Chapter 107: An Untimely Case Report, Want Him Alive

Patrol Bureau.

Inside the smoke-filled conference room.

A group of constables who had stayed up for several nights sat at the table, their faces exhausted, their eyes bloodshot, smoking one cigarette after another.

On the small whiteboard before the conference table was a hand-drawn portrait: a pitch-black face, a mouthful of white teeth, with a note beside it giving the nickname 【Black Face】.

Next to the hand-drawn portrait, an arrow led to another, even more eerie portrait: a face as white as snow, no features at all, only a pair of black pupils visible, with a note beside it giving the nickname 【Mask】.

Actually, the constables had wanted to call the second one 【Vampire Bone Face】, but that nickname was too horrifying, so Li Shang overruled everyone and changed it to 【Mask】.

At this moment, Li Shang's face was covered in stubble, unshaven for several days, clutching the 【Mask】 portrait in his hand, his eyes sunk into the drawing.

"It's been so long; could a person just vanish into thin air?"

Li Shang roared anxiously, slamming his palm hard against the small whiteboard.

He glared at the constables below and shouted angrily: "【Mask】 may have hidden his face and gone into hiding, but we know 【Black Face】's true appearance; he must have clues to find 【Mask】 on him, yet we still can't find him?"

"【Black Face】 is badly injured; where could he hide, huh?"

Another constable spoke in a low voice: "Many hands in the Patrol Bureau have been lost; with just us, it's really too hard to screen the whole city."

Another constable chimed in: "We've visited hospitals, pharmacies, and black clinics; no one has seen 【Black Face】. We can't rule out that 【Black Face】 has accomplices buying and delivering medicine for him, but time is too tight and manpower too scarce; it's really..."

Li Shang knew the constables were telling the truth, but the Special Commissioner had given him little acting time left; if he couldn't find clues again, he would be removed from office.

Li Shang was frantic and threw caution to the wind: "Usually, when you handle cases, you just randomly grab someone to take the blame, rush through it, and close the case."

"This time we really have to catch the murderer, and now we can't find a single clue. Is the Patrol Bureau raising a pack of good-for-nothings? How will the Special Commissioner look at us?"

The atmosphere in the conference room instantly became tense; the constables below had varying complexions, some looking embarrassed, others full of unconvinced defiance.

Even a few constables exchanged subtle glances, as if silently expressing their dissatisfaction and protest: isn't our way of doing things just following Captain your style?

Boom boom boom—

The constable on duty pushed the door open and reported to Li Shang: "Captain Li, a lady has come outside to file a report. She says her son didn't come home last night, didn't return to school, and his phone can't be reached. She's worried..."

His words hadn't finished before they were interrupted by Li Shang's impatient gesture.

Li Shang waved his hand to interrupt and snapped: "Register her first, then placate her and send her away. The Patrol Bureau is short-staffed now; where do we have the energy to handle other cases?"

The constable on duty nodded; he understood the current situation and priorities. He was just reporting the situation according to procedure.

After hearing Li Shang's instructions, he nodded slightly, turned around, and prepared to leave the conference room.

In the reception room, Du Li's hands gripped her phone tightly; her fingertips turned slightly white from nervousness, the phone trembled in her hands as she called her son's number again and again.

However, the prompt on the other end of the phone cruelly changed from "no one answers" to "the phone is turned off."

A strong sense of unease surged in Du Li's heart—a mother's intuition that her son might have met with misfortune.

Her gaze fixed on the young constable, who was holding a registration form and slowly walking toward her.

"Constable, my son must have encountered something. Please, you must help me, Patrol Bureau..." Du Li's voice was full of anxiety and pleading, her eyes flashing with worry and fear.

The young constable's face showed not a trace of emotion; his voice was calm and mechanical: "Case investigation must follow certain procedures. First, please register your relevant information."

He slowly sat down, adjusted his posture, picked up a pen and spun it lightly around his fingertip, then calmly asked: "What is your son's name? What is his Citizen Level?"

Du Li seemed somewhat flustered; her voice trembled: "My son's name is Yang Tuo. He is a student in Class 1, Grade 10, Martial Dao Key Class at No. 8 Middle School. He hasn't taken the College Entrance Exam yet, so he hasn't been assigned a Citizen Level. But his grades are excellent; he will definitely be able to enter the archives in the future."

The young constable remained calm, offering no comment on Du Li's words, and continued: "Alright, I need to register the reporter's information, that is, your information."

Du Li answered quickly: "My name is Du Li. My Citizen Level is D-Rank."

After a brief pause, Du Li seemed to suddenly realize something and hurriedly added:

"My husband Yang Sen is a Researcher at Hongguang Laboratory. He's usually in the lab and hard to contact. Otherwise, he would have come to file the report with me today. His Citizen Level is B-Rank, and he is expected to be promoted to A-Rank by the end of the year."

A hint of surprise flashed in the young constable's eyes: "B-Rank? Hongguang Laboratory?"

B-Rank is indeed a fairly high Citizen Level in the Lower City, representing a huge leap in social status and influence.

One step further, and one would qualify to immigrate to the Upper City—something many people dream of. Bureau Chief Wang Yilin, while alive, was only at this level.

Although the young constable didn't know the specific work of Hongguang Laboratory, he had heard the great name of the 【Bright】 Group.

It is the top financial consortium in the Nine Districts, and the companies or departments under the 【Bright】 Group like to add a 【Light】 character to their names as a mark and distinction.

Du Li nodded quickly, her eyes full of hope and urgency: "The laboratory values him highly, believing he has made major contributions in his work. They have already submitted his Citizen Level promotion report to the Executive Government. If all goes well, it should be approved by the end of the year."

As soon as she finished speaking, Du Li quickly took out a stack of banknotes from her briefcase and almost impatiently stuffed them into the constable's hand:

"Please have the Patrol Bureau take action as soon as possible to help me find my son. Afterward, I will definitely have my husband come to the Patrol Bureau in person to express our gratitude."

The young constable took a deep breath, pocketed the money without changing expression, and his complexion visibly softened considerably.

He nodded to Du Li, then turned and walked back toward the conference room.

"【Mask】 vanished into thin air, 【Black Face】 found nothing, we don't even know what was in the stolen briefcase. Do you really plan to report this to the Special Commissioner like that, huh?"

"Say something. Have you all gone mute?"

One constable complained helplessly: "Those who had the most direct contact with 【Black Face】 were undoubtedly the residents of that residential compound. But now, those people have all been... cough cough, sent to the Garbage Factory by the Special Commissioner's order. Where else can we go to find clues?"

Li Shang's face instantly turned deathly pale. He slammed the table, making a bang-bang sound, and glared at the speaking constable with a man-eating gaze: "Are you planning to make me question the Special Commissioner's decision? Do you think you've lived long enough, or that I've lived too long?"

The atmosphere in the conference room was so heavy it was almost suffocating, a sense of oppression permeating the air.

Even from across the corridor, one could vaguely hear the roars from inside. The young constable stood at the conference room door, hesitating for a long time, never daring to interject.

Finally, he took a few deep breaths: "Captain Li."

Li Shang turned around and glared at him: "What is it now?"

The young constable quickly lowered his voice and answered cautiously: "The reporter's husband is a Researcher at Hongguang Laboratory, holding B-Rank Citizen status, and is said to be promoted to A-Rank by the end of the year."

The rebuke on the tip of Li Shang's tongue was swallowed hard back into his stomach. His complexion became even uglier, like a sky covered in dark clouds.

At this moment, Chang Erbing stood up and broke the silence: "Captain Li, why don't let me take someone to check the situation?"

Li Shang didn't respond immediately, so Chang Erbing casually waved his hand, signaling another constable to leave the conference room with him.

Li Shang's gaze wandered around the room. Seeing two more subordinates gone, he frowned, his mood unusually irritable.

He said: "Why does someone always come to file a report at the wrong time, forcing us to increase our workload? In the end, it's just that there are too many people in the Nine Districts."

Among the captains, half of them nodded silently, their expressions complex as they showed agreement.

Li Shang reached out and lit a cigarette; the smoke curled slowly in the air, and his face appeared even more gloomy, carrying a few parts helplessness and anger:

"Originally I wanted to rely on our Patrol Bureau to take down this case and make the Special Commissioner look good; since you lot are useless, there's no choice but to share the credit with the Investigation Bureau. Xiao Ceng, immediately send the Wanted Order to the Investigation Bureau via fax and request assistance from the Investigation Bureau's brigade."

Captain Xiao Ceng immediately stood up, his movements quick as he sent the 【Black Face】 Wanted Order through the fax machine.

Afterwards, he asked with slight hesitation: "Then, regarding 【Mask】... should that also be included...?"

Hearing this, Li Shang burned with rage, nearly exploding his lungs with anger.

He widened his eyes, laughing from extreme anger, his tone seemingly hiding a scalpel: "Can't you use your brain? Don't you understand the meaning of a confidential investigation?

I warn everyone once more: if anyone dares leak even a single word about 【Mask】's information, you go explain to the Special Commissioner yourself.

Remember, before explaining, write your will first — I'll keep it for you."

Hearing this, the captains' faces all turned several shades paler; they knew Captain Li's words were absolutely not alarmist talk — that night's bloody scene remains vivid in memory to this day.

Captain Xiao Ceng was even more terrified, his face losing all color in an instant.

He hurriedly moved the 【Mask】 portrait away from beside the fax machine, as if it were a scorching hot mountain yam.

Seeing this, Li Shang only then coldly snorted: "Tell the Investigation Bureau, this operation is no small matter; 【Black Face】 must be taken alive, not dead — if 【Black Face】 is discovered, you must notify our Patrol Bureau to act together..."

(End of Chapter)