Wu Shuang is someone who doesn't sweat the small stuff, so when faced with her eating habits, Xiao Lin relaxed, lazily leaning back in his chair. One foot was lifted from under thick cotton and placed on the tatami, while his hand, holding a cigarette, tapped against his leg — his whole body practically reclining sideways to the dining table.

Raindrops pattered against the glass with the wind, densely blurring the view. The sky was overcast, and the indoor temperature dropped along with the outdoor cold. Xiao Lin called for a waiter to adjust the room temperature back to twenty degrees before speaking lazily, "The news attributes Zhang Teng's death to fleeing in fear of his crime and being shot in the ensuing counterattack."

"Yeah, that's the official line from the bureau." After wiping her mouth with a damp towel, she served a bowl of soup to Xiao Lin: "You seem like you haven't eaten anything."

"Has the Wang Family been quiet these days?"

"Nothing!"

Xiao Lin nodded. The lack of substantive news from Wu Shuang's end was a good thing. Naturally, the Wang Family wouldn't make a big deal out of this. The reason Lin Zhifang used official language for communication was no more than Wang Zhanting's expectations. It's almost certainly a settled matter that this person is a fence-sitter; it's not worth the mental effort to deal with him.

"You found the method to kill Zhang Teng strange, what was the reason?" Xiao Lin raised an eyebrow, asking with keen interest.

"The front of the corpse was almost disemboweled, yet only a little blood was visible. That's hard for people to understand."

"It's indeed weird for a body to be disemboweled without blood spilling. Let the forensic scientists study the principle; you'd break your head over it without figuring it out," Xiao Lin said in a deep voice.

"Why did you make me wait outside? If you'd let me in earlier, maybe we could have caught those people red-handed." Wu Shuang, feeling unsatisfied after the action that night, remembered her initial intent. Not for any other reason, just wanting to know why Zhang Teng sought the Wang Family excited her. Sometimes, she thought she should've gone into journalism, given how her nose was renowned for sniffing out stories.

"Zhang Teng had to die, and I'm sure it was the Wang Family that killed him. If you'd gone in, the show couldn't go on."

"What do you mean?" Wu Shuang stared intently at Xiao Lin.

"You're a police officer. Who would commit murder in front of the police?"

"But..."

"No buts." Watching the waiter clear the dishes and replace them with a pot of tea, Xiao Lin picked up a piece of pastry and popped it into his mouth: "Have some tea, and soon you'll understand why."

Unconsciously finishing the whole bottle of wine, Wu Shuang felt a little dizzy. She undid a button to let fresh air into her body, her slightly burning skin raising her body temperature. Xiao Lin looked at her flushed face and lit a cigarette. The ceiling vents were running full blast, preventing the smoke from lingering indoors.

"The strength of the wine sneaks up on you. Do you want to lie down for a bit?" Half-closed eyes, a dazed sparkle, Wu Shuang was irresistibly alluring at this moment.

"Are we waiting for someone?" She slid down a bit; lying back felt like a good idea, but she was aware that this was a restaurant, not her bed. With one hand on the table, Wu Shuang took a sip of tea, the raw bitterness sharpening her senses.

"Yes!" Xiao Lin turned his head, glanced outside the window, and then moved next to Wu Shuang, placing her head on his lap: "We're waiting for someone. You rest for now, I'll wake you up later."

"You did it on purpose!" As soon as she rested her head on Xiao Lin's lap, Wu Shuang suddenly sat up. "You intentionally ordered the drink just to... want..."

She didn't finish her sentence before collapsing onto Xiao Lin's shoulder. He propped up her drooping head with a laugh and laid her back on the tatami, covering her with his jacket, adjusting her head comfortably before slowly sipping his tea again.

After two cups of tea, he finally made a second move, raising his head to look at the person entering from the door: "You're late."

"The tail was hard to shake, I had no choice."

It seemed the rain outside was coming down hard. The newcomer handed his soaked coat to the waiter, requesting to have it dried, while water still dripped occasionally from his hair.

"Didn't drive over?" Xiao Lin made a quiet gesture, indicating that the person in his lap was already asleep.

"Parked far. She's out cold already?" said Yi as he glanced over at Wu Shuang.

"She's more beautiful when she's quiet."

"Thanks to you, I've become someone who's grown up wearing the same pants as you," Yi laughed heartily upon hearing this.

"Your Dark Warrior didn't follow today?"

"Should be around, not sure." He was always uncertain of Consort Ling's exact location, but Xiao Lin could only judge from his aura. Most of the time, Consort Ling kept a distance, claiming he stayed where he belonged.

A killer always has his way of living and working; Xiao Lin never interfered with Consort Ling. In fact, the so-called 'where he belongs' naturally aligned with situations where his presence was needed, or whatever he deemed necessary to act upon.

"These photos were taken well," Yi said casually, glancing at several photos and tossing them to Xiao Lin.

"You think these things are useless?" From his dismissive expression, it was clear. A photograph is just a photograph, failing to produce the desired effect. Especially for a case that's already closed, these are just waste paper. Xiao Lin gathered up the photos and put them back in his pocket.

"Actually, there are many secrets hidden within the photos."

"Zimu got injured! There was a very skilled opponent on the scene; originally, we didn't want to cause conflict and planned to withdraw, but they still discovered our tracks." Yi bowed his head; in this matter, he hadn't achieved the expected results perfectly.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Upon hearing Zimu was injured, Xiao Lin's eyes darkened: "What's the current situation?"

"It's not serious, he can handle it himself." His gaze fell on Wu Shuang: "Is it alright to just leave her like this?"

"She won't wake up for a while."

"Zhang Teng did indeed enter the Wang Family with a weapon, and based on how he entered, it should have been through the main entrance, not by sneaking in," Yi said lightly.

"Was the scene Wu Shuang arrived at already tampered with?" Xiao Lin lifted his head a bit.

"You could say that. After receiving your call, we moved out, reaching the Wang Family at seven forty-five, while Zhang Teng entered at eight."

"Wu Shuang also arrived at eight."

"She was relatively far from us, and her range of motion wasn't accounted for in our action plan at the time," Yi succinctly explained the timeline. "The brothers of the Zi Family infiltrated the inside of the villa, keeping sniper positions on the periphery."

"You should have entered the villa, not those two brothers," Xiao Lin raised an eyebrow. He didn't object to the strategic deployment itself, but Yi's choice of personnel was lacking. "As their captain, you should be quite familiar with each member of your team. Those brothers are too rash; while their skills are excellent, they lack experience when facing strong opponents. Having them infiltrate the villa was a miscalculation on your part."

Pointing out the issue ruthlessly, Xiao Lin's stern tone made Yi lower his head even more, not daring to speak up. In fact, he indeed bore considerable responsibility for Zimu's injury, so he wouldn't shirk that responsibility.

"I admit my arrangements were somewhat inappropriate."

"Where is the item I need?"

"The usual place." Yi pulled out a key and placed it on the table, pushing it towards Xiao Lin: "We waited four days without any news from you, so we returned the item to the usual place to ensure its safety."

"I'm leaving her in your care," Xiao Lin gently placed Wu Shuang's head on the tatami, grabbed the key from the table, and put it in his pocket. "Notify them to meet in the garage tonight."

Exiting through the sliding door, leaving Yi to tend to Wu Shuang alone, feeling a bit helpless. A woman sleeping so soundly, who knows when she will wake up. He picked up the lying woman; he naturally wasn't as gentle and patient as Xiao Lin.

"Where are we going?" In a daze, Wu Shuang couldn't see the other's face clearly, burying her head into the strong arms, finding the gentle swaying quite comfortable, murmuring softly.

"Home!" was the answer, as Yi carried her out of the restaurant doors under curious gazes with ease.

The raindrops gradually lessened as Xiao Lin walked on the street, the treasure vault was only two blocks away. The tail following him had a lot of patience, able to wait for such a long time. They must have been on guard against him, no longer fumbling around like before, but switching to such an old-fashioned method. Who knows what Fatty Wang was up to, but facts remained unchanged, whether in writing or action.

The Huaxia Headquarters stood tall in the commercial financial district, the solemn emblem suspended in the center, heavy bronze doors open, contrasting with the much lighter-looking sliding glass doors.

Xiao Lin stood at the entrance for a moment, confirming that the tail following him was about five meters behind, before he walked into Huaxia Headquarters.

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Someone left an item in my safe deposit box, I'd like to retrieve it."

"Certainly, please present your fingerprint for verification." Placing his fingerprint on the scanner, after a few seconds, the indicator light turned green. "It's all set, please follow me."

The staff led Xiao Lin through a door behind the counter: "You may choose any room to use, and please remember to lock the door to ensure your confidentiality."

Within the rows of numbered drawers, Xiao Lin found his number, retrieved a box from the drawer, and entered a room. Opening the combination lock, a single SD card was stored inside the box.

He took out his phone, connected the external data processor, and accessed the video software, waiting for the data to import.

A burst of static preceded the normal operation of the video software, the previous footage caused it. He heard Zimu's muffled curse and couldn't help but smile slightly.

The scenes continued to unfold. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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