20: Go and invite Captain Lu Ming!

Zhao Li was not wearing the crisp black uniform of the Law Enforcement Team today, but a moon-white silk blouse.

The collar was slightly open, revealing a small patch of skin as lustrous as jade, and the outline of her collarbone was faintly visible in the soft light.

Below, she wore high-waisted, charcoal-grey straight-leg trousers, encasing her long, straight legs.

The cuffs of her trousers fell just above her ankles, revealing feet clad in beige pointed flats.

Her toenails were painted with a nearly transparent nude-pink polish, exuding understated elegance.

This woman's feet were as beautiful as those of his two wives.

Lu Ming was curious for a moment and looked at them a few more times.

She was listening to Xu Lulu speak, her head tilted slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips, and the usual cold aloofness that kept people at a distance had dissipated considerably, clashing with her cool, mature face.

Xu Lulu held a grape in her hand, excitedly chattering about something.

Seeing Lu Ming push the door open and emerge, her eyes lit up, and she immediately pounced on him, clinging to him and shrieking, "Husband, you're out of seclusion!"

Xu Youyou's excitement was also hard to conceal; she quickly walked up to Lu Ming.

Perhaps because there was an outsider present, she was much more reserved than Xu Lulu.

"Lulu, stop fooling around, come down quickly. Husband must be tired."

But Xu Lulu hadn't seen Lu Ming for many days and couldn't care less about such things. She hung onto Lu Ming like a sloth, chattering away.

"Husband, you don't know, during the time you were in seclusion, Sister and I were scared to death."

"Explosions kept coming from the Outer City. I heard from others that West City was full of dismembered bodies, many people died, and even many Law Enforcers died."

"But thanks to Sister Li, she's been protecting us these past few days."

Lu Ming held Xu Lulu, who was hanging on him. Hearing this, his movements paused, and his gaze turned to Zhao Li, a hint of seriousness in his eyes: "Sister Li, thank you."

Zhao Li's gaze briefly narrowed on Xu Lulu, and her eyes dimmed considerably.

Seeing Lu Ming mention her,

she snapped out of her daze, subconsciously smoothing the hem of her blouse with her fingertips, a touch of unnaturalness on her cool, pretty face.

"The Soul-Devouring Beast from last time has been dealt with. It sold for 700,000 in total. I was going to bring you the money when I realized you had already gone into seclusion..."

Although she said this, a strange, inexplicable delight filled her heart.

Lu Ming's single phrase, "Sister Li," had significantly softened the budding bitterness in her heart, as if it had been gently soothed by warm water.

Xu Youyou then brought a cup of warm water and handed it to Lu Ming, softly adding, "Sister Li has been guarding the living room for the past three days. Yesterday, when the commotion in West City was at its loudest, she didn't close her eyes all night."

Hearing this, Lu Ming put Xu Lulu down, sat opposite Zhao Li, and asked, "What happened?"

"When Zhang Tao implicated those people last time, he played a trick; he deliberately understated their cultivation levels."

When Zhao Li looked up at Lu Ming, the softness in her eyes was now covered with frost.

"The leader of the Myriad Gods Sect's deacons is named Shi Hu... his strength is just a step away from the threshold of the Fourth Realm. The other two are also not weak: Zhou Shigang, who is at the second stage of Kaiyuan, and Yang Danhong, who is at the fifth stage of Kaiyuan."

"That bunch of good-for-nothings from the Inspection Team all thought they were going to claim an easy reward."

"Aside from the weakest, Zhou Shigang, who self-destructed on the spot, Shi Hu escaped into the Mist Zone, while Yang Danhong is still hiding in the Outer City."

Zhao Li's words made Lu Ming's heart sink little by little.

He had anticipated that this piece of meat wouldn't be easy to chew, but he hadn't expected it to be so tricky.

He felt no great emotionalfluctuation about the Inspection Team's losses.

He was more worried that Lin Qiming and the others had failed to 'beat the grass to startle the snake' this time and had instead 'let the tiger return to the mountain'.

It would be incredibly difficult to find Shi Hu in the vast Mist Zone.

And Yang Danhong's situation was no better; a mid-Second Realm cultist hiding in a safe zone was enough to cause widespread panic.

Lu Ming wasn't particularly worried about himself, but he feared that Xu Youyou and Xu Lulu might be implicated.

"That old fox Lin Qiming must be having a blast!"

...Meanwhile, in West City.

Lin Qiming led the Inspection Team to surround a residence.

After breaking in,

a dozen or so ordinary people, big and small, were huddled inside the house, their expressions panicked.

Lin Qiming's face instantly darkened, "Damn it! It's like this again!"

Yang Danhong had a somewhat special talent; he could transform into anyone he had come into contact with, even mimicking their aura.

The Inspection Team couldn't identify him for a while, allowing him to escape time and time again.

Playing games!

Yang Danhong was toying with them!

Seeing the familiar scene, Lin Qiming was furious.

He had been with the authorities for so many years and had never encountered such a difficult opponent.

Yang Danhong was extremely arrogant; he repeatedly escaped, yet repeatedly exposed his whereabouts, treating the entire Inspection Team like monkeys.

Now, his Inspection Team had become the laughingstock of Jiangcheng.

"Lord Lin, why don't we just..."

Deputy Fang Hengwen's eyes were filled with murderous intent, and he made a gesture with his right hand, his meaning clear.

Better to kill the wrong person than to let the right one go.

Lin Qiming suddenly turned his head, his gaze sharp as a knife, and glared fiercely at Fang Hengwen: "Do you think the Inspection Team's reputation isn't bad enough?"

He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and his gaze swept over the trembling ordinary people in the room.

There were women holding children, white-haired elders, and several teenagers cowering in a corner, terrified.

The fear in their eyes was not feigned; if he truly ordered their deaths, he would not escape accountability.

Fang Hengwen was unwilling to give up and turned to offer another suggestion, "My Lord, why don't we ask a master from the Night Watch Division for help?"

Lin Qiming gave him a cold look, "Hengwen, you're talking a bit too much today."

He knew perfectly well that the Night Watch Division couldn't possibly spare anyone at this critical juncture.

Even if someone did return, it would be hard to avoid being held accountable for his dereliction of duty.

"Is this idiot Fang Hengwen trying to set me up so he can take my place?"

Lin Qiming glared at him fiercely.

Fang Hengwen's face instantly turned pale, and he opened and closed his mouth, but dared not speak again.

The dozen or so ordinary people in the room were like lambs awaiting judgment, and Lin Qiming's brows were tightly furrowed.

The situation in West City was getting worse and worse. Shi Hu's escape into the Mist Zone was already a hidden danger.

And Yang Danhong was as slippery as an eel. The Inspection Team's casualty count had been steadily rising these past few days. If this continued, morale would collapse.

"My Lord, why don't we let Lu Ming from the Fourth Team come and try?"

When Lin Qiming heard the name "Lu Ming," his brows furrowed even tighter.

The one who made the suggestion was a young team member. Seeing Lin Qiming's expression, he immediately lowered his head: "I... I heard that those few from the Law Enforcement Team before..."

"Silence! If Lord Lin can't solve it, how can a mere team leader like him?"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Fang Hengwen.

Lin Qiming, however, remained silent, complex emotions swirling in his eyes.

Let Lu Ming try?

Wouldn't that make him a clown?