A Soap Opera

"Could it have something to do with that case?"

"Or did Wang Yang and Wesker offend her while helping Xin Ya investigate?"

"Surely she wouldn't arrest people for no reason?"

After a brief silence in the hall, one of the hall masters finally spoke up and offered his theory.

"I don't think that's likely!"

"Wang Yang and Wesker are both old hands. Why would they let themselves get tangled up in that case?"

"As for whether they offended Xin Ya, Wang Yang never reported anything of the sort to us."

"Normally, if Wang Yang realized he'd offended Xin Ya, he would definitely ask the gang for help."

Wei Tong shook his head, rejecting the hall master's speculation.

But he couldn't offer a reasonable explanation himself.

The whole affair was simply too baffling.

"Whatever the case, this has to involve either the massacre or Xin Ya."

"Otherwise, even if Wang Yang really had done something wrong and the Inspection Office investigated, Xin Ya wouldn't be the one handling it."

"Remember, that massacre caused a huge stir. Under normal circumstances, Xin Ya, who's in charge of that case, couldn't possibly get involved in anything else."

"Even if Xin Ya is a rookie who doesn't know better, her captain, Ouyang Hao, wouldn't let her do whatever she pleased."

Hall Master Yin of the Law Enforcement Hall pointed straight to the crux of the matter.

For the Wutu Gang, Xin Ya's sudden move against them was baffling, but it wasn't the worst possible outcome.

If someone else from the Inspection Office had acted, they would have been even more frightened, wondering whether the District 9 authorities intended to wipe them out for good.

Over the past few years, District 9 had been trying to completely absorb outside forces like theirs.

In fact, the Wutu Gang wasn't the only gang in decline. The other gangs in District 9 weren't having an easy time either.

Unfortunately, they had been "losers" to begin with, and unlike District 13, they had no big brother like the Bloodline Group to lead them.

Their downfall was already inevitable!

"Could we be overthinking this? Scaring ourselves for nothing?"

"That Lu Zhan in our gang is very good at sucking up to people."

"He claimed he'd won Xin Ya's favor. I didn't think much of it at the time."

"But what if it's true?"

"Maybe they're just an unlikely pair who took a fancy to each other."

"Xin Ya put Wang Yang and Wesker in isolation for questioning to avenge her lover!"

Ma Yancheng hesitated for a long time, but with the bigger picture in mind, he finally voiced his "theory."

Even he thought it sounded far-fetched. After all, the gulf between Lu Zhan's and Xin Ya's status was as vast as that between a toad and a swan.

But in all honesty, that little wolf Lu Zhan really was quite good-looking-even with his bald head cutting his looks down to thirty percent of their potential.

If Xin Ya had temporarily lost her senses, it wasn't impossible that she would do something crazy.

The Wutu Gang had meant well, wanting to bring Lu Zhan home.

But to outsiders, the Wutu Gang had driven Lu Zhan into a corner, forcing him to enlist.

If Xin Ya held a grudge over that, taking revenge would make perfect sense.

"Ma, have you been reading too many romance novels lately?"

"Hahaha! You're killing me!"

"A female commissioner from the Inspection Office falling in love with a street punk? How could that happen in real life?"

"Ma, you're wasting your talents by not becoming a writer!"

Ma Yancheng's "fantasy" instantly turned the grim, solemn meeting into a bustling marketplace.

Everyone present stared wide-eyed, wondering whether the Ma Yancheng in front of them was an impostor.

A seasoned "old thug" simply shouldn't have come up with such a melodramatic plot.

Fantasizing about catching the eye of a powerful woman, living off her, and reaching the pinnacle of life.

That was the sort of daydream only seventeen- or eighteen-year-old punks indulged in.

"Stop laughing!"

"Under normal circumstances, something like that could never happen."

"But what we're dealing with right now isn't exactly normal either."

"There's an old saying: the most unlikely possibility may well be the truth."

"Maybe Xin Ya is going against our Wutu Gang because of that Lu Zhan."

Once the laughter died down, Deputy Gang Leader Chen Wansen suddenly "saw the light" and decided Ma Yancheng's words weren't entirely without merit.

Wang Yang hadn't shared the details of the interrogation with the gang.

But the fact that Xin Ya had been willing to tell Lu Zhan he possessed a "talent" showed that she did treat him somewhat differently.

Previously, they hadn't paid much attention to it or connected it to anything else.

But what if Xin Ya really did "value Lu Zhan highly"?

"The deputy gang leader has a point!"

"Maybe Xin Ya isn't interested in Lu Zhan's looks, but in his talent."

"Ordinary tests can't determine how good a talent is, but the Inspection Office has extraordinary methods."

"Perhaps Lu Zhan has a talent far beyond that of ordinary people, and that's why Xin Ya took an interest in him. We accidentally ruined some plan of hers, so she retaliated against us."

"If that's the case, it's better to settle a feud than start one. I'm afraid we'll have to pay up."

"Inspired" by Chen Wansen's words, Wei Tong immediately saw the light and worked everything out.

The people at the Inspection Office never lifted a finger without something to gain.

Xin Ya must have set her sights on Lu Zhan because she'd seen some benefit in him, most likely his talent.

If the Wutu Gang could sell Lu Zhan to an Alchemy factory, Xin Ya could naturally sell him for a good price too.

But through an unfortunate twist of fate, Lu Zhan had now sold himself to the Military.

It would actually make less sense if Xin Ya didn't come after them, the "culprits."

Wei Tong's "conclusion" won unanimous approval from everyone present.

Compared with a female commissioner falling for a street punk, a female jackal setting her sights on a little white rabbit was much more realistic.

Now that they'd identified the crux of the matter, resolving this little problem would be easy with the Wutu Gang's strength and standing.

"Xin Ya, is there still nothing we can do about Lu Zhan?"

"There hasn't been too much of a fuss at the Public Security Office, has there?"

Completely unaware that she'd been cast in a "melodramatic romance," Xin Ya was busy reporting on her assignment at the Inspection Office.

Ever since she'd caused that earth-shattering mess, Xin Ya had been sidelined within the Special Task Force.

She wasn't allowed to get involved in the "Mutant Beast" investigation at all.

The only thing Xin Ya could do now was tie up the loose ends of the trouble she'd caused.

"Captain, as you instructed, I've locked Wang Yang and Wesker, the two people who saw Lu Zhan's original manuscript, in the Inspection Office's cells. They're being held separately."

"Neither of them has any powerful backing, and the Public Security Office has been very cooperative."

"Only the situation with Lu Zhan remains at a standstill."

"That fellow is a complete coward. He went straight into the Training Center the very day he signed up."

"The Inspection Office has no way to interfere with the Training Center."

"To avoid tipping him off, I haven't even dared contact Lu Zhan under the pretext of asking him to assist with the investigation. I'm afraid he'll realize the value of the [Blood-Red Antenna]."

Xin Ya gave an honest report of her progress. Although she hadn't completely tied up the loose ends, she hadn't made things worse either.

At least, even now, Lu Zhan still hadn't realized what that "memory fragment" of his truly meant.