Meeting

"Girl, do you even know what you’re saying?"

Gu Sheng looked around and, after making sure no one was nearby, lowered his voice beside Huang Anqi’s ear. "If you don’t know anything, then don’t spout nonsense, all right? You’re making baseless accusations against your big brother’s innocence here."

"Hmph~"

Huang Anqi laboriously pulled Gu Sheng’s right hand open a crack. With drunken, bleary eyes, she giggled at him. "Of course I know. Just because I have blonde hair doesn’t mean I’m some clueless little yellow-haired girl.

"I know perfectly well, Big Brother Gu. Isn’t this what you like?"

The girl was truly drunk. She actually grabbed Gu Sheng’s hand and pressed it downward. Gu Sheng froze, then instinctively gave a squeeze. After that, he stared at her with his mouth hanging open.

"Bang~"

Gu Sheng bent the finger of his left hand and lightly flicked Huang Anqi on the forehead. The muddleheaded girl immediately collapsed.

"Mei-jie, I’m telling you, this was just an accident. It was all a misunderstanding. She only acted like that because she was drunk. Do you believe me?"

Gu Sheng turned to Liu Daimei with a wry smile. He truly hadn’t expected Huang Anqi to be so bold when drunk—to actually pull his hand over and take advantage of him.

"Do you think I believe you? Your hand is still on her. The feeling must be great—you can’t bear to pull away, can you?"

Liu Daimei spoke sarcastically, then stood up and carried Huang Anqi toward the hotel elevator.

"Mei-jie, wait for me~~"

Gu Sheng sat where he was, spread his hands, and smiled bitterly for a while. Then he turned and chased after them. This misunderstanding had grown serious. It looked like he would have a long night ahead of him.

Inside the main conference room of the Hangcheng City Police Department, all the leading figures from the various local fields had gathered.

The local host, Director Zhang of the Hangcheng City Police Department, seemed rather inconspicuous among them. He could only sit in the second row and listen attentively. Behind him sat Le Erya, who had just been promoted to nominal team leader. After displaying her talent, the girl’s position had been rising rapidly.

"Salute!"

Two figures entered together. The crowd, who had been speaking in low voices, instantly fell silent. The leaders of the Zhejiang Province Criminal Inspection and Public Security systems rose from their seats and saluted.

These two were Director Qi, the leader of the judicial authorities in Zhejiang Province, and Director Han, the highest-ranking official in charge of public security.

"Everyone, sit~~"

As the person presiding over the meeting, Director Qi took his place and spoke to the crowd. He then sat down together with Director Han.

Swish! Everyone sat down in unison, their bodies upright and rigid as they maintained a formal posture.

"Clack~~"

The doors to the main conference room opened again. Lin Qinghe and Wu Mengchen walked onto the large platform with their documents and nodded to everyone below.

"Inspector Lin, Dr. Wu, you may begin."

Director Han nodded at the two with a smile, indicating that the meeting could start.

"Bzzzt~~"

After a series of noises, the large screen behind Lin Qinghe and Wu Mengchen lit up.

"At 9:15 p.m. on February 2, 3001 of the Huaguo Calendar, a major family massacre occurred at Zhenglin Manor outside Hangcheng. Mr. Zheng Jianguo’s family of eight all perished."

Lin Qinghe saluted the people below before beginning her report. "This was a premeditated and carefully planned incident. There were three planners. We can confirm that one of them was male (Gu Sheng was the only one who spoke throughout the entire process, and he also used a voice changer).

"Before this, the three of them had sent key evidence regarding the Yao Family Massacre to ** online and revealed an important piece of information: Tang Lie, the culprit behind the Yao Family Massacre, had died. Before his death, he had asked the murderers to deal with those connected to the Yao Family…"

"That is the current progress of the investigation. If anyone has any opinions or suggestions, please speak freely~~"

After Lin Qinghe finished her report, Director Qi smiled at the people below and spoke.

Everyone attending today was a leading figure from either the Criminal Inspection or Public Security system. The lowest-ranking among them headed the police department of an entire city. They were all powerful people with well-informed sources. After hearing Director Qi’s words, they began whispering and discussing among themselves.

"Don’t hold back, everyone. If you have any thoughts, speak up~~~"

The room was filled with discussion, but no one stood up. Director Han grew somewhat impatient and raised his voice, hoping someone would respond.

Unfortunately, these leaders who normally acted imposing before their subordinates and spoke eloquently before their superiors became shrinking violets at a time like this. Not one of them was willing to be the "first bird to stick its head out."

"Director Zhang, you’re the head of the Hangcheng City Police Department, and Hangcheng is your territory. Your department was also the first to arrive after the incident. Your efficiency is beyond reproach, so tell us your opinion."

In the end, Director Qi had no choice but to call on someone by name. He first praised the Hangcheng City Police Department’s efficiency, then designated Director Zhang as the first bird to stick its head out.

Director Zhang was already an old man, and even he grew nervous when faced with something like this. By the time he stood, his forehead was covered in sweat. "Well, Directors, everyone.

"After conducting an overnight investigation and organizing the evidence, our Hangcheng City Police Department has reconstructed the general outline of what happened.

"There were deeper reasons behind the Zheng Family Massacre. Although the planners had agreed to Tang Lie’s request to deal with those connected to the Yao Family, they had not originally intended to use private punishment. They merely sent the information to ** online and then made no further move.

"The true trigger behind this incident was Zheng Shaotian, the third-generation member of the Zheng Family. Now, I’ll have Inspector Lin explain the specific circumstances to us."

After finishing, Director Zhang cautiously glanced at Director Qi. When he saw no sign of displeasure on Director Qi’s face, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Zheng Shaotian, the youngest member of the Zheng Family’s third generation. Based on the information we have, his past can be described as a record of disgrace…"

Lin Qinghe took over from Director Zhang and continued introducing the situation to everyone. "According to the planners’ words that day, the trigger for this incident was that a Zheng Family member committed another offense while under secret investigation.

"More precisely, Zheng Shaotian angered the planner and did something that drove him to destroy the entire Zheng Family.

"We investigated Zheng Shaotian’s social interactions, whereabouts, and activities over the past month. Zheng Shaotian was a third-year student at Hangcheng City’s Third High School and a student athlete…

"During this suspicious period, our investigation found thirteen conflicts between Zheng Shaotian and other people, four of which contained suspicious points.

"The incident with the greatest suspicion occurred on the afternoon of February 2. Based on Dr. Wu’s psychological analysis of the planner, this man had an extremely strong sense of self-respect and was highly vengeful. It was therefore very likely that he retaliated immediately after the incident occurred."

As Lin Qinghe spoke, she pressed the control switch in her hand. The image on the screen changed, and Chu Xin’s smiling face appeared before everyone. When Le Erya saw Chu Xin appear, her heart jolted. A bad premonition rose within her, and she looked at Lin Qinghe and Wu Mengchen in disbelief.

Before this, neither of them had told her that Chu Xin was a person of interest.