Jinping Special Affairs Center—Operations Department.
Smoke curled through the meeting room.
A blond man in a red suit jacket sat at the head of the table. A silver lion head carving covered his left eye, while his right eye was dull and deep as a frozen abyss.
The people seated around the conference table were all key members of the Jinping Special Affairs Center's Operations Department.
Minister Ji Ming was holding a regular meeting on special cases.
"That's the actual progress on the Green-Headed Centipede case. We expect to carry out the hunt in two days!"
"We've fully handed over the latest evidence of the Nautilus's appearance in the north to our colleagues at the Shen-Guang Branch. We'll continue to follow up on the incident's impact in our jurisdiction..."
Ji Ming listened to each work report with a calm expression. When he occasionally spoke, he was concise and to the point.
It wasn't until the end of the meeting, when a team leader whose jurisdiction bordered Jintian City submitted a proposed special-case report from the city, that a flicker of interest appeared in Ji Ming's ashen right eye:
"Cases of License Holders undergoing Metamorphic Mutation first began in the northern pastoral regions. The latest case has now been discovered in Jintian City, the city closest to ours. Many people are involved in this case. After several rounds of investigation, our colleagues in Jintian City suspect that the incident is closely connected to a certain free organization. They've therefore requested investigative support from the Jinping Branch. This is the evidence chain we've compiled so far..."
A huge, intricate mind map appeared on the projection screen, accompanied by disturbing photographs marking the related cases.
"Based on the evidence chain so far, this mutation appears to be a large-scale, organized infectious event with a clear purpose. Although we don't yet know where it originated, based on the timeline, infected individuals will soon appear in Jinping City."
Everyone at the meeting furrowed their brows at this.
The atmosphere in the meeting room grew tense. The regional cities had been rather late in reporting this situation!
Ji Ming listened in silence, then immediately issued his orders. "First, send the information on this case to the Information and Intelligence Department and compare it against recent anomalies in the city. See if there's a possibility of linking any of them to this case."
"Yes!"
"Teams One and Two will pool their resources and conduct a citywide investigation. We can also make use of those black-market hideouts we've been keeping under surveillance. Use any means necessary. I want every known operation by a free organization in Jinping City brought into view."
"Understood."
"Got it!"
As his subordinates hurried off after receiving their orders, Ji Ming took a notebook from his assistant and personally wrote an email to Jingcheng, reporting the case.
From beginning to end, he showed no unnecessary emotion over the case having been reported late. He knew exactly what he was there to do: solve the problem.
Inside a two-bedroom apartment.
After Xiao Xuebai proposed conducting a more thorough investigation, the atmosphere in the apartment briefly froze.
But the husband immediately responded. "Ah, sure. Of course, no problem!"
He gestured for Xiao Xuebai to leave the alarm and led her toward the master bedroom.
Jiang Qian quietly put away the Secret-Seeking Notebook.
Before arriving, he'd already learned the couple's License Holder IDs. Now that he'd met them in person, the notebook had given him information about their identity cards:
Entry: Watch Me Rise to Power
Notebook's response: "A platypus that cares deeply about its appearance."
Entry: Toad Wanting to Become a Swan
Notebook's response: "A timid toad."
Both were Poison-type cards.
Combining these clues with the couple's various reactions, Jiang Qian quickly formed some basic deductions.
The wife was timid. Her face was anxious, and her gaze kept darting away, as if she were filled with guilt and remorse.
If she was anxious because she'd accidentally triggered the alarm, that would have been understandable. But her repeated averted glances and excessive guilt during their conversation seemed out of place. That heavy, persistent guilt clearly wasn't about their visit. Something else was behind it.
The husband's initial awkwardness, his blame and scolding of his wife, all seemed like attempts to cover something up. Was he hiding his nervousness or anger? Or the real reason the alarm had been triggered?
Jiang Qian clearly remembered that the husband had gotten angry at his wife right when they were discussing why the alarm had gone off.
There was something wrong with this family!
The two bedrooms they'd been prevented from entering were the most suspicious.
The alarm hadn't been triggered by a simple mishap, as Xiao Xuebai's habitual way of thinking had assumed...
Jiang Qian kept his eyes on Xiao Xuebai and the husband.
His Spirit Vision was active, but he was watching the wife's reaction beside him.
The wife's reaction told him that the master bedroom they were about to investigate was fine—the problem was probably in the second bedroom.
"Come in. Look around as much as you like."
The husband helpfully opened the door to the master bedroom, which had been shut tight.
Then he glanced back at Jiang Qian, forcing a stiff smile.
Jiang Qian immediately grew alert. He was about to make a move!
"Sir, this alarm... The cover doesn't seem to be screwed on tightly. Should I tighten it for you?"
Jiang Qian's sudden remark made the husband's back stiffen again. Through Spirit Vision, Jiang Qian saw the muscles in the man's forearm tense and a sheen of cold sweat gather at the back of his neck.
Was he nervous enough to be contemplating murder...? Jiang Qian thought grimly.
"It isn't tight? Then tighten it for me. Be careful not to set it off again!"
"Sure."
Jiang Qian turned his back to the wife and started working on it.
By then, moonlight was visible outside the window.
"Please relax. I can feel how tense you are even with my back turned to you. It's all right. This kind of thing happens all the time in the Security Department. Nothing unusual about it."
"Mm, mm, all right..." the wife answered distractedly.
In his Spirit Vision, the husband seemed to have abandoned his plan to act. The alarm was right next to Jiang Qian's hand, and he didn't dare make a move.
They couldn't wait for Xiao Xuebai to check the second bedroom. Otherwise, a violent confrontation was inevitable. The couple both had Poison-type cards, and their evolution states were unknown. Judging by their ranks, they probably hadn't reached the Second State, but even someone in the Second State could develop mutated limbs. A fight would still be very troublesome... Jiang Qian's hands moved slowly as he ran through the worst-case scenarios in his head again and again.
By now, Xiao Xuebai had finished inspecting the master bedroom and was heading for the second bedroom...
The couple both tensed up to the breaking point!
A violent confrontation was almost inevitable!
Jiang Qian let out a quiet sigh.
"Sir!"
At that moment, the wife behind him and the husband beside Xiao Xuebai both stopped breathing for a beat!
The husband had already put a hand in his pocket. He swallowed involuntarily, his expression twisting with inner conflict.
Xiao Xuebai stopped in her tracks.
Jiang Qian immediately followed up with, "Let me check the next room instead."
Thanks to:
Book friend 20171216180853940
You're looking, but you don't understand
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Pretending to be innocent
Yiyun Yiyi
Mochan
Shuangfou
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