Seeing the middle-aged man immediately bolt upon spotting the police, the officers sensed something was off and promptly gave chase.
Anyone who runs at the sight of the police definitely has something to hide. Even if they’re not involved in this particular arson case, they’re likely connected to some other crime.
For all they knew, this man could be a fugitive.
The officers were in peak physical condition, and chasing suspects was their forte. This was largely thanks to the nature of their job, which often required them to pursue criminals, and over time, their stamina had been honed to perfection.
In contrast, the middle-aged man’s physical fitness was lacking, likely due to his age. You can’t fight time, after all.
Adding to his troubles, the hospital corridor was crowded, making it difficult to run fast. As a result, the man didn’t get far before the officers caught up and pinned him to the ground.
Onlookers in the corridor and patients in the nearby rooms gathered to watch the commotion.
One particularly clueless “good Samaritan” even stepped forward to lead the charge in criticizing the officers’ actions.
“What are you doing? Bullying an elderly man? Shame on you!”
Once someone took the lead, others quickly joined in.
“In broad daylight, you’re going to treat an old man like this in front of all of us? Let him go!”
The situation escalated as more self-proclaimed “champions of justice” stepped forward, loudly condemning the officers.
“Committing crimes in broad daylight… Who do you think you are? Let that man go, and deal with us if you dare!”
“Yeah, do you even respect the law?”
It was hard for anyone to watch a group of young, strong men pinning an elderly man to the ground in broad daylight.
Where’s the justice?
Where’s the rule of law?!
The crowd was outraged.
The more timid ones stayed back, hurling verbal abuse and berating the officers.
The bolder ones even stepped forward, ready to physically intervene and “rescue” the man.
Once the officers had the man fully under control, they took a moment to explain the situation.
One of the officers, after ensuring his colleagues had the man secured, stood up, pulled out his badge, and addressed the crowd.
“Everyone, calm down. We’re not bad guys. We’re police officers, and we’re investigating a case. This man is connected to an ongoing investigation…”
After a brief explanation, the crowd fell silent. The looks of pity they had directed at the man on the ground vanished.
Oh, it’s a police investigation… That changes everything.
Why didn’t you say so earlier? They had assumed these young men were troublemakers and the elderly man was their victim. Turns out, the man on the ground was the real villain.
The crowd’s gaze shifted to the man pinned to the floor, his face pressed against the ground. In their minds, they had already painted him as a despicable criminal.
Someone being pursued by the police isn’t necessarily a criminal—they might just be needed for questioning.
But someone being pinned down like this? That’s a different story. He must be guilty!
The tide of public opinion shifted instantly. The crowd stopped criticizing the officers and instead turned their anger toward the man.
Even the first person who had spoken out against the officers quickly changed their tune.
“I knew that old man was no good! Look at his shifty eyes—he’s clearly a bad egg! Good job catching him!”
The crowd: “…”
You were the one who started this whole thing!
Quick to flip sides, huh? Impressive.
“Yeah, yeah, I could tell he was trouble from the start. Wonder what he’s done.”
“I said earlier this was all a misunderstanding, but you didn’t believe me. You almost messed up the police’s work by siding with this criminal!”
“Hey, you up front, stop gawking and move aside! Don’t block the officers!”
“…”
The officers: “…”
They were used to scenes like this. It happened almost every time they worked undercover.
With the crowd watching, they escorted the man out of the hospital.
…
Based on the victim’s behavior and the fact that her father had fled upon seeing the police, Xu Mo had already pieced together the likely truth behind the case.
Of course, this was just a hypothesis. The specifics still needed to be verified.
Interrogation room.
The man sat in the interrogation chair, nervously glancing around. It was his first time in such a place.
“Are you Ms. Gao’s father? Why did you run when you saw us?” Xu Mo asked, his piercing gaze fixed on the man.
The intensity of his stare made the man even more anxious.
“I… I wasn’t running… I just… I suddenly needed to use the bathroom. Yeah, that’s it. I had to go.”
“So, it was just a coincidence, then?” Xu Mo asked with a smirk.
“Yeah, yeah, a coincidence!” The man nodded eagerly, seizing the opportunity. “It was just a misunderstanding. You’ve got the wrong guy. Let me go—I need to get back to the hospital to see my daughter.”
Letting him go wasn’t an option. The man clearly knew something, and Xu Mo was counting on him to confirm his suspicions.
“Ms. Gao’s piano shop was set on fire last night. We found traces of gasoline at the scene, which points to arson… Do you know anything about this? Or do you have any suspicions about who might be responsible?”
The man, already nervous, grew even more tense at the question.
“No, no… We just found out about it. We don’t know anything.”
“We? Who else is there besides you? Your wife?” Xu Mo pressed.
The man stiffened, his pupils contracting slightly, and nodded.
“Where is she? Why wasn’t she with you at the hospital?”
“She didn’t go.”
“She didn’t go? Your daughter nearly died, and she couldn’t be bothered to visit her in the hospital?”
The man avoided Xu Mo’s gaze, his eyes darting around uneasily.
“She… She hasn’t been feeling well lately, so I told her to stay home.”
For the next minute, Xu Mo didn’t ask any more questions.
The interrogation room was eerily quiet.
The man could even hear his own heartbeat.
Just as he thought he might have gotten away with his lies, Xu Mo suddenly stood up, pulled out his phone, and played a video, shoving the screen in the man’s face.
“We found surveillance footage of the arsonist setting the fire. The person in this video is the one who set the piano shop ablaze. Do you recognize her?”
As he spoke, Xu Mo watched the man’s reaction closely.
The moment the man saw the video, his body froze. His face filled with shock and worry, and his lips trembled uncontrollably.
Xu Mo also noticed a flicker of anger in his eyes.
His reaction was different from the victim’s, yet there were similarities.
Combined with the man’s earlier responses and behavior, Xu Mo was almost certain his hypothesis was correct.
The arsonist was the man’s wife—Ms. Gao’s mother.
Of course, Xu Mo had only deduced this based on the man’s reactions. As for the motive behind the arson, that remained a mystery.
But he was confident this man could provide the answers…
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
