Volume One, Chapter Sixteen: The Case is Solved.

“What does this have to do with our case? You’re talking nonsense,” Wu Wei said.

Liu Chongming, who had kept a low profile all day, couldn’t help but speak up, “How could something happening in the outskirts possibly be related to our case?”

The young officer at the door insisted, “It’s true. We even saw the person—he was wearing a black hat and left a letter at the scene.”

Wu Wei became agitated, “Where is he? Didn’t you catch him?”

The officer shook his head, “He vanished—turned into playing cards and disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

“Disappeared?”

The conference room erupted into a clamor, everyone staring in disbelief, hoping for answers.

Jiang Chen, meanwhile, watched the young officer at the door with keen interest.

“Friend, your disguise is rather clumsy,” Jiang Chen suddenly broke the tense atmosphere.

The young officer snapped, “What do you mean by that? What are you implying?”

Jiang Chen smiled, “It’s quite amusing, your disguise. If I weren’t here, you might have fooled them all. But, unfortunately for you, I am.”

The young officer’s expression darkened. “How did you see through me?”

Only then did everyone realize this man was not one of their own.

Jiang Chen sighed, “Your sedatives and sleight of hand are far too amateurish. Must I spell it out—the mastermind behind all this?”

The young officer finally dropped the pretense, a smile spreading across his face. Somewhere, a cane appeared in his hand.

“You’re impressive. I thought the station was filled with incompetents, but with an opponent like you, things just got interesting.” Chen Shu, no longer hiding his identity, tapped his cane lightly.

Bang—

Chen Shu, who had been standing there, suddenly exploded into a flurry of playing cards.

A single card drifted down onto the table—a Joker, the wild card from the deck.

Two Jokers lay neatly side by side on the table, tidy and mocking.

Wu Wei spoke up immediately, “Pull up the surveillance, run facial recognition, everyone else move in to apprehend him. Su Yike, Liu Chongming, Cheng Shuang—you three head to the outskirts to deal with the riot.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Jiang Chen sat in the office, now alone with Wu Wei. Wu Wei asked, “Little Celestial Master, can you calculate where the suspect will go next?”

“I can’t. A person’s life is ever-changing; I can only guess at what’s to come. Calculation only works for the past, the future is impossible to predict.”

Of course, Jiang Chen was lying—he could calculate the future, but the price was steep, and he rarely did so except for minor matters.

Wu Wei was frustrated, but progress had been made, and they now had the culprit’s appearance—all thanks to the man in front of him.

He had looked down on the young man before, simply because he distrusted Taoists and monks, believing real professionals should handle professional tasks.

True, every field has its experts, but he shouldn’t have underestimated others so much.

Jiang Chen pinched his fingers, already forming a rough idea. “Heavy hearts, myriad fates—you’d best prepare yourselves. This man’s motives are far from simple.”

Because they had broken the Seven Kill Array, the criminal hadn’t managed to complete it in the allotted time. He would only grow more desperate.

Jiang Chen’s deductions were not baseless. The criminal wanted to entangle the fate of the entire city; his hatred for Qing City must be profound, otherwise he wouldn’t resort to such extremes.

Jiang Chen had studied at the military academy, finishing all his cultural courses in just three months, and had aced psychological profiling. His speculations were always grounded.

...

North District, New City International Villa Area. Li Jing was enjoying the company of a beauty, thoroughly pleased.

“Come with me to the banquet tomorrow, and I’ll lavish you…”

Crash—

The glass on the villa’s second floor shattered, the massive window reduced to nothing.

Chen Shu adjusted his hat, brushing glass shards from his tailored suit.

“Li Jing, isn’t it? You’re coming with me,” Chen Shu said.

Li Jing bristled, “Who the hell are you?”

Chen Shu hissed, “Which of us is the criminal here? You seem to have forgotten your place.”

Li Jing finally realized, and in the next instant, Chen Shu’s hefty wooden cane came down hard on his head.

After a few seconds of struggle, Li Jing couldn’t withstand the pressure on his eyelids and passed out.

Chen Shu glanced at the terrified woman beside him, “Call the police. Tell them they have five hours. If they haven’t found me in five hours, I’ll kill him.”

The girl nodded in terror.

About an hour later, chaos had erupted in the Qing City Criminal Investigation Unit.

In the municipal bureau, this case had been elevated to top priority, and Director Zhao Xin had merged multiple cases for joint investigation.

Jiang Chen, who had been napping, was roused by his phone buzzing.

“Hello? Missing me already?” Jiang Chen recognized Tong Yan’s number and spoke with familiarity.

Tong Yan’s voice trembled on the other end, “Little Celestial Master, Sister Ning was taken by a man in a black hat. He said if we don’t find him in five hours, he’ll kill Sister Ning. Please, do something!”

Jiang Chen’s face darkened. Wu Wei, seeing this, felt a chill—such a look he’d seen before in murderers: fierce, merciless, deadly.

Jiang Chen stood, shedding all traces of his previous casual demeanor, now exuding an unfathomable gravity.

“Group Leader Wu, do you want to solve the case?”

“Of course,” Wu Wei replied quickly. “I want nothing more than to crack it.”

Jiang Chen pinched his fingers and said, “Northwest granary, northeast International Hotel, Skarna Community, Wangdao Club, and… the chemical plant.”

Wu Wei immediately grabbed his walkie-talkie, about to repeat the list, when Jiang Chen added a chilling remark.

“By the way, there are bombs at each location. Contact the bomb disposal squad.”

“What? Bombs?” Wu Wei was incredulous, but deciding it was better to err on the side of caution, he picked up the walkie-talkie, “Notify the bomb squad, move out immediately…”

Jiang Chen had already vanished.

Meanwhile, inside the chemical plant, Ning Rou was tightly bound, struggling ceaselessly. Fixed to her chest was a bomb, its timer ticking down.

Chen Shu tapped his cane and said, “Don’t struggle, or the C4 will go off. If you keep still, you might leave a complete corpse… Oh, wait, even if you stay still, there won’t be much left intact. Lots of bones, though.”

Ning Rou dared not move, forcing herself to remain calm, “If it’s money you want, I can give you any amount.”

Chen Shu tutted, “Rich people, always thinking money can solve everything. Five years ago, maybe you could’ve bought me off. Now… not anymore.”