Whether a planet is in chaos or not depends entirely on whether Adeptus Arbites is still there.
At the critical moment when the counter-rebellion just ended, the empire Arbitrator died in his Hive City. On the surface, he was the biggest beneficiary. Everyone would believe that he had sufficient motive to kill:
In order to cover up the intrigues of counterinsurgency, in order to defeat the empire Tithe, and even in order to launch a rebellion...
Once this blame is firmly laid, not to mention that the subsequent troop recruitment plan will not be able to proceed smoothly, even the interstellar trade fleet will not be built.
If one thing goes wrong, the empire's counterinsurgency fleet will arrive in the orbit of the planet in the blink of an eye, and even the lost Tithe will be recovered tenfold with profit.
Thinking of this, Fu Haoran didn't dare to waste a second and rushed to the scene of the crime.
The scene was already surrounded by bailiffs.
Fu Haoran and Wade were stopped by two bailiffs as soon as they walked into the yard.
"My Lord Governor, you are not allowed to enter the crime scene."
Fu Haoran glanced at him, said nothing, and continued walking inside.
The guardsmen wearing Power Armor behind him immediately stepped forward and stared eagerly.
The two law enforcement officers looked at each other and were in a dilemma when a cold voice came from the building.
"Let him in."
The door opened and Fu Haoran walked in. Several bailiffs were sorting out the evidence.
He didn't stop and walked straight in.
There was a man standing at the bedroom door.
Wearing a matte black Adeptus Arbites standard bulletproof Carapace Armour, with the Imperial Aquila emblem and the Adeptus Arbites Libra emblem engraved on the chest.
The semi-covering tactical goggles covered the upper half of his face, revealing only his tight jawline and an old scar diagonally across his chin, exuding a sense of oppression that kept strangers away from him.
He was holding a Bolt Pistol specially designed for law enforcement, a powered baton on his waist, a shotgun behind his back, and a Cyber-Mastiff at his feet.
The standing posture is as straight as loose, which is a typical hard bone ground out of Terra Schola Progenium.
Joseph Dredd, Adeptus Arbites magistrate, Schola Progenium graduated, Horn is his direct superior.
"My Lord Governor, this is the scene of a crime and it is not your turn to intervene."
Fu Haoran didn't take even a step back and raised his chin. "The empire Arbitrator died in my Hive City. It is my responsibility to find out the truth."
Dredd sneered in his heart, and a trace of undisguised contempt flashed across his eyes.
He has been observing the laws of the empire for twenty years and has seen many Si-Sai IV Planet Messy Situation.
The security of this planet has long been in ruins. The local law enforcement team is either the personal thugs of the nobles, or it is riddled with holes infiltrated by gangs.
Therefore, he did not trust any locals on this planet, including the governor who climbed up from the Lower Hive sewer in front of him.
In his eyes, Fu Haoran is a speculator who has taken advantage of loopholes and violated rules, and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.
"I know what you are thinking." Fu Haoran passed him and walked straight into the bedroom, "You think I killed Horn and framed it for others."
"No, you can't be so stupid." Dredd stretched out his hand to stop him, but did not force him away. "I understand Lower Hive. Although he is uneducated, he has a set of rules for survival."
"Unwritten rule number one, never kill Adeptus Arbites's people."
"Law enforcement requires evidence, and counterinsurgency only requires coordinates. Lower Hive understands this."
Fu Haoran didn't answer, his eyes fell on the two corpses in the center of the bedroom.
Horn fell to the ground on his back, the blood on the back of his head had solidified into dark brown, and he didn't even frown.
Greenna Family's second daughter Evan was lying on his side, her pajamas neatly folded, her expression as calm as a dead person.
There are no signs of struggle.
No struggle.
The doors and windows are all locked from the inside, and there is no trace of damage caused by external force.
It was like two people were killed with a knife at the same time while they were sleeping.
Fu Haoran squatted down, his fingertips not touching the body, his eyes fixed on the wound on the back of Horn's head.
The wound was smooth, and the dagger was accurately inserted from below the occipital bone, just deep enough to penetrate the brain stem. The person who made the move was extremely professional.
But what really sent chills down his back was a visible lavender bruise on the neck of the deceased.
"Genestealers?!"
Fu Haoran can be recognized at a glance because this feature is so obvious.
Genestealers uses its tail sting to anesthetize its prey, leaving iconic traces that can only be recognized by those who know the details.
In an instant, all the clues were connected in his mind.
It was Genestealers who did it.
Only the assimilative anesthesia of Genestealer can make two living people lose consciousness instantly without even a chance to struggle, perfectly creating a secret room murder scene.
But with such an obvious feature, how could Adeptus Arbites not notice it?
Fu Haoran glanced at the bailiffs who were sorting the evidence out of the corner of their eyes. They were closer to the body, but no one took a second look at the bruises.
Fu Haoran immediately asked, "Judge, do you know Genestealer Cult?"
"I don't understand."
"What about Genestealers?"
"Never heard of it."
"Are you sure?" Fu Haoran asked without giving up.
Dredd looked over with a sly look. "I'm pretty sure that the empire has no relevant records."
"Governor Fu, what do you want to do when you suddenly mention the Xenomorph sect? Don't tell me, you want to pass the blame for Arbitrator's death to the non-existent Xenomorph."
Dredd's answer made Fu Haoran feel that the situation was very bad.
Because he also found no relevant information about Genestealers in the Hive City database, and even Tyranids behind Genestealers was not recorded.
Fu Haoran stared into Dredd's eyes to make sure he was not lying.
Either the empire deliberately blocked the news of Tyranids's invasion for fear of causing panic.
Either Genestealers has penetrated deeper than imagined, and even Adeptus Arbites's database has been tampered with.
No matter what the possibility was, it sent chills down his back.
Fu Haoran I suddenly felt that things were getting tricky.
He knew who the murderer was.
But can't say.
Dredd represents the empire Adeptus Arbites. If he does not believe that Genestealer Cult infiltrated Hive City and assassinated Arbitrator, he will only think that he made up the story in order to escape guilt, which will increase his suspicion of him.
As for catching Genestealers...
No kidding, when you find a Genestealers, it means there are a bunch of Genestealers in Hive City!
Dredd glanced at Horn's body, and there was no trace of regret in his eyes.
This noble-born boss, on the surface, is the incarnation of the empire's laws, but behind the scenes, he is connected with the nobles and gangs, and is rotten to the core.
But no matter how much he hates Horn, if someone dies in his jurisdiction, he still dies in the bed of a noble lady from a secret society, this matter is not a trivial matter.
A married emperor Arbitrator died in the same bed as an engaged second daughter of a nobleman. The news spread that Adeptus Arbites was a huge scandal.
He must declare to the outside world that the two were discussing official business and something unexpected happened, so as to preserve the dignity of the empire and the nobility, but internally, he must find out the murderer.
At this moment, the apartment door was pushed open violently.
A group of nobles wearing luxurious attire broke in. The leader, the elder Greenna Family, had a pale face, his gray beard was shaking violently, and his eyes were red, but he did not glance at his daughter's body in the bedroom the whole time.
"Judge Dredd, we have only one request." The elder's voice was as cold as ice. "Within three days, Evan's body must be buried. It should be announced to the public that she died in an accident while accompanying Arbitrator on official duties."
"I hope you can understand that for us nobles, scandal is more terrible than murder."
Fu Haoran squinted his eyes, feeling something was wrong.
He had already checked that Greenna Family was mainly engaged in trading Hive City luxury goods, reselling spices across galaxies, and collecting aristocratic art. It was not considered rich, but more stable.
But anyone with a discerning eye knows that they are involved in some smuggling business behind the scenes.
They were in a hurry to bury them, apparently because they were afraid that in-depth investigation would reveal that Horn had helped them smuggle tax evasion materials, and that they would be held responsible for having their homes ransacked.
But is the private meeting between Horn and Greenna Family really just for smuggling and tax evasion?
Or is it to hide the clues of Genestealers?
After all, the smuggling of luxury goods across galaxies is the best carrier for Genestealers to penetrate the upper and lower levels of Hive City.
In the end, Dredd suppressed Greenna Family's protest and kept the body.
Fu Haoran left the apartment with Wade.
After checking this day, he found no progress that could be put on the table except for the blank stares and contempt from Dredd throughout the whole process.
On the floating car back, Fu Haoran sent a message directly to Yuri: "There is a full Hive City reward. As long as you can provide effective clues related to the assassin, you can receive 5000 Throne Coin."
"Besides... we may be in big trouble, putting military expansion on the agenda."
Yuri's eyes widened. "5000 Throne Coin? You are going to turn Lower Hive upside down! This money is enough for Lower Hive's family of three to live peacefully for fifty years!"
"I can't bear to let the child catch the wolf."
Fu Haoran leaned back in his chair. He knew very well that the reward would not catch Genestealers. He just wanted to use the reward to disrupt the deployment of the secret sect and see if there were any clues that had slipped through the net.
But this is not enough. Thinking of Genestealers hiding in Underhive's intricate tunnels, Fu Haoran suddenly feels a headache.
This kind of place is not suitable for large vehicles to enter at all, which also means that facing the terrifying number of Genestealer Cult, Fu Haoran simply does not have enough heavy firepower to suppress it.
"Wade, come with me to the prison, we may need to recruit a group of new soldiers!"
Wade was stunned for a moment, with a puzzled face. "Governor? The prison is full of serious criminals and gangsters. What new recruits can we recruit?"
"You don't understand," Fu Haoran shook his head, "I'm afraid we don't have much time left. We now need a team that can complete the beheading operation."
"Only those who meet this condition are ruthless characters who can survive in Hive City's most chaotic prison."
"Those desperadoes in prison are just right."
Fu Haoran stood up, picked up Bolter on the table, and checked the magazine.
"Let's go and pick some good dogs."