Assassin

Xiao He felt that the most troublesome thing about these Mutator was that they lost their rationality after the mutation.

A normal person would be terrified at the sight of Yinglong, but Mutator wouldn't. This means that Xiao He would have to deal with these guys every time, which is quite troublesome.

After leaving the cleanup to the special police, Xiao He took the Mushroom Man back to the Special Response Department, handed him over to the Research Department, and went home.

Looking at the mushroom stewed chicken in front of him, Xiao He felt a sense of satisfaction: It's so good to have a wife like this.

After lunch, Xiao He took Ye Wanqing to the Stray Animal Home in Beichang City in the afternoon, under the names "Yinglong" and "White Marsh". There they met the cat rescuer whom Xiao He had met a few times before, whose name was Zheng Xu.

Although White Marsh's identity was exposed, it didn't have a big impact because no one knew about the connection between White Marsh and Yinglong in terms of Superpower; they only knew that the two were a couple.

This place is more like a welfare and nursing home, housing homeless people, elderly people living alone, and stray cats and dogs. As long as the residents help take care of the stray cats and dogs here, they will not be charged any fees.

Through a casual conversation with Zheng Xu, Xiao He learned that the place was founded by a restaurant owner. It was purely a welfare program and not for profit. The owner would invest about two million yuan here every year, and with the help of volunteers and sponsorships from all walks of life, the place was able to operate smoothly.

Xiao He surmised that only the owner of a very large restaurant could be so wealthy.

The biggest problem at the Stray Animal Home right now is manpower. They use a combination of Stray Animal Home staff and volunteers. But the work here is quite strenuous, and hired staff rarely stay for long.

Xiao He patted Zheng Xu on the shoulder and laughed, "Don't worry, I'll help you solve this problem."

As he spoke, Xiao He triggered Mechanical Modification, and nanobots condensed in front of him, then transformed into three cleaning robots.

"These little guys should be able to help you with some routine cleaning," Xiao He said with a smile, pointing to the three cleaning robots in front of him. Then he waved his hand and ordered, "Start cleaning."

The lights on the three cleaning robots flashed, and then they immediately went to tidy up the room.

Ye Wanqing explained, "I also use a cleaning robot at home. It has basic AI that can understand your commands and start cleaning. It mops and sweeps in one, and has a built-in shredder that can shred cat hair and other debris down to the molecular level. You don't need to empty the dustbin or charge it, which is super convenient."

Then Xiao He waved his hand, and the nanobots quickly gathered together, transforming into two luxurious cat and dog cages.

The cat cages appear to be made of wood, with ventilation holes and glass doors. The wooden box-like structure allows each cage to be installed independently yet interconnected, enabling cats to move freely inside and even visit other cages. Overall, it resembles a large bookshelf, combining aesthetics and convenience.

The doghouse has a similar structure, but instead of being arranged vertically, it is arranged horizontally, making it like a three-story doghouse villa, maximizing the use of the space inside.

This way, it can accommodate at least three times the number of stray cats and dogs as before.

"Wow, that's absolutely amazing!" Zheng Xu couldn't help but exclaim.

"Consider it a gift from us," Xiao He said with a smile, putting his arm around Ye Wanqing's shoulder. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Uh... actually, there are." Zheng Xu smiled, then led Xiao He and Ye Wanqing forward. When they arrived at the backyard of the Stray Animal Home, they could see many volunteers helping to take care of stray cats and dogs.

"Could we encourage them?" Zheng Xu asked with a smile, "Let them know that good people sometimes get good rewards. That should increase the number of volunteers coming here in the future."

As he spoke, Zheng Xu cautiously asked, "Won't this cause you any trouble?"

Xiao He joked, "As long as no one comes up and stabs me in the back, I won't."

"Haha, probably not," Zheng Xu said with a laugh, then called out to the volunteers on site, "Look who's here!? Yinglong! It's the real deal!"

"Hi," Xiao He waved to everyone, "You've all worked hard."

"Yinglong! It's Yinglong!" "Is it a real person?! It looks like a real person!" Everyone crowded around.

Ye Wanqing has mild social anxiety, so she chatted with Zheng Xu about some details of the Stray Animal Home in the back, while Xiao He dealt with the enthusiastic fans by himself.

"Can we take a picture together?" a plain-looking young girl asked with a smile.

"Of course." Xiao He nodded, stepped forward and stood next to the girl, waiting for her to take a picture.

"*#@^!..." At this moment, the other party muttered something under their breath.

"What did you say?" Xiao He asked curiously.

But the next moment, the girl suddenly circled behind him, covered his mouth with one hand to force him to look up, and swiftly swept her other hand across his neck.

Xiao He felt a chill on his neck, followed by a clear sound as the blade shattered against his mechanical body.

"Holy crap!?" Xiao He was secretly surprised, then turned around and pushed the girl away.

The girl glanced at the broken dagger in her hand, knowing the assassination had failed. A twisted expression of resentment appeared on her face, and then suddenly her body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

This sudden turn of events left everyone present stunned and bewildered.

"Why... why?" Zheng Xu looked at the unconscious girl, seemingly realizing he had caused trouble. "This child often comes here as a volunteer, I don't know why she would do this! Are you alright, Yinglong!?"

"It's nothing," Xiao He said, stepping forward to check on the girl and finding that she had simply fainted.

"It seems we need to talk about fan management," Xiao He said, frowning, then winked at Ye Wanqing behind him.

Knowing the seriousness of the matter, Ye Wanqing nodded and went to Xiao He's side.

Xiao He picked up the unconscious girl and turned to the panicked Zheng Xu, saying, "This is quite serious. Members of the Special Response Department will be coming to ask you some questions in a little while. Just answer truthfully and don't be afraid."

Zheng Xu nodded, stammering, "I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to be in danger..."

"It's too early to apologize now. You might have done us a huge favor," Xiao He said, waving goodbye before leading Ye Wanqing and the unconscious girl back to the Special Response Department.

The two found Cui Man as quickly as possible and explained to her what had happened that afternoon.

"An assassin!?" Cui Man frowned and asked incredulously, "To assassinate you?! But why? What was the motive?"

"I think perhaps only this girl knows," Xiao He said, turning to the unconscious girl in his arms.

Following the assassination attempt on Yinglong, the Special Response Department immediately launched an investigation.

First, there was the girl who came to assassinate them. The Special Response Department thoroughly investigated her information but found nothing unusual. She was just an ordinary girl, a university student who helped out at Stray Animal Home once a week. She was kind-hearted and cheerful.

According to the girl's account after waking up, her mind went blank and she had no idea what had happened.

After Xue Ting's "Truth Listener" test confirmed that the girl was telling the truth, they let her go.

"She must be being manipulated by someone's Superpower," Cui Man said, frowning. "We've checked all her records, including the ancestors of her relatives and friends, and there are no problems."

"But why would anyone want to kill Old Xiao?" Ye Wanqing asked, puzzled. "He's a hero, he's done so many good deeds, why would anyone want to kill him?"

"Because the other party is a bad person," Cui Man replied bluntly, leaving Ye Wanqing speechless.

"So, you can't find even a single clue?" Xiao He asked incredulously.

"At least we can't find anything on this girl." Cui Man shook her head and sighed. "Do you have any clues? Think carefully. What did she say to you?"

Xiao He pondered for a moment, then he remembered something the girl had said before taking a photo with him.

Xiao He didn't understand at the time, but he could actually find the sentence online through Mechanical Modification. So he triggered Mechanical Modification again, retrieved the sentence from his mind, translated it online, and found that the sentence was a Latin phrase that meant "But we have only one God, the Father, from whom all things come and to whom we belong."

"This sentence... feels like it's related to Catholicism or Christianity." Cui Man frowned and pondered.

"This is a quote from the Bible," Xiao He explained. "Sister Man, can you think of anything?"

"This is troublesome... You might be surprised, but there are tens of millions of Catholicism and Christianity in our country. If these people are involved, it could be very difficult to investigate." Cui Man sighed and rubbed her forehead in frustration. "Perhaps we should try a different approach and start by investigating how the enemy found out your location."

"But we didn't notify anyone in advance that we were going, not even the Special Response Department." Xiao He frowned.

"But you guys stayed there for quite a while," Cui Man replied. "And, it seems you took photos with fans, right?"

Xiao He nodded, and Cui Man then instructed the technicians below, "Go and search who the friends of those who posted on WeChat Moments are, and see if you can find any clues..."

However, such investigations are always very time-consuming, requiring the filtering of large amounts of data. Even with the Cosmic Core Algorithm, it would be difficult to obtain results in a short period of time.

"Sister Man, how about we test my abilities?" Xiao He raised an eyebrow at Cui Man.

"You mean..." Cui Man asked with interest, "Like that investigation into the Yangtze finless porpoise?"

Xiao He nodded, then turned to Ye Wanqing and asked, "Little Pufferfish, do you think this is feasible?"

"Don't call me Little Pufferfish..." Ye Wanqing muttered defiantly, "Anyway, let's give it a try."

This incident was named the "Dragon-Stabbing Incident," and besides the people who witnessed the event, the Special Response Department also knew about Yinglong's stabbing. However, to change the name, it was necessary to spread the word within the Special Response Department.

Everyone reacted strongly to this, especially Xie Haining.

"This behavior is extremely dangerous!" Xie Haining said angrily. "You should be more careful! If the Mutant tried to assassinate you this time is even stronger, the outcome could be very different!"

"Hmm..." Faced with people who cared about him, Xiao He couldn't think of any excuse to refuse.

But Xiao He himself knew that with his LV2 physique, it was practically impossible for him to be killed in one blow. As long as he couldn't be killed in one blow, he could recover through various methods, such as Entropy Reduction and Mechanical Modification.

"Fine... Let's find out about this as soon as possible." Xie Haining sighed, seemingly realizing his tone had been too harsh. "During the investigation, it would be best if I accompanied you. I can make sure no one can assassinate you."

"Then let's do it this way," Cui Man nodded and said, "I'll feel more at ease having Old Xie with you."

"Can I come along too?" Ye Wanqing pressed. Xie Haining nodded. "It'll be safer with the two of us around."

So, Ye Wanqing changed the name of the "Dragon-Stabbing Incident" and prepared to begin investigating the matter.

"Can you feel it?" Ye Wanqing asked tentatively. Xiao He nodded. "I can feel it."

In this state, Xiao He possessed an extraordinary intuition that guided him in finding his goal.

The good news was that the mastermind behind the incident was in Beichang City, something he was certain of. After all Yinglong spent most of his time in Beichang City, so it was quite normal for the other party to be lying in wait there. Gradually, his "intuition" helped Xiao He piece together the entire sequence of events.

"It was a volunteer," Xiao He replied. "Among the volunteers at the Stray Animal Home at the time, there was Catholicism or Catholicism who posted on social media. Someone saw his post, and then that person arrived at the scene and used their Superpower to control the 'puppet'."

With that, Xiao He turned to Xie Haining and Ye Wanqing: "Let's go, let's start the investigation from the Stray Animal Home."

"It's best not to expose yourself to the public," Xie Haining said thoughtfully. "Don't you have the ability to travel Dimensional Plane? Use that ability to investigate, okay?"

Xiao He nodded, then led Ye Wanqing and Xie Haining to the Stray Animal Home.

After yesterday's incident, the Special Response Department sent people to investigate this place, but they only took simple statements and used the Stray Animal Home's data for the investigation. It is still operating normally here.

You can see three cleaning robots running Stray Animal Home, helping with the cleaning.

"Xiao Jie will like this," Xie Haining said, glancing at the cleaning robot.

Ye Wanqing smiled and said, "When you go over for dinner this Sunday, have Old Xiao bring one for you. We have one at home too, it'll be very convenient."

"Okay." Xie Haining nodded. "Let's take care of business first."

Xiao He looked around, followed his intuition, and left the Stray Animal Home, crossing the street to the other side.

"He was right here. That Superpower is 'Possession'," Xiao He said, lightly tapping his foot. "His Superpower has a limited range, and the target he controls must move within his line of sight."

"That makes things simpler." Xie Haining pondered, resting his chin on his hand. "From the moment the other party sees the post on WeChat Moments to when they arrive here, how long will it take? Based on this, we can divide the area into regions, and then investigate the Catholicism and Christianity within that region, which will quickly narrow down the search area."

"No...no need. My intuition will lead us directly to him," Xiao He replied, then stood still and continued muttering to himself, like a great detective making reverse deductions, "He didn't drive here; he walked, because a license plate would leave a mark on him. So he doesn't live far from here, I think it's only a ten-minute walk."

"Is all of this just a coincidence?" Xie Haining asked tentatively. Xiao He shook his head and then nodded. "It is indeed a coincidence, but he was indeed lurking here to assassinate Yinglong... and there are probably more than just him lurking here."

"It feels so scary..." Ye Wanqing muttered, biting her thumb. "Don't you guys find it strange? Since they are Catholicism and Christianity, they should be good people, so why would they assassinate Old Xiao?"

"They gave their reasons," Xiao He replied. "However, we have only one God, our Father, from whom all things originate, and to whom we return. They probably feel that I am affecting the divine power of their Father."

As Xiao He spoke, he ran forward along the road. In fact, there weren't many clues left at the scene, but Xiao He only needed to follow his intuition.

"Because of his Superpower, this person prefers a wide field of vision. Therefore, the place he lives must also be in a location with a wide field of vision, so that he will have the ability to fight back when encountering enemies," Xiao He explained.

"If that assassin's Superpower is Possession, is it possible that Wanqing and I could become targets of Possession?" Xie Haining asked.

"Possibly." Xiao He nodded, and Xie Haining then poked his chest. "Then let me go."

Before Xiao He could object, Xie Haining explained, "If he Possession me, you can just knock me out. I suspect this guy's Possession ability will cause him and the Possession person the same harm; otherwise, he could have just Possession you and committed suicide. But if Possession you, things will be complicated; neither Wanqing nor I can do anything to you."

"I see..." Xiao He said in realization. His Superpower was to help him solve this "incident," in other words, to find the mastermind behind it all, but whether it would give him the ability to defeat the mastermind... Xiao He didn't know.

They continued along the road. Xiao He wasn't moving fast, but he could sense that their target was getting closer. Because they were entering from Dimensional Plane, they didn't need to worry about oncoming vehicles or buildings; they could just keep moving forward.

"This is it," Xiao He replied, looking at the old neighborhood in front of him.

This was an old building constructed in the 1960s or 70s, only five or six stories high, without an elevator. Through the patterned cement railing, one could see the old staircase at the back. This feeling reminded Xiao He of his old house from his childhood.

"This is it, the top floor, with a rooftop terrace," Xiao He replied. "It offers a very wide view; you can see everyone in the entire community, including people walking on the streets outside. It's the perfect place for his abilities."

"Let me leave this plane of existence. You all wait for your chance," Xie Haining said, straightening his clothes.

Xiao He wanted to give him some advice, but when he thought of Xie Haining's abilities, he felt more at ease.

After leaving the Dimensional Plane, Xie Haining arrived at the door of room 602 and knocked. A kind voice called out, and then a woman in her forties came and opened the door.

Upon seeing this "prisoner," Xiao He felt extremely conflicted.

He was certain that the woman in front of him was the criminal, but he found it hard to believe.

This middle-aged woman had small eyes, was slightly chubby, and had short, curly hair. She wore a dark green sweater and a black long skirt, and her face was full of kind smiles. She looked like a very friendly neighbor, but it was this very person who had tried to kill him.

At this moment, Xiao He really wanted to ask her: Is it really necessary?

"Is there anything I can help you with?" the older woman asked with a smile.

But upon hearing this, Xie Haining immediately drew his gun, pointed it at the woman, and warned, "Turn around, back away! Don't look this way! Now!"

"Huh!?" The middle-aged woman looked at Xie Haining in astonishment and asked, "But... why?"

"A normal person would be curious or scared seeing me in this outfit and mask, right? But you're not surprised at all, which means you know who I am! And you know about the Special Response Department!" Xie Haining frowned. "Step back, turn around! I won't warn you again about the third..."

Xie Haining stopped abruptly as soon as he finished speaking, then paused for a moment before suddenly changing his tone.

"I didn't expect them to come knocking so quickly, how could this be..." Xie Haining sighed worriedly, "No, we must inform the three Holy Secretaries about this immediately..."

Clearly, Xie Haining was already Possession at this point.

Xiao He then dispelled the Dimensional Walker and stepped forward to deliver a chop to Xie Haining's neck.

But Xie Haining, Possession this old woman, seemed to be able to use Xie Haining's Superpower. She actually reacted and dodged Xiao He's attack, then turned around and stared at Xiao He. The two locked eyes.

"Not good..." Xiao He thought to himself that something was wrong, but at that moment he suddenly felt a splitting headache and his body began to tremble violently. The next second, his body split into two.

Xiao He turned to look at the person beside him who looked exactly like him, and paused for a moment: In the end, he still gained the Superpower Clone...

But the Clone was probably controlled by the old woman, standing there in a daze. Xiao He didn't think much of it and punched his Clone on the head, knocking "himself" unconscious.

The middle-aged woman inside also let out a muffled groan and fell to the ground like an old woman trying to scam someone, falling into a coma.

"This method is better. At least it saves me from getting knocked out..." Xie Haining shook his head and said, going forward to further anesthetize the unconscious woman inside the house, then carrying her on his back. "Alright, take her back for interrogation."

At that moment, the Clone of Xiao He on the ground blurred for a moment, like a television screen being interfered with, and then disappeared.

"It's unbelievable..." Ye Wanqing said sadly, looking at the middle-aged woman lying on the ground. "She looked just like the aunt next door. Why would someone like that assassinate Old Xiao? I really don't understand..."

"We'll understand soon enough," Xiao He said, using the Dimensional Walker to take the three of them back to the Special Response Department.