Operation Begins

Buzz!

Hearing these words, Xiao Lin's face turned pale, his mind going blank.

"This... this... how could... I clearly held back my strength."

Seeing Xiao Lin still stubbornly in denial, Chen Yingyin suppressed her anger and said, "Held back? Let me make a comparison - do you think a punch thrown with restrained force by a boxer is the same as one thrown by an ordinary person?"

"According to the doctor's diagnosis, if Wang Yulan had been brought in any later, she might have perished from that single punch of yours!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lin was left completely speechless.

His gaze gradually became vacant.

He felt overwhelmingly guilty and remorseful inside. His master had told him before:

This power of his was not meant for killing, but for protecting others.

His master had instructed him to safeguard those he cared about.

But...

What have you actually protected, Xiao Lin?!

To think you let Yulan...

Seeing his reaction, Chen Yingyin understood that Xiao Lin had indeed done it.

So the subsequent questioning went much more quickly.

She asked questions while Xiao Lin responded in a dejected mood.

"Do you know who the people who died at Tianye Pharmaceuticals today were?"

"I don't know... I only saw that they were about to attack Wan'er, so I intervened."

"They were just former security personnel from Tianye Pharmaceuticals. Because the company kept delaying their wages, they gathered to cause trouble."

"They acted somewhat irrationally during the incident, but it wasn't a crime deserving death."

Chen Yingyin shook her head and sighed, "Now, they're all beyond saving."

"Do you realize the consequences of your actions?"

"A total of five families have lost their loved ones because of this."

Thump! Thump!

As Xiao Lin listened, the guilt in his heart grew increasingly intense.

For the first time, he felt confused about his own power.

He stared blankly at his own hands.

Could it be that he had killed those people too?

Although he thought he had held back his strength, people's physical constitutions differ.

He had been fighting monsters in the mountains for so long that he completely failed to consider that most people are actually quite fragile.

Even a light touch from him could probably leave them disabled.

His master had always reminded him to find a way to control his power when he came down from the mountain, and to never use his full strength unless absolutely necessary.

But... when people close to him like Wang Yulan and Shen Wan'er were about to get hurt,

His mind would go blank, and he'd lose control of his strength.

"I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to do that."

Xiao Lin closed his eyes, his voice choked with emotion.

A tear unexpectedly slid down from his eye socket. He suddenly felt afraid of the power he possessed: "I'm sorry."

Chen Yingyin let out a soft sigh, looking at the crying man before her with pity in her eyes.

Only 24 years old, yet he had already committed several major crimes. It seemed he had just come to Jianghai to look for work not long ago.

What a pity.

She stood up and patted the young police officer's shoulder, whispering, "Did you record everything?"

The young officer nodded with difficulty, holding a recording device in his hand.

He never imagined he'd encounter such a terrifying killer right after graduation. It was truly unexpected...

"Alright, you keep an eye on him here. I'll go report the situation to the chief."

With that, she walked out, leaving the young officer whose face had turned pale.

Gulp.

The young officer swallowed hard, secretly glancing at Xiao Lin, who was bound to the interrogation chair and lost in self-doubt.

His heart felt somewhat reassured.

Surely he couldn't break free from that, right?

Inside the chief's office.

Chen Guoping listened to his daughter's report and nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good. I'll leave this matter for you to handle. As for the families of the deceased, just tell them the case is still under investigation and we can't disclose too many details for now."

Chen Yingyin nodded. Just as she was about to leave, Chen Guoping seemed to remember something.

He coughed lightly and asked, "Um... daughter."

?

Chen Yingyin frowned and interrupted him: "Chief Chen, please address me by my name when we're at work."

Chen Guoping felt a headache coming on because of his overly serious daughter. Helplessly, he nodded, "Alright, Chen Yingyin, how old are you now?"

"27."

Chen Yingyin was puzzled as to why her father was asking this.

"27 already? Look at Old Fang's daughter, she's the same age as you, and her kid is already running around the streets buying soy sauce."

"You're not getting any younger. Don't you think it's time to find a suitable partner?"

Chen Guoping noticed Chen Yingyin's increasingly unfriendly expression, but if he missed this chance now, he might not get another opportunity to see his daughter who was always busy solving cases.

So he steeled himself and continued, "You know Little Gu, right? The one who always followed you around when you were little. His dad and I are like brothers. Not long ago, his dad came to ask me if you had a boyfriend."

This was before Gu Yan had come to his senses. Gu Tianming thought of keeping it in the family and wanted to see if he could match his devoted son with Chen Guoping's daughter.

Hearing this, Chen Yingyin's mind flashed back to the image of young Gu Yan always following her and calling her "sister, sister."

But all these beautiful memories had shattered after those unsavory rumors about him surfaced.

In Chen Yingyin's view, a man shouldn't be like Gu Yan, so subservient and so unfilial.

So naturally, she wouldn't agree: "Impossible. I won't agree to it."

"Besides..."

Chen Yingyin thought of Wang Yulan in the hospital. Whenever Gu Yan was mentioned, her face would involuntarily break into a happy smile.

She shook her head, "He probably already has someone he likes."

Then, before Chen Guoping could say anything more, Chen Yingyin strode out.

Seeing this, Chen Guoping sighed and shook his head helplessly, "Ah, this child."

That night.

Under a large tree in front of the police station.

"Has Qingqiu been eating well?" Gu Yan asked Mei Xue nervously.

The latter remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

Seeing Gu Yan breathe a sigh of relief, she felt even more puzzled.

This guy, does he really like my master? No, he's the best actor around. Perhaps he's just playing the role of a loving husband right now.

"Alright then. You know the plan, right?" Gu Yan smiled lightly, returning to his usual demeanor. "When you enter, I'll have someone cut off all the power. That's when you start moving."

"Any problems?"

Mei Xue ran through Gu Yan's words in her head.

After confirming there were no issues, she nodded, "Understood. I just need to get or make Gu Yan reveal that half jade pendant, right?"

"Correct."

Mei Xue thought to herself that this wouldn't be difficult at all. Just as she was about to take action,

Gu Yan pulled out a miniature in-ear earpiece from somewhere. He handed it to her with a smile, "Put this on."

"I'll guide you through some of the details as we go."

Mei Xue said nothing, took the earpiece, put it on, and then her form instantly vanished into thin air.

Seeing her leave, Gu Yan smiled slightly, a mysterious look flashing in his eyes.

Well then... let's begin.

Cutting off Xiao Lin's greatest opportunity... that half of the jade pendant that matches the one belonging to the young miss of the Bai family.