Why does my neck feel a bit sore...

Passing a level once could be attributed to sheer luck, but passing it twice in a row?

And not just that—each time, the speed at which he cleared the levels got faster. This couldn’t just be a matter of good fortune anymore.

The second level, which had stumped the four of them for an entire afternoon, was breezed through effortlessly by Xu Mo. What’s more, he didn’t cheat—they were all watching him as he did it.

“How did you do it?”

“Is there some trick to passing the level?”

“Xu Mo… could you help me clear the second level too? I’m still stuck there.”

“Me too, me too! I haven’t gotten past the second level either.”

“I can’t do it for you, but I can teach you how to clear it. It’s actually pretty simple,” Xu Mo said as he slumped onto the sofa. “Ouch, my neck feels a bit sore…”

Yang Jingxuan immediately picked up on his hint.

“Then… should I give you a massage? Is this pressure okay?”

“Just like that, a bit higher… yes, yes, right there. That feels great!”

Xu Mo closed his eyes, thoroughly enjoying himself, and then added, “My neck feels better, but now my arms and legs are starting to ache.”

His hints were so obvious they could hardly be called hints anymore—they were outright requests. The other three, Zhou Qiaoqiao and the rest, quickly followed suit.

One started massaging his arms, another began kneading his legs, and the third brought over a plate of freshly cut fruit, feeding it to Xu Mo.

After a few minutes of indulgence, Xu Mo finally shared the tips and tricks for clearing the game level with them.

Immediately, the four of them put their newly acquired knowledge to use, eager to bring glory to their respective provinces.

……

Today, Han Fei had truly witnessed just how formidable Xu Mo’s deductive skills were.

Xu Mo had managed to solve a cold case from over twenty years ago—a case with no leads—purely through his reasoning. This level of skill was nothing short of astonishing, even to someone like Han Fei, who had been in the force for years.

What made it even more impressive was that Xu Mo had cracked the case without the police having any usable clues whatsoever.

In all his years on the job, Han Fei had never seen anyone solve a case without a single shred of evidence.

After returning home from work, Han Fei remembered something: there were still two cold cases gathering dust in the police archives.

These two cases were similar to the one they had just solved—both were unsolved mysteries with no leads to speak of.

Because there were no clues and no way to even begin investigating, the cases had been shelved long ago.

In fact, Han Fei had almost forgotten about them.

But now, after seeing Xu Mo’s incredible ability to solve a decades-old case with no evidence, Han Fei suddenly recalled those two long-forgotten cases.

Back then, they hadn’t been able to crack them, but now, with Xu Mo on the team, Han Fei thought it might be worth another shot. Who knows? Maybe Xu Mo could solve them too.

“I wonder if Xu Mo can handle those two cases… Ah, forget it. I’ll just ask him tomorrow. It’s worth a try—might as well throw a Hail Mary,” Han Fei thought to himself as he sat on the sofa, smoking a cigarette.

The next day.

Police station.

Having already made his plan the night before, Han Fei arrived at the station early.

Xu Mo, on the other hand, arrived at his usual time, barely making it through the doors before the clock struck the hour.

The moment Han Fei saw Xu Mo, he beckoned him over.

“Captain Xu, come here for a moment. I need to talk to you about something.”

The other officers in the station had no idea what Han Fei was up to, and their faces were filled with confusion.

Xu Mo, of course, didn’t know what Han Fei wanted either, but he didn’t ask. He simply followed, figuring he’d find out soon enough.

As the two of them entered Han Fei’s office one after the other, the officers in the main workspace immediately started buzzing with speculation.

“What’s going on? I feel like Captain Han is acting a bit off today.”

“Yeah, he got here earlier than I did, and he kept stepping out of his office every now and then, like he was waiting for Captain Xu.”

“Waiting for Captain Xu? What does Captain Han need him for?”

“How should I know? Ask him yourself!”

“…”

Inside the office.

“Take a seat. Have you had breakfast?” Han Fei gestured toward the sofa in his office.

“I have,” Xu Mo answered truthfully. “What’s so urgent, Captain Han?”

At that, Han Fei pointed to two aged-looking folders on his desk.

“Here’s the thing. We’ve had these two unsolved cases sitting in the archives for a while now. One’s been there for five years, the other for three. They’ve been shelved because we couldn’t crack them. Would you like to take a look?”

Hearing that it was about cases, Xu Mo finally understood. Captain Han wanted to see if he could solve these long-dormant cases. No wonder he was in such a hurry, calling him in first thing in the morning.

“Let me take a look first,” Xu Mo said, reaching for the two folders on the desk.

He unwound the strings tied around the folders and pulled out the case files inside.

The files contained detailed descriptions and photos of the cases.

Xu Mo focused intently as he read through them. Meanwhile, Han Fei sat quietly beside him, not saying a word, careful not to disturb Xu Mo’s concentration as he waited for him to finish.

“A series of suicides?” Xu Mo’s brow furrowed as he read through the first page of the first case file.

Suicides alone wouldn’t normally warrant such attention from the police, as a small number of people take their own lives every year for various reasons.

What made this case stand out was the sheer number of suicides that occurred in a single day.

Nine people had taken their own lives within 24 hours, and all of them had died within the same district, with the farthest locations being only about ten kilometers apart. It was highly suspicious.

While suicides do happen every year, having nine occur in the same district within a single day was virtually impossible. The frequency was too high—unnaturally high. What’s more, the proximity of the victims’ locations made it hard not to suspect that the nine cases were somehow connected.

At the time, after receiving multiple reports, Han Fei immediately sensed something was off. He classified all the deaths as homicides and launched a joint investigation into the nine cases.

However, even though Han Fei recognized the oddity, he couldn’t find any evidence to prove that the nine people who died on the same day were murdered rather than having committed suicide.

On the surface, it seemed illogical, but the more they investigated, the more it appeared that the deaths were indeed suicides… which was incredibly frustrating.

In the end, Han Fei had no choice but to shelve the case.

And it had remained shelved ever since.

After finishing the case file, Xu Mo stroked his chin. This case was definitely a tough one.

“So, what do you think? Any ideas?” Han Fei asked as soon as Xu Mo put down the file.