Chapter 67

The two national security police officers whispered to each other for a moment, then Officer Shen asked the final question of the day: "Xu Yan, what about the craft sword you used to fight the criminal? Can you show it to us?"

Xu Yan waved his hand: "During the fight that day, I think I broke it—the connection between the blade and the hilt came loose. Later, on our way back, I just threw it away."

"Threw it away? Where did you throw it?"

"Well... let me think. I think I threw it next to a trash can on the side of the road. I don't know if anyone picked it up."

Officer Shen shook his head, closed his notebook, and looked at his colleague, asking: "Old Xu, do you have anything else to ask?"

Officer Xu shook his head: "No, that's it."

Actually, the two national security officers didn't come here to suspect Xu Yan of anything. They just wanted to figure out why ordinary people, who were just common citizens, suddenly turned into irrational, ferocious beasts, fearless of gunfire, with immense strength and violent aggression.

Why, in other cases, did those madmen dare to recklessly attack the police and the armed police, but in this case, they retreated and fled in front of a seemingly useless college student?

What reason did the madman have to be afraid of Xu Yan?

Or, was there something about Xu Yan that made those madmen afraid?

The investigation team originally suspected that Xu Yan had some extraordinary ability—either he practiced some mystical technique or had a special constitution. The two national security officers came to Xu Yan's home to investigate this.

To put it bluntly, this was a desperate attempt to find a solution when there was no clear path. The central government took the recent series of mad killings very seriously, considering it a major crisis that threatened social stability and national security, possibly a prelude to a biochemical attack by foreign hostile forces. Now, the investigation team, led by the military intelligence department, had already started the investigation, but progress was slow—research on the virus itself had stalled.

Now, the investigation team could only hope for some leads from peripheral clues—this visit to Xu Yan was just one of thousands of leads being investigated nationwide, and it wasn't very important.

But with a serious and responsible attitude, the investigation team made thorough preparations. To verify Xu Yan's skills, they even sent a national security officer who practiced internal martial arts to personally check Xu Yan's abilities. However, this was still just a general investigation and wouldn't be very in-depth.

So far, the results had disappointed the two officers. This young college student who scared away the madman seemed to be a complete otaku. He hadn't practiced internal martial arts, didn't know martial arts, and his physique and build suggested he would be out of breath after running 200 meters. He was good for nothing except flirting and playing computer games—how could he have driven away that ferocious madman?

Of course, Xu Yan's exaggerated claims about his martial arts skills and how he drove away the murderer were naturally filtered out by the two national security officers.

Fortunately, they were prepared for this result—clue investigations were like looking for a needle in a haystack. Out of hundreds of leads, finding one or two useful ones would be good. After a brief discussion, Officer Shen stood up first and nodded slightly at Xu Yan: "Alright, we'll stop here for today. Thank you for your cooperation and support, Xu Yan. We won't disturb you further. Goodbye."

Zhu Youxiang was still hiding in the room. Xu Yan couldn't wait for these two to leave. He forced a fake smile and said insincerely: "Take your time, and come back to visit anytime!"

Officer Shen, who was almost out the door, stopped and smiled at Xu Yan: "Hehe, if you say so, we'll really come back often!"

Seeing Xu Yan's sudden change in expression, the two national security officers chuckled.

"Just kidding. You don't need to be afraid, Xu Yan. We can be annoying, but we're not that bad, right?" Officer Shen took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Xu Yan: "Here's my card. If you remember anything related to the case, feel free to contact me."

Xu Yan took the card and stuffed it into his pocket, responding perfunctorily: "Sure, sure! I'll definitely let you know."

Noticing Xu Yan's obvious敷衍, Officer Shen looked directly into Xu Yan's eyes and said seriously: "Xu Yan, the case you encountered—due to confidentiality, I can't tell you too much. But you need to understand that this case is extremely important, not only for the safety and stability of our country but also for the lives of the general public.

No matter what clues you have or what you know, please don't hide them. If you hide the clues that could solve the case, countless innocent people could die."

Xu Yan lowered his head, unable to meet Officer Shen's gaze. He escorted them to the door and quickly closed it, breathing a sigh of relief: "Phew! Finally got rid of these two pests."

Feeling a mix of relief and melancholy, Xu Yan couldn't help but think about Officer Shen's final words. Could it be that the madmen who killed indiscriminately weren't just in Jincheng but in many places across the country?

Yes, it must be like that... Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for Officer Shen to say the case was related to national security. An ordinary murder case, even with many victims, wouldn't be considered a matter of national security, and it wouldn't be investigated by the National Security Bureau—criminal cases were handled by the police. Xu Yan knew this much.

Taking out Officer Shen's business card from his pocket, Xu Yan looked at it, feeling the thin card burning in his hand.

"If you hide the clues that could solve the case, countless innocent people could die."

Thinking of Officer Shen's last words, Xu Yan hesitated. For a moment, he felt a strong urge to call back the two national security officers and tell them the truth.

But then he smiled bitterly, knowing it was impossible: "Am I supposed to tell them that the madmen were possessed by spirits from the demon world? If they ask how I know, am I supposed to tell them that a girl from the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youxiang, told me?"

After much thought, Xu Yan finally gave up on the idea. If he told them, and they didn't believe him, that would be one thing, but if it exposed Zhu Youxiang's existence, Xu Yan couldn't agree to that. If the government found out about Zhu Youxiang, who came from ancient times, he didn't know what would happen to her...

Xu Yan was lost in thought when a voice called out: "Young Master Xu."

Xu Yan looked up and noticed that Zhu Youxiang had come out of the room. He explained to her: "Xuan Yun, the national security police came to ask me some questions. I sent them away..."

Zhu Youxiang was tidying up the paper cups from the two guests, and she said calmly: "Yes, I heard them. The two who came today are from your country's Jinyiwei, right? They were quite polite, more so than the officials in the Ming Dynasty. Their attitude wasn't overly aggressive—I was a bit worried about you earlier."

"Hehe, Xuan Yun, it's nothing. I'm just a witness, so they had to be polite. If I were a criminal, their attitude would be different."

Zhu Youxiang shook her head: "I think even to witnesses, your country's officials are quite polite. In the Ming Dynasty, I traveled to many places and saw many things. In many places, the people fear the government like tigers, and the government treats the people like sheep. In many places, once a case occurs, it becomes an opportunity for the government to abuse their power. In a murder case, the officials might detain the entire village for questioning, deliberately delaying the case, and the villagers would be held for months, only able to leave after paying a ransom to the officials—some people might even lose everything if they get involved in legal trouble.

In comparison, since I came here, I find your country's officials to be quite good. The two Jinyiwei officers were very responsible in their investigation, thorough and polite in their questioning, just like our criminal investigators. Even the officers we encountered at the mall, who fought to the death against the demons despite being outnumbered, were admirable. Although their combat skills might not be great, their spirit is commendable, showing that your country's governance is clear and the government cares for the people."

Having known Zhu Youxiang for so long, this was the first time Xu Yan heard her sincerely praise his country, and a warm feeling rose in his chest. Although he often criticized corrupt officials and social issues with his classmates, he felt that while he could criticize his own country, others couldn't.

Hearing Zhu Youxiang's sincere praise, Xu Yan was happy but still modest: "Not really. I think they just did their job. Police officers are supposed to protect the people, and they shouldn't act recklessly. If they do a bad job, I can complain to their superiors or the inspector."

Seeing that Zhu Youxiang was getting off track, Xu Yan quickly brought the topic back: "Xuan Yun, did you hear everything that happened when the national security officers came to see me?"

"Yes, I heard everything clearly."

"What do you think of how I handled it?"

"Your response was appropriate and without fault. But when you pretended to be crazy, it seemed a bit overdone..."

At this, Zhu Youxiang remembered how Xu Yan claimed she was his girlfriend and that they had slept together... Her face turned red, and she turned away, spitting out, "Young Master Xu usually seems so proper, but when he talks like that, it's too much. Although it was a situation that forced him to do so, it was still... too shameless."

She didn't want to explain this to Xu Yan in detail and got up to look out the balcony.

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After leaving Xu Yan's home, Officer Shen and Officer Xu walked down the stairs and silently got into a car with a regular license plate parked in the community parking lot.

Officer Shen, the driver, started the car, and the engine hummed softly. He drove out of the plum blossom community where Xu Yan lived but stopped the car by the roadside, leaving the engine running. He looked at his colleague and asked: "What do you think?"

Officer Shen's question was vague, but Officer Xu, who had worked with him for a long time, understood him well. He said: "This kid has something. Today, I had a feeling... he definitely hid a lot and didn't tell the truth."

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