Chapter 73: Card Dealing Warning

Ling Wu took the cigarette case from his pocket, pulled one out, lit it, and put it in his mouth. The curling white smoke blurred his vision, making his beautiful brows and eyes appear fragile. He spoke again: "We set off for Ganan tomorrow."

Xi Huaizhi nodded: "Good, I've already made all the arrangements in advance; we can leave at any time."

He reached his hand into Ling Wu's pocket, quietly took out the pack of cigarettes, flipped open the lid, and counted them simply. His expression didn't soften in the slightest: "Five are missing."

"Your condition has worsened."

Ling Wu's cigarettes were a type of inhalable medicine developed by Pei Ziying's think tank, used to treat mental illness. It was a new type of Solanaceae tobacco cultivated through plant gene editing, with harmful substances like nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide removed. The original intention of the design was for it to be extremely easy to carry, protecting the patient's self-esteem to the greatest extent.

Ling Wu said: "Actually, it's fine."

Xi Huaizhi teased: "What flavor is it? Is it good?"

"They added a citrus-flavored additive; it smells quite nice and isn't harsh." Ling Wu looked at him, and after a moment, said again: "Do you want one?"

Xi Huaizhi pulled one out and lit it: "It's all the same, nothing different."

You are the same as all normal people; there is no difference.

The light from the crystal chandelier was dazzling.

Xi Huaizhi's long legs were stretched out, his whole body radiating an imposing pressure. The smile faded from his light blue eyes, and a dark, gloomy light flickered in his narrow pupils, as if boundless danger were buried behind them. He flicked the ash from his cigarette with his fingertips, his voice low and powerful: "At this moment, someone should have received my card dealing."

The good show begins.

At the same time, at the Police.

The cause of Yin Cilan's death was quickly relayed back to the Yin Family, causing a huge uproar within the family. The head of the family, Yin Shuyi, was even more furious and ordered the police to investigate thoroughly.

Everyone in the Police felt insecure for a time; the Criminal Investigation Department was almost entirely mobilized. The Yin Family also sent people to intervene in this investigation, accompanying them throughout the process. Yin Cilan's body had fallen off the cliff with the car, yet it had disappeared without a trace.

Officer Li and numerous members of the Criminal Investigation Department were conducting a comprehensive investigation of the surveillance at Zhuli Pavilion. Starting from August 3rd, the surveillance at Zhuli Pavilion began to show black screens, but the duration was very short.

The surveillance footage played on the computer.

Officer Li called for a stop: "Stop, starting from here, the surveillance footage goes black. Then, on August 9th, the surveillance footage showed black screens twice, both lasting for 10 seconds. The timing was controlled very precisely."

"Ask the people at Zhuli Pavilion what is going on with this?"

The female officer said: "We sent people to investigate. The waiter at Zhuli Pavilion said that since August 3rd, there had been power trips, but the duration was very short. Later, it stopped for a few days, until August 9th, when the power trip happened again."

Officer Li's dull yellow eyes narrowed: "It wasn't a power trip. This is someone scouting the location in advance; it's a long-premeditated murder."

They had already checked the surveillance footage on the mountain road in advance. Yin Cilan's car, whether in terms of performance configuration or braking system, was of the highest grade.

The equipped AI Autonomous Driving System would not have been hacked.

Yet, there was a case of speeding on a curve. In a section as winding as the mountain road, coupled with the slippery road on a rainy day, one must slow down. Such speeding is undoubtedly a death warrant!

"What do you think?"

Female officer: "Normal surveillance systems are equipped with batteries or UPS to prevent power outages, but the wired surveillance at Zhuli Pavilion had neither."

"So that after the power cut, the surveillance system went completely black."

Such a situation is extremely rare.

"Knock!"

"Knock!"

"Knock!"

Officer Li didn't even turn his head: "Enter!"

A young officer walked in with a steady gait, his expression somewhat grave, holding a sheet of paper: "The results from the Identification Department are out. A clear fingerprint was detected in Private Room 109. Through comparison with the fingerprint database, it can be confirmed as the victim, Yin Cilan."

"But there is only one person's fingerprint in Private Room 109, and there are no footprints in the room at all..."

No footprints?

How is that possible?

How did that person get out of Private Room 109?

This case is full of doubts.

Officer Li was horrified: "The clues were... wiped away."

"What about Private Room 108 and Private Room 107? Was anyone there on the night of August 9th?"

The young officer replied: "Zhuli Pavilion is a very popular restaurant; the private rooms are almost always full. There were people in both of these rooms that night."

Officer Li waved his hand: "Go to the front desk and check who was in these two rooms that night."

"Okay."

Yin Cilan's body has still not been found, and the case has reached a point where it is almost impossible to advance.

The atmosphere inside the Police was as thick as ink.

Officer Li repeatedly watched that segment of surveillance: "The perpetrator possesses very keen anti-reconnaissance capabilities, destroying evidence in time, forging the scene, and creating false appearances, thereby perfectly interfering with the investigation."

"Is there anything left by the victim under the cliff?"

"Yes." The female officer remembered: "A mobile phone was found at the scene. It cannot be turned on and is being repaired."

There is a clue again.

Officer Li picked up his mineral water and took a sip, feeling slightly relieved, but he was suspicious again. Since the perpetrator had the ability to take away Yin Cilan's body,

why would they leave behind such strong evidence as a mobile phone?

Officer Li: "The victim would not specifically choose to go to a remote place like Zhuli Pavilion to eat alone at 8 o'clock during a heavy rain, unless someone had made an appointment with him in advance."

Female officer: "That possibility cannot be ruled out."

"Knock!"

"Knock!"

Someone opened the door and came in: "Officer Li, the phone has been repaired!"

The clue has arrived.

Some criminal suspicions can be detected from call logs, chat records, and cloud backups. As long as the other party is not a professional, it is almost difficult to destroy all clues completely.

The phone was repaired and taken over by several high-precision experts sent by the Yin Family.

"The data and cloud backups have both been deleted."

"Try to see if they can be recovered."

Code was being tapped out on the computer.

"Found it."

"Can it be recovered?"

The person from the Yin Family pressed the Y key, but instead of a data recovery prompt appearing on the computer screen, it entered another bizarre interface.

A red gift box appeared in the center of the screen, and a punchable stick figure hopped out from the side, shaking its head and swaying.

A line of text popped up above the stick figure's head: Open me!

The mouse clicked on the red gift box, and beautiful ribbon special effects instantly drifted down the black computer screen; white light emerged from the gift box, and a beautiful card flew out.

"Zing!"

The young person on the card face carried a red pack, wore brightly colored clothes, and stood on the edge of a cliff; above their head was a golden sun, symbolizing light and hope, holding a flower, with an innocent and guileless smile on their face, and a small white dog by their leg.

Tarot Card The Fool, image source from the internet.

TheFool.

The Fool.

Just from the card face, one could perceive fanaticism, freedom, indulgence, adventure, and delirium.

The hand of that person holding the mouse trembled: "... The Fool!"

Many police officers were puzzled: "What does that mean?"

The person from the Yin Family explained: "This is a very famous international Tarot Organization; whenever they target someone, they issue a corresponding Tarot Card warning."

"It's them again!"

"This is no longer a matter we can handle; you two return immediately and report to the Family Head."

The Yin Family had dealt with this Organization two years ago and suffered a huge loss; they were issued the High Priestess warning card, and within two days, hundreds of millions were wiped from their accounts, and they also lost several lives.

And that was just the High Priestess.

Neither The Fool nor the Magician had even made a move.