Ten minutes later.

The piercing sound of sirens and wails echoed.

The flashing lights of police cars illuminated the scene as an elderly couple collapsed before Li Ruya's lifeless body, their cries almost reaching the point of fainting.

Their daughter had just been rescued from the devil's den, only to descend into hell once more a mere day later. This time, however, there would be no return.

She was gone forever.

"Did you call the police?" A military policeman approached, recognizing Li Tianran. "You're the hero who helped us crack the cult case, right?"

Li Tianran felt an overwhelming sense of despair. He didn't want to speak, simply nodding his head slightly.

"This girl was a victim of the cult. We suspect... that some cult remnants took revenge on her," the military policeman said with deep regret.

Li Tianran suddenly recalled the woman of the Golden Lotus's hysterical threat the night Li Ruya revealed the location of the accounts to the military police.

Li Ruya would suffer a revenge worse than death...

At the time, everyone, including Li Tianran, thought it was just a desperate threat from a cornered dog.

But now, it had become a bloody reality.

A cult that had already been destroyed still had people working for them!

A military policeman stood before the elderly couple, gently asking what had happened the previous night.

However, the couple's answer surprised the military policeman.

They had fallen asleep the previous night and hadn't heard any commotion. It wasn't until the military police called and woke them up that they realized their daughter was missing.

Li Ruya's family lived in the new district, which had excellent security, but even so, the perpetrators had easily infiltrated their home and taken Li Ruya away silently.

Their professionalism was almost on par with professional assassins!

Could this ragtag cult really have such skilled killers?

The military policeman sank into thought.

The old woman walked over shakily, bowing to Li Tianran with red eyes. "Thank you... for preserving my daughter's final dignity."

When Li Ruya was found, her clothes had been torn. Li Tianran had covered her with his coat.

The military policeman standing next to Li Tianran whispered a few words to the old woman. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at Li Tianran, tears streaming down her face again. "So my daughter was rescued by you yesterday too... You're a good man, but unfortunately, my daughter... she still couldn't escape those people's clutches..."

Li Tianran felt as if a thorn had been lodged in his heart as he watched the scene unfold.

"You must help me catch the murderer!" The old woman grabbed the military policeman's hand, her eyes burning with fury. "You must not let those demons roam free and harm others!"

"We will!" The military policeman nodded solemnly.

But they found no clues about the suspects at the scene.

The surveillance cameras in Li Ruya's residential area had suddenly malfunctioned last night, and no footprints or fingerprints were found near the scene.

The murderer was clever, wearing gloves, shoe covers, and even a hairnet, leaving no traces that could identify him.

"I know who did it!" The old woman suddenly exclaimed, her tone incredibly firm.

*Whoosh!*

Li Tianran and the military policeman looked up at the same time, their eyes filled with shock.

"Ever since my daughter came home the day before yesterday, she's been very scared. She said she revealed the accounts of those bad people, and they would definitely retaliate... At the time, I comforted her, saying the bad guys had been caught, and no one would dare to cause us trouble." The old woman recalled her daughter's words, tears falling again. "But she told me that among those who traded with the cult, there were very powerful figures! Even if there were accounts, it wouldn't necessarily be enough to bring them down... My daughter said that she had once been sent as a... commodity to that powerful figure's home, but he took a fancy to another one of her companions."

"In her daze, she heard people calling him... Councilor Li Ting!"

The military policeman's expression instantly changed.

He knew what the old woman said was true, because Councilor Li was currently being held in the military police局.

"Yesterday, my daughter said she wanted to move. We were also a bit scared... We were preparing to pack our things today and go to our relatives' home in the countryside, and come back after this matter was completely over." The old woman said, her eyes brimming with tears, "But I didn't expect that we would still be one step late..."

"Councilor Li?" Li Tianran turned to look at the military policeman next to him.

The military policeman frowned, an incredulous expression on his face. "Impossible! Li Ting has already been arrested by us and is currently being held in the military police局. How could he remotely direct others to attack you?"

"What about the female leader?" Li Tianran stood up and said in a deep voice, "Interrogate her, maybe we can get some information."

"We will." The military policeman nodded, speaking with great seriousness.

At this moment, the police car had already taken Li Ruya's body away. The elderly couple also got into the police car. They were going to obtain a death certificate for their daughter.

Li Tianran was silent for a moment. He ordered the combat berserker to guard the farm and got into a police car himself.

Whether as a witness to the case or to submit an application, it was necessary for him to go to the military police局 with the military police at this time.

...

But at this time, two uninvited guests arrived at Nancheng City Military Police局.

"You said... you are the lawyers for Councilors Li and Guo?" Yuan Zhenghong stared expressionlessly at the two men in suits standing in front of him and asked in a deep voice.

"Yes." The two lawyers nodded. "We have been entrusted by the Nancheng City Council to handle the case of the military police局 detaining Councilors Li Ting and Guo Xuanjun."

Yuan Zhenghong waved his hand when he heard this and said, "Be careful with your words. We are not detaining Li and Guo, but arresting them!"

"According to what we know, Li and Guo are both members of the Nancheng City Council. If there is no conclusive evidence, the military police department can only detain them for a maximum of twenty-four hours." One of the lawyers said, "And I want to remind this officer that if you use words like 'arrest' or 'criminal' to describe the two councilors without the court finding them guilty, we can file a lawsuit against you for defamation if it causes any adverse effects."

Yuan Zhenghong laughed in anger, "Good! I knew Wang Dongchuan didn't have the courage to destroy his own relatives, so he was waiting for me here!"

"I have the accounts of Li and Guo trading with the cult. That's the evidence." Yuan Zhenghong pointed at the two lawyers and said, word by word.

"Hehe... let me give you some knowledge." The lawyer who looked a little older smiled and then said, "In criminal cases, if you want to arrest a councilor, you need physical evidence, documentary evidence, witness testimony, victim statements, criminal suspects, defendant confessions and defenses, expert opinions, records of inspections, examinations, identifications, and investigative experiments, audio-visual materials, and electronic data."

"If any of the above is missing, a councilor cannot be convicted!"

"And what you said... a ledger whose authenticity is difficult to determine cannot be used as complete evidence. I even suspect the authenticity of this ledger." The lawyer stared into Yuan Zhenghong's eyes and said with a smile.

"I will submit the authenticity of the ledger to the court for identification." Yuan Zhenghong felt a shadow cast over his heart.

He felt that the direction of events was somewhat beyond his expectations.

First, the cult's female leader's confession in the hospital, and then the arrival of these two lawyers. It was as if everything had been deliberately planned and came one after another.

"We agree." The two lawyers nodded, revealing a hint of a smile. "But before that, you have no right to continue detaining the two councilors. Otherwise, you will be committing a crime of malfeasance."

"If we don't see the two councilors within thirty minutes, the Nancheng City Council's affiliated political department will file a protest with the Ministry of National Security."

The lawyer said calmly.

Yuan Zhenghong took a deep breath, "You dare to threaten me?"

"We wouldn't dare." The two lawyers shook their heads. "Everyone knows that Inspector Yuan of the Provincial Department is as fierce as fire and full of courage, but don't forget that your identity is a military policeman who upholds legal justice. We are using the law to talk to you, and we hope you don't act impulsively, don't do things that will make you lose your job, regret it, or even ruin your reputation!"

Yuan Zhenghong said expressionlessly, pointing out of the office door, "Get out."

The two lawyers stood up with a smile, looked at their watches, and said, "We will wait in the lobby for half an hour, waiting for your reply."

A hint of ferocity appeared in Yuan Zhenghong's eyes. He looked at the pistol on his desk, and an idea emerged in his mind.

That was to use torture to force a confession from Li and Guo!

But before he could stand up, the office phone rang.

It was from the speaker of the Nancheng City Council, asking the Nancheng Military Police局 to immediately complete the bail procedures for Li and Guo and release them.

Yuan Zhenghong refused for the first time, arguing that the two did not belong to the same department.

Ten minutes later, the Provincial Military Police Department personally notified that Li and Guo were council members and important officials, so before the court tried the case, the two could be released on bail, but their exit from the country should be restricted, and they were not allowed to leave Nancheng City.

After the call from the Provincial Military Police Department, Yuan Zhenghong still wanted to retort.

But then, the Third Bureau of the Ministry of National Security also issued an order that the political department and the Ministry of National Security had negotiated. Because the Nancheng Military Police局 had not obtained conclusive evidence within twenty-four hours, they were required to immediately release Li and Guo to avoid a greater conflict between the two departments.

As soon as this result came out, Yuan Zhenghong knew that he could not continue to detain Li and Guo.

He was silent for a long time and ordered people to go through the bail procedures for Li and Guo.

After receiving the news, the military policeman immediately dialed Yuan Wen's number.

At this time, Li Tianran was also riding in a police car to the military police局.

A terrible storm seemed about to erupt...