Chapter 42

After an entire night of the first round of interrogations, Tian Wanghai and Zhang Lian’s testimonies finally aligned, allowing the police to catch a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg in unraveling the truth behind the major Case 523.

Though Tian Wanghai, like Zhang Lian, was a marginal figure in "David City," he clearly understood the dark web's brutal methods far better. Thus, when Yan Jianbai personally began questioning him, Tian initially showed strong resistance. However, under the police's skilled pressure tactics—and upon learning that Zhang Lian had already confessed everything—he eventually relented.

Slyly, Tian Wanghai had only logged into "David City" once, four years ago in the United States, using the membership fee provided by his distant American relative. At the time, the exchange rate for "glory" was twice the current market price, so Tian Wanghai made a nice payout. This time, seeing Zhang Lian's determination to join "David City," he got greedy and saw an opportunity.

As for the information about the human exhibits, Tian Wanghai learned it during a drinking session with that relative during his trip to the U.S. in March. After returning to China, he bragged about it online on a forum he frequented.

The two had actually prepared quite thoroughly—Zhang Lian registered at an internet café in Japan, while Tian Wanghai guided him remotely from Thailand.

Zhang Lian described the interface of "David City" as surprisingly rudimentary, resembling a read-only chatroom. After completing his registration, several pop-up windows appeared on the webpage, displaying cryptic religious phrases. He read them aloud into his headset, and then a final pop-up appeared, written in Japanese, stating that the "gift" had been sent. The moment he saw it, he was automatically logged out—just like that, $30,000 disappeared.

Amusingly, it was only then that Zhang Lian began to suspect he might have been scammed, as he hadn’t even provided his own address. But Tian Wanghai assured him there was no issue—the "gift" would be delivered within 24 hours. However, since Zhang Lian was the lowest-ranked "civilian," he had to pick it up from the nearest "post office" himself.

Tian Wanghai mentioned that there had originally been a "post office" in mainland China, but it shut down out of nowhere this year. The nearest one to the mainland was now in Taipei. Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Lian arrived in Taipei, he received a text message directing him to a travel agency in a busy district. There, he retrieved an airmail letter from Mephisto in the agency's mailbox. But just as he returned to his hotel to discuss with Tian Wanghai how to "handle" it, the police kicked the door in.

According to their testimonies, these two were essentially small-time players within the mysterious "David City" organization, inadvertently exposing this vast dark web. Though they knew little core information, they became another breakthrough in the case following the exposure of Shen Feng's identity.

Zhang Lian explained that the organization had a strict hierarchy. The lower the rank, the fewer resources one could access and the less information one could obtain. His billionaire Chinese-American cousin, a member of Manhattan’s upper class, was only a "Viscount" in "David City." Combined with Li Jiayu’s rantings while unstable, claiming to be a "Marquess," the police realized the organization’s ranks mirrored the European nobility system:

Civilian, Knight, Baron, Viscount, Earl, Marquess, Duke, King.

Zhao Yang snorted, "Li Jiayu’s rank is surprisingly high, no wonder he was calling everyone ‘commoners’ when he was high. How embarrassing—I stopped acting like that in middle school."

As for Mephisto, a low-level figure like Tian Wanghai couldn’t provide much clarity. After all, he had only entered "David City" once. But he believed Mephisto wasn’t an ordinary user—rather, he seemed more like an "administrator" of David City, responsible for distributing "gifts" to new members.

"Mephisto—the devil from *Faust* who tempts humans into selling their souls," Xia Qing remarked as dawn broke, turning away from the window.

Hearing his voice, everyone looked up. Qi Feng tilted his head and repeated, "Selling their souls?"

Li Jiali, leaning back in her chair, suddenly understood. "No wonder the gift was from Mephisto. That makes sense."

Li Jiali and Benjamin quickly passed the information about David City to the AGB Asia Branch. Though the branch director, Amber, was on vacation in Australia, deputy director Wu Lingwei immediately organized a records search—but found nothing.

This dark web, silently infiltrating the upper crust of multiple countries, had left no trace in the world’s largest international criminal database.

"Lilly, we can’t rule out that David City might be a new form of some archaic extremist religion. Stay vigilant and gather as much information as possible about its doctrines. I don’t have access to the Cross Society’s files right now, but I’ll contact Amber soon. Tell Xu—he might reach that idiot faster than I can."

Li Jiali rubbed her temples, thanking Madam Wu for her encouragement, but didn’t mention that Xu Zhangying seemed off.

On the rooftop of the municipal bureau, Xu Zhangying crushed a cigarette underfoot. The morning wind scattered the smoke around him as he held his phone, listening impatiently before cutting off the caller sharply: "You’re the director—why can’t you pull the files? If you can’t even do that, just retire and let Laura take over. She’s about to fail in the Europe Branch anyway."

The man on the other end roared, "I knew you and that schemer were two of a kind, always eyeing my position! I’m only 47! By international standards, I’ve got eight more years before retirement, and I won’t budge a day earlier! And let me repeat—it’s not that I won’t retrieve File A20077354 for you, it’s that it’s been sealed. Do I need to explain what ‘sealed’ means?"

"Cut the crap," Xu Zhangying lit another cigarette with a snap. "The Cross Society has been investigating LEBEN for years. Now that the case is in Guangzhou, if you’d rather let the Europe and America Branches take the lead, fine by me."

Silence.

For ten seconds, neither spoke across the Pacific. Then Amber sighed and chuckled. "You’re sure it’s LEBEN?"

Xu Zhangying could almost see the cunning glint in the man’s blue eyes. "Three hundred percent."

"Kid, my vacation is precious. If you’re lying, I’m firing you both."

"I’ll report you to headquarters," Xu Zhangying shot back and hung up.

"Hey, did A-Ying go to the can?" Qi Feng stretched, scanning the office.

Zhao Yang sat at his desk flipping through the interrogation records, lowering his head as he said, "He just stole my lighter—he’s probably hiding somewhere smoking."

Benjamin and Shao Qiaoqiao huddled together, the two highly educated police tech experts studying the NFT trading site on the European server. Benjamin looked up at the sound, his green eyes puzzled. "But Xu quit smoking a year ago."

Li Jiali sighed. "He must be negotiating with Amber right now. He seems to know that the City of David is related to some case involving the Rosicrucians."

Having worked together for so long, the Major Crime Unit and AGB Asia Team 03 had grown extremely close, with almost no secrets between them. Shao Qiaoqiao turned to Benjamin and asked, "What's the Rosicrucians?"

Benjamin earnestly tried to explain in Mandarin, "Rosae Crucis—it borrows the name of the historical Rosicrucian Order. It's actually internal jargon among AGB agents, referring to the top ten agents in AGB's ranking system. Since AGB points reset every ten years, the top ranks rarely change. These ten are treated as a unit."

Zhao Yang nodded in understanding. "So, the Rosicrucians are basically AGB's management?"

Benjamin quickly shook his head. "No, no. Job titles don’t give bonus points, so even the directors of the four major branches aren’t all in the Rosicrucians. Oh, except for our Asia branch director, Amber—she’s the only one in it, ranked tenth."

Fang Puxin wondered aloud, "So Officer Xu contacted the Rosicrucians for advice?"

Li Jiali shook her head lightly. "The points system is ancient, and AGB has accumulated too many unwritten rules because of it. The Rosicrucians hold a lot of unspoken authority. For example, most of their missions are classified. They’re closer to the public’s exaggerated idea of AGB. Xu probably wants Amber to access a classified mission file from the Rosicrucians."

After speaking, Li Jiali glanced at the elite alpha by the window, noting the handsome face showed no trace of curiosity. She smiled. "Professor Xia, you know about this?"

Xia Qing shifted his gaze from the door to her face and nodded slightly. "I’ve heard some things."

Li Jiali and Benjamin shrugged. "Well, you’re the next LSA chief. Our 'secrets' must seem trivial."

Xia Qing offered no further response.

Meanwhile, Tan Song, sitting beside Qi Feng, rubbed his bloodshot eyes, yawned, and grinned at Li Jiali and Benjamin. "By the way, Officer Ali, Benjamin—can we know your rankings? An organization as big as AGB must have over a thousand agents, right?"

Li Jiali gave a sly smile. "Asking an AGB agent their rank is like asking a woman her age—totally rude. But personally, I don’t mind. After all, the numbers don’t lie. What about you, Benjamin?"

Benjamin turned red. "You’re doing this on purpose, Ali!"

Tan Song hadn’t realized his question was so intrusive and immediately waved his hands apologetically. Qi Feng smacked him on the back. "God, you’re as bad as those relatives who pester kids about grades at family dinners!"

Li Jiali pulled out her phone, scrolled through the internal site, and murmured, "Oh, I climbed two ranks. Must be some team that got penalized."

Then she looked up, eyes curved in amusement. "I’m at 217 now."

Yu Mei also smiled at the composed and graceful female agent. "Ali, how many agents are ranked in total?"

Li Jiali: "This month’s tally is 1,175."

Tan Song stroked his chin. "Got it. If Ali were in our high school, she’d be in the top tier."

Before he could finish, Qi Feng’s second slap landed. "What the hell’s your problem?! Your crappy high school can’t compare to AGB! Even the lowest AGB agent is elite, got it?!"

Fang Puxin cringed at Tan Song and Qi Feng’s blabbering and couldn’t help but glare at Yan Jianbai, who was lost in thought while smoking.

Zhao Yang rested his chin in his hand and grinned. "Not necessarily. Xu Zhangying only went to vocational college. Benjamin, what about you? What’s your rank?"

Benjamin ducked behind Shao Qiaoqiao’s notebook, his voice barely louder than the whirring fan. "I’ve only been an intern for ten months. The list cuts off after 700, so I’ve got no clue."

Zhao Yang rubbed his nose, a little apologetic. "Oh, got it."

Shao Qiaoqiao, however, patted Benjamin’s broad back reassuringly. "We’re just interns—why compare with the pros? Look at me, I don’t even get performance bonuses! Haha! And overtime is unpaid! Hahaha!"

Qi Feng whispered to Fang Puxin, "Qiaoqiao’s been pulling all-nighters lately—seems like it’s getting to her."

Fang Puxin sighed sympathetically. "Let’s send her home early to crash today."

"Benjamin is one of the top-performing interns this year, otherwise he wouldn’t have been assigned to our team," Li Jiali rarely showed Benjamin a rare soft side. Hearing their den mother stick up for him, Benjamin looked deeply moved.

Qi Feng perked up: "So Team 03 is this impressive, huh? How high is A-Ying's ranking?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Li Jiali’s face as she turned to Zhao Yang and Qi Feng: "Xu hasn’t told you?"

Both Qi Feng and Zhao Yang looked stunned. Seeing their genuine ignorance, Benjamin spoke up:

"Xu is the youngest Third-Class Inspector in the history of AGB’s Asian Branch Office, even a year earlier than his mentor, Ms. Laura. I thought you knew," Benjamin pointed to his silver olive-leaf lapel pin.

"—See the extra diamond here on Xu’s? That represents a sprig. One sprig means Third-Class Inspector, three means First-Class. The pins for the Cross Society and branch directors are gold."

Everyone immediately tried to recall but realized they had no memory of Xu Zhangying’s lapel pin. The young inspector was always so disarming, never without his charming smile, a far cry from the imposing, blue-eyed AGB inspectors in movies. Plus, that tiny diamond was no match for society’s ingrained biases against Betas.

Li Jiali subtly scanned the room and noticed only Yan Jianbai, Fang Puxin, and Xia Qing remained completely unfazed—clearly, they had long since noted Xu’s pin and status.

Benjamin then flashed a hint of pride, turning to Shao Qiaoqiao and whispering, "A third of my AGB intern cohort applied for Asia Team 03. Xu ended up picking me."

Li Jiali crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow: "To be precise, I had half the say in that decision."

Benjamin immediately bowed deferentially to express his reverence and gratitude toward the senior female alpha.

"So, Xu Zhangying didn’t know that Indian guy yesterday, and Team 12 was still willing to assist," Zhao Yang suddenly interjected.

Li Jiali nodded with a smile. "Exactly. For AGB agents, POINTS ARE EVERYTHING."

Qi Feng chimed in cheerfully, "No wonder A-Ying said he's so well-connected. Turns out he’s this impressive."

"But he’s just a Beta."

Qi Feng’s smile froze. She slowly turned to face the speaker.

Zhao Yang showed no surprise, delight, or even a hint of happiness. His gaze cold, he asked Li Jiali, "What did he do to earn that many points? What’s his rank?"

Li Jiali paused briefly, but the sharp-witted female alpha instantly grasped the turmoil in the young officer’s mind. Locking eyes with Zhao Yang, she replied calmly, "I wasn’t directly involved. Outsiders only hear rumors that often stray from reality. You can ask Xu privately later."

Zhao Yang nodded. As he withdrew his gaze, his eyes briefly met Xia Qing’s by the window before both looked away.

Before Qi Feng or others could react to Zhao Yang’s unexpected gender-biased remark, Fang Puxin smoothly redirected the conversation by asking Shao Qiaoqiao about the NFT and cryptocurrency sites. With velvet-gloved authority, the leader forced everyone to follow suit.

Before the conversation could continue, Xu Zhangying strode in, tossing a lighter.

"Here," the handsome Beta agent moved with effortless energy, flicking a silver mechanical lighter to Zhao Yang.

All eyes involuntarily darted to the lapel pin on his black shirt—sure enough, a small but dazzling diamond nestled among the olive leaves. Everyone discreetly averted their gazes, silently chastising their own lack of observation.

Zhao Yang caught it deftly with his right hand. Xu Zhangying grinned, hands on hips: "Bet you cursed me a bunch in your head just now?"

Zhao Yang scowled in disgust. "Did you chain-smoke a year’s worth of cigarettes? You reek like an ashtray."

"Exaggerate much?" Xu instinctively started toward Xia Qing by the window but halted midway, likely remembering the ultra-sensitive nose of a high-grade Alpha. The smoke clinging to him would be overwhelming. Instead, he stopped behind Li Jiali’s chair, resting his hands on its back. "Where are we now? Can we enter ‘David’s City’?"

Yan Jianbai gave a slight nod. "Interns Shao and Benjamin just accessed the NFT and crypto sites Zhang Lian provided. Everything checks out. Just waiting on approval."

Xu Zhangying: "What approval?"

Fang Puxin smiled. "Our membership dues. Section Chief Rong just said Case 521 gets special treatment, so the funds should clear in about an hour."

"Oh, I totally forgot! Squad Leader Fang, you should’ve reminded me—no need for all this hassle." Xu abruptly straightened, phone still in hand, and was already striding toward the door. "Five minutes. I’ll get the cash." Zhao Yang looked baffled. "Who are you getting money from?" he called after Xu Zhangying’s retreating figure.

Xu Zhangying turned his head and said matter-of-factly, "Who else? Tang Youning, of course. Since the Tang family committed crimes, naturally he should cover the investigation expenses. That's what these rich folks owe the country and its people!"

With that, Xu Zhangying started dialing with practiced ease and marched down the hall without so much as a backward glance.

The group was momentarily stunned by Xu Zhangying's righteous outburst. Tan Song, lost in thought, muttered dazedly, "Huh... that actually kind of makes sense."

Fang Puxin couldn't help but laugh exasperatedly, "Like hell it makes sense! The hell it does! This is completely against protocol. Someone go stop Officer Xu—"

Before Fang Puxin could finish, Zhao Yang abruptly stood up and strode out the door, pulling it open forcefully.

Three seconds later, everyone heard Zhao Yang's voice echoing down the hallway through the door:

"Hey! Don't forget to call Li Xuyin too—that jackass Li Jiayu better pony up too!"