Chapter 149

After drinking half the night with the red-haired chief and spending a whole day asleep on her desk wrapped in a blanket, Li Ang opened his eyes again, his head pounding, to find the sun already sunk below the horizon.

"Mr. Li Ang, we are investigators from headquarters, assigned to investigate the 'Wild Heart Rampage Incident' you handled. Are you ready to answer questions now?"

"Huh?"

"…"

Seeing the man's eyes blank with confusion, his gaze unfocused, likely unable to tell if he was human or dog, the young female investigator frowned and raised her voice again:

"We are investigators from headquarters, assigned to investigate your case. The preliminary investigation is complete. Now please cooperate with our questioning!"

"Oh… cooperate… definitely cooperate…"

After blinking and blinking for a long while, Li Ang finally understood the situation, perking up instantly—he tried to shake off the blanket and sit up, but…

He couldn't move.

He grabbed the red-haired chief's arm and tugged twice, but got no result—she still clung to him tightly on the desk. Li Ang pushed her twice, then leaned over awkwardly to remind her:

"Chief! Let go! The investigators are here!"

"Chief! Wake up!"

"…"

Damn it…

Under the stunned stares of the two investigators, Li Ang took a deep breath and spoke with obvious embarrassment:

"I'll cooperate fully with the investigation, but could you help me out first? Get me loose? And… please be gentle—I think my ribs might be broken…"

"…"

After decades as investigators, this was the first time they'd ever heard such a request…

After exchanging a glance with the utterly speechless female investigator, the elderly male investigator shook his head, scribbled a few notes on the form, then slowly walked over and cautiously extended his hand toward the red-haired chief's arm.

"Sssss!"

Just as the elderly investigator's palm neared the chief's skin, a sharp sound tore through the air—the entire office dimmed slightly.

In utter shock, all four realized that, centered on the chief's desk, tens of thousands of crimson hairs had stretched infinitely—within a single heartbeat, they had woven a massive scarlet "cocoon," binding every living thing nearby.

The elderly investigator's vital points were instantly "bit" by thousands of living hairs. Li Ang stared closely and saw the tips of those hairs had already pierced his flesh—he guessed that if the red-haired chief so much as thought it, they could surge straight through and shred everything inside.

The red-haired chief, who had been drunk moments ago, now had her eyes wide open, cold and merciless, staring at the two investigators frozen stiff.

"So it's you… you scared me…"

After glancing at the elderly investigator, she seemed to recognize him—her face lit with sudden understanding. Instantly, all the crimson hair in the room retracted, and the office returned to its normal state.

"Sorry. I drank too much last night."

Seeing her retract 【Blood-Scourge Crimson Hair】, both investigators exhaled in unison. The older male investigator smiled calmly and stepped back. The pale-faced young female investigator bit her lip and said:

"Madam Olivia, I will report everything that just happened, truthfully!"

"Mm-hmm, report it, report it~"

Glancing at the female investigator who had threatened her, the red-haired chief nodded, then yawned carelessly, rolled over, and lay back down.

If this had been two weeks ago, she might have cared—but after the horrific Lyon Blood Night at year's end, the bureau's annual evaluation was certain to be last place. Whether or not this got reported made no difference.

I'm already dead last—what do I care if you report me for disrupting the exam site?

At this point, scores don't matter anymore. I'm just gonna lie down and quit!

Damn it!

As if provoked by her utter indifference, the female investigator bit her lip again, then turned to Li Ang, now free, and said coldly:

"Mr. Li Ang, since you're free now, can you begin cooperating with our investigation?"

"Okay…"

"No."

At that moment, the red-haired chief, lying back on the desk with her back to them, spoke with clear annoyance:

"If you're going to investigate, do it somewhere else. Why investigate in my office? Don't you see I'm still resting? Get out, get out! I just finished a night shift—I'm exhausted!"????

Hearing the chief's words, watching the female investigator's face turn from pale to red to ashen, Li Ang inwardly groaned.

Chief! Are you worried my shoes don't fit, planning to have these two investigators deliver me a smaller pair?

After you've stirred up this fire, even if Lyon Blood Night really was my fault, even if I'm completely innocent, these two are bound to find a way to smear me now, aren't they?

"Heh, let's go, let's go."

Unlike the furious female investigator beside him, the elderly male investigator seemed mild-mannered—he wasn't angered by the chief's rude dismissal. Instead, he gently pushed her back, saying with a chuckle:

"The Black Zodiac Bureau has the smallest staff. Madam Olivia's duties are always heavy; after pulling an all-nighter, she deserves rest. We really shouldn't disturb her…"

"What rest?"

Clearly disgusted by the chief's behavior, the female investigator yanked her arm free and snapped angrily:

"Look at all these empty bottles—how can you claim she was working?!"

"I'm reporting this today! Someone as emotionally unstable as her, drinking all night in a branch bureau—how can she be a Black Zodiac Bureau chief? Not to mention—"

"Enough!"

Hearing this, the weary investigator's face darkened. He snapped sharply:

"You know nothing. This isn't your business!"

"But I—"

"What's the third rule of investigation? Recite it!"

"All… all decisions must be based on facts. Personal emotion must not influence the investigation…"

"Then what should you do now?"

"…"

The relationship between the two investigators seemed almost like master and apprentice. After being scolded, the young female investigator took a deep breath, clenched her lips again, turned sharply, bowed deeply toward the red-haired chief on the desk, then spun and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

After also bowing to the red-haired bureau chief, the elderly investigator said amiably to Hearing Li Ang:

"Mr. Hearing Li Ang, since Madam Olivia needs to rest, let's head to your office first. Also, please don't be too nervous—this is just a routine inquiry."

"All right."

Seeing that, of the two investigators, one had not been annoyed by the bureau chief, Hearing Li Ang couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, then stood up and followed the elderly investigator out of the bureau chief's office.

After leaving the office, just as Hearing Li Ang was about to open his mouth and chat a bit to ease the somewhat stiff atmosphere, he felt a faint itch on his chest.

When Hearing Li Ang looked down, he saw a red hair poking out from his collar, drifting toward the elderly investigator's back, then twisting twice in the blind spot of the other's field of vision, turning into an exclamation-mark-like symbol, and quietly pressing itself against the old investigator's back.