Soul Patch

Is Chapter 176 a trap?

Wenjie quickly got into the car and saw that Captain Wu had his head down and walked to the passenger seat on his own initiative. He was no longer as arrogant as before when he insisted that Wenjie sit in the passenger seat.

He actually felt a little good about it.

The car quickly started and headed towards Huahai. Wenjie turned his head to look at Captain Wu, hesitated, and asked, "Have your men found Li Shiman?"

Captain Wu was dejected and clearly had no desire to discuss the case, but his professionalism, honed over many years as a criminal investigator, remained unwavering.

"No, they'll call me if they find it."

Captain Wu seemed somewhat listless as he spoke, his head leaning against the car window, his mind seemingly blank.

Seeing Wu's expression, Wenjie stopped talking and focused on driving, making the car quiet for a moment.

Team Leader Wu finally got a chance to sort out the series of strange things that happened today.

When Wenjie was walking towards the police car with his car keys, the driver turned around and smiled at him. The smile was strange and alluring... He couldn't remember what happened after that.

The key to the handcuffs was always attached to his keychain. He must have taken it off himself and helped the murderer unlock the handcuffs. Otherwise, how could the murderer have escaped?

I must be possessed by an evil spirit. I have no idea what happened at the time, as if my mind has been completely clouded.

Thinking of this, he pursed his lips, his eyes fixed intently on Wenjie, a look that seemed to hold a certain fervent expectation:

"Wenjie, I've been a criminal investigator for so many years, and if I hadn't experienced this firsthand, I really wouldn't believe it. What kind of thing have we encountered today?"

After considering his words for a moment, Captain Wu slowly said, "What I mean is, this Liu Qingqing, could she be some kind of evil spirit... you know what I mean?"

At that moment, the traffic light at the intersection turned green.

Wenjie revved the engine and increased the car's speed. Hearing Captain Wu's words, he smiled slightly: "What? Captain Wu believes in this too?"

"Hehe, I didn't believe it at first, but many things today seem inexplicable by common sense. That... that Liu Qingqing, could she have died unjustly and harbor deep resentment, coming back to seek revenge on Li Shiman or something?"

As Captain Wu spoke, he laughed at himself, feeling that what he was saying was absurd, but he couldn't find any other explanation.

Wenjie raised a hand and touched his nose. He couldn't help but laugh at the thought of how the system had driven a criminal investigation captain to such a state of madness.

He pondered for a moment, then glanced at Captain Wu and said quite sincerely, "Captain Wu, it's not like that. It might be something like using hallucinogenic drugs."

Even if Wenjie explained it to Captain Wu, he might not understand, and even if he did understand, he might not believe it, so Wenjie didn't plan to waste the time.

He felt that the system's items and rewarded skills were actually similar to various functional potions.

"There are a few things I need to ask you for help with..." Wenjie said slowly, looking at Captain Wu.

"You mean investigating Liu Qingqing's basic information and social connections, right? We're already doing that." Captain Wu smiled faintly; these criminal investigation methods were his forte.

He was still pondering the hallucinogenic drugs Wenjie had mentioned. Those must be illegal drugs. After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "We also need to investigate where Liu Qingqing got these illegal drugs! Just the charge of using illegal drugs and interfering with the police investigation is enough to convict her."

Wenjie chuckled to himself, thinking, "Let him be. As long as I can survive and complete the online mission, that's all that matters."

"If you were the murderer, where would you hide the person you wanted to kill?" Wenjie asked thoughtfully.

Captain Wu straightened his head, which had been leaning against the car window, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his seat. After pondering for a moment, he said, "An easy place to kill, I suppose. A place where it's hard to be discovered, but easy to strike. Does Huahai have such a place?"

After hearing what Captain Wu said, Wenjie suddenly realized, "Maybe in my office?"

Upon hearing this, Captain Wu frowned and thought for a moment: "You know what, it's actually quite possible. This is the primary crime scene where the general manager's assistant was murdered. The police have already cordoned off the area after checking the scene."

In a sense, if one commits a crime silently inside, no one will bother them if someone passes by outside.

Who would dare to venture into a crime scene? Not to mention that there are police officers staking out the area and they won't easily let anyone in, the mere thought of someone dying and bringing bad luck would make people avoid it.

The police officers stationed there only worked in shifts of one or two, and there were bound to be times when they had to go to the restroom, eat, or otherwise leave their posts... It should be said that it would be quite easy for the murderer to sneak in.

"So, is there a place in your office big enough to hide a living person?" Captain Wu asked after thinking for a while.

This really stumped Wenjie. He had just opened the door that morning to look at the body and hadn't gone into the office at all. The scene was chaotic, and a junior employee from the administration department was yelling and screaming. He had no time to even glance into the office.

Seeing that the traffic light at the intersection ahead was red, Wenjie slowly stepped on the brake, thought for a moment, and said truthfully, "I don't know, I have no recollection of my office."

Captain Wu turned his head and gave Wenjie in the driver's seat a meaningful look, then snorted.

Wenjie sensed the disdain in the tone, as if he were equating himself with those good-for-nothing rich kids and sons of officials who only knew how to rely on their fathers.

Wenjie just smiled and didn't explain.

After fiddling with it for a while, Captain Wu took out his phone from his pocket. Because of the handcuffs, he couldn't dial the number smoothly, but he still managed to make the call.

It seems that experience is very important in practice. With the experience from last time, Captain Wu is now able to make phone calls quite freely.

The call was quickly connected, and Captain Wu instructed the person on the other end to go to the marketing director's office to check for any suspicious activity.

The other party was quick-witted and soon understood the boss's intention, and agreed.

Captain Wu didn't hang up the phone, probably wanting to take this opportunity to check on things: Since you were assigned to guard the primary crime scene, you should be around the cordon outside the office. If I asked you to check, you should have pushed open the door and gone in within minutes.

Sure enough, the other party quickly and excitedly reported, "Team Leader Wu, we've found Li Shiman. She's lying on the sofa in the Marketing Director's office, and she looks like she's unconscious... Ah... Ah!"

Two screams suddenly came from the phone! Startled, Captain Wu immediately shouted:

"Xiao Song? What's wrong? Say something!"

There was no response. The sound of gunfire came through the receiver, but Officer Song on the other end was silent.

Team Leader Wu was getting restless. He immediately made another call, his fingers tapping incessantly on the back of the phone, clearly showing his anxiety and frustration.

"Quick, to the marketing director's office! Quick, Xiao Song is in danger!" He shouted into the phone as soon as the call connected.

Upon hearing his boss's tone, the other party realized the seriousness of the situation and replied directly:

"it is good!"

Immediately afterwards, the telephone receiver emitted a series of beeping sounds.

Upon hearing the other party hang up the phone, Captain Wu's hand slumped down.

Could the murderer have already arrived in Huahai?

She's really fast!

It will take them a few more minutes to get to the Huahai Building.

Wenjie didn't have time to think anymore and sped off on the road, reaching speeds of up to 180 miles per hour at one point.

As the car sped along the road, Captain Wu, no longer bothered by the handcuffs on his wrists, gripped the side rails of the vehicle tightly with both hands. Watching the trees and pedestrians rush past him, his heart raced with each passing moment of the speeding car.

Soon, their car arrived in Huahai.

The two got out of the car and ran into the building, when they heard the sound of a car screeching to a halt behind them.

When Captain Wu looked back, a police car had stopped next to their vehicle, and Xiao Wang hurriedly ran out of the driver's seat.

"Wenjie, hurry up!" Captain Wu said, quickly overtaking Wenjie and winking at him: "Xiao Wang is calling you!"

Wu's hands were handcuffed together, held up in front of his body, making his running look incredibly strange. Wenjie couldn't help but laugh.

He pointed to the left side of the lobby and said to Captain Wu, "The men's restroom is over there!"

It means to tell him to wait in the men's restroom, and then bring him the key.

Captain Wu was so moved he was speechless. This rough-around-the-edges guy couldn't find the words to thank him. He silently glanced at Wenjie for a moment and replied, "I'll be waiting for you in the men's restroom!"

In this situation, if you ignore the troublesome events they've encountered, the two of them actually exude a rather bromance.

Xiao Wang had already run quickly towards the two people and heard their conversation. He looked at Wenjie with a strange expression.

Wenjie met his gaze, walked towards him, and took the handcuff key that he was offered with his outstretched arm.

As soon as he got the key, Xiao Wang shouted, "Quick, go to the crime scene on the 20th floor! A police officer has been attacked!"

Xiao Wang glanced at Captain Wu, who was turning left in the lobby on the first floor, then at Wen Jie. He pointed in Captain Wu's direction, about to ask where he was going, since the elevator was right behind the reception desk in the lobby.

"Hurry up, don't just stand there!" Wenjie urged.

"Oh!" Xiao Wang came to his senses and quickly ran towards the elevator.

Wenjie dodged and ran to the left.

While waiting for the elevator, Xiao Wang thought to himself: Why did those two sneak away to pee at such a crucial moment?

The elevator arrived quickly, and he got on without thinking twice.

Wenjie went to the restroom, but didn't see Captain Wu.

A mysterious and chilling aura wafted over, and Wenjie unconsciously slowed his pace.

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed before his eyes and appeared two or three meters away from Wenjie in the blink of an eye.

Wenjie looked closely and saw that it was a man in black with a hood over his face, making it impossible to see his face.

This person is of medium height and has a lithe build; it's clear he's a trained fighter.

He held Captain Wu hostage in his arms and pressed a gleaming dagger directly against Captain Wu's neck.

Captain Wu seemed to have fainted at this moment, his body completely unresponsive, allowing the man in black to hold him tightly in his arms.

"Who?" Wenjie hissed.

"The one who will kill you!" The man in black threw the dagger in his hand at Wenjie as he spoke.

The cold blade flipped, carrying an aura of death as it tore through the air, heading straight for Wenjie's eyes.

It seemed that in the blink of an eye, a cold blade would draw blood and pierce his right eye.

Wenjie was also extremely fast. He suddenly turned his head, and the dagger grazed his brow bone.

Wenjie felt a chill between his brows, and one or two broken eyebrow hairs fluttered down.

"buzz"

The dagger was stuck in the center of the toilet stall partition, with the tip embedded a section of the door.

The man in black put Wu down and turned to the side to retrieve the dagger.

It seems he cherishes his little knife.

A playful smile appeared on Wenjie's lips as he approached the man in black.

Before the man in black could react, Wenjie had already closed in on him, pulled the dagger from the door panel, and slashed it across the man's neck.

A brilliant counterattack, and both of them froze in their tracks for a moment.

Wenjie's right hand, still gripping the dagger, remained in a ready-to-attack stance.

The man in black remained frozen in shock as he saw Wenjie appear before him.

His pupils widened, reflecting Wenjie's movements as he wielded the blade, and the look of horror on his face was hard to conceal.

One second, two seconds...

The two remained standing close together, and on the surface, nothing seemed amiss.

Wenjie's pupils reflected the black-clad man's gradually collapsing expression and the blood gushing from his neck.

Blood splattered into Wenjie's eyes, and he closed them slightly.

When he opened his eyes again, they were clear again, as if the fatal blow he had just delivered had nothing to do with him.

He reached out and gently stroked the man in black's face, and the man's eyes, which had been wide open in terror, finally closed.

His whole body stiffened and he fell backward.

It fell with a thud onto the tiled floor of the bathroom.

Wenjie gently shook his clothes and discovered that they were splattered with blood.

He straightened his collar with a bit of annoyance, knowing that this was the most expensive outfit he had ever worn.

He approached the man in black and ripped off the mask from his head.

He glanced at the unfamiliar face on the ground and frowned slightly.

Wenjie carefully examined the unfamiliar face, searching his mind but still couldn't find a single image that matched it.

It seems this person doesn't recognize him!

So, is he here for his patch identity? Or for the mission?

Therefore, he ignored Captain Wu and focused all his attention on attacking himself.

Forget it, let the police investigate this person's identity; I won't worry about it myself.

Thinking of this, Wenjie looked down at the unconscious Captain Wu.

Captain Wu lay on the ground, looking peaceful. He had probably been poisoned by ether or something similar and was only temporarily unconscious.

His gaze shifted downwards, landing on the handcuffs on Captain Wu's wrists. He curled the corners of his lips into a sly smile.

He took out his keys from his pocket, squatted down, unlocked Wu's handcuffs, and carefully placed them in Wu's pocket.

After doing all this, he helped Captain Wu up, slowly walked out of the restroom, and headed towards the elevator.

When he arrived at the elevator, he looked in the mirror and noticed some blood on his face. He raised his hand and wiped it off.

The elevator arrived, and the two stepped inside.

The elevator did not stop at any floor during its ascent. It seems that the Huahai Building is completely empty.

It is estimated that when Captain Wu ordered the search of Huahai Building, he also ordered the evacuation of the building's staff.

If a murder were to occur here this afternoon, it would not only be dangerous for unrelated personnel to remain here, but it would also make it more difficult to solve the case and apprehend the murderer.

In Wenjie's imagination, the 20th floor was a battlefield, a place of bloodshed and carnage.

In fact, it's very quiet here.

Wenjie helped Captain Wu to the door of his office. The warning sign on the cordon at the door had long been kicked over, and the office was a mess.

Someone had fought here, Wenjie thought to himself with a sigh.

"Don't move"

At this moment, a cold voice came from behind Wenjie. The voice seemed to come from underground and carried the ghostly aura of hell.

(End of this chapter)