38: Chapter 38 Suspects? Just kill them all!

Ultimately, under the "combination punch" of Miss Ling Yueer's persistent pestering, throwing tantrums, and a personal message from the City Lord himself, the Demon Suppression Division had no choice but to hold their noses and agree to her request to "assist in the investigation."

Of course, the prerequisite was that all her actions must follow the commands of the special task force.

As for this so-called special task force, the leader was Chu Mengxi, who had just recovered from her injuries and was eager to prove herself.

The member was Lin Feng, who had just accepted the mission and was seen by everyone as "taking on a mission at a time of crisis."

Additionally, there were two die-hard followers who volunteered to "escort" Brother Lin and Captain Chu: Zhao Tie and Li Rui.

Plus one "special consultant" of noble status, whose combat power was roughly zero, but whose trouble-making ability was definitely at MAX level: Miss Ling Yueer.

Thus, a five-person team, arguably the most bizarre in the history of the Nanyan Prefecture Demon Suppression Division, was established.

In the temporary operations briefing room, the atmosphere was serious.

Chu Mengxi stood before a massive map of the prefecture city, her expression solemn. In her cold, phoenix-like eyes, the light of wisdom and calm flickered.

"According to the records, the five victims have different identities. Their only commonality is that they are all young, beautiful women possessing a trace of Spiritual Qi. This indicates that the Painted Skin Demon's targets are specific."

Using a cinnabar brush, she circled five crime scenes on the map.

"The crime scenes are distributed across the east, west, south, north, and central districts of the city, with no apparent pattern. This shows that the Painted Skin Demon has a vast range of activity and knows the terrain of the prefecture city like the back of its hand."

Zhao Tie nodded repeatedly as he listened, adding, "Boss, I also found a problem. When we investigated the scenes, we found all the doors and windows were intact, with no signs of forced entry."

"Exactly."

Li Rui chimed in, "The Painted Skin Demon is best at disguise; it's very likely it has already disguised itself as some unremarkable person around us. Now, everyone we look at seems like the killer!"

"Therefore, the priority is to narrow down the scope of the investigation."

Chu Mengxi looked at the map and pondered, "I spent the night reviewing all the division's files on the Painted Skin Demon and, combined with the victims' social relationships, I've preliminary screened three high-suspicion targets."

As she spoke, she placed three dossiers on the table.

"The first one: Artist Wu Daozi, a painter from the Ink Rhythm Pavilion in the west of the city."

"This man's painting skills are extraordinary, especially in portraying beautiful ladies. With his brush, he can paint a woman's voice and smile so vividly they seem like a living person. Rumor has it he is eccentric, behaves strangely, and stays behind closed doors all year round. Most importantly, three of the five victims had requested paintings from him."

"The second one: Mr. Liu, a physician from the Hall of Returning Spring in the south of the city."

"This man has brilliant medical skills but uses eerie methods. He specializes in some unorthodox techniques for maintaining youth and beauty, which are highly sought after by the city's noblewomen and young misses. However, he has been privately discovered frequently purchasing strange medicinal ingredients, even... some Materials for making human skin masks."

"The third one: Iron-Armed Bear King, the head instructor of the North City Martial Arts Hall."

"This man is an expert at the eighth level of the True Qi Realm, with external martial arts skills that have reached perfection. However, his origins are unknown, and his personality is tyrannical. Most suspiciously, on the night of every crime, witnesses claimed to have felt a powerful aura near his martial arts hall."

All three suspects had the motive and possibility for the crimes.

Chu Mengxi's analysis was well-reasoned and clear, leaving Zhao Tie and Li Rui deeply impressed.

Even the usually flighty Miss Ling Yueer had uncharacteristically quieted down, resting her chin on her hand and thinking seriously.

"So what do we do next? Investigate them one by one? But what if we alert the enemy and the demon escapes?" Miss Ling Yueer asked.

"That is the only way."

Chu Mengxi said helplessly, "We will split into three groups and simultaneously conduct secret surveillance on these three, hoping to find some clues."

This was the safest, yet also the most tedious method.

In the entire briefing room, only Lin Feng had leaned back in his chair from start to finish, eyes closed as if resting, as if none of this concerned him.

Only now did he slowly open his eyes and let out a yawn.

"I say..."

He spoke lazily.

"Why make it so complicated?"

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on him.

They heard him say in a matter-of-fact tone:

"Wouldn't it be enough to just cut down all three of these suspects?"

“...”

The entire briefing room instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Zhao Tie and Li Rui's mouths twitched frantically.

Here it comes, here it comes! Brother Lin's familiar, simple, crude, and scalp-numbing "One-Sword Style" of handling cases was back!

Miss Ling Yueer was stunned at first, but then her beautiful eyes instantly lit up, looking at Lin Feng with stars in her eyes.

"Wow! Brother Lin, your idea is so... so domineering! I like it!"

Only Chu Mengxi had three black lines instantly appear on her forehead.

"Lin Feng!"

She took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "We are the Demon Suppression Division! Handling cases requires evidence! We are not butchers who kill the innocent!"

"What if we kill the wrong person? Two of these three are innocent! Artist Wu Daozi is a famous artist in the prefecture city, and Mr. Liu has saved many lives! Although Iron-Armed Bear King's origins are unknown, there's no solid evidence to prove he is a demon!"

"Oh, then what if all three of them are?"

Lin Feng spread his hands, speaking indifferently.

"You!"

Chu Mengxi's chest heaved with anger; she felt she simply couldn't communicate with this guy.

The two of them were fundamentally not on the same wavelength.

She sought procedural justice and the revelation of truth.

Whereas Lin Feng sought the justice of results.

It was about using the most efficient and direct method to eliminate all potential threats, and incidentally...

Grind critical hit points.

"In any case! I absolutely do not agree to your proposal!"

Chu Mengxi slapped the table and said firmly, "Do as I say! Separate surveillance! That's an order!"

"Fine."

Lin Feng shrugged.

Seeing the tense atmosphere between the two, Miss Ling Yueer's eyes darted around, and she immediately leaned toward Lin Feng, saying with a grin:

"Brother Lin, I'm in a group with you! You have to protect me!"

And so, the most bizarre five-person team in history split into three groups again.

Chu Mengxi went alone to monitor the most suspicious suspect, the painter Artist Wu Daozi.

Zhao Tie and Li Rui formed a group to monitor the physician, Mr. Liu.

While Lin Feng, carrying the "dead weight" Miss Ling Yueer, boredly went to a teahouse opposite the North City Martial Arts Hall to monitor the so-called Iron-Armed Bear King.

"Brother Lin, do you think that Bear King is really a demon?"

Miss Ling Yueer asked while munching on melon seeds.

"Don't know."

"Then we just sit here and wait?"

"Yeah."

"So boring..."

Miss Ling Yueer pouted, her lively eyes never leaving Lin Feng's profile.

She found that this man had a unique charm in everything he did, even just speaking, that made her heart race.

But Lin Feng ignored her completely. His perception had already spread out silently, enveloping the entire North City Martial Arts Hall.

However, after two consecutive days of surveillance, all three groups had found nothing.

The three suspects' lives were as regular as a textbook.

The painter Artist Wu Daozi did nothing but paint and daze every day, not even stepping out the door.

The physician Mr. Liu held consultations on time every day, saving lives, and was perfectly well-behaved after returning home at night.

The Bear King was even more of a martial arts fanatic. Out of twelve double-hours a day, he spent at least ten practicing in the martial arts hall, tempering his body, without even sparing a glance for the female Disciples.

This caused Chu Mengxi's investigation to fall into a deadlock once again.

"Could it be... we were all wrong?"