Doctor will never die in a hellish situation.

There are a total of 6 people in the special inspection team, including him.

Needless to say, Hoshiguma and Chen had a trust rating of 200 before the transmigration, so he knew them very well. However, among the remaining four people who had not appeared in the game, apart from Machidir who took the initiative to introduce herself, he did not know the other two team members.

So Qin Duanyu planned to take the opportunity of treating someone to dinner to get to know them better, since he didn't care about spending other people's money.

"Even though it's your treat, Doctor, I feel bad letting you spend too much." Machidir smiled slyly and called out to the proprietress, "Aunt Wang, let's not follow the usual rules today. Bring out the most expensive items in the store, and a few bottles of the 82 vintage soda too!"

"Haha, then let's treat ourselves to a good meal thanks to the Doctor." A man of the Ferdinand tribe, who was a little taller than Hoshiguma, extended his hand to Qin Duanyu and said in a deep voice, "Hello Doctor, my name is Ferdinand, and I am currently serving as the team's heavy armor."

Compared to the handsome and muscular Horn Peak, who is also a member of the Fungi tribe, this guy looks rather fierce, especially with the cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, which could scare a child to tears in no time.

“Hello, Joel, Guard.” Another middle-aged Liberian man nodded to Qin Duanyu and then coolly fell silent.

If it weren't for the halberd placed against the wall, his gentle and refined demeanor would make him look more like a school teacher than a Guard Bureau agent fighting on the front lines.

"Uncle Ferdinand, hug me!" At this moment, a little boy of about five years old pushed open the door and walked in, running straight to Ferdinand without being afraid of his appearance at all.

“This child is so chubby and looks more and more like Old Wang, what a pity…” Ferdinand looked nostalgic, then lifted the little boy high above his head, making him laugh out loud.

"Sir Xing, where is Inspector Chen?" Qin Duanyu asked curiously as Xing Xiong walked in after her.

"Old Chen is chatting with Aunt Wang, he'll be here soon." Hoshiguma seemed unwilling to talk more, and instead joined Ferdinand in playing with the child.

It's really tough on this kid, being squeezed between two big guys.

“My child is about the same age as him,” Joel, sitting next to Qin Duanyu, suddenly said, his tone unusually gentle.

"Oh? That's the most fun time! They'll grow into mythical beasts when they're a little older," Qin Duanyu said with a touch of emotion. Her relative's child before she transmigrated was like that; he was quite cute at first, but he turned into a bear after starting elementary school.

"Sigh, you can tell, Ellie isn't very close to me anymore..."

Unexpectedly, this seemingly deep and steady middle-aged man turned into a silly dad after mentioning his daughter, becoming just as talkative as Machider. When he got excited, he even wanted to show Qin Duanyu the photos.

"Hey bro, stop! Calm down! This is a sure-fire disaster!" Qin Duanyu quickly stopped him from taking out the photos, preventing a potential tragedy.

"Um, how did Officer Wang sacrifice himself? Judging from Chen Sir's expression, he seems to be quite familiar with him." To avoid Joel becoming like an old general on a stage, Qin Duanyu decisively changed the subject.

“Old Wang… he was the previous head of the inspection team, and also Chen Sir’s mentor.” Qiao Dian paused, then whispered to Qin Duanyu.

The term of office for members of the special inspection team is generally no more than two years. This dangerous position is not suitable for long-term stays, and sacrificing one's life in the line of duty is almost the consistent fate of all veteran inspection team members.

Although Joel didn't go into details about their story, judging from her attitude towards Aunt Wang, it's clear that Chen received a lot of help from this old superintendent when he was in the inspectorate.

Unfortunately, during a mission two years ago, Officer Wang was killed by thugs. Chen, in a near-mad state, slaughtered most of the enemies, but the culprit was only seriously injured and escaped.

After that, Chen took over as the head of the inspection team, a position he has held ever since.

Today marks the second anniversary of her taking office as team leader, as well as the second anniversary of Officer Wang's burial. Choosing this place for the gathering probably has special significance.

"Old Chen, I'm telling you, don't scare the child!" Hoshiguma's exclamation interrupted their conversation.

It turned out that Chen had entered the house intending to play with the little boy, but his ugly smile frightened the boy so much that he ran out crying.

Who knew that Intestine Sir had this side to him?

Seeing her somewhat embarrassed expression, Qin Duanyu silently took out her phone and pressed the shutter button.

I'll have new material to share next time I chat with Ms. Swire!

……

In the evening, everyone who had eaten and drunk their fill dispersed, except for Qin Duanyu, who followed Chen with a somewhat annoyed expression and got into the police car together.

There was no other way; everyone except Chen, who never drinks, was drunk. In addition, since the two lived very close to each other, the task of taking Qin Duanyu home naturally fell to her.

Looking at the three holes on the roof, one large and two small, and comparing them with Chen and Xingxiong's horns, he seemed to understand something. He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. After repeatedly checking his seatbelt, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen didn't take the initiative to speak, and Qin Duanyu was too lazy to make a fool of himself. The atmosphere in the car wasn't exactly harmonious, making him feel that he should probably be under the car right now.

squeak!

As they passed through a narrow alley, accompanied by a sharp screech, Chen slammed on the brakes and then pounced on Qin Duanyu.

What... is going on?

Qin Duanyu, who was pinned down, was completely bewildered.

Even though Chen and the others were not controllable operators and the system could not provide any information such as trust level, he was quite certain that the relationship between the two was definitely not at the level of having sex in a car.

This is progressing too fast; he can't keep up.

"Get up, hurry up!" Chen pointed to the ceiling and said coldly as he opened the car door.

Several crossbow bolts had already been stuck in the spot where the two of them had originally been sitting.

Qin Duanyu quickly switched to God's-eye view and was surprised to find that they were surrounded by more than a dozen red dots.

“Baby, did you miss me? I’ve missed you a lot these past two years!” A thin man walked out and raised his left arm toward Chen, but where his hand should have been, a sharp blade was instead.

“It’s you…” Chen gritted his teeth, his crimson eyes burning with what seemed like flames.

Section 57, Chapter Fifty-Six: Habitual Thinking is Truly Harmful

By the dim light of the street lamps, Qin Duanyu sized up the man in the lead.

He seems to be a Vaivafan.

Qin Duanyu was somewhat unsure. Where this creature's tail should have been, only a small section of flesh remained, and one of its two horns on its head had been severed.

Although I have no intention of offending Ms. Hoshiguma, his unique appearance makes him look like a ghost from the East.

“It seems Officer Chen still remembers me. Perhaps this is what they call telepathy.” The man seemed to suddenly remember something and said apologetically, “Excuse me, you are now the head of the Special Inspectorate, you should call me Superintendent Chen.”

Swish!

Chen's black longsword twitched slightly, and an invisible sword aura was unleashed. A fine crack that rapidly extended across the ground appeared, ending precisely where the man was standing.

"What a unique way to greet someone, but you're still using the same old tricks. Haven't you improved at all in two years?" The man deftly swung the blade on his left arm, neutralizing Chen's attack.

Whoosh!

Before Chen could launch another attack, the crossbowmen in the shadows halted her advance.

"Hiram, you actually dare to return to Lungmen? Did these scoundrels embolden you?" Chen said coldly, deftly deflecting a crossbow bolt aimed straight at his face.

Qin Duanyu suddenly realized what was going on when she heard the man's name.

Lungmen is a forgetful city, where lives are lost every day, whether people are destroying it or protecting it. These days, mentioning Hiram, such a common name, hardly stirs any waves.

But if you were to mention Hiram's nickname, it would not only scare children to tears, but even older adults would turn pale with fright.

The skinner.

The perpetrator of the Lungmen serial murder case began committing crimes three years ago, killing and injuring nearly a hundred people, ranging from the poor in the outer ring to the wealthy in the inner city, including even elite agents of the Guard Bureau.

It got its name because the victims died in a gruesome manner, their skin being peeled off by him using sophisticated methods.

However, justice will prevail. Hiram left traces during one of his crimes, which led the Guard to track him down. The ruthless man then led his men in a shootout with the police, ultimately escaping with serious injuries.

As one of the few fugitives with a high bounty, providing information about him would earn 1 Lungmen Dollars. A poor guy like Qin Duanyu, who has to carefully consider how much sugar to put in his coffee, would naturally take a second look.

After all, the good days in Lungmen will eventually come to an end. If he could find a way to make some extra money, he could live a more comfortable life back on Rhodes Island. But he never expected that he would actually see a wanted criminal in person.

By the way, as long as you capture Hiram, you'll get 180 million LMD regardless of whether he's dead or alive.

Damn it, the reward is tempting, but you have to be alive to claim it.

The situation was extremely dire. Putting aside Hiram himself, the group he was with was also quite strong, at least at the level of Rhodes Island's official operations team, according to the data provided by the system.

Chen's combat strength is indeed very strong, almost on par with those senior and experienced operators, but as the saying goes, a hundred Beagles can defeat Skyfire, so she may not necessarily fare well in the battle.

What's even more frustrating is that Chen belongs to a friendly unit and cannot receive Qin Duanyu's telepathic communication. He has to verbally provide her with information, which completely prevents him from using his command abilities.

“Superintendent Chen, that’s really impolite. They’re planning to explore Lungmen properly; they’re tourists, after all. As a local police officer, what you’re saying doesn’t align with Lungmen’s image.” Hiram smiled and shook his finger.

Well, it seems he's not only targeting Chen, but also planning to wreak havoc in Longmen.

Just think about how Hiram slunk away back then; he must have been seething with anger. Now that he's returning with a large group of men, he's bound to cause a bloodbath, and who knows how many innocent people will suffer.

"How exactly did you manage to sneak into Longmen?" Chen asked, frowning, his mind already filled with curses.

The customs and inspection offices in Lungmen (a place known for its vulgar language) are not only allowing people to smuggle prohibited weapons into Lungmen, but now they're even letting wanted criminals swagger into the inner city. They're a bunch of good-for-nothings!

“Oh, you mean this? I found a kind Mr. Ursus, and when he heard I couldn’t come to Lungmen, he generously lent me his face.” Hiram said, pulling out a human skin mask and waving it around.

Hiram is insane; there's a certificate from a psychiatrist.

But there's only a fine line between genius and madness. Hiram has an amazing aptitude for Originium Arts; his ability is to cut and dissect, thereby peeling away the victim's skin.

It is said that when the police first became aware of the skinning perpetrators, they targeted doctors, but soon sent them out of the country because the victims' techniques were so sophisticated that even surgeons with decades of experience were impressed.

For Hiram, removing a face completely is as easy as drinking water. Besides, the focus of the entry checks is on whether there are contraband items or whether someone is infected with Oripathy. No officer would be so bored as to touch someone's face.

Especially a man's face.

"Hmph, disgusting little trick."

"Superintendent Chen, I know what you're thinking. Don't wait anymore, no one will come here."

"what?"

Chen's pupils dilated suddenly as he remembered something.

This section of road was under construction a few days ago and it wouldn't be finished for at least a month or two. But tonight, she was feeling a bit complicated because of Officer Wang's situation, and with that annoying Qin Duanyu sitting next to her, she didn't realize anything was wrong and foolishly drove the car in.

“My former psychologist often said that habitual thinking is a harmful thing, and you see, it’s really true,” Hiram said smugly.

All the workers on this section of the road have been killed, and signal jammers have been set up around it. Even if the explosion causes a big commotion, people nearby will mistake it for construction work.

Chen and Qin Duanyu are essentially trapped and dying here.

"Doctor, I'll try my best to hold them off. Go and call for backup!" Seeing that there was no point in stalling for time, Chen simply stepped out of the bunker and rushed toward Hiram.

Qin Duanyu nodded. At this moment, he was just a burden, so it was better to take this opportunity to escape, contact Texas and the others, and then come back to rescue them.

The plan went smoothly. Whether their attention was entirely focused on Chen or they simply looked down on him as a nobody who didn't even show his face, Hiram and his group completely ignored Qin Duanyu.

Once the Penguin Logistics girl arrives, I'll show you bastards what cruelty is!

"No, stop him!" Hiram suddenly used the blade of his left arm to block Chen's sword, and pointed at Qin Duanyu, who was about to escape, saying, "Sorry, I thought this guy was a petty thief you caught. I was planning to let him go so I could announce the return of my artist."

"But judging from how you instinctively protected him and even bought him time, your relationship isn't that simple, is it? Well then, please have your boyfriend stay as a special guest for my comeback ceremony tonight!"