As the door of the hidden room opened, Lin Rui also heard voices from outside.
A loud voice said, "The entrance to the hidden room is actually here, quite secretive. If that person hadn't told us the location in advance, I guess we'd still be spending time searching for it. But it's strange, didn't the police find it? They can't be that incompetent, right? If it were me, I'd have used those detection instruments to search throughout."
At this moment, another slightly shrill voice rang out, "Of course they could find it. As for why they didn't, you figure it out."
The loud voice clearly gasped, "You mean there's someone inside the police department involved? That would be difficult, right? The person inside must have the power to cover the sky with one hand."
"Not that exaggerated," the shrill voice laughed dismissively, "Alright, don't ask so many questions. This isn't something you should know. We can't stay here much longer, let's quickly take the surveillance data and leave."
Upon hearing this, Lin Rui's heart gradually grew cold as ice.
From this conversation, it was obvious that these two were connected to the murderer who killed Major Xue, and were colluding with some high-level insider within the police department!
But what did they want with the surveillance data here? Did that tiny camera catch a glimpse of the murderer?
And what if these two discovered it? The consequences would be unimaginable.
Whether it was that killer or the high-level police insider mentioned by these two, either could easily crush him to death.
Lin Rui looked down at his waist where the Xuanwu armor was fastened, notably equipped with a battle saber.
He immediately grasped the hilt of the saber, silently drawing the blade slightly, the veins on his hand bulging.
At that moment, another piece of information appeared in his mind.
Prompt: War Spirit No. 1 is very concerned about your current situation and feels guilty. He has decided to gift you a Grandmaster-level "Concealing Breath Skill" and an unconditionally free 'Possession' opportunity for one minute. You can choose whether to accept and use it with a thought.
Concealing Breath Skill and Possession?
Lin Rui's eyebrows raised slightly, and he unhesitatingly chose to accept the gift of the Grandmaster-level "Concealing Breath Skill."
As a stream of information formed in his mind, Lin Rui instantly understood the function of the Concealing Breath Skill.
It was a unique secret technique that could converge blood energy, divine awareness, and breath to deceive other people's senses and spiritual perception.
Lin Rui grew increasingly curious. Exactly which military unit did Major Xue belong to, or was there another origin?
Just as Lin Rui was using the Concealing Breath Skill to regulate his breath and blood flow, making his presence nearly imperceptible, the two had already walked down the stairs.
They were extremely cautious and vigilant, constantly looking around as they searched the area.
One of them, a tall and thin man around thirty, even went specifically to the center of the hidden room and glanced behind the Xuanwu armor.
When Lin Rui felt the man's gaze, he instinctively wanted to swing his saber, then remembered he was in a state of optical invisibility, and the man might not be able to see him, so he restrained his impulse.
Lin Rui realized something was off with his emotions.
Not only did he feel no fear or apprehension, but his mind was instead filled with murderous intent and malice, a strong urge to kill these two men.
This was undoubtedly influenced by the war spirit's obsession.
The tall and thin man indeed didn't notice Lin Rui. After a brief glance, he turned away and began to operate a small database, soon frowning deeply, using the shrill voice, "The data is encrypted, can't be accessed. It's the federal security bureau's encryption system, very complex. It needs not just a password but Xue Bogao's personal fingerprint and iris, ha, and even genetic recognition."
Meanwhile, the other stout young man also approached, his voice loud, "Can you break it?"
"It's troublesome, a slight mistake and it automatically destroys the data. Probably only a top-level hacker could manage it," the tall thin man shook his head, "But it doesn't matter. Our original purpose was to destroy the data. Just to be safe, you'll have to carry this database away, can't leave it for the police."
The stout young man shrugged, "Alright, I'm here to do the heavy lifting anyway, but it still feels odd to me. That employer was capable of killing Major Xue and his family in such a short time, must be a top-level assassin. How could he leave such a flaw to be caught on camera? That level of master could probably blow up these tiny cameras with a thought, right?"
Lin Rui's expression shifted subtly, this was exactly what puzzled him.
While he listened, he gathered strength, his hands filled with a massive amount of True Yuan, channeling it into the long saber he held.
"It was Xue Bogao, the camera was right behind him, he couldn't destroy it. It's said that at the time, another master was passing nearby, he didn't dare to linger, couldn't destroy this database."
As the tall thin man spoke, he frowned again, feeling he had overlooked something, his gaze once again fell on the Xuanwu armor.
His eyes landed on the saber's sheath.
The sheath was empty, but the problem was that the mouth of the sheath was very clean, unlike other parts of the sheath that were covered with a thin layer of dust.
The saber in this sheath had likely been drawn out not long ago.
The tall thin man's scalp tingled, his voice becoming even more shrill, "Something's not right here, Wang Li, go check that out—"
Lin Rui instantly knew he couldn't hide any longer, the situation no longer allowed for hesitation.
Luckily, these two men did not have traces of implanted 'Zhi Zhuang Battle Armor,' they should just be officer-level Zhi Zhuang martial artists.
He chose not to accept the 'Possession' from Xue Bogao, and like a leopard, he burst out from the corner toward the stout young man.
He saw that although the tall thin man was leading, the one with the strongest martial prowess was the stout young man.
The man was caught off guard, not realizing until Lin Rui was close behind him. He immediately drew his saber and struck back while roaring, "Think you can kill me? Dream on!"
"Clang!"
A sharp metallic sound rang out in the hidden room, the dazzling sparks making all three men involuntarily squint their eyes.
Although the stout young man had managed to block Lin Rui's long-accumulated strike, his saber was swept aside by the force of Lin Rui's attack, causing him to stagger backward, his posture unsteady.
Lin Rui's left hand erupted with a massive amount of thundering flames, intertwining around his arm like two serpents.
"Red Thunder Snake Hand!"
Lin Rui pushed the ultimate technique of the Red Thunder Hand to its limits and took advantage of the stocky young man's unpreparedness. With his guard wide open, Lin Rui struck his chest with a palm with the swiftness of thunder that leaves no time for covering one's ears.
With a booming 'bang,' not only did the stocky young man's chest collapse, but his body also smashed against the wall behind him, creating another 'thud'.
Previously, using the secret move Red Thunder Snake Hand, Lin Rui could smash the metal dummy 'Armored Warrior' Type 2, designated for lieutenants, into pieces with one palm!
Although this stocky young man was a captain-level armored martial artist, his flesh and blood body's defense was not much stronger than that of the fully alloy-covered 'Armored Warrior' Type 2.
Seeing this, the tall and thin man's face drastically changed, both shocked and angered, "Who are you?"
He had already drawn the long sword at his waist, stabbing towards Lin Rui like a venomous snake.
As soon as they crossed hands, Lin Rui knew this person was a lieutenant-level armored martial artist, superior to him in strength, speed, and True Qi in every aspect.
Fortunately, the saber in Lin Rui's hand was extraordinarily good, with a unique structure inside that actually amplified the saber's force by 60% and its speed by 40%, allowing him to fight the tall and thin man head-on without falling behind.
The problem was that his opponent had implanted artificial meridians, with long-lasting Qi meridians, meaning his True Qi recovery speed and stamina far exceeded Lin Rui's.
In such a situation, a prolonged battle was disadvantageous, and there was a risk of alerting the patrolling officers and neighborhood security outside.
Determined for a quick decision, Lin Rui suddenly burst forth his True Qi and forced the tall and thin man back with a heavy saber strike.
Then, his right hand also started swirling with thunder and fire serpents, extending all the way to the tip of the saber.
The long saber instantly slashed towards the tall and thin man like thunder and lightning.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
"This is the Red Thunder Nine Slashes!"
The tall and thin man recognized Lin Rui's saber technique and desperately defended. With each slash he received, he stepped back, and after just four slashes, he was forced back against the wall with no room to retreat.
He then fiercely bit down on his tongue, "Blood Secret Treasure!"
The tall and thin man suddenly activated the energy stored in his blood, boosting his strength and speed once again.
His gaze was as cold as a blade as he stared at Lin Rui.
The tall and thin man had already assessed this masked person's true capabilities.
This person's strength, speed, spiritual power, and other physical qualities all reached the lieutenant level, with some even touching the threshold of a captain, yet he had no implanted artificial meridians. He was only able to compete because of his highly skilled foundational martial arts and a technologically advanced saber.
'Red Thunder Nine Slashes' had exactly nine slashes, and if he could withstand them, it would be his turn to counterattack the masked person.
But just as he withstood the nine slashes and was preparing to counterattack, Lin Rui struck again with a seamlessly flowing, additional slash.
"What?"
The tall and thin man was taken aback, thinking, how is this possible?
This guy's Red Thunder Nine Slashes could actually execute a tenth slash!
It was said that some extremely rare geniuses and Martial Cultivators with great prowess could indeed elevate the power of Red Thunder Saber to a higher level after mastering it to perfection.
Was this black-clothed person who hadn't implanted artificial meridians one such genius?
The tall and thin man gritted his teeth, his eyes bulging with blood vessels as he let out a beast-like roar.
"You wish! I want to see just how many slashes you can execute!"
He pushed himself to the limit, continuing to activate the energy in his blood.
The eleventh and twelfth slashes, the tall and thin man managed to guard against, but Lin Rui's thirteenth slash followed closely.
"Clang!"
With that sharp sound, the tall and thin man's long sword actually snapped.
His face instantly turned pale as if he were a corpse.
The opposing saber was incredibly sharp and resilient, and after thirteen consecutive slashes, it forcefully broke his sword!
In the next instant, Lin Rui's long saber fiercely descended, cleanly severing the tall and thin man's neck!
After succeeding, Lin Rui began to breathe heavily, easing his nearly exploding lungs and the sudden onset of weakness and fatigue in his limbs.
However, the scent of blood that Lin Rui breathed in, along with the sight of the two gruesomely deceased bodies in front of him, made him realize he had killed people!
Lin Rui quickly covered his mouth, forcefully using his True Yuan to suppress his churning stomach.
He absolutely could not vomit here, leaving behind any remnants.
Yet, what troubled Lin Rui even more at this moment were the scene of the fight and the two bodies.
If he could not manage them properly, he and his sister would face enormous trouble ahead.
He had thought that investigating the crime scene would be an easy task, yet he had almost lost his life in the process.