Chapter 10

10 PM.

Rumble!

A roar of engines broke the silence, and the old street, which had been quiet for a long time, suddenly came to life.

At this moment, the lights shone brightly, and the entire old street area seemed to come alive.

...

In front of the Zhang family's door.

Li Hao silently watched the scene unfold. He didn't want to be too conspicuous, but the situation had reached a point where he had already started to interact with the Red Shadow. Li Hao's mindset had changed.

Great concealment lies in the city!

Being high-profile might also be a form of low-profile.

Being so high-profile that everyone knows he is seeking revenge for Zhang Yuan, with no other purpose or discovery, and having to rely on external forces without knowing the hidden dangers or the inside story, just acting recklessly.

Such a Li Hao might be the Li Hao that some people hope to see.

Young, impulsive, rash, but righteous!

Smart, but lacking in calculation.

Clever, but lacking in wisdom.

This is the image Li Hao wants to establish!

To lower the enemy's guard without making them think he is too stupid, because if he were too stupid, how could he have caught Yuan Shuo's eye? That would be too fake.

With every step, Li Hao would think about what this step would bring him and what he would lose.

It was just a small stone he was taking, but he made a big fuss, causing a city-wide commotion!

The commotion was so great that it was to cover up the fact that he had taken a small stone. If this news got out, no one would believe it, and this is the result Li Hao needed. The more exaggerated, the less likely anyone would think in this direction.

Rumble!

The sound of boots hitting the ground came, and a fully armed patrol team quickly surrounded the entire old street. Soon, the front of the Zhang family's door was also filled with patrol officers.

The head of the Patrol Department did not come.

However, Li Hao immediately recognized the burly man at the front of the crowd, the captain of the Enforcement Team, who could be considered the true second-in-command of the Patrol Department.

Although he is said to be at the same level as the head of the Confidential Room, Wang Jie, their actual authority is very different.

The captain of the Enforcement Team, Liu Long, is a large man.

He was not wearing the black patrol uniform but casual clothes, with a windbreaker on top, which was not appropriate for the season.

Li Hao knew that under the windbreaker, there might be a dense array of weapons.

He knew the style of this captain of the Enforcement Team.

Very tough and fierce.

The Patrol Department of Yincheng has a high status in Yincheng, and this captain has not a few lives on his hands.

"Who is Li Hao?"

Liu Long stepped forward, his boots crushing the stones on the ground. From a distance, he saw Li Hao, and his eyes flickered.

Impressive!

A skilled person!

The Patrol Department may not have superpowered mystics, but it does have some combat experts and some practical experts, all of whom can take on ten people at once.

This captain of the Enforcement Team clearly has strong combat skills.

"Report, I am Li Hao!"

Li Hao quickly stepped forward, straightened his back, and spoke clearly and concisely.

"Third-level patrol officer of the Yincheng Patrol Department's Confidential Room, Li Hao! Reporting for duty, meeting Captain Liu!"

"Hmph!"

Liu Long let out a cold snort, his voice particularly cold and stern.

His sharp eyes turned to Li Hao, cold and stern, with a hint of anger: "Li Hao, as a member of the Patrol Department, you are a disgrace to the Patrol Department!"

Li Hao frowned.

Liu Long's voice was loud, filled with some reluctance and anger, like a roaring tiger, not caring if anyone heard.

"What is the Patrol Department? It is an enforcement agency! The only and most critical enforcement agency in the entire Yincheng! As a member of the Patrol Department, if you have any discoveries or any crises, you can directly seek help through the Patrol Department!"

"Why involve outsiders to interfere with the Patrol Department's enforcement?"

Liu Long's voice was loud, with the intimidating force of a tiger, stepping forward and approaching Li Hao. This step seemed to cover a hundred meters, appearing in front of Li Hao in an instant.

Li Hao's heart tightened.

A real expert!

He had seen Liu Long before, but not in this state. Li Hao considered himself somewhat skilled, but he believed that in front of this person, he might not even be able to draw his gun.

Is this... a mystic?

Or is this just the result of an ordinary person training to the extreme?

Li Hao was somewhat intimidated, lowering his head, trembling slightly, and speaking softly: "I dare not! I just sought help from my teacher, not expecting it to cause such a commotion. Since I had no evidence, I didn't feel comfortable seeking help from the Patrol Department..."

Liu Long snorted, seemingly acknowledging this response, and said coldly: "Without evidence, then find it! Why be reluctant? Tell me, what exactly happened here?"

Li Hao suppressed his shock and spoke softly: "A self-immolation case, I have already reported it. I wonder if Captain Liu is aware?"

" Aware!"

"I am a good friend of Zhang Yuan. Tonight, I wanted to investigate if there were any clues at Zhang Yuan's house, because I am certain that Zhang Yuan was murdered, not an accident..."

Li Hao calmed down and said firmly: "When I came to Zhang Yuan's house, it seemed someone was following me! Not only that, I am very familiar with Zhang Yuan, and I often come to his house. I found that the sealed Zhang family house had been tampered with, and outside the Zhang family's courtyard wall, I found some suspicious footprints."

Li Hao quickly added: "There is no one left at the Zhang family's house, and most of the street has been evacuated. The Zhang family is at the far end of the street, so it shouldn't have anyone coming here..."

"Take me to see!"

Liu Long's words were not to be questioned. In the next moment, he turned to the large group behind him and said coldly: "Seal off the entire street, search house by house, and ask if any strangers have been here!"

"Do not let anyone escape! If they resist, shoot them on the spot!"

"Yes!"

The group received the order and quickly acted, moving swiftly, and soon the entire street was bustling.

...

Li Hao ignored all this and led Liu Long to a dark spot outside the Zhang family's wall.

There was no need for Li Hao to say anything.

Liu Long, an experienced patrol officer, immediately saw several shallow footprints on the ground. He quickly squatted down and carefully examined them, his eyes slightly changing.

"Hmph!"

Liu Long's eyes turned cold, and the few elite members of the Enforcement Team who were with him remained silent, waiting for the captain's orders.

"Wu Chao, take a look!"

Liu Long did not say much but had one of his men step forward to examine the footprints. This person was much more professional, wearing white gloves, and quickly squatted down to examine them.

After a moment, what Li Hao saw as just a few footprints provided a lot of information from this middle-aged, thin patrol officer.

"The suspect is male, about 180 cm tall, weight unknown. The footprints are shallow, the deepest ones were left about two hours ago, and the shallowest ones are probably over half a year old."

"His skills are not weak. From the footprints, he is at least a second-class, possibly even stronger!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hao was somewhat surprised but did not speak.

Liu Long did not mind this and knew that Li Hao, as a clerk in the Confidential Room, might not be aware. He said calmly: "The Enforcement Team classifies dangerous individuals, not considering weapons, but purely based on their skills. The Enforcement Team divides these dangerous individuals into three classes!"

"The first class is the strongest, the third class is the weakest!"

"Anyone who can kill a member of the Confidential Room is a third-class dangerous individual!"

Li Hao was somewhat embarrassed and said softly: "There are 28 people in the Confidential Room, and some are old patrol officers..."

In other words, was Liu Long exaggerating?

Liu Long was not polite at all and said with a cold laugh: "The head of the Confidential Room, Wang Jie, was not weak before, had some skills, and otherwise wouldn't have become the head! But since he was transferred to the Confidential Room many years ago, he has become rusty and no longer trains. Now, even an ordinary member of the Enforcement Team can take his life! Not to mention a dangerous individual classified by us!"

"You need to understand that not all criminals are classified as dangerous individuals. Those who are classified are extremely dangerous!"

"Three years ago, a family massacre occurred in Yincheng, where one person killed 32 members of the Hu family in one night. That person is a third-class dangerous individual!"

"Over the years, there have been very few individuals in Yincheng who have been classified."

Upon hearing this, Li Hao understood.

A third-class dangerous individual is that terrifying.

Of course, this is the classification standard of the Enforcement Team, not a universal standard. The Confidential Room rarely mentions it.

Thinking about the patrol officer mentioned earlier, who Wu Chao said was second-class or even first-class, Li Hao's eyes slightly changed. It was not too surprising, as that person might be a mystic, while the Enforcement Team generally classifies ordinary people.

Whether it is second-class, first-class, or even beyond first-class, it is all normal.

Li Hao was surprised that even a third-class dangerous individual was so powerful, suggesting that mystics might be beyond his imagination.

Moreover, he was even more surprised that the person could deduce so much from just footprints.

At this moment, the thin middle-aged man, Wu Chao, turned to look at Li Hao with a somewhat eerie smile and said softly: "Comrade Xiao Li, do you think I am talking nonsense?"

Li Hao quickly shook his head: "No, I am just curious about Brother Wu's skills..."

"Are the students of the Yincheng Ancient Academy so humble?"

Wu Chao smiled faintly: "The students of the Ancient Academy are all high and mighty, but you are different. But that's right, you dropped out and are now a member of the Patrol Department!"

As if deliberately showing off in front of Li Hao, Wu Chao lightly kicked the ground, jumping very high, and left a footprint on the ground.

At this moment, Wu Chao smiled faintly: "People with different skills have different reactions when they land, leaving footprints of varying depths. Even the front and back parts of the footprint, which part lands first, and the specific posture when landing, can be reconstructed!"

"From his landing posture, we can deduce more information... The footprints found at the scene have varying depths, indicating that the person landed from a height of several meters, but the footprints are not deep enough, suggesting that the person can easily control their muscles..."

He explained, which was not necessary under normal circumstances.

But Li Hao, as the person involved tonight and a former student of the Ancient Academy, still had a close connection with the Ancient Academy, so he said a bit more.

Liu Long listened silently and did not stop him.

After Wu Chao finished, Liu Long said coldly: "Enough! He is not part of the Enforcement Team, so there's no need to say too much!"

Li Hao smiled but did not speak.

Liu Long looked around, then at the old house of the Zhang family, and said coldly: "Quite bold, to monitor for days after killing someone!"

Wu Chao smiled faintly: "Captain, isn't it normal for the person to be bold? Our Yincheng Enforcement Team... may not be able to handle them."

"Can't handle them?"

Liu Long's eyes instantly turned icy cold, "Not necessarily! Some people always think they are superior, looking down on everything, but over the years... has our Yincheng Enforcement Team not killed those high and mighty people?"

Upon hearing this, the other Enforcement Team members smiled coldly.

Li Hao, however, was somewhat moved.

What does he mean?

Is he talking about mystics?

Has the Yincheng Enforcement Team killed superpowered mystics?

While Li Hao was thinking, Liu Long turned to look at him, his voice still cold: "Little guy, sometimes you need to trust the capabilities of the Enforcement Team! I know you sought Professor Yuan, perhaps with your own reasons. You don't seem stupid, and you spent time finding six self-immolation cases from countless cases and combined them, showing that you are patient and intelligent! Our Patrol Department needs people like you who are meticulous!"

"You didn't seek the Enforcement Team, with many concerns, and I understand!"

Liu Long's voice was indifferent: "But remember, a strong dragon does not suppress a local snake! You may know that these six cases are not something ordinary people can do, even surpassing our first-class dangerous individuals! But so what?"

Liu Long's aura suddenly became intense, with a hint of coldness, his windbreaker fluttering.

"In Yincheng, even dragons must coil! Just because the Night Watchers are gone doesn't mean nothing can be done! Some weaker Night Watchers, I have beaten before!"

A cold snort represented the captain's dissatisfaction.

Li Hao, however, was somewhat stunned.

Is this real?

The key is that this person directly mentioned the Night Watchers, directly revealing Li Hao's thoughts.

He knew what Li Hao had guessed, that the case involved mysterious forces, and clearly thought the same. But he still did not seek the Night Watchers, apparently preparing to handle it himself with the Enforcement Team.

Where does this confidence come from?

At this moment, Li Hao's mind was racing, and a second later, he was somewhat embarrassed and said softly: "I don't understand what the captain means..."

"Deceptive!"

Liu Long shouted, "What don't you understand! You, who can find six self-immolation cases from countless cases, must have read countless files. Who doesn't understand? Don't tell me you don't know about the Night Watchers! There's nothing to be concerned about. Others may not dare to say, but the Patrol Department can! The Night Watchers, no matter how powerful, are still under someone's control!"

"Li Hao, remember! The Patrol Department and the Night Watchers are one open and one hidden, both under the same higher department! Strictly speaking, we are colleagues! What's the problem with saying it? They can't do anything! The first taboo of the Night Watchers is to harm their own, and they wouldn't dare to, and they wouldn't!"

"..."

Li Hao felt like he was meeting this person for the first time, somewhat stunned.

Is this real?

Everyone is so wary of the Night Watchers, not even daring to mention them, but in this person's mouth, they seem insignificant.

At this moment, a female patrol officer, not too young, laughed and said playfully: "Little guy, the captain may be exaggerating, but as the captain said