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

Zhang Zhihai stared intently at the replaying clip, specifically the brief scene of Chen Jie being disarmed and the two engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

From the moment Chen Jie's knee struck him until he was sent flying backward and crashed into the wall, the entire process took no more than five seconds.

But those five seconds are enough to reveal something.

"What a magnificent Bajiquan technique..."

After a long pause, Zhang Zhihai couldn't help but sigh.

Martial arts have always been a part of Chinese tradition. However, nowadays, this national treasure is questioned by many because of people using the name of "Chinese martial arts" to swindle and deceive others.

From the perspective of practicality in combat, it is true that the martial arts routines that are widely circulated now are not as good as they used to be.

This is due to deliberate human intervention—a stable and peaceful society has no need for, nor can it utilize, such fierce and deadly fighting techniques.

Modern martial arts routines are primarily focused on performance and self-cultivation.

But this doesn't mean that the things passed down from our ancestors have been lost. It simply means that they are being passed down in places more suitable for their development.

For example...the military.

Before transferring to the public security department, Zhang Zhihai was a professional soldier belonging to the army. In his youth, he even won a prize in the army-wide military exercises.

He also knows martial arts, specifically the Pi Gua style.

Although he didn't know Bajiquan, the military was full of hidden talents, and he had seen many masters of Bajiquan before.

Two punches, one elbow, and one lean—this is the classic Bajiquan style. One of these leans, the Iron Mountain Lean, I had seen a Bajiquan master use; that lean directly cracked the wooden stake.

The surveillance video wasn't very clear, but the fluid movements and powerful outburst of that movement were still clearly visible.

"Extremely skilled..."

Zhang Zhihai once again made a judgment on certain characteristics of the suspect.

As the commander-in-chief of this operation, he naturally had a good understanding of Chen Jie, the target of the operation.

Despite Chen Jie's seemingly one-sided defeat on screen, Zhang Zhihai knew that Chen Jie was also a skilled fighter.

Chen Jie is proficient in Muay Thai and fought in underground boxing in Uttar Pradesh, Myanmar for three years. Having fought in that lawless region for three years, his skill level is undeniable.

The video was played again, and this time Zhang Zhihai nodded.

The host on stage immediately understood and began playing the next segment.

The content naturally describes how, just as the suspect was about to attack Chen Jie, Li Bingruo, who had sneaked into the casino beforehand, arrived and, brandishing a gun, ordered the suspect, who had just finished fighting, to stop.

Judging from the video, Li Bingruo's handling of the situation was already very standard and cautious, but it was clearly not cautious enough.

She didn't witness the struggle between the suspect and Chen Jie before entering the room; if she had, her vigilance would likely have increased significantly.

Just then, Chen Jie suddenly made a move, which distracted Li Bingruo.

At that moment, the suspect suddenly lunged forward and disarmed Li Bingruo within seconds, knocking her unconscious.

"Did the suspect also practice Eagle Claw Kung Fu?"

Zhang Zhihai glanced at Li Bingruo in the corner.

"You deserved your fate."

All eyes in the conference room instantly turned to Li Bingruo. Even Li Bingruo felt a little embarrassed and coughed softly.

After all, in a sense, this can be considered a public execution.

Holding a gun and having absolute dominance on the field, yet still being countered by the suspect, is a shameful and potentially fatal situation.

Of course, Li Bingruo's colleagues who were present did not think the same way. Judging from the surveillance footage, no one could have done better in that situation, and they might have been even worse than Li Bingruo.

"Then what happened at the dog farm."

"From the time the other party went to the dog farm to the time we arrived, it took no more than eight minutes."

"What about the investigation into the suspect's identity? How is it progressing?"

Zhang Zhihai tapped on the table.

"We immediately collected the other party's fingerprints and searched the database using the fingerprints and facial features. Unfortunately, we did not find any matching data so far."

"As for DNA... although a thorough investigation was conducted at the scene, no hair or tissue from the other party was found."

"How could this be..."

"The investigation department also found it unbelievable. They found Officer Li and Chen Jie's hair tissue in that room, but no suspect."

"Then we investigated the suspect's movements."

“He drove here and was then picked up by casino staff.”

“We have traced the car; it was rented through a car rental company. As for the identity information used when renting the car, it was forged.”

“Following this line of reasoning, we reviewed the surveillance footage from that time. After the suspect left the car rental company, he quickly entered an area with complex surveillance coverage and disappeared from view.”

“Normal…” Zhang Zhihai pondered.

After all, judging from the surveillance footage, the suspect not only possesses superb skills but also has a strong sense of counter-surveillance.

Judging from his ability to count cards, the suspect's intelligence should not be underestimated.

Zhang Zhihai couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

The other party is definitely not an ordinary person; it might be an unexpectedly large fish. But this large fish has already dived into the unfathomable depths of the sea, and it will take a lot of effort to catch it later.

"No one in this world appears out of thin air... Keep investigating, we must find out who this person is."

There was another thing that worried Zhang Zhihai.

Based on the on-site investigation, there are many suspicious points.

First, there were shooting marks at the dog farm. Based on the leftover shell casings, it appears that the suspect used Chen Jie's gun to fire the shots.

But neither of the two shots hit Chen Jie or Xiao Ao.

Is your marksmanship too bad?

Perhaps that's possible.

The suspect fired two shots, both of which missed, so he pulled out a knife and beheaded both men.

But that's pretty ridiculous.

First, apart from the fatal decapitation, there were no signs of resistance on Xiao Ao's body.

Although Chen Jie had additional injuries—a fractured upper left shinbone, a broken rib, and multiple bruises all over his body—judging from the injuries, they were likely caused by the suspect beating him in the room.

A handgun was found on Xiao Ao's person, but there was no trace of him ever taking it out until his death.

In other words, both of them were beheaded with a single blow while they were almost completely unprepared.

It's impossible to be unprepared.

Since Chen Jie had fled to the dog farm first, it was impossible for him not to tell Xiao Ao what had happened.

Unless... there's still someone else at the dog farm!

Caught off guard, Xiao Ao was beheaded with a single blow. Then, the same method was used to kill Chen Jie, who was trying to escape.

If that's the case, then the suspect using the alias Yu Bie has a reason to fire the shot.

The only problem is that the evidence present at the scene cannot prove the existence of this fourth person.

Unfortunately, there's a secret passage near the dog farm that leads directly outside the factory area.

The suspect, along with any possible fourth person, escaped through this secret passage.

Although the police immediately launched a search along the secret passage, they still lost track of the suspect.

The trail has been almost completely cut off, and the only breakthrough now is this guy who has revealed his physical characteristics and appearance, and who is using the alias 'Yu Bie'.

"We must find this Yu Bie..."

Upon hearing Chen Zhihai's emphasis, the old policeman next to him coughed.

Having worked as a criminal investigator for so many years, he naturally knew that the key to this case lay with the suspect who used the alias Yu Bie.

"Catching Yu Bie is indeed of paramount importance. However, let's first make a preliminary determination on the nature of this case."

"The suspect's purpose and motive."

That's quite simple.

The suitcase containing the stolen money disappeared from the scene, clearly taken away by the suspect.

This matter has once again involved gangs and drug dealers.

Unfortunately, Chen Jie and Xiao Ao were sentenced to beheading, a cruel way to die.

"Gang feud... double-crossing."

P.S.: I originally planned to release two chapters together at once, but I realized I made a mistake.

End of volume

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Chapter Forty: Numerous Problems

"Yesterday, in a special operation to crack down on gambling, the Xinghai City police, in conjunction with the Tianheng City police, successfully dismantled a large-scale illegal gambling ring. A total of 18 suspects were arrested, and the amount of money involved reached 1000 million yuan."

"In addition, Lin Sen, the chief of the Xingwan District Police Precinct, has been dismissed from public office for serious violations of discipline, serious job-related offenses, and suspected bribery. He will be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law."

It was a bright and clear morning, and the television in the living room was broadcasting the morning news.

Cerberus, who was lying on the sofa in a reclining posture, immediately sat up, leaned forward, and stared at the television screen.

"Kazama! Kazama..."

Cerberus waved and called out towards the kitchen:

"Come out and see quickly..."

"What's wrong?"

Kazama emerged from the kitchen, carrying a steaming cup of coffee.