The service staff, however, remained firm on her principles, adamantly refusing to let Chen Lan and her husband share a room. She repeatedly warned Chen Lan, "Madam, couples who are not legally married cannot share a room. If the neighborhood watch catches you, you could be arrested. Please don't implicate me!"
Only after Chen Lan repeatedly assured her, "Comrade service staff, please trust me this once! We'll absolutely abide by the guesthouse rules and I won't cause you any trouble! This room is actually for myself and another female colleague from my unit," did the service staff reluctantly leave, still somewhat suspicious.
Chen Lan felt extremely helpless. To allay the service staff's doubts and worries, and to prevent her from constantly watching them, which could disrupt their plans for the evening, Chen Lan asked Jiahui to move her luggage to the other room. That room was then left for Xu Mingxuan alone.
As if by design, the sky began to darken in the afternoon. Dark clouds gathered, and the wind picked up. Although it was summer, this was Harbin! The sudden change in weather and the biting wind made one feel a chill even with a single layer of clothing. A thicker jacket was needed. Many people who hadn't brought heavier clothing struggled and retreated to their rooms.
Chen Lan and the others had also finished dinner early. As soon as dusk settled, they each took their evening necessities back to their respective rooms to rest. Chen Lan and Jiahui were chatting in bed when the service staff knocked on their door, announcing that the neighborhood watch was conducting routine checks on outsiders.
Chen Lan and Jiahui quickly got dressed. Chen Lan had Jiahui stand behind her, preparing to open the door while wondering to herself, "Do the neighborhood watch have superpowers? I was just thinking about going to the black market, and they've already come to inspect before I could do anything. Could it be such a coincidence?"
Upon opening the door, she found the hallway pitch black. A cold wind blew in, making it feel quite chilly. Two people wearing red armbands stood at their door. They glanced into the room, then at the mother and daughter, and then left without a word.
Chen Lan poked her head out of the doorway and looked behind them. She saw them go to the adjacent room, followed by the sound of knocking and the service staff's voice. This commotion outside continued for nearly an hour before finally quieting down.
Chen Lan checked the system time and realized it was getting late. She decided not to sleep anymore and instead, she and Jiahui began to prepare themselves. Chen Lan put on a wig with bangs and dressed as a young girl. Jiahui transformed into a young man with thick eyebrows and large eyes.
After they were done with their disguises, the mother and daughter inspected each other meticulously. Finding no flaws, they quietly opened the door. Outside, it was pitch black and utterly silent.
Chen Lan guessed it was due to the sudden cold snap and the common habit of early sleeping during that era. It was just past eight o'clock, yet the guesthouse was eerily quiet. Only the faint sound of snoring could be heard from the next room, the rustle of bird wings in the night sky, and the whispering of the wind through the leaves.
The mother and daughter gently closed their door and tiptoed to the window of Xu Mingxuan and the children's room. They tapped lightly on the window frames of three rooms before quietly returning to their own room to wait.
Back in their room, Chen Lan felt that her earlier actions were too risky and could easily expose them. She decided to use the waiting time to order the most advanced wireless earpiece communicators from the system. This communication device not only supported one-to-many calls but also offered clear sound transmission over a considerable distance.
Looking out the window at the darkness, Chen Lan ordered a pair of infrared goggles with night vision capabilities for each person from the system.
Soon, everyone had arrived at the room one by one. Upon seeing each other's disguises, they were all stunned. If they weren't familiar with each other, it would have been impossible to recognize anyone. Su Dan Novel Network.
Chen Lan wasted no time. She quickly locked the door from the inside and began distributing the wireless earpieces from the system's warehouse. After ensuring everyone had put them on, she spoke softly to test the machines. Once everything was confirmed to be working normally, she handed out the infrared goggles, put on her own earpiece and goggles, and they prepared to depart.
Chen Lan gently pushed open the window facing the road and surveyed the surroundings. Finding nothing unusual, she took a ladder from the system's warehouse and quietly lowered it from the window.
Xu Mingxuan took the lead. He was the first to reach the window and skillfully climbed down. Second was Erzhuang, followed by the children. Chen Lan was the last, responsible for closing the window and retrieving the ladder.
The group successfully descended to the road below. Huddled by the wall, they observed their surroundings for any anomalies. Chen Lan then activated the system's search function. At first, she was alarmed by the screen filled with many small red dots, but upon closer inspection, she realized it was unusable because the dots were stationary.
Chen Lan was extremely frustrated. At such a crucial moment, the system was failing her. It couldn't distinguish between sleeping individuals and those lying in ambush. They would have to rely on the excellent reconnaissance skills of the experienced scouts, Xu Mingxuan and Erzhuang.
Fortunately, they had the infrared goggles, which allowed them to see clearly in the pitch-black night, greatly facilitating Chen Lan's group's movements.
To save travel time, Chen Lan purchased three bicycles from the system. The seven of them rode the three bicycles, following the shortest route they had learned from the four girls earlier, cutting through the dark alleyways and quickly heading towards Xinhua Market.