Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

Zhang Zhaoqing nodded emphatically, his eyes gleaming with excitement: "Young Master Wang is right! Strip him of his skin, let's see where he can hide!"

After he finished speaking, he saw that Wang Shijun was still sitting there, not responding, his brows slightly furrowed.

Zhang Zhaoqing's excitement froze for a moment, and he tentatively asked, "Young Master Wang, is there anything else you're worried about?"

"Removing the police uniform is only the first step," Wang Shijun said slowly. "And then?"

"You saw what happened to Zhou Xie and the others." Wang Shijun looked up at him. "Four men, with your prized 'Tranquilizing V-Shaped Stance,' gone without even a splash. After we get Li Rui out of the police force, what then? Send another group to their deaths?"

Zhang Zhaoqing's facial muscles twitched, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. However, he was not considering backing down, but rather plotting even more ruthless methods.

Wang Shijun stood up, walked to the window, looked at the thick night outside, and remained silent for a moment.

"I need professional personnel." He turned around. "I will use the name of the Five Mountains Alliance to transfer people from Blackstone International Security Company—the kind of elites who have seen blood, understand tactics, and can adapt to unconventional situations. We need to lure this beast, Li Rui, out of the police station's den step by step, remove his claws, and then..."

Wang Shijun made a grasping gesture, as if he had already grasped Li Rui's soul in his palm.

"As for you, continue your research on the tranquilizing drug series, and at the same time prepare to study Li Rui."

------

Early morning, Dawn City Police Department, "Special Investigation Bureau" office.

Wang Shiwei was standing in the corner of the conference room taking notes.

The air conditioning was on full blast, almost bone-chilling.

The core team of the Special Investigations Bureau sat around a large table covered with satellite photos, engaging in a heated debate.

"The peak energy level of that pit in Nanshan is still inaccurate; existing physics formulas are practically a joke there!"

Professor Chen Jingrun, the newly arrived specialist at the Provincial Strategic Risk Assessment Center, was angrily slamming his fist on the table.

"Xu Suyuan's 'wall-penetrating' bioelectric response pattern has no template in ordinary humans. We must expand the screening scope, not only to Chenxi City, but also to the high-risk lists of several surrounding cities!"

Professor Fang Weiguo, a newly arrived top talent in the field of forensic science, rubbed his temples, his eyes bloodshot.

Administrative coordinator Wu Yong frowned, occasionally jotting something down in his notebook;

Chief Inspector Liu Changhe stood with his arms crossed, his face solemn.

Special Advisor Gu Heng leaned back in his chair, listening to the debate with his eyes closed, occasionally opening them to glance at the photos on the table.

They were extremely busy.

They are reconstructing the giant crater, they are analyzing surveillance footage, and they are trying to define "extraordinary" based on Chen Guohua's autopsy report.

From their perspective, the extraordinary is a phenomenal catastrophe, a monster that defies the constants of physics—

Chen Guohua's "excitement" caused a terminal uremia patient to suddenly unleash a terrifying power capable of killing his target;

Xu Suyuan's "wall-penetrating" ability overturned the fundamental law that matter is impenetrable;

Han Xiao's "outburst" wiped an entire building off the map.

Meanwhile, those "ordinary missing persons cases" that occurred in the slated demolition areas of the Seventh District or in the study rooms of upscale apartments did not even come into their sight in the vast grassroots police report database.

Because there was no fire, no explosion, and no corpse.

Without those "extraordinary labels" that would trigger the Special Investigations Bureau—

There was no giant crater, no wall penetration, no extraordinary footage captured by surveillance cameras, and no characteristics that could be defined as a "phenomenal disaster".

This kind of debate has happened far too many times lately.

So much so that Wang Shiwei lost focus.

The sounds of the argument gradually faded from my ears.

These past few days, she's been paying close attention to one person—Li Rui.

After learning that his wife had been murdered and the killer had escaped punishment, she had been trying to help him.

But after learning that her brother had been involved in Zhang Ziqian's acquittal, she didn't tell Li Rui—

That was the family's choice, and also her silence.

Guilt prevented her from facing Li Rui directly.

So she started secretly keeping an eye on it.

Note his attendance record—normal, he clocks in on time every day.

Look at his social media activity – it's blank, there are no updates.

Pay attention to the bits and pieces of information coming up from the grassroots level—"Li Rui is doing fine, just going about his business as usual, nothing seems out of the ordinary."

That's perfectly normal.

It was so normal that it made her feel something was off.

But in Wang Shiwei's memory, Li Rui was never someone who could live so "rationally" after such a tragic loss of his wife.

She recalled that afternoon at the police academy many years ago.

A group of people gathered in their dormitory to watch a crime movie. The villain in the movie was a fanatic who was willing to trample on all rules for the sake of his own "justice".

The students chattered excitedly, and someone jokingly pointed at Li Rui and said, "Hey, you know what, if Rui-ge turned evil, he'd probably look like this—eyes burning with fire, and nobody could stop him. Because the justice in his heart is so pure that it doesn't tolerate any grain of sand."

Li Rui just smiled and didn't say anything.

But Wang Shiwei always remembered that smile.

The fire in Li Rui's heart has never been extinguished.

Previously, it burned within the framework of rules, transforming into a righteous spirit that hated evil.

And now-

How could someone like that be "normal" after his wife's tragic death and the law's failure to punish the murderer?

unless--

His fire has already burned out elsewhere.

Then came the news that Zhang Ziqian, Sun Weimin, and Sun Qiang had gone missing.

Then Zhou Shouzhen went missing.

Those who stood in the way of Li Rui's "justice" disappeared one by one.

Two missing persons cases, four people connected to the Su Xiao case.

She didn't believe it was a coincidence.

Wang Shiwei closed her eyes, combining all the psychological profiles and background factors she had encountered at the Special Investigation Bureau regarding the "Awakened"—

Chen Guohua: His daughter died tragically, he was framed, and he awakened in despair.

Xu Suyuan: Imprisoned and tortured, her grandmother died of illness, and she awakened in despair.

Han Xiao: His wife and daughter were murdered, and he was seriously injured. He awakened in despair.

The commonalities in each case: extreme emotional shock, strong obsession, and despair about the current situation.

Every label could be accurately attached to Li Rui.

"Li Rui...is that you?" she murmured softly.

A deep chill rose in her heart, but even more so, an indescribable sorrow.

If Li Rui awakens, then he is now walking on the edge of a precipice like fire.

Once the Special Investigation Bureau reacts, once the greed of the family and the Five Mountains Society fully erupts, she knows better than anyone what Li Rui will face—

They could become “anomalies” to be hunted, or worse, become “samples” in some laboratory.

Last time, at Zhang Ziqian's hearing, she chose to remain silent for the sake of her family's position.

She watched helplessly as Li Rui's hopes were crushed and he plummeted into the abyss.

That guilt was now gnawing at her heart like a venomous snake.

What should she do this time?

Was she fulfilling her duty as an assistant consultant to the Special Investigation Bureau and a member of the Wang family to tell the Special Investigation Bureau and the family about this suspicion?

Should I, as a classmate who once deeply admired that spark of justice, choose to remain silent once again, or... give him a warning?

Outside the window, the morning sun is slowly rising.

The scorching sun is about to descend once again.

In this city shrouded in both greed and justice, she felt an unprecedented loneliness.