I set you up on a blind date, and you've managed to overcome all the weirdness?

Lin Yan was about to make a joke when he was interrupted by the sound of rain.

The voice came from behind.

The office is located on the basement level, with a row of windows on the inside that connect to a light well on the ground floor.

At this moment, the outside world was a gray expanse, with dark clouds covering the sky, making it hard to breathe just by looking at it.

A massive rainstorm is about to hit, and the sky over the entire city of Jiangcheng is already completely covered by it.

Lin Yan walked closer to the window and looked down. This rain... something's not right.

The raindrops hissed and corroded as they hit the glass, and moisture seeped into the office, causing Lin Yan to shiver involuntarily.

He immediately reached for his phone to see if there were any messages in the group chat.

Something's happened.

Su Qinghan walked to Lin Yan's workstation, seemingly unaware of his subtle actions.

Her expression was serious, and she frowned slightly.

Several on-site reports were placed on Lin Yan's desk.

"Starting this morning, eight heinous murders occurred simultaneously in the underground parking lots of the four major business districts in Jiangcheng."

Su Qinghan patted Lin Yan on the shoulder, signaling him to make room, and at the same time brought up photos of the scene on the tablet.

"The eight victims all died in the same manner."

"Without exception, the primary crime scene for the bodies was always the deceased's own car."

"The car doors were locked, and the windows were sealed tightly."

"Three of the vehicles were equipped with dashcams, which showed no signs of forced damage or intrusion by outsiders."

Su Qinghan zoomed in on a picture on the tablet and handed it to Lin Yan.

Lin Yan looked down and immediately looked troubled.

The picture shows a scene photo of the eight victims.

All eight men strangled themselves with their hands before they died.

His eyeballs were almost bulging out of their sockets, and his face had an eerie purplish-blue color.

What made Lin Yan uneasy was that a large amount of black liquid was overflowing from their nasal cavities, mouths, and ears.

He recognized the liquid.

"This is..." Lin Yan asked, looking startled.

"The autopsy report from the forensic department indicates that these eight people were drowned alive in the car."

Lin Yan looked up from the tablet and stared at the other person in surprise.

"Drowned? Drowned in the car?"

"Yes, drowning in a physical sense."

Su Qinghan didn't take it seriously, as if such things that defy the common sense of physics were quite common.

"What's worse, the lab extracted a large amount of black fluid from the deceased's lungs."

"The black liquid has a certain regularity, and preliminary judgment suggests that its chemical composition is very complex and difficult to reproduce at present."

After saying that, she made no attempt to hide her suspicion, staring directly into Lin Yan's eyes as if trying to uncover the secrets hidden in his mind.

"This is by no means an ordinary murder, and there are not many people who can commit such a bizarre act of killing."

Su Qinghan lowered her voice:

"The intelligence chiefs unanimously concluded that this was the work of that high-level water-based monster entrenched in Jiangcheng."

"They believe that thing might be completing a large-scale promotion."

"The southern district may have already become its hunting ground for indiscriminate slaughter."

"Chen Feng has activated the highest level of emergency response plan, and reinforcements from the provincial bureau are on their way."

"They plan to use a conceptual weapon from headquarters to drain the water from the underground sewers and nip this problem in the bud."

Su Qinghan paused here, looked around, and pulled up a chair to sit next to Lin Yan.

whisper:

"Tell me, has she lost control?"

Su Qinghan exudes an extremely strong sense of oppression.

She was very close, and her scent wafted into Lin Yan's nose.

Lin Yan did not answer immediately.

He recalled his conversation with the mermaid.

[No matter what happens to the Jiangcheng water network these next few days, don't come looking for me.]

Don't meddle in other people's business.

Something's definitely wrong with the mermaid!

However, it's probably not as the bureau speculated.

She has just broken through to become a half-step advanced Deep Water Queen, and she is following the path of faith advancement. As long as she absorbs faith step by step, she will be able to complete the advancement sooner or later.

How could someone in her condition suddenly go and slaughter a few completely unrelated humans?

Not to mention the trouble this would cause within the bureau, it would also severely hinder her promotion speed.

After all, when life-or-death crises weigh on people, it becomes very difficult for her to gain new fans.

But Lin Yan had witnessed the Blackwater Mermaid use it in front of him more than once.

There's definitely something fishy going on here!

Lin Yan's first thought was of the Bizarre Cult, which specialized in manipulating rules.

Could it be that they had some hidden trick up their sleeve at that anime convention that he hadn't discovered?

Or perhaps those two-dimensional characters were restless, outwardly obeying the mermaid's words but inwardly disobeying them, and producing a few troublemakers in the city.

But whichever the possibility, the mermaid's current situation is rather bad.

Mind your own business...

Rather than a warning, Lin Yan felt it was more like a defensive line erected by a mermaid to avoid implicating herself when forced to sever an arm to survive.

Su Qinghan's current attitude made Lin Yan even more uneasy.

The other people in the bureau were unaware of the mermaid's existence, but this woman who witnessed everything on the scene definitely knew who the owner of the black water was.

She's now using the case as an excuse to interrogate me, and she's even revealed the provincial bureau's plan to use conceptual weapons.

Why this thoughtfulness? Is it merely a final ultimatum to myself?

Why would she help me? Or rather, why would someone as bureaucratic as her do something so unofficial?

Regardless of the circumstances, Su Qinghan is probably on my side in this matter.

Now that the higher-ups have lost patience, Lin Yan knows very well what is most important for a machine that is running smoothly.

It is stable.

If the mermaid cannot be proven safe, the group will likely be one person short.

Can't wait any longer.

If the mermaid were to perish at this moment, he would not only lose a top-tier cheat, but also cause the 100,000 paper dolls underground in Jiangcheng to go berserk.

At that point, it won't be a problem that can be solved simply by pumping water.

Those above are unaware of this, and they can't say anything unless Lin Yan is willing to risk his life, since that was a half-step advancement that Lin Yan personally pushed forward.

Lin Yan would use self-deprecating language to describe himself as a traitor, but if the higher-ups found out, it would truly confirm that he was indeed a traitor.

More importantly, he had just raised the mermaid's favorability to 70, and it was about to reach 100, unlocking the bond.

How could he tolerate someone splashing dirty water on someone he hadn't even won over yet?

Lin Yan suppressed these chaotic speculations in his heart.

"Miss Su, you can't just say things like that."

Lin Yan leaned back and sighed dramatically.

He didn't answer the question, instead adopting a high-sounding, official demeanor, but his voice was just loud enough for Old Zhao in the hallway outside to hear:

"This series of cases is outrageous."

"As the special commissioner personally appointed by Commander Chen, how can I stand by and watch this unknown and bizarre thing wreak havoc on the people of the Southern District?"