132: Chapter 132 Hypnotized?

The cold and aloof Senior Sister could hardly hide the excitement on her face at this moment.

"Is that true, Junior Sister? Is this Xiao Yan the person the Old Ancestor is looking for?"

The Junior Sister nodded.

"Absolutely certain. Didn't you notice? The bracelet the Old Ancestor gave me was glowing."

"That's great! We actually managed to snatch this huge opportunity!"

"After helping the Old Ancestor find the person she wants, she will definitely bury me in resources."

"Xiao Yan, hehehe... sorry about this!"

The Senior Sister couldn't help but smile wryly upon hearing this.

"Alright, you're actually doing him a huge favor."

"The Old Ancestor's beauty is at a level that even I, a straight woman, can barely handle."

"But I'm a bit curious, how exactly did this kid capture the Old Ancestor's heart? Or is it possible that he is the reincarnation of the Old Ancestor's long-lost love from back in the day? ..."

Soon, it was Su Chen and Jiang Luoli's turn to process the paperwork.

The process was not complicated.

When verifying identity information, Su Chen used the fake identity of "Xiao Yan".

But with the Huayu Association endorsing him, he passed smoothly.

After testing his basic spiritual energy fluctuations and physique, and receiving a numbered spiritual energy bracelet, the preliminary registration was considered complete.

The specific compatibility test and contact with the Heroic Spirit would have to wait until the official ceremony three days later.

Leaving the noisy square, the two took a taxi to the Huayu Association Jinguan City branch.

In the car, Jiang Luoli also mentioned the two strange Taoist nuns.

Su Chen naturally had also noticed the red light on the bracelet of one of them; he nodded without saying a word.

He naturally had also noticed that the two were abnormal.

Fortunately, he had not leaked any personal information.

Huayu Association Jinguan City branch, third underground floor, confidential archives room.

The person in charge of receiving them was a stern-faced middle-aged male deacon, surnamed Zhao, who was a senior investigator at the Jinguan City branch.

Of course, he was also one of Jiang Luoli's family members.

"Miss, Mr. Su."

Su Chen looked up and saw a huge projection wall clearly displaying photos and data from the scenes of four death cases, which were shocking.

Yes.

The case that Su Chen and the other person were to handle after joining the Huayu Association was this case that occurred in four different cities, but because the methods were extremely consistent and bizarre, it had been consolidated and submitted to the martial artist organization, causing a nationwide sensation.

"Four victims, with the time of death spanning two months, and locations scattered across Qiantang, the Imperial Capital, Jianghai, and Jinguan City."

"On the surface, they seem unrelated, but after comparative analysis by our technical department, some commonalities were discovered."

"These commonalities are also the reason why such a case occurring in mortal society was submitted to the martial artist organization for handling."

He operated the controller, and the screen switched.

The first photo was taken in the bathroom of a luxury apartment.

A young woman was lying face up in a bathtub filled with water, naked, her face covered with thick, layered facial masks, almost completely sealing her nose and mouth.

The forensic report showed that the cause of death was suffocation.

But the strange thing was that the water level in the bathtub was not high.

The woman's arms were hanging outside the bathtub, and she was fully capable of tearing off the facial masks herself.

There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, and no signs of intrusion by outsiders.

The deceased was a third-tier celebrity from Qiantang, who was usually vain, had simple social relationships, and had no recent abnormalities.

The second photo was taken in a luxurious bedroom.

An overweight middle-aged man was lying on his back on the bed, wearing the latest VR glasses. The glasses were still playing content.

After extraction by technicians, it was found to be a large number of videos originating from the island nation playing on a loop.

The man's face was flushed with a hint of purple-blue; the forensic examination identified it as sudden cardiac death caused by excessive emotional excitement.

Similarly, there were no traces of outsiders at the scene.

The deceased was the boss of a media company in the Imperial Capital, lived a luxurious life, was lecherous, and had a record of infidelity.

The third photo was taken in that cheap rental room where Su Chen had originally made his discovery.

The man was trapped in a transparent glass jar, surrounded by a large amount of hundred-yuan bills, his body covered in wounds cut by some sharp object.

The man's expression was twisted, carrying a strange sense of satisfaction.

The cause of death was preliminarily determined to be organ failure caused by prolonged mental excitement, compounded by excessive blood loss.

His identity was that of an ordinary small businessman from Jianghai City, greedy for money, searching for investment opportunities all over the country.

The fourth photo was taken in the back kitchen of a bustling hot pot restaurant in Jinguan City.

A middle-aged man wearing an apron had collapsed next to a huge pot of red chili oil soup.

His eyes were wide open, pupils dilated, and the corners of his mouth were stretched extremely wide to both sides, forming a horrifying expression as if he were laughing wildly.

His mouth was a mess, half of his tongue had been bitten off by himself, mixed with blood falling onto his chest.

The forensic examiner judged the cause of death to be shock caused by severe pain and suffocation.

Apart from the deceased's own footprints and fingerprints, there were no suspicious traces at the scene.

The hot pot soup base was still boiling, as if nothing had happened.

The deceased was the owner of this shop; apart from being a chatterbox and loving to eat, he was an optimistic person with a harmonious family.

Deacon Zhao turned off the projection, and the room fell into a brief silence.

Su Chen crossed his arms, looking like it was none of his business, while Jiang Luoli's pretty face had turned a bit pale.

Deacon Zhao couldn't help but nod.

The young man recommended by the eldest miss really does seem to have some skills.

"I heard that no other traces were found at these four death scenes. Could it be... suicide or a mental breakdown?"

Jiang Luoli suppressed the discomfort in her heart and voiced her guess.

"On the surface, yes."

Deacon Zhao rubbed his temples.

"The police were initially inclined to think so too. But after our people synthesized the four cases, we believe it is definitely not a coincidence."

"First, none of the four victims had a history of mental illness or suicidal tendencies before their deaths."

"Secondly, their methods of death all carried a strong sense of ritual."

"Because of this, we suspected some 'cult organizations', but after communication, their suspicion was essentially ruled out."

"That 'White Snake Cult' is, after all, a martial artist organization, and they have no grudges against these ordinary people, so there's no need to use these methods to torture them to death..."

"Indeed."

Jiang Luoli nodded.

"Using such cruel methods to torture these people—if it is murder, then it must be someone who has a grudge against all four of them."

"Since that's the case, we must first deduce their common interpersonal network."

Just at this moment, Su Chen, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

Something was spinning repeatedly in his mind, seemingly about to break out of its shell.

The vain one suffocated while wearing a facial mask, the lecherous one died suddenly while watching adult movies, the greedy one died of organ failure while buried in a pile of money, the gluttonous one laughed while biting off his own tongue to commit suicide...

They all died doing the things they liked the most.

"Senior Sister Jiang, Deacon Zhao."

"I have a guess."

"Do you think it's possible that they were..."

"Hypnotized?"