Magical Girl Fan Bingbing

The next morning, at the rooftop training ground.

Jiang Li's basic skills were improved faster today than the previous two days. Her footwork was solid, her punches were steady, and her eyes held a fierceness that was not usually seen.

"Dad, that's enough for today." Jiang Li finished her routine without looking up. "I have something to do and need to leave early."

"So urgent?"

"I've been pondering that idea you gave me all night, and I have to test it out today."

Jiang Ran's lips twitched slightly. "You still need to eat breakfast first, otherwise what if you get low blood sugar?"

"It's too late, I'll buy some on the way." Jiang Li wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead. "Dad, you eat by yourself. I'll probably be late coming home again tonight."

……

Office of the Chief of the Public Security Bureau of Tianhai City.

Holding a survey plan she had worked on overnight, Jiang Li stood in front of Chu Ying, her face tense, her eyes shining with the drive typical of a newcomer.

Chu Ying turned the last page, closed the file, and looked up at Jiang Li.

"Did you come up with this direction yourself?"

Jiang Li felt a moment of guilt, but quickly straightened her back. "It was... something I came up with with some friends."

Chu Ying didn't delve into it further, and simply nodded.

"The direction is correct. The purity of the Disaster Lord's magic essence is so high that it will inevitably leave traces on the recipient's side as long as it is shipped out. This approach is much smarter than starting with people."

Jiang Li's eyes lit up instantly.

"That……"

"I'll approve it for you." Chu Ying picked up the pen, signed her name at the bottom of the investigation application, and then stamped it with a red seal. "But it's not enough for me alone. Your investigation involves the military and semi-official agencies, so I'll also apply for Director Liu's approval."

She pulled out her internal communication device and quickly contacted the headquarters.

Not long after, Director Liu's approval was transmitted back through the internal file system, with his signature clearly visible below the red "approved" comment.

Jiang Li looked at the investigation order stamped with two red seals in her hand, and felt a little lightheaded.

This was jointly signed by the city bureau chief and the provincial bureau chief!

With this thing in hand, basically no unit in Tianhai City would dare to say no to her.

"Thank you, Captain Fluorite!" Jiang Li practically jumped up and saluted.

"Don't thank me too soon." Chu Ying waved her hand. "Just getting your signature isn't enough. I'll get you a few more people."

She picked up her internal communicator, summoned Little Deer, and instructed, "Select three senior investigators from the Municipal Bureau and borrow two more composed magical girls from the branch bureau. All of them will be under the command of Comrade Little Green Dragon."

Jiang Li almost thought she had misheard.

Three seasoned investigators plus two magical girls—that's the setup for a complete task force.

Although the nominal leader of this task force is the senior colleague Nuanyu, everyone knows that Jiang Li was handpicked by the branch captain. As long as the general direction is correct, Nuanyu will generally not object to her.

However, Jiang Li was still a greenhorn who had been with the company for less than two months.

"Team leader, I..."

"Judging from your few encounters with the Disaster Lord, you two seem to have a special connection. Why don't you give it a try?" Chu Ying's tone was flat, but there was a hint of an elder's satisfaction in her eyes as she looked at Jiang Li. "Don't feel guilty. If you do well, it's your achievement; if you mess it up, I'll take responsibility. Just go for it."

Jiang Li's neck turned red. She nodded vigorously, her voice trembling slightly: "Yes! I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

……

With the investigation order bearing two red seals and a capable team, Jiang Li's investigation proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

The first stop was the Tianhai City Public Security Bureau's own war reserve material warehouse.

The warehouse manager's smile never faded the moment he saw the investigation order. He accompanied her from the front door all the way to the inner office, personally handing over the login access to the warehouse management system to Jiang Li, and even providing each member of the team with a cup of tea.

"Comrades, please feel free to inspect. Our warehouse is spotless and can withstand the strictest inspections."

Jiang Li didn't stand on ceremony and, along with a data analysis technician transferred from the bureau, plunged directly into the warehouse's database.

The sources of the police department's warehouses are divided into two main categories.

First, there are strategic reserves allocated by the higher authorities from the ten-seat parliament. Each batch has a complete circulation record, from production to delivery to warehousing, and each node has a complete signature process of the person in charge.

The other part consists of supplementary supplies that the warehouse directly purchases from qualified factories for daily training and equipment maintenance at the grassroots branch offices.

This part of the procurement is very large, and all of it is done through open bidding process, with contracts, invoices, and warehousing inspection reports all in place.

Holding onto a sliver of hope, Jiang Li instructed the technicians to filter out all the eligible entry records.

The screening process yielded three results, all of which were special supplies from the superior's strategic reserves, each with an approval number from the ten-seat council.

However, there is no record of the police department warehouse receiving the kind of artwork that Jiang Li wanted to see.

"Let's try another one." Jiang Li wasn't disappointed and remained full of energy.

The second stop was the military warehouse.

The security measures here are several levels higher than those of the Public Security Bureau; you have to go through three identity verifications just to get through the gate.

The military personnel were much more indifferent than those from the public security bureau, but their attitude towards the investigation order bearing the double red seal was equally impeccable.

After all, the power of the ten-seat parliament is unlimited.

Jiang Li had the technicians spend the entire afternoon screening through all the inventory records, and thoroughly reviewing all the signatures and approval processes from the past three months.

The result, naturally, was nothing.

The military's management is even stricter than that of the security bureau. Every batch of supplies has a special verification mechanism, making it almost impossible to mix in any unsavory items.

By the time Jiang Li and her group came out of the warehouse, it was already dark.

Nuanyu looked at Jiang Li's increasingly tense profile and couldn't help but reach out and pat her shoulder.

"It's just the beginning, don't rush it."

Jiang Li didn't speak, she just nodded.

However, what happened next truly made Jiang Li realize what it means to have a difficult beginning, a difficult middle, and an even more difficult end.

As the national economic and financial center and a megacity with a population of 30 million, Tianhai City has hundreds or even thousands of registered entities holding magic essence licenses, most of which are various research institutes, laboratories, and medical institutions.

We visited seven places on the first day but didn't find any problems.

The next day, we visited nine different places, but still couldn't find the problem.

By the time Jiang Li arrived at the sixth house on the third day, she was already starting to feel like a broken record, just reciting investigation orders.

"Public Security Bureau Magic Management Enforcement Detachment, please cooperate with the investigation and submit all relevant records."

"No problem, no problem, comrades, please come in."

"This is a request form for retrieving ledgers and inventory records. Please take a look."

"I'll do it right away, I'll do it right away."

Has your company purchased any magic crystals with a purity of 95% or higher in the past three months?

"Our scale is small, so we don't need that kind of high purity at all. We usually use 85% purity products."

"Is there any inventory of unknown origin?"

"No, no, our audits here are very rigorous."

The heads of each unit cooperated politely, every account book was clean and tidy, and every entry record had a clear and complete approval process.

Jiang Li was like a little bird trapped in a spider web, struggling but unable to find a foothold.

Although she did uncover a few minor issues during this period, such as a research institute falsely reporting the quantity of research supplies purchased to embezzle public funds, and the head of a laboratory reselling magic essence at a low price to a company owned by a relative, profiting from the price difference...

But these weren't what she was looking for. Jiang Li handed these questions over to the Economic Crime Investigation Team of the Public Security Bureau without saying another word.

Jiang Li looked at the thick, brick-like directory of organizations in her hand, her lips pressed tightly together, and remained silent.

Her heart was already pounding.

Was the direction of the investigation that my dad suggested wrong from the start?

Logically speaking, this line of thinking should be correct. The calamity lord's magic essence of such purity couldn't have simply vanished into thin air; someone must have taken it over.

Jiang Li couldn't figure out where the problem lay.

……

What she didn't understand, Leng Qiaoqiao and Commissioner Lin knew perfectly well.

If these two knew that Jiang Li was leading a special task force, enthusiastically going door-to-door to check inventory records and financial ledgers, they would most likely exchange a knowing smile.

Young people are still too young.

When Jiang Ran sold the goods to Commissioner Lin, there was nothing wrong with the contents of the contract.

Warehouse entry registration, quality inspection reports, and payment vouchers are all legal and compliant, which are basic skills that every specialist must master.

As for the actual situation, only Commissioner Lin and a few institute leaders knew the truth, and there was nothing unusual in the ledgers.

The 99% pure crystals purchased with public funds at high prices became 90% ordinary goods in the unit's warehouse. On the books, it was perfectly compliant. The price difference had long since flowed into the pockets of the relevant personnel under various compliant forms such as scientific research incentives, technical consulting fees, and business development funds.

This method of operation means that unless Jiang Li personally opens the warehouse to inspect the goods, the problem will never be found by simply checking the account books.

As a national financial center, it wouldn't be difficult for Tianhai to find a few professional accountants to do this kind of work. If that doesn't work, there are plenty of talented people in Tilanqiao Prison.

Jiang Li only knew that the Disaster Lord was powerful, but she didn't know how terrifying the human heart could be.

……

The intense investigation took a toll on Jiang Li's health, and she returned home later and later each day, making the atmosphere at home somewhat awkward during those days.

Jiang Li's petite frame has visibly thinned in the past few days, and she has dark circles under her eyes, making her look quite tired.

"You haven't won the game yet?" Jiang Ran asked, puzzled.

Jiang Li shook her head.

"So what if you lost? It's not a big deal," Jiang Ran comforted her. "Look at your sour face, like someone owes you a billion dollars. It's just a game!"

"Dad, you don't understand."

Jiang Li raised her head, her eyes revealing a weariness that masked a stubbornness that Jiang Ran found somewhat unfamiliar.

"Those who truly want to win don't have a smile on their face!"

Jiang Ran shook his head. He knew that this girl had always been like this since she was a child. Once she made up her mind about something, she would not turn back even if she hit a brick wall.

Jiang Ran felt both heartache and relief that he had gone to such lengths to study a detective game.

After dinner, Jiang Li quickly washed up and then locked herself in her room to continue discussing the next steps of the investigation with Nuan Yu.

As for the Lord of Calamity she longed for, she received an invitation from the Demonic Cultivation Guild:

"Senior Disaster Master, the president will be arriving in Tianhai soon. She highly approves of your two-step plan and hopes to meet with you in person. If you have the time, please do me the honor of coming to talk."

The message was appended with an address. Jiang Ran vaguely recognized the place; it seemed to be a well-known wealthy area in Tianhai City.

Upon seeing this message, Jiang Ran's lips curled up in a smile.

It just so happens that he has recently been figuring out how to gain access to the Demonic Network. If the Demonic Cultivation Association has a way to do that, it would save him a lot of trouble.