49: Chapter 49 Jinhe City Shaken

"None."

"We are still investigating."

On the other end of the line, the officer's voice dropped slightly.

There were too many blind spots in the surveillance of the Old City District; solving a case there was not as easy as in the city center.

"Useless!"

Ding Xu cursed angrily, "I want results within 24 hours!"

"We will do our best."

On the other side of the phone, the tall, thin officer's expression darkened.

What a guy, using others' power to bully people. If it weren't for Ding Nan's sake...

...how could he be so polite to Ding Xu, or even swallow his pride?

"Bang!"

After hanging up, Ding Xu slammed his hands onto the desk, then violently swept everything off, scattering the documents all over the floor.

He even smashed the computer screen with a single punch.

"Dare to kill Shixun? I will make you wish you were dead!" After venting his rage, Ding Xu looked at the mess on the floor and gritted his teeth.

His only son was dead.

Ding Xu returned home with a gloomy face the entire way.

As soon as he opened the door, a woman exuding an air of nobility lunged at him and slapped him across the face.

"Useless!"

"Tell me, what are you good for? You have no future in martial arts, and you couldn't even raise our son well."

"Now our son is dead, and you haven't even found the killer!"

The noble woman was named He Yian, Ding Xu's wife and Ding Shixun's mother.

She came from a distinguished background, hailing from the He family, one of the ten great families in the Demon Capital.

Her family was financially powerful, controlling several new energy companies before the rise of the Martial Path.

Nowadays, they even had a Transcendent Martial Artist guarding the family.

"What exactly happened?"

He Yian demanded to know. Ever since her son reached Life Level 19 and the hope of awakening a Martial Aspect became slim, he had started indulging himself, finding pleasure in venting his emotions every day.

Although he occasionally caused minor trouble, with his uncle Ding Nan around...

...how would any ordinary martial artist dare to make a move?!

"I don't know... The security station is still investigating. Shixun died in the Old City District, a place where all sorts of people mix; it's very chaotic..."

Ding Xu covered his face and said, "No matter who it is, I will never let them go!"

He Yian snorted coldly, "I've been busy lately. Tell me, who has our son been associating with closely recently, and who has he had conflicts with?"

"Conflicts?"

Ding Xu's eyes narrowed slightly. He immediately thought of the incident a few days ago between his son and the sparring partner Fang Wu. Could it be Fang Zhuo?

"What do you know? Speak quickly!"

He Yian urged him.

Ding Xu immediately recounted the sequence of events in vivid detail.

"You suspect this Fang Zhuo?" He Yian crossed her arms, resting her chin on one hand, a thoughtful expression on her face. "He is only an Intermediate Martial Artist at Level 21; how could he possibly kill Steward Huang?"

Steward Huang was at Life Level 30 with perfect, flawless Body Control, though his combat power might be considered bottom-tier among Advanced Martial Artists.

But he wasn't someone a Level 21 martial artist could compare to. The difference in base punching power was nearly fivefold; even Micro-Perception in Body Control couldn't make up for such an absolute gap in strength!

"Fang Family has some old assets. Perhaps Fang Zhuo took some potent medicine and his Life Level increased significantly?"

Ding Xu speculated.

After sparring with his son, Fang Wu had collapsed at home that same day and was rushed to the hospital, where it was discovered that his body was failing and he had lost most of his vitality.

This was no small grudge.

As Fang Wu's son, Fang Zhuo had sufficient motive to fly into a rage and kill.

Currently, he was the prime suspect.

It was just that his apparent strength didn't match up.

"From the time the grudge was formed to when Shixun was killed, it has only been a short week. No matter how good Fang Zhuo's Martial Aspect talent is, an increase of 3-5 levels in Life Level would be the absolute limit."

He Yian stated firmly, "It couldn't have been Fang Zhuo himself who did it, but it must have something to do with him. Perhaps he hired someone to kill!"

The sparring partners and women Ding Shixun usually toyed with were mostly below Life Level 15. These bottom-tier people of the Federation had neither the ability nor the motive to kill.

"I'll talk to A-Nan right now. Regardless of whether it's Fang Zhuo or not, let's just arrest him first!"

Ding Xu immediately took out his phone and dialed Ding Nan's number.

...

New Moon.

Tianxing City.

This was a major metropolis on the most prosperous planet in the Blue Moon Federation, ranking third in comprehensive martial arts and economic strength.

Within the city, high-altitude aerial rails crisscrossed, passing over skyscrapers, while various small aircraft flew through the middle and lower altitudes, and the traffic on the ground was as dense as a surging river.

The pedestrians on the street were mostly dressed in training clothes, each looking full of energy; one could tell at a glance they were no ordinary martial artists.

In a villa complex surrounded by mountains and water, inside a detached villa on the south side.

Ding Nan was wearing a black martial arts uniform, holding a gleaming long blade in his hand. As he moved his feet, the blade's light flashed from time to time.

It was strikingly fiery red.

If Fang Zhuo were here, he would surely recognize that this blade technique was the SS-grade secret manual, 'Thunder Fire Blade'. The strike Wang Jinhua used to kill Gu Ming in front of the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall was truly stunning!

"Hoo~!"

"The fourth level of the Thunder Fire Blade is finally completed! It was so difficult. It's been about half a year since I returned from Origin Star, right?"

Ding Nan sheathed his blade, muttering to himself, but he couldn't stop the smile on his face!

With the Thunder Fire Blade entering the fourth level, his strength had greatly increased. A happy event makes one feel refreshed!

But at this moment, a light screen appeared in the spacious room.

"Master, Ding Xu is calling. Do you want to answer?"

"Connect."

Ding Nan was in a good mood and immediately connected the call from his older brother, saying with a smile, "Big brother, what do you need?"

"A-Nan, Shixun is dead. He died so miserably. You must uphold justice for him!"

"Shixun is dead?!"

The smile on Ding Nan's face froze. The good mood brought by his breakthrough in blade technique was instantly washed away by anger. "Where did he die? Who killed him?"

In Jinhe City, his name, Ding Nan, might not make people tremble in fear, but absolutely no one dared to ignore it!

"Right here in the city, but it was in the Old City District."

Ding Xu's sorrowful voice came through the phone, "The killer is still being investigated."

"The Old City District?"

Ding Nan frowned and said, "I'm afraid it won't be solved anytime soon. I warned Shixun to stay away from the Old City District, but he wouldn't listen, and you didn't take it to heart?"

"I, I... sigh..."

"Forget it. Now is not the time to talk about this. First, find the killer and make him pay with his life for Shixun!"

Ding Nan said coldly. He didn't ask what Ding Shixun had done. No matter what mistakes Ding Shixun had made, the worst case was just paying compensation. But daring to kill? That required blood for blood!

The killer must die!

"A-Nan, the killer is very likely Fang Zhuo. It's like this..."

Ding Xu finished speaking concisely, and then heard Ding Nan snort and say, "I know. You guys wait at home."

After hanging up on Ding Xu, Ding Nan immediately dialed two numbers in succession.

"Hello? Is this Mayor Wei? My nephew was killed... The killer might be Fang Zhuo. Hmm, okay, thank you for the trouble. Don't mention it, we'll talk later."

"Hello? Director Zhou..."

...

Jinhe City.

After Ding Nan's two phone calls.

Sirens blared across the city. Security vehicles poured out from several security stations within the city, controlling the entire city's traffic in just a few minutes.

All passing vehicles were required to stop for inspection.

Director Zhou led the team personally, and a vehicle filled with elite officers sped toward the Gardener Residential Complex.

Inside the car, Director Zhou, sitting in the passenger seat, looked solemn:

"This person named Fang Zhuo must be caught alive. Do you all remember?"

"Yes!"

The group of energetic officers replied in unison.

But there was one exception. This officer was thin and had lazy eyes, and he asked, "Director Zhou, who are we catching?"

Making such a big scene, with the entire security station deployed.

It was comparable to the last time Gu Ming infiltrated Jinhe City and triggered a Level 1 alert!

"Ding Nan."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions became a bit more serious.

The troublemaker who asked the question straightened his back and put away his lazy expression. He had also heard about Ding Shixun's death in the Old City District.

He had even secretly applauded in his heart; who knew how many people such scum would have harmed if he had stayed alive.

However, the case was still under investigation... There was no evidence yet, and yet with one word from Ding Nan, the director was personally leading them to make an arrest?