When Xu Mo first met the victim, her emotions seemed relatively stable.
However, the moment Xu Mo took out his phone and showed her a surveillance video, her demeanor instantly became agitated.
The woman lying on the hospital bed began gasping for breath, overwhelmed by her emotions.
From her expression, Xu Mo could tell that she was filled with anger.
Did she know this person? Xu Mo had a thought: "You know the person in the video, don't you? Who is she?"
Hearing this, the woman opened her mouth but couldn't utter a word.
After a moment, her emotions gradually calmed, and her face turned cold.
"I don't know her."
She was lying. Xu Mo could see through her deception immediately. Even without any knowledge of psychology, it was obvious.
Before Xu Mo could continue his questioning, the woman began feigning illness: "I suddenly feel a bit unwell. Could you call Doctor Liang for me?"
It was clear she didn't want to answer Xu Mo's questions.
She knew the person in the video, but she refused to say who it was.
This was strange. It was the first time Xu Mo had encountered a victim who was unwilling to cooperate, someone who was actually protecting the person who had set the fire that burned her… It didn't make sense.
For a moment, Xu Mo couldn't figure out why the woman would act this way.
"Are you sure you don't know her?" he couldn't help but ask again.
This time, the woman shook her head with unwavering determination.
"I don't know her."
After saying this, she casually pressed the bedside call button.
The next moment, Doctor Liang walked in: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Yes, my wound hurts a bit," the woman replied.
Doctor Liang glanced at Xu Mo.
"Officer Xu, perhaps we should end the questioning here. The patient…"
Xu Mo nodded in understanding and then turned to leave the sterile ward.
When the police are investigating a case and need to question a patient, they must take care to consider the patient's emotional state and physical condition. Even if the patient might be faking, they have to stop the interrogation.
Xu Mo believed that the woman clearly knew the arsonist, but she wasn't willing to tell him. He couldn't force her, especially since she was the victim and had just escaped a life-threatening situation.
As soon as Xu Mo left the sterile ward, Han Fei and the others immediately gathered around, their faces filled with anticipation.
"How did it go? Did you get anything out of her?"
Xu Mo shook his head.
"No. She said she doesn't know the woman in the video who set the fire, but she's lying. She doesn't want to reveal the other person's identity."
"She doesn't want to reveal the other person's identity?" Han Fei was slightly stunned, then furrowed his brow in deep thought.
A victim protecting the arsonist?
That didn't make sense.
Her livelihood—her piano shop—had been burned down, and she herself had been severely injured in the fire. Logically, she should hate the arsonist. Why would she protect them?
This was completely illogical.
Han Fei had witnessed Xu Mo's interrogation skills before, and he didn't think Xu Mo was mistaken. The problem must lie with the victim.
According to Xu Mo, she clearly knew the arsonist but refused to reveal their identity, which was utterly baffling.
Han Fei's brow furrowed into a deep crease as he pondered, feeling more and more that something was off.
But he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly was wrong.
"Should we go to the next ward and ask the other victim?" Li Chen suggested.
A wry smile appeared on Xu Mo's face.
He pointed to the ward behind him.
"I barely got a few questions in before the victim claimed she wasn't feeling well and called for Doctor Liang. I doubt Doctor Liang will let me into the other ward now."
After a pause, Xu Mo added,
"Besides, I suspect the other victim might not say anything either. It would be a waste of time."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Indeed, as soon as Xu Mo started questioning, the victim claimed to feel unwell. Even if it was an act, Doctor Liang wouldn't risk letting Xu Mo question another patient.
The fact that they had been allowed in once was already a favor, likely due to the help Xu Mo and Han Fei had provided to Doctor Liang not long ago.
Just then, a familiar conversation echoed down the hallway.
"Sir, I really can't let you in. I've told you many times, it's hospital policy."
"Can you at least take these fruits to my daughter? She loves them."
"No, the patient is very weak right now. Even if I brought them, she wouldn't be able to eat them. You should keep the fruits for yourself. She can't have them at the moment."
"Nurse Yang… could you make an exception?"
"…"
The voices were familiar, especially one—it was the nurse who had stopped Xu Mo and the others from entering the ward earlier.
Following the sound, they saw a middle-aged man holding a bag of fruits, trying to persuade Nurse Yang.
The man bore a resemblance to the woman in the ward, as the officers had seen her photo in the case file.
Combined with their conversation, it wasn't hard to guess that this man was likely the father of the woman in the ward.
He wanted to visit his injured daughter, but his request had been denied by the nurse.
Watching the man, Xu Mo furrowed his brow. It seemed like he had just thought of something, but the idea slipped away before he could fully grasp it.
Han Fei also noticed the man.
He took a few steps forward and approached him.
"Hello, are you Ms. Gao's father?"
"I am. And you are?" The man looked confused.
The officers weren't in uniform, so their identities weren't immediately obvious.
"We're police officers," Han Fei replied. "We're here to investigate the case."
Han Fei thought that since the victim wasn't cooperating, they might be able to get some information from her father.
However, as soon as Han Fei revealed their identity, the man's expression changed drastically.
Without saying a word, he turned and walked away.
Something was wrong!
"Stop!" Xu Mo shouted.
At that, the man broke into a run, as if he had something to hide.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
