Suspects? Just Kill Them All!

Finally, under Ling Yue'er's persistent nagging, tantrums, and a direct message from the City Lord himself – a "combination punch" – the Demon Suppression Division had no choice but to grudgingly agree to her request to "assist in the investigation."

Of course, the prerequisite was that all her actions must be under the command of the special task force.

And this so-called special task force was led by Chu Mengxi, who had just recovered from her injuries and was eager to prove herself.

The team member was Lin Feng, who had just taken on this mission and was seen by everyone as being "assigned to a critical situation."

And two die-hard followers, Zhao Tie and Li Rui, who volunteered to "escort" Brother Lin and Captain Chu.

Plus, one "special invited consultant" with noble status, combat power roughly equal to zero, but a skill for causing trouble that was absolutely MAX level – Ling Yue'er.

Thus, a five-person team, arguably the most bizarre in the history of the Nan Yan Commandery's Demon Suppression Division, was formed.

In the temporary operations meeting room, the atmosphere was solemn.

Chu Mengxi stood before a huge map of the commandery city, her expression grave. The clear, cold phoenix eyes flashed with wisdom and calmness.

"According to the case files, the five victims, despite their different backgrounds, had one thing in common: they were all young, beautiful women with a trace of spiritual energy. This indicates that the Skin-Peeling Demon's targets are specific."

She circled five crime scenes on the map with a cinnabar pen.

"The crime scenes are distributed across the east, west, south, and north of the city, as well as the central district, with no discernible pattern. This indicates that the Skin-Peeling Demon's range of activity is vast, and it is thoroughly familiar with the commandery city's terrain."

Zhao Tie nodded repeatedly as he listened, adding, "Boss, I also discovered a problem. When we investigated the scenes, we found that all the doors and windows were intact, with no signs of forced entry."

"Exactly."

Li Rui chimed in, "The Skin-Peeling Demon is best at disguise. It's very likely already disguised itself as an inconspicuous person among us. Anyone we look at now could be the killer!"

"Therefore, the immediate priority is to narrow down the scope of the investigation."

Chu Mengxi looked at the map and pondered, "I've reviewed all the case files on Skin-Peeling Demons in the Division overnight, and combined with the victims' social circles, I've preliminarily identified three prime suspects."

As she spoke, she placed three case files on the table.

"The first is Wu Daozi, a painter at the Ink Rhyme Studio in the west of the city."

"This person's painting skills are extraordinary, especially his portraits of beautiful women. His brushwork can capture a woman's appearance and demeanor so vividly, as if she were alive. It's rumored that he is reclusive, behaves eccentrically, and rarely leaves his home. Most importantly, three of the five victims had commissioned paintings from him."

"The second is Mr. Liu, a physician at the Spring Revival Hall in the south of the city."

"This person's medical skills are superb, but his methods are peculiar. He specializes in some obscure beauty and rejuvenation techniques, highly sought after by the noble ladies and young women of the city. However, it's been discovered that he privately buys all sorts of strange medicinal herbs, and even... materials for making human skin masks."

"The third is the Iron Arm Bear King, the head instructor of the martial arts school in the north of the city."

"This person is a master of the eighth level of the True Qi Realm, with incredible external martial arts skills, but his origins are unknown, and his temperament is violent. Most suspicious is that on the nights of each incident, witnesses claim to have felt a strong aura near his martial arts school."

The three suspects all had the motive and the possibility to commit the crime.

Chu Mengxi's analysis was well-founded and clearly organized, earning the admiration of Zhao Tie and Li Rui.

Even the usually restless Ling Yue'er was unusually quiet at this moment, resting her chin on her hand and thinking seriously.

"So, what do we do next? Investigate them one by one? But what if we alert the snake and let the demon escape?" Ling Yue'er asked.

"We have no choice but to do so."

Chu Mengxi said helplessly, "We'll split into three teams and simultaneously conduct covert surveillance on these three individuals, hoping to find some clues."

This was the safest, yet also the most cumbersome, method.

Throughout the entire meeting room, only Lin Feng had been leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, resting, as if none of it concerned him.

Only now did he slowly open his eyes and yawn.

"I say..."

He spoke lazily.

"Why go through all this trouble?"

All eyes instantly focused on him.

He then spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, lightly saying:

"Just kill all three of these suspects, and that'll solve it."

"..."

The entire meeting room instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Zhao Tie and Li Rui's mouths twitched uncontrollably.

Here it comes, Brother Lin's familiar, crude, and spine-chilling "one-knife" investigation style, it's back!

Ling Yue'er was stunned at first, then her beautiful eyes instantly lit up, and she looked at Lin Feng with stars in her gaze.

"Wow! Brother Lin, your idea is so... so domineering! I like it!"

Only Chu Mengxi had three black lines instantly appearing on her forehead.

"Lin Feng!"

She took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "We are the Demon Suppression Division! Investigations require evidence! Not a butcher who slaughters innocents!"

"What if you kill the wrong person? Two of these three are innocent! Wu Daozi is a famous artist in the commandery city, and Mr. Liu has saved many people! Although Iron Arm Bear King's origins are unknown, there's no concrete evidence proving he's a demon!"

"Oh, so what if all three of them are?"

Lin Feng shrugged, saying indifferently.

"You!"

Chu Mengxi's chest heaved with anger. She felt completely unable to communicate with this guy.

Their minds were simply not on the same wavelength.

She pursued procedural justice, the truth coming to light.

While Lin Feng pursued results-based justice.

How to eliminate all potential threats in the most efficient and direct way, and along the way...

farm Crit Points.

"In short! I absolutely will not agree to your proposal!"

Chu Mengxi slammed the table, stating firmly, "We'll do it my way! Split up and monitor! That's an order!"

"Fine."

Lin Feng shrugged.

Seeing the tense atmosphere between them, Ling Yue'er's eyes darted around. She immediately sidled up to Lin Feng and said with a grin:

"Brother Lin, I'll team up with you! You have to protect me, okay!"

And so, the most bizarre five-person team in history split into three groups once more.

Chu Mengxi, alone, went to monitor the painter Wu Daozi, who was the most suspicious.

Zhao Tie and Li Rui, as a pair, were responsible for monitoring the physician Mr. Liu.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng, with the "burden" of Ling Yue'er, listlessly arrived at a teahouse opposite the North City Martial Arts Hall to monitor the so-called Iron Arm Bear King upstairs.

"Brother Lin, do you think that Bear King is really a monster?"

Ling Yue'er asked while munching on melon seeds.

"I don't know."

"Then we'll just wait here?"

"Mm."

"This is so boring..."

Ling Yue'er pouted, her pair of lively eyes never leaving Lin Feng's profile.

She found that this man possessed a unique charm, even in his speech, that made her heart race.

Lin Feng, however, paid her no mind. His senses had already silently spread out, enveloping the entire North City Martial Arts Hall.

However, after two days of surveillance, all three teams had found nothing.

The three suspects lived lives as regular as clockwork.

The painter Wu Daozi, apart from painting, would just space out, never even leaving his home.

The physician Mr. Liu attended to his patients on time daily, saving lives and healing the injured. He was also well-behaved when he returned home at night.

The Iron King was even more of a martial arts fanatic. Of the twelve hours in a day, he spent at least ten practicing in the martial arts hall, tempering his body and bones, not even sparing a glance at the female disciples.

This caused Chu Mengxi's investigation to hit a dead end once again.

"Could it be... we were all wrong?"

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