Chapter 29: Kill One to Warn a Hundred! Grandet Has Arrived!

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At three in the morning, the Religious and Cultural Street was sealed off with police tape.

A line of patrol cars stood outside the church, their lights flashing, red and blue mingling in a dizzying, unnerving blaze.

The police moved hurriedly, their faces grave.

Clearly, another vicious crime had taken place. It was already the third of the week.

At that very moment, every senior official in Suian City was present.

Not a single person dared speak. The atmosphere was unbearably tense.

“Director Wang, three murders in the span of a single week, all carried out with exceptionally heinous methods and causing an extremely恶劣 social impact!”

“Do your people still have no leads?” the mayor demanded grimly.

He had received the call at three in the morning. The moment he learned that something had happened at the church, all trace of sleep vanished.

He had not even tied his necktie. He had merely thrown on a coat and rushed over. After seeing the scene, his stomach had churned so violently that he had nearly vomited.

Director Wang sighed and lowered his voice. “The cameras near all three crime scenes either captured nothing or recorded images too blurred to make out.”

“Our preliminary assessment is that the same group is responsible.”

The mayor’s impatience showed. He waved a large hand. “I don’t want a preliminary assessment. I want you to solve the case and arrest the culprits!”

Director Wang shook his head. “The cameras failed, so we can only rely on eyewitnesses for leads. Those leads will then have to be verified. The police need time.”

“I’m giving you three days!” The mayor’s expression darkened.

Director Wang hesitated, then shook his head again, his face troubled. “I can only promise to do my best. Three days is far too short.”

Finding witnesses and verifying leads—how could either be done quickly?

Three months would be a satisfactory result, let alone three days. Besides, so much time had already passed that the killers might have fled the country. There was no telling whether they could ever be brought to justice.

The mayor stared at Director Wang for several seconds before letting out a heavy sigh.

“Alas.”

How could he not know that three days was too short?

But these three murders were simply too horrific. Not only had the methods been cruel, the victims had all been prominent figures in society.

Most notably, the pop diva Wen Lin had been killed. She was a legendary singer who had accompanied an entire generation through its youth.

For the past two days, public opinion had been boiling over her death.

Before that storm had even subsided, Father Charles had been murdered as well—and his death was even more惨able. His head had been severed completely from his body.

Once the details were made public, another tidal wave of pressure was certain to follow.

If the case could not be solved, the mayor would have no choice but to resign and bring his political career to an end.

A look of worry clouded his face, and his entire figure seemed drained of spirit.

“Mayor. Director.”

A police officer came running from beyond the cordon and said quietly, “People from Special Operations Bureau Nine are here.”

The mayor froze for a moment, then brightened. “Bring them over at once.”

Special Operations Bureau Nine was a national special agency dedicated to handling all manner of difficult and extraordinary cases.

Before long, three people walked in from beyond the cordon: two men and one woman. All three wore regulation black trench coats, with red-and-gold dragon badges hanging over their chests.

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The man at the front had thick eyebrows and large eyes, broad shoulders, and long arms. He gave off an air of complete reliability.

He sniffed the faint scent of blood in the air and frowned. “Special Operations Bureau Nine is taking over this case. As well as the previous cases involving Annie Luo and Wen Lin. Withdraw your personnel.”

The mayor and Director Wang exchanged glances.

“If you have any questions, you may contact the administrative office of Special Operations Bureau Nine directly. We are field operatives. We do not answer questions.”

The man’s name was Fu Qingshan, and he was the leader of the three-person team.

The mayor smiled as though he had finally seen his salvation. “Then I’ll leave it to you!”

The man merely looked at him in silence.

Sensing that he was making a fool of himself, the mayor gave Director Wang an instruction, then departed with the other officials.

Director Wang followed close behind, taking the police officers and patrol cars with him.

The church immediately fell silent and deserted.

The three members of Special Operations Bureau Nine entered.

“Qin Xue, take a look,” Fu Qingshan said to the female operative behind him.

Qin Xue nodded.

She walked to a corner of the church and climbed onto a chair.

Crystalline blue light drifted from her eyes and spread in both directions, like the two wings of a butterfly gently beating.

“The aura of evil emerged here.”

“It vanished there.”

Qin Xue pointed to two locations: the place where Zhou Quan had been sitting and the spot where Father Charles had died.

Fu Qingshan nodded slightly. “What was its strength?”

“Ordinary.” Qin Xue shook her head. “Another force also appeared at the scene. It was somewhat stronger, but still inferior to you.”

At that moment, the other male operative spoke. “A new supernatural cycle has begun. Those bastards made such a commotion just to give us a show of force!”

This operative was Zhao Shuqin, twenty-eight years old and passionately fond of martial arts novels.

He said bitterly, “We absolutely cannot let them have their way. We must kill one as a warning to a hundred and eliminate the threat once and for all!”

Fu Qingshan nodded slightly. “Qin Xue, I’ll leave the search to you.”

Qin Xue smiled sweetly.

She took a deck of cards from her pocket, shuffled it thoroughly, and drew three cards at random.

[Golden Ingot]

[Yin-Yang]

[Light]

Qin Xue froze when she saw the three cards.

“What is it?” Fu Qingshan asked.

Qin Xue furrowed her brows tightly and explained, “The Golden Ingot means that this person is extremely wealthy—at least a billionaire.”

Fu Qingshan nodded. “Those scum are all rich.”

Qin Xue continued, “The Yin-Yang card is more complicated. It indicates that the killer possesses two extremely opposing sides.”

“They could be intersex, schizophrenic, or even simultaneously alive and dead. Any of those possibilities would fit.”

“Interesting.” Fu Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

Finally, Qin Xue picked up the Light card.

A complicated expression appeared on her face. “This card points to one thing alone. It is the first time I have ever drawn it.”

“What does it point to?” Fu Qingshan asked, suddenly alert.

A single, exclusive indication—just hearing that sounded like an incredibly precise filtering condition. Perhaps they could catch the killer using this clue alone.

Qin Xue hesitated for a long while before finally uttering one word.

“God.”

. . .

The sun rose and set, then rose again.

When golden sunlight spilled across the roof of the villa, a day and a half had passed since Father Charles’s death.

In the villa’s backyard stood a mattress riddled with holes.

Whoosh—

Li Muchi emerged from the mattress’s shadow, a small knife clutched in his hand.

Without the slightest hesitation, he drove the blade into the mattress. When he pulled it free, a tuft of white cotton came out with it.

Immediately afterward, he slipped back into the shadow and disappeared.

On the balcony, Zhou Quan stood in a loose sleeping robe, a cup of hot water in his hand, silently watching Li Muchi.

There was no doubting Li Muchi’s talent.

Zhou Quan had hired a teacher to instruct Li Muchi in the art of killing, but the man was coming from overseas and would need several days to arrive.

Until then, Li Muchi could only practice moving in and out of shadows.

“Boss, it’s almost time.”

“You should leave to pick up the guest at the airport.”

Ni Hao stood straight behind Zhou Quan in high heels and a fitted skirt, dressed like a professional secretary.

Without turning his head, Zhou Quan asked, “Is the airport sign ready?”

“It’s in your car,” Ni Hao replied.

Zhou Quan nodded.

The miser whom Chen Angxi had described over the phone as “someone who loves money more than life itself” had a pleasant name: Zhai Qingwu.

Whether the man truly deserved such a name—or possessed any real ability—remained to be seen.

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