“Protect the Lord!”
“Quick, stop him!”
Cries of alarm rang out from outside. Zhou Yu’s expression was grim.
Even with his eyes closed, he could guess that the opponent had accomplices!
Lord Mei took another step forward, his voice calm and steady.
“A gentleman is calm and at ease; a petty man is full of distress!”
A white halo spread rapidly outward from beneath his feet!
“I see him! Watch out!”
The sounds of fighting erupted outside. Zhou Yu immediately moved to the black-clad man’s side, drawing two silver-doped iron hooks and piercing them through the man’s shoulder blades!
The black-clad man didn’t even make a sound, as if he had already accepted his fate.
“My Lord! We can’t hold them back!”
Outside, an Executioner let out a muffled groan. In the next moment, a figure came crashing straight through the wall!
The moment Zhou Yu turned his gaze toward it, he realized it was the corpse of an Executioner!
‘Not good.’
The thought had barely surfaced when the light in the room suddenly dimmed!
It was as if someone were turning down a dimmer switch.
“My Lord!”
Zhou Yu instinctively looked back at Lord Mei, but then he heard the whistle of wind behind his head.
‘It’s a trap! Their target is me!’
Zhou Yu dodged with all his might. Though he avoided a lethal blow, his lung was still pierced by a blade.
“A gentleman’s relation to animals is this: once he has seen them alive, he cannot bear to see them die; once he has heard their cries, he cannot bear to eat their meat!”
Lord Mei spoke again. The black shadow’s movements grew stiff once more, making it impossible for it to follow up with another strike.
The shadow froze, but Zhou Yu did not.
The golden-armored phantom swung its blade again, aiming straight for the opponent’s head.
The shadow tried to pull back and retreat, but a flying claw shot in through the broken wall, accurately hooking onto the shadow’s ankle.
In that split second of delay, the golden-armored phantom’s blade arrived.
Pfft!
Blood splattered as the head was severed from the body.
Only then did the rest of the subordinates from outside rush in.
“My Lord, are you alright?”
“My Lord, we have failed in our duty to protect you. Please punish us!”
Lord Mei waved them off and glanced at the black-clad man who was still alive on the floor.
“Zhou Yu.”
“Present.”
“My official reputation depends on whether you can pry his mouth open!”
“Rest assured, My Lord!”
Zhou Yu touched the wound on his body, his expression turning ferocious.
“My Lord, a call request from Bureau Chief Guo.”
Just as the group was preparing to head back, a subordinate approached carrying a communicator.
Lord Mei frowned slightly. He wondered if the other man was contacting him now because he had known something in advance and wanted to mock him.
That said, he had no choice but to answer a call from the head of the Security Bureau.
“Hello? Bureau Chief Guo, is there something the matter?”
“Lord Mei, we just received a report. Another skinning case has occurred.”
“The victim this time is a commoner, and we’ve discovered the killer’s pattern!”
The other man’s tone was somewhat smug, clearly showing off to Lord Mei.
“A pattern? What pattern?”
Lord Mei asked instinctively. There was a two-second silence on the other end before a chuckle came through.
“To find this pattern, my brothers wore out three pairs of shoes. All the expenses for the men and horses along the way...”
“Your Security Bureau will get ten percent of next month’s approved funding.”
“Many of the brothers even paid out of their own pockets during this time...”
“Twenty percent!”
“And also...”
“I’m not listening anymore. Keep your secret to yourself. I’ve already caught the person I wanted anyway!”
“Haha, this intel was originally meant to be shared with you, Lord Mei.”
Bureau Chief Guo’s tone on the other end of the communicator immediately became much more serious.
“Through our visits and investigations during this period, we found that the seven victims who died this month all had violent tendencies and histories of abuse!”
“Especially the one who died today. He had tortured several women to death, and the number of cats, dogs, and other animals that died at his hands is countless.”
Lord Mei couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this.
“Then why wasn’t this pattern discovered before?”
“Because these people disguised themselves too well! On the surface, they were all upright gentlemen!”
“A good father, a good colleague!”
“The evaluations from people around them were all similar—they were either a ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ or quiet and shy.”
“Who would have thought they were such perverts behind closed doors?”
“If it weren’t for our tireless investigation this time, I’m afraid we still wouldn’t have discovered their true faces!”
Lord Mei’s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Zhou Yu and the others load the black-clad man into the car.
“So, according to what you’re saying, that skinning killer is actually a good person who punishes evil?”
“I don’t know if he’s a good person, but this is indeed his pattern of operation.”
“Furthermore, we’ve screened out several pieces of scum based on his standards. If you want to catch that killer, you’ll definitely have a chance if you stake out these scum!”
Lord Mei pondered for a moment before speaking.
“My current manpower isn’t enough to watch that many people.”
“Besides, I’ve already caught the real skinner, the criminal who murdered Mr. Xu!”
“As for the others, they are merely copycat crimes. Right, Bureau Chief Guo?”
This time, the other end was silent for several seconds before speaking.
“Lord Mei, you’ve been in office for less than three months. We still have a long time to spend together in the future.”
“I’m sure you’ve realized that Wangduan City is not a peaceful place.”
“If there are other crimes in the future, will they also be copycat crimes?”
“There will be no such murder cases in the future! At least not during my term!”
Lord Mei’s answer was resolute.
He admitted he had underestimated Wangduan City before.
But it didn’t matter!
He was a member of the Mei family—the Mei family of Central City!
As long as he reported the situation here, the family would naturally send people to help!
Although doing so would have some impact on him, the benefits would ultimately outweigh the drawbacks!
Hearing this, Bureau Chief Guo understood his meaning and immediately laughed.
“Then I understand. Lord Mei, about that twenty percent next month...”
“Collect it at the beginning of the month.”
“Yes, sir.”
The communication cut off, and Lord Mei got into the car with a frown.
...
The mortuary.
“On such a nice day, everyone else is out enjoying the scenery, yet the two of us are here performing autopsies! That’s why I say being a Coroner just doesn’t suit me.”
Xiao Zhe took off his mask, set the autopsy report aside, and spoke.
“Yin Yang, should I send this report to Lord Mei?”
Yin Yang shook his head while washing his hands.
“Without the Coroner’s seal, this autopsy report is invalid.”
“Besides, I only performed a preliminary examination. The specifics still need to be handled by a Coroner.”
Hearing this, Xiao Zhe couldn’t help but curl his lip.
“A Coroner... Two Coroners have died in just these two days. I don’t think anyone else is coming for a while. How depressing.”
“Hey, in a few days, let’s go to Jiuqing Mountain to watch the moon?”
“I heard it’s a supermoon, the kind you only see once in several centuries. They say Jiuqing Mountain is the best observation point. Lots of people will be there.”
Yin Yang smiled and shook his head.
“I won’t be going. I have something to do that day.”
“What is it?”
“Something big.”
Rate on N.U.
