Ghost-Eyed Old Seven

Suddenly, a dark figure appeared ahead, hurrying toward him. Though it ran incredibly fast, its footsteps were feather-light.

At the same time, another dark figure appeared behind him.

When the figure in front reached Lin Xiaosu, it suddenly raised its hand, a pitch-black dagger stabbing toward Lin Xiaosu's throat. At the same time, the figure behind him drove a dagger toward his back.

The timing, the rhythm of the attack, the suddenness of the ambush—it was all perfect.

Lin Xiaosu seemed to have no reaction at all.

The face of the person opposite him faintly emerged from the darkness. He wore a black face covering, his eyes sinister and carrying a trace of cruelty.

Just as the dagger came within three inches of Lin Xiaosu's throat, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Sshk!

Lin Xiaosu lightly raised his hand and slashed diagonally!

It struck the man before him in the neck.

The man's eyes flew wide open. The dagger dropped from his hand, and he crumpled to the ground...

Before the dagger hit the ground, Lin Xiaosu drove his elbow backward. It crossed past the other man's dagger at close range. With a thud, the man behind him was sent flying off the ground before his dagger could even touch Lin Xiaosu, his internal organs seeming to switch places in an instant.

The wind rose!

Lin Xiaosu retreated more than three meters, flipped his hand, and seized the pulse point on the man's right wrist. With a crack, the wrist holding the knife was crushed beyond repair.

The assassin only managed half a scream before a slap sent it back down his throat, knocking out several of his teeth...

"Tell me, who sent you to kill me?"

Lin Xiaosu gripped one finger on his left hand.

"No one... Aah..."

That finger was crushed outright. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans seeped from the assassin's forehead. The ten fingers were linked to the heart; the agony of having a finger forcibly crushed was something ordinary people would never experience in a lifetime.

Lin Xiaosu grabbed the second finger. "Let me teach you a little legal knowledge. You came at me with a knife, so I'm entitled to unlimited self-defense. Crushing all ten fingers and all ten toes one by one would be nothing at all. I'm very patient with this question. I can ask it twenty times... Now, for the second time: who sent you?"

The assassin's back went cold...

Twenty times? Dear heavens, that was an abyss twenty layers deep. A wise man submitted to circumstances, and the assassin immediately confessed, "Ghost-Eyed Old Seven!"

"Who is Ghost-Eyed Old Seven?"

"I don't know. I've never seen his real face. I... I'm telling the truth, the truth... Aah!" Another finger was crushed. He stared at Lin Xiaosu in shock. If there were any justice to seek, he would definitely seek it. Why did you crush it even after I told you?

"Sorry, I couldn't hold back and crushed one extra..." Lin Xiaosu released him, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

Zhou Mei was standing outside the police station, with the Criminal Investigation Brigade beside it.

There were no police officers outside, but all three cars were filled with them.

No lights were on, and there was no movement. Everyone remained on high alert.

Zhou Mei's eyes were wide open in the dark car, her back slick with sweat.

She had made thorough preparations.

Yet her heart was hanging high in her chest.

She knew how terrifying this organization was. They acted cruelly and viciously, infiltrated every side, and had committed every conceivable evil. Yet for all these years, no one had been able to truly uproot them, because they were also incomparably cunning.

The hard evidence you could find was always for petty, inconsequential crimes.

Even when they were caught, they remained outrageously arrogant.

But their deeds that enraged both heaven and man were carried out with impeccable care. You simply could not get hold of hard evidence.

Everyone said that there was an expert behind this organization, an extremely cunning and seasoned mastermind.

Lin Xiaosu had already ruined their plans several times. Most crucially, his super-detective abilities posed an enormous threat to the organization, so they would not rest until he was gone!

Tonight's trap had been set by Lin Xiaosu himself.

Lure the snake from its hole.

But no one knew whether what emerged would be a snake—or a poisonous dragon!

In drug trafficking, a few dozen grams meant the death penalty.

Therefore, all those who dared participate were desperadoes. They would die if caught anyway, so such people had no taboos.

If he failed...

Zhou Mei hardly dared think about it...

He was not a police officer!

He was only a detective!

This was not actually his duty. No matter how one looked at it, it should not have fallen to him to fight with his life on the line...

Just then, her phone vibrated...

Zhou Mei did not hesitate for even a second before answering...

A voice came through the phone, relaxed and carefree. "Alley to the left of Duan Family Bridge Commerce Building!"

"Move!" Zhou Mei swept out her hand.

The three cars pulled out at once. They arrived in five minutes. When Zhou Mei and Captain Zhang stepped into the alley, Lin Xiaosu gave them a faint smile. "Captain Zhang, this is the assassin! He's still alive. I imagine you won't be too concerned about whether he's injured or not..."

Captain Zhang let out a long breath and lightly waved his hand. Seven or eight police officers entered together.

He spoke. "Xiaosu, you need to come to the brigade too."

Lin Xiaosu said, "You go ahead. Officer Zhou and I will follow shortly."

Zhou Mei's eyes lit up slightly...

Several officers were a little bewildered...

But a cryptic glimmer appeared in Captain Zhang's eyes. "All right!"

Lin Xiaosu and Zhou Mei walked side by side. They left the alley and went onto the sidewalk, walking a long way—five or six miles in all.

Zhou Mei's nerves remained tightly wound the entire time.

She knew that walking this distance with him was certainly not just a chance to relax after the tension, much less the sordid nonsense her colleagues might speculate about. They were looking for clues.

He was a master at solving cases. Having just been attacked, how could he not follow the vine to find the melon?

And what about her?

Her role at this moment was that of a bodyguard!

She had to make sure that if there was a second assassination attempt, they could react in time.

If there was a second attempt...

The question was, could they find any clues?

Originally, she had been extremely confident in Lin Xiaosu. This was a super "divine dog" even more capable than the brigade's police dogs. He could smell scents from three or four days ago, let alone something that had just happened.

But Lin Xiaosu's expression was strange. When they reached the intersection ahead, he stared at the road for a long while, then turned back. "Let's go!"

Zhou Mei's entire body relaxed. "Didn't you find any clues?"

"The clue-hunting trip is over. We need to go to your brigade and make a statement now. As for me, I actually hate these procedural things the most..."

Zhou Mei's mind was full of doubts...

Had he found a clue or not?

If he had, they should have gone straight to its source.

It seemed he had not found one. That was normal, really.

Everyone in Phoenix City knew about his scent-tracking methods, and the criminals hiding in Phoenix City knew them even better. Every skill had a way to counter it. Scent-tracking was no exception. For instance, some highly pungent odor could be used to interfere with it. A freshly paved stretch of asphalt gave off an especially pungent smell. If she viewed it through the lens of conspiracy theories, she even felt they ought to drag the contractor in for questioning...

No one knew that Lin Xiaosu had already finished gathering his clues.

Right on this road, he had seen a car, three days earlier.

Inside the car, a bespectacled man had assigned a task to this assassin. There was no suspense about what that task had been, but Lin Xiaosu was especially interested in one thing the bespectacled man had said.

It was this: "If you happen to get caught, give me up!"

Upon hearing that, the assassin had looked utterly confused.

To be honest, when Lin Xiaosu had "heard" those words through his Lip-Reading Technique, he had been somewhat confused too.

Could you imagine a mastermind telling an assassin, while assigning him a mission, "If you happen to get caught, give me up"?

There were many mysteries still waiting to be solved.

Perhaps only at Captain Zhang's place could he truly complete the loop.

As they spoke, the two returned to Fengshan Police Station. Fengshan Police Station and the Criminal Investigation Brigade were neighbors. Zhou Mei was not actually part of the police station; she was a bona fide criminal investigator. She used to work daily in that single-story building at the police station, but that did not mean she belonged to the police station.

The reason was simple. Criminal investigation was work where timing mattered enormously. Sometimes, even a one-second difference could lead to irreparable losses, so some criminal investigators preferred to work somewhere more convenient for responding to calls.

And Fengshan Police Station? They actually liked having criminal investigators work there too. It was a county town, after all, and the situation was quite complicated. Sometimes they encountered uncontrollable incidents. With criminal investigators nearby, they had greater deterrence and more confidence.

And so this seemingly bizarre shared-office arrangement was born, though on reflection it was rather moving.

Today was a special case. They needed to enter the Criminal Investigation Building.

They entered the Criminal Investigation Building, took the elevator, and went straight to the seventh floor at the top.

Captain Zhang and Sun Yang were waiting for them in a dedicated conference room on the seventh floor.

When Lin Xiaosu arrived, Captain Zhang gestured for him to sit opposite him. "Xiaosu, let's go through the process. Tell us about what happened tonight."

"All right!" Lin Xiaosu laid out the entire situation without holding anything back...

Zhou Mei had actually reminded him long ago to watch out for those people's retaliation, and he had taken it to heart. He had been tied up with a pile of matters recently and could not conveniently tear through that paper window, so he had deliberately avoided accidentally going out alone. Today, he had intentionally used himself as bait to lure them into attempting an assassination.

He had told Zhou Mei about these matters in advance, and Zhou Mei had reported them to Captain Zhang. That was why the police had responded so quickly.

The intentions of the two men who came were crystal clear.

Without a word of nonsense, they attacked directly.

Lin Xiaosu had been prepared and subdued them on the spot. That was the situation...

Sun Yang's pen raced like a dragon and snake, recording everything in full.

Captain Zhang nodded lightly. "All right, the statement is finished. Xiao Sun, bring us two cups of tea!"

Sun Yang put down his pen and notebook, then brought over two teacups.

Captain Zhang personally lifted the cups and gently placed one before Lin Xiaosu. A smile slowly appeared on his face. "Xiaosu, you've helped me several times. Only today have I found the time to use tea in place of wine and offer you a cup! And while we're at it, let's have a chat."

Zhou Mei and Sun Yang beside her both smiled.

Just now, they had been following procedure and taking a statement. It had been serious work. Now that the serious work was over, it was time for casual conversation.

Lin Xiaosu smiled as well. "If Captain Zhang is willing to chat, that would be perfect. I was just about to ask... did those two assassins confess?"

"They confessed to some things, but..."