Fate Toys with Men

Seeing Han Juan's stern attitude, Gao Wu understood. This woman had no intention of letting him off easily.

Whether she was acting out of public duty or personal motives, he had nothing to say to her. Elder Shang and Song Mingyue clearly understood the Public Security Bureau's way of doing things, which was why they had repeatedly told him not to speak.

Gao Wu simply shut his mouth and said nothing more.

"You're young, yet stubborn as a mule. Fight the law, and you'll get no good fruit from it."

Han Juan talked for quite a while without getting any response from Gao Wu. That made her a little angry, and she grabbed the file, slammed the door, and left.

Gao Wu paid no attention to Han Juan. He was looking through the Boundless Merit Book.

At some point, his accumulated Merit had reached ninety thousand!

When he flipped through the blank pages of the Boundless Merit Book, he saw three consecutive entries of over nine thousand Merit. He guessed they must have come from killing Zhang Hao.

He was rather surprised. Accumulating Merit generally required others to know what he had done before he could gain a large amount of it. How had killing Zhang Hao earned him nearly thirty thousand Merit?

He had never encountered such a situation before, and Gao Wu could not figure out the underlying principle...

Of course, suddenly gaining a great deal of Merit was a good thing. But it could not solve his immediate predicament, so Gao Wu could not bring himself to feel happy.

With nothing else to do, he could only study the Boundless Merit Book.

With more than ninety thousand Merit, another ten thousand would let him upgrade the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Incantation. Who knew what changes that would bring?

There was another question. Since Zhang Hao was worth thirty thousand Merit, did that mean he could gain vast amounts of Merit by killing more Demonic Cultists in the future?

According to The Alliance's laws, anyone who worshipped the Demonic Cult was stripped of all citizenship and all basic rights. In other words, once someone's identity as a Demon God Believer was confirmed, killing them was not against the law...

By that calculation, he had a stable source of Merit income from now on.

Gao Wu let his thoughts run wild for a long time. Before long, his stomach began to growl with hunger.

He had injected several doses of medicine in succession, and his body was in the midst of a dramatic transformation. Every day, he needed to replenish a huge amount of nutrition.

He had not eaten breakfast. It should be close to noon by now, and without enough energy intake, his body had begun to protest.

The violent cramps in his stomach made Gao Wu's head spin...

He regretted it a little. If he had known, he should have stuffed himself before calling the police. Who knew when he would get out? It would be too ridiculous if he died here from low blood sugar!

At that moment, Han Juan was shouting at a middle-aged man in her office. "Absolutely not! Gao Wu is suspected of intentional homicide. The case is complicated, and bail is absolutely impossible."

The middle-aged man wore a black Mandarin-collar jacket over a white shirt and rimless glasses. He looked refined and cultured, every inch the elite.

He frowned slightly. "Then may I see the person involved?"

"No!" Han Juan's attitude was extraordinarily resolute, even carrying a trace of severity.

"I understand. Thank you, Officer Han."

The middle-aged man did not argue with Han Juan. He gave a slight nod, then turned and left the office.

Only after leaving the Supervisory Bureau's entrance did the middle-aged man call Song Mingyue. "My apologies, Miss Song. The Supervisory Bureau's attitude is unusually tough. This matter is rather troublesome."

Song Mingyue asked, "How troublesome?"

"I'm afraid that person will have a difficult time getting free," the middle-aged man said.

As Dongjiang's leading lawyer, Yang Hongye naturally had some official channels he could work through. But he knew Han Juan was from the Han Family, and with her attitude being so hardline, he had no intention of confronting her head-on.

Showing his face here was already enough to satisfy Song Mingyue. Lv Hongsheng and the others also thought highly of Gao Wu, but that was Lv Hongsheng and the others' business. There was no need for him to stick his neck out.

However, judging by Song Mingyue's manner, she seemed prepared to forcefully stand up for Gao Wu. Perhaps that was a good thing.

After thinking it over, Yang Hongye added a reminder. "The one handling the case is from the Han Family, and they take this case very seriously."

"Thank you, Lawyer Yang. Sorry to trouble you with the trip. You've worked hard." Song Mingyue knew Lawyer Yang's influence. Since he said it could not be done, either the problem was truly serious, or he simply did not want to exert himself.

From Lawyer Yang's words, it was probably the latter. Song Mingyue did not take it too much to heart. He was one of the connections her mother had left behind.

When the person leaves, the tea grows cold. His willingness to come forward and make the trip was already a sign of respect.

Song Mingyue hung up, reached out, and tapped her tablet, replaying the video Gao Wu had sent her.

The drone's overhead footage was somewhat blurry. The moving footage had even more visual noise, and the microphone quality was terrible, capturing little beyond howling wind.

The advantage was its broad bird's-eye view, which captured Gao Wu and Zhang Hao very clearly, especially their fight.

The action camera on Gao Wu's chest, meanwhile, captured Zhang Hao's facial details with exceptional clarity from a first-person perspective. Even Zhang Hao's words had been clearly recorded.

Together, the two videos could accurately reconstruct the situation at the scene.

At the end of the video, the drone camera locked onto Gao Wu's face. There was not the slightest fear or unease on that young, valiant face. On the contrary, light flashed in his bright black eyes, and his entire person radiated a sharp, surging vigor.

Every time Song Mingyue saw this part, she could not help but admire Gao Wu's mental fortitude.

It was his first time experiencing such a brutal real battle, yet he had adapted so easily. He even seemed a little excited...

A video like this naturally could not be posted directly. It had to be edited first.

Every day, she had to attend school, practice martial arts, and study instruments, art, foreign languages, and knowledge in many other fields. She knew very little about video editing.

Fortunately, there were plenty of online tutorials, and the barrier to entry was low. Song Mingyue watched two instructional videos and had already learned the basics.

She casually found some editing software and spent two hours tinkering with it, cutting the video according to her own ideas.

In particular, she deleted all of Gao Wu's final hard expression and gaze. The video ended with the death of the man in black...

The video looked a little rough, but it was already sufficient.

Song Mingyue knew Gao Wu had an Elder Shang at home, and she also knew something of his identity and background. She would patiently wait a little longer for Shang Hongyi. If Elder Shang could get Gao Wu out, there would be no need to take the online route.

At that moment, Elder Shang Hongyi was at the East District Public Security Bureau. As a family member, he could only wait for news in the corridor.

That female inspection officer named Han Juan had a shrill, piercing voice and a violent temper. Even through the office door, Elder Shang could hear the woman's shouting and curses.

Shang Hongyi frowned, his gray-white brows knitting together. Women liking to shout was one thing, but Han Juan's uncompromising attitude showed that the matter would be difficult to handle. Lei Zhen, whom he had called in, was the deputy director of the Supervision Bureau. Even he might not be able to suppress Han Juan.

The key was that the two sides did not answer to each other. Ordinary public security cases fell under the Public Security Bureau's jurisdiction. Even when Demon God Cultists were involved, the Public Security Bureau still had a certain degree of authority.

The Supervision Bureau, on the other hand, specialized in handling Strange Beasts and Demon God Believer matters. Generally speaking, the Public Security Bureau would transfer relevant cases to the Supervision Bureau.

Of course, the two sides held different positions, so some friction was inevitable. That could not be avoided.

After a while, Lei Zhen emerged from the office. A trace of helplessness hung on his broad, dark face. "That woman is overbearing. Brother Shang, sorry, but we can't get him out for now."

Lei Zhen was already in his fifties and balding, with a large nose. Years of heavy drinking had left the tip of his nose and his cheeks faintly red. From his appearance alone, he looked like an ordinary old drunkard.

Yet he had broad shoulders and a thick back, standing over 1.8 meters tall. Dressed in the crisp black uniform of the Supervisory Bureau, he possessed an imposing presence of his own.

Shang Hongyi asked, "Can I see Gao Wu?"

"No." Lei Zhen sighed. "Several lives are involved. This is a major case."

After pondering briefly, he added, "I haven't seen the video you mentioned either. Without evidence, it would not be appropriate for me to forcibly interfere."

Lei Zhen comforted Shang Hongyi again. "Brother Shang, don't worry. That woman isn't deliberately making things difficult for Gao Wu. This is all standard procedure. After all, it's a major case involving human lives. They have to investigate everything thoroughly before releasing him. If I were handling the case, I would do the same."

With lives at stake, anyone would have to proceed cautiously. But Han Juan was forceful, refusing to yield even an inch, and she would not reveal the slightest hint of information. That made people very uncomfortable.

Of course Shang Hongyi understood that. He had not expected to take Gao Wu away easily, but he could not even see him and had no idea what was happening. That made him feel miserable.

The elder sighed. "You've worked hard."

Lei Zhen waved his hand. "Hey, saying that makes us strangers."

He understood Shang Hongyi's helplessness very well. His grandson had become entangled in a major homicide case, yet the old man could do nothing. That was a tremendous blow to him.

Lei Zhen assured Shang Hongyi, "Brother Shang, rest easy. I'll keep watch and absolutely won't let that woman act recklessly. Once Zhang Hao is proven to be a Demonic Cultist, I can intervene openly and legitimately. As long as Gao Wu is innocent, he'll be fine..."

At two in the afternoon, Shang Hongyi walked out through the Public Security Bureau's entrance. The head-on blast of cold wind seemed to pierce straight into his bones, freezing his entire body stiff and making even his hands tremble.

His heart was even more desolate. He had lost his son in old age, and now, in his twilight years, he had encountered another such upheaval. The key was that he was powerless to do anything about it.

His phone suddenly rang. Elder Shang took it out and glanced at it. It was an unfamiliar number.

In the past, he would have hung up. There were too many sales calls and telecom scams these days, and he had no interest in speaking with strangers. But at a time like this, he could not afford to miss a call.

"Hello, is this Grandpa Shang?" A young girl's cool voice came through the receiver. "I'm Song Mingyue, Gao Wu's... friend."

"Oh, I know you. Xiao Wu mentioned you before." Shang Hongyi knew of Song Mingyue. Gao Wu had mentioned the name more than once, with exceptional warmth in his tone. It was obvious his relationship with this girl was unusual.

"Grandpa Shang, how is Gao Wu now?"

"There's some trouble."

Elder Shang was not familiar with Song Mingyue, so it was not convenient to say much. He added, "I'll find a way to get Xiao Wu out. You don't need to worry."

"Alright. Goodbye, Grandpa Shang."

Song Mingyue did not like empty pleasantries. Once she had clarified the situation, she politely hung up at once.

Looking at the video on her tablet, she no longer had any hesitation and tapped upload. The person handling the case was from the Han Family—her stepmother's family. There was no need to talk any further!