Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

Zhou Wenbin put on gloves and bent down to crawl into the carriage.

He first looked at the driver's seat, then at the back seat.

"No bloodstains." Zhou Wenbin frowned, running his fingertips across the leather seat. "No signs of a struggle, no biological characteristics left by dragging."

He stepped out and looked around.

This is an area slated for demolition, and there isn't even a civilian surveillance camera on the roadside.

"A deliberate collision." Zhou Wenbin pointed to the deformed front of the car. "The impact force was controlled with great precision, just enough to deploy the airbags without causing fatalities. It seems someone carried out a precise interception."

"But the people who intercepted them took them away without leaving a trace?" The auxiliary police officer was puzzled.

Zhou Wenbin did not answer; his gaze wandered through the desolate darkness around him.

As a criminal investigator, he had seen countless kidnapping scenes, but this was the first time he had ever seen one so clean that it sent chills down his spine.

……

While the police were busy investigating the scene, a wild party was taking place in the secret laboratory of Glowing Pharmaceuticals.

"It's a success! Young Master Wang, look at these data!"

Zhang Zhaoqing was clutching a printed report, his whole being filled with extreme excitement.

In pursuit of this breakthrough, Zhang Zhaoqing didn't even pay attention to the afternoon hearing that would determine his son's fate.

In the transparent petri dish in front of him, a white mouse injected with the compound "Tranquilizer V" was frantically gnawing at its iron cage.

Its activity lasts far beyond normal stimulant levels, it is extremely aggressive, and its response to pain is noticeably dulled. Even a light touch with a stun gun will not deter it; instead, it will become even more ferocious.

Wang Shijun stood to the side, his gaze sweeping over the fluctuating physiological curves on the screen.

"Is this the breakthrough brought about by Zhang Ziqian's biological samples?"

"That's right!" Zhang Zhaoqing spoke quickly. "His neurofeedback system perfectly fills the last gap in 'Tranquilizer Type IV'. Compared to existing stimulants on the market, it increases endurance by about 300%, pain threshold by about 200%, strength by about 40%-50%, and lasts for up to six hours without a significant exhaustion period."

"This is the catalyst for 'super soldiers'! In this state, an ordinary person could completely overwhelm an untrained opponent. And because it was developed based on Ziqian's nervous system, Ziqian can maintain this state for an extended period!"

A satisfied smile finally appeared on Wang Shijun's lips: "Very good. Chairman Zhang, your son has proven his worth."

Zhang Zhaoqing was extremely excited—not only for his son, but also for his own foresight.

This son, who only knew how to cause trouble, actually became his bargaining chip to get close to Wang Shijun.

……

Throughout the afternoon and into the night, Zhang Zhaoqing was immersed in ecstasy and ambition, completely neglecting his son's condition.

Until Zhou Wenbin answered the phone.

"Chairman Zhang, this is Zhou Wenbin from the Seventh District Garrison Bureau. Your son, Zhang Ziqian, has gone missing in the escort vehicle, along with Dean Sun Weimin and the driver. What time was the last time you contacted them?"

Zhang Zhaoqing was taken aback: "Missing?"

The person on the other end of the phone confirmed the situation.

He listened to the phone, answered the questions, and then said he would cooperate with the police and contact them immediately if there was any news.

He hung up the phone and immediately dialed his subordinate's number: "Ziqian might be in trouble. Go check the places he frequents, and let me know if you find anything."

He spent the entire night making phone calls and waiting for news, but to no avail.

Just hours earlier, he was still celebrating that his son was the "gold mine" that led him to a new world;

Now, his gold mine, along with those few people who knew about it, has all disappeared into the night.

……

Twenty-four hours after the disappearance.

Zhang Zhaoqing's residence was shrouded in smoke.

He sat on the sofa waiting for news, the ashtray in front of him already overflowing with cigarette butts.

The police confirmed that he/she was missing.

To the police, it was just a routine missing person case—no bloodstains, no signs of a struggle, no witnesses; the three men seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Because of the missing person's special identity, the department will devote more effort to the investigation, but there is no evidence pointing to kidnapping or murder.

But Zhang Zhaoqing doesn't think so.

He knows his son too well.

If Zhang Ziqian had run away on his own, he would never have been so quiet;

Given his personality, he would have already caused new trouble and been tracked down.

If they were kidnapped for ransom, a ransom call would have been made long ago.

The only remaining possibility is revenge.

He picked up a pen and painstakingly listed things on the blank paper.

Ziqian has committed so many sins that even his father is terrified.

The parents of the female college student who committed suicide?

What about the family of Duoduo, the young child who lost her voice because of Zhang Ziqian?

And... Li Rui.

The list is long, and each person has a motive for murder.

He didn't know who did it, but he knew that whoever the culprit was, he had to find them.

He dialed his men's number and instructed them to keep an eye on the movements of the people on the list—especially the family members of the victims.

He doesn't need evidence or reasons; he just needs to know who has the ability and the time.

------

Twenty-four hours after Zhang Ziqian's death.

late at night.

Li Rui sat in his living room without turning on the lights.

Only a small table lamp on the coffee table shone obliquely, its halo barely covering a picture frame placed in the center, and a ruby ​​brooch next to it.

In the photo frame, Su Xiao smiles gently and beautifully, her eyes filled with anticipation for the future.

Li Rui stretched out his right hand and gently stroked the brooch with his fingertips.

Deep within that clear ruby, the dark red light resembled a beating heart, its every flicker resonating eerily with Li Rui's heartbeat.

His palms were wrapped in bandages, marks of violent beatings. Although the pain had subsided under the nourishment of the karmic fire, a numbness remained.

He was no longer the irrational beast he had been twenty-four hours earlier; he sat upright, exuding a clear-headed and detached aura.

Only when he lowered his eyes, the two faint dark red dots deep in his pupils indicated that his connection with this world had been completely severed.

"Xiaoxiao, the first one... is finished burning."

He paused for a moment, as if he were engaged in some kind of silent dialogue, or as if he heard a murmur carried on the wind.

After a long silence, the dark red in his eyes subsided: "No, it's not enough. The fire hasn't gone out yet, which means... the sins haven't been completely cleansed."

And then there are those hands behind the scenes driving the gears together, those chips that are added to the scales of justice without authorization.

He slowly closed his eyes, the scene from the hearing flashing through his mind.

That was where his last pillar as a policeman collapsed.

He saw Zhou Shouzhen, the vice president sitting in a high position, holding the gavel.

Previously, Zhou Shouzhen had appeared righteous and awe-inspiring in front of Director Zheng;

In court, however, he kept his head down the whole time, his eyes not daring to look at the family members' seats, not daring to look at the pile of blood-stained evidence, and not even daring to look at Director Zheng.