Patrol Office.

In a smoke-filled meeting room.

A group of chiefs who had been up for several nights sat at the table, faces full of exhaustion, eyes bloodshot, with cigarettes one after another in their mouths.

On the small whiteboard in front of the conference table, there was a hand-drawn portrait: a black face with white teeth, noted with the nickname [Black Face] beside it.

Next to the hand-drawn portrait was an arrow pointing to another strange portrait: a face pale as snow, no facial features, only black pupils visible, noted with the nickname [Mask].

In fact, the chiefs wanted to call the second portrait [Vampire Bone Face], but the nickname was too terrifying, so Li Shang overruled the crowd and changed it to [Mask].

At this moment, Li Shang, with a face full of stubble, which had not been shaved for several days, clutched the portrait of [Mask], his eyes sunken into the drawing.

"After all this time, did the person just vanish into thin air?"

Li Shang roared anxiously, slapping the small whiteboard with his palm.

He glared at the group of chiefs below, shouting angrily, "[Mask] might have disguised himself and hidden away, but we know the real face of [Black Face], he must have clues to finding [Mask], and still, we can't find him?"

"Where could [Black Face], who was seriously injured, hide, huh?"

A chief below said in a deep voice, "Many people in the Patrol Office have been incapacitated. Just relying on us, it's really too difficult to search the whole city."

Another chief chimed in, "Hospitals, pharmacies, clandestine clinics, we've all checked and visited, no one has seen [Black Face]. We can't rule out that [Black Face] has accomplices buying and delivering medicine for him, but time is too tight, manpower is too scarce, it's really..."

Li Shang knew the chiefs were telling the truth, but the special commissioner hadn't given him much more time to act as an agent, and if he couldn't find any clues soon, he would be dismissed.

In a state of panic, Li Shang ignored everything and said, "Normally, when investigating cases, you just grab people and pin the crime on them as a formality to close the case hastily."

"This time, when we really need to capture the culprit, nothing is found. Is the Patrol Office just raising a bunch of good-for-nothings? How will the special commissioner see us this way?"

The atmosphere in the meeting room immediately turned tense, with the chiefs below showing varied expressions, some looking embarrassed, others clearly dissatisfied.

Some even exchanged subtle glances, silently expressing their own dissatisfaction and protest: Aren't we just following your style, Captain?

Knock knock knock——

The duty chief pushed the door open and reported to Li Shang, "Captain Li, a woman outside filed a report. She claims her son didn't come home last night, nor did he return to school; his phone can't be reached, and she's worried..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Li Shang's impatient gesture.

Li Shang waved his hand to cut him off and scolded, "First take down the report, then reassure her and send her off. The Patrol Office is currently short on manpower; how can we handle other cases right now?"

The duty chief nodded; he understood the current situation and priorities and was merely following procedure to report the situation.

After hearing Li Shang's instructions, he nodded slightly and turned to leave the meeting room.

In the reception room, Du Li held her phone tightly; her fingertips turned slightly white due to stress, the phone trembling in her hands as she dialed her son's number again and again.

Yet, the prompt on the other end of the line cruelly changed from "the phone is not answered" to "phone is turned off."

A strong sense of unease welled up in Du Li's heart, a mother's instinct warning her that her son might be in trouble.

Her gaze was fixed on the young chief, who was walking toward her slowly, a registration form in his hand.

"Chief, something must have happened to my son, please, you must help me, the Patrol Office..." Du Li's voice was filled with urgency and plea, her eyes emanating worry and fear.

The young chief's face showed no emotion; his voice was calm and mechanical, "The investigation needs to follow a certain procedure. First, please register the relevant information."

He sat down slowly, adjusted his posture, picked up a pen, and twirled it lightly between his fingers before calmly asking, "What is your son's name, and what is his civilian grade?"

Du Li appeared somewhat flustered, her voice trembling, "My son's name is Yang Tuo, he's a Martial Arts freshman in the priority class at Eighth Academy, hasn't taken the citizen exam yet, so he hasn't been assigned a civilian grade. However, his grades are excellent; he'll definitely be qualified in the future."

The young chief remained composed, not commenting on Du Li's words, just continuing to ask, "Okay, I need to record the informant's information, which is your information."

Du Li quickly responded, "My name is Du Li, my civilian grade is D level."

After a slight pause, Du Li suddenly seemed to realize something and hurriedly added:

"My husband, Yang Shen, is a researcher at Hong Guang Laboratory; he's usually in the lab and hard to reach. Otherwise, he would be here with me today to file the report. His civilian grade is B level, and he's expected to be promoted to A level by the end of the year."

A hint of surprise flashed in the young chief's eyes, "B level, Hong Guang Laboratory?"

B-level is indeed a fairly high citizen rank in Lower City, representing a massive leap in social status and influence.

One more step up, and you're eligible to immigrate to Upper City, a dream for many; even the late Director Wang Yilin was just at this level.

The young Chief Constable may not know the specific work content of Hong Guang Laboratory, but he is very familiar with the renowned Bright Group.

This is the premier conglomerate in Zone 9, and all companies or departments under the Bright Group love to include the word 'Bright' in their names as a trademark and distinction.

Du Li quickly nodded, her eyes filled with hope and urgency: "The laboratory values him greatly, believing he has made significant contributions to his work, and has already submitted his citizen rank promotion report to the Executive Government. If all goes well, it should be approved by the end of the year."

As soon as she finished speaking, Du Li swiftly pulled out a stack of banknotes from her handbag and almost impatiently stuffed them into the Chief Constable's hand:

"Please, have the Patrol Office take action as soon as possible to help me find my son. Afterwards, I will have my husband personally come to the Patrol Office to express our gratitude."

The young Chief Constable took a deep breath and discreetly pocketed the money, his expression visibly softened.

He nodded to Du Li, then turned and walked back towards the meeting room.

"Mask vanished without a trace, Black Face gained nothing, and we have no idea what was in the stolen briefcase. Do you expect me to report this to the commissioner like this, huh?"

"Speak up, have you all become mute?"

A constable complained helplessly, "The people who had the most direct contact with Black Face were the residents of that neighborhood. But now, those people have been... ahem, sent to the garbage plant on the commissioner's orders. Where can we find any clues now?"

Li Shang's face immediately turned ashen, and he slammed the table fiercely, making a banging sound, glaring at the speaking constable with eyes like daggers: "Are you planning to make me question the commissioner's decisions? Do you think you're tired of living, or am I just done with life?"

The atmosphere in the meeting room became suffocatingly heavy, and a feeling of oppression filled the air.

Even across the corridor, the roaring sounds could be faintly heard. The young Chief Constable stood at the meeting room door, hesitating for a long time, not daring to speak up.

Finally, he took several deep breaths, "Captain Li."

Li Shang turned around, glaring at him, "What is it now?"

The young Chief Constable quickly lowered his voice and cautiously replied, "The complainant's husband is a researcher at Hong Guang Laboratory, holding a B-level citizen status, and it's said that he will be promoted to A-level by the end of the year."

Li Shang swallowed back the rebuke that had been at his lips, his expression turning even darker, like a cloud-covered sky.

At this moment, Chang Erbing stood up, breaking the silence: "Captain Li, why don't I take someone to go check out the situation?"

Li Shang did not immediately respond, so Chang Erbing casually signaled another constable to leave the meeting room with him.

Li Shang's gaze wandered within the room; he noticed two of his subordinates had left, and his brow furrowed tightly, his mood extraordinarily irritable.

He said, "Why do people always choose the wrong time to report a case, just to increase our workload? In the end, it's because Zone 9's population is too large."

Half of the constables silently nodded, their expressions complex, indicating agreement.

Li Shang lit a cigarette, the smoke slowly swirling in the air, his expression appearing even gloomier, tinged with a bit of helplessness and anger:

"Originally, I wanted our Patrol Office to crack this case and earn some credit with the commissioner. Since you all are disappointing, we have no choice but to share the credit with the Arresting Bureau. Zeng, immediately send the wanted warrant to the Arresting Bureau and request assistance by deploying their major division."

Chief Constable Zeng immediately stood up and quickly sent out the wanted warrant for Black Face through the fax machine.

Then he hesitantly inquired, "So, regarding Mask... should we also...?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shang flared up in anger, almost exploding with rage.

He widened his eyes, laughing sardonically, as if there were blades hidden in his words: "Can you use your brain? Don't you understand what a confidential investigation means?

Let me warn everyone again, if anyone dares to leak a single word about Mask, you'll need to explain it to the commissioner yourself.

Remember, write your will before explaining, and I'll keep it for safekeeping."

The constables went pale upon hearing this, knowing Captain Li's words were no idle threat; the bloody scenes from that night were still fresh in their memories.

Chief Constable Zeng was even more terrified, his face instantly losing color.

He hurriedly moved the portrait of Mask away from the fax machine, as if it were a hot potato.

Li Shang saw this and snorted coldly: "Tell the Arresting Bureau, this operation is extremely critical; Black Face must not be killed, he must be captured alive. If Black Face is found, be sure to notify our Patrol Office to act together..."

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