Chapter 94: Confidence

"That's the basic situation."

Before the round conference table, Gong Ming stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "For the past two months, the Super-Division Patrol Satellite A07 has been monitoring the entire Lin'an City from low Earth orbit, but the intelligent monitoring system has not detected any abnormalities."

"This indicates that Captain Xu Qiu's disappearance must have occurred in an indoor environment or a location with obstructions where the patrol satellite could not observe."

"However, after the patrol comrades in Lin'an City searched based on Captain Xu Qiu's communicator positioning and movement trajectory, they confirmed that before disappearing, Captain Xu Qiu had gone to many places, almost covering the entire Lin'an City."

"Finally, she suddenly disappeared in a completely unrelated place, leaving behind only a destroyed communicator." Gong Ming said in a low voice.

Silence filled the conference room.

Lin Qing's heart stirred, and suddenly he had a guess.

"Captain Xu Qiu went to many places?"

The martial arts fanatic Hu Xianan, obviously not skilled in analysis and reasoning, frowned and said, "Captain Xu Qiu is just a district patrol officer, right? Her patrol scope is limited to this Upper City District area. Why would she suddenly travel all over Lin'an City?"

Lin Qing pondered and spoke, "To be precise, it should be that Captain Xu Qiu's communicator traveled all over the city, right?"

"Yes, Patrol Chief Lin is correct."

Gong Ming gave Lin Qing an appreciative glance and said softly, "The expert group and the think tank speculate based on the current situation that Captain Xu Qiu's disappearance time should have been earlier. It is highly likely that the enemy took Captain Xu Qiu's communicator and deliberately walked all over Lin'an City to confuse the view."

Hu Xianan was stunned, his eyebrows furrowing even tighter. "Would the enemy dare to be so conspicuous? Even if the monitoring system is incomplete, it's impossible to avoid every single monitor in the entire city, right? And isn't the satellite still watching from the sky?"

"Patrol Chief Hu."

Gong Ming shook his head slightly and said, "Although you haven't cultivated the Zizai Body series of combat techniques, haven't you heard? Once the Zizai Body series of combat techniques are all cultivated to the instinct level, one can change their appearance and body shape."

"You mean the enemy disguised themselves as Captain Xu Qiu and deliberately strolled around Lin'an City?" Hu Xianan suddenly realized.

"The possibility is high."

Gong Ming said, "So Captain Xu Qiu's disappearance time should have been earlier. The earliest it could have been was around 3 PM yesterday afternoon. That was the last time Captain Xu Qiu performed iris recognition; after that, no iris recognition was performed again."

Lin Qing narrowed his eyes slightly.

Disguising someone else's iris would require iris transplant surgery, first removing one's own iris, which is difficult to achieve quickly.

Fingerprints and facial features are easier to handle. Although many modern facilities require 'live fingerprints,' this is not difficult to counter.

He was confident he could transform into Xu Qiu's appearance and then pass general inspections using her fingerprints and facial recognition.

"Patrol Chief Lin."

Gong Ming suddenly looked at Lin Qing and said, "Captain Xu Qiu seemed to have told you that the mysterious person she met on April 21st could easily defeat her, using the Zizai Body combat technique and the Divine Transformation combat technique, right?"

Lin Qing nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, that mysterious person used the instinctual intimidation of the Divine Transformation series, defeating her in one move the moment she felt instinctive fear."

"It seems the person disguised as Captain Xu Qiu might also be this mysterious person."

Gong Ming nodded slightly and said, "This person is suspected to be the Number One Leader of the Crimson Oriole Society, but he did not kill Captain Xu Qiu. Perhaps it was out of caution, or perhaps there were other reasons."

"What is that person's approximate strength?" Hu Xianan frowned. "I heard he is comparable to a Senior Patrol Chief?"

"This is just Captain Xu Qiu's misjudgment, but it should be impossible." Gong Ming shook his head slightly. "He is just a leader of the Crimson Oriole Society. If he truly possessed the strength of a Senior Patrol Chief, then Chu Tianyao would not have died."

But he knew clearly in his heart that this was a lie.

Although he didn't know why the higher-ups wanted him to tell this lie, there must have been some plan, so he just followed orders.

"That makes sense." Hu Xianan felt relieved and couldn't help but sigh.

"At least his Zizai Body series of combat techniques have all been cultivated to the instinct level." Gong Ming said softly. "And since he is from the Primitive Research Institute, he might also possess some genetic abilities and should not be underestimated."

"That's not bad." Hu Xianan nodded slightly, but he was clearly less wary.

"Moreover, this person is very familiar with the patrol's search operations, so he might also be part of the patrol system."

Gong Ming suddenly swept his gaze around and said, "In the Jiangnan region, anyone who has learned the Zizai Body series of combat techniques is a suspect, especially locals of Lin'an City."

Lin Qing's expression remained calm.

Although he pretended that Chu Tianyao killed Xiao Pei, he was now the most innocent person present.

—Because he was fighting Chu Tianyao at that time.

And Yuan Anping, sitting nearby, also sat there with a calm expression.

"However..."

Gong Ming said in a low voice, "The progress of combat technique cultivation can be hidden. If one does not reveal it, no one can tell. The Illuminati and the Primitive Research Institute can also teach the Zizai Body series of combat techniques, so innocence found in official records proves nothing."

He paused. "According to the investigation, the only one who can currently be cleared of suspicion is Patrol Chief Lin, and Lin'an City's Chief Patrol Officer Yuan Anping can also be temporarily cleared of suspicion."

Lin Qing had known this all along.

Yuan Anping went out that day and left Lin'an City, but this itself was suspicious.

He knew Yuan Anping had hidden his strength, so he had naturally suspected before whether the Number One Leader might be Yuan Anping.

However, on the day of the incident, Yuan Anping left Lin'an City in a patrol car. Except for getting off for a minute or two to use the restroom when passing a service area, the surveillance inside the patrol car showed Yuan Anping the entire time. Even after arriving at the destination, there was surveillance to testify.

Even if he disappeared for a while in between, it was far from enough to travel back and forth to the crime scene.

Of course...

Even so, Lin Qing could still think of several methods to create such alibi evidence.

If even he could think of it, how could the expert group and the think tank, with so many people, not think of it? So, Yuan Anping was only temporarily cleared of suspicion; compared to others, his suspicion was much lighter.

"There are many suspicious people. A list is provided here; everyone can take a look."

As Gong Ming spoke, the projection on the table immediately turned into simple profiles of the suspected targets.

"This list is for reference only. We hope everyone will be careful and vigilant."

Gong Ming said solemnly, "The key to this operation lies in searching for Captain Xu Qiu's whereabouts. Every place she has gone since 3 PM yesterday afternoon must be searched thoroughly."

"Note this—"

He glanced at the life detector placed nearby and said, "The enemy might have methods to bypass the life detector. There might also be underground activity spaces deeper than fifty meters beneath Lin'an City."

Lin Qing understood his meaning.

Just because previous detections found nothing does not mean they do not exist.

After all, current underground space detection technology can only detect down to a depth of fifty meters underground.

"Based on the strength distribution of the twenty-nine inspectors, three inspection chiefs, and one senior inspection chief present, this is the most reasonable grouping method constructed by the Patrol System's intelligence."

Gong Ming tapped his fingertip, and a roster allocation plan immediately appeared. "Everyone, please look."

Lin Qing looked closely.

The overall commander, Lian Zexu, forms a group of one, granted the highest traffic priority to provide effective support at any time.

He, Yuan Anping, and Hu Xianan, the three inspection chiefs, each lead a portion of inspectors, maintaining distance from the overall commander Lian Zexu as the center while conducting searches.

After glancing at the inspectors' allocation roster, Lin Qing understood that the AI constructing this roster must have ranked him as the weakest of the three.

Because the ten inspectors assigned to him were arguably the strongest portion.

The ten inspectors assigned to Yuan Anping were slightly weaker than his portion.

Hu Xianan, on the other hand, was assigned only nine inspectors, and they were all the weakest portion.

"This roster is merely the Patrol System's intelligence allocating based on everyone's previous performance," Gong Ming said. "If any of you have confidence in your strength or lack confidence, you may speak up, and we will reallocate reasonably."

Lin Qing naturally knew that the Patrol System's intelligence likely calculated his strength based on his performance when he killed Chu Tianyao.

But at that time, he had only exerted nearly half his strength.

Moreover, two months have passed, and he is far stronger now than he was then.

On this roster, both he and Yuan Anping were clearly hiding their strength, yet they received the greatest protection.

Such an unbalanced allocation is indeed detrimental to the search.

Lin Qing pondered for a moment, then spoke: "The inspectors allocated in Inspection Chief Hu's roster are all on the weaker side. Shall I transfer a few stronger ones from my side? Actually, recently..."

"I don't need them."

Before Lin Qing could finish, Hu Xianan interrupted him, shaking his head: "Given Inspection Chief Lin's strength, there is no need for modesty, right? Here, leaving three inspectors as assistants for me is enough; the other six can be distributed to you."

Lin Qing was stunned.

Yuan Anping smiled, shaking his head: "Inspection Chief Hu is underestimating people a bit too much, isn't he?"

Hu Xianan frowned: "Then how about we fight? You two fight together. If you two can last ten seconds under my hand, I will approve this current allocation."

He had absolute confidence.

Even among the outer hall students of Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall, he could be called a combat technique genius.

Now, he has cultivated all eight beast forms of the Hundred Beasts series to the instinct level; this is two more than the Hundred Beasts series provided by the Patrol, and only students of Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall can learn them.

Unfortunately, his gene awakening probability was too low. Although he had the bloodline evolution method provided by Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall, his progress was very slow; he barely excavated one weaker gene ability, which is why he was advised to drop out.

Otherwise, he would have had hope of entering the inner hall.

Even so, with the instinct-level Hundred Beasts combat techniques plus his gene ability, he could deal with an ordinary inspection chief without needing even a few moves.

Even if the two of them attacked together, it would be meaningless.

As for these weak inspectors?

Having more would be useless.

"So confident?"

Lin Qing couldn't help but size up this Hu Xianan, known as a martial arts fanatic.

Perhaps this outstanding student from the outer hall of Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall is truly extraordinary?

"Forget it."

Lin Qing didn't want to expose his strength over such a trivial matter, so he shook his head immediately: "Since Inspection Chief Hu has confidence, let's keep this allocation."

"I have always lacked ambition and insight," Yuan Anping said with a chuckle. "I didn't realize Inspection Chief Hu actually had such strength? Then thank you, Inspection Chief Hu."

Hu Xianan nodded slightly and said: "I only need three assistants here; letting them run errands is enough. You two can divide the rest."

"Alright, we can't辜负 Inspection Chief Hu's good intentions," Yuan Anping said, nodding with a smile. "Just hope Inspection Chief Hu doesn't regret it."

"Regret?"

Hu Xianan also heard that this surname Yuan, neither male nor female, was mocking him. His face turned cold as he said: "When Inspection Chief Yuan encounters danger, just don't beg me to save you."

Yuan Anping smiled indifferently. "That remains to be seen, Inspection Chief Hu. You'll have to help me then."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly and said no more.

If not for the sake of making the search mission smoother, he wouldn't even want to advise.

"Let it be."

Hu Xianan turned to look at Gong Ming and said calmly: "Official Gong, which search area has the highest danger? I'll take it."

"Boom!!"

Hu Xianan hurriedly raised both arms to catch a punch coming straight at him. He felt waves of terrifying invisible force surging wildly within his body, making his whole body numb and powerless.

The floor tiles beneath his feet were even cracked into spiderweb-like fissures by the force penetrating into the earth.

"Who are you..."

Hu Xianan looked at the mysterious man opposite him, shrouded in black clothes, with disbelief, his heart trembling involuntarily.

Was it his first night searching in Lin'an City, and he had already hit the jackpot?

At this moment, beneath the opponent's pale smiling mask, those eyes emitted a terrifying life-threatening pressure, making his limbs go soft with instinctive fear, allowing him to exert only part of his strength.

Just the instinctive intimidation of the Divine Transformation has this effect?

This is simply the strength of a senior inspection chief! "Haha—"

The next moment, the mysterious man opposite let out a sharp, distorted laugh, flashed his figure, and suddenly disappeared from Hu Xianan's sight.

"Boom!"

Hu Xianan felt his vision go black, and his entire body completely fainted, collapsing headfirst onto the ground.

The three inspectors around him froze.

How can we fight someone this strong? At this moment—

"Whoosh!"

Accompanied by the sound of wind tearing, a phantom moving at a terrifying speed suddenly appeared hundreds of meters away, sweeping across the long street and rushing here at extreme velocity.

"Truly fast."

Beneath the mysterious figure's pale smiling mask, a hint of playful amusement flickered in those eyes, and then he departed silently at equally terrifying speed.

"Huff!"

The blurry phantom rushing from afar, like wind sweeping up dust and sand, reached the scene from a street corner over a hundred meters away in only about one second.

That figure suddenly froze, the phantom solidified, and it was none other than the overall commander, Lian Zexu, who had received the distress signal.

"Where is he?"

Lian Zexu's face darkened as he took out his communicator and asked, "Instructor Gong, where is he?"

Only the low voice of Gong Ming came through the communicator: "Trouble. The enemy's strength is far greater than imagined; crucially, he carries a portable device that hides his life field. No wonder the life detector couldn't find him."

Lian Zexu glanced at Hu Xianan, unconscious on the ground, and shook his head slightly.

"His limbs have all been shattered by hidden force," Lian Zexu said, frowning.

Just at that moment—

"Rush to support immediately!"

Gong Ming's voice in the communicator suddenly became anxious: "He has gone to find Lin Qing again!"

(End of this chapter)