Chapter 1427: Shock and the Shadow Force
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Whoosh!
The convoy came to a stop outside the Deron Special Bureau. Xia Fan stepped out of the hovercar, while Dylan and Ma Zheng escorted Chen Changsheng out of it.
Perhaps because of the words Xia Fan had said, Chen Changsheng not only did not resist, he had a bright light in his eyes, and there was some remorse within them.
It was past midnight, but the Special Bureau was still brightly lit as everyone worked another sleepless night. The inability to solve the case of the Wednesday Killer had tortured the Investigators of the Special Bureau for half a year, and every one of their faces carried deep fatigue.
“Isn’t that the Logistics Division?”
!!
“Who are they escorting? It can’t be the Wednesday Killer, right?”
“It should be. I think the Wednesday Killer case is the only case the Logistics Division has.”
“That means that the Wednesday Killer has been caught!”
“So fast!? Impossible!”
Everyone in the Bureau, from the official Investigators to the orderlies, stared at the Logistics Division group in extreme shock. They stopped whatever they were doing and surrounded the group, looking at Xia Fan and the others in disbelief.
Dylan raised his head proudly and announced, “We’ve completed the mission! The case of the Wednesday Killer has been solved!”
Shock!
Incomparable shock!
Thunderous and ardent applause started up, everyone clapping until their hands were red and slightly swollen.
“They caught him! They actually caught the Wednesday Killer!”
“Incredible! The Logistics Division is incredible!”
—
The Special Bureau was in an uproar, and the news grew wings and quickly spread throughout the two towers.
Wherever Xia Fan’s group went, applause would resound and people would congratulate them. Wild celebrations took place as everyone finally vented their frustration.
The brothers of the Logistics Division were finally able to walk about with their heads held high. As the weakest division, they had never enjoyed such praise and applause, and the pride they felt was simply indescribable.
—
Several minutes later, the empty floor of the Logistics Division was packed with people. Everyone wanted to see what the infamous Wednesday Killer looked like, and if he really had three heads and six arms. The cheers and applause lasted for the entire night.
The people also saw Deputy Bureau Chief Zhu Chenfeng crying in an ugly fashion.
As a gold Investigator, Zhu Chenfeng had led the investigation on the Wednesday Killer for half a year with no progress.
But now, Xia Fan had used less than twenty-four hours to catch the criminal. It was nothing short of a miracle!
“Tell us how you did it!”
“That’s right! How did you manage to capture the Wednesday Killer?”
The crowd was unwilling to leave, wanting to know how the case had proceeded.
With no other choice, Xia Fan had to take the stage. Surrounded by thousands of colleagues, he was still able to maintain his radiant smile.
Scratching his head, Xia Fan smiled and said, “Actually, the process of catching the Wednesday Killer was very simple.”
Cough!
Everyone almost threw up blood.
Simple? This was a case that had tormented the Special Bureau for half a year, and Xia Fan said it was simple!?
It was infuriating! When everyone thought about how they had slaved away night and day, they felt only negative emotions when they looked at Xia Fan’s smiling face.
After a pause, Xia Fan flatly said, “Chasing down a criminal is actually a problem of direction. If you investigate in the wrong direction, you naturally won’t get anything good. Only when the direction is correct can you catch the criminal.
“At the very start, the direction I chose was wrong. Fortunately, I quickly noticed the problem and adjusted my direction, and thus, I caught him.
“It appeared like an unsolvable riddle, a ball of yarn. So long as you find the source of the yarn, which is the criminal’s motive, and then slowly sort everything out, everything will naturally become clear.”
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
The crowd once more enthusiastically clapped in praise of Xia Fan’s “direction theory”.
Although Xia Fan’s Scent special ability was very powerful for catching criminals, the real ability that led him to quickly solving the case was his thinking ability. He had concluded from the start that Chen Changsheng was an avenger who was killed in the name of vengeance. That was what was the most important detail. None of the other Investigators in the bureau had thought in that direction.
The crowd still wasn’t letting him go, and insisted that he say more.
At that moment, the elevator silently opened, and a group of men wearing identical black uniforms arrived. Even in the summer, they were wearing jackets, their hair was short and neat, and their faces joyless.
The Investigators immediately parted to open a path for the men in black. The men silently entered the interrogation room and brought out Chen Changsheng. Throughout the entire process, nobody stopped them.
“Stay safe,” Xia Fan said to Chen Changsheng.
Held between two people, Chen Changsheng shuddered and then nodded firmly. Something wet seemed to be traveling down his cheeks.
With no words and no processing, the men in black took away Chen Changsheng while everyone watched. All the investigators watched as if this was only natural and expected.
“That is the Shadow Force, a pack of cold-blooded killers.” Traveling Buddha came out of nowhere, looking like he had just woken up. Xia Fan suspected that the uproar in the Bureau had stirred him from his sleep.
Xia Fan smiled and said to his partner, “Where did you go? You missed out on the arrest, so don’t expect to get any credit.”
“Tsk!” Traveling Buddha pursed his lips in disdain. “It’s fine if you handle all these things that require a lot of thinking. I certainly don’t care about any credit. The heavens and earth are important, but nothing is more important than my sleep.
“It’s so noisy here. I’m going to a hotel to get a room.”
And then Traveling Buddha, the lazy scoundrel, really did just leave.
…
The Shadow Force’s people had no names, only code names.
They were all former black-hearted criminals who had operated in the Alliance. After they were arrested, the Alliance forced them to sign contracts. In exchange for not administering the death penalty, they would do the dirtiest and darkest work for the Alliance.
Assassinations, bribing politicians, providing weapons to opposition factions in enemy countries, helping terrorists create bombs…
In brief, the Shadow Force did things that went far past a normal human’s bottom line, and their hands were drenched in blood.
—
A black frigate carried Chen Changsheng away from the Deron Star Region to the Shadow Force’s secret base.
“Do you know who we are?” a bald second lieutenant whispered to Chen Changsheng.
The bald officer had a blue barcode on the back of his neck, the most prominent symbol of the Shadow Force.
Chen Changsheng looked at the baldie and nodded slightly. “I know. You’re the Shadow Force. As a criminal, I have two choices. Either join the Shadow Force or be executed.”
The baldie nodded. “Then what is your decision?”
Chen Changsheng replied, “I will join and use the rest of my life to atone.”
The baldie was rather surprised. Normally, infamous murderers like Chen Changsheng would not submit so easily, and even if they did, it was temporary, and they would still be thinking about escaping.
Subjugating these wicked people required the Shadow Force to employ cruel methods to grind down their minds, turning them into walking corpses for the force.
Chen Changsheng was different. He sincerely felt remorse and was willing to pay for his crimes. From his words and actions, he didn’t appear like some murderous demon king at all.
“Very good.” The bald second lieutenant patted Chen Changsheng on the shoulder and then left the cell to find his superior.
His superior was a captain with golden hair, broad bones, and eyes that lacked the expected savagery and coldness.
Captains of the Shadow Force were appointed from the regular army and were responsible for inspecting and controlling these violent criminals.
“Captain, Chen Changsheng reminds me of Qin Yuwei. That woman was also caught by Xia Fan, and she joined us with barely any effort on our part. Moreover, in the last half year, she has devoted herself to her work and has put up an outstanding performance.
“It’s like Xia Fan has some magic power that lets him change the way the criminals think as he captures them. It’s unbelievable. What exactly did Xia Fan do to them?”
The golden-haired captain chuckled, “I’d like to know the answer to that question as well!
“In any case, the more Investigators there are like Xia Fan in the Special Bureau, the easier our work will be. Do a psychological analysis on Chen Changsheng. If he reaches the standard, he can avoid the pain of brainwashing.”
“Yes,” the bald lieutenant replied, leaving the office.
…
Chen Changsheng was a wanted criminal in the Deron Star Region, and the bounty on his head had reached a shocking one million Union Contribution Points.
Last time, when Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had killed twelve wanted members from Murder Shrine, all those people were worth less than a single Chen Changsheng.
But this reward didn’t belong to just Xia Fan, but to the entire Logistics Division. Xia Fan wanted it to be divided evenly!
But not a single person in the Logistics Division agreed. They firmly believed that capturing Chen Changsheng was entirely Xia Fan’s achievement.
In the end, it was Division Chief Tong Guan who made the decision. Xia Fan was given half, which was five hundred thousand Contribution Points, and the rest was divided evenly among the rest of the division.
Five hundred thousand Contribution Points could be converted to fifty million Union Dollars!
Of course, Xia Fan wasn’t dumb enough to convert the points to money, for the difference in purchasing power was just too stark. The best equipment could only be bought with points!
With everyone getting a share of the Points, the Investigators in the division were all very happy, and their friendliness toward Xia Fan increased. Xia Fan had already become the person second to the Division Chief in status, and everyone went to get his opinion whenever they had a problem.
In the past, the Logistics Division was so weak that it didn’t dare to raise its head in front of the rest of the bureau, but now, they walked around with their heads held high. This change was what made everyone the happiest. There were even Investigators from other divisions who wanted to transfer to Logistics!
——
The Bureau Chief’s office…
Huo Jiang furrowed his brow and said, “Letting Xia Fan and Little Old Buddha go to the Outer Frontier? Isn’t it a little too early? After all, they haven’t been in the Bureau for very long. Putting aside the complicated situation in the Outer Frontier, Xia Fan still hasn’t been made clear on the situation of the Deron Star Region.”
Not far from the borders of the Deron Star Region was the playground of savages and criminals, the Outer Frontier.
In Blue Moon, the three great federations only occupied thirteen percent of the territory, while the remaining eighty-seven percent was lawless and desolate territory. The situation in this land was complicated and undesirable, with the violent criminals and pirates living there willing to attack anyone.
The Outer Zone was devoid of security, and there was no planet with in that was at peace.
Zhu Chenfeng said callously, “I naturally know how complicated the situation in the Outer Zone is, but we have no other option. The native Chaos Eagle Empire is the target of all three federations, as their territory holds high-level ores that we urgently need.
“Whether or not the Union can get mining rights depends on the performance of our Special Bureau. The Sacred Federation and the Republic have already dispatched their best investigators to Chaos Hawk. We will soon be facing a fierce competition with our enemies.
“The previous king was murdered, and the elites of the three Special Bureaus have been summoned. The new king has decreed that anyone who catches the criminal will get the mining rights. Xia Fan and Little Old Buddha are our bureau’s strongest investigation squad. If we don’t send them, we would essentially be giving up those precious mining rights to the enemy.
“Chief, think about it. How many powerful warships do you think the Republic and Sacred Federation can make with all that high-level ore? If a war breaks out, they will be able to deal lethal damage to our Starcloud Union!
“I want to send Xia Fan to the Chaos Eagle Empire entirely for the sake of the Union!”
Huo Jiang sighed.
He wasn’t a fool. He knew that Zhu Chenfeng was so insistent about this because he wanted to get revenge on Xia Fan.
After all, Xia Fan had humiliated Zhu Chenfeng too badly. The Deputy Bureau Chief, a gold-badge Investigator, had wasted half a year on a case that Xia Fan had solved in a day. It would be more bizarre if Zhu Chenfeng had no reaction to this.
But Huo Jiang also knew that the potential Xia Fan had shown and Traveling Buddha’s formidable cultivation made for a potent combo. They truly were the best candidates for this mission!
After all, that was the savage Outer Frontier. Could the two of them do it? Huo Jiang pondered the matter deeply.
