Chapter 1: I'm a Police Officer, Now a Suspect?

September 1, 2002.

Muhe City.

"Pardon me, Brother Mo."

A pair of handcuffs with a cold silver glint made a 'click' sound as they closed.

Chen Mo slowly opened his eyes and looked around, his mind a bit dazed.

Who am I?

Where am I?

Where am I going?

Feeling the cold touch of the handcuffs against his wrists,

to these three existential questions, he could only answer the third one.

Police car, handcuffs—if he wasn't mistaken, he should be on his way to the Public Security Bureau.

What crime did I commit?

Is spectating drama illegal now?

He remembered he was just in a group called 'National Spectator Awards,' happily watching a video of a delinquent guy beating up a delinquent girl sent by the group leader. In the blink of an eye, he suddenly appeared here.

Could it be... I've transmigrated?

The reason he had this thought was, on one hand, the web novel industry in 2024 was very developed, so he had some concept of transmigration. On the other hand, the car's interior was too retro.

Cars in 2024 were basically chasing after big TVs and big refrigerators, dedicated to turning the car into a home, while the car he was currently in felt very aged.

A radio on the center console, manual window cranks, and brand new but outdated off-white seats.

He glanced at the logo on the steering wheel: a 'V' on top and a 'W' below.

An old model police vehicle—a Volkswagen Santana!

So what exactly did I do?

After years of watching others' drama, the drama finally landed on my own head?

Just as he was thinking, a stream of information flooded into his mind out of nowhere. When he opened his eyes again, he understood everything.

He had indeed transmigrated. It was now 2002. Technological development was exactly the same as his previous life. The only difference was that the original owner of this body had gone to police academy, while he had chosen to go to a regular university.

His current identity was a criminal investigator!

As for why he was arrested, it was because the original owner shared his hobby of 'spectating drama'.

Today happened to be his day off, and he accidentally heard a shocking piece of gossip from Uncle Wang.

In Xinba Village, across from the residential area, 'sixty-year-old Old Man Liu cheated with his daughter-in-law.' After the son found out, he grabbed a knife and rushed back from out of town overnight, face full of rage.

Such juicy drama had to be witnessed. The two of them arrived just as the son got back from out of town. The process was very exciting, but just as they were preparing to leave, they unexpectedly found a disemboweled corpse in an alley.

Since there were only their footprints around and they couldn't reasonably explain why they were outside Old Man Liu's house, they were temporarily treated as suspects.

It was quite unjust, but understandable. After all, no one would believe they were really there just to watch the drama.

He had to save himself. To be honest, this era was actually quite dangerous.

Many of the wrongful convictions in later years originated from this era. Once the police felt pressure, the two of them, as suspects, would certainly have a hard time.

Of course, that was just thinking of the worst-case scenario. Currently, it was more of a formality.

But even if it was just a formality, he didn't want to go to the detention center.

He was a criminal investigator. How could it be okay to be locked up when he knew he was innocent?

This would become a joke within the force—a cop catching criminals getting caught himself.

He had to save himself!

Moreover, Uncle Wang beside him was probably riding in a police car for the first time and looked very nervous. Their revolutionary friendship forged through spectating drama went without saying.

Even if not for himself, he had to think of a way for the old man's sake.

The environment of a detention cell in '02 was... hard to describe.

He had two choices: one was to actively clear his name, and the other was to wait for his colleagues to investigate the case thoroughly, but who knew how long that would take.

There was no Skynet in this era yet; catching people relied purely on skill and luck.

Before transmigrating, he had only watched Conan and a few detective dramas. He really wasn't familiar with criminal investigation.

What made him even more disheartened was that after receiving the original owner's memories, he discovered the man was also a total weakling. He only became a criminal investigator because the times were good and competition wasn't fierce; in the future, he'd only be at the level of a local police station officer.

Where's my system?

Shouldn't a system appear at this time, making me so excited I'd cry and shout, "System Daddy"?

Could it be that the authors on 'Fanqie Novels' were all lying to me, and there's no system after transmigrating?

Liars!

I'm going to report you all!

[Spectator System binding...]

[Binding successful. Detected host's progress for the drama 'Old Man Liu cheats with daughter-in-law' is 60%. Reward: 600 melon points, one Skill Critical Hit Card.]

[Constitution]: 10 (Average person: 10).

[Strength]: 10 (Average person: 10).

[Skills]: None (Can be redeemed in the mall using melon points).

[Detected a new drama: 'The Evisceration Case.' Do you wish to spectate?]

Chen Mo stared at the system panel in front of him that only he could see.

He decided to take back his words about reporting them.

The authors didn't lie; there really is a system after transmigrating.

He steadied his mind, calmed himself down, quickly scanned the panel, and then his eyes landed on the final prompt.

The Evisceration Case should be the corpse they found in the alley by Old Man Liu's house.

He had no choice. If he wanted to quickly clear his name and not become a laughingstock of the police force, he had to participate in the case and consume this drama.

[Drama Name]: The Evisceration Case.

[Task Rating]: D-rank.

[Task Reward]: 1-3,000 melon points (No penalty for failure).

[Task Duration]: 24 hours (Countdown starting).

There's even a time limit.

He, who was originally calm, couldn't help but start to feel anxious.

Looking at the 600 melon points he got from the drama about Old Man Liu cheating with his daughter-in-law, he immediately entered the mall interface.

[Eyes of a Hawk] (Greatly enhances your ability to observe subtle traces at a crime scene): 60,000 melon points.

[Beguiling Tongue] (You have a mouth that can reduce a criminal's resistance): 100,000 melon points.

[Hyenas Nose] (You are extremely sensitive to smells): 50,000 melon points.

He was originally excited about these skills, but after seeing the prices behind them, he calmed down.

Never mind.

[You spent 100 melon points to upgrade your Reasoning ability. Current Reasoning: LV2!!!]

[You spent 500 melon points to upgrade your Reasoning ability. Current Reasoning: LV3!!!]

He also realized that whether it was the Hyenas Nose or the hawk's eyes, those were just auxiliary tools once one had solid core strength.

Otherwise, even if he discovered something, he wouldn't be able to connect it to the case.

A vast amount of Reasoning memories flooded into his mind in an instant.

To put it in perspective, each level up was equivalent to studying 24 hours a day for a full year.

He now had two years of Reasoning knowledge. Not enough!

It was still far from enough.

His gaze fell on the rewarded Skill Critical Hit Card, and he clicked to use it.

[You used the Skill Critical Hit Card. Reasoning LV3 upgraded to Reasoning LV10!!!]

Chen Mo: !!!

This critical hit card is a real critical hit.

Another seven years of Reasoning knowledge rushed into his mind.

In an instant, his insights were immense. After ten full years of 24-hour-a-day study, he was now terrifyingly strong!

Chen Mo turned his head confidently and reached out his right hand to pat Uncle Wang on the shoulder.

According to the original owner's memories, the two were friends despite the age gap, so this gesture wasn't inappropriate.

"Don't be afraid. Once I solve the case, I'll get you out immediately."

To his surprise, he received a roll of the eyes in return, with a look that said, "Save yourself first before worrying about me."

Heh, does he not believe in my strength?

Just then, Xiao Liu in the driver's seat spoke up.

"Brother Mo, we've arrived at the Municipal Bureau. Get out."