After "Aya" and Lu Yue's figures disappeared down the corridor, Liu Shanhe patted Nie Bing on the shoulder, his voice carrying the warmth of a senior colleague mixed with a hint of warning:
"Little Bingbing, being meticulous is a good thing—an essential quality in our line of work. But everything in excess can become a fault. If you take it too far, you'll get caught up in stubbornness, clinging to your own ideas. That's not being meticulous; it's being obsessed."
Seeing the lingering defiance in Nie Bing's eyes, he continued:
"We're law enforcement officers; we rely on evidence. You've had your chance, you've used your methods, and the results are right here. If you reject these results based solely on your gut feeling, can you still call yourself a Criminal Investigator? How would you be any different from those street thugs who ignore facts and twist things to suit themselves?
"True maturity lies in admitting when you've made a mistake."
Nie Bing took a deep breath, knowing Liu Shanhe's words held truth.
But only she, who had personally experienced it, understood the significance of this rare yet incredibly accurate sixth sense.
This might defy conventional logic, but for Nie Bing, it was an almost absolute truth—at least until proven otherwise.
Therefore, she remained convinced that "Aya" was Cifera, unless stronger evidence to the contrary emerged.
However, dwelling on this now was pointless.
Forcibly suppressing the nagging sense of unease, Nie Bing nodded. "My apologies, Master, for causing you concern. I'll adjust my mindset."
"Hmm."
Liu Shanhe could see that Nie Bing's mindset wasn't so easily adjusted, but he knew her meticulous nature well enough not to press the issue further.
"Although Starry Light has been compromised, the auction isn't over yet. We can't afford to let our guard down.
"Given the commotion Cifera caused, the other contestant—the Grandchild of the Phantom Thief—might still show up to make trouble and target the remaining jewels.
"However, we can't abandon our pursuit of Cifera either. Little Lin has already returned to the Temporary Command Center and is attempting to track her movements using the surveillance network connected to the police system."
"Zhang Hong and Feng Chiyu have already led a small team from Starry Headquarters to coordinate the pursuit outside, taking directives from the Technical Booth.
"While we all understand that Cifera likely tampered with the surveillance footage along her escape route, we can't afford to give up without even trying.
"Go to the Temporary Command Center immediately and take over Little Lin's position. He'll remain there to assist you."
"Understood," Nie Bing nodded, composed herself, and headed toward the Temporary Command Center.
She still believed that the real Cifera was "Aya," but the current evidence wasn't enough to support her theory. She needed to uncover more conclusive proof, and investigating the authenticity of the "Cifera" who had taken flight might be a breakthrough.
Cifera, our battle is far from over!
Watching Nie Bing's slightly dejected figure, the Bullet Comments erupted into discussion:
[Now even Little Bingbing has no arguments left.]
[Exactly! Sister Aya is such a perfect goddess—how could she possibly be Cifera in disguise?]
[Hey, upstairs! Are you implying Cifera isn't perfect? We Cat Fans are going to be furious!]
[Ha ha, I meant perfect goddesses! Of course, the more the merrier!]
[As expected of Old Liu. I thought he'd just let Cifera escape, but it turns out he had a plan all along.]
[Now that we've wasted so much time confirming Aya's identity, tracking down Cifera will be even harder.]
[Honestly, it doesn't really matter. With Cifera's abilities, tracking her down... it's nigh impossible! All I can say is, good luck to the Pursuit Team!]
[Exactly! Good luck! Work hard! Stay strong!]
At the auction venue, the earlier commotion had long subsided. Though the Starry Light had been stolen, as Liu Ruyan had predicted, the auction proceeded as planned, with the Starry Light still scheduled to be auctioned last.
Many influential figures who had previously pledged online to "spare no effort in bidding for the Starry Light if Cifera stole it" reaffirmed their commitment, vowing to keep their word!
Far from dampening the atmosphere, Cifera's actions had actually heightened the excitement to unprecedented levels!
This was a sharp slap in the face to the "experts" who had previously dismissed the possibility of Cifera stealing the Starry Light.
As each dazzling piece of jewelry went up for auction, the bidding grew fierce, with final prices often far exceeding pre-sale estimates from professional websites.
When Aya and Lu Yue reappeared at the venue, their return naturally sparked a flurry of discussion and attention.
Their return silently refuted the Pursuit Team's earlier theory that "Aya is Cifera."
The crowd once again marveled at Cifera's extraordinary skill, not only pulling off the heist but also successfully diverting the Pursuit Team's attention in a completely unrelated direction.
However, the auction's tense and thrilling pace quickly pulled everyone's focus back to the competition for the latest lots.
In the Temporary Command Center, Nie Bing and Lin Zhiyuan stared intently at the screens.
As expected, even with access to the public security surveillance network, tracking Cifera, the "Flying" thief, remained extraordinarily difficult.
Cifera remained airborne throughout her escape, rendering many ground-based security cameras useless.
To keep up, Lin Zhiyuan enlisted Liu Shanhe's help, urgently requesting assistance from the Heaven's Eye System, a specialized surveillance network used by the public security bureau. After a strenuous effort, they finally managed to keep pace with Cifera's soaring figure.
However, without verifying whether the surveillance footage had been tampered with, they remained deeply uneasy.
After Nie Bing took over at the Technical Booth, tracking Cifera became smoother. But when Cifera's figure descended into a remote mountain forest on the city's outskirts, the Heaven's Eye System's signal was severely disrupted.
By the time the signal recovered, Cifera had vanished again without a trace.
Zhang Hong and Feng Chiyu led a team to the site, conducting a thorough search, but their efforts yielded nothing.
This meant the Pursuit Team had once again completely lost track of Cifera.
The Production Team's live broadcast signal also vanished at that moment. Chief Director Guo Tao could only offer a wry smile as he stared at the blank screen where Cifera's figure had vanished once more.
As the netizens quipped:
[This show is whatever Cifera wants you to see! The director? Just a soulless puppet playing what she dictates.]
[Every cloud has a silver lining, right? Just give up, Production Team! This time, Cifera's taking you for a ride. Just go with it—isn't the show more interesting this way than if you stuck to the script?]