Polaris Federation.
Eastern Jurisdiction.
Siddah State.
Low-Level City: Qingshan City.
In the northern suburbs…
…
A dilapidated villa was tucked away in the dense, dark jungle.
The door of the villa was half open, and a curving river of blood flowed from it.
Bright yellow police tape was drawn up outside the villa.
Inside the villa, some men in grayish-blue uniforms were exploring the scene while recording information.
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the villa, two men in grayish-blue uniforms were chatting about the case…
"Fang Ze, I haven't been here for a few days. Report the situation to me."
"Yes!"
The reply came from a uniformed young man with gauze on his head.
He was handsome, honest, and had a bright smile. Even though he was injured, he still made people feel good.
He opened the black book in his hand and said, "Commissioner, this case is a classic case of a homicide by an Awakened."
"The killers are from a small criminal gang who forced their way into the villa eight days ago between 6pm and 6.30pm."
"This criminal gang is powerful. The villa's various defenses were destroyed almost instantly."
"Based on the traces and images left at the scene, the other side probably had at least three Awakened."
"After discussion, we've tentatively decided on the codenames 'Beast,' 'Forest Ranger,' and 'Stone Maiden.'"
"Among these three Awakened, the 'Beast' was in charge of a frontal assault to attract the attention of the villa owner."
"[Forest Ranger] used trees and vines to surround and block all retreat routes from the villa owner."
"Lastly, the 'Stone Maiden'…"
At this, Fang Ze picked up a photo clipped to the black book and handed it to the potbellied, round-faced, middle-aged man in front of him. The man was so fat that he had two chins.
From the way Fang Ze addressed this man, this man was probably his superior, the Commissioner of the Investigation Department.
The Commissioner took the photograph.
The photo showed a huge stone cone that was inserted into the villa from the air.
The stone cone looked bigger than the villa. The villa was cut in half from the middle, and the interior was shaped like the stone cone.
Fang Ze said, "We tested the composition of this stone cone."
"The materials of the stone cone strictly follow textbook proportions. Furthermore, there are no microbes inside."
"Based on these clues, we tentatively determined that this was a stone cone materialized out of thin air by the 'Stone Maiden'."
"This stone cone fell from the sky and destroyed every defensive structure in the villa."
"It also destroyed the confidence of the villa's owner in his last act of resistance."
"And so… the criminal gang caught them all."
The Commissioner nodded slightly at Fang's words. Then, he put the photo down and turned his round face to him. He asked, "So, what do you think?"
Fang Ze frowned and said, "I don't think this group is looking for money or murder. They're looking for something."
"Oh?" The Commissioner said, "Something?"
"Why do you say that?"
Fang Ze said, "This is because we found a lot of lost property at the scene. That means that they weren't after money."
"However, strangely enough, there were signs of the scene being searched. That suggests they were supposed to be looking for something other than money and goods."
The Commissioner nodded thoughtfully. "Fair enough. Go on."
Fang Ze continued, "Besides, I don't think there's just three people in this gang. There should be four to five people."
The Commissioner asked, "Why? As I recall, we had a meeting to discuss this. The discussion ended with the conclusion that there were three people. Moreover, there were only traces and images of three people at the scene."
Fang Ze frowned and said, "I can't say for sure. Just a feeling, I guess."
He explained, "I think the fact that the other party committed the crime so quickly and divided the work so clearly means that the plan was very thorough."
"In that case, there shouldn't be only three people who did it from the front."
"It doesn't fit their modus operandi."
"I think that they've got other people working with them in the shadows, like a prospector-type Awakened, or a strong backup."
Fang Ze paused. "After all, a group with such a well-planned operation should be equipped with all kinds of contingencies. They shouldn't be reckless and attack head-on with just three combatants."
The Commissioner nodded thoughtfully at Fang Ze's explanation.
He looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, his face lit with approval. "Not a bad direction! I think that's a good idea!"
"We can discuss it again the day after tomorrow when we have a meeting!"
He paused, then asked, "Did you find anything else? Or do you have some speculations?"
After receiving encouragement, Fang Ze became more confident. He said, "I indeed have some speculations…"
"But they're still immature."
The Commissioner said, "It's just between us. No need to feel any pressure."
Fang Ze nodded and said, "I found a small stone in the southeast corner of the villa."
"A colleague from the identification team went to identify it. There were no problems."
"However, I feel as if some other aura is attached to it. I'd like to request further identification."
"Also, there are almost no mosquitoes or birds in the forest near the villa."
"Other colleagues think that it's because of the season."
"But I still don't think it's right. I think that there might be some Awakened doing something in this forest…"
"Also, above the villa, there…"
Ten minutes later, Fang Ze finished explaining some of his speculations.
The Commissioner listened patiently with a thoughtful expression on his face.
After a moment, he nodded. Then, he said, "Okay. These findings and speculations are valuable. Follow this direction and explore again."
"Let me know promptly if you find anything new."
"Yes, sir!" Fang Ze stuck out his chest and saluted a bit unevenly. Then, he turned and headed for the door.
However, just as he reached the door and was holding the handle, the Commissioner suddenly called out to him again with concern.
"Right, Fang Ze. You're wounded and you've been forcibly transferred here, so if your body can't take it, rest first. Don't get too tired."
"I just wanted you to help out a little. Who knew you'd help so much?"
Upon hearing the Commissioner's words, Fang Ze turned around and smiled. "It's okay, sir! I'm okay."
Seeing this, the Commissioner chuckled and said nothing more.
Fang Ze did a slightly uneven salute again. Then, he pushed open the door and walked out.
Beyond the door was a wide hallway.
The lights in the corridor were turned off. In the dimness, only a few cameras placed by the deceased villa owner faced him. They looked as if they were flickering with a faint red light, but it was said that they were no longer working.
Fang Ze's gaze lingered on a camera. Then, he touched the white bandage on his head and headed downstairs.
His name was Fang Ze. Actually… He wasn't from this world.
In his previous life, he was a minor employee who had just graduated. He worked from nine to five everyday and suffered from the pressures of life.
His only hobby was reading detective stories and watching detective movies.
His only glorious achievement involved resolving an argument between the husband and wife upstairs. The husband roared, "I wouldn't eat your cooking even if I jumped off a building." Then, Fang Ze called the police and saved the husband's life…
A few days ago, he'd woken up to find himself in a different world, lying in a hospital with a hole in his head.
In his panic, he tried to make sense of his situation.
In the end, he realized that he did not have any memories of this world in his mind.
After a moment's hesitation, he decided to use the transmigrator's tried-and-true method of pretending to have amnesia to muddle through.
Fortunately, Fang Ze had a head injury.
Therefore, although the doctor was a little surprised, he accepted this explanation after some examination.
Furthermore, it was only after the doctor's introduction that Fang Ze realized who he was. He was an ordinary agent who'd recently been in the middle of official business and had an accident. As a result, he suffered a head injury and was taken to the hospital.
As for his family…
The previous owner of his body was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage, so his colleagues in the Investigation Department were his family…
After knowing that Fang Ze had woken up, Fang Ze's colleagues also came to visit and express their condolences. They brought a lot of fruits and snacks.
After knowing that Fang Ze had lost his memory, they all expressed their "pity" and "heartache".
From his interactions with his colleagues, Fang Ze felt that he was probably on good terms with them.
Later, Fang Ze's health improved slightly, but there were suddenly a few major cases in the department, and they were seriously short-handed.
Therefore, Fang Ze was temporarily transferred to this task force to assist in the investigation and find clues.
Because he was injured, no one had much hope for him. They only hoped that there would be another person to share the workload.
In the end, although Fang Ze no longer had the memories of his original self, he seemed to have some other special abilities.
As long as he checked the traces, he could vaguely imagine part of the situation at the scene.
Furthermore, as long as he understood some clues, he could deduce some details of the case.
In fact, sometimes, with a flash of inspiration, he could find clues that even some veteran detectives could not.
At first, his colleagues "didn't believe it" and felt that Fang Ze was joking.
However, after they discovered some clues and evidence that could confirm Fang Ze's guess, they had no choice but to believe in Fang Ze's special ability.
Therefore, although Fang Ze was a casualty that had been borrowed from another team, he was becoming more and more valued. Now, he could personally report the progress of the case to the Commissioner.
After recalling his experiences over the past few days, Fang Ze touched his head that still hurt a little and sighed.
This world looked very dangerous. There were all kinds of strange Awakened beings, as well as all kinds of disaster creatures and artifacts of fortune and disaster.
However… At least he was receiving government funding, and his safety was guaranteed. Furthermore, he had a good relationship with his colleagues and was friendly with them…
Fang Ze felt that it was barely acceptable…
Otherwise, what could he do?
Didn't all ordinary people struggle to survive in any world?
At the very least, he could live longer as a good person who was provided for by the government.
As he thought about it, Fang Ze walked downstairs and went to the murder scene again…
…
At the same time, in the room Fang Ze had left.
After Fang Ze left, the Commissioner got up and left the table. He came to a wall.
Then, he tapped the wall a few times in a rhythmic manner.
A moment later, the wall parted to the left and right, revealing a huge arena.
There were a few uniformed men working nervously in the arena.
In the middle of the arena, a beautiful, almost bizarrely beautiful woman in noble clothes was standing in front of a glass wall.
On the glass wall were screens that captured the current scenes of the villa from all angles without any blind spots. Nearly a third of the screens were of Fang Ze.
Meanwhile, the last screen was the scene of Fang Ze standing at the door and looking at the "screen"…
Through the screen, the beautiful woman's gaze seemed to meet Fang Ze's…
When he saw the beautiful woman, the Commissioner immediately wiped the sweat from his forehead that had appeared from the immense pressure. Then, he swallowed, lowered his head, and walked over quickly. He saluted in a standard and proficient manner.
Then, said respectfully and fawningly, "Her Excellency Bai Zhi, after losing his memory, the suspect named Fang Ze has believed in his identity as an agent through our gradual guidance, so he's been very cooperative with us."
"With the help of his residual memories, we've almost finished reconstructing the entire case."
"We've also gained some understanding about the number of teammates and their abilities."
"There are still a few doubts. Furthermore, we haven't figured out what they're looking for."
"But it won't take long, trust me. With his help, the truth will come to light."
"When the time comes…"
"Then we can wipe them all out…"