Chapter 764: I

Looking for an excuse to slack off a little?

Upon hearing Lyon's suggestion, the female police officer couldn't help but feel a slight stir in her heart—she instinctively wanted to say yes, for even an extra hour of sleep now was a luxury, let alone several hours.

But just then, a loud thud came from beside her; the male officer nearby, who had been nodding off like a pecking chick, crashed face-first into his food tray—had his companion not grabbed him, he would've fallen straight to the floor.

"Never mind…"

After glancing at the unfortunate colleague, the female officer let out a long, weary sigh and said with a disgruntled expression:

"Everyone's working hard. If I alone slacked off, I'd feel guilty. Besides, I've been promoted fast enough these past two years—many in the bureau already think I got here through connections. I don't want them gossiping even more."

"Alright then."

After giving the female officer a glance of quiet admiration, Lyon, helpless, went back to shoveling food. But after scooping up a spoonful of mashed potatoes, she suddenly remembered something and asked with concern:

"By the way, you asked me for a permit last time—said you needed to take a few people on a dangerous mission and wanted to borrow some gear from the spare depot. Have you returned those items yet?"

Those items… although Senior Pioni returned to the bureau yesterday, those documents and uniforms should still be in the hands of the rebels…

"Not yet…"

Lyon, knowing exactly what he'd done with those items, spoke with a slightly evasive gaze:

"What? Does your bureau still check the spare depot?"

"Usually not."

The female officer shook her head:

"The depot's managed loosely—might go years without a single inspection. Yesterday, while helping with the inventory, I even found the three custodians stealing from it. They've been secretly selling off non-sensitive items since three years ago."

Lyon, seasoned by countless trials, kept his voice perfectly calm; the female officer, buried in her meal, noticed nothing unusual and chatted with him casually:

"You know, a lot of people in our bureau just don't care. If no one attacks the boarding tower, those two rats could easily bluff their way through. Those obsessed with catching suspects would never notice a problem in the depot."

"But now everyone's working overtime nonstop, supplies are being used up too fast, so we've had to draw from the depot. When we realized the shortages were too severe, we did a quick inventory these past two days—I was even pulled in to help."

"I turned in my report this morning, and within hours, those two custodians were caught. So if you've finished using those items, you'd better return them, write down the reason for borrowing, and fill out the proper log."

"Even though those two stole a ton of stuff and forged records over three years, and your missing items are negligible, it's still better to confirm the numbers—otherwise, it'll look like I'm helping you steal bureau property."

"Oh…"

Impossible to return them—not ever. The serial numbers on those access documents were recorded during the checkpoint crossing. What if they were returned?

Lyon wolfed down the last of his meal, grabbed the woman's soup bowl, gulped it down, and barely swallowed the piled food before hastily saying goodbye:

"Uh… I've got a mission today—I'm off!"

"That's my soup! And you… ah, forget it, go ahead, go!"

Even eating in such a rush—Lyon's work over at Clearance must be no easy task…

Watching Lyon leave in a panic, then glancing at colleagues snoring in their chairs nearby, the female officer sighed in sympathetic understanding, quickly finished her pudding, gathered her and Lyon's trays, carried them to the cleaning station, and hurried back toward the Secret Investigation Bureau.

…

"Isa! Come with me quick!"

As she entered the first-floor lobby of the Secret Investigation Bureau, a familiar middle-aged female officer ran over, beaming:

"Go to the third-floor small conference room! The bureau just made a major breakthrough!"

A major breakthrough?!

Did that mean they might catch the culprit, recover the lost items from the Kingdom of Corok, and finally escape this hellish overtime?

Hearing her colleague's words, the female officer's expression brightened instantly. Like a panther, she dashed into the stairwell, leaping up three steps at a time, heading straight for the small conference room marked "Temporary Command Post."

"Everyone! I have three thrilling pieces of good news!"

The middle-aged man on stage, seeing the female officer return with a radiant face, gave her a warm nod and continued energetically:

"Over the past few days, my team completed interviews with all seven checkpoints and the 2, 00 guards at the boarding tower, compiling a list of everyone who passed through that day."

"The first good news: after three days of relentless, sleepless effort by our investigation team, we've eliminated thirty-seven groups with normal travel records—our suspects are now narrowed down to just five!"

Only five groups left? That was huge news!

Hearing the newly appointed head of the Secret Investigation Bureau announce this, the female officer's face lit up—her dark circles visibly faded.

With the bureau's current efficiency, even fifty groups could be cleared in a week. This rebel attack on the boarding tower was now practically solved! Seeing the officers below smiling with relief, the middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction, then couldn't help but smile:

"The second good news… after today's morning inventory of the spare depot, we've essentially ruled out four of those five groups!"

"What?!!!"

"So we've already locked onto the target?"

"Oh my god! No more overtime!"

"Director, you're amazing!"

Watching his subordinates erupt in shock, then turn to him with reverent gazes, the middle-aged man clenched his lips tightly, trying to maintain his dignity as director.

But thinking of the immense credit this breakthrough would bring—and his inevitable promotion—he finally couldn't hold back and declared joyfully:

"Yes! We've preliminarily locked onto the target. Now, if we find that group, we have a high chance of closing the case outright!"

"Wonderful!!!"

"No wonder you're the director!"

"Catch them! Catch them!"

"Quiet!"

The middle-aged man raised his hand, calming the overexcited crowd. Seeing Isa, equally thrilled, he remembered her connection to the Minister of Defense and kindly waved her over.

"Lastly, besides my team's efforts, we owe this breakthrough to one person…"

As the female officer stepped onto the stage, confused, the man smiled and said:

"While everyone was overwhelmed and ignored everything else, only Isa remained diligent, checking the inventory and locating most of the missing items!"

"To be honest, when she handed me her report this morning, I thought she was overreacting—why waste time on an inventory of neglected supplies during such a critical moment?"

"But out of professional responsibility, I glanced at her report—and was utterly shocked to discover that the serial numbers of the missing police ID cards matched exactly one of those five groups!"

Emphasizing his own diligence and meticulous attention to suspicious serial numbers, the man beamed:

"We'd previously checked these numbers, but after confirming they were deactivated IDs, we dismissed them as forgeries and focused on suspects who'd handled the seals—never dug deeper."

"Thanks to Isa's careful attention, we now have a vital new lead! Everyone, applaud!"

"Woo!!"

"Isa! Isa!"

"If I have to work overtime one more day, I'll die… Isa, you've saved my life!"

"This… I just got lucky. No need to overdo it…"

Flushed with embarrassment under her colleagues' grateful stares, the female officer waved her hands, smiling brightly, then quickly changed the subject:

"Director, you said there were three good news—what's the third?"

"The third piece of good news: we've identified partial physical descriptions of the key suspect!"

The middle-aged man smiled:

"According to the two custodians' testimony, though they didn't keep records, they vaguely recalled that before the boarding tower attack, someone presented a note from a Secret Investigation Bureau member and took away those IDs and some clothing."

"The depot was dim, and the man's face seemed veiled in mist—they didn't clearly remember his features, and the note later vanished—but he was a slender young man wearing a worn black overcoat!"

"Now, if we find this man and question him about the items' whereabouts, we have a high chance of capturing them all. We're truly within reach of closing the case!"

"Wonderful!"

"Case closed! Finally, the case is closing!"

"Isa! Isa! My goddess who saved my life!"

Amid the excited cheers of the secret police below, the middle-aged man clapped the female officer on the shoulder, praising her with clear admiration:

"This is all thanks to you!"

"If you hadn't been so careful and thorough, our investigation would've gone off track—we'd have needed at least another month to reach this point, and the culprit might've escaped by then!"

"Ahahaha, no wonder you're the daughter of that… uh… incredible person! When I next meet your father, I'll make sure to tell him properly… hmm? What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"

"Happy… extremely happy!"

Hearing the director's words, the female officer, recognizing many familiar descriptions, clenched her small white teeth hard, then forced a smile brimming with murderous intent:

"I'm so happy I could burst!!!"

(End of Chapter)