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Chapter 282 The Mechanism Is the Original Sin
……

"The perpetrator is Zhang Zhiqi, originally from Haicheng, with a criminal record, and was released from prison in 2022..."

While Yu Hengxing was explaining the case, Chen Xuan was also reviewing the documents in his hands.

Like Lu Lixin, this man was a marginalized member of society. After his release from prison, he did not reform himself and remained unemployed. If it weren't for this egregious incident with such a large impact, few people would have cared even if he had died.

However, they all awakened their abilities a year ago.

In his confession, Zhang Zhiqi mentioned that he gained his ability after being injected with a drug.

"The drug was given to him by someone else... As for what the other person looked like, he had no recollection of it at all, because he said he was locked in a dark iron room at the time and could only tell from the voice that the other person was a man."

"Medicine?" Chen Xuan asked curiously upon hearing this. "Are there such medicines?"

"You don't know either?" You Chi asked, puzzled. "Dean Sun said that you are the only person who could possibly tell us the origin of the drug."

Because he can refine pills?

But there are no similar pill formulas in alchemy.

“Currently, all abilities are awakened naturally. If they can be artificially intervened, then the problem will be huge,” Chen Xuan pondered. This means that whoever possesses this method can mass-produce ability users. If one or two legendary abilities emerge from among them, wouldn't Jiangcheng be turned upside down?
“Choosing a marginalized figure to inject with drugs to awaken their powers doesn’t seem like a worthwhile deal,” Lin Qing suddenly commented. “Zhang Zhiqi seems like a discarded pawn. Have you found out his motive for spreading the curse so wantonly in the airport lobby?”

“Yes, it’s to vent his anger,” You Chi replied. “He felt his fate was unfair and wanted to make others suffer as well.”

"It's that simple?"

"The police think so too... random and unpredictable crimes fit the characteristics of crimes committed to vent emotions, only the tool used has become ability. However..."

"But what?" Chen Xuan asked.

You Chi's expression was somewhat solemn. "However, such irregular behavior can be induced. In his report, Officer Tian from the Criminal Investigation Team wrote that the person who produced this drug was the real culprit in the case. If Zhang Zhiqi's confession is credible, it means that they deliberately selected marginalized people in society to awaken. After these people gained the ability, they used it to take revenge on society, which is very likely the result they expected."

This view coincides with Lin Qing's opinion.

Zhang Zhiqi and Lu Lixin are likely just tools; the main culprits are still hiding behind the scenes.

"Ah……"

Chen Xuan suddenly burst out laughing.

"What's wrong?" You Chi's voice suddenly brightened. "You have a lead?"

“It won’t be that fast…” He shook his head first, then pursed his lips and said, “But I always feel that the Security Agency is behind this.”

"Why?"

"First, it involves capability; second, it requires money and land—without money, you can't produce the medicine, and without land, you can't imprison Zhang Zhiqi and the others; third... it's highly likely not the work of one person, but a gang crime. An organization that can simultaneously handle all three points must be quite powerful."

In particular, regarding the third point, Zhang Zhiqi mentioned in his confession that although the place where he was imprisoned was very dark, and he was blindfolded when he was released, he could vaguely hear multiple voices crying and pleading. Considering the randomness of ability awakening, not all ability users will gain offensive powers, selecting a group of people to receive the drug is clearly a necessary measure.

Currently, the agency meets all the requirements.

Lin Qing nodded appreciatively, "I agree. Regardless of whether it turns out to be them or not, it's always right to suspect them first."

In her view, large corporations and monopolies should be blamed without reason, because their very existence is a kind of original sin.

You Chi gave a wry smile. "Unfortunately, investigations require evidence. Without evidence, the police can't launch a targeted investigation. As you two know, the agency's public relations are quite good; they have people on both the government and business sides speaking on their behalf. I do hope to find some flaws in them so that we can completely drive them out of Jiangcheng."

Lu Lixin is dead, and Zhang Zhiqi is the only source of information, but he doesn't know much, and his motive is very simple, perfectly concealing the true culprit. No wonder the case hasn't made much progress in over two months; ordinary criminal investigation methods are simply powerless in this situation.

Chen Xuan also felt it was somewhat troublesome.

However, if he were to directly apologize and say he couldn't help, it would seem very unprofessional. Since the person mentioned wanting professional help, it almost implicitly assumes he's a top-tier expert, and he should at least give it a try.

Otherwise, where would the professionals' dignity be?
Where is Zhang Zhiqi?

“He’s being held at the Shajiang District Police Station,” You Chi replied. “Could you bring him to the Beitianyuan Hospital?”

The other person was slightly taken aback. "This... if the dean himself is handling it, there shouldn't be any problem. But why did you bring the suspect here?"

“There are too many people and too many eyes in the police station. I don’t want to be noticed by the authorities. I feel more at ease being interrogated here. Of course… I’ll also need you to prepare a sleeping pill, just like Miss Honglian did earlier,” Chen Xuan explained.

"I understand." You Chi said he would go ask Dean Sun immediately.

After Yuhengxing left the archives, Lin Qing asked, "You want to use the Dream Weaver's abilities to find clues?"

“That’s right.” Chen Xuan shrugged. “There’s no better way.”

As for whether the police used the Great Memory Restoration Technique on Zhang Zhiqi, it's highly likely they did. In other words, Zhang Zhiqi has already revealed all the information he knows, so even if he appears in a dream, they won't be able to extract any new information from him.

But the most powerful aspect of dream-making is that it creates more than just a phantom of a person.

It can create every detail in a person's memory.

All Chen Xuan can rely on now are these details stored in his memory... details that are easily overlooked.

……

Three days later, a convoy of police cars drove into the territory of Beitianyuan.

"Get out of the car, we're here." Tian Zhenggang gave Zhang Zhiqi a push. "Don't even think about running away, there are people guarding the place everywhere."

With his hands cuffed behind his back, Zhang Zhiqi stumbled out of the car and found himself in an ancient-style temple, with densely forested mountains visible in the distance. His face turned pale, and he turned to get back into the car, shouting, "This isn't a courtroom! What are you doing? You can't punish me without a trial!"

Tian Zheng stood blocking the car door, both amused and annoyed, using one hand to stop the prisoner. "You're not scheduled for a public trial yet, what's the rush! Where did your arrogance go? You're so scared just because we're in a different place?"

When he was first arrested, Zhang Zhiqi was extremely arrogant and didn't take the police seriously at all. As soon as he took off his blindfold and gag, he shouted that he would curse them all and make them die in pain and weakness.

As a result, he naturally got beaten up quite a bit.

Even so, Zhang Zhiqi did not back down.

It wasn't until a few days later, when he discovered that all the police officers were perfectly healthy, that he truly panicked.

"Change...change the location? Why do we need to change the location? This isn't a police station!" Zhang Zhiqi stammered.

"Why do you care so much? When someone interrogates you later, just answer honestly."

"Officer Tian, ​​I've told you everything I know! Really!"

Tian Zhenggang ignored him, jumped off the back of the car, and greeted Yue Beifeng who was walking towards him. "I've brought the person to you. When does the interrogation begin?"

"About an hour later, my junior brother still has some preparations to make," Yue Beifeng replied coldly. "I'll take care of the prisoner; you can go to the Green Grass Hall for tea."

“That won’t do,” Tian Zhenggang immediately refused.

Yue Beifeng frowned. "Officer Tian, ​​your superiors should have communicated with you. This interrogation is being handled by the Beitian Institute. Your task is simply to bring the person here, nothing more."

He was extremely tall and robust, with striking features that made his voice incredibly imposing. The other police officers in the car instinctively took a step back, looking at Tian Zhenggang with some concern, fearing he might get into a fight with Beitianyuan.

Tian Zhenggang simply smiled faintly, his tone unchanged, seemingly oblivious to the pressure he was under. "I'm sorry, Director Yue, I can refrain from participating in the interrogation, but I must keep an eye on him. Otherwise, if he escapes from Beitian Hospital, how will the responsibility be divided? You're not police officers; you can't very well charge your hospital's doctors with dereliction of duty, can you?"

The two stared at each other, and for a moment the air seemed to freeze.

Finally, Yue Beifeng took out his phone and asked a couple of questions before relenting and saying, "At most one person can go."

"I'm enough. If I run away, it's on me." Tian Zhenggang gestured to his colleagues behind him, "Did you all hear that? You can rest now."

(End of this chapter)