"Do you still consider yourselves worthy of the uniform you wear? Worthy of the nation's training? I only assigned you the task of finding a person, and you just grabbed someone off the street?"
Li Zhonglou sat leisurely on the sofa. Beside him, five individuals from the police station stood in a line, heads bowed. Lin Qianqian pointed at their noses, scolding them.
The five were so thoroughly berated that their heads were almost tucked into their chests, especially the one who had forcibly brought Li Zhonglou back. His head was nearly touching his chest.
Lin Qianqian scolded them for a good ten minutes before giving each of them a demerit and dismissing them. Li Zhonglou watched Lin Qianqian approach with a grim expression and spoke calmly.
"Your subordinates are too out of line. How many times have I told you I'm innocent? I was just passing by, and without even asking, they treated me like a suspect and brought me back."
Anyone could tell the grievance in Li Zhonglou's tone. However, Lin Qianqian's reaction was beyond his expectations.
"Actually, they had their reasons. This is already the third case. Judging by the way the victims died, they were all killed by the same person."
Li Zhonglou's brow immediately lifted. "You mean these three incidents happened after the general directive was issued?"
Lin Qianqian nodded. "Yes, and they were all nearby. Otherwise, you wouldn't see people patrolling at this hour."
This meant the situation was truly serious. After all, ever since the general directive was issued, even the Four Great Gangs had become exceedingly cautious. Who dared to be so reckless and insane?
As Li Zhonglou was contemplating, Lin Qianqian suddenly spoke, "Um, would you mind helping to investigate this? Do you have any free time recently?"
Li Zhonglou's expression froze, and he quickly refused, "Oh no, forget about whether I have time. Do you think I still dare to take on your cases to investigate?"
The incidents that had happened before had not only left Lin Qianqian with trauma, but he had it too! Every time, what seemed like simple cases would, upon deeper investigation, reveal much larger fish!
It wasn't just her; Li Zhonglou had found it suspicious for a long time!
Lin Qianqian rolled her eyes. "You still have the nerve to say that. Weren't they all caused by you? But I know it was probably a coincidence."
Lin Qianqian sighed and continued, "Moreover, most of our police force in Shangjing is focused on monitoring the Four Great Gangs, as well as those restless and turbulent families."
"I don't have enough manpower to investigate this matter anymore."
Hearing her words, Li Zhonglou's first thought was the Yu family. It seemed the police were indeed wary of the Yu family, which explained why there had been no news from the Yu family until now.
However, Li Zhonglou still directly refused, "That won't work. I'm busy recently. I only have a bit of free time these past couple of days."
"Is that so."
Disappointment clearly flashed across Lin Qianqian's face.
A moment of silence passed between them. Li Zhonglou finally sighed and said, "I don't have time to help you investigate the cases, but if it's those people I encountered tonight, I can help you bring them back."
Lin Qianqian's brow lifted. "That might not be quite right. They are just ordinary people. If word gets out..."
Li Zhonglou interrupted, "No, their leader is someone from my circle. You can't just send people after them."
Lin Qianqian's brow immediately furrowed. "Are you serious?"
"Yes, if I hadn't seen your people coming, I would have already acted. Who knew it was this serious? I thought they were just some people trying to set up a honey trap."
"Alright then, they're yours. Bring them directly to me after you catch them. This place isn't reliable."
After saying that, Lin Qianqian left, making it seem as if he were her subordinate. But Li Zhonglou didn't say much; he had already figured out Lin Qianqian's personality.
This kind of reaction didn't mean she truly treated him as a subordinate. If he were just a subordinate, she wouldn't have scolded him for ten minutes just now!
"Sigh, can't even get a proper rest."
Li Zhonglou sighed. Caihong in the soul vessel also spoke, "It's alright. I feel much better after resting for a day."
Since Caihong said it was fine, Li Zhonglou didn't hesitate. He directly performed soul fusion and headed towards the overpass.
It only took half a minute for him to return to the original spot. However, with the Heavenly Eye's Perspective ability, the other party was long gone.
"They shouldn't be too far."
Li Zhonglou didn't leave immediately. The police officers had said that everyone within a three-kilometer radius had been notified. But the other party still dared to come and cause trouble, clearly indicating they hadn't received the information.
This meant they were unaware of the severity of the situation. Thus, the probability of them returning was certainly high!
Besides this possibility, it was also possible that they were genuinely involved in that incident!
If they dared to commit a crime in defiance of the current situation, they would inevitably return later!
Of course, this "returning" would not be a direct appearance, as no fool would do that. It would be a reconnaissance, like the jokes online about criminals always returning to the scene of the crime.
With the Heavenly Eye's Perspective ability, all Li Zhonglou had to do was wait.
As expected, after only half an hour, a figure was sneakily returning to the vicinity. It was the man called Brother Fa from earlier.
"Finally, I've been waiting for you."
Although he didn't keep the Heavenly Eye's Perspective ability on all the time, his own perception abilities were there. He would only activate it when he sensed something unusual, as it was tiring.
So, when the man returned, Li Zhonglou didn't say a word and instantly flashed forward, appearing before the man.
"Who!"
The man called Brother Fa was clearly startled. When he saw that the person who suddenly appeared was Li Zhonglou, his face changed drastically.
"Trying to leave?"
This time, it was Li Zhonglou staring at his retreating figure. As the man turned, a massive fist landed on his back.
The man let out a muffled groan and plunged headfirst into a nearby pile of mud.
"Bang!"
It was a pile of mud left over from bridge construction, likely dumped there and covered with wooden boards.
At this moment, the man was half-buried in it, struggling miserably. It took him a while to pull himself out.
"You're going too far!"
The man pointed at Li Zhonglou with a look of indignant rage. With mud all over his head, his original appearance was indiscernible, making him look rather comical.
Then, Li Zhonglou's expression suddenly froze. The man's voice seemed to have changed?
However, without time to think, the man charged towards him, his two-layered aura released in an ostentatious manner!
The reason it was called ostentatious was that he merely projected his aura without any practical application or oppressive force.
It was like having a sword but only carrying it on your back while fighting with your fists!