[Haha, never mind then. Hi, Brother Lu. I wasn't fully awake this morning. Please don't hold it against me. I'll slap myself twice right now.]
After two days of spreading, Lu Ding's name was known to practically everyone in 749, aside from those who hadn't returned from missions. After all, there had never been such a ruthless trainee investigator before.
Later, someone dug up some information about Lu Ding and posted it.
When they saw that he had joined 749 one day and taken the assessment the next, aside from admiration, all they could think was how badass he was.
With his terrifying combat strength and talent that left everyone else in the dust, he was an absolute mission ace!!
If you went on a mission with him, as long as you behaved and did whatever he said, contribution points were practically free for the taking.
The instant Lu Ding posted his mission queue, dozens of applications flooded in.
He opened the details and checked them one by one.
In the end, he chose a trainee investigator named Yan Feifan.
He accepted the application and sent a message.
[Do you have a car?]
A car was crucial. Although Lu Ding knew how to drive, that had been in his previous life. In this life, he hadn't gotten a license yet, nor could he afford a car.
A car?
Yan Feifan froze for a moment. He had only intended to give it a try. Getting accepted would be great, but being rejected wouldn't matter either.
Who would have thought Lu Ding would actually accept his application?
[Yes, yes, I have a car. Tough and rugged, a big Jeep. And I'm a very good driver.]
[All right, wait for me at exit A of the base. I'll be there shortly.]
"Yes!!"
In the four-person dorm room, Yan Feifan let out a cheer. Another trainee investigator in the next bed grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him.
"What the fuck are you yelling for!!"
"Are you going to let anyone sleep?!"
Yan Feifan ducked his head. "Sorry, sorry. I'm leaving right now."
"Get lost!!"
He put on his shoes and socks and went out. After carefully pulling the door shut, a smile spread across his face again.
Even his steps grew lighter as he headed outside.
He started the car and hummed a song all the way to exit A, where he spotted someone standing by the road with his arms folded. His clothes were utterly unremarkable, his good looks alone doing all the heavy lifting. His stance alone exuded the bearing of a powerhouse.
Yan Feifan parked, got out of the driver's seat, and opened the passenger door.
"Brother Lu, I'm Yan Feifan."
Only after Lu Ding got into the passenger seat did he circle back to the driver's seat. He unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it to Lu Ding, saying, "Brother Lu, what should we do next? I looked over the mission details on the way here."
"It says there are three prime suspects in this case. They are as follows."
"Tong Yong, twenty-one, male, a third-year student at Yunhai Computer Vocational College. His family used to be neighbors with the victims' family in Sheep Horn Bend Village. When Tong Yong was little, his father fought with the victims' family, but lost. A few years later, Tong Yong's dad died, so he's under some suspicion."
"Second, Zhao Haichuan, fifty-two, the ex-husband of Wu Daoxiang, one of the victims. He was imprisoned for drug use some years ago. Wu Daoxiang divorced him afterward and married Zhou Shenghua. After Zhao Haichuan got out, he would harass the victims' family from time to time, demanding that Wu Daoxiang pay him compensation."
"Third, Fan Wurui, twenty-four, the ex-boyfriend of Zhou Lian, one of the victims. He's a low-level employee at an auto repair shop. Zhou Lian's father disapproved of their relationship and even beat Fan Wurui during that time."
"Apart from these people, the victims' family hadn't had any conflicts with anyone else. They were fairly law-abiding."
Not bad. This was exactly the kind of assistant investigator Lu Ding wanted: someone who knew how to handle things, read the mission details in advance, and was smart.
He leaned back in his seat and took a sip of water. "Tell me what you think."
"Here's the thing, Brother Lu. I went through it in my head by process of elimination, and I think Dong Yong is the most suspicious. First, Fan Wurui. The local investigation records show that his family gets along well, but he didn't really listen to his parents. In the end, he didn't make it into university and went to work at his uncle's auto repair shop."
"He's spent years scraping by in society, and he's still just a low-level employee. He couldn't have the nerve to kill someone. Even if he did kill, he wouldn't dare slaughter an entire family. Besides, he and Zhou Lian really did love each other. They were together for three years."
"So he's barely suspicious at all. At most, he couldn't let go."
"As for Zhao Haichuan, although he repeatedly harassed the victims' family, no clashes ever broke out. The family didn't want trouble with him at all and kept avoiding him. They gave him some money along the way too, but he went back on his word after taking it. He's only after money. Slaughtering an entire family would be too risky for him."
"Lastly, Dong Yong. The local interviews and investigation records show that he was very well-behaved at school, preferred keeping to himself, didn't have many friends, and had fairly excellent grades. In his final year of high school, he nearly killed someone in a fight. That was what kept him from getting into university."
"From that, we can see that although Dong Yong is young and seems well-behaved, he's actually a very ruthless character."
"Then there's Old Lady Black's involvement. First, Zhao Haichuan is getting old. Whether Old Lady Black possessed someone or used a spirit medium, she couldn't possibly pick him. Besides, when the investigators arrived, that old bastard was still full of vigor, visiting prostitutes. He's in detention now."
"That leaves the two young men, Fan Wurui and Dong Yong. Even if they were possessed as spirit mediums, it wouldn't leave them with overly severe aftereffects."
"With spirit-medium possession, although Old Lady Black would account for most of the dominant consciousness, the medium himself would retain some awareness. Fan Wurui and Zhou Lian truly loved each other. How could he possibly be so vicious toward Zhou Lian? Of course, other possibilities can't be ruled out, but comparing everything, Dong Yong is the most suspicious!!"
Yan Feifan said all of that in one breath. After picking up his water bottle and taking a sip, he looked at Lu Ding with a hint of hope in his eyes.
Lu Ding nodded. "Then let's go find this Dong Yong. If Old Lady Black really possessed him, or if he has any connection to her, I'll be able to smell it."
The flying bear was a vicious beast that tortured and killed other strange beasts and monsters for fun.
Tracking down monsters was one of its signature abilities.
With a sniff, Lu Ding could tell whether someone was normal.
His original plan had been to seek out the three suspects one by one.
Now, after Yan Feifan's analysis, there was a chance he could save some time and strike straight at the dragon's lair.
Having earned Lu Ding's approval, Yan Feifan stepped on the gas.
On the road.
Yan Feifan kept stealing glances at Lu Ding, finding it all rather unreal. He was actually going on a mission with someone like this.
Lu Ding noticed his glances too.
He broke the silence first, asking, "What did you do before? Your analysis sounded very well reasoned."
"I was just a student. I just like watching movies. I've watched lots and lots of movies and documentaries, ever since I was little. It's my only hobby too. Although movies are fictional, a lot of things in them can be applied to real life."
Yan Feifan spoke sheepishly.
It really did sound a little far-fetched.
But Lu Ding grew interested. He remembered a movie from his previous life called Sheep Without a Shepherd. Its male lead also loved watching movies. After his daughter and wife accidentally killed the son of a powerful family, the male lead arranged everything perfectly, even bringing down the powerful family.
If it hadn't been for the ending needing to pass censorship, the male lead could never have been caught.
He hadn't expected the assistant investigator he'd recruited on a whim to actually be talented.
"Then what's your talent?"