Chapter 23

Monday, the weather was clear.

In a place like Songhai, the morning rush hour is always a headache, whether on the elevated roads or the ground, the traffic congestion can make one's blood pressure soar.

For ordinary office workers, taking the subway avoids the trouble of traffic jams, but they have to endure the challenge of being squeezed from all sides.

In the morning sunlight, Zhang Yuanqing, with his backpack, rode a shared bicycle through the bustling streets of Songhai, a jianbing guzi in his mouth.

He easily overtook one private car, business car, and bus after another, his youthful vigor flying with his bangs.

Songhai University is about five to six kilometers from his grandmother's house, and it only takes 15 minutes by bicycle, so he usually doesn't live on campus.

Due to his promotion to a Night Walker, he pedaled the usually tiring bicycle all the way to the university gate without stopping, and when he checked his phone, it had only taken ten minutes.

If it weren't for the many electric scooters on the bicycle path, he could have been even faster.

Songhai University was founded in the early 20th century, and it has a history of 120 years, ranking among the top universities in the country.

Besides its excellent faculty, Songhai University's two biggest characteristics are: flowers seeking good masters and brave warriors daring to wield swords.

His grandmother used to warn his aunt that girls should know how to protect themselves at school. As she got older, she also warned her grandson to protect himself at school.

His grandmother was very dissatisfied with the world.

Entering the school gate, he passed through the main axis with the founder's statue and slowly rode along the road lined with sycamore trees toward the teaching building.

The campus environment is elegant and quiet, with students either filming short videos, chatting on benches by the roadside, or rushing to class with their textbooks.

The wide and clean streets, green lawns, and old dormitory buildings make it look more like a quiet, upscale neighborhood than a school.

Zhang Yuanqing parked his bicycle outside the building, slung his backpack, and entered the comprehensive building.

Arriving at the lecture hall, Zhang Yuanqing glanced around. Students were scattered in groups, and many were skipping class.

He casually picked a seat and just as he sat down, he heard two boys behind him whispering:

"I just saw Xu Yingying at the school gate; she's waiting for her sugar daddy again."

"Nonsense, how could my goddess be kept?"

"It's true. Every Monday, a man picks her up in a luxury car worth hundreds of thousands. I saw it last Monday."

"Did you see clearly? Maybe it's a ride-hailing car."

"Would you kiss a ride-hailing driver?"

"Damn, in high school, girls liked the top students, but in college, they like rich guys from outside. When will ordinary guys stand a chance?"

Xu Yingying is a classmate, very pretty, and the class beauty.

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but turn around and joked, "The wife in your hard drive can help you stand up."

The two boys seemed surprised that Zhang Yuanqing would interject and were taken aback.

Zhang Yuanqing looked at them and said, "What's wrong?"

A male classmate named Li Lesheng said, "Zhang Yuanqing, did something good happen to you today? That's not like you."

Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback, "Why do you say that?"

Just as Li Lesheng was about to speak, a teacher with black-rimmed glasses, carrying books, walked in, and the noisy classroom immediately quieted down.

Kangyang District, Myle Hotel.

"Ding!"

On the 16th floor, the elevator doors opened, and Li Dongze, dressed in a suit with a black vest and white shirt, walked out with a cane.

His gaunt face was solemn, and Guan Ya followed behind.

The entire floor had been cleared of guests, and a police line was set up at the entrance to the corridor, with two security officers guarding it.

Guan Ya stepped forward in her high heels, showed her credentials, and the security officers immediately let her through.

On the way to the room, several uniformed security officers were busy, either taking photos or collecting fingerprints, hair, and other evidence.

Li Dongze passed by them and entered the hotel room, immediately smelling a strong血腥味.

He scanned the hotel suite; two bodies covered in white sheets lay on the bed, the white sheets stained with large patches of dark red blood.

Li Dongze extended his cane and lifted the white sheet, revealing a man and a woman, both naked.

He paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "It's indeed Zhao Yingjun."

Guan Ya carefully examined every corner of the room, her pupils emitting wisps of white mist. After a while, she said,

"There are no signs of a struggle in the room, and no traces of cleaning. There are only two used condoms in the trash, but three are missing from the box."

After saying this, she looked at the female victim with some pity.

Li Dongze re-covered the bodies and said in a solemn voice,

"Guan Ya, stay here to assist the security officers in collecting fingerprints, hair, and other evidence, and retrieve the surveillance footage. I need to contact Captain Fu Baifu and the other captains; we might need to have a meeting."

Guan Ya nodded slightly, "I'll sync the details of the scene and the profiles of the individuals to your phone later."

Zhao Yingjun was a consultant at the Xiangshui Road Security Bureau, a member of the White Tiger Army, and a Level 2 Scout.

The death of a member of the Five Elements Alliance is a major event.

In a small meeting room on the second floor of a villa.

The meeting room was luxuriously decorated, with a plush wool carpet on the floor and a long wooden conference table in the center.

On the table were exquisite fruit platters, crystal-clear ham slices, expensive imported red wine, boxes of cigars, and delicate pastries.

At the end of the conference table, a white projection screen hung, playing a surveillance video from the hotel.

In the video, a man wearing a cap and mask walked from the elevator to the room door, took out a key card, and entered the room.

Forty minutes later, the man walked out of the room, hands in his pockets, head down, and left.

After the video ended, Li Dongze pressed the pause button and looked at the captains around the table, saying,

"This morning, the hotel reported an incident. A cleaner tried to enter a room but couldn't open the door, so she went in to check and found two people already dead. Zhao Yingjun suffered torture before his death, with knife wounds all over his body and signs of being tied up, but the fatal wound was a stab through the heart.

"The female victim, Liu Xiaoe, was also stabbed through the heart but did not suffer torture. Based on the missing condoms, we suspect she was violated before her death.

"Additionally, the security bureau checked their phones and confirmed that Liu Xiaoe was Zhao Yingjun's mistress.

"We reviewed the surveillance footage from other entrances and exits of the hotel but found no trace of the killer's departure. He must have had special means to avoid the cameras. We initially suspect the killer is a Spirit Realm Walker."

There were six people sitting around the table.

The chief was a young man in a white suit, with the arrogance and nobility of a scion, a short ponytail, and a face with chiseled features, so handsome it was almost intimidating.

The first seat on the left was empty, reserved for Li Dongze.

On the right was a woman holding an orange cat, wearing a qipao with a watercolor pattern, exuding the maturity and allure of a woman, with a well-maintained, smooth, and fair face, lightly made up, and a tranquil and elegant demeanor.

Beside her was a middle-aged man in a miner's hat and protective work clothes, with a weathered, dark complexion.

Across from her was a fitness coach in a tight-fitting outfit, with thick, muscular arms that rivaled a woman's slim waist, sharp features, and a fierce, explosive presence.

The last person was a woman in her late twenties, wearing a white racing suit, tight leather pants, black wavy hair, and a heart-shaped face, both cool and stylish.

These five were the captains of the Kangyang District Spirit Realm Walker team, with a few others absent for various reasons.

The young man in the white suit looked around, his deep brown eyes calm, and said,

"Everyone, what are your thoughts? Captain Qingteng, you go first."

The qipao-clad woman frowned, "An ordinary Spirit Realm Walker wouldn't dare to kill one of our official people. Could it be an evil profession Spirit Realm Walker?"

Li Dongze replied, "We are still investigating Zhao Yingjun's recent interactions."

If it was an evil profession Spirit Realm Walker, the severity of the incident would escalate.

The muscular man, a fire master, raised his eyebrows in anger, "Evil profession? Those rats in the sewers, daring to kill one of us from the Five Elements Alliance, I'll make them pay."

The others looked grave, and the woman in the racing suit, Bai Long, pondered,

"How strong was Zhao Yingjun?"

Li Dongze looked at Fu Qingyang.

Fu Qingyang said, "He had a defensive item."

Bai Long's expression turned serious, "A Level 2 Scout, though not skilled in combat, would be hard to kill with a defensive item, especially without disturbing the guests in the neighboring rooms. We can use this to estimate the killer's strength."

The man in the miner's hat, Tang Guoqiang, said in a deep voice,

"Very strong."

The muscular man repeated, "Very strong, so what? If they dare to kill one of us from the Five Elements Alliance, they'll die no matter how strong they are."

Bai Long silently facepalmed, thinking, Can't we kick the idiot from the Red Fire Gang out of the meeting first?

Li Dongze said, "Our investigation shows that Zhao Yingjun had many mistresses, especially college students. We are investigating them one by one."

The muscular man frowned, "Why?"

"Zhao Yingjun's rendezvous with his mistresses was not fixed. The killer found the hotel and the room number, indicating he had some knowledge of Zhao Yingjun's movements. Either he knew him personally or had been tracking him for a long time," Li Dongze explained,

"The person who knows you best is always the one next to you. We might find some clues from Zhao Yingjun's mistresses."

The captains nodded gravely.

Li Dongze continued,

"Zhao Yingjun suffered torture and interrogation before his death. Imagine what the killer was interrogating him about and what he found out. Whether it was a personal vendetta or an evil profession, this is a serious matter we must handle with caution."

The captains' expressions changed.

The relationship between evil professions and law-abiding professions has always been adversarial, with mutual hunting and tracking.

What could interest an evil profession would be the information and hiding places of official Spirit Realm Walkers.

If the killer was not from an evil profession, a powerful Spirit Realm Walker risking the wrath of an official organization to infiltrate a hotel and interrogate and kill someone suggests a more complex truth.

Qingteng said in a deep voice, "We must quickly apprehend the killer."

The muscular man looked around and said, "Where is Yuan Ting? Let him consume Zhao Yingjun's spirit body to obtain his memories. Then we'll know who the killer is."

The importance of a Night Walker who can control spirit bodies was immediately highlighted.

Fu Qingyang shook his head,

"Yesterday, the Taiyi Sect summoned all official Night Walkers to the capital for a meeting. Yuan Ting is not in Songhai."

His expression remained calm, as if nothing could rattle him.

A meeting in the capital? The captains' hearts sank. If Yuan Ting wasn't there, the Night Walkers from other districts probably weren't either.

Was this too coincidental? The killer chose to act when the Night Walkers were all in the capital.

The muscular man said angrily, "What's the Taiyi Sect up to, holding a meeting at this time? We should have trained our own Night Walkers long ago."

Li Dongze said helplessly,

"The cause and effect are reversed. The killer chose this time, but that's not important. Don't worry, we have our own Night Walkers."