Jiang Yue watched Director Luo fire San Gou up with a few rousing words, but he remained unmoved and doused them both with a bucket of cold water.
"Director Luo, no matter how nicely you put it, it won't work. He's a minor. You still need his guardian's consent."
"Little Jiang, I have to criticize you for that. You need to raise your awareness. The country urgently needs talented people like San Gou!"
"Even if the need is urgent, shouldn't we wait until he's an adult? Is Great Zhang Country going to grind to a halt just because it's missing one kid? Director Luo, our country's laws clearly state that employing child labor is illegal."
If they were going to trade barbs, he wasn't afraid of them.
"Second Brother..." San Gou tried to speak up timidly.
"San Gou, shut up! They're exploiting child labor." Jiang Yue scolded him.
"You... You're acting like a feudal patriarch." Director Luo was fuming.
"His parents aren't here, so I'll play the feudal patriarch for once." Jiang Yue was being just as unreasonable.
Han Yiming tried to smooth things over. "All right, all right. We're getting off track. We're here to discuss these murder cases."
Director Luo patiently explained, "Little Jiang, you've misunderstood. I took an interest in San Gou because I want to do everything I can to train him. I'm not trying to drag him into child labor. There's a clear difference."
"Take these cases, for example. Why can San Gou tell the difference between the same person appearing in two places within two or three minutes? That's his talent. We need to develop it and help him unleash his full potential."
"You may be his cousin, but you can't selfishly decide his future for him. What makes you think it's wrong for him to receive a better education?"
"Exactly, Little Jiang. You want to clear your homeroom teacher, Sun Bin, of suspicion, don't you? Personally, I believe these suspects are innocent, but procedurally, we still can't release them. Why? Because we don't have enough reason or evidence to support it."
"The situation is critical. People are dying every day, and this string of serial rape-murders has become a nightmare for the Star City police. San Gou's ability could really come in handy in these cases!"
Of all the people troubled by this bizarre string of rape-murders, Han Yiming was the most anxious—not Director Luo.
Each case seemed to be solved with ease, but the more things went that way, the more pressure weighed on him. Over the past few days, he'd probably slept less than ten hours in total.
He was worried sick.
If Han Yiming hadn't earned credit for the Year Eater incident, he'd probably have been replaced by now. Even so, he was still under immense pressure every day.
So when he learned that San Gou had such a special ability, it was only natural that he'd be tempted.
Jiang Yue understood the situation perfectly. There was no way they could avoid getting involved or stay out of it.
Especially since he lived in this neighborhood. With one bizarre case after another, there was no guarantee that the next victim wouldn't be someone he loved.
He had his reasons for being so firmly opposed.
For one thing, Director Luo had set his sights on San Gou, and Jiang Yue worried they'd use him and then toss him aside. Also, although the two boys were cousins from the same family line, Jiang Yue wasn't San Gou's guardian. This wasn't something he could decide.
Of course, there was another, more important reason: he was deliberately driving a hard bargain.
It was obvious that after the Year Eater incident, Old Han and Director Luo were treating the two cousins like an unofficial emergency response team.
It wasn't that Jiang Yue didn't want to help, but helping without getting anything in return clearly wasn't a long-term solution.
If you wanted a horse to run, you had to feed it, didn't you?
If they really wanted to recruit San Gou, they needed to offer terms convincing enough to win him over, didn't they?
Anyone could try to get something for nothing.
"Little Jiang, can you give us a straight answer?" Han Yiming pressed when Jiang Yue remained silent.
"Old Han, San Gou can help with this case. But he can't keep doing it for free, can he? Think about it—haven't we helped you plenty already? You can't just come running to my house every time you have a problem."
"To put it bluntly, what if you bring a monster to our doorstep one day? My family would be exposed to danger too, wouldn't they? Can either of you guarantee that won't happen? Could you take responsibility if it did?"
That was the plain truth, and he had no reason to feel guilty about saying it.
Old Han and Director Luo exchanged a glance. Neither showed much on his face, but both felt a little embarrassed.
They had received invaluable help from Jiang Yue, free of charge, with the Year Eater and the Su family's vengeful spirit.
They kept showing up at his door whenever they ran into trouble. It really was hard to justify.
Jiang Yue wasn't on the government payroll. He didn't get a single cent in salary. Why should he keep risking his life for them for free?
"Little Jiang, you're right. We didn't think it through. If you have any conditions, just tell us. Didn't Director Luo already say he'd have the Special Department train San Gou? That's a benefit in itself. Just think about it: so many people dream of getting into the Special Department, but can't. It's a job more secure than iron, with great benefits, high status, and broad authority..."
Jiang Yue knew the Special Department offered good benefits, high status, and broad authority.
The problem was, how old was San Gou? Did he have the judgment and experience to handle all that?
"Little Jiang, if you ask for something I can provide, I'll do it. No questions asked," Director Luo said succinctly.
"I don't have any personal demands."
Jiang Yue made it clear from the outset that he wasn't looking out for himself.
"But I do have a few conditions."
"Go ahead," Director Luo and Old Han said in unison.
"First, until San Gou turns eighteen, he has to attend school properly. No matter how much you admire him, he can only be a reserve member. You can't trick him into going out on the front lines and risking his life. You must ensure his safety at all times. Most importantly, you have to get his parents' consent."
"Second, I can't speak for anyone else, but my homeroom teacher, Sun Bin, has to be released immediately. Old Han, don't tell me you lack the authority, and don't bring up evidence or anything like that. You already have evidence that he wasn't at the scene. Even if the process is difficult, figure it out."
"Third, I have to be involved in this from beginning to end."
None of the three conditions was unreasonable.
In fact, Old Han and Director Luo were more than happy to agree to the third.
Director Luo was the first to respond. "I can agree to the first and third conditions right now. Even if we face a life-or-death crisis we can't overcome, I, Director Luo, will die before your cousin does."
The Special Department could hardly guarantee that every mission would end with everyone returning safe and sound.
All he could promise was that if they faced an unavoidable crisis, he'd do everything in his power to protect San Gou and never let him die first.
Even if they were all going to die, he, Luo, would be the first to make the sacrifice.
After hearing that, Jiang Yue had to acknowledge his sincerity.
"As for the second condition, I'll grit my teeth and petition my superiors. If they won't approve it, then the worst that can happen is I quit!"
Old Han was usually a cautious and steady man. If even he was making a promise like that, Jiang Yue had to take him seriously.
Men didn't need to spell everything out in painstaking detail.
They'd said enough. They understood each other.
The conversation returned to the case.
Over the past few days, Jiang Yue had been running back and forth between school and home. Whether in class or out of it, he'd been thinking about these cases. He'd already formed a few basic conclusions.
"Old Han, Director Luo, I have a preliminary theory. After considering everything, I believe it's a well-founded one."
"I'm all ears." Director Luo had been waiting for this.
"I suspect that a monster is lurking in New Moon Bay. It can imitate other people's appearances and even copy their genes. Otherwise, there's no way to explain these cases."
Jiang Yue's theory was certainly bold. Old Han and Director Luo had vaguely considered something along those lines, but they lacked any evidence. Without enough information, they couldn't investigate the possibility in depth.
"Let me explain my reasoning."
"First, San Gou mentioned earlier that he saw the same person in two different places, facing different directions, within two or three minutes. And that person happened to become the suspect in the latest case. That's direct evidence."
"Second, the evidence that Teacher Sun wasn't at the scene is very solid. Old Han, you can't deny that, can you? Think about it: after so many rape-murders, could the killer really have no ability to avoid detection?"
"There was so much evidence left at the scenes, and the cameras caught the killer so easily. It was almost as if someone had deliberately committed a crime and then waited for you to arrest them."
"If it were just one case, maybe you could imagine some idiot committing a crime on impulse. But for the killer in case after case to be that stupid? That kind of coincidence can't be normal."
These reasons were clearly persuasive.
"Director Luo, these cases looked like rape-murders, just ordinary criminal cases. But now that the Special Department is involved, I'm sure you've considered the possibility that they were committed by something other than a normal human, right?"
Director Luo smiled wryly. "Little Jiang, I can't believe you're only eighteen. Compared with you, a lot of the old hands in our department really don't measure up."
"Little Jiang, the police and the Special Department are working together on this case," Old Han hastily emphasized.
He was miserable.
He'd sadly realized that the police were increasingly starting to look like lackeys working for the Special Department.
"The police sure know how to make themselves look important," Director Luo scoffed.
"You're pretty good at taking credit yourselves. Who resolved the Year Eater incident—the police or the Special Department?" Old Han shot back.
"Nice try, patting yourselves on the back. That was Little Jiang's achievement."
"Right, it was Jiang Yue. But who uncovered the clues that led to him?" Director Luo chuckled.
"You're on the front lines, so you're the first to encounter all kinds of evidence. Is it any wonder you found Jiang Yue first? A treasure like him would've been discovered sooner or later, no matter how deeply he was buried. You just got lucky and beat everyone else to it."
Jiang Yue was baffled. Why had these two started arguing?
"Gentlemen, save the bickering until after the real killer is caught. If you keep this up, the killer might pick another target."
"Little Jiang is the only one here who sees the bigger picture! Unlike certain people who have no perspective and don't know their place," Director Luo continued to needle him.
"Right, certain people are in a good position to grab credit, and they're always first in line," Old Han retorted without backing down.
"Both of you, shut up! Do you even want to solve this case?" Jiang Yue snapped.
"Yes!" the two men answered at the same time.
"I need all the surveillance footage—from the moment Teacher Sun entered the neighborhood to the latest suspect's every movement."
"We collected it today." Old Han patted the tablet he was carrying.
"Check who they came into contact with along the way. See if there's anyone they both crossed paths with."
It was a completely new approach, and it gave Director Luo and Old Han an idea.
Before, they hadn't known what San Gou had noticed, so they didn't have the information needed to think along these lines.
Now they knew that the suspect in the latest case had appeared in different places, facing different directions, within two or three minutes.
That made Jiang Yue's theory much more convincing.
If a monster could imitate someone's appearance and even copy their genes, where was it hiding? Where had it come into contact with Sun Bin and the others?
That was a crucial lead!
Those two could be ridiculous when they were trading barbs, but there was no denying their professional competence.
In less than half an hour, they'd managed to put together quite a few leads.
They even found someone who had crossed paths with Sun Bin and also come within three to five meters of another suspect.
"Xiao Wang, check your phone. I've sent you a photo. You have five minutes to find everything you can about this person and send it to me." Director Luo made a call.
Old Han's department could have handled it too, but Director Luo was from the Special Department and had greater access. He could get things done without all the red tape, so he was more efficient.
The call came back in less than five minutes.
"Director Luo, I ran the person you sent me through the highest-level system, and there's no record of him at all!"
"What did you say?" Director Luo's shock was impossible to hide.
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