Gu Yan sighed and tapped his own face.
"I went to pick up my friend from the hospital so we could go to work," he said calmly. "The moment Xiao Lin saw me, he rushed over and threw a punch."
"It was aimed at my head. If my friend hadn't blocked it for me… I wouldn't be standing here talking to you."
Chen Yingyin sucked in a sharp breath.
According to the doctor's report, the force behind Xiao Lin's punch had nearly shattered Wang Yulan's spine.
And that punch—meant for Gu Yan—had been even stronger.
That wasn't an attack meant to injure.
It was meant to kill.
Her thoughts raced.
Gu Yan was the eldest and only son of the Gu Family Group. His identity alone made him a potential target. Assassination wasn't impossible.
But then another question surfaced.
If Xiao Lin truly wanted Gu Yan dead, why let him live after injuring Wang Yulan?
Was there another motive?
Chen Yingyin frowned deeply.
This case… was far more complicated than she'd initially believed.
Still, she exhaled softly and spoke in a steady voice.
"Don't worry too much."
"Xiao Lin is suspected of intentional homicide. This isn't something that ends with a few years in prison."
Despite Gu Yan's terrible reputation, she couldn't bring herself to treat him coldly.
After all, he'd grown up calling her "sister."
And no matter what people said, he'd never done anything that harmed society—or her family.
"Thank you, Sister Yingyin," Gu Yan said, smiling sincerely. "I knew you still cared about your little brother."
Seeing that expression, Chen Yingyin paused, feeling a flicker of embarrassment over her earlier attitude.
"Who told you to call me your sister?" she muttered.
She sighed inwardly.
Annoying as he was, Gu Yan hadn't crossed any real lines.
…She just needed to fix that bootlicking personality of his someday.
And then—
Click. Click. Click.
Every light in the station went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
"What?!"
Chen Yingyin shot to her feet. She turned toward the surveillance monitors—completely black.
Her face changed instantly.
"Not good!"
She grabbed her flashlight and firearm and rushed out of the duty room. As she passed Gu Yan, she spoke rapidly:
"Stay here. Don't come out."
"Something's wrong. If I'm not back in ten minutes, call my dad and tell him to send reinforcements!"
With that, she disappeared down the corridor.
"Oh, Sister Yingyin—be careful!"
Gu Yan waved after her.
A dangerous curve slowly lifted at the corner of his mouth.
Too bad she didn't see it.
---
Inside the holding cell.
Xiao Lin sat on the bed, still drowning in self-doubt, completely unaware that the lights had gone out.
Suddenly—
A chill surged through his heart.
The next instant, something struck from the darkness.
His expression changed. He twisted instinctively—
Whoosh!
A sharp tearing sound cut through the air.
Bang!
The attack grazed past his cheek, leaving behind a biting cold.
Xiao Lin leapt off the bed and slammed into the corner wall, eyes scanning the darkness.
"What the hell?!"
His body tensed.
That attack had come out of nowhere.
From the shadows.
Could it be—
A warrior?
His heart sank.
Why would a warrior appear here?
Was he the target?
Above him, clinging upside down to the ceiling like a shadow, Mei Xue gazed down coldly.
In darkness, her ability reached terrifying heights.
Even a master wouldn't be able to sense her presence.
She slowly opened her palm.
A black dagger condensed in her grasp.
Gu Yan had only asked her to retrieve the jade pendant—but after that test attack…
She could probably kill Xiao Lin outright.
If she succeeded, the master of Dragon King Hall would surely look at her differently.
The next second—
She dove.
Xiao Lin's instincts screamed.
Years of fighting monsters saved him. Without hesitation, he surged forward.
Boom!
The ground behind him exploded.
Xiao Lin spun around in a safe position and caught sight of a figure crashing into where he'd stood moments before.
Then—gone.
Like a shadow.
His breathing steadied as he scanned the area.
An assassin.
An unfamiliar ability.
This wasn't random.
Arrest. Power outage. Assassination.
This was planned.
"Who are you?" Xiao Lin demanded, voice low. "Why do you want to kill me?"
No answer.
Silence.
Then—
Mei Xue appeared behind him like a ghost.
Her eyes were icy. The black dagger reformed in her grip and stabbed viciously toward the back of his head.
Success—
—or so she thought.
At the instant the blade touched him, Xiao Lin twisted aside.
Her pupils shrank.
Bang!
His right fist slammed backward, golden light flaring as it condensed around his hand.
"Ha!"
Puff!
"Ugh—!"
The blow crashed into Mei Xue's abdomen. Blood sprayed as she was sent flying back into the darkness.
Xiao Lin steadied himself, eyes locked on the shadows.
"I don't know who you are," he said coldly, "but I won't go down quietly."
He took a combat stance.
He couldn't sense her.
But—
He'd injured her.
And blood never lies.
In the darkness, Mei Xue clutched her abdomen, teeth clenched to keep silent. Fear flickered in her eyes.
Even without sensing her… he'd countered purely on instinct.
Just then, a mocking voice crackled through her earpiece.
"Idiot. I told you not to fight him head-on."
"In close combat, Xiao Lin is the fastest and strongest."
"Stick to the plan. Even if you have to grind him down, force him to give up half of the jade pendant."
"Otherwise… you'll never see your brother again."
The surveillance power had been restored.
In the duty room, Gu Yan stared expressionlessly at the monitor.
Every second of the fight had been captured.
Mei Xue's arrogance only deepened his disdain.
"Arrogant woman."
"Yes…" Mei Xue whispered, resignation filling her eyes.
For a moment, an inexplicable sense of dread welled up inside her.
It felt as though Leng Qingqiu herself were giving the order.
She took a deep breath and suppressed her wound with darkness.
The smell of blood vanished.
Xiao Lin frowned.
He'd lost her again.
Then—
A blade flashed.
Xiao Lin's eyes sharpened.
Golden light erupted from his body as his right hand twisted between human and dragon claw.
"The same trick?"
He lunged.
"You think I'll fall for it twice?!"
Bang!
Crack!
The dagger shattered.
Mei Xue was slammed into the corner.
Xiao Lin twisted aside as fragments sliced past his cheek. The golden glow faded from his hand.
"Sorry," he said coldly. "Bad timing."
But—
The shattered blade suddenly twisted midair.
It stabbed straight for his neck.
Ding!
His protective aura shattered instantly.
Xiao Lin's face changed. He dodged—
Thud!
He landed in a crouch.
A crystal-clear half jade pendant, carved with a dragon head, slipped out from his collar and swung into view.
His eyes widened.
"So that was the target…"
In the duty room, Gu Yan's lips curved upward slightly.
He lifted his phone.
"Action."
The next instant—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
All the lights snapped on.
Xiao Lin squinted instinctively for a split second—
Just 0.1 seconds.
And in that instant—
A man in black appeared beside him.
A palm struck toward his chest.
Xiao Lin hurriedly guarded—
But the attack twisted.
Snap!
The rope around his neck snapped cleanly.
The jade pendant flew through the air.
"No—!"
Xiao Lin's eyes went bloodshot as he lunged toward it.
Mei Xue was already there.
The moment the jade pendant hit her hand, she vanished into the darkness.
Xiao Lin spun around—
The man in black was gone too.
"Ahhhhh—!!!"
Rage exploded from Xiao Lin's chest.
He slammed his fist into the floor.
Boom!
Cracks spread like a spiderweb.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
This was the first time since entering the secular world—
That Xiao Lin truly wanted to kill someone.