Something's wrong with how I'm watching anime.

This kind of money is ill-gotten; if used, it will inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later. Kazama now possesses supernatural abilities; if he wanted to make money legitimately, there are countless ways. Why resort to such crooked means?

"Don't worry about the money."

"Moreover, I don't have the energy to learn alchemy in the short term."

"I want to learn something else..."

Kazama said softly:

"In short, bury this box of dirty money on the spot."

"Then why did you make me bring this box back specifically?" Cerberus asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing..." Kazama began.

"I just need to give a plausible explanation..."

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Meeting

"Chen Jie".

“He is from Jiannan Road, Lifang City, and is 31 years old this year.”

"In 2004, he committed intentional assault and murder and fled to avoid punishment. He is now an important cadre under the drug lord codenamed 'Master Jin'."

"He is a Class A wanted fugitive and also the main target of this operation."

"Xiao Ao".

“He is from Tiannan Road, Xinghai City, and is 30 years old.”

"Nicknamed 'Xiao San' is guilty of organizing, leading, and participating in a mafia-style crime; gambling; operating a casino; and intentional injury."

In the city police station's conference room, a middle-aged policeman was standing on a stage giving a presentation. Behind him, a projector was displaying the identity information of Chen Jie and Xiao San.

Meanwhile, behind a long table sat dozens of uniformed criminal police officers with serious expressions.

Both of them are dead.

The slideshow transitioned to photos of the dog farm behind the factory.

Two headless corpses lay on the ground.

Not far away were the heads of two men, their eyes wide open, retaining the last expression of their lives, as if they had seen something incredibly terrifying.

The dark setting, the bloodstains everywhere, the decapitated corpses—the photos evoke a strange sense of horror and cruelty.

However, the police officers present were mostly key personnel with excellent mental fortitude, and their expressions only became more serious upon seeing this scene.

"According to the forensic examination, the preliminary diagnosis indicates that the primary cause of death was decapitation by a sharp weapon."

"Based on the wound on the neck, the killer used only one stab."

A single, swift decapitation.

"The methods were extremely cruel."

"As for the suspect..."

The policeman on the podium pressed a remote control in his hand, and the slideshow switched again, showing the surveillance footage.

A fat man wearing a shirt and carrying a shoulder bag walked inside the casino.

The camera captured its front view.

Next to the surveillance camera is a digitally enhanced flat image of the other party.

"This man."

"According to the surveillance information, he is between thirty and thirty-five years old and 168 cm tall."

"According to the investigation, the person used the name 'Yu Bie,' but it is most likely an alias."

The surveillance footage on the screen began to scroll.

The man, using the alias Yu Bie, entered the casino through the main entrance and emerged from the junket room half a minute later, his face beaming with excitement, just like any other gambler.

Fast forward the video; the man who entered the casino didn't immediately go to any particular attraction, but simply wandered around the casino, seemingly making a selection.

Soon, the man stopped at the blackjack table, but he did not immediately sit down. Instead, he continued to observe from the sidelines.

The video fast-forwarded again, and more than twenty minutes later, the man finally sat down.

Then came the betting and winning, and soon a pile of chips had accumulated in front of him.

"The odds of winning are too high... blackjack..."

A sharp-eyed veteran policeman suddenly spoke up:

"Is this person calculating cards?"

"Hmm." The police officer on the podium nodded.

"Another person was arrested at the scene. His name is Chen Sheng. He is a professional gambler and a 'golden finger' hired by the casino."

"According to him, Xiao Ao discovered that this person had won too much and sent him over to investigate."

"Chen Sheng cheated back then, stuffing a few cards into the deck."

"But the man quickly realized it and then left."

The video continues to fast forward, showing a young woman in a suit sitting down, and then the dealer is replaced by a man in his forties or fifties who takes over the dealer's position.

Many people present turned their attention to the female police officer sitting in the corner of the conference room.

Li Ruobing was sitting upright in her seat, her eyes fixed on the screen, her face expressionless.

This concludes the video.

"After leaving the gambling table, the man went to the restroom, which is a blind spot for the surveillance cameras."

"But about two minutes later, the man came out of the bathroom. Then the surveillance briefly lost sight of him."

"Two minutes later, the other party appeared in the internal passageway behind the casino's large open space."

"Did the surveillance lose sight of the other party?"

The middle-aged man, sitting in the front row, with a dignified appearance and laugh lines around his eyes, asked.

"um, yes."

The police officer on stage reported:

"Most of the casino's surveillance cameras are pointed directly at the gaming tables, and there are blind spots between the cameras."

"The opponent bypassed our line of sight..."

"But based on the information we have now, this person should be visiting this casino for the first time."

The stern-looking middle-aged policeman nodded: "If the other party isn't very familiar with the casino environment, then they have a strong sense of counter-surveillance."

Then the next segment of surveillance footage began playing on the screen.

The scene has shifted to the internal passageway at the back of the factory.

A man with tattooed arms was carrying a silver briefcase and was running forward hurriedly.

Meanwhile, the suspect, using the alias Yu Bie, seemed to have heard the noise and moved to the corner.

The moment the tattooed man turned the corner, he swiftly struck, and the tattooed man immediately collapsed to the ground.

The police officer on the podium provided timely information.

"This tattooed man is named Wang Bie, and he is a member of the criminal gang led by Xiao Ao. According to the interrogation, Wang Bie said that he was carrying the box to deliver it to Chen Jie."

"The box contained a large sum of illicit money obtained through transactions."

"That's a really impressive and decisive move..."

Also in the front row, next to the stern-looking man, a veteran police officer in his forties or fifties spoke. However, his attention wasn't on the briefcase, but rather on the fat man's action of knocking Wang Bie unconscious in the surveillance footage.

"Although it was a sneak attack, the fact that he could knock someone unconscious in an instant already shows that this person is quite skilled."

"Old Zhang, can you do that?"

He asked Zhang Zhihai, the captain of the criminal investigation team beside him, who was the stern-faced man.

Zhang Zhihai shook his head.

“If it were that simple, I could take someone down right now. But in that situation, just knocking them unconscious without hurting them... I can’t do that. The suspect had a lot of control over his actions.”

This surveillance footage has ended; the next video is the last one.

The scene is in a small room in front of the dog farm, where Chen Jie meets the suspect.

Chen Jie drew his gun and fired, but the suspect quickly dodged.

Then, the lights went out, and the surveillance briefly went dark. When the lights came on again, the gun in Chen Jie's hand was gone, and the suspect had already reached Chen Jie.

Chen Jie raised his knee to strike, but the other party countered with a punch.

Chen Jie lost his balance, while the suspect moved, his entire body disappearing into Chen Jie's arms. Chen Jie was instantly sent flying backward, crashing heavily against the wall.

Upon seeing this clip, everyone present couldn't help but hold their breath.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Black-on-Black

Reality is not like any movie or TV show.

For more extreme examples, there are action movies from neighboring India, featuring scenes like ten people standing side-by-side and one punch; a single palm strike that sends the villain tumbling through the air; and banana killings—god-level maneuvers appear one after another.

In reality, under unrestricted conditions, the process of a death match is often shockingly simple.

Those with weapons are the easiest: one shot to take them down, one knife to stab them in the kidneys. In unarmed combat, it's a contest of who strikes first, who can hit vitals first, and who can withstand more beatings.

As for the frequent scenes of dodging bullets in movies, many people are used to it. But in reality, it's a different story.

In the surveillance footage, from the moment Chen Jie fired the shot, the fat man rolled nimbly, a reaction that surpassed 99% of people.

Moreover, considering the subsequent close-quarters gun-grabbing maneuver, how many people in reality would have the courage and ability to do such a thing?

"A desperate fugitive..."

The old policeman sitting next to Zhang Zhihai said with emotion.