The four of them were loaded into the same police car, sitting opposite each other in pairs, with a police officer on either side preventing them from speaking. The atmosphere became somewhat somber.
Li Yacheng and Tian Lingli were also seated separately, but Li Yacheng kept reassuring Tian Lingli with his eyes. Huang Jian, on the other hand, looked at Li Zhonglou with a hint of worry.
Li Zhonglou understood Huang Jian's concern. He had just personally killed Huang Chengjiu in front of the police, and the body had likely not even cooled yet.
Murder was a serious crime.
Moreover, this happened in front of the police. Anyone else, apart from desperate criminals, might have already succumbed to despair.
But Li Zhonglou had no regrets. He had given that guy a chance, but the guy had pushed his luck, repeatedly challenging his limits. Even if time reversed and he had to do it again, Li Zhonglou would still kill him without holding back.
Thinking of this, Li Zhonglou's dark eyes suddenly deepened as he activated his Heavenly Eye of Perspective.
In the car ahead, two police officers were conversing.
"Where are you planning to go after the mission ends?"
"Where else? I have a date with my girlfriend from yesterday; I have to spend tonight with her."
"Lucky you. Sigh, if it weren't for this damned unexpected mission, I'd probably be lounging at home right now."
"Exactly. And we even had one killed. We'll probably be working late again."
...
The more Li Zhonglou listened, the more he felt something was amiss. Whether it was the officers in the car ahead or their own car, they seemed indifferent to Huang Chengjiu's death. The only thing they cared about was being delayed from finishing work.
This was not how normal police officers should react. Li Zhonglou had a vague suspicion of what was going on.
At this moment, an officer in the car ahead answered a phone call.
"Teacher Zhao, yes, we've apprehended the suspects and are on our way back..."
Teacher Zhao?
Surname Zhao?
Li Zhonglou immediately thought of someone: Zhao Hui.
As expected, Li Zhonglou understood instantly. When he thought of Zhao Hui, he realized these people must be sent by Zhao Hui's father, the second-in-command of Shuyu County.
This was truly going to be troublesome.
Li Zhonglou's brows furrowed deeply. If it were before, no matter who the opponent was or who they sent to retaliate against him, Li Zhonglou wouldn't have been afraid. But this time, he had killed someone in front of the police, with irrefutable evidence.
This was not something that could be resolved solely by personal strength.
Li Zhonglou continued to eavesdrop on their conversation, hoping to gather more intelligence, but he soon found that apart from the mention of "Teacher Zhao," there was no other useful information. Li Zhonglou had no choice but to retract his Heavenly Eye of Perspective.
An individual, no matter how strong, could not go against an entire country. Li Zhonglou had killed someone in front of the police this time, and if the murder charge stood, it would be a huge problem.
However, there wasn't much worry on Li Zhonglou's face.
Strength was the source of his confidence. Li Zhonglou had already thought of a solution, but the method was not yet perfect. He decided to wait and see until the time was right.
Li Zhonglou slowly closed his eyes, leaning against the car wall, resting.
The four of them were taken directly to the county public security bureau. When they got out of the car, they were separated and each led to an independent interrogation room.
After a male police officer brought Li Zhonglou into a dimly lit interrogation room, he was roughly pushed into a steel chair. The surrounding light was dim. Then, with a click, a female officer turned on a desk lamp, pointing it directly at Li Zhonglou's face.
The bright light pierced his vision, but Li Zhonglou remained unfazed.
"Name, age, occupation."
A standard set of opening questions, to which Li Zhonglou responded briefly.
"I hope you will truthfully confess during the following questioning. Remember, leniency for confession, severity for resistance!"
A male officer suddenly slammed the table and began the serious interrogation. The questions were all aimed at getting Li Zhonglou to admit that he had killed someone.
Although it was the truth, Li Zhonglou also knew he had the right to remain silent. In this situation, silence was golden, so Li Zhonglou responded to all their questions with absolute silence.
Meanwhile, Huang Jian, due to his injuries, was sent to the hospital for bandaging and treatment when they were separated. However, he couldn't escape interrogation. On the hospital bed, with a splint and bandages, he was surrounded by several police officers being questioned.
"It was them who attacked first. They had knives and guns, real guns! Didn't you hear the gunshots? Li Zhonglou was forced to retaliate for our safety!"
Huang Jian's expression was agitated. No matter how the police officers tried to coax or interrogate him, he insisted that Li Zhonglou was acting in self-defense, which made the police officers' expressions somewhat awkward.
"Huang Jian, I'll remind you again, lying at a time like this will be treated as complicity! Do you understand?"
"I understand, which is precisely why I must tell the truth. As public servants, you wouldn't want to see innocent people wronged, would you?"
Huang Jian gritted his teeth and stared at the interrogating officer, who was rendered speechless for a moment. However, the mission he received was not like this.
Inside the police station.
Tian Lingli, being a woman, was already terrified just by being in that environment. Coupled with the police officers' intentional or unintentional pressing questions, her face was filled with panic.
However, the interrogating officers did not expect that every time they asked if Li Zhonglou had personally broken Huang Chengjiu's neck, Tian Lingli's answer was always: "He attacked first, and Li Zhonglou was merely acting in self-defense."
"I'll say it again, I'm not asking you who attacked first! I'm asking you, did Li Zhonglou personally kill Huang Chengjiu!"
The interrogating officer slammed the table in anger, scaring Tian Lingli so much that her face turned deathly pale. But she bit her lip slightly and, with a sob, repeated her previous statement.
The police officers fell silent for a moment.
And in the adjacent room, Zhou Yacheng was subjected to similar pressure.
However, compared to Tian Lingli's panic, Zhou Yacheng appeared much more composed.
"How many times do I have to repeat myself? Li Zhonglou didn't kill anyone; he was just acting in self-defense. Didn't you hear the gunshots when you arrived? Have you checked the fingerprints on the gun? Are Li Zhonglou's fingerprints on it?"
Faced with Zhou Yacheng's counter-questions, the officers could only respond speechlessly.
For a moment, the answers from these individuals, who had never interacted before, were almost identical.
They adamantly insisted that Li Zhonglou was merely acting in self-defense!
...
What they didn't know was that behind the surveillance cameras above them, a cold, indifferent figure was silently watching everything.
"I didn't expect them to be so stubborn."
The owner of the silhouette said in a chillingly deep voice. Behind him stood several other people. Without turning around, the silhouette owner coldly instructed them, "Find a way to establish his guilt."
"Yes!"
After they left, the silhouette owner once again focused his gaze on the surveillance footage of Li Zhonglou's interrogation. In the footage, Li Zhonglou, who had been silent all along, deliberately swept a glance at the camera.