Chapter 43: Breaking through the clouds to see the sun, Criminal locked

Before anyone in the meeting room could speculate, Dai Hong opened the conversation.

"Regarding the current case of the Evil Cultivator in our hands, there has been a significant breakthrough after a night of multifaceted investigation. The case is complex and quite sensitive. The follow-up investigation will be conducted by everyone present. For the rest of the situation, we won’t have any more backup."

The members of the Major Crime Unit showed their seriousness at his words.

They were all real members of the Major Crime Unit, not "temporary workers" like Li Jing and Chen Yuran.

They knew it better than anyone else.

When Dai Hong said there won’t be any more backup, it meant that the seriousness of the situation has escalated to an uncontrollable level.

The Major Crime Unit had to consider the risk involved and was prepared to put personal safety at risk and do their best to minimize the possible damage.

Listening to Dai Hong’s words, Li Jing and Chen Yuran gave each other a silent glance and settled in their seats.

Chen Yuran was a patrolmen, so he was prepared from the beginning.

At this crucial moment, Li Jing wasn’t going to back down either.

Let’s not mention that he was already sitting here.

At this moment, he was still thinking of the demon bred by the criminal Evil Cultivator and with the breakthrough in the case, how could he possibly retreat?

There must certainly be a sense of self-preservation.

However, when there’s an opportunity to move forward, one absolutely must seize it!

Some things, once missed, are truly gone.

Risks and opportunities often go hand in hand.

Seeing that everyone in the room was silently watching him, no one saying a word, Dai Hong manipulated the projector to bring up a biological identification report.

"This is the biological identification report of the Rat Demon from the seafood market. Its biological characteristics have been confirmed to be a variant of wild mole in the image of a white rat. However, after its Demonization is complete, its physical shape has changed."

"In accordance with the clues discovered by Li Jing and Chen Yuran who were temporarily transferred to the Major Crime Unit, it has been fully confirmed that the perpetrator has been mass breeding rat demons infected with Demon Miasma. Furthermore, after a visit and knock-out, it has been found that individual and corporate entities in Jianghai City that breed experimental rats in large quantities received a large number of orders on the day when Demonization events continuously occurred in North City, and in two days sold a total of 300,000 experimental white rats to a newly registered biotech company."

"The investigation results show that this bio company went through an informal channel for registration and there is no specific company information on record. However, through an investigation by the Intelligence Department, it was finally determined that this bio company has three responsible persons who have no connection with each other."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing raised an eyebrow.

Chen Yuran also showed some reaction on the side.

Three responsible people who have no connection with each other, fitting perfectly with the three unrelated victims in the residential area, this probably wasn’t a coincidence.

As expected, Dai Hong manipulated the projector to bring up the information file of three people.

The information file showed the three unrelated victims in the residences.

"The criminal is very cunning. As per the biological forensic reports from the second scene at the residential area, all three have been killed. But as the saying goes, ’The net of heaven has wide meshes but lets nothing through’, the criminal has ultimately left traces behind. After retrieving and tracing the surveillance footage from the city by the Intelligence Department, it was found that the three unrelated victims all came into contact with a woman named Ji Xiumin in Shangcheng District recently."

During his speech, Dai Hong brought up an identity information file.

"Ji Xiumin, 37 years old, a local in Jianghai. She was repeatedly jailed at Longmen Prison in Shangcheng District for theft, robbery, intentional harm and served nearly seven years. She was last released more than a year ago, after which Ji Xiumin bought a stand-alone apartment worth hundreds of millions in Shangcheng with unknown funds."

"According to the investigation of the surveillance records by the Intelligence Department, Ji Xiumin, who has settled in Shangcheng District, has been frequently coming and going from our North City until nine days ago when there was no longer any trace of her in surveillance records across the city. It is basically now confirmed that this woman is the prime suspect in this case."

Upon identifying the suspect as a woman, Li Jing mentally noted her appearance.

Ji Xiumin at 37 had maintained herself very well and was good-looking.

She had a pretty face, like a 26 or 27 years old.

Between her brows, she emanated an aura of maturity and exuded a touch of charm.

It was hard to imagine that the criminal would be such a charming woman.

"Now that the suspect information is confirmed, let’s move on to the main point of this case."

Dai Hong spoke out and once again manipulated the projector to bring up a male’s information file.

Upon seeing this male file, Chen Yuran was taken aback.

Li Jing noticed the abnormality and turned his head to ask in a low voice.

"What is it?"

"This person was an attempted murderer we caught during our Security Department’s investigation into the Evil Cultivator case half a year ago."

Chen Yuran whispered.

Just as he finished speaking, Dai Hong began to narrate.

"This man is Yang Yongan, also a local from Jianghai. He has a long history of criminal offenses, and like Ji Xiumin, has been sent to Longmen Prison, released from jail and had close contact with her. Until half a year ago, Yang Yongan was caught on the spot by the North City Patrol Bureau of Public Security for attempted murder."

"As it wasn’t a completed murder and the victim was afraid of retaliation and unwilling to testify in court, Yang Yongan’s case has been under trial for half a year, but the charges will finally be set soon. The final trial will take place at 10 o’clock this morning."

Having said that, he looked at Li Jing.

"Here, I’d like to thank Assistant Investigator Li for providing me with the idea at the residential area scene that the criminal might have been trying to divert our attention in North City from the beginning with premeditation. Inspired by this, I was able to pinpoint Yang Yongan through Ji Xiumin’s relationships and obtain a timely breakthrough in the case. If it were any later, the consequences would be unthinkable."

Hearing this, the eyes of the Major Crime Unit members all fell on Li Jing.

Li Jing, feeling a bit uncomfortable under their scrutiny, secretly wondered.

Did I make a significant contribution this time?

Is the top prize of one million now a sure thing?

Just as I was thinking this, Dai Hong spoke with gravity.

"Based on the information we currently have, we can conclude that Ji Xiumin committed the crime in order to attempt to free Yang Yongan around the time of his final trial. Whether this was a long-term plan, no one can say for sure. It is undeniable that the Demon Miasma incident gave Ji Xiumin great assistance, at the same time it has left us at the North City Patrol Branch extremely short-handed. The current situation is not good, and Ji Xiumin is not the only one we have to deal with."

"According to a database calculation of the probability of demon transformation, out of the three hundred thousand rats affected by the Demon Miasma, conservatively we can estimate that more than three hundred will complete the demon transformation, among them nearly a hundred Rat Demons will reach the One Realm Intermediate phase. This number is horrifying. Coupled with Ji Xiumin’s control, the damage these large numbers of Rat Demons could cause if they were to appear in crowded areas is incalculable."

"In addition, Yang Yongan is also an issue. Without casting any magic or releasing any Evil Energy, Evil Cultivators cannot be detected by various means. We suspect that Yang Yongan is an Evil Cultivator and very likely one of the culprits in the evil cultivation case half a year ago. He and Ji Xiumin worked together. They had close interactions, so much so that Ji Xiumin is willing to take the risk to commit a crime for him, it is highly probable that the two got acquainted in prison and embarked on the same Forbidden Cultivation Skill."

After the narration, Dai Hong turned off the projector.

"This is the situation we currently have. Now let’s arrange specific tasks."

As he said this, he looked towards the two Four Realm Patrol officers in the meeting room.

"Mu Baichen, Li Qidao, both of you should change your badges to first level. Head to North City Detention Center now. Yang Yongan will be escorted to court for trial at nine o’clock, I’ve arranged for the two patrolmen originally responsible for escorting him to be replaced by you two. If Yang Yongan behaves strangely, kill him on the spot, without any reservations."

"Roger."

Mu Baichen and Li Qidao both uttered in agreement, then stood up and left the meeting room.

Once the two of them had left, Dai Hong looked towards another Three Realm Four Level female patrol officer.

"Chen Yihuan, you take four people and go with them. With the Level Three Invisibility Talisman, secretly support Mu Baichen and Li Qidao. You don’t need to worry about Yang Yongan, your mission is Ji Xiumin. Stay low-key before she shows up, if she does reveal herself, kill her instantly without second thoughts."

"Understood."

Chen Yihuan stood up, and selected four colleagues with a glance.

Those four understood, and one after the other stood up to follow her out of the meeting room.

With two groups of people leaving in succession, apart from Li Jing and Chen Yuran, there were only six patrol officers left in the meeting room.

Among them, two of them were Three Realm Four Level officers, the remaining four, like Chen Yuran, were Two Realm Three Level patrol officers.

Dai Hong addressed the eight remaining in the room.

"The ground escort will be handled by Mu Baichen and his team, the rest of you come with me. We’ll be checking out the underground tunnels along the route and around the Examination Institute. Over a hundred Rat Demons can’t easily hide, and since the Examination Institute is located in the bustling Earth Realm of North City, if Ji Xiumin wants to abscond with Yang Yongan, they can only go underground."

The rest nodded in agreement, then began to stand up one after another.

Li Jing also stood up.

As Chen Yuran also stood up, she suddenly spoke up.

"Captain Dai, could you spare me five minutes before we depart?"

?

Li Jing turned his head with a puzzled look.

On the other side, Dai Hong also raised a question.

"What’s the matter?"

"There is just over two hours left before Yang Yongan is escorted at nine o’clock. The Underground Drainage System of North City District was just expanded a few years ago, and the tunnels are complicated, I’m afraid we won’t be able to inspect the surroundings in time."

Chen Yuran continued,

"My family recently adopted a new Spiritual Cat. Catching mice is a natural instinct for cats. If I go to get it and bring it, maybe we can get some assistance."

"..."

Li Jing.

Spiritual Cat?

Is she talking about Ji Qing?

Well... to tell lies with one’s eyes wide open I see?

That said, Chen Yuran’s train of thought was quite practical.

Monsters can easily distinguish between each other.

Plus, Ji Qing is a natural enemy of the rats, who knows, she might really find something.

Dai Hong heard that Chen Yuran had a Spiritual Cat at home and did not doubt it.

He and Chen Yuran were old acquaintances, and he knew that she had a very expensive Spiritual Dog, called a Husky, at her home.

If she can raise a Spiritual Dog, raising a Spiritual Cat is not too strange, right?

Without thinking too much, Dai Hong nodded his head in agreement.

To avoid stimulating Ji Xiumin and causing her to act desperately, he aimed to keep the case as low-key as possible and minimize the number of people involved, to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.

Any available assistance, he is more than happy to accept.