Ghost Eye Lao Qi

Suddenly, a shadow appeared ahead, hurrying toward him. Though it moved extremely fast, its footsteps were very light.

At the same time, another shadow appeared behind him.

When the shadow in front reached Lin Xiaosu, it suddenly raised its hand, a black dagger stabbing toward Lin Xiaosu's throat. At the same time, the shadow behind him thrust a dagger at his back.

The timing, the rhythm of the attack, the abruptness of the ambush—all were perfect.

Lin Xiaosu seemed to have no reaction at all.

The face of the person opposite him gradually emerged from the darkness. He wore a black face covering, and his eyes were sinister with a trace of cruelty.

Just as the dagger came within three inches of Lin Xiaosu's throat, a smile suddenly appeared on Lin Xiaosu's face.

Ssh!

He lightly raised his palm and chopped diagonally.

It struck the man's neck.

The man's eyes flew wide open. The dagger dropped from his hand, and he collapsed limply...

Before the dagger hit the ground, Lin Xiaosu drove his elbow backward. It crossed past the other man's dagger, and with a thud, the man behind him was sent flying off the ground before his blade could even touch Lin Xiaosu. It felt as though his internal organs had been displaced in an instant.

The wind rose!

Lin Xiaosu retreated more than three meters, flipped his hand, and gripped the pulse point on the other man's right wrist. With a crack, the wrist holding the knife was crushed.

The assassin's scream only made it halfway out before a slap sent it back down his throat, knocking out several teeth as well...

"Tell me, who sent you to kill me?"

Lin Xiaosu gripped one finger on his left hand.

"No one... Aah..."

That finger was crushed outright. Beads of sweat the size of beans seeped from the assassin's forehead. Every finger was connected to the heart; the agony of having one crushed alive was something most people would never experience in their lifetimes.

Lin Xiaosu took hold of the second finger. "Let me teach you a little legal knowledge. You came at me with a knife, so I have the right to defend myself without limit. Crushing all ten fingers and ten toes one by one would be nothing. I'm very patient with this question. I'll ask you twenty times... This is the second time: who sent you?"

The assassin's back went cold...

Twenty times? Good heavens, that was a twenty-level abyss. The assassin wisely chose to cooperate and immediately confessed, "Ghost Eye Lao Qi!"

"Who is Ghost Eye Lao Qi?"

"I don't know. I've never seen his real face. I... I'm telling the truth, the truth... Aah!" Another finger was crushed. The assassin stared at Lin Xiaosu in shock. If there were any justice in the world, he would definitely demand it. Why crush another finger after I'd already told you?

"Sorry, I couldn't hold myself back and crushed one extra..." Lin Xiaosu released him, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

Zhou Mei was standing outside the police station, with the Criminal Investigation Division beside it.

There were no officers outside, but all three cars were filled with police.

No lights were on, and there was no movement. Everyone remained on high alert.

Zhou Mei's eyes were wide open in the dark car, and sweat dampened her back.

She had made thorough preparations.

But her heart was also hanging by a thread.

She knew just how terrifying this group was. They were brutal and vicious, had infiltrated every sphere, and had committed every kind of evil. Yet no one had managed to truly wipe them out over all these years, because they were also exceptionally cunning.

The hard evidence you could find was always for petty, inconsequential crimes.

Even when they were caught, they remained arrogant.

As for their truly heinous crimes, those were carried out with impeccable care. You simply could not find solid evidence.

Everyone said there was an expert behind the group, an extremely cunning and seasoned mastermind.

Lin Xiaosu had already ruined their plans many times. Most critically, his superb detective skills posed a massive threat to the group, so they would not rest until he was dead!

Tonight's trap had been set by Lin Xiaosu himself.

To lure the snake from its hole.

But no one knew whether what emerged would be a snake—or a poisonous dragon!

Drug trafficking involving just dozens of grams carried the death penalty.

Therefore, everyone bold enough to take part was a desperado. They would die if caught anyway, so such people had no scruples.

If he failed...

Zhou Mei did not dare think about it...

He was not a police officer!

He was only a detective!

This was not even his responsibility. No matter how one looked at it, it should not have fallen to him to risk his life...

Just then, her phone vibrated...

Zhou Mei answered without a second's hesitation...

A relaxed, carefree voice came through the phone. "The alley to the left of Duanjiaqiao Commercial Building!"

"Move!" Zhou Mei waved her hand.

The three cars set off at once and arrived within five minutes. When Zhou Mei and Captain Zhang entered the alley, Lin Xiaosu gave them a faint smile. "Captain Zhang, this is the assassin! He's still alive. I trust you won't mind too much whether he's injured or not..."

Captain Zhang let out a long breath and lightly waved his hand. Seven or eight officers entered together.

Then he spoke. "Xiaosu, you need to come to the division too."

Lin Xiaosu said, "You go ahead. Officer Zhou and I will be there shortly."

Zhou Mei's eyes lit up slightly...

A few officers looked somewhat bewildered...

But a mysterious glint appeared in Captain Zhang's eyes. "All right!"

Lin Xiaosu and Zhou Mei walked side by side out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. They kept walking for a long distance—five or six li in all.

Zhou Mei remained tense throughout.

She knew this walk was certainly not for relaxing after the tension, much less the sleazy nonsense her colleagues in the division might be imagining. They were searching for clues.

He was an expert investigator. Having just survived an assassination attempt, how could he not follow the trail?

And what was her role?

At this moment, she was his bodyguard!

She had to make sure they could react if there was a second assassination attempt.

If there was a second attempt...

The question was, could they find any clues?

Originally, Zhou Mei had been extremely confident in Lin Xiaosu. He was a super "tracking dog" even more capable than the division's police dogs—he could detect scents from three or four days ago, let alone something that had just happened.

But Lin Xiaosu's demeanor was strange. When they reached the intersection ahead, he stared at the road for a long time before turning back. "Let's go!"

Zhou Mei relaxed all over. "Didn't you find any clues?"

"The clue-hunting trip is over. We need to go to your division and make a statement. Honestly, I hate these procedural things the most..."

Zhou Mei was full of doubts...

Had he found a clue or not?

If he had, they should have headed straight for its source.

It seemed he had not found anything. Still, that was normal.

Everyone in Phoenix City knew about his ability to track scents, and the criminals hiding in Phoenix City knew it even better. Every skill had a countermeasure. Scent-tracking was no exception. For example, some intensely irritating smell could be used to interfere with it. A freshly paved stretch of asphalt was extremely pungent. If she indulged in conspiracy theories, she even felt they ought to arrest the contractor for questioning...

No one knew that Lin Xiaosu had already finished collecting his clues.

Right there on that road, he had seen a car from three days earlier.

Inside the car, a bespectacled man had assigned the assassin a task. There was no suspense about the nature of the task, but Lin Xiaosu was particularly interested in something the bespectacled man had said.

He had said, "If you get caught, expose me!"

The assassin had looked utterly bewildered upon hearing that.

To be honest, when Lin Xiaosu had "heard" those words through lip-reading, he had been a little bewildered too.

Could you imagine a mastermind telling an assassin, while assigning him a mission, "If you get caught, expose me"?

There were many mysteries yet to be solved.

Perhaps only with Captain Zhang could he truly complete the loop.

As they spoke, the two returned to Fengshan Police Station. The Fengshan Police Station and the Criminal Investigation Division were neighbors. Zhou Mei was not actually from the police station; she was a proper criminal investigator. Her usual office had once been in that bungalow at the station, but that did not mean she belonged to the station.

The reason was simple. Criminal investigation was work where timing mattered enormously. Sometimes, a difference of one second could lead to irreparable losses, so some criminal investigators preferred to work somewhere that allowed them to respond quickly.

As for Fengshan Police Station, they also liked having criminal investigators work there. This was a county town, after all, and situations could be quite complicated. Sometimes they encountered uncontrollable incidents. Having criminal investigators nearby gave them greater deterrence and confidence.

Thus, this seemingly odd but rather moving shared-office arrangement came into being.

Today was a special case. They needed to enter the Criminal Investigation Building.

They entered the Criminal Investigation Building, took the elevator, and went straight to the seventh floor.

In a dedicated conference room on the seventh floor, Captain Zhang and Sun Yang were waiting for them.

As soon as Lin Xiaosu arrived, Captain Zhang gestured for him to sit opposite him. "Xiaosu, let's go through the formalities. Tell us what happened tonight."

"All right!" Lin Xiaosu laid out everything in full...

Zhou Mei had actually reminded him long ago to watch out for those people's retaliation, and he had taken it to heart. He had been busy with a pile of matters recently, making it inconvenient to tear away that pretense, so he had deliberately avoided being alone outdoors. Today, he had intentionally used himself as bait to lure them into assassinating him.

He had told Zhou Mei about this in advance, and Zhou Mei had reported it to Captain Zhang. That was why the police had responded so quickly.

The purpose of the two men's arrival had been obvious.

Without a single word of nonsense, they had attacked directly.

Lin Xiaosu had been prepared and taken them down on the spot. That was what had happened...

Sun Yang's pen flew across the page, recording everything in full.

Captain Zhang nodded lightly. "All right, the statement is finished. Xiao Sun, bring us two cups of tea!"

Sun Yang put down his pen and notebook, then brought over two teacups.

Captain Zhang personally picked up the teacups and gently handed one to Lin Xiaosu. A smile slowly appeared on his face. "Xiaosu, you've helped me several times. Only today have I had the chance to toast you with tea instead of wine! And while we're at it, let's have a chat."

Zhou Mei and Sun Yang beside her both smiled.

Just now had been the formal process, taking a statement—a serious matter. Now that the serious work was over, it was time to chat.

Lin Xiaosu smiled as well. "If Captain Zhang is willing to chat, that couldn't be better. I was just about to ask... Did those two assassins confess?"

"They confessed to some things, but..."