Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 342 - 330 Surveillance

Chapter 342: Chapter 330 Surveillance

Spies’ work is actually mostly not as thrilling or interesting as one might think; tedium and boredom make up the vast majority of the time.

Surveillance, in particular, is far from an enjoyable task, especially when it involves the company of two beautiful women.

A man and a woman paired together make light work, but Yang Yi’s problem was that he came with both Kate and Xiao Ran, so not only could he not flirt with Kate, but he also couldn’t joke around with Xiao Ran. He had to carefully maintain a balance between the two, even watching his words with great caution.

At 5:30 PM, Martin Howard emerged from the supercomputing center’s entrance, putting an end to Yang Yi’s boring wait.

Yang Yi, who had been dozing off, suddenly perked up like he had been injected with adrenaline. He signaled to Xiao Ran, who then slowly started walking towards the university gate.

Martin Howard had appeared, and he could go anywhere next. Although it was unlikely that Martin Howard possessed any counter-surveillance skills, the best method was still to prepare in advance along his likely route and track him using a relay approach.

Indeed, just as Charles observed yesterday, after leaving the supercomputing center’s building, Martin Howard started walking towards the university’s main gate.

As a world-renowned university, Imperial College’s campus was, of course, not small, but Martin Howard did not use any means of transport and walked out of the school, taking twenty-five minutes.

Martin Howard’s home was very close to the university on the outside. At 5:56 PM, he took out his keys and opened his front door, and four minutes later, he came out of his house walking a black-and-white Border Collie.

Yang Yi and Xiao Ran were chatting intimately, less than ten meters away from Martin Howard.

The environment was pleasant, and Martin Howard seemed in a very good mood while walking his dog, occasionally stooping down to talk to his beloved pet until he entered a small community park.

Martin Howard unclipped the leash and watched his Border Collie run playfully around the park. If his dog ran toward other people, he would call out its name loudly to call it back so as not to frighten anyone.

At that moment, Kate took the initiative to approach the dog, and seeing that Kate voluntarily approached his dog, Martin Howard did not call his dog back to his side.

"How adorable, what’s its name?"

With a surprised look on her face, Kate stroked the dog’s head. As she knelt down and shook hands with the dog’s paw, she struck up a conversation with Martin Howard, who was only holding a leash nearby.

"His name is Cody, and he’s six years old," he replied.

Martin Howard, with a neatly groomed and short beard, exuded the charm of a mature man when he smiled. However, when he looked at his dog, the affection in his eyes was almost feminine in its tenderness.

Yang Yi and Xiao Ran sat down on a bench in the park, continuing their conversation without giving Martin Howard another glance, while Kate kept playing with the dog named Cody until the dog, growing impatient, ran off elsewhere.

Only when Martin Howard would not notice him did Yang Yi observe Martin Howard.

Time flew by, and at 6:20 PM, Martin Howard called his dog back. As he attached the leash to the dog’s collar, Martin Howard said loudly, "Haven’t had enough fun yet? Sorry, we can only play longer on the weekends, but now we have to go home."

Leash in hand, Howard started walking home with his dog. Yang Yi, who had followed from a distance, glanced at his watch as Howard took out his keys to unlock his door—it was exactly 6:30 PM.

Watching Martin Howard close his front door, Yang Yi said in a low voice, "Very punctual. Left at 5:30 PM yesterday, started walking the dog at 6:00 PM, and got back home at 6:30 PM, just like yesterday, down to the second."

Xiao Ran said, "It shows he’s a very regular person, which is good news."

"Exactly, it would be even better if he could act according to the same schedule every day, but he spends more time playing with his dog on weekends, and it’s just that we don’t know where he might go. I think it’s unlikely he will still be in this park."

"Yes, but you can’t be too sure, Martin Howard is a busy man."

"He didn’t go out after coming home yesterday, and I don’t know if he will go out today. The surveillance must continue, but we don’t all need to stay here, Xiao Ran..."

Xiao Ran glanced at Yang Yi and said, "If you need me to stay and continue surveillance, just say it outright. There’s no need to use this consultative tone to ask for my opinion. Don’t you think it’s a waste of time?"

Yang Yi smiled and said, "I’ll come to replace you at twelve o’clock tonight."

Xiao Ran waved her hand and said, "Fine, you and Kate keep watch here now. I’m going to find a place to eat. After I finish eating, you guys can leave, just like that."

Xiao Ran was decisive in her actions; she left immediately after speaking. Yang Yi couldn’t help calling out, "Wait a moment."

Xiao Ran stopped and looked at Yang Yi, who stuttered, "That, I’ve noticed that you’ve seemed a bit off these past two days, uh, er, I mean, I..."

Xiao Ran raised her hand and, looking at Yang Yi, said, "Stop, please be professional, thank you. Moreover, my mood has always been stable. There’s no need for you to worry about me. Goodbye."

Xiao Ran strode away, and only then did Kate slowly walk back to Yang Yi’s side.

Yang Yi exhaled and said, "Wait for Xiao Ran to have dinner and then head back. Next time we surveil Martin, we must change clothes and wear makeup. So far, it seems Martin Howard’s life is very regular, but he doesn’t appear to have any family."

Kate said in a low voice, "And he really loves his dog."

"When Xiao Ran comes back, let’s look into Martin Howard’s family background. This person’s life is quite simple, easy to target. We’ll see how to handle it when the time comes. For now, let’s just keep watching his house. By the way, what do you want for dinner?"

Kate smiled and said, "Do you have any good suggestions?"

"How about we try Chinese food? I saw a Chinese restaurant that seemed quite good earlier. We could go check it out later."

Kate hesitated and then said with a lack of enthusiasm, "Chinese food, huh..."

Yang Yi smiled and said, "Don’t worry, it will definitely be different from fancy restaurants."

Kate, who had been trapped for three years and had practically been eating in fancy restaurants for equally as long, really couldn’t muster any interest when she heard about Chinese food. However, seeing the confidence on Yang Yi’s face, Kate eventually nodded and said, "Okay, let’s have Chinese food."

Yang Yi began to explain the eight major Chinese cuisines to Kate indirectly. Just as he had barely finished describing the characteristics and typical dishes of Cantonese cuisine, Xiao Ran returned. She walked up to the two of them and said, "You guys can go."

Yang Yi was all set to leave, but just at that moment, Martin Howard’s front door opened again.