Murder

The next morning.

The wind and snow had stopped, and the morning light streamed through the window, illuminating the dining room.

A simple breakfast was set on the table. Jiang Yaoshan’s wife had just woken up. Seeing her husband coming down from upstairs, she greeted him habitually, “Come and eat breakfast. I made the porridge you like today.”

Jiang Yaoshan’s footsteps faltered slightly. His pale face looked somewhat grey and haggard in the morning light.

He didn’t look at his wife. His gaze was hollow, staring straight ahead as he spoke in a dry voice, “I won’t eat. There’s an emergency at the Bureau that needs to be handled immediately.”

With that, he walked straight to the door. His movements were a bit stiff, and unlike usual, he didn’t pat his son’s head or say a few words to his wife.

His wife’s hand, holding a spoon, stopped mid-air as she frowned slightly.

Something seemed wrong, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

In the past, when Jiang Yaoshan encountered an urgent case, he would often leave in a hurry without breakfast. Perhaps today’s matter was just particularly troublesome?

Watching the door that had already closed, a trace of unease inexplicably drifted through her heart.

...

Chijing City Investigation Bureau.

Jiang Yaoshan remained silent throughout the journey. Relying on his identity identification, he entered the Investigation Bureau building without hindrance and walked into the director's office.

After closing the door, he tilted his head slightly and said in a low voice, “Luckily the weather is cold now; the body hasn’t changed much. Otherwise, the smell would have been trouble.”

Ghost could only drive the corpse to move, but he couldn’t stop the joint stiffness brought by rigor mortis, nor could he hide the livor mortis gradually spreading beneath the skin.

Fortunately, Jiang Yaoshan usually commanded great respect and authority, so no one dared to look him in the eye, let alone scrutinize him. This allowed his slightly sluggish and uncoordinated gait to go unnoticed for the time being.

Ghost spoke to remind Yue Shi, who was hidden nearby, “Whatever you plan to do, you must act fast. The indoor temperature is high, and the corpse will start to smell soon. We won’t be able to hide it for long.”

Yue Shi responded directly, “Use Director Jiang’s identity to call the transcendents of the Chijing City Investigation Bureau in one by one. I want to discuss some heart-to-heart matters with them.”

Ghost instantly understood Yue Shi’s intent and said mockingly, “They are the guardians of this city, yet you can actually bring yourself to do this~”

Yue Shi rolled his eyes disdainfully. “Why are you playing the pure white lotus with me?”

“I was just saying.” Ghost manipulated Jiang Yaoshan’s facial muscles to force a malicious smile.

“In the past, when these people framed and arrested wild transcendents, they never showed mercy. It’s time they experienced a taste of their own medicine.”

Yue Shi’s tone was flat and cold. “If thinking that makes you feel better, suit yourself.”

“Shouting slogans like ‘acting on behalf of heaven’ or ‘an eye for an eye,’ using insignificant kindness to varnish evil deeds, and pretending to stand on the side of justice... it’s all just self-consolation.”

Ghost fell silent for a moment, seemingly in thought. “Isn’t that good? We have a ‘legitimate reason,’ so we can kill with a clear conscience. Even if we’re criticized, we can argue back...”

Yue Shi interrupted him, his tone arrogant. “Do I need a reason to do evil?”

Ghost said softly, “Listen to you. Why do I feel like we’re the big villains?”

“Yes, we are the villains,” Yue Shi urged. “Stop wasting time and let’s get started.”

“Okey-dokey,” Ghost replied.

“I’ll use the internal communication system to send individual messages to each of them, telling them to come to the director's office. At the end, I’ll add, ‘Do not alert others; this is a confidential matter that needs to be discussed privately.’ How’s that?”

But Yue Shi said, “No need for that reminder at the end, and don’t message them individually. Notify them directly in the work group.”

“Uh...” Ghost didn’t quite understand, but he did as he was told.

...

Meanwhile, in the large office of the Special Operations Section.

The morning’s work had just begun. So much had happened yesterday, and today was still busy.

The air was filled with the scent of coffee and the sound of flipping through documents. Everything was the same as usual.

Ding.

A new message popped up in the work group. The sender was 【Director - Jiang Yaoshan】.

The message was extremely brief, just one line: 「Old Wang, come to my office.」

The named Old Wang was a senior assistant-type transcendent who was busy with his work.

Seeing the message in the group, he didn’t hesitate and replied with a “received.” He stood up, rolled his shoulders, and walked toward the director's office.

A colleague nearby looked up and asked casually, “Wang, is the director looking for you?”

“Yeah, probably asking about yesterday’s business.” Old Wang waved his hand dismissively and pushed the door open.

After this minor interlude, the office returned to silence. No one thought anything was wrong; it was perfectly normal for a director to call a subordinate.

Time passed minute by minute. Old Wang had been gone for about half an hour and still hadn’t returned.

Someone looked at the time and muttered, “The director has been talking to Wang for quite a while.”

Another person joined in, “Maybe there are new tasks being assigned, and the details are more involved.”

This small doubt was quickly buried by work.

Who knew how many things the director had to explain?

After another while, the work group pinged again.

It was still a message from 【Director - Jiang Yaoshan】, concise and to the point: 「Li Mo, Liu Qian, come over.」

The two named individuals looked at each other, both a bit confused. Why call them both at the same time?

The director’s order was not to be questioned. The two paused their work and left the office one after the other.

There were fewer people in the office than before, but it was still busy.

Some people began to find it strange. Old Wang hadn’t come back, and the director had called more people, this time two at once. This wasn’t like Director Jiang’s usual style of efficient communication.

Had something big happened?

A subtle atmosphere began to spread quietly. Perhaps the director had special arrangements? Perhaps the matters they were discussing in the office involved overlapping fields?

Time continued to flow.

Old Wang, Li Mo, and Liu Qian were like stones dropped into the ocean—no news, and they hadn’t returned to their desks.

The silence in the office gradually became thick.

Silent questions began to seep into everyone’s hearts. They didn’t think anything had happened to the director; they were just curious—what on earth were they talking about in there?

Why had they been gone so long without returning?

Had another major incident occurred?

Just as everyone was speculating wildly, the office door opened with a click.

It was Old Wang.

He walked in quickly with his head down, heading straight for his desk. His gaze was calm, but his face was somewhat pale.

“Wang, you’re back? What did the director want with you? You talked for so long,” a young investigator near the door asked curiously.

Old Wang’s footsteps paused. He didn’t look up, only giving a perfunctory reply, “Yeah, there’s a troublesome emergency field mission that I need to handle immediately. The director might call you guys later.”

His voice wasn’t as booming as usual; it had become dry and raspy.

“Oh, an emergency mission.” The questioner nodded, faintly feeling that Old Wang was a bit strange.

However, because Old Wang had returned and explained why the director had called him to the office, the doubt and subtle unease that had just arisen were temporarily dispelled.

Old Wang didn’t say another word, nor did he make eye contact with anyone. He quickly grabbed his car keys from the desk and turned to leave the office again, his steps somewhat hurried and disorganized.

He walked through the corridor and went downstairs, but instead of going to the parking lot, he went straight into a restroom.

The restroom was empty. He pushed open the door of the innermost stall, went in, and gently latched the door from the inside.

After that, no further sound came from the stall.

...

The director's office.

Jiang Yaoshan, who had been slumped on the desk lifelessly, suddenly sat up straight again. He picked up the phone on the desk and continued editing messages.

“Chijing City really is a big city; the number of transcendent investigators is so much higher than in Amber City,” Ghost remarked.

Yue Shi was leisurely flipping through files in the cabinet. Hearing this, he replied without looking up, “Indeed. And look at this list. The Chijing City Investigation Bureau even has a dedicated supernatural object containment room. Investigators can apply to use them during missions.”

“By contrast, the armory in Amber City only has the enchanted weapons forged by Ling Xun. It has nothing else. It’s truly impoverished.”

Although Yue Shi complained about Amber City, if he had to choose, he would still choose to settle there. Because that city had almost no restrictions or hidden rules for transcendents; as long as one didn’t do anything too outrageous, they could develop freely.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door to the director's office was knocked.

“Come in,” Ghost mimicked Jiang Yaoshan’s authoritative tone.

The door was pushed open, and a capable-looking male investigator in his thirties walked in with a respectful expression. “Director, you were looking for me?”

He closed the door behind him. Just as he took a step forward, he vanished into thin air!

No cry, no struggle.

The spatial trap had swallowed him silently.

“First, deal with those transcendents who have support, reconnaissance, or special control abilities to reduce variables. Leave those who only have brute force for last.”

Yue Shi’s cold voice rang out in the office, as if he were merely discussing the order for cleaning a warehouse.

As he spoke, another male corpse appeared out of thin air on the office floor, eyes wide, face frozen in a look of shock from before death.

It was one of the investigators who had been called in earlier.

Without needing Yue Shi’s instructions, Ghost detached from Jiang Yaoshan’s corpse and possessed this new one.

A few seconds later, the corpse on the ground twitched and then climbed up with unnatural movements, forcing a normal expression onto its face.

He found the corpse’s phone, tossed it casually onto the desk, and asked Yue Shi, “Where should I send this one?”

Yue Shi thought for a moment. “The second person goes on the roof.”

Ghost controlled the corpse, pushed open the office door, and walked out.

Behind the desk, Jiang Yaoshan’s corpse lost its support and slumped back into the wide leather chair. His face was grey, his eyes cloudy, and his lips slightly parted—a standard look of death.

Yue Shi turned a blind eye to all of this. He was currently browsing the personnel files of the Chijing City Investigation Bureau.

He found Su Jinglu’s file and glanced at it, confirming her identity as a member of the Su family, albeit from a branch line.

Then, Yue Shi pulled out a file folder containing Xin Yanzheng’s identity information.

He pulled out the document, his gaze scanning the cold text.

· Name: Xin Yanzheng

· Hometown: Shizhu Port (formerly Baozhu Port)

· Family Status: Orphan. All family members perished in a major incident in New Era XX. Sole survivor.

· Survival Experience: At age 12, while critically injured and near death, he was discovered and treated by a passing Radiant Church charity rescue team. Subsequently sponsored by the Radiant Church for living expenses and education until adulthood.

【Transcendent Awakening: Naturally awakened supernatural powers upon reaching adulthood; capable of manipulating water currents.】

【Entry Path: Recommended by the Radiant Church; hired by the Chijing City Investigation Bureau after passing standard assessments.】

Yue Shi looked at it in silence, his fingertip lingering on the words “Radiant Church” for a long time.

A moment later, Jiang Yaoshan on the chair moved again, sitting up straight like a reanimated corpse.

Ghost complained, “It’s just killing people. Why not just destroy the evidence? Why put the bodies in specific locations and pose them in specific ways? Why the theatrics?”

Yue Shi closed the file and replied calmly, “Just consider it a bit of dark humor on my part.”

Ghost switched back to the main topic. “It seems people outside are already getting suspicious. People keep being called into the office but never come out, and the two who did leave were acting very strange. They aren’t idiots; they won’t be fooled for long. It’s just...”

“It’s just that they don’t dare. They don’t dare to barge into the director's office to check the situation, and they certainly don’t dare to be the first to question the director,” Yue Shi took over, his tone mocking.

“Authority is the most effective smoke and mirrors.”

Ghost agreed. “True. That’s the advantage of occupying a high-ranking identity. Even if they suspect something, no one will dare to test the waters for a while.”

“If we were controlling a low-level clerk, it definitely wouldn’t be this convenient. The moment we showed any abnormality, we’d probably be pinned down and interrogated.”

Yue Shi stood up and glanced out the window. “Hurry up and continue. We still need to visit the supernatural object containment room later.”

“Good things are destined for me, after all.”