Young Officer
The officer quickly helped her up and reassured her, saying, “Miss Zhou, please don’t worry. He might still be alive. We need your cooperation to find him.”
But everyone present knew that Chen Fei was most likely beyond saving. The only connection to the severed limbs was likely from dismemberment, with little chance of any other explanation.
If it weren’t for the fact that the local janitors were accustomed to checking trash bins first, the severed limbs might have been incinerated long before, and Chen Fei would have simply been recorded as missing, eventually becoming nothing more than a cold, indifferent file.
He was an orphan, and since he had no family, the only person the police could contact immediately was his live-in girlfriend, Zhou Zijie.
The police had no choice but to present the grim reality before her so she could accept it and cooperate with the investigation.
Zhou Zijie was panic-stricken: “This is impossible! You must be mistaken. He was perfectly fine when he left this morning.”
Afraid of further upsetting her, the police officer lowered his voice: “Does your boyfriend have a string of English tattoos on his left hand?”
At that moment, Zhou Zijie’s face turned completely pale.
Lu Congxing remembered noticing the tattoo on Chen Fei’s arm the first time they met, but he never expected that the tattoo would become a key piece of evidence in identifying him under these circumstances.
The landlord of Room 401 also came out after hearing the commotion. Huang Xin, holding her waist, asked, “Officer, is something wrong?”
Li Guodong, looking meek as usual, was standing behind her.
They were both neighbors of Chen Fei and had regular interactions with him, so they were worth questioning. The police didn’t hide anything and quickly gave a brief explanation.
Huang Xin gasped, covering her mouth as she screamed. Through her tears, she looked towards Lu Congxing.
Lu Congxing subtly shook his head in response.
He didn’t think this was the work of a malevolent ghost, as he had never heard of a ghost dismembering a body and throwing it in a trash bin.
A murderous ghost, if not acting out of hunger, would likely be driven by rage or a sense of injustice, attacking indiscriminately. In general, ghosts didn’t hide their killings in this manner. If a ghost truly wanted to cover its tracks, it wouldn’t be so clumsy as to dismember and dispose of the body in such a way. A ghost with enough power to commit such cruelty would have other methods to make someone disappear without a trace.
Huang Xin’s expression was a mix of fear and sadness. She now looked at Zhou Zijie with sympathy.
The officer continued, “We contacted Chen Fei’s workplace and learned that he didn’t go to work today. Did you see him leave the house this morning?”
The area’s security was bad, and surveillance was scarce. They had checked all nearby cameras, but none of them captured Chen Fei’s route to work.
Dany had come out from inside at some point. Zhou Zijie, supported by her and Huang Xin, nodded with a pale face.
Her identification, combined with the information from the severed limbs, indicated that Chen Fei had likely been killed in the morning.
A nearby officer was taking notes on everything Zhou Zijie said. Their objective gaze stayed on the fragile girl, not wanting to miss any tiny clue.
Zhou Zijie began to cry uncontrollably: “Can’t you look harder? Maybe his enemies just cut off his hands and threw them away. He could still be alive somewhere, struggling.”
The oldest officer, who appeared the calmest, clearly wasn’t new to such situations. He spoke directly, “We’ve increased the search in the area and sent people to check the homes of those who may have had conflicts with Chen Fei. Miss Zhou, we need your calm cooperation to help us investigate further.”
But Chen Fei had always been a troublemaker, and he must have had many enemies, making it impossible to conduct a full investigation right away, not to mention they still needed a search warrant.
Dany and Huang Xin quietly tried to comfort her, while the police could only wait for her emotions to stabilize.
The noise outside caused Zeng Chengping from Room 404 to come out. He was ready to curse at the commotion, but upon seeing the police, he quickly shut his mouth.
He really knew how to bully the weak and fear the strong.
Lu Congxing glanced at him with a complicated look. Zeng Chengping’s face, for some reason, seemed as if it had been beaten up badly.
He had a swollen nose and bruised face, indicating someone had hit him pretty hard.
Suddenly, Lu Congxing had a thought and looked up, meeting He Zhouyan’s eyes.
The man’s expression was innocent, but Lu Congxing understood immediately.
His guardian demon had known all along who had tricked him into drinking, and it seemed that the injuries on Zeng Chengping’s face were caused by him. This morning, He Zhouyan had acted completely nonchalant, transforming into a small Bai Ze as if nothing had happened.
Lu Congxing shook his head with a helpless look at the man, not intending to call him out.
Once Zeng Chengping came out, everyone in the building who had any connection to Chen Fei was now gathered here. The lead officer quickly decided to conduct a small investigation during this time. He assigned tasks to several officers.
The officer who approached Lu Congxing was a young officer, with dark skin and bright eyes.
Lu Congxing remembered him sneaking a few glances at him earlier.
The young officer, probably still new to the job, seemed a bit uncomfortable with the situation and politely asked if Lu Congxing and He Zhouyan could step aside for a moment.
With so many people around, it was difficult to take proper notes. Lu Congxing nodded and led him to his room to sit down.
He Zhouyan remained silent behind him, sensing that the man seemed to be upset again, but not knowing why he suddenly felt this way.
It wasn’t until the door was closed that the previously awkward young officer suddenly transformed into a more enthusiastic figure, and He Zhouyan began to understand.
Generally speaking, it’s rare for demons to be admitted into human organizations, and since his spiritual energy was well concealed, Lu Congxing, who wasn’t familiar with demon’s spiritual energy, didn’t immediately realize that this young officer was actually a demon. However, many demons enjoy blending into human society during their long lifespans, evolving like humans and living a life, which gives them a sense of fulfillment.
The young officer took off his police hat, revealing a pair of prominent black ears standing upright on top of his head. He looked at Lu Congxing with a pitiful expression and uncertainly called out, “Cub?”
This sight made Lu Congxing, for some reason, think of a big dog abandoned in the rain. He nodded.
It might have been a trick of the eyes, but those prominent ears seemed to quiver with even more excitement. The young officer’s eyes also brightened, as if a tail might sprout from behind him, spinning like a propeller.
He leaned in, trying to inhale the pure spiritual energy from the cub’s body, which was an irresistible temptation for any demon with cultivation.
Unfortunately, He Zhouyan was on high alert. He had barely taken two steps closer when an overwhelming pressure erupted, rendering him unable to move.
Even the ears on top of its head were bent under pressure.
Lu Congxing thought that the man’s displeasure earlier stemmed from the instinctual territorial behavior of the ancient divine beast, perhaps feeling that his invitation for the young officer to enter Room 403 was an invasion of his territory.
He turned around, somewhat helpless, and patted He Zhouyan on the shoulder. “Don’t make things difficult for him.”
Seeing this, the young officer was so nervous that his throat almost jumped out.
Indeed, Bai Ze had concealed his spiritual energy very well. As a small demon, the young officer had no experience encountering ancient divine beasts, so when he had met He Zhouyan earlier, he only sensed a powerful demon but didn’t recognize his true identity as an ancient divine beast. It was only when this terrifying pressure appeared that he realized the true scale of the demon before him.
And yet, the weak and pitiful cub reached out to tease this demon. Demons rarely care about appearances, they are more concerned with spiritual energy. The scene of the tall man looking down at the cub felt like a real-life version of “Beauty and the Beast” to him.
A pure, untainted spiritual energy snuggled up next to a large, violent energy radiating with killing intent, all while appearing completely unguarded.
In that moment, the young officer’s mind raced through a hundred possibilities, and his internal alarm bells rang. He decided that, no matter how enraged this ancient divine beast might get, he had to rescue the cub unharmed from his grasp.
But the cruel scene he had imagined never came to pass. The man seemed to instantly transform into a soothed beast, retracting all his sharpness out of fear of harming the cub. He lowered his head and spoke, almost obediently: “Hmm, I won’t make things difficult.”
He was so friendly that it was hard to believe he had just been radiating such overwhelming pressure.
The young officer hesitantly raised his ears again, recalling the news that had recently been released by the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.
Xing Cub, which had been a source of concern for countless demons, had finally found a suitable guardian demon. It was said to be a powerful ancient divine beast, and other demons who had been attempting to steal or kidnap the cub had been warned to be cautious or risk a beating.
While many demons had speculated about who the cub’s guardian might be, they never considered Bai Ze. After all, everyone knew he wasn’t fond of cubs or small animals—he had been like that for thousands of years.
The young officer had visited the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs many times but had never seen the cub. To his surprise, he encountered it during work, and the guardian demon beside the cub turned out to be none other than Bai Ze, a being that made demons tremble at the mere mention of his name.
It was rumored that demons who encountered Bai Ze often reverted to their original forms out of fear. If it hadn’t been for not wanting to embarrass himself in front of the cub, the young officer might have transformed back into his original form as well.
Although he didn’t recognize Bai Ze’s face, he was familiar with his spiritual energy. Among the small demons, they often exchanged spiritual energy samples, and anyone who encountered such a distinct spiritual energy was warned to run as far as possible.
The young officer’s legs felt weak, but he didn’t want to run. He continued to gaze eagerly at the cub.
Wuwuwu, the cub really smells so good.
Lu Congxing squinted his eyes. Perhaps influenced by the small Bai Ze, the man’s actions now seemed a bit cute through a filter he couldn’t help but apply.
No one knew what the cub was thinking, and no one dared to associate the word “cute” with Bai Ze.
He Zhouyan calmly helped the cub sit down, then turned his gaze to the young officer and coolly raised his chin. “If you have any questions, just ask.”
Lu Congxing, ever thoughtful, pointed to a chair. “You should sit down first.”
“Oh, okay,” the young officer said, his mind swirling with fear toward He Zhouyan, but he was also thrilled that the cub was talking to him.
Thankfully, he was a top graduate from the police academy and still maintained his professional demeanor. He pulled out a pen and notebook and asked in a very formal tone: “Do you have an alibi for the time between eight and ten this morning?”
The 08:00 to 10:00 AM window was when they estimated Chen Fei’s murder occurred.
Lu Congxing had originally planned to say they had been together the whole time, but then he realized that to others, it would look like he had spent the entire day with a pet, while his “brother” had gone to work early.
He had even casually mentioned to Dany that his brother had gone to work.
If he spoke honestly now, he might be caught in a lie due to the discrepancy with the neighbor’s story.
So, Lu Congxing shook his head slightly. “I woke up at around 09:30 AM. I didn’t really pay attention to the time, but I think I left around 10:00 AM to visit Room 402 next door.”
The young officer wrote a few notes: “So, you were alone at home between 08:00 to 10:00 AM, and there’s no alibi for that time?”
He then turned to He Zhouyan, asking with extra caution, “Do you have evidence proving you were working between 08:00 to 10:00 AM?”
He even used a polite form of address.
The hierarchy among demons was important. He originally had no right to interrogate Bai Ze, but now he was only going through the motions.
If the question had to be asked, the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs would send someone to handle it. Even the highest-ranking humans didn’t have the authority to question an anicent divine beast with no murder record in their files.
He Zhouyan leaned back slightly, unintentionally exuding a hint of the intimidating presence not typical of a newly risen company president. He raised an eyebrow, “Do you want me to use illusion magic to create a video for you?”
Author’s Note:
Who is the murderer~