Suspect

It was a bright, sunny morning.

COM

Gu Shen sat up, stretched lazily, and rubbed his eyes.

"Meowww~~"

The Orange Cat was being unusually obedient, lying quietly on the balcony and letting out a low, pleading whimper.

Gu Shen rubbed his eyes again, making sure he wasn't seeing things.

More precisely, the Orange Cat was lying in the arms of the woman in the trench coat on the balcony... It absentmindedly licked its fur, clearly unable to sit still, yet it did not dare leave on its own under the pressure radiating from a certain higher life-form.

Gu Shen grabbed his blanket in fright. "Boss, how did you get in?"

Nan Jin lounged comfortably in a sled rocking chair. On the transparent surface of the small round tea table sat exquisite toast, fried eggs, and coffee. She held a stack of newspapers, basking in the warm sunlight and gentle breeze.

The woman in the trench coat calmly shot back, sounding utterly natural. "I paid to rent this place. Why can't I come in?"

"..."

Gu Shen was momentarily speechless.

"Where did you go last night?" Nan Jin took a sip of coffee and suddenly asked.

Gu Shen scratched his head. "I went out to buy a few things, then... fell asleep. I've just been too tired these past few days."

Honestly, that was the truth.

He really had been exhausted these past few days.

By the time last night's operation ended and Gu Shen returned to the apartment, it was already past midnight. Perhaps because he had used the Truth Ruler once more, he was drained in both body and mind.

That answer was flawless. Chu Ling had already helped him erase the apartment's entry and exit records.

"Mm..." Sure enough, Nan Jin had only asked casually. Then she asked again, "There's good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Gu Shen let out a breath. "Then... the good news first?"

"There's been a breakthrough in the Fire Disaster Case investigation." Nan Jin folded the newspaper and turned to look at the young man. "Last night, someone tried to destroy the evidence. We caught them."

"Oh, oh, oh..." Still looking half-asleep, Gu Shen asked in confusion, "By 'we,' you mean?"

"Because of you, Teacher specially brought in two powerful hitters from other cities in Qinghe District."

Gu Shen felt his scalp tingle as he listened.

If even Nan Jin called them powerful hitters, just how terrifying were they...? One of them must have been the person who chased after him last night.

As for the other, he probably had not encountered her before leaving.

Seeing Gu Shen's reaction, Nan Jin was quite satisfied. She said lightly, "You can call them... Senior Brother and Senior Sister."

Gu Shen was a little dumbfounded.

"The Adjudication Court has set the review date. It's fifteen days from now." Nan Jin spoke as if it were something insignificant. "Those two are here to give you special training."

"Hey, hey, hey..."

"Special training? What the hell is that?!"

This was completely beyond Gu Shen's expectations. He forced out a smile. "Boss, Boss! Did you forget? Didn't you tell me before that the review wasn't important? Isn't that not what Old Man Shu values in me?"

"This really wasn't Teacher's idea—"

Nan Jin said helplessly, "For some reason, Teacher has high hopes for you and is extremely confident. He seems to think that without doing anything, you'll make the entire Adjudication Court gasp in astonishment."

Gu Shen thought silently.

In a sense, that was actually true...

If he did nothing, he might become the newcomer with the worst review result in history, without question.

By then, people would do far more than merely gasp in astonishment.

"Teacher originally only wanted Senior Brother and Senior Sister to help investigate the Fire Disaster Case. Who knew that after reading the files, they would both rush to meet you, this exceptionally gifted newcomer?" Nan Jin shrugged. "They were both monsters who received A-grade evaluations in their reviews. Isn't it perfectly reasonable that they want to see how abnormal the newcomer who stirred up the Amnesty Decree is?"

"Perfectly reasonable..."

Gu Shen's voice immediately wilted.

He could roughly guess why Nan Jin's attitude toward the "review" had changed overnight.

It was not hard to see that Mr. Shu's faction held an extremely high position within the Adjudication Court.

Otherwise, it could not have persuaded a Council bigwig to deploy the Amnesty Decree.

Yet it was precisely because the Amnesty Decree had been used that everyone in this faction had been forced to bear immense pressure... If he was not mistaken, Mr. Shu had not appeared after bailing him out because the disputes within the Adjudication Court over the Amnesty Decree required him to resolve them personally.

For some unknown reason—

The dispute over that Amnesty Decree had ultimately landed on the review of his Transcendent Ability... If his review results were outstanding enough, then using the Amnesty Decree to protect talent could become an established precedent.

In other words—

Get an S-Rank, and everyone would shut up.

"The bad news is that the Adjudication Court held a heavyweight internal meeting about the Amnesty Decree last night." Nan Jin said seriously, "Representatives from every major district of the Eastern Continent condemned Teacher, and some even impeached him."

"Impeached?" Gu Shen was surprised. "Is it that serious?"

"Impeachment itself is nothing. Given Teacher's way of doing things, he gets impeached every year." Nan Jin held her forehead and said, "But this time, the situation may be more severe. It involves the Council's upper ranks, and some Old Fellows in the Adjudication Court are putting all their strength into attacking him through the Amnesty Decree... The result of this meeting may not be good for you."

Gu Shen's heart skipped a beat.

He had an ominous feeling... The meeting's outcome was no longer simply a matter of pressure or no pressure.

It might be even worse than he had originally expected!

"The heads of the Adjudication Court's various districts unanimously believe that using the Amnesty Decree on you was inappropriate." Nan Jin said with a bitter smile, "Unless you can prove in the upcoming review that your potential is strong enough... otherwise, the Amnesty Decree will be revoked."

Just as expected.

Chu Ling's earlier prediction had been entirely correct.

The protection of that Amnesty Decree was only temporary... His survival depended on the descent of a powerful figure's will. At the slightest Wind Blowing Grass Moving, he could turn from a "lucky one" into an "unlucky one" at any time.

Gu Shen rubbed his chin and murmured, "If the Amnesty Decree is gone, I may face the Prison Institute's accusations again..."

After all the trouble caused by the Amnesty Decree—

That Tribunal Head would probably no longer accept him under the Prison Institute.

According to East Continent Law, he would most likely face twenty-four hours of strict supervision and surveillance, perhaps even detention.

"Unless..." Gu Shen thought of a solution.

"Unless the Fire Disaster Case is completely solved."

Nan Jin spoke for him. "The Prison Institute's accusation of losing control must be based on the premise of 'premeditated murder.' Fully resolving the Fire Disaster Case would be enough to prove that you acted in self-defense."

"Whew, that's right..."

Having sorted out his thoughts, Gu Shen let out a long breath of pent-up frustration. Confused, he asked, "Didn't we catch the culprit last night? The Fire Disaster Case should be solved soon..."

"This case is more complicated than we imagined."

Nan Jin shook her head.

She stood up, and the Orange Cat took the chance to dart away from her arms.

"Gu Shen, I'm afraid you don't have that much time to rest... Come with me and see the situation for yourself."