Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 140 Just you?
Tense and muffled breathing filled the car.

A little credibility, an extremely dangerous rating, in blood-red font.

These words made Jin Ping'an's heart tighten.

The cold air from the car's air conditioning pattered against Jin Ping'an's body, gradually causing him to feel an uncomfortable, sticky sensation.

He seemed to smell a faint rusty odor.

A credit score below 10 indicates, within the police system, that someone has committed a serious crime but, for some reason, cannot be considered a suspect for arrest.

This rating is equivalent to a severe warning.

Once a bounty hunter's reputation drops to ten points, even minor offenses, like stealing a piece of chewing gum from a convenience store, will land them on a wanted list, and their rating will never have a chance to drop further.

These ten credit points, to put it bluntly, correspond to their future; more precisely, they determine the level of arrest warrants and the standards for criminal prosecution if they commit another offense.

Those who arrive between 10 and 7 will be sentenced to heavy prison terms; those between 6 and 4 will be sentenced to life imprisonment; and those between 3 and 2 will be sentenced to death with a one-year reprieve and death with a one-month reprieve, respectively.

As for a certain level of credibility, it means that if someone commits a crime, they can be killed on the spot without needing to be arrested.

This kind of "honor" and "elite treatment" is usually only enjoyed by psychopathic killers.

Jin Ping'an looked at the messenger as if seeking confirmation: "This... your credibility score is only one point? Could it be that the official input system forgot to enter two zeros..."

"I didn't miss any, that's my credibility score, and my credibility score cap is fixed at one point, it won't increase no matter what I do."

The messenger maintained his indifferent attitude.

"Then your gun..." Jin Ping'an hesitated before speaking.

“The gun is legal. I had a legal gun license before. After the credit limit was fixed at 1, they didn’t seem to want to take back the gun license, so I kept it.”

"With such a low level of credibility... I probably won't get any legitimate commissions..."

"That's why I started doing part-time work in the first place. The commission you gave me didn't go through the formal channels either; Ai Liang directly cashed it into checks for me."

The messenger spoke calmly, and you couldn't tell at all that he was a ruthless person with a credibility score of only one point. Instead, he seemed like a cold-hearted researcher in a laboratory, wholeheartedly devoted to scientific research.

As they chatted, Jin Ping'an realized that the messenger was not displeased by his vigilance and panic, and his attitude remained the same as before.

Gradually, Jin Ping'an's tense heart began to calm down.

Jin Pingan thought for a moment, and finally decided to ask the question that was on his mind: "Since you have a gun license, that means your credit score was once above 80, right?"

Logically, you should be able to take up a position in the public security department at any time, so why is your credit score... locked at one point? What exactly happened?

"You can ask any veteran detective who participated in the Nevada purge for this kind of thing. I'm not in the mood to explain it to you slowly."

A shadow of gloom flashed across the messenger's face. Although it was only for a moment, it was still caught by Jin Ping'an, who had been staring at his face.

He sensed a deathly stillness in the messenger's indifferent eyes.

Even the most oblivious person would sense something was wrong in this oppressive and stifling atmosphere.

The Nevada purge? This operation seems to have happened seven years ago... seven years ago?

Jin Ping'an suddenly remembered what Ai Liang had mentioned about the mass grave that morning.

'Afterwards, he found his only blood relative in a highly decomposed, mountain-like mass grave, relying on clothing and DNA testing.'

In other words, the root cause of everything was the massive purge that took place in Nevada seven years ago.

The messenger's only relative also died seven years ago. Could it be that his sister was a victim of the Great Purge?
What exactly did he do to cause his credibility rating to drop from at least 80 points to 1 point?
Jin Pingan started a brainstorming session.

With so little information available, Jin Ping'an was completely unable to unravel the cause-and-effect relationship.

But with so much information, it would be even harder for him to sort it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

"Alright then... But seriously, it's amazing you still dare to continue being a bounty hunter. Aren't you worried about suddenly getting shot dead one day?"

Jin Ping'an, now back to normal, asked with some curiosity.

The messenger tilted his head and asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

“I believe you are a good person. If you really had a problem, the police would have already put you under surveillance. If you were a bad person, you wouldn’t have come all the way from Nevada for that little bit of money.”

Jin Ping'an's tone of voice was no longer as reserved as before, and he began to speak more casually.

The messenger learned of his ability to rewind time, and he learned about parts of the messenger's past. Once the two shared a secret, their relationship would grow much closer.

At least that's how Jin Ping'an sees it.

The messenger turned and glanced at him, but said nothing.

Seeing that the messenger didn't respond, Jin Ping'an wanted to get back to the main topic and persuade the messenger to come with him to capture people.

Just as he was about to speak, a question suddenly occurred to him.

A problem he himself had recently become accustomed to, but which was extremely fatal to the messenger.

A chill ran through Jin Ping'an: "Um... if your reputation score is only one point, getting involved in this matter... wouldn't that be very dangerous?"

Jin Ping'an only now remembered that the case he was investigating was not a simple kidnapping case. Behind the tattooed man, there was an unseen hand controlling everything.

That giant hand could even influence the internal workings of the criminal investigation team.

Jin Ping'an is upright and has nothing to fear, and he is only sixteen years old, so it's impossible for him to frame someone by spreading rumors.

How can you throw mud at a sixteen-year-old kid like me?
Embezzlement of public funds and abuse of power?
With his brain, it would take anyone to believe what he says. Even if one or two idiots believed him, it wouldn't matter. A simple investigation would reveal the truth.

Jin Ping'an wasn't afraid, but the messenger was a different story.

If the messenger's reputation score were within the normal range, he could accept it, but for a messenger with a reputation score of only one, this matter was far too dangerous.

A reputation score of only one point is like an unlit match head walking in a fire, which could be extinguished at any moment.

The mastermind could easily find any excuse to shoot him dead.

Although Jin Ping'an was very reluctant to part with this super helper, he gritted his teeth and chose to give up: "Messenger, can you please stop interfering in this case?"

The messenger easily guessed Jin Ping'an's thoughts: "Are you worried about my safety?"

The messenger didn't give Jin Ping'an a chance to explain: "There were plenty of people who wanted me dead in Nevada before. My safety is none of your business, you good-for-nothing's concern."

"I... no, I'm the employer, okay?"

Jin Ping'an felt somewhat aggrieved.

"You want your money back?"

"No, consider the money as payment for tonight's activities. I'm already very satisfied that we were able to find the kidnappers' residence. As for the rest, we can follow the clues and slowly find out who the mastermind is."

"Just you?"

The messenger looked at Jin Ping'an with some surprise. Where did this guy get the confidence to say such a thing?
(End of this chapter)