Lu Zhiwei pretended not to hear Xiang Beifei's words and shone her flashlight on the otherworldly dog that had been kicked to the brink of death, her expression growing slightly more serious, "Why would there be a desolate beast here?"
"Just now..."
Xiang Beifei was about to explain, but Lu Zhiwei held up a hand to stop him from continuing, "Don't spoil it for me, I'm a Law Enforcer. Let me reason it out!"
What is there to reason out?
However, Lu Zhiwei's "Super Police System" seemed to have issued a task:
[Task: Investigate the scene, deduce the events that occurred]
[Correct deduction reward: +1 Recognition Ability]
"Alright then!"
Xiang Beifei shrugged his shoulders and made a welcoming gesture.
Lu Zhiwei walked around the alley seriously, circling a tree twice, squatting down to poke the otherworldly dog, then wandering through the alley as if looking for some clues.
A minute later, she lifted her head and said, "You must have had poor grades and were kept in detention by the teacher, which is why you're only just getting home now. You encountered this desolate beast, but you still had time to call the police, indicating that the beast's target wasn't you but instead another person, whom you saw being attacked, hence you called the police. But when I arrived, the desolate beast was about to attack you, and there was no second person at the scene—Ah! Could that person have been eaten by the desolate beast?"
Xiang Beifei: "???"
"Am I right in my deducing?"
Lu Zhiwei asked eagerly.
Xiang Beifei spread his hands.
A line of text flashed across her system interface:
[Deduction failed, current accuracy rate: 11%, target accuracy rate: 20%]
"How is that possible? I deduced it by referencing the logic of detective cartoons. I've seen over 600 episodes of detective cartoons, learned so many insights, mastered all sorts of perfect crimes, alibis, locked-room murder techniques... and still my deduction accuracy rate is this low!"
Lu Zhiwei muttered to herself indignantly, hands on her hips.
Xiang Beifei said, "The detective cartoon you've been watching, wouldn't the protagonist happen to be Detective Kogoro Mori?"
Lu Zhiwei glared at Xiang Beifei.
Xiang Beifei casually glanced over Lu Zhiwei's stats again.
[Speed: 79]
[Strength: 80]
[Identification Ability: 19]
[Deduction Ability: 18]
...
These skewed stats are a bit severe.
Could it be that she leveled up her skill tree incorrectly, putting all the points into speed and strength?
Is she planning to become a violent detective?
"Xiao Wei, you went on a mission alone again without telling me!"
At that moment, a man hurried into the alley from behind. Wearing a blue guard uniform, he strode quickly over, scanning the alley with a serious look, then frowned slightly at the sight of the otherworldly dog lying on the ground.
Xiang Beifei looked at the man's system interface:
[Host: Lu Hong]
[Grade S, Investigation System]
[Realm: Early Stage of Meridian Opening]
When Lu Zhiwei saw Lu Hong, she shrank her head and said sheepishly, "Dad, I was just reducing your workload! A desolate beast showed up in our area, which is a big deal. You were eating just now, so I took it upon myself to step in."
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"Nonsense! You're not a law enforcer yet, and my agreeing to let you intern here every evening wasn't permission for you to stir up trouble. Couldn't you have called me when I wasn't around?"
Lu Hong's voice was very serious.
Lu Zhiwei smiled sheepishly and dared not talk back.
"Beifei, what happened? Did you report an attack?"
Lu Hong also knew Xiang Beifei.
"Yes, just now I was attacked by a desolate beast."
Xiang Beifei pointed at the mutant dog on the ground.
Lu Hong stared at the mutant dog for a long while before speaking, "This isn't a true desolate beast, but a dog that has been mutated by someone. It's a low-level mutant dog which won't revert back until its strength has dissipated. Earlier, it must have been—"
Lu Hong paused here, looking at Xiang Beifei with some astonishment, then asked, "It was targeting you; it chased you from over there to this tree and then ran into the tree, seemingly losing its ability to fight. You're really lucky."
Such impressive deductive skills.
Much better than the 11% accuracy of Lu Zhiwei.
Indeed, experience does count.
However, it wasn't luck that the mutant dog lost its ability to fight; everything was just within Xiang Beifei's calculations.
Lu Zhiwei said softly, "Dad, it was I who knocked down this mutant dog just now."
"Where did you knock it down? You were just gilding the lily. Look here, the dog's vulnerability was clearly prodded several times by this branch, at least three times. By the way, Beifei, how did you know how to deal with this mutant dog?"
Lu Hong looked at Xiang Beifei with astonishment.
In his impression, Xiang Beifei was not very serious about his studies, unlike his father.
"Oh right, I've read some books about mutant dogs and know their weaknesses. When it ran into the tree just now, I kept scratching its vulnerable spot to prevent it from getting up, waiting for you to come."
Xiang Beifei nodded, making no attempt to conceal it.
After all, Lu Hong was a law enforcer, and one equipped with the Investigation System at that, so there was no need to hide anything from him.
"Ah, so that's how it was!"
Lu Zhiwei remembered her own dreadful reasoning and rolled her eyes, "Damn, I thought it had eaten a person!"
Lu Hong ignored his daughter and continued to question Xiang Beifei, "Who have you angered? Why would someone use a mutant dog to attack a student like you?"
"I don't know, I was just taking this road on my way home, when a desolate beast suddenly pounced on me, and then I started running while calling the police."
Xiang Beifei thought for a moment, then added:
"Right, just now I saw someone hiding in this tree. It seemed like he was making a phone call. I vaguely heard someone on the phone calling him Xu Yang. Maybe he thought I was eavesdropping, so he attacked me. When he heard me calling the police, he ran away. Uncle Lu, can you find out anything?"
"Xu Yang?"
Lu Hong frowned slightly, then noted the name. He carefully climbed up the tree to check and after a while said:
"Indeed, someone has been here. They stood in this spot for about ten minutes. Judging by the wear on the bark, the person weighs around 70 kilograms."
He asked Xiang Beifei for more details, and Xiang Beifei, apart from his own abilities, disclosed everything else; there was nothing worth hiding.
If they were to investigate a stranger, clearly, it would be more convenient for Lu Hong to do the investigation. They had the help of the system, which would make the process more efficient.
Unfortunately, no matter how extensive Lu Hong's investigative experience was, his system couldn't directly provide more information about the suspect.
"I'll take this mutant dog back for investigation. Anyone who can make an ordinary dog into a mutant dog certainly has a mutation-based system, and their strength is at least in the late stages of Qi-Controlling, if not stronger.
But since he didn't harm you, he must have been wary of something, perhaps not wanting to leave too many clues. So he might have just sent the mutant dog to distract your attention, not planning to do anything to you. It seems like you won't be in danger for the time being, I'll take you home first, and once I have some leads, I'll inform you."
Lu Hong explained the situation to Xiang Beifei.
"Alright, Uncle Lu."
Xiang Beifei nodded politely.
```