The Sister-in-Law's Husband [Storm Hunter]

His expression shifted slightly. He had not interacted much with Old Zhao, so after a brief pause, he asked, "What happened?"

Hu Xiang sighed and explained in detail. "It happened yesterday. When his wife woke up in the morning, she found that Old Zhao had hanged himself."

"Hanged himself?" Su Chen asked back.

"It definitely wasn't suicide. Old Zhao had a happy life and would soon become a professional. There was no reason for him to do it." Hu Xiang lowered his voice. "Our people dissected his cerebral cortex and found signs of damage. We suspect he was interrogated before he died."

"But he was only an ordinary City Patrol Guard. He wouldn't know any secrets. Perhaps..."

Su Chen understood what Hu Xiang meant and took over, frowning. "You suspect it was because of me?"

Hu Xiang tried to cover it up. "It's just a guess. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. After all, he only spent a little time with you and exchanged a few words. Even if it was because of you..."

"It's possible." Su Chen's expression darkened as he thought of the Spatial Crystal.

Some things from that day had not been clearly explained. For example, aside from the Holy Word Stone, had Su Chen found anything else?

Hu Xiang was practically the only person who might know about this, but he was a second-rank professional and not easy to deal with. That was why they had started with other people.

Though that was what he suspected, Su Chen said, "Some lunatics might target everyone connected to me just to get revenge."

"You mean, Zhou..." Hu Xiang's heart skipped a beat as he uttered a single word.

"Stop pretending. You were definitely thinking the same thing," Su Chen exposed him.

"Is that really necessary? Old Zhao was just a minor figure..." Hu Xiang sighed.

Su Chen fell silent. Of everything he had come across so far, he had never seen anything like the Spatial Crystal. Its value had to be extraordinary.

Revenge for a son's death plus recovering the Spatial Crystal—his opponent had more than enough motivation to act.

Su Chen's heart tightened. Zhou Xian was a third-rank professional. If he acted personally, Su Chen would have no chance of holding him off.

But then he thought again. Since the other party had started with Old Zhao, they probably did not dare to attack him openly. The suspicion against him had yet to be cleared, and Old Yuan was watching him closely.

Old Zhao's death might only have been for gathering information.

"Does the City Patrol Guard offer any compensation in this kind of situation?" he asked.

"Yes. It will be treated as a death in the line of duty, and his family will be taken care of. You don't need to worry." Seeing that Su Chen still remembered to ask about this, Hu Xiang's expression eased considerably. He could not help reminding him, "Be more careful lately."

His main reason for coming was to warn Su Chen and earn some goodwill.

This matter had already been suppressed within the City Patrol Guard. No news would leak out.

Su Chen glanced at him. "You too."

"Me?" Hu Xiang was startled.

Su Chen grinned, making Hu Xiang's scalp tingle.

"You seem to have forgotten that aside from Old Zhao, there's another person in the City Patrol Guard who appears to be quite close to me."

Hu Xiang froze. His expression changed drastically in an instant.

Su Chen sighed. "Something happened to Old Zhao, yet you didn't notify me right away. That friendship really moves me."

"Stop talking." Hu Xiang's face turned liver-colored. He had been too close to the situation to see clearly, but Su Chen's reminder made him realize it as well.

"Your wife..." Su Chen only got halfway through before Hu Xiang turned and left. But after stepping out, he hurried back to exchange contact information.

"Contact me anytime..." He rushed away.

"The Spatial Crystal..." Su Chen frowned. "It's already been swallowed. There's no way it can be spat back out, and I can't explain it either."

The convenience of storage space was self-evident. "Right, there's also the Shadow-Hiding Garment at the academy."

That thing was at least a first-rank item. Selling it for five thousand gold should not be a problem, and it was not safe to leave it under the bed.

"I'll go get it while it's still daytime."

Su Chen skillfully pulled out a strand of hair and tucked it into the door crack. After greeting Fatty Sun, he headed for Southwind Academy.

Whoosh—

Gales howled as black thunder writhed overhead, its rumbling echoing throughout the area.

"It's from the mechanical side..." Zhang Hongbo's collar flapped violently. Before him stood a ruined steel fortress. The portion exposed above the wilderness alone was nearly a thousand meters tall.

Its surface was welded together from rusted metal plates, covered in countless pits of varying depths and torn scars. Dark-red rust resembled congealed blood.

The metal doors had long since vanished, leaving behind only a bottomless black entrance that emanated a decayed aura powerful enough to make one's heart tremble.

"Gather information first..." Zhang Hongbo issued the order. The exploration guards behind him filed out one after another, carrying various instruments as they carefully approached the fortress.

After leaving the dormitory building, Su Chen glanced back. The Shadow-Hiding Garment had already been placed in his storage space. There was nothing here worth lingering over.

"Brother Su, it really is you..."

A delighted shout suddenly came from beside him. Su Chen turned and saw several excited-looking guys.

"You... you... you're... Liu Liang?"

Under the expectant and nervous gaze of the leader, Su Chen finally recalled his name.

Liu Liang let out a breath of relief. His lackeys were standing nearby too. If Su Chen truly could not remember his name, that would have been awkward.

"What is it?" Su Chen asked, puzzled.

Liu Liang quickly stepped forward. Rather than trying to curry favor, he lowered his voice and said, "Brother Su, someone's been asking about you lately."

"Oh?" Hearing Liu Liang's words, Su Chen narrowed his eyes. "Who?"

"Uh, Sister-in-Law's husband..." Liu Liang sounded a little awkward.

"Who?" Su Chen was completely bewildered.

"Teacher Jiang's husband..." Liu Liang explained.

Su Chen's face darkened. "Qi Chuan, right?"

"So his name is Qi Chuan..." Liu Liang scratched his head. "Anyway, it's him. He's been secretly asking the few of us about you."

"From the time we met you onward, he asked about every little detail. He even asked what you ate."

"But don't worry, Brother Su. My lips are sealed." Liu Liang puffed out his chest.

Su Chen looked him up and down, then shook his head. "No need. There's nothing worth hiding about those things. If he asks again, you can name a price. That senior is foolish and rich."

"Huh?" Liu Liang stared blankly at Su Chen's departing figure.

"Brother Liang?" Several lackeys gathered around him. "What did Brother Su say to you? He seemed kind of unhappy."

Liu Liang raised his chin and scoffed. "What do you know? That only shows how close Brother Su and I are. Would you show a stranger a cold face?"

Most of the Inspection Department guards in the academy had already withdrawn. As Su Chen walked, he pondered, Why is that wronged husband still hung up on that? My strength has already been exposed. Hasn't he figured it out yet?

Wait, could Zhou Xian be behind him... Su Chen abruptly stopped, his expression sinking. It's not impossible.

Wronged husband, wronged husband. You and I really are fated...

By the time he returned to the Inspection Department, it was already late afternoon. He saw Fatty Sun waiting at the entrance.

"Little brother, you're finally back." Fatty Sun warmly came forward to greet him.

"Brother Sun, what is it?" Su Chen asked politely.

"Chief Inspector Yuan asked me to bring you something..." Fatty Sun glanced around with his small eyes and pointed into the room.

"Alright." Su Chen opened the door, but his steps suddenly halted. He looked down at his feet, and his expression instantly became unreadable.

"What's wrong, little brother?" Fatty Sun asked from behind him.

"Nothing..." Su Chen walked in with a normal expression. After Fatty Sun entered, he casually shut the door and grinned. "First-level Inspection Guard Su Chen, on behalf of the Inspection Department, congratulations."

"Congratulations?" Su Chen did not understand.

"That's right. This morning, the Seventeenth Patrol Guard you belong to busted an underground black market in the southern district. The entire unit has been awarded third-class merit."

"Huh?" Su Chen was even more confused when Fatty Sun continued, "In light of your outstanding performance, [Storm Hunter] professional information has been specially granted to you."

Su Chen immediately understood. After going around in such a big circle, this was all to give him [Storm Hunter].

"But I wasn't at the scene. Is that alright?" Su Chen could not help asking.

"You provided the key information. The reason you weren't at the scene was because you needed rest." Fatty Sun frowned in displeasure. "This is a collective honor. You deserve it."

Su Chen fell silent. They had wrapped the dumplings just for his little bit of vinegar.

With this collective honor being handed out, his Seventeenth Patrol Guard colleagues, whom he had never even met, probably would not have any objections either.

As he spoke, Fatty Sun activated his silver wristband and pulled up a virtual screen. Rows of text appeared.

[Second-rank advanced profession discovered—Storm Hunter. Advancement is available after fulfilling the requirements.]

[Advancement requirement one: Secretly hunt and kill one second-rank professional without being discovered by anyone else.]

[Advancement requirement two: Bring three F-rank body-tempering methods to master level.]

He actually had to hunt and kill a second-rank professional?

Su Chen was surprised. Even a second-rank lower profession was still second-rank.

The advancement difficulty for second-rank professions had risen sharply. Three F-rank body-tempering methods also needed to reach master level, but that was not difficult for him.

Those were only the visible advancement requirements. There were also hidden requirements, such as developing professional progress to 100%. Ideally, the first-rank profession should be [Gale Walker].

At the very least, it needed to be a first-rank intermediate profession focused on speed, and unexpected issues might arise during the advancement process.

But if it was a related top-tier profession, compatibility would be much easier.

"Hunting a second-rank..." Su Chen pondered. And he could not let anyone discover it.

"It is a second-rank advanced profession, after all. The difficulty is not low," Fatty Sun agreed.

"Yes..." Su Chen said with a cheerful smile. "By the way, Brother Sun, don't let anyone clean my room in the future."

"Clean your room?" Fatty Sun was taken aback. "We don't offer that service. This isn't a hotel."

He had thought Su Chen was requesting such a service.

"Good if you don't." Su Chen politely saw Fatty Sun off, and his expression immediately darkened.

Someone had secretly entered his room. The strand of hair tucked into the door crack had disappeared. Before leaving, he had used [Spiritual Vision] to confirm its position. There was no way he could have been mistaken.

"They have people in the Inspection Department too." Su Chen felt as if a huge net had enveloped him, his expression grim. "Anyone who can sneak in unnoticed probably holds a position with considerable authority."

"I almost forgot!" Su Chen suddenly sprang to his feet, his eyes lighting up. "I'm not alone anymore!"

"I'm a damn second-generation heir!"

"This is my teacher's territory. Why the hell should I be scared?"

He had not yet adjusted to his identity. Once he realized this, Su Chen rushed out of the room and stopped Fatty Sun by the elevator.

"Brother Sun, I want to check the surveillance footage. Someone entered my room!" Su Chen said directly.

Fatty Sun's previously smiling face changed slightly. Surprised, he said, "Entered your room? How could that be? This floor has access restrictions..."

"I'm certain. I want to check the surveillance footage. Just this floor's footage. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" Su Chen emphasized.

"Um..." Fatty Sun's expression shifted. "No problem. Come with me."

The two arrived at the monitoring room. Fatty Sun had someone pull up the footage outside Su Chen's room. From the time Su Chen left until Fatty Sun knocked on the door, only a few people had passed by. Not one of them had entered his room.

Fatty Sun brought him to an empty room next door and whispered, "These are just standard surveillance cameras. Quite a few professions can evade them. If someone really entered your room, I'm afraid it won't be easy to find out who it was."

"I want to deal with someone." Su Chen was not surprised. Since the other party had dared to enter, it would not be easy to identify them.

But the shift in his identity had given him a new idea.

"Who?" Fatty Sun was startled. He had thought this gentleman was steady and composed this morning, but by the afternoon, his true colors had already emerged?

"Qi Chuan." Su Chen spoke the name.

Wronged husband, the tables have turned.

"Qi Chuan... Wait a moment..." Fatty Sun fiddled with the virtual screen and soon retrieved a file. "Qi Chuan, first-level researcher at the Ruins Research Department... He only became a second-rank professional four months ago..."

He really was second-rank, and faster than Jiang He... Su Chen speculated inwardly.

"Already married, and his wife is... Jiang He?" Fatty Sun had not cared upon seeing that Qi Chuan was a second-rank professional, but now his expression changed. "This Jiang He seems to be the daughter of Jiang Rong, head of the Ruins Research Department. Going after her husband..."

"The two of them no longer have feelings for each other..." Su Chen explained. Then he briefly told Fatty Sun about how he had provoked Jiang He in order to enter Southwind Academy.

He left out some key details and only said that Qi Chuan had been causing him trouble over the matter.

"Gulp... Little brother, you're really fierce." Fatty Sun swallowed, the "jealousy" in his eyes practically spilling over.