A police officer raised his hand and asked, "You said it was the cursed mysterious sculpture that caused the trouble, but why wasn't it discovered in the previous case? The whole room was in a locked room state at that time. The police arrived immediately after the murder happened, and it was impossible for outsiders to break in during that time."
The answer was obviously only one - someone in the police force was helping the murderer - but I didn't want to startle the snake in the grass at this point, so I just said, "I don't know!"
As soon as I said this, the uproar became even greater. I waited for them to quiet down before saying, "I didn't handle the previous case myself, and there are still many details I haven't fully figured out, but I'm sure Yu Jun took away the sculpture from the scene by some means."
I emphasized the words "from the scene," and observed Bai Yidao's expression at the same time.
Another policeman said worriedly, "If the suspect has such an unconventional way of murdering, will we be sending ourselves to our deaths by investigating this case?"
Everyone agreed, and the police were human too - they didn't want to sacrifice for no reason.
I reassured them, "You don't have to worry about this. The case is already clear for now. Leave the rest to our team of four to investigate. The rest of you stand by."
By telling them to 'stand by,' I was basically telling them to take time off. Everyone felt relieved.
Then I announced the dismissal. Huang Xiaotao applauded and said, "Well done, very methodical. I find you completely different when you're serious."
"Especially handsome, right?" I laughed.
"Conceited!" Huang Xiaotao also laughed.
I said, "Oh right, go and find Team Leader Liao for me, and get something from him."
"He just went out. Should I go find him now?" Huang Xiaotao asked.
"No, no. Wait a bit, best to see him alone. I want the list of all personnel from the task force on the previous case."
"Okay!" Huang Xiaotao nodded.
Then I said to Wang Yuanchao, "Uncle Wang, how good are your tracking skills?"
He calmly replied, "I once staked out in Myanmar for thirty days just to catch a big drug lord. Tracking people is nothing, I can even track a dog without being noticed."
"That's great. I have a special task for you - follow Bai Yidao today and record where he goes and who he meets." I instructed.
Wang Yuanchao nodded. Huang Xiaotao asked, "What is it, Song Yang? You suspect there is a mole in the task force?"
"There's a possibility." I whispered.
Wang Dali exclaimed in shock: "Holy crap, Infernal Affairs..."
I glared at him, because some of the police were still around at this point, and I was afraid he would carelessly leak important information. Wang Dali quickly changed his words, "Infernal ramen, have you guys tried it?"
"What on earth is that?" I asked.
"An extremely spicy and exciting Japanese ramen, so spicy it makes you question life." Wang Dali rambled.
"Is that so? I love spicy food, let's give it a try later." Huang Xiaotao said.
After all the police had left, Huang Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao went their separate ways. Wang Dali and I waited outside. Soon Huang Xiaotao came out with two pieces of paper in her hand, "Here are the lists of personnel from the two cases."
I took them and glanced through. Three people were involved in both cases - Liao, the team leader, Bai Yidao and Luo Weiwei.
I already had an idea in mind. I folded the two pieces of paper and put them in my pocket, "Let's go meet this Yu Jun!"
We arrived at the tech company where Yu Jun worked. Huang Xiaotao showed her badge to the security guard and said we were here to find Manager Yu. The guard awkwardly said, "Manager Yu is working. You may have to wait a while."
Huang Xiaotao and I exchanged glances. She said, "We'll go in directly!"
The guard couldn't stop us and we went straight into the factory. I looked back and saw him picking up the phone to report, probably as Yu Jun had instructed beforehand.
We asked around until we arrived at a workshop, where workers in uniforms were assembling electronic products on an assembly line. Wang Dali saw the casings of the latest iPhones and exclaimed, "Good heavens! Phones that sell for six, seven thousand outside are everywhere here like cabbages. It'd be so awesome if we could sneak a few out!"
Huang Xiaotao impatiently said, "What are you dreaming about? Security here is very tight. Employees are searched when they enter and leave."
A supervisor came over to stop us, "The workshop is restricted area, no outsiders allowed!"
Huang Xiaotao flashed her badge, "Please ask Manager Yu to come out and speak with us."
The supervisor's tone softened, "Manager Yu is busy. Just tell me what this is about."
Huang Xiaotao said, "No, we must see him personally."
Just then a man with glasses, dressed in a workshop uniform, looking gentle and refined, came over and smiled, "I'm Yu Jun. What can I do for you?"
Huang Xiaotao nodded, "We are investigating a murder case and hope to ask you some questions."
Yu Jun frowned, "The two officers who came yesterday asked the same thing. I've told them everything I know. Why come and investigate again? This case has nothing to do with me. I just had some business dealings with Huang Youcai. We met a few times for meals, not much of a relationship."
Huang Xiaotao asked, "Could we speak in private?"
Yu Jun hesitated for a moment, gave some instructions to the supervisor, then led us to a break room. He took plastic cups from a cabinet and poured water for us. I noticed bandages wrapped around several of his fingers.
Huang Xiaotao routinely asked, "How long have you known Huang Youcai?"
Yu Jun sat down in an executive chair, "Less than half a year."
"What was the nature of your business dealings?"
Yu Jun impatiently clicked his tongue, "Officer, I've been asked all this yesterday. Is it necessary to go over it again?"
"Just answer the question."
Yu Jun said he met Huang Youcai at a banquet. Huang said he had a friend selling children's toys and wanted to place a large order with Yu Jun for toy cars for kids.
Yu Jun's company didn't accept private orders. Huang pleaded and found an intermediary to guarantee, and after a long time of pestering, Yu Jun agreed, first taking a deposit of 1 million, and quickly produced the goods.
Unexpectedly, this unfortunate thing happened in Huang's family, and the deal went wrong. Afterwards, Yu Jun consulted the intermediary and withdrew the money from Huang's account. In fact, that money belonged to the company, for employee salaries and raw materials, and had nothing to do with him personally.
As he was saying this, I kept observing his demeanor and actions. When he finished, Huang Xiaotao glanced at me, and I coldly laughed, "He's lying!"
Yu Jun stood up agitatedly, "Every word I said is true!"
I slowly shook my head, "No. The blood vessels in a person's nose are the densest. When someone lies, their brain needs to operate at high speed to organize language, so blood gathers heavily in the head, and the nose feels hot and itchy. You unconsciously touched your nose a few times just now. You must be lying!"
Yu Jun looked at me in astonishment. Huang Xiaotao cleared her throat, "Manager Yu, human life is invaluable. Please tell the truth!"
"Alright!" Yu Jun reflexively wanted to touch his nose again but restrained himself, "I was making fake iPhones with Huang Youcai."
He said his company had long been assembling phones for Apple, taking chips, circuit boards, cameras and other parts shipped from overseas, assembling them into phones, then sticking on Apple labels. Sold in the market they could fetch six, seven thousand, claimed as imported when they were actually entirely produced domestically, costing just over two thousand.
Huang Youcai saw the huge profits in this, and said he had channels to smuggle in chips and circuit boards. Of course they were all contraband. Then through Yu Jun's company they would be assembled into phones and sold. Although they were fakes, the quality was not too far off, and they worked just like real ones when used.
The first batch of pirated phones was quickly produced, and Huang Youcai quickly sold them through his connections. They had agreed to a 70-30 split. Unexpectedly Huang died, and Yu Jun went through a great deal of trouble to get his share of the money back.
After Yu Jun finished, I shook my head and pointed at him, "You're still lying!"
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
