Edited by Parfait.
In the rumbling subway tunnel, lights flickered intermittently.
It was now rush hour, and the subway line in the opposite direction had a heavier flow of people, causing the trains to stop more frequently. Xiao Jinyu stood alone in front of the subway glass gate, while the metal seats behind him were filled with exhausted office workers. He was fair-skinned, with a cold and aloof appearance, looking like a student.
In fact, he was a student.
When Su Jiuzhou walked over with a hot drink from the vending machine, he saw from a distance several girls pointing at Xiao Jinyu’s back. A round-faced girl nudged the short-haired girl beside her, who blushed and shook her head repeatedly.
The Spear of Judgement seemed thoughtful as he lengthened his expression and handed a bottle of hot coffee to Xiao Jinyu.
Xiao Jinyu was startled: “…Thank you.”
Su Jiuzhou took a sip of tea: “I remembered you are still a student.”
As he said this, his gaze swept to the left rear of the young man. Xiao Jinyu keenly noticed his action and followed his line of sight. Seeing the two girls, he paused at first, then understood. Without giving it much thought, he popped open the coffee tab: “I’m technically on leave now. I finished my credits early.”
Su Jiuzhou asked, “You finished in your third year?”
Xiao Jinyu corrected, “It was the second semester of my sophomore year.”
Wow.
The Spear of Judgement stared at the young man’s delicate face for a second.
Most users were intelligent, at least level three and above. There weren’t many who were too foolish.
Zhao Hen was an exception. His captain Wang Tao was also an exception.
Normally, Wang Tao shouldn’t have reached level five; his advancement was a miracle among miracles, as he was forcibly pulled up by someone else.
Su Jiuzhou lowered his eyes in thought, his slender and distinct fingers casually holding the hot oolong tea can by the rim with his thumb and forefinger, taking a sip. Suddenly, his hand stopped abruptly, his pupils darkened, and Su Jiuzhou frowned slightly, lowering his gaze to look at the hand holding the oolong tea.
The next second, a nearly transparent white hand flashed past his eyes.
The fingertips brushed against a patch of warm skin.
Su Jiuzhou put down the oolong tea and looked at the young man who had just withdrawn his right fist. His gaze was fixed, and the predatory emotion had not completely receded.
Xiao Jinyu asked, “What’s wrong?”
Su Jiuzhou shifted his gaze away.
A01 smiled calmly, “Nothing.”
To Xiao Jinyu, it seemed like this level six user beside him was starting to collapse again, so he naturally activated his fourth perspective and helped him handle a logic factor that had flown out, seeking freedom.
Xiao Jinyu surveyed the surroundings.
The two girls who initially wanted to come up and talk had already taken the subway in the opposite direction and left the station. From a distant tunnel came a buzzing hum, with a blinding light shining in the darkness. Soon, the subway arrived, and a tide of people crowded in.
Xiao Jinyu and Su Jiuzhou stood in the turbulent crowd, and no one could guess that there were two users among them.
And their current behavior was exactly what Xiao Jinyu had previously speculated in the hospital—
“Are there any users around?”
Twenty-one years ago, eight medical staff working in the obstetrics and gynecology department of Jiuhua Hospital in Zhongdu City all died of various causes, officially recorded as natural deaths.
Apart from the three deceased who had been confirmed to be connected to the logic chain before their deaths, there were five left.
Some had drowned, some had died of sudden illnesses…
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
None of their deaths seemed related to the logic chain, but no one ever considered: were there users around them when they died?
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Just like how relativity wasn’t directly responsible for Professor Huang’s death, yet he did suffer a myocardial infarction after coming into contact with logic factors related to relativity.
What Xiao Jinyu was after was never “death caused by the logic chain,” but rather that at the time of death, there was a logic chain nearby.
Xiao Jinyu’s phone buzzed, and he took it out of his pocket.
【Zhao Hen: I’ve returned to execute the mission. Minister Li said she’ll communicate with you directly from now on, without going through me. If you need anything, just send me a message, Xiao Jinyu.】
【Xiao Jinyu: Thank you.】
They had parted ways at the hospital.
Zhao Hen was an important member of the Extermination Squad, with many tasks waiting for him to handle. Xiao Jinyu and Su Jiuzhou took the subway to find a deceased person’s family member.
No one remembered the details of a deceased person’s death more clearly than their family.
The subway roared through the underground tunnel, and while holding his phone, Xiao Jinyu suddenly thought of something: “How are the ranks of the Extermination Squad members determined?”
Su Jiuzhou looked at him.
Xiao Jinyu pondered: “In my understanding, Haidu’s ranking should be a bit higher than Zhongdu’s. After all, Haidu is the second-largest city in Huaxia. So, the ranking of its Extermination Squad should also be higher. Xu Qi, the deputy leader of Haidu’s Extermination Squad, is a level-four user and seems to have been the deputy leader for a long time. But Zhao Hen, who is at the same level and even ranks quite close to Xu Qi, doesn’t seem to be the deputy leader of Zhongdu’s Extermination Squad; he’s just a member.”
Su Jiuzhou said, “Interesting, I hadn’t noticed that.”
Xiao Jinyu looked at him and voiced his concern for his friend: “So, why can’t Zhao-Ge be the deputy leader?”
“Probably because being a deputy leader requires more than just logic chain strength.”
Xiao Jinyu: “?”
Su Jiuzhou: “You need to use your brain.”
Xiao Jinyu: “…”
Xiao Jinyu really wanted to say, “Do you dare say that in front of Zhao Hen?” But then he thought, Su Jiuzhou might actually dare. And after he said it, Zhao Hen might not get angry, but instead take it as a lesson and sincerely thank the other person, saying, “Colonel Su, you’re right. Ah, I’m just not that smart!”
—Zhao Ge is indeed such an honest person.
Su Jiuzhou’s gaze lingered on the young man’s constantly changing face until Xiao Jinyu sighed softly, showing a hint of regret.
He lowered his head and took a sip of Oolong tea.
The first relative of the deceased they found was Zhang Xiaoqi’s husband.
This was the closest relative to the hospital.
Twenty-one years ago, Zhang Xiaoqi was an inpatient doctor in the obstetrics and gynecology department of Jiuhua Hospital. Four years later, she and her husband went to Haidu for a vacation. They were visiting the Bund Square when, for some unknown reason, Zhang Xiaoqi suddenly slipped and fell into the Huangpu River, drowning on the spot.
Zhang Xiaoqi had been dead for seventeen years, and her husband had already started a new family. When asked about his ex-wife’s death, he showed a hint of sadness and sigh, but when asked if there were any special people around or anything special happened when his wife died, he looked puzzled, thought for a while, and shook his head straight: “No. There were just tourists around. I was taking photos across the river, and suddenly heard someone shouting ‘help’, I turned my head and saw Xiaoqi had fallen.”
Xiao Jinyu said calmly, “There are railings at the Bund Square.”
The husband looked uncomfortable, “Yes, those railings are quite high, over half a person tall!”
“So how did she fall?”
“…I don’t know. She just fell.”
It was incredible to think that someone could fall straight into the Huangpu River over such high railings. However, no railing could stop someone determined to die.
Before Xiao Jinyu could speak, the husband seemed to understand what he was going to say. He smiled bitterly and said, “The police asked me the same thing back then, whether Xiaoqi had any suicidal thoughts. No, we were happily on vacation. Who would go on a trip if they were unhappy, right?”
The man wiped his face, “What’s going on, officer? Have you found something new about Xiaoqi’s death? When her body was recovered from the Huangpu River, it was checked thoroughly. There were no unusual marks on Xiaoqi, it was simply an accidental drowning. If there’s anything new, you have to tell me. Our child is sixteen now, the poor kid lost her mother when she was just one.”
They asked a few more questions but didn’t find anything unusual.
The husband really couldn’t recall any special tourists around at the time of his wife’s death.
In homicide cases, the police usually suspect those close to the deceased first, especially spouses.
According to the information provided by Li Xiaoxiao, the Haidu police also initially suspected Zhang Xiaoqi’s husband. However, after a thorough investigation, it was clear that he had no motive to kill his wife. Although none of the other tourists at the scene saw exactly how Zhang Xiaoqi climbed over the railing and fell, they all agreed that her husband did not push her. They were one or two meters apart, each taking photos at the time.
Having found no clues from the first family, they moved on to the second deceased’s family.
Again, they made no progress.
In physics, to prove a theory, various deductions and experiments are needed. But if a single counterexample is found, the theory, supported by countless experiments, collapses.
Similarly, in their investigation to determine if a user was present at the death scenes, they only needed one case.
If they found just one instance where a user was present during the fourth death, it would almost certainly prove that the other four deaths were also related to the logic skill.
Just one example.
They needed to find just one example.
As they walked out of the community gate, the street corner lamp flickered, casting a ghostly light.
The cold wind sneaked through the gaps in their sleeves and scarves, ruthlessly scraping against the youth’s warm skin like sandpaper. Xiao Jinyu paused and noticed a coffee shop at the corner.
When you don’t see a place selling food, you don’t feel that hungry. Suddenly, a wave of hunger washed over him as if he hadn’t eaten in years.
“Should we grab something to eat?”
Xiao Jinyu stopped in his tracks and looked up at Su Jiuzhou.
The Spear of Judgment was serious, “I’m the one who’s hungry.”
Xiao Jinyu: “…”
“Okay.”
The coffee shop only had some simple Western-style meals. However, before the waiter could serve the food, Su Jiuzhou left.
Wang Tao suddenly appeared.
The captain of the Central Extermination Squad stood at the entrance of the coffee shop, towering like a giant mountain, instantly drawing the attention of everyone inside.
He looked around, found Su Jiuzhou and Xiao Jinyu, and strode over.
“Colonel Su, we found a clue in Haidu.”
Su Jiuzhou asked, “What clue?”
Wang Tao stared at him seriously, shaking his head to indicate, “This isn’t the place to talk.”
Su Jiuzhou raised an eyebrow, then quickly turned to Xiao Jinyu and said, “You eat first, I’ll be back soon,” before leaving the coffee shop with Wang Tao.
They must have found a hidden place to talk in private.
A new clue in Haidu?
Several faces immediately flashed through Xiao Jinyu’s mind.
Holy Sacrifice, Huo Lanxu.
Relativity, Pan Yue.
Oh, and one more thing, the theft of the Court of Judgment.
Recently, there have been only these three incidents in Haidu. If you count it, the attack on Piggy Shampoo is also one.
What could the new clue be?
Could it be that they discovered how Huo Lanxu used someone else’s logic skill? Or maybe they found the accomplice who helped Pan Yue plot against Piggy Shampoo? Or did they catch the “Zhang Haixiang” who stole the Court of Judgment?
The waiter brought a steaming plate of pasta to the table.
The handsome young man sat by the floor-to-ceiling window near the street, deep in thought. He calmly picked up the black pepper seasoning on the table.
Tiny black grains gently fell from the air, sprinkling over the pale yellow noodles.
Xiao Jinyu, lost in thought, twirled a forkful of pasta.
Suddenly, his hand holding the fork paused, and he was somewhat surprised.
—This pasta is actually quite delicious.
Across the street from the coffee shop, occasional cat yowls echoed from a dark alley.
Wang Tao’s massive frame nearly blocked half of the alley. Su Jiuzhou hid in the darkness, his handsome face shrouded in a faint shadow. He slightly lowered his head, patiently listening to Wang Tao’s whispers.
“…Boss Jin?”
Wang Tao: “Yes, that’s the name Pan Yue, ‘Relativity’, gave us. He also provided a contact number. Unfortunately, when we called, it had already been disconnected. According to the telecom company, this number only ever contacted Pan Yue, and it was deactivated shortly after his arrest.”
Su Jiuzhou stroked his chin and smiled thoughtfully, “It seems he’s not an accomplice.”
Wang Tao looked at him in surprise.
“More like a pawn, barely a partner?” Su Jiuzhou’s eyes flickered as he quickly analyzed, “He can change his appearance to look like anyone. How does he do it? A logic skill? A contaminant? So, he’s the ‘Zhang Haixiang’?”
Wang Tao sighed, “Luo Sheng and Xu Siqing both believe that Boss Jin is very likely ‘Zhang Haixiang’.”
There are very few logic skills or contaminants that can perfectly change someone’s face. They had never heard of such a thing, and it was unlikely that two would appear suddenly.
Wang Tao continued, “What they don’t know now is why this ‘Boss Jin’ stole the Court of Judgment and what level user he is, or how to retrieve the Court of Judgment from him.”
“He’s level six.”
Wang Tao opened his mouth in surprise.
Through the floor-to-ceiling window, across the street, Su Jiuzhou looked at Xiao Jinyu, who was eating his pasta. He said calmly, “Any unknown powerful user is to be considered level six. A level five user stronger than ‘Relativity’ would be either the anonymous A07 or A08. But when it comes to killing any user below their level, is there much difference between them and a level six user?”
…
The screech of chair legs against the floor rang out sharply, making Xiao Jinyu look up.
So fast. Just a few minutes, and they’re back?
Su Jiuzhou had ordered a steak. He cut a small piece and tasted it, surprised, “Not bad.”
Xiao Jinyu was momentarily stunned. He suddenly felt as if he had been acknowledged. He couldn’t help but say, “Right?”
Su Jiuzhou looked up at him, silently watching for a moment.
His gaze carried a smile: “Yes, indeed.”
Thanks for the chapter dear
Oh my! I am really curious why this Boss Jin is so obsessed with XJ. Wonder if XJ will notice anything amiss. Also SJ hurry up your future hubby is in danger(maybe) ! Thank you for the chapter!😊
oohhhh shoot don’t tell me it’s an impostor!