Professional Killer

Although the Zaolin area belonged to a remote development zone in Fuzhou, Officer Xiong arrived quickly, reaching Lan Mu in just about six minutes.

Seeing Lan Mu in a patient's gown, looking pathetic squatting by the roadside, Officer Xiong quickly got out of the car to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lan, it was my oversight. Please get in the car."

Lan Mu knew he was an important witness now, which was why the officer was so polite.

"It's nothing, I'm fine. Um... Officer Xiong, did you catch Wang Jinghu?"

Getting into the car, Officer Xiong didn't have the driver turn back to the station. Instead, they drove into the villa area first.

He replied at the same time, "Wang Jinghu has been apprehended. However, we checked the dashcam and intersection surveillance, and there were no issues. He never came to the Zaolin area! Mr. Lan, with only your testimony, I'm afraid..."

Lan Mu took out his phone, played the recording, and then transferred it to Officer Xiong via Bluetooth.

He then said, "This is a short recording I made after being tricked into Boss Zhao's villa... As for Wang Jinghu, I'm sure the hospital can find plenty of people who saw him pick me up. He was in a police car right at the hospital entrance. This is enough to prove he picked me up at the hospital, yet he reported to you that he didn't find me? Heh, doesn't that prove something?"

Officer Xiong nodded and called to arrange for someone to find witnesses at the hospital. He was quite cautious, as he couldn't just disbelieve his subordinate of many years based on a stranger's word. However, he already believed Lan Mu's story because Wang Jinghu offered no defense and remained silent on the matter.

He then opened the recording on his phone. It was short, and after listening to the conversation, he believed Lan Mu.

"If the recording is real, the information in it is very useful, but unfortunately, it can't be used as evidence."

Officer Xiong added, "While it can't be used as evidence, it's enough to make the four captured individuals confess. Not a single poacher will escape. But as for Boss Zhao... that..."

Officer Xiong kept his words tight, not saying much more, but the meaning was clear: a recording alone couldn't touch Boss Zhao.

Lan Mu understood. He hadn't expected much anyway.

"Hiss!" Officer Xiong gasped as he looked out the window. The police car stopped, and he ran out, stunned.

Lan Mu looked over. They had entered the villa area. Beyond a yellow police line, Officer Xiong's colleagues had cordoned off the area, and after collecting clues, they were beginning to remove the bodies.

Lan Mu took a deep breath and got out of the car, feigning shock. "This is one of the poachers! How did he die?"

Officer Xiong, who was about to go over the line alone, pulled Lan Mu along when he heard his words. The two walked in to get a closer look at the body being removed.

"Are you sure?"

Lan Mu nodded. "I'm sure! He's one of the poachers!"

"Good, come with me to identify them!"

Officer Xiong led Lan Mu further inside, quickly arriving at the back door of a villa where another body lay.

The police seemed to have finished collecting evidence and were preparing to move the body.

"That's right! This is also one of the poachers!" Lan Mu said immediately after glancing at the body.

Officer Xiong nodded and had Lan Mu identify each body. Lan Mu recognized them all.

"These are all poachers. The older one is their boss. As for these four, I remember they were Boss Zhao's men. They're the ones who dragged me out of the car."

"What exactly happened? Why are they all dead?"

Lan Mu said with a grave expression, instinctively taking out his phone to take pictures.

"Hey! Don't film! I remember you're a reporter from Modu, right? Please don't report on this matter," Officer Xiong said seriously.

Lan Mu licked his lips, put away his phone, and nodded. "Okay."

Many police officers arrived and collected all the bodies from inside and outside the villa for autopsy.

A man who looked like a leader walked over, and the officers collecting evidence immediately reported.

"Director Fan, there are no signs of secondary damage to the scene. In fact, the perpetrator did no clean-up work after the crime, as if it were committed by an ordinary person. However, all victims died from a single blow, indicating a brutal attack. Preliminary judgment suggests the killer was likely only one person..."

The officers present and the director's eyes widened. Twelve victims, and the murders were committed by one person!

"Are you sure? Only one killer?" Director Fan asked incredulously.

The junior officers exchanged glances. One of them thought for a moment and reconfirmed, "It's indeed only one person. The method of killing is similar for all of them – a sharp stab, with extremely deep wounds. The killer must be very strong!"

Another officer added, "However, no murder weapon was found at the scene, nor any traces of the killer's actions, as if they attacked out of nowhere. We suspect the killer is a highly professional assassin who cleared their tracks but deliberately left the bodies unaddressed."

However, after he finished, another officer raised a doubt, "But based on what was found in the villa's basement, that's where the entire serial killing spree began. The killer likely hid in the basement initially and then systematically hunted down the victims one by one. This also explains why three victims were found in three different directions outside the villa."

"Was he in the basement all along?" Officer Xiong mused, then looked at Lan Mu. "Mr. Lan, did you go into the basement?"

Lan Mu shook his head. "No."

He couldn't admit it, of course. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to explain anything. The police already knew the killer started the massacre from the basement.

Huang Sheng and another poacher's bodies were found in the basement.

As long as Lan Mu didn't admit it, the police had no evidence. Even if they had suspicions, they couldn't deduce the truth of the entire case.

After all, the ones who ended these people were the White-haired Lion. Let alone leaving nothing behind, even if he had left any traces related to the killer, they wouldn't be of a person, but of a monster.

"Who is this?" Director Fan finally noticed an outsider at the scene.

Officer Xiong quickly introduced Lan Mu. Upon learning that he was a reporter and a witness in the poaching case, Director Fan immediately said, "Xiong Hui, quickly conclude the poaching case. Escort Mr. Lan back to the station for identification."

Xiong Hui understood immediately. This meant Lan Mu, as an outsider, was no longer needed at the scene, especially given his sensitive reporter status.

Moreover, the poaching case indeed needed to be concluded quickly. The biggest issue now was the newly occurring major murder case.

With the leader's instruction, Xiong Hui quickly took Lan Mu away from the scene. Lan Mu didn't make a fuss; he himself wanted this matter to be resolved quickly.

Lan Mu was taken to the municipal bureau. After identifying the four captured poachers, he entered the tedious process. After signing the testimony, he could go anywhere he pleased for the time being, but he had to keep his phone on because the police might need to find him at any time. Furthermore, he would have to return to Fuzhou in the future to testify in court.

Troublesome as it was, these were unavoidable.

By the time he walked out of the police station, it was already eight in the evening. Xiong Hui treated him to dinner.

And because of Lan Mu's special circumstances, Xiong Hui had even arranged accommodation and a train ticket back to Modu for him. However, the train ticket to return for court would be at his own expense.

After checking into the guesthouse, Lan Mu locked the door, plugged in his phone to charge, and briefly inspected the room. There were no issues.

Lan Mu breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the police hadn't suspected him yet.

Although he had no concrete proof of his whereabouts at the crime scene, it was clear that no one believed he was the one who single-handedly dealt with twelve people.

He had intentionally left the scene as it was. Firstly, time didn't allow for it; he had to call Xiong Hui as quickly as possible in a conspicuous place to prove he had escaped before the incident.

Secondly, the more information exposed at the scene, the more it would rule out Lan Mu, a human, as a suspect.

Because the actual perpetrator was the White-haired Lion.

When transformed into the White-haired Lion, he could leave no footprints if he wished.

Lan Mu was just a reporter, not a professional killer. Even if Xiong Hui had slight suspicions, he would probably dismiss them immediately, right?

"This case will likely become a cold case. There shouldn't be any further trouble."

Lan Mu took a refreshing shower and comfortably lay on the bed. The heavy stone that had been weighing on his heart finally lifted. He was eager to return to Modu.

However, before going to sleep, there was one thing he hadn't figured out. He couldn't sleep without properly researching his abilities.

As he thought, he transformed into the White-haired Lion with a single thought. A sense of weakness and pain descended upon him.

The White-haired Lion had been shot twice, both by the Old Hunter. No matter how much time passed in his human form, once he transformed back into the White Lion, the wounds would remain as they were before transforming back into a human.

Conversely, no matter how severe the injuries were in his human form, once he transformed into the White-haired Lion and then back again, the wounds would heal.

After much thought, he could only speculate that the small white ball that integrated into his body during transformation provided the energy for transformation, and this energy could repair his fragile human body. As for the more powerful White-haired Lion, because it was too strong, this energy did not apply to its repair.

However, it wasn't entirely ignored. The White-haired Lion itself possessed extremely strong self-healing abilities. The wounds had already stopped bleeding immediately, and after maintaining the transformed state for about an hour, the wounds would basically heal.

After repeated experiments, he confirmed that he could transform into the White-haired Lion anytime, anywhere.

But this raised a question. Back at Fanli Mountain, he had transformed for a full seven days, and during that time, he had countless times wished to turn back into a human, yet he couldn't. He could only automatically revert after seven days.

Finally, after much deliberation, Lan Mu could only helplessly attribute it to a side effect of the transformation. The initial transformation had to be forcibly maintained for seven days to completely master this transformation ability.

"Born a Hunter, this transformation ability could be considered a superpower, right?"

"But what's the use of it? Besides saving my life in critical moments, it doesn't seem to have any other significant use!"

"In life, how many dangerous situations involve fighting and killing?"

Lan Mu scratched his head. After thinking about it, this ability would probably only ensure he never got sick and could heal instantly from injuries.

Lan Mu was actually quite indifferent to the idea of superpowers, especially such a "chicken rib" superpower.

He had decided that he would not transform into the White-haired Lion lightly unless absolutely necessary.

Otherwise, if someone saw him transform, his life would be completely shattered.

And thrown into utter chaos.