Just two hours after Lin Rui rushed to school, several armored police vehicles flew in and arrived at Xue Bogao's villa.
The car had not yet come to a complete stop when a middle-aged man, with prominent brow bones and wearing a crisp military uniform, jumped directly out of the vehicle.
—This was Zhang Long, a senior colonel of the Federal Homeland Security Bureau.
After Zhang Long entered the villa, he put on a pair of plastic gloves and meticulously investigated several areas with his subordinates, paying close attention to every detail.
His frown deepened until he reached the door of Xue Bogao's study on the second floor. Suddenly, he flashed into the corner of the room, bent over to examine the pinhole camera hidden there.
Zhang Long's eyes were cold, "This is the top model ZS4319 camera released by Divine Shield Security Company fifteen years ago, its end connected to the basement. Why isn't it mentioned in the police report provided by the precinct? Who was in charge at that time?"
"It was the head of the Homicide Unit on Longzidong Road, Major Police Inspector Thomson Jacob."
The person who answered was Zhang Long's assistant, Major Detective Fei Aibi, a mixed-race man in his thirties, with blond hair and robust features. He was carefully reviewing related documents projected on a holographic screen from his wrist terminal.
"Besides the field investigation report, he also left a remark stating that he had just entered the scene when he received an order from the Homeland Security Bureau, indicating that this case involved confidential secrets of the bureau. He was instructed to withdraw his team and hand over the case to the Homeland Security Bureau."
"Major Police Inspector Thomson?" Zhang Long involuntarily pressed his brow.
Military ranks are also linked to the federal police department.
A Major Police Inspector is equivalent to a major in the Federal Military, and only those of major rank who are Martial Cultivators could be promoted, as their sensing capabilities are already quite strong.
However, his being forced to halt the investigation upon just entering the scene made sense.
The ZS4319 model camera, with a completely closed circuit design, emits no electromagnetic waves and does not reflect any light from its lens, making it highly concealed. Even Zhang Long, a colonel-ranked Martial Cultivator, did not notice the pinhole camera until he was at the door of the study.
Although wireless technology in this era is well-developed, if one wants to make their presence undetectable to Martial Artists, they still need to use closed-circuit cameras.
"So which department from our Security Bureau issued that order? Who took over this case afterwards? Why can I not find any corresponding records in the internal data bank of the Security Bureau?"
"Indeed, there are no records. It's very strange. All the action units of the Ninth Base Security Subdivision have not received any orders to take over the investigation of the Xue Bogao case. Thus, for the past two days, no one has inquired about this case, which is absurd. I'll check the source of that order—"
Fei Aibi's expression grew solemn as he waved his hands rapidly through the air, creating a blur of afterimages: "It was issued from the office of the Deputy Director of the Third Division of the Ninth Base Security Subdivision. Interestingly, this deputy director is currently on vacation. He should be on Hailan Star with his family at a hot spring hotel on Hailan Star."
Zhang Long's expression turned colder, and he sneered, rising to walk towards the garage, having sensed the secret room inside earlier.
Upon entering the secret room, Zhang Long first glanced at the several screens that had been turned off, then swept his gaze around the room.
"A mini database for storing video has been taken here, and there are traces of a fight on the north wall."
Fei Aibi, attempting to restart the screens, looked around bewilderedly, "Traces of a fight? I don't see anything."
"The scene has been tampered with."
Zhang Long walked to the wall and tore off a strip of the wallpaper, "The wallpaper has been repaired and aged. It's not obvious without sufficient forensic experience. This was done by a professional cleaner who made the scene very clean, preventing us from determining the type of Martial Arts used during the fight based on the traces."
He sniffed, "I also smell antimony pentafluoride. The cleaner used this, combined with a secret formula from Tianji Star, to concoct a corpse-dissolving liquid on the spot. The sewer and ventilation ducts here should be able to detect residues."
Zhang Long's gaze was puzzled, as this formula for dissolving corpses was very familiar to him; it was often used internally at the Homeland Security Bureau.
At that moment, all the screens turned on.
Zhang Long turned to look and narrowed his eyes slightly, "Go check who lives in the row house number 5536? Investigate their whereabouts over the past two days, and also, check if there have been any suspicious persons missing recently."
He was filled with countless questions.
Why had his colleague and old friend Xue Bogao installed so many surveillance devices in this neighborhood, and why was he specifically monitoring this row house?
Could the family in this villa be related to the deaths of Xue Bogao and his family of five?
※※※※
Unaware that he was being watched by a colonel of the Federal Security Bureau, Lin Rui sat in Mingde University's second cafeteria, listlessly stuffing his mouth with food.
Wang Sen sat opposite him, looking helplessly at Lin Rui: "Is this the feast you were talking about? Can't you show a little more sincerity?"
Lin Rui looked down at the table, "Isn't this sincere enough? Eight dishes and two soups, all with meat, it's already quite rich. How about I buy you a bowl of braised pork?"
Martial Artists, due to their cultivation requirements, had to consume a large amount of meat daily to replenish their protein expenditures.
Even by the standards of the Martial Artists, the dishes before them were quite lavish.
Wang Sen was speechless, he picked up a chicken leg from the table and stuffed it fiercely into his mouth, "Then let's get another bowl of braised pork. When it's free, why not? Lin Rui, you're really something!"
He then added enviously, "Speaking of which, you're truly awesome. A total of twenty-three internship invitations, and you can get a salary at seven of them during the internship. Decided which company to choose yet?"
This was exactly what Lin Rui was pondering. He shook his head slightly, "I haven't decided yet. I still need to visit these companies tomorrow."
The highest offer now came from a company called 'Pioneer,' which offered a fifty thousand federal dollars shopping card upon signing the contract. The monthly salary during the internship was fifty thousand federal dollars, and if Lin Rui obtained something valuable on Hailan Star, he would split the proceeds fifty-fifty with the company.
In addition, Pioneer promised that when Lin Rui was ready to have 'artificial meridians' implanted later, the company would provide a subsidy of one hundred thousand federal dollars.
To know that a special-grade 'artificial meridian' costs one hundred thousand federal dollars, meaning it's a full subsidy.
However, there was no such thing as a free lunch. Others offering such favorable conditions naturally had their reasons, and Lin Rui had to thoroughly understand before signing to avoid being trapped.
Besides, Lin Rui had another troubling issue.
He hadn't yet learned the 'Hailan Star language,' let alone the history and geography of Hailan Star.
During these ten days, Lin Rui had focused most of his time and energy on three basic martial arts, only now finding time to learn these.
After all, it wouldn't do to land on Hailan Star and not understand what the people were saying.
While he could use the implanted smart neural chip for translation, the response time would definitely be slower.
This might lead to exposure, revealing his identity as an 'Alien Visitor.'
It was said that Hailan Star citizens dealt with Alien Visitors very cruelly, extracting souls and seizing spirits intensely, making even the thought of death difficult.
Just as Lin Rui was feeling bothered by this, he felt his foot being kicked by Wang Sen.
Lin Rui looked at Wang Sen with puzzled eyes. The plump boy was excitedly winking and gesturing with his eyes repeatedly toward the side.
Only then did he notice that two women had seated themselves next to their table at some unknown time.
One was a lady in her mid-twenties, in a crisp, simple women's suit, sporting black-rimmed smart glasses, and possessing a competent aura, with a fierceness in her brows.
The other was only eighteen or nineteen, wearing a Mingde University women's uniform. She should have been a vibrant, alluring young beauty but sat listlessly and languidly at the other side of the table.
Lin Rui thought, who is this? Our school really had such a stunning beauty?
He quickly opened the video library to search, and scanned the school's forum. Only then did he discover the identity of the girl.
The young woman was a first-year student from Mingde University's Martial Cultivator Academy, with the surname Fang, named Fang Ranran, recently a prominent figure in their school.
Mingde University had eight major faculties: Mathematics, Engineering, Martial Cultivation, Biology, Chemistry, Medicine, Alien Study, and Historical Humanities.
Alien Visitors, due to age requirements, started attending the Alien Studies faculty quite early, typically around fifteen, and it was more akin to a vocational school, equivalent to a high school level.
Hence, Lin Rui, nearing graduation, was still half a year younger than Fang Ranran.
Lin Rui's predecessor not only recorded videos when Fang Ranran first enrolled but also saved several accidental encounters. Notably, these recordings had more than twenty views each.
The senior's demeanor and appearance were indeed exceptional within their school, and Lin Rui was equally astonished.
Moreover, according to the information from the school forums, Fang Ranran was more than just a pretty face. Her martial prowess ranked in the top three of the Martial Cultivator Academy, and within less than two months of enrolling, she had defeated almost all the experts in various disciplines of the academy.
She had also taken over the school's martial arts club, secured huge sponsorship, and prepared to showcase her ambitious plans in the college union competitions.
Lin Rui felt as if Fang Ranran's face had a black hole-like suction, fiercely capturing his gaze.
It took immense willpower for him to shift his focus back to the table in front of him.
However, in the next moment, Lin Rui heard the two women mentioning his name.