Confronted by Wang Lan's series of pressing questions, Gaoyu Duch felt somewhat embarrassed. Typically, Wang Lan wouldn't be so aggressive, but the murder of five police guards and their families stemmed not only from the criminal's brutality but also from the police department's sluggish response and inaction.

"Alright, alright, Wang Lan, the primary task now is to catch the murderer and bring them to justice," Ming Baiye hastily intervened, trying to calm the situation.

In fact, Ming Baiye could guess what the police leadership was thinking. As Modu City was a secondary capital, anything that happened there would reach the ears of the Imperial Capital Committee.

The police force in Modu City was incomparable to that of other cities, boasting dozens of Star Martial Warriors. They would prevent the Tianjian Bureau from intervening if they could, for once the Tianjian Bureau got involved, the credit would go to them while the blame would fall on the police department.

However, they hadn't anticipated that the developments that followed would exceed their expectations. The murderer acted quickly and decisively, leaving no clues behind. By the time the police department reacted, the killer had already finished the job.

Under pressure, they had no choice but to seek help from the Tianjian Bureau.

"Colonel Wang Lan, you are an expert in investigation. You may use any of the police department's resources. Do you have any other requests?" Supervisor Li asked in a deep voice.

"I need to form a specialized investigation team, comprised solely of Star Martial Warriors with strong abilities, at least capable of self-defense. If the police department doesn't have enough, we can request assistance from the Tianjian Bureau."

"We do have them; the police department has Star Martial experts too. Do you have any other requests?"

"I hope to access all of the police department's records from all sections and have a vehicle assigned. For now, that's all. I'll make other requests when the need arises."

"Okay!"

After having lunch at the police department, Wang Lan returned home. It would take at least a few hours for the police department to prepare, so Wang Lan would start work tomorrow. In the evening, after a phone call with Xie Sisi, he went to bed early.

The next day, Wang Lan donned a black military uniform and left home. The police department's car was already waiting downstairs. Dressed in military clothes, Wang Lan's demeanor seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.

Sitting in the back, he could distinctly sense that the police driver in front was a bit nervous.

Wang Lan hardly ever wore his military uniform, not because he disliked it or was averse to it, but primarily because his main identity was that of a student, and even when involved in cases, they were usually coincidental. If he were to have a position at the Tianjian Bureau after graduation, Wang Lan would, in fact, be willing to wear a uniform every day, like Lige.

Upon arrival at the police department, Gaoyu Duch was there to greet him early. His eyes lit up at the sight of Wang Lan in his understated military attire.

"Colonel Wang, you've arrived, welcome!"

"Good to see you, Inspector Gaoyu," Wang Lan said with a smile, greeting him. "Is the special investigation team ready?"

"It's ready, eighteen people..."

"Eighteen?" Wang Lan paused, looking at Gaoyu Duch in surprise. Are you forming a specialized investigation team here or an entire department?

Wang Lan followed Gaoyu Duch to the special investigation team's office, where eighteen people stood neatly lined up. If it were not for their military posture, Wang Lan might have thought they were the Shaolin Temple's eighteen bronze statues.

Their imposing presence was palpable, as if they were concerned someone might not realize they were Star Martial Warriors.

Wang Lan glanced at the officers and whispered to Gaoyu Duch, "We don't need so many people for the special investigation team. Can I pick a few?"

"Of course, we've gathered so many people precisely for you to choose from."

Wang Lan casually selected four people. "Just these four will do."

Gaoyu Duch's eyes sparkled, and he nodded silently. After instructing the others to leave and keeping the chosen four, his estimation of Wang Lan rose, now seeing him as profoundly perceptive, almost unfathomable.

The four people Wang Lan had casually pointed out were three of the top experts from the Modu City Police Department. Gaoyu Duch was certain that Wang Lan had not known these individuals beforehand, yet had managed to instantaneously pick out the four experts.

As for the fourth woman? Gaoyu Duch had different thoughts.

Although this woman was a Star Martial Warrior, her cultivation level was only in the mid-phase of Star Shine Stage, and compared to the other fifteen, she was considered the least competent. Why had Wang Lan chosen her?

Ultimately, Gaoyu Duch realized why after seeing the female officer's appearance; she was quite pretty. In fact, Wang Lan's choice wasn't based on her looks but on the belief that an all-male group wouldn't be as effective in getting work done. Isn't there a saying, "Men and women working together make the job lighter"?

"Let's introduce ourselves first. I'm Wang Lan, a senior special agent with the Tianjian Bureau and a student at the Star Martial Academy in Modu City."

"Reporting to Team Leader Wang, I'm Li Yan, a mid-level inspector from the Modu City Police Department, Cultivation Level mid-phase of Star Cloud Stage."

"I'm Wu Shaoyang, a mid-level inspector from the Modu City Police Department, Cultivation Level mid-phase of Star Cloud Stage."

"I'm Lu Qian, a mid-level inspector from the Modu City Police Department, Cultivation Level mid-phase of Star Cloud Stage."

"My name is Xu Ting, a senior police officer from Modu City, at the Star Shine Stage... mid-stage." The voice trailed off towards the end, and the three tense police officers' faces contorted with the struggle to suppress a smile.

"Alright, stop laughing and let's get to work. First, let's sort through the information regarding the method used by the killer at the time of Group Leader Shen Weimin's murder."

"Group Leader, the killer, codenamed Ghost, is likely a professional assassin-type Star Martial Warrior. His strength must surpass Shen Weimin's. On the day Shen Weimin went out to investigate a case, just after he parked his car in the Darui Underground Parking Lot and got out, he suddenly let out a scream and then fell to the ground.

Through the surveillance cameras at that time, one could vaguely see a figure from behind. The killer appeared in a cloak, striking down Shen Weimin as fast as lightning. However, how the killer knew Shen Weimin's whereabouts and ambushed him in the parking lot remains unknown.

The day after Shen Weimin was killed, a member of his guard team, who was off-duty at home, was murdered along with his family. Later that night, Shen Weimin's wife and her parents were also killed, and their house was set on fire.

Although the firefighters arrived and successfully put out the blaze, everything in the house had been reduced to ashes. The following day, the remaining three members of the group didn't show up for work. When we sensed something might be wrong and went looking for them, we found they too had been killed in their homes.

The killer didn't leave behind fingerprints, clues, hair, or anything. He was like a real Ghost, unpredictable. After three days, there were no further victims, leading us to surmise that the killer had finished his killing spree."

"Have you figured out which Star Martial Skill the Ghost uses?"

"We matched it up. It's the Soul Travel Skill from White Eagle Country. Once this Star Martial Skill is released, the body can become ethereal and take on any shape or substance. The skill itself has no offensive power and will revert to its physical form in an instant when attacking.

But the spread of the Soul Travel Skill is very wide. Even the Sakura Club in the host country has mastered this Star Martial Skill, as have India and Dama Country. However, Jade Country has very few who master it.

We have compared all those who have mastered the Soul Travel Skill, and not one matches."

"With such a widely distributed Star Martial Skill, it's unlikely we'll find the killer starting from the skill," Wang Lan murmured, rubbing his chin.

"What was your original line of inquiry?"

"We thought it was a revenge killing, as the killer's target was very specific. It must be someone who was arrested by Shen Weimin's team, or someone was caught or killed because of them. We've reviewed the criminals caught by Shen Weimin over the last five years. Fifty of them have been executed, and one hundred are in prison."

"It's too difficult to find a potential killer from so many possible connections. We would need at least a year. But the higher-ups have only given us half a month... Group Leader, the pressure is huge," Xu Ting said with a slight tease.

"Is it possible that it wasn't a revenge killing?" Wang Lan asked as he looked at the photo in front of him. "This photo, is it after the fire in Shen Weimin's house was put out?

It's so thoroughly burnt. How long did it take for the Modu City firefighters to arrive after receiving the fire alarm?"

"Between twenty and thirty minutes."

"Could everything have burned down to this extent in twenty minutes?" Wang Lan pointed at the photograph of the house, which was now completely ruined.

Shen Weimin's home was primarily made of solid wood bespoke furniture. The kitchen cabinets, doors, and beds were all made by the woodworkers according to the overall style. The wood flooring underfoot and the wooden furniture certainly would catch fire easily.

But in just twenty to thirty minutes, for two rooms plus the living room and kitchen to burn down to nothing but ruins, that's an extraordinarily fast rate of combustion, isn't it?"

"Maybe... the residents reported the fire late?" Xu Ting asked uncertainly. "Perhaps the fire had been burning for a while before the fire department received the call."

Wang Lan shook his head lightly. "The report is clear. The windows of Shen Weimin's house were open. Neighbors reported the alert when they saw thick smoke. Testimonies from the fire department also confirm they received dozens of fire alarms at the same time.

This indicates that people discovered the fire and called immediately. It really did burn to this state in half an hour. But a regular fire has a process of ignition and spreading that would go beyond the time firefighters took to arrive.

Unless every room was set on fire and accelerants were added. But if that were the case, Shen Weimin's family should have been reduced to ashes as well. However, Shen Weimin's family was left with relatively intact bodies. According to the fire department, by the time they arrived to extinguish the fire, the flames were close to dying out—everything in the house that could be burned was gone, but the fire did not spread to the neighbors' homes or to the upper floors."

Through Wang Lan's analysis, the four members of the team indeed discovered many inconsistencies.

"So, the fire must have been a flame-based Star Martial Skill. Only the blaze from a Star Martial Skill could burn so quickly and yet be so controlled to not spread to other floors and leave the bodies relatively intact while destroying everything else in the house."

"So... the killer did this deliberately?"

"What was the purpose of the fire? Destruction! Flame engulfs all and destroys all. The killer had already killed his targets, yet he still wanted to destroy something? What he destroyed was something he didn't want us to get hold of. That means, there could be something inside Shen Weimin's house that poses a threat to the killer."

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Wang Lan's mind. "What case was Shen Weimin investigating recently? You mentioned he was killed while investigating a case, right?"

"He was investigating a child trafficking case," Li Yan rushed to say. "Over the past five years, a total of 105 children have been abducted by human traffickers. Some cases have been cracked and the children found. In other cases, even the traffickers don't know where the children were sold. Still others currently have no leads at all.

Shen Weimin had been intermittently investigating this case during his spare time over the years, successfully recovering around fifty or sixty children, with another forty or fifty still missing. Using Shen's words, as long as he works another day, he would continue searching until retirement or until all are found."

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