Chapter 334 - 333: Doubts, Arrangement

Receiving surveillance of the three missing patrollers, Li Jing clicked each to view them.

The lengths of the three surveillance videos varied greatly.

The shortest was four minutes, and the longest was eleven minutes.

The three surveillance videos shared three common elements.

First, the three patrollers were under the watch of road surveillance throughout.

Second, all three patrollers were in plain clothes.

Third, in the surveillance videos, the three missing patrollers appeared at the tail end of Dark Street towards Dong Ye City, in front of a privately-owned pawn shop before leaving.

At a glance, the problem was very obvious.

Firstly, the three patrollers seem to have consciously realized that they might be in danger and therefore ensured they were always under the surveillance of the roads.

Secondly, the destinations of the three missing patrollers in the variable-length surveillance videos were very specific - the pawnshop at the end of the street.

Throughout, they didn’t leave the surveillance coverage area, they didn’t enter any shops on the street, and they didn’t enter the pawnshop either.

This made it very intriguing.

Rather than say their target was the pawn shop, it seemed more plausible to say they were using the pawn shop as a meeting point.

It appeared as if they were summoned here by someone, knowing they might be in danger, and then got stood up and decided to leave when they sensed something was wrong.

This was somewhat suspicious.

Having foreseen possible danger, why would the three patrollers still take the risk to come alone?

They left when they realized something was wrong and didn’t report to the Patrol Headquarters afterward. This did not align with the procedure.

Not to mention whether the person they were meeting was sensitive or not, no patroller would take their safety lightly.

Seeking assistance from their affiliated patrol bureau on the assumption of potential danger is basic protocol.

It’s even a compulsory question in the patrol recruitment exam.

What led them to not report?

Li Jing’s eyebrows knitted together, quickly making connections.

The person who had successively summoned the three patrollers was most likely an informant who should remain hidden.

As for their identity.

It could be someone from inside the Rakshasa, or it could be another person involved.

Not being able to meet up with them was probably because the three patrollers decided to take a conservative approach to protect the safety of the informant.

Watching the three completed surveillance videos, Li Jing squinted.

If things were as he surmised, this informant was a big problem.

Standing up a patroller led to them becoming a victim.

It could be seen as the informant being discovered by the Rakshasa or other involved parties, but they themselves had no idea until the last moment when they decided to ditch the patroller to protect themselves.

When the same thing happened three times in a short period of a month, this informant seemed suspicious.

Their moves were very much like bait.

Bait for patrollers who might already have specific findings to confirm their identities for the Rakshasa or other involved parties and deal with them.

Midway through his thoughts, a message from Xia Ai popped up on his phone screen.

"Master, I have investigated the identities and respective companies of those individuals in the document. As you predicted, these companies all have issues with their capital chain, tax records, and other areas. Some of them are involved in fraud. These people are all registered to live in Dong Ye City, but most of their assets are primarily concentrated in the capital."

Receiving this message, Li Jing’s mouth curved up.

Xia Ai never failed to impress him.

It was no surprise that the main brains of the Rakshasa had questionable assets and industries.

If there were no problems, they would simply be legitimate businessmen rather than underworld figures.

The tricky part was.

Finding these hidden problems.

If an investigation were carried out manually, not only would the workload be huge and it would be difficult to verify aspects, but various supporting documents would also need to be submitted to obtain corresponding permissions.

Even during some investigations, a search warrant would have to be produced to inform the party involved and ask for their cooperation.

This was the normal procedure.

There was no problem with it.

But that was equivalent to alerting someone, I am going for you.

Anybody with a bit of ability or foresight would have ample time to destroy evidence that could be used against them.

When Xia Ai was in charge, however, this was not a problem.

With his authorization, Xia Ai could easily breach the accounts and servers of the main brains of Rakshasa without anyone’s consent.

While this wasn’t legal.

But sometimes, if you want to handle things by the book, it’s very difficult to achieve results, not just with the Rakshasa, isn’t the entire Dark Street existing due to the limitations on patrol operations?

Are these gray forces not flaunting themselves in Dark Street, exploiting the fact that it is difficult for patrols to secure evidence and using a cover that it’s clear to anyone as a disguise?

At this time, it came down to the versatility and connections of the patrollers themselves.

Discarding the rigid-minded ones.

The personal flexibility and connections of the patrollers determined the potential development of a case.

Li Jing was fortunate.

In this highly advanced internet era, he had Xia Ai.

Without giving it much thought, Li Jing composed a message.

"Good job, compile all the relevant information and send it over."

"Understood."

Xiao Ai responded.

Within two seconds, she sent over the organized information file.

Li Jing opened and checked the file he received, then composed a message.

"About the previous list of a thousand names change the direction of your verification. No need to check the national surveillance, focus on the street where I am currently located, confirm whether anyone from the list has appeared here. Also, check if three big bald men have ever appeared on the street I am on. If so, please send me their facial data immediately."

"Understood."

Xiao Ai replied, then sent another message.

"Master, since it seems you won’t return to Jianghai for quite a while. The energy of the Supercomputer Host can last at most three days. Can I call Ji Qing over to fill it up?"

Upon receiving this message, Li Jing chuckled.

"You already have a body now, just do whatever you need to do when you’re alone at home. If you need someone because the Supercomputer Host is running out of energy, handle it yourself. Right, it’s almost the end of the month, your household’s mistress and I probably won’t be able to go home for a while, remember to pay the utility bills for the villa."

"Okay, Xiao Ai understands."

Xiao Ai replied to the message.

Getting this reply, Li Jing stopped worrying.

Not only is Xiao Ai a mature Artificial Intelligence, but she also has a set of bionic robot shells, enabling her to move around freely.

With her guarding the house, Li Jing felt completely assured.

After finishing his conversation with Xiao Ai, Li Jing forwarded the information about the assets and related industry problems of the Rakshasa Group’s higher-ups to Jin Ruixin, then wrote a message.

"Leader Jin, how long will it take to verify and freeze the problematic assets and industries in the file?"

After a while, a message from Jin Ruixin arrived.

"It’s not been too long, how did you dig up so much?"

"Are we going to investigate this case or not?"

Li Jing replied to the message without giving a straight answer.

"Let’s go for it!"

Jin Ruixin replied in the blink of an eye, then sent over another message.

"It involves a large amount of money and lots of industries, but now that we have a clear direction, verifying these and freezing them shouldn’t take too long. I estimate it can be done within two hours."

"There’s no rush, keep the freeze time of the assets and industries around nine o’clock in the evening."

Li Jing replied, texted again.

"Also, prepare a batch of arrest personnel for me, stay near the Dark Street at midnight tonight."

"?"

Jin Ruixin sent a question mark.

"Don’t ask too many questions, just do as I said."

Li Jing sent a message, then sent another one.

"Don’t worry, I know my limits and won’t cause large-scale turmoil."

Despite what he said, Jin Ruixin certainly couldn’t be reassured.

All indications showed that Li Jing was targeting Rakshasa group.

It was justified, the only clue we have now points to Rakshasa group.

Jin Ruixin could understand that.

Li Jing’s intention in freezing the assets and industries specifically around nine o’clock in the evening was to create a problem causing the Rakshasa Group’s higher-ups to converge to a certain location in Dark Street tonight.

If all the assets and industries of the Rakshasa Group’s higher-ups were frozen, wouldn’t they be panicking?

A high-level meeting would be inevitable.

At least, they would need to figure out what the problem was.

At that time, it would be a great opportunity to launch an arrest operation and catch all the Rakshasa Group’s higher-ups at once.

But just arresting them based on this is not reliable.

The problems Li Jing provided in the information were minor, at most a temporary frozen of related assets and industries, not enough to reach the level of a patrol arrest.

In the case of a crime group made up of cultivators, an arrest operation cannot be decided lightly and need careful planning.

Otherwise, if they resist, the consequences could be unimaginable.

However, at this point, Li Jing’s words still carry weight.

For now, Jin Ruixin is relying on Li Jing to solve this frustrating problem.

After a while, Jin Ruixin sent a message.

"Understood, I will arrange things properly. No matter what you’re planning to do tonight, be careful not to cause trouble."

"Don’t worry about how I handle things."

Li Jing replied and put his phone away.

His operation indeed did not comply with regulations and was somewhat reckless.

But he didn’t have the patience to play around with a group of criminals who are obviously problematic.

Most importantly, you need to know.

This operation was just the start of the case with these people in play.

Who the three missing patrol officers fell victim to is still an unsolved mystery.

Not long after Li Jing ended his communication with Jin Ruixin, Youthful Charm, who has been in the cosmetics store for almost an hour, was still glowing beautifully. She came out carrying bags large and small.

Seeing Li Jing standing on the street waiting for her, she stuffed everything into her storage space and walked over.

"Where are we going next?"

"There’s a pawnshop at the end of Dark Street. I got information that the three patrolmen have been seen on the street in front of the pawnshop. We’re going there to see if we can gather some information," Li Jing casually mentioned, taking out his phone and showing her the still frames from the surveillance footage.

After studying the footage for a couple of seconds, Tong Yan looked at him strangely.

"Compared to your Bureau work, you’re actually better suited for the Patrol Bureau. We’re barely done shopping and there’s already some new development."

At her words, Li Jing burst out laughing. He didn’t reply and instead turned to walk towards the end of Dark Street.

...

The road through Dark Street wasn’t long.

In half an hour or so, Li Jing and Tong Yan arrived at the pawnshop where the three missing patrolmen had stopped by.

Standing on the street in front of the pawnshop, Li Jing scanned his surroundings.

Meanwhile, Tong Yan squinted at the pawnshop, which was still open despite it being late. Then, she asked softly,

"Should we go inside the pawnshop to look around and perhaps ask a few questions?"

Hearing this, Li Jing looked back at her and said,

"There’s no such thing as a clean store in Dark Street. This pawnshop might belong to the Rakshasa Gang or some other related forces. If we rush in and start asking questions, we might alert them. Let’s find a place to sit. You should rest here while I call a couple of friends."

"Friends?"

Tong Yan blinked.

"Ayu and AJiu. You’ve met them before."

Li Jing smiled.

The news caught Tong Yan off guard, she asked in surprise,

"Those two beautiful foxes came with you to the capital? Why didn’t you call them over sooner?"

She had met Yulian and Jiu Li in the Chongyuan Holy Realm before, but their interaction was minimal.

However, it’s a given when it comes to fox demons!

Those who know, understand!

All fox demons have the ability to charm others.

With such an ability, wouldn’t solving cases be a piece of cake?

Li Jing laughed silently when he heard the term "beautiful foxes".

The title was quite fitting for Yulian.

As for Jiu Li...

It wasn’t that Jiu Li wasn’t attractive, but it was hard to refer to her as a "beauty" after knowing what a tricky fox she was.

Initially, Li Jing didn’t intend to involve Yulian and Jiu Li in this matter.

Mainly because it involved the Hidden World Sect.

While he was fearless against the disciples of the Sect, Yulian and Jiu Li were still unable to break through the Seventh Realm. He didn’t want to put them in trouble.

However, the investigation led them to Dark Street.

It was still necessary to use their abilities, otherwise things might get tricky.

On one hand, it wasn’t convenient for him to expose his patrolman identity in Dark Street, as it might cause a stir.

On the other hand, persuading the hard-headed people on the streets, even as a patrolman, proved to be a challenging task.

Calling over Yulian and Jiu Li at this point seemed like a reasonable move.

Li Jing chose a roadside restaurant with private rooms along with Tong Yan. He selected a private room where they could oversee the street through a window. After they settled down, he passed the menu to Tong Yan.

"Order anything you want."

Having said that, he took out his phone and dialed Yulian’s number.

A moment after the call connected, Yulian picked up.

"Li Jing?"

"Yeah, it’s me."

Li Jing responded, then asked,

"Xiaoyu, where are you and AJiu right now?"

Yulian was always quick-witted.

Li Jing usually referred to her as Xiaoyu and called Jiu Li ’Brother Jiu’.

Hearing Li Jing refer to Jiu Li as AJiu on the phone made her instantly realize that there was someone else with him and that the person wasn’t Liu Sisi.

If it wasn’t Liu Sisi, that meant Li Jing wasn’t attending Liu Shi’s birthday party.

Since Liu Shi’s birthday party was set for tonight and Li Jing, her son-in-law, hadn’t shown up, it was easy for Yulian to guess that Li Jing had once again gotten himself into some kind of trouble.

In other words...

Work has come!

Without any hesitation, Yulian replied,

"AJiu and I are at her old residence. We’ve not been wandering around."

"Old residence?"

Li Jing raised his eyebrows and said,

"Alright, I’ll head over now."

"Okay, we’ll wait for you."

Yulian obediently answered and then asked,

"Do I need to do any preparation?"

"No need, just wait for fifteen minutes."

Li Jing replied with a smile and then hung up the phone.

Yulian could easily sense that he needed her help, which was not surprising. This was the fundamental reason why he chose to contact her rather than Jiu Li.

Not that Jiu Li is stupid, but this cunning fox has a different way of thinking from ordinary people.

After communicating with Yulian, Li Jing turned to the adolescent-looking person who was ordering food.

"Order two more servings, I’ll be back within half an hour."

"Go ahead."

The childlike person waved her hand without looking up, still engrossed in deciding what to have for dinner.

...

After bidding goodbye to the adolescent, Li Jing left the restaurant and hailed a taxi on the street. He exited the Dark Street and headed towards Dong Ye City.

Such a move was relatively conservative.

But out of caution, it was safer to keep a low profile.

At this time in Dark Street, who knows if there might be disciples from the sects lingering around.

Their cultivation level was unknown.

If there were any Seventh Realm practitioners unaffected by his Silent Shadow, his Thunder Movement from the same spot would be simply telling them: I’m coming for you.

Going a bit further away was necessary.

About ten minutes later, having traveled far enough away, Li Jing asked the taxi to stop, paid the fare, and got off. He found an unoccupied spot by the street, activated Silent Shadow, and then travelled by Thunder Movement.

Two minutes later, Li Jing arrived at Jiu Li’s old house located near the Spirit Item Trading Market in the capital city.

As soon as he arrived, he noticed that Yulian and Jiu Li were already waiting in the courtyard of the old house.

Seeing the two of them waiting, Li Jing silently landed and removed the Silent Shadow’s effect from them.

At the next instant, both Yulian and Jiu Li stiffened and turned their heads as if they had seen a ghost.

As high-level monsters, their senses were still incredibly sharp even under various suppressions.

In their perception, the removal of Silent Shadow’s effect made it seem like a person suddenly appeared next to them.

Isn’t that startling?

Finding Li Jing, the two of them relaxed but had different expressions on their faces.

"Are you trying to kill me? Do you know that startling a monster could scare it to death?"

Jiu Li patted her chest with lingering fear, yelling and yet her eyes never left the newcomer.

It was her first time encountering Li Jing’s Silent Shadow.

However, she had already witnessed it from Liu Shi when she visited the Liu family.

Such ability.

It was terrifying!

The person was right there but she, as a Late Six Realm practitioner, wasn’t able to see or sense him!

Knowing that Li Jing had the same ability surprisingly made Jiu Li feel both amazed and envious.

Being able to enter a world where nobody notices, doesn’t that mean nobody would know if he were to do something wicked?

It was a shame she was a monster and not a human!

If she were a person, she could definitely ask Li Jing for guidance.

In contrast to Jiu Li,

Even though Li Jing never mentioned it, Yulian had known early on that he had a similar ability.

Li Jing used it in her presence more than once to influence people around him, but at that time, his cultivation level was too low to affect her.

Now that it did, and it was quite thorough, causing Yulian to be shocked.

The present Li Jing was indeed becoming more and more unfathomable.

Jiu Li’s yelling didn’t bother Li Jing.

Looking at how the cunning fox’s eyes were shifting, he knew she had no good intentions.

Seeing Yulian looking at him with some measure of astonishment, Li Jing gently smiled, said nothing, and reached out his hand.

Seeing this, Yulian flashed her beautiful eyes twice, laughed lightly, put aside her doubts, and placed her slender hand in his.

At this point, Jiu Li was not pleased.

It was clear that Li Jing was favoring Yulian, and the two of them were flirting!

Did they consider her nonexistent?

However, considering Li Jing’s arrival might lead to them earning something or even getting some meat to eat, Jiu Li didn’t concern herself with much for the time being and immediately grabbed onto his other arm without a word.

Seeing that Jiu Li seemed quite aware, Li Jing gave a knowing smile and said,

"I’ll explain in detail later, the adolescent is still waiting for us at the restaurant."

The adolescent?

Both Yulian and Jiu Li appeared to be momentarily taken aback.

Obviously, neither of them expected to hear this name.

Before they could react, Li Jing already had them in tow, becoming lightning and taking to the sky.

...