094 A Perfect Understanding

"Hello, is this the police station? There’s a fight going on at 'Qunying Bridge' on the back street of Gongyuan Street. Yes, the 'Qunying Bridge' on the back street. I just happened to pass by, and they’re still at it. Yes, yes, I’ll be careful, don't worry. It’s only right, it’s a citizen's duty..."

Using his own phone to make the report, Student Li, as a law-abiding citizen, never did anything that required hiding his identity.

However, the clothes still needed to be burned.

Afterward, he found a public bathhouse to scrub off the grime. It was called a bathhouse, but it was really just a teahouse that doubled as a bathing spot. Not that anyone would be drinking tea on the eve of the Little New Year; the owner and his son could make a decent living just scrubbing backs.

After all, it was the holidays, and charging an extra ten or eight yuan didn’t really matter.

"Young man, you’ve got a sturdy build. This is the first time I’ve seen a physique like this in all the years I’ve run this bathhouse..."

The attendants had likely gone home for the holiday, so the talkative owner kept the radio on, chatting away while he scrubbed Li Jie’s back.

As luck would have it, a news flash came over the radio from "Jianye Voice," reporting exactly on the fight at Gongyuan Street.

The fight had third-party witnesses, though not many managed to capture video. Most normal people were too scared and ran away; those who stayed to film had nerves of steel.

On the Jiangnan Province section of a major web portal, someone uploaded a blurry video, but it disappeared in less than a minute.

"Holy crap, what was that?"
"Did someone’s head just fly off?"
"No way, could that have been a bag?"
"It was definitely a head!"
"WTF, WTF, WTF! OP, where are you? You posted it, why aren't you explaining what happened?"

The original poster, identified only by an IP address, replied directly: "Explain my ass. I puked on the spot. I'm done. There's no way I'm sleeping tonight. Damn it, my New Year's Eve dinner is ruined..."

By then, the Canglong District Police Station had already cordoned off the scene. Before the lockdown, the emergency line had been flooded with calls.

The young officers who had just started their police training this year saw the scene and their composure instantly shattered. Aside from the veteran officers and the forensic team, almost everyone else was on the verge of a breakdown.

"Is this really just a fight? Why does it look like something else to me?!"
"Shut up! That’s exactly what it is!"
"Chief."
"Oh, Chief Xiao, Chief Xiao, why are you here?"

Xiao Yuanyin, the Chief of the Canglong District Police Station, was a tall man who stood out easily at the scene. His burly frame alone carried a sense of intimidation.

Wearing white gloves, he paced the crime scene, judging the sequence of events based on the positioning of the corpses.

"Throwing knives?"
"Customized throwing knives?"

He slowly crouched down, staring at a "Cat Claw Throwing Knife" that was still blinking with a small LED light. After a moment, he stared at it for a long time, feeling like he had seen it somewhere before.

"Chief Xiao, the first emergency call was..." his secretary approached, hesitating.

"Speak."
"It was from Li Jie, the owner of 'Creative Ability'."

"Hm?"

Xiao Yuanyin’s eyes widened, then he asked, "Confirmed?"
"Confirmed. The recording has been sent over. Would you like to listen to it?"
"No need."

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yuanyin closed his eyes in silence for a moment. He remembered what these custom knives were.

A few days ago, his young nephew had been showing him *The Black Cat Vigilante* on his tablet. The final frame of the promotional trailer featured that exact "Cat Claw Throwing Knife" slicing across the screen.

A copycat crime?
No.

"Confirm the identities of the deceased."
"Yes, sir!"

***

Beyond the Canglong District Police Station, a large number of personnel from the Jianye Municipal Police Department were also called in from their homes to work overtime.

The public opinion of the case online had already been contained, and even if it was circulating on the "Deep Web," the impact wouldn't be too great. However, the media, desperate for a scoop, swarmed the area.

By the next morning, any traditional media outlet with connections had splashed the story on their front pages. The Jianye Municipal Police and Canglong District Police stations were surrounded, and the area around "Qunying Bridge" was cordoned off layer after layer.

Many people at the scene were curious, and rumors were rampant. The witnesses from the previous day had all been interviewed, earning their last "pot of gold" for the year on New Year's Eve.

Many of the interviews took place right on the scene, with the police keeping the perimeter line visible across the street.

"What time was it exactly?"
"Around eight, I think. I was planning to go buy some 'East Street Roasted Chestnuts' and wanted to take a shortcut through the back street, so I walked across 'Qunying Bridge.' But a group of people blocked me, saying they had business to attend to. I saw there were a lot of them, so I didn't dare cross. Then one guy got onto the bridge. He put something on his head—I couldn't tell at first, but later I realized it was a 'Black Cat Vigilante' mask..."

"And then?"
"Then the people blocking me got onto the bridge, and they all started fighting. It was terrifying. I didn't dare move; I thought that guy on the bridge was a goner, but then he just put on a pair of headphones."

"Huh?"

Facing the reporter’s bewildered expression, the witness confirmed again, "You’ll mosaic my face on TV, right?"
"Don't worry, sir, we’ll also bleep out your voice. It’s completely secure."
"Good, good. I saw so many people ganging up on one guy, I thought for sure he was dead, but the guy was insanely fierce! So damn strong! Ugh—"

Even though he spoke with gusto, recalling the scene from the previous night made the witness gag and vomit up his breakfast.

"Sorry, sorry, I get nauseous just thinking about it. That guy... UGH!!!"

The police had yet to release the casualty count.

The New Year's Eve news became red-hot instantly.

***

"A fight. This is a fight!"
"Correct. These desperados from the Anbei Frontier Region died on Gongyuan Street. It can only be a fight!"
"Notify the Anbei Frontier Region. Also, summon Dugu Ruyuan, the chairman of the 'Yunzhong Group.' Someone has to take responsibility for this!"

"These deceased are all employees of the 'Yunzhong Group'—or, in reality, members of the 'Yunzhong Association.' The leader, Dugu Sheng, is the business director of 'Sheng Le Real Estate' under the 'Yunzhong Group,' and he is Dugu Ruyuan’s grandson."

On the projection screen, Dugu Sheng’s identity was detailed.

Xiao Yuanyin, Chief of the Canglong District Police, circled the name with a laser pointer and continued to brief the municipal bureau. "And Dugu Ruyuan’s youngest daughter, Dugu Wenxian, married Yang Renshou, chairman of the 'Kaihuang Group.' Yang Renshou’s second son is Yang Ying, chairman of 'Daye Film and Television'."

The slide changed to a picture of Li Jie, with an equally detailed introduction.

"In recent times, the person with the most conflicts with Yang Ying, chairman of 'Daye Film and Television,' is this man. His name is Li Jie, eighteen years old, publicly a freshman at the Jianye Academy of Arts. However, he is also the owner of Creative Ability Co., Ltd., which has had business conflicts with 'Daye Film and Television'."

"Public records show that at the age of three, Li Jie was adopted by the 'Pingjiang Red Star Orphanage.' For the past fifteen years, he has been an orphan, possesses some talent for artistic creation, and was once a fairly well-known 'child star'."

"At the Six-Province Joint Games, his impressive physical fitness caught the attention of many professional coaches from the national track and field team, but there is no evidence that he has received any combat or killing training. The Red Star Orphanage does not have the conditions for such training."

Xiao Yuanyin kept one truth hidden: when "God Di" came to Jianye, one of his henchmen had tried to test Li Jie, only to be knocked unconscious by a throw from Li Jie on the spot.

This incident took place at the Canglong District Police Station, and there were many witnesses.

After the briefing, the conference room fell into silence.

Just five minutes earlier, the Jianye Municipal Government office had called to inquire about the progress of the case.

In fact, before coming to the municipal bureau, Xiao Yuanyin had considered one question: If the higher-ups wanted to get to the bottom of this, how far would they go?

Would they dig up the truth completely?

If there was pressure from the Yang family or the Dugu family, a strict investigation into the truth might not yield a pleasant result.

Because even if they found the truth, it would inevitably be ruled as self-defense. Even if Li Jie killed them, it was still self-defense.

Someone might argue otherwise?

Li Jie had earned tens of millions in the past few months. Even if someone tried to call a deer a horse and claim it wasn't self-defense, Li Jie only needed to pull out 500,000 in legal fees to hire a top-tier Jianye lawyer to make a name for themselves.

He didn't need tens of millions; just a fraction of that would allow Boss Li to continue eating duck blood vermicelli soup every morning.

And if the truth were published, it would likely cause massive losses for the Yang and Dugu families.

There were too many factors to consider. Xiao Yuanyin’s gamble was that the municipal bureau would also choose a convenient classification.

Keep the issue contained within the "energetic social groups." That would be enough.

At the same time, don't implicate the Yang family. Single out the Dugu family. No need to bring up Dugu Wenxian, and if necessary, skip questioning Dugu Ruyuan and instead go after "Sheng Le Real Estate" under the "Yunzhong Group," and summon the chairman of "Sheng Le," Dugu Wucheng—the father of the deceased, Dugu Sheng.

While Chief Xiao Yuanyin was overthinking, Boss Li was different. He only needed to act crazy on his "Houlang" Weibo account.

"Nothing to say, just wishing everyone a great New Year. @DayeFilmChairmanYangYing, @YangYing, @KaihuangGroup, @DayeFilm, @LuzhouPolice..."

"Damn, I woke up and saw Brother Crab attacking the police online!"
"The victims are once again the Luzhou police."
"Lol, rofl... identifying with the Luzhou police, I suddenly feel a wave of sorrow."
"It has to be @JianyePolice, is that hybrid off-road vehicle Brother Crab donated any good?"
"Holy crap! Brother Crab, did you go to Gongyuan Street last night?"
"What's the tea?"
"Absolutely explosive..."

Meanwhile, in the "Ten-Year Hater" group, someone had just uploaded a blurry video, only for the administrator "Sing 'Grandeur of Heaven' for Brother Guo" to delete it.

"Brother Guo, what are you doing?"
"Doing what, what? What's your mother's 'what'? Do you want to get the group banned?"

The ID "Family-Killer Rice Spatula" sent a wronged emoji: "Brother Guo, I'm sorry."
"Speak like a human."

"Family-Killer Rice Spatula" then sent a voice note with a pitch-shifter: "Brother Guo, sorry about that. It was an accident. I’ll be careful in the group from now on. Can you forgive me? Love you~~"
"I love the Liuqiu girl! Liuqiu girl is the best~~"
"Best your mother. Brother Crab, can you reveal any info? Can you still go home for New Year's dinner?"

"Brother Guo" immediately sensed something was wrong. He had been browsing a torrent forum last night and, while copying a magnet link, he saw someone upload a file titled "Jianye Gongyuan Street Humanoid Monster.avi."

He clicked on it, felt it looked familiar, and after watching it carefully, "Brother Guo" threw up.

TV-5-X restricted-level "gore films" were nothing compared to the Gongyuan Street Little New Year Special.

But he was certain of one thing: the person wielding dual blades and dual axes, creating a one-man army, was definitely Li Jie!

He would recognize Brother Crab even if he were reduced to ashes.

"What? You think I can't go home for New Year's dinner? Let me show you my New Year's dinner this year."

Li Jie uploaded a video directly. The long table was covered in dishes, incredibly lavish.

Raw, fresh seafood of every kind.

"Hold on! Brother Crab, what’s up with the two beauties that flashed by in the video just now?!"
"Damn it!!!!!!!! I’m still short 20,000 for the bride price!!!!!!!!!"
"What are you doing? You earned over 300,000 this year and you're just paying the bride price? You might as well go to the Andong Frontier Region and pay a Korean girl to scrub your bird!"
"Scrub what?"
"Scrub feet, typo."
"How much are the Korean girls? PM me, bro, I'm begging you."
"Stop talking nonsense. Brother Crab, it's New Year's, please, just give us a straight answer. Were those two beauties that flashed by volunteers doing charity work? Please, Brother Crab, it's New Year's Eve, I was wrong in the past, I’m kneeling to you today..."

Boss Li laughed, then took out his phone and recorded a video of himself: "It's New Year's Eve, so I'll spare the small talk. Everyone eat well, drink well, and let's play a five-man queue after dinner!"

No one mentioned the "Jianye Gongyuan Street Humanoid Monster.avi" again, and certainly no one asked if Brother Crab had really wielded dual blades and axes to fight an army.

In short, everyone had a tacit understanding. They immediately followed the "Jianye Police" Weibo account.

However, after seeing the post Brother Crab made, the "sons of utility poles" in the "Ten-Year Hater" group remained unusually silent.

Brother Crab was a beast. A pure one.

Chapter One, requesting monthly tickets as usual, charging for the new book ranking~~