Chapter 37: The Blade Tempered with Poison

In the Hospital's conference room, the air was heavy and cold.

Qin Zhixia crossed her arms and leaned her back against the wall.

She stared fixedly at Nie Yang, waiting for his so‑called "legal means."

She didn't believe it, nor did she want to.

What "legality" could a secret department that operates outside ordinary law possibly claim?

Those present, including Zhou Weiguo, wore equally grave expressions; they could not imagine how Nie Yang intended, in such a short time, to turn a group of wealthy businessmen into "legal" bait.

Yet Nie Yang sat calmly, occasionally lifting his Thermal Cup to sip goji‑berry water, as if everything were under his control.

Time passed second by second.

Half an hour later.

When Qin Zhixia's patience was about to run out, her Encrypted Terminal let out a "beep" and received a File.

She opened the File, glanced at it, and her pupils suddenly contracted!

It was a trove of top‑secret evidence about Jiang Han De, chairman of the Han De Group!

From early years exploiting policy loopholes to maliciously embezzle state assets worth hundreds of millions, to detailed records over the past decade of complex networks used to bribe numerous officials in Jiang Hai City and even the autonomous region—every transfer, every meeting, documented with a clear chain of evidence.

The most shocking was the final document.

Ten years ago, his business rival died in a car accident at a critical juncture of their struggle.

The case file also included a traffic police officer's call recording with Jiang Han De's confidant from that year, and a bank transfer record of three million.

Each piece of evidence was as solid as a mountain!

Taken together, they were enough to sentence Jiang Han De to death!

Qin Zhixia's hand holding the terminal trembled slightly.

She could not imagine how the Ninth Division, in just half an hour, had precisely dredged up these decade‑old, dust‑sealed cases—so obscure that even the City Bureau's archives held no trace—and forged an irrefutable chain of evidence from the sea of data.

This kind of power already exceeded her entire conception of "authority."

"How about it, Team Leader Qin?"

Nie Yang's gentle voice rang out as he smiled warmly at the pallid Jiang Han De.

What Jiang Han De held in his hand was Nie Yang's terminal.

"Are these enough?" Nie Yang continued.

Jiang Han De slumped in the chair, his face ashen, his whole body trembling like a sieve.

He was finished.

Completely finished.

Qin Zhixia kept a composed expression, unable to speak any further.

Nie Yang looked at the other two directors slumped on the floor and said, "We'll need two more baits."

According to data synced from L, these two's crimes were the heaviest aside from Jiang Han De's, yet not punishable by death.

Nie Yang gave a glance to the two silent, statue‑like black‑clad subordinates standing at the doorway.

"Take those two to the next room for a 'chat.'"

"Remember, use 'legal' means."

The two black‑clad men nodded silently, and, like carrying chicks, dragged the wailing, pleading directors into the adjacent room.

Soon, gut‑wrenching screams and suppressed cries echoed intermittently.

Qin Zhixia walked over and slammed the table!

"Group Leader Nie! You're abusing extrajudicial punishment!"

"Don't get worked up, Team Leader Qin." Nie Yang gestured for her to sit, his smile still warm.

"Our Ninth Division operates with its own rules. This is called 'high‑intensity interrogation,' using the target's psychological weaknesses together with certain evidence to guide and pressure them—a standard psychological breakthrough technique."

He paused, then added, "Rest assured, no procedural wounds will be left behind."

An hour later.

The two directors were dragged back, drenched, their eyes hollow, like puppets whose souls had been sucked out.

A confession, personally signed by them, admitting "deep involvement" in several major cases, lay on the table.

Qin Zhixia looked at the confession and felt a chill surge from the soles of her feet straight up to her Heavenly Spirit Cover.

She finally understood what kind of organization the Ninth Division truly was.

They are monsters.

A cold‑hearted group that, to achieve its goals, can disregard every procedure and trample all regulations.

In less than twenty‑four hours.

Jiang Hai City's Supreme Court urgently opened a green channel.

A closed‑door trial, under undeniable physical evidence and three defendants' tearful confessions, concluded swiftly.

The verdict was delivered on the spot.

Jiang Han De, Director Liang, and Director Qiu, sentenced to death for multiple crimes, were executed immediately!

When Nie Yang reappeared before Qin Zhixia, holding the verdict stamped with a bright red seal, his smile was both gentle and blinding.

"Team Leader Qin, they're now death‑row inmates."

"Use the lives of death‑row inmates to eliminate a massive potential threat to the nation, and perhaps reel in a big fish."

He handed the verdict to Qin Zhixia and said softly:

"It's perfectly legal, isn't it?"

Qin Zhixia took the thin sheet, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

She stared at the listed crimes of Jiang Han De and the others, and a profoundly complex and helpless feeling rose within her.

She despises this barbaric practice that tramples procedural justice.

But she must also admit that this may be the most efficient and correct choice right now.

At this moment, she realizes clearly.

Ninth Division... is a blade that lies outside the regular system, serving only the "outcome", and is ice‑cold to the extreme.

It is her, it is the incompetence of Jiang Hai City police...

She unsheathed this poison‑tempered sharp blade.

At the same time.

Jiang Hai City, a crumbling old Tongzi Lou.

Mo Zixuan wore a tiny camera on his collar and, based on the address provided by L, came here alone.

The hallway was dim, and the air was filled with a damp, musty smell mixed with a strange odor of food.

He found Room 302.

The door was unlocked, ajar.

Mo Zixuan pushed the door open, and a heavy scent of Chinese medicine hit him.

The room was tiny and sparsely furnished; an elderly woman with graying hair and a frail figure lay on the bed, emitting a faint cough.

She was the mother of Cavity Person Zhou Xiaosheng.

Seeing this, Mo Zixuan's focused expression melted instantly, replaced by a warm and sincere smile.

He strode in and placed the fruit he was carrying and the envelope full of cash on the bedside table.

"Auntie, hello!"

He moved a stool to the bedside and said familiarly, "I'm a classmate of Xiaosheng from university; I was on a business trip not long ago, and just got back when I heard about him..."

Mo Zixuan's eyes instantly reddened, and his voice became hoarse.

"Auntie, please don't be too sad, you must take care of yourself! Xiaosheng's spirit is in heaven, and the one he worries about most is you!"

He spoke while naturally tucking the blanket corner for the old woman, his words sincere and heartfelt.

That acting, if entered in a film festival, would make even the Oscar statuettes kneel before him.

In the Project Team office, Xiao Zhang, Professor Chen, and Ban Shou watched the scene via remote screen, stunned.

Especially Xiao Zhang, who recalled Mo Zixuan's frantic, violent demeanor in the office yesterday, and now seeing this sincere fellow before him, felt a chill crawl up his spine.

This damn... is the same person?

The old woman was deeply moved by his performance; tears welled in her clouded eyes as she clasped his hand and, haltingly, spoke of her longing for her son.

Mo Zixuan listened patiently, offering occasional comfort, portraying the image of a "son's close friend" to perfection.

However, at that moment.

A faint yet rhythmically regular heartbeat began to sound beside his ear.

Mo Zixuan's comforting words paused briefly, and the corner of his mouth curled into an unnoticed smile.

Zhou Xiaosheng, hidden in the shadows, did not recognize this suddenly appearing "classmate".

He only knew that this was a liar full of falsehoods.

He was deceiving his most beloved mother!

Unforgivable!

Intense resentment began to fill the room.

Suddenly!

The warmth and sorrow on Mo Zixuan's face vanished without a trace in an instant!

His gaze turned cold and cruel.

In the shocked gaze of Zhou's mother, he struck like lightning, seizing the old man's withered neck!

He faced the empty room, aside from himself and the old man, and flashed a ferocious grin.

"Zhou Xiaosheng, I know you're right here."

"Your mother's breath is hanging, look, her face is all purple."

Mo Zixuan applied slight pressure with his hand, and the old man's breathing immediately grew rapid.

"If you don't crawl out..."

"I can't guarantee she'll see tomorrow's sun."