[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-reborn-in-2014-i-am-the-king-of-criminal-investi":3,"chapter-reborn-in-2014-i-am-the-king-of-criminal-investi-reborn-in-2014-i-am-the-king-of-criminal-investi-chapter-87":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Reborn in 2014: I Am the King of Criminal Investigation",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2315943,4529,"Chapter 87: A Touch of Brutality","reborn-in-2014-i-am-the-king-of-criminal-investi-chapter-87",87,"\u003Cp>Lu Zhongxin heard this and widened his eyes:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also dead?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dazhang nodded, affirming:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was the first to die. I watched him take his last breath. The situation was urgent—I could only…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough, enough.” Lu Zhongxin waved his hand impatiently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t want to listen to Yu Dazhang’s nonsense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier praising his disciple was just to spare him psychological burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let me put it this way: killing always leaves psychological scars, especially the first time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It has nothing to do with mental resilience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it’s a soldier on the battlefield, an accidental killing, or a deliberate one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the first kill, you feel nauseous, terrified, empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the hardest soldiers, who’ve killed hundreds on the battlefield, feel some guilt with every kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are there people born as killers, who feel unbearable discomfort if they don’t kill one a day?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But very few.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such people suffer from psychological disorders—they’re outside the scope of normal humanity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhongxin knew several officers with killing experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to them, they suffered insomnia for entire nights, waking up instantly even if they fell asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a long time afterward, they remained mentally dazed, unable to concentrate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without prompt psychological treatment, they could develop mental abnormalities—or even go insane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhongxin used to believe this completely, since it wasn’t just one person saying it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But today he doubted it—those people must’ve exaggerated the aftereffects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Insomnia?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Entire nights of insomnia?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His disciple’s eyes were barely open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Look at him—he’d drop straight to sleep on the steps if you handed him a pillow right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he saw it: he himself had been overthinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medical staff gradually climbed the mountain and carried two severely injured officers, including Zhang Sen, down on stretchers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man shot by Zhang Sen was still alive and was also taken away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The house at the village entrance was horrific.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bodies lay scattered across the courtyard; in the cellar lay a corpse with blood nearly drained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What made the scene officers’ skin crawl was that among them were women, children, youths, and a middle-aged man over fifty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost every gender and age group was represented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It meant that to the killer, these people held no distinction—he treated them all equally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medical staff later confirmed: seven dead, three critically injured!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from two youths and the boy, who still had vital signs, the other seven were all dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Detectives and doctors are the two professions most exposed to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One constantly visits crime scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other constantly rushes to rescue sites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What gruesome scenes haven’t they seen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet today, looking at these corpses, they still felt chilled to the bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too horrific.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire courtyard reeked of thick, pungent blood, making people nauseous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One hour later, the entire village was sealed off; the mountain road was fully cordoned off with a quarantine line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Various excavation tools were transported up the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After interrogating villagers, they learned there were two designated sites on the mountain for disposing of bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the time span was too long, no one could recall the exact details of either site.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If only a few had died, then at least a hundred people must’ve been sold from this village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, the Fenglinzhen Police Station was also sealed off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All officers inside were taken in for investigation; patrol officer Dong Bo was directly listed as the primary suspect in the trafficking case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the town’s public security team wasn’t spared—the team leader was suspended pending investigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dazhang ate some food brought up by colleagues and drank a bottle of sweet water; his strength quickly returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d planned to stay and help on the mountain, but his Master ordered him down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go back and think carefully about how to write your report—everything must be framed as self-defense under threat to life.” The hint was obvious; Yu Dazhang knew exactly what his Master meant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dazhang went to the hospital early to visit Zhang Sen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To say he felt no anger over his partner’s actions would be a lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Zhang Sen hadn’t acted on impulse and made that wrong decision, he wouldn’t have had to risk climbing the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then again, Zhang Sen did something wrong—he wasn’t a bad person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From a professional standpoint, his behavior was reckless and extreme, completely lacking the qualities expected of a qualified detective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But emotionally, his courage to enter the lion’s den alone to save someone—how many men could match that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People differ inherently; a hundred households raise a hundred kinds of people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some are calm, others impulsive—no profession can make everyone remain perfectly rational.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Zhang, why’s your leg still suspended?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please... please... collect 6...9...books....!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dazhang sat beside the bed, his eyes filled with concern:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Was the homemade gun really that powerful? Broke your leg clean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he lightly poked the suspended leg with his finger twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey hey hey, don’t—” Zhang Sen quickly protested, trying to sit up, but Yu Dazhang pressed his shoulder down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lay back, avoiding Yu Dazhang’s gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t be so reckless next time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dazhang straightened up, staring at Zhang Sen’s pale face:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You won’t always be this lucky.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ward fell silent, save for their breathing—the air thick with suffocating tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, Zhang Sen slowly turned his head, fixing his eyes on Yu Dazhang:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How’s my Master?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice carried suppressed emotion, as if he’d used all his strength to utter those words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s alive.” Yu Dazhang smiled gently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was lucky—the doctor said if he’d arrived two hours later, he wouldn’t have made it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before entering the ward, he’d inquired about the other two officers’ conditions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d also learned that the critically injured one was Zhang Sen’s Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing his Master was safe, Zhang Sen finally relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A touch of color returned to his face, but then his chest felt as if a stone had settled inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And… I’m sorry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arriving at Team One, Yu Dazhang found most colleagues had returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Lu Zhongxin was back at the station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dazhang walked over and asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, what’s the situation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The municipal bureau has taken over,” Lu Zhongxin replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our tech division went too—starting today, every forensic pathologist in Songhai City will be swamped!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why so many forensic pathologists… Yu Dazhang didn’t understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had killed people—many, it seemed—but he wasn’t worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only had they found the people and the guns, but the victims he’d killed had homemade firearms—even the boy carried a dagger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So his killing of the criminals was a necessary official act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a bit brutal, but legal and necessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Based on his experience, the crime scene investigation should’ve ended yesterday—why send so many tech personnel now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“New developments on the mountain?” Yu Dazhang asked his Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the only possibility he could think of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Zhongxin lowered his voice and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“According to Officer Wei, the city bureau organized an all-night excavation yesterday and has so far unearthed seventeen sets of remains.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is just one pit—the bones are stacked layer upon layer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The lowest layer has been dead the longest; preliminary forensic analysis at the scene suggests at least twenty years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Dazhang calculated the time in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group from 1990 settled on the mountain twenty-four years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That means they came up the mountain specifically to commit crimes later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty-four years—they’ve killed this many people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What about those sold off?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The number must be horrifying… Yu Dazhang dared not dwell on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clenched his teeth and punched the desk beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These beasts!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1268,"2026-06-20T14:22:46.062Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5d490a6e77c9319dba43a7b0406e3a19330d943340ef9d8c93adaa340b74af8e","reborn-in-2014-i-am-the-king-of-criminal-investi-chapter-88","reborn-in-2014-i-am-the-king-of-criminal-investi-chapter-86",763,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Freborn-in-2014-i-am-the-king-of-criminal-investi-cover.jpg"]