26: Chapter 26 City Light

"Name!"

"Auntie Mei."

"Real name!"

"Niu... Niu... Dongmei."

...

"Confess honestly, what exactly happened at that time?"

"That... that, I don't even know what happened. I was just scolding that person, and as I kept scolding, I suddenly fell down, and then I hit something and passed out."

Listening to what this seemingly kind-faced lady was saying, Captain Zhang frowned deeply.

Communicating with an elderly criminal like this was quite exhausting; he instructed others to take over and walked out of the interrogation room.

"Captain Zhang, your criminal investigation team was incredibly fast this time. How long has it been since news of Auntie Mei appeared in Shenzhen, and you've already taken her down with lightning speed? Your contribution this time won't be small!"

Director Lu Feiming praised him with a chuckle. Today, he had swept away the gloom of the past, and his face was positively glowing.

Although the previous case had stalled, this time they had managed to pull off a comeback.

It was estimated that the media would soon arrive to praise their police station and commend the efficiency of the Nanshan Branch.

However, Captain Zhang's face was bitter. He shook his head and smiled wryly: "Director Lu, this isn't our criminal investigation team's credit."

"Not your credit?" Director Lu Feiming was somewhat puzzled.

"It was an office worker heading home. They saw those guys lying on the ground unconscious, made a phone call, and we drove over. We basically picked up three wanted criminals."

Captain Zhang had a constipated expression; although it counted as a meritorious service, he just couldn't bring himself to be happy.

Just then, the door to the interrogation room next to them opened, and an old criminal investigator walked out holding an interrogation record.

"Old Wang, are there any results from interrogating those two guys?"

Upon hearing this, the old criminal investigator named Old Wang, who wore a look of deep suffering, held the interrogation record with a gloomy expression.

"Sigh, Brother Zhang, this... it's better if you just read it yourself."

Seeing Old Wang's expression, Captain Zhang was somewhat suspicious and picked up the document to read.

With just one glance, his brows locked together, and then they furrowed even tighter, making Director Lu, who was standing to the side, feel like he was riding a roller coaster.

"Captain Zhang, what exactly is the situation?"

Director Lu just wanted to handle a case nicely; the previous case had left him a bit traumatized.

"Phew!" Closing the interrogation record, Captain Zhang rubbed his brow and sighed helplessly: "Their accounts are consistent. They both claim to have encountered an expert who uses playing cards. That person severed their Achilles tendons, and they refer to him as the Magician in the Night."

Judging by their words during the interrogation, their mental state seems very unstable, suspected to have encountered immense terror during the attack.

Whether what they are saying is true or not, we will still need our psychological profiler to question them."

"The Magician in the Night? Is it that... that person again..."

Suddenly, Director Lu Feiming remembered that person from a short while ago, the guy whose appearance the police never even knew from start to finish.

"They faced the suspect directly, so did they see his face clearly?"

Director Lu Feiming asked quickly. If they had seen his face, they could just have the department's forensic sketch artist draw a portrait of the criminal, and they would be able to lock onto the target quickly, which might even lead to solving the previous case.

However, the answer he got was Captain Zhang shaking his head helplessly.

"They didn't see the person's appearance clearly. The environment at the time was a dim alleyway, and on top of that, the person was wearing a hood; they couldn't see the other party's face at all.

However, there is one point: the other party seems very young, male, roughly 1.8 meters tall, and on the thin side."

Er...

Upon hearing this, Director Lu Feiming was speechless; that range was way too broad.

"Director, this case now appears on the surface to be another heroic feat by a mysterious citizen, but..."

Captain Zhang hesitated for a moment before sighing: "But with the previous case as a precedent, we cannot jump to conclusions so easily."

"What do you mean?" Director Lu Feiming's brain was struggling to keep up now.

These two cases seemed completely unrelated, yet the Magician in the Night seemed to have tightly linked them together.

"Director Lu, there's a saying in our criminal investigation division: make bold assumptions, verify with caution."

As he spoke, Captain Zhang took cigarettes from his waist and handed one to Director Lu and Old Wang.

Both were heavy smokers and took them to light up. Everyone knew that Captain Zhang liked to smoke when analyzing cases; although it was very unprofessional, there were too many heavy smokers in the station, so they were used to it.

"Although the parties involved in both cases deny any connection between them, the Magician is a shackle that has linked them together.

I carefully investigated Zhou Kehua's prior criminal record and discovered that he was originally convicted for robbery and murder, while this Auntie Mei and her group are a nationwide human trafficking gang.

The two look unrelated, but if you think about it carefully, it seems they have one commonality: they are both wanted criminals nationwide!"

Hearing this, Director Lu and Old Wang were both stunned. It was true, now that he mentioned it.

Director Lu flicked the ash from his cigarette and frowned: "Then what does this have to do with the Magician, and what role does he play in all this?"

Captain Zhang, with the cigarette in his mouth, grinned confidently and smiled: "Don't you think this Magician is a lot like the Light of the City?"

"Light of the City? You mean a vigilante like Jiang Ya from that novel?"

Upon hearing this, Director Lu's expression suddenly became serious. It was true, with Captain Zhang's analysis, it really did seem that way.

"So this is a criminal with an extreme sense of justice?"

As he spoke, Director Lu Feiming's expression looked a bit ugly. Having such a person appear in the area he was responsible for was a ticking time bomb.

Don't think that having such a city hero appear in a city is a good thing.

Of course, if it were in the US, it might be a good thing, since that place is already chaotic enough, and at night, it's just like Gotham City.

But this is Xia Country. Xia Country doesn't need any kind of Light of the City vigilante. Once such a dangerous element appears, it will definitely cause major problems for the city's stability. After all, if many matters don't need the police and you can handle them privately, imagine how chaotic that would become.

Furthermore, as a police officer, Director Lu knew very well that the mentality of such a person would continue to grow and fester. He would become increasingly dissatisfied with just one or two such incidents, and in the future, he would definitely act frequently.

"Director Lu, I believe you are already clear about the level of danger this Mr. Magician poses." Captain Zhang stubbed out his cigarette and sighed.

"Let's open an investigation into both cases. Also, recompile a file for registration, code-named [Magician]."

Director Lu Feiming said after careful consideration; he hadn't expected things to develop to this point.

This person is a ticking time bomb. If they don't find this Magician as soon as possible, who knows what kind of trouble he might cause later.