

They pulled out short batons from their belts and struck the man.

His indistinct protests quickly turned into clear screams of pain.

During all this, the people around showed no reaction.

No one spoke.

No one intervened.

They just watched silently.

Olivia frowned.

“Not again…”

Her hand reached for the door handle, but Bres stopped her.

“Talking won’t help, and besides…”

He gestured with his eyes toward Qiao Anni in the back seat.

Olivia reluctantly placed her hand back on the steering wheel.

The beating lasted several minutes.

Only then did the guards, as if satisfied, walk away from the man.

The man, covered in wounds, lay on the ground for a while, then got up and limped off.

The crowd turned their heads back, as if nothing had happened.

“…”

Qiao Anni didn’t know what to say.

“You’d better get used to this kind of thing quickly,” Bres said, also looking away.

“This is the norm.”

Qiao Anni didn’t reply.

She just stared blankly out the window.

Until the car reached the inspection booth, none of the three said a word.

The car stopped in front of the inspection booth.

The guard on duty walked expressionlessly to the window and extended his hand into the car.

Olivia and Bres skillfully handed over their documents.

The guard picked up a strange device to scan the IDs—its shape reminded Qiao Anni of the barcode scanners at a supermarket.

The scanner swept over Bres’s ID.

With a beep, Bres’s headshot appeared in the air, along with a long string of yellow markers, mixed with a few green ones.

The guard looked at Bres in the passenger seat with suspicion.

Bres responded with an awkward smile.

The guard then scanned Olivia’s ID.

This time, a long string of green markers appeared without a single spot of other colors.

After just one glance, the guard looked surprised, then saluted Olivia.

“Good work, Police Inspector Olivia Hope.”

Olivia nodded in acknowledgment.

The guard handed the documents back into the car.

It was at that moment that he noticed Qiao Anni in the back seat.

“And this person is…”

“A child from the house,” Olivia replied.

“Her documents…”

“Unfortunately, she forgot them at home,” Olivia said with a regretful expression.

“That should be fine, right?”

The guard shook his head and moved aside.

“Of course. Have a safe trip, Inspector Hope.”

The car drove away from the checkpoint.