Chapter 69

There was no denying this was an act of retaliation.

No one, including Xu Zhangying himself, had anticipated that Perpetrator No. 10 would deliberately seek revenge—and in such a brutal manner. It was enough to reveal the sheer hatred this deranged criminal harbored for Xu Zhangying.

Thus, the Major Crime Unit—now referred to as the special task force—concluded that Perpetrator No. 10’s motive stemmed from Xu Zhangying’s destruction of his final works, No. 256 and No. 327, which led to the complete collapse of his living artwork project, fueling his resentment.

“I believe we can’t rule out the possibility that Perpetrator No. 10 may have received a share of the proceeds from the auction in David City,” Li Jiali said slowly.

Fang Fuxin nodded solemnly. “Li Xuyang mentioned in his testimony that the status of LEBEN members largely depends on the taxes they pay. Therefore, it’s highly likely that Perpetrator No. 10, having suffered heavy losses and lost any hope of promotion, harbored deep-seated resentment.”

Yan Jianbai stared at the photos of the explosion scene before him, frowning. “But this, like the 523 case, should be a collective crime—Perpetrator No. 10 alone couldn’t have accomplished this series of tasks.”

A week had passed, and the three special task forces, including the Major Crime Unit, had each taken on their respective responsibilities, investigating various aspects of the bombing. They soon discovered that the methods showed striking similarities to the 523 case.

The highly secure residential building where Xia Qing and Xu Zhangying lived had also been infiltrated by a virus, allowing the perpetrator to monitor everything through the internal surveillance system.

At the time, Perpetrator No. 10 had likely used real-time surveillance to calculate the exact moment Xu Zhangying and Zeiss approached the car, sending the text message before detonating the vehicle.

As for the detonators and remote triggering devices used in the bomb, forensic examination revealed they were foreign military-grade equipment, known for their immense power and precision—the same model had appeared in a conflict in the Middle East half a year prior.

The micro-bomb had been installed near the fuel tank at the bottom of the vehicle, indicating the killer’s intent to maximize the explosive’s destructive potential.

This sent shivers through everyone—especially when Yan Jianbai and the others considered that if LEBEN had targeted Xia Qing himself, they might very well have succeeded. The consequences were unthinkable.

Having lived in a stable society for too long, even seasoned officers like Yu Mei, who frequently dealt with homicide cases, struggled to grasp how close the darkness lurking beneath the world’s surface truly was.

However, if this bombing was indeed a collective crime, solving the case would become significantly more difficult. Group crimes left behind traces that rarely helped investigators determine the perpetrators’ habits, motives, or social backgrounds.

Xia Qing sat quietly by the window in his usual spot. The chair to his left remained empty—every member of the task force had unconsciously left it vacant.

The alpha lifted his gaze to the calendar placed at the center of the desk, facing him. The calendar showed today was Start of Autumn. Outside, cicadas still screeched in the oppressive heat, yet time mercilessly declared summer’s end.

“Professor Xia,” Yan Jianbai looked at him with a gentle expression, “what are your thoughts?”

Hearing his name, Xia Qing seemed to emerge from his reverie. He raised his head and met their gazes. “I believe we should reconsider the motive.”

Li Jiali and the others went quiet, watching the exceptionally composed alpha. It felt as though they were staring into a bottomless abyss—an oddly disorienting feeling.

But within seconds, Li Jiali realized this strangeness stemmed from Xu Zhangying’s sudden absence. From the very beginning of the investigation, the two had been perfectly in sync—Xu Zhangying had acted as Xia Qing’s external interface, relaying information to them in real time.

“If the motive wasn’t revenge,” Qi Feng asked, puzzled, “then what was it?”

“It was revenge—but not just for the destroyed exhibits.”

“I’ve been thinking these past few days,” Xia Qing said calmly, “why Xu Zhangying realized the moment he read that message that Zeiss’s car was about to explode.”

This was the precise question plaguing everyone.

The underground auction in David City had revealed how this extremist organization, over years of development, had distorted teachings from mainstream religions like the Bible to develop its own dogma—deliberately obscure and often meaningless.

Officer Wu Lingwei from the AGB Asia Branch had once dealt with the early LEBEN organization. Yet even she, upon reading the message from Perpetrator No. 10, had remained silent for several seconds before shaking her head.

Twenty years later, the resurgent LEBEN organization had undergone a complete metamorphosis. Those who had once confronted it could no longer decipher its current methods or internal logic.

Yan Jianbai and the others had also been unable to decode the clearly threatening message laced with religious references. Thus, they favored the theory that Xu Zhangying’s training and experience had enabled him to immediately recognize the threat the moment he saw the signature “THE TEN.”

But now, Xia Qing suddenly stated, “I believe that in that moment, Xu Zhangying had already understood the actual significance of the message from Perpetrator No. 10 or LEBEN.”

Li Jiali fixed her gaze on Xia Qing: "Why?"

The top-tier alpha repeated the content of the message in a cold tone: *“And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.”*

"This is Life's judgment."

Li Jiali's expression shifted slightly. She shook her head. "This is too strange. There's no connection between this scripture and Xu at all. Are you suggesting—'not staying within their own position of authority, leaving their proper dwelling'—is Life's verdict on Xu Zhangying?"

The others couldn't comprehend it either. Tan Song, standing nearby, couldn't help but interject, "Why would Officer Xu 'not stay within his position'—is it because, as a noble, he shouldn't have destroyed the exhibits in the City of David?"

Fang Puxin raised a hand, signaling for silence. He looked solemnly at Xia Qing. "Professor Xia, why are you certain that Officer Xu deduced the danger from the message content rather than the signature?"

"Because the moment he saw the message, he first looked at me."

—In the dim underground parking lot, the glow of the phone screen illuminated Beta's face. In that infinitely stretched second, he lifted his head and looked at the top-tier alpha across the parking lot, snapping:

"Stop, Tang Youning."

Everyone froze. They only heard Xia Qing continue calmly, as if stating an experimental conclusion: "That glance was him assessing the distance between everyone present and the explosive. So he first spent less than half a second ordering Tang Youning to stay where he was, then lunged toward Zeiss, who was in the most danger."

"It wasn’t gunfire or any other threat—it was an explosion," Xia Qing's deep eyes gleamed with an intense glow. "It was fire."

*"Likewise, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in perversion and gave themselves to unnatural lust, serve as an example by suffering the punishment of eternal fire."*

As the top-tier alpha intoned the ominous passage in a low voice, a strange unease began to spread through the room.

"These are verses 6 and 7 of the Book of Jude. Xu Zhangying has memorized the entire Bible."

"He knew that sentence was judging him. He understood the metaphor, realized Zeiss was also implicated, and that the most likely place for an explosion at that moment was Zeiss's car."

The next instant, Li Jiali was overcome with a chilling sensation. She saw the top-tier alpha look at her again, his eyes dark like storm-churned waters: *"Not staying within their own position, leaving their proper dwelling"*—that is the judgment for those who betray."

"Xu Zhangying must have crossed paths with Life before. Or rather—he was once regarded by Life as one of their own."

Before he could finish, Li Jiali stood up, staring at Xia Qing in disbelief. "Are you suspecting Xu Zhangying?"

No one in the Major Crime Unit had expected to hear such words from Xia Qing. They couldn't fathom that the righteous, kind, and independent-minded Beta Commissioner had ever been aligned with Life.

Benjamin immediately spoke up in defense: "Xu couldn’t have been a member of Life—Life had already disbanded before he joined AGB. The 523 case was AGB's first encounter with Life in years."

"I didn’t say he was a member," Xia Qing replied, his face pale and stern. "He saved people from Life at great personal cost. No one knows that better than I do."

Amid the silence, Fang Puxin looked at Xia Qing and said gently, "Professor Xia, I think I understand what you mean."

"You're saying Life had their eyes on Officer Xu long before he himself realized it."

"Yes."

Only then did Li Jiali realize she had overreacted. She glanced at Fang Puxin, who had already lowered his gaze, quietly staring at the folder on the table.

Li Jiali slowly sat back down. "I’ll request access to Xu’s full personnel file."

Yan Jianbai also looked up calmly at the team. "Tan Song, Qi Feng, you two go request Officer Xu’s past files."

"Yes."

At 2 p.m., the archives office of the Asia Branch sent Benjamin a password-protected digital file, secured with multiple encryptions.

Due to program restrictions, the file could only be viewed on Benjamin’s computer and could not be transferred to any other device. With Shao Qiaoqiao’s assistance, Benjamin streamed it through the secure network to the office computer and display.

He clicked on the encrypted folder, and everyone watched as hundreds of documents instantly popped up.

Li Jiali looked at the document in her hand and slowly explained, "Xu joined AGB at 23, became a full-fledged Officer at 24, and was promoted to a third-rank police supervisor the same year. From then on, he averaged 3 A-level incidents, 8 B-level incidents, and 12 C- to D-level cases annually. So, over these five years, there are a total of 117 case records."

Everyone in the Major Crime Unit was stunned. Fang Puxin looked at Li Jiali and asked, "Officer Li, do you handle two cases monthly on average?"

These involved international gender-violence cases, not the kind of domestic police work they were used to handling in fixed regions. The workload was terrifying.

Li Jiali met his gaze and replied gently, "Not all cases demand as much effort as 523. When we first received the 523 case, it was classified as A-level. But last week, it was redefined as a red-case—top priority."

"C-level and below cases aren’t highly dangerous, though sometimes messy. The workload is indeed heavy, but this was Xu’s own choice. As a third-rank supervisor, he could have easily taken only B-level and above cases. For example, Zeiss’s team has only handled A-level and red-cases all these years."

Tan Song asked curiously, "Why would Officer Xu willingly take on so many minor cases?"

Li Jiali let out a very brief laugh at his question, though the smile was faint, almost bitter. "A workaholic idealist, really. AGB’s four major branches only cover Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania. Cases from Africa and South America are distributed among these branches, usually classified as low priority, often assigned to younger Officers."

"But many times, these cases aren’t easy and can be quite troublesome. New recruits get overwhelmed. So, after finishing a major case—say, a B-level—Xu would take on 2-3 minor ones. And he pulled nonstop shifts year-round."

Yu Mei and the others exchanged glances. Song Yuli said, "Officer Li, you’ve all worked so hard over the years. I truly admire you."

"I’m fine," Li Jiali lowered her gaze. "I can still take vacation time in October or November. But Xu rarely rested, so many minor cases were handled by him alone during those periods."

"So," Benjamin said sadly, "I don’t think the boss could have any connection with Life—now or in the past."

Shao Qiaoqiao comforted him, "Our investigation isn’t about suspicion but about eliminating variables—whether Officer Xu might have been unilaterally involved with Life without realizing it."

After hearing Xia Qing’s words, the Major Crime Unit had gradually begun to notice some of the red flags in the casefile.

Why was Xu Zhangying granted the title of "DUKE"—higher than even Li Jiayu—during his first David City login?

Why did David City release Xu Zhangying’s key as the login URL for the Hundred-Person Assembly?

Why Faust and Mephisto?

Like... it'd been anticipating Xu Zhangying’s arrival.

Yet Xu Zhangying’s record was spotless and unremarkable.

The background check pulled from the domestic system showed nothing unusual about him.

He wasn’t Xia Qing, nor was he Zeiss.

He was just an ordinary beta. His deceased father and mother had steady jobs. His school records from elementary to high school were still stored in the civil affairs department. To this day, he used an AGB work visa, and his nationality had never changed.

His interpersonal relationships included Zhao Yang and Qi Feng, who worked in the Major Crime Unit.

Where exactly was the flaw that connected him to Life?

Thanks to the model officer Xu Zhangying, the task force was buried in paperwork. Even dividing the files among everyone would take days, and they couldn’t directly retrieve the documents from Benjamin’s computer.

Shao Qiaoqiao quickly began coding, trying to extract the files from Benjamin’s computer.

As Xia Qing watched the documents scrolling endlessly on the screen, a realization hit him. His grip subtly tensed.

"Officer Benjamin," Xia Qing suddenly spoke up, "mind pulling up the directory of all the documents?"

"Oh, of course," Benjamin looked up, then down, hammering a quick command.

The document directory only listed the countries, regions, and dates of the cases, without any details about the cases themselves. Everyone felt uneasy, unsure what Professor Xia had noticed as being off.

Professor Xia fixed his gaze on the screen.

After a long pause, he nodded politely and said, "That’s enough, thank you."

The others were puzzled, but Professor Xia didn’t elaborate, as if he had simply misread something earlier.

"By the way, Officer Li," Yu Mei looked up cautiously, "I’ve been curious for a while—what case did Officer Xu and Officer Zhang handle during their internship?"

Both the earlier remarks from the North American team members and Li Jiali’s recent explanation suggested that the first case handled by the two officers was unusual—only the beta, Xu Zhangying, got the credit despite both working on it, and Xu’s fast-track promotion to third-rank inspector upon becoming a full officer was likely related.

Li Jiali paused for a moment, then offered an apologetic look. "Though this case is widely discussed within AGB, it’s been classified for reasons. Non-field officers don’t know the details and aren’t allowed to discuss it. Maybe Xu will tell us himself someday."

"But I can confirm," Li Jiali said earnestly, "that case had nothing to do with LEBEN."

"Alright, no worries, Officer Li," Yu Mei quickly replied.

Soon, it was time to call it a day. The team had reviewed fewer than 15 case files—those handled by the 24-year-old Xu Zhangying, across three continents. Some cases were from countries Tan Song and the others had never even heard of; a quick search revealed they were small nations in South America and Africa, some smaller than some Chinese provinces.

"I’m truly in awe of Officer Xu," Tan Song leaned back in his chair, tilting his head. "He voluntarily took on so many messy, violent disputes—his stamina is insane."

Shao Qiaoqiao finally managed to copy a version of the files. To not betray Li Jiali’s trust, she encrypted them again before sharing them with the team.

By then, it was getting dark. Professor Xia checked the time and stood up. Seeing this, Yan Jianbai also rose and shook his hand.

"Sorry, I have a short meeting tonight," Professor Xia said to Yan Jianbai. "Thank you for your hard work, Captain Yan, and everyone else."

"Not at all. Your presence has been a huge help, Professor Xia," Yan Jianbai replied sincerely.

The team had only learned that morning about the major project Professor Xia had been working on. It was clear that in the week since Xu Zhangying’s incident, he had powered through under pressure to wrap up critical genetic research, just to free up time for this investigation.

Though Professor Xia said nothing, Yu Mei and the others figured he was struggling.

Li Jiali watched as Professor Xia closed his folder. Sharp as ever, she had noticed from the start—the papers sticking out from the side were unmistakably sketches left behind by Xu Zhangying.

As night finally fell, the driver slowed and turned onto the side road, heading toward the building’s parking lot.

"Zhang Ke."

Seated in the passenger seat, Zhang Ke immediately glanced at the rearview mirror upon hearing his boss speak. "Yes, Mr. Xia? What is it?"

Gazing out the window, Professor Xia said calmly, "Do you remember how many LSA annual conferences I’ve attended?"

The question was random, but Zhang Ke answered promptly, "Four. Based on the timeline, they were in Paris, Los Angeles, Zurich, and Toronto. Since I joined last year, I only accompanied you to Toronto."

The car fell silent. Zhang Ke asked cautiously, "Mr. Xia, is something wrong? This year’s October conference location hasn’t been announced yet."

"Nothing," Professor Xia replied.

—*"I can still take annual leave in October or November, but Xu rarely does, so he handles many small cases alone during that time."*

Professor Xia stared at his phone screen. Hidden among hundreds of records were four seemingly ordinary case entries—simple in content, but only he would notice the pattern.

—Starting at age 25, every October, Xu Zhangying, who otherwise worked cases across the globe, would always have one case that kept him in a specific city.

And until today, Xu Zhangying had been the only person in the world who knew this secret.