52 Solution

Zheng Ze was, after all, a university professor, so his reaction was slightly quicker. But as he arrived at the conclusion, his expression became just as shocked as Ye Gaoyi's, filled with disbelief.

With a slight tremor in his voice, Zheng Ze spoke, "Li Xuan... left from the airport."

Dong Yang was taken aback for a moment and immediately retorted, "How is that possible?"

"If he wanted to pass through security checks, he would need to undergo facial recognition. How could he have left from the airport..."

However, his voice grew softer, and he also realized something. This was the Jinglin Aerospace University. All seven members of the task force now understood the magnitude of their mistake.

"In the dark under light." They had diverted their attention from Li Xuan's presence at the university, neglecting this crucial clue. This was Jinglin Aerospace University! Li Xuan's choice of this institution was not a coincidence.

Not a train station, not a bus terminal, but an airport! It was an option they had previously ruled out. An option that should not even exist in their minds.

Indeed, as a passenger, he would undergo facial recognition, but what if he were a pilot? Turning the impossible into the possible—this was Li Xuan!

As they remained shocked and speechless, the administrator had already retrieved the books Li Xuan had borrowed and placed them one by one on the table in front of them.

Ye Gaoyi snapped out of his daze and began to flip through the books one by one. "University Physics" contained content about "Principles of Flight"... "Advanced Mathematics" covered "Cockpit Resource Management"... and so on.

Li Xuan, after entering the university, had studied books unrelated to aeronautics such as "Principles of Flight," "Air Navigation," "Cockpit Resource Management," "Human Factors in Flight," and "Aviation Meteorology."

This wasn't for teaching purposes; it was all part of his plan. He intended to become a pilot! He had mastered all the knowledge required of a civil aviation pilot.

Although they had realized this point, layers of mystery once again enshrouded them. They had thought they understood Li Xuan's situation and had even moved ahead of him. But when they suddenly grasped that the so-called truths they knew were all false, they were truly thrown into complete chaos.

Every member of the task force was eager to uncover the answers to these enigmas. They turned their heads swiftly and looked toward the library's entrance. Kang Shuwei had just walked out of the door! He must know the result!

All of them started walking with urgency, and Ye Gaoyi took the lead, rushing out of the library. He spotted Kang Shuwei, who was sitting on the lawn, blowing smoke rings.

"Shuwei! What's going on?"

Everyone's expressions were stern. Kang Shuwei's gaze swept over their faces, and then he lowered his head to look at the cigarette between his fingers, sighing.

Kang Shuwei knew he would face this question, so even though he was weary, he nodded nonetheless.

"It seems you've figured out that Li Xuan left from the airport?"

Kang Shuwei posed this question and then smiled faintly before continuing, "I first began to suspect when I was on the way to the train station."

"Just three hours ago, I'm sure you all remember."

"Hard drive, map fragments."

Upon hearing these two things, though memories of both items resided in their minds, they couldn't connect them. And Kang Shuwei didn't expect them to provide an answer.

He continued his explanation. "Since Li Xuan was able to completely destroy the hard drive and went so far as to buy a new one to prevent data recovery, then why was the map fragment so easily found in the downstairs trash can?"

"While in the car, I didn't have the time to think deeply about the connection between these things. But now, the conclusion is clear."

"We've been deceived."

"The map fragments weren't something he wanted to destroy but failed to do so completely. He intentionally showed us these map fragments."

Here, he furrowed his brow. "This is what inspired me to consider the origin of all this..."

"And following this line of thought, we can understand..."

"From the very beginning, from the start of everything, we fell into Li Xuan's trap."

"Step by step, following his arrangements, heading toward what we thought was the truth, only to arrive at a completely wrong destination."

Sun Ting became even more confused. Unable to contain herself, she asked, "Stop beating around the bush, Captain Kang. What exactly did Li Xuan do?"

Kang Shuwei smiled. "That's quite a long story."

"In fact, ever since we saw Li Xuan's figure in the surveillance video on August 15th, we've been inside his trap."

"His trap was meticulously planned from the start."

Hearing this, those who were already surprised by Li Xuan's choices were now even more shocked.

Tao Xiaoyi rarely spoke, but even he couldn't help but ask in disbelief, "Planned from the very beginning? Are you saying... he appeared in the surveillance to let us see him?"

He voiced what everyone was thinking. This question was too shocking, and even in asking it, Tao Xiaoyi's words were filled with disbelief.

However, Kang Shuwei nodded. "That's right."

"The appearance in the surveillance camera on August 15th was a part of his plan."

"It was a trace he deliberately left for us to discover."

Kang Shuwei's face suddenly displayed a hint of a smile. "What a terrifying calculation..."

"To be defeated by his hands..."

"Now, I don't really feel much anymore."

Squashing the burnt cigarette and lighting up another, the smoke curled and dissipated. He continued, "To get back on track."

"After we saw Li Xuan's appearance in the surveillance footage on August 15th, we began a comprehensive search for him."

"It was only on September 19th night that we finally got a lead on his presence at the Aerospace University."

"And Li Xuan's plan culminated on September 20th."

"Is all of this mere coincidence?"

"The room where Li Xuan used to stay has been cleaned, and all traces of his presence have disappeared."

"Can this be a coincidence?"

"This can't possibly be a coincidence! It proves that he had already prepared to leave Jinling today!"

Although Ye Gaoyi didn't want to interrupt Kang Shuwei, his perplexity couldn't be contained any longer.

He instinctively interjected, "He's preparing to leave today because there's a flight to Yanjing, right?"

"Shuwei, didn't you mention before that the appearance of this competition gave Li Xuan a better opportunity for action?"

"What's more, how could Li Xuan alone plan all of this?"

Hearing Ye Gaoyi's doubts, the others also wore bewildered expressions. What Ye Gaoyi said was exactly the skepticism in their minds.