Transform into a human

Hong Ji remained speechless for a long time. He had no intention or ability to defend Jing Shu, and he was shocked by the coincidence of fate.

He was naturally aware of the current three-tiered system for detectives, which required them to lead the solving of 100 major cases within a year. This was only possible with logistical, intelligence, and team support from the police headquarters, which was why the police headquarters monopolized the path to becoming a top detective.

As for the more ancient promotion rituals... to be honest, he didn't know either, but he figured it must be related to the number of cases solved and the difficulty of those cases, because he had vaguely heard the assistant director mention that the old rituals of the Divine Detective were too difficult, and the police headquarters had to spend a lot of money to ask the priests of the Northern Kingdom to optimize the rituals.

Helena lowered her head: "Brother Yue Lai, all of that is in the past."

She never expected that Yue Lai would not only not hold her accountable for scheming against her, but would also be angry about what had happened to her.

She felt ashamed about it.

Yue Lai suddenly asked, "Will you attend tomorrow's hearing?"

Hong Ji was startled. What did he mean by whether or not he would attend the hearing? Was it something he could simply choose not to attend?

"As expected, you can't hide it from Brother Yue Lai."

Helena smiled, but it wasn't the sweetness of a young girl; it only brought out a few wrinkles.

Yue Lai stared blankly at her, as if recalling the first time he saw Helena at the bakery, when the girl rushed out of the baking room in a panic.

More than twenty years have passed.

Time left no trace on him, on Mo, or on Yuehao, and Xia Du entered his prime during this time. But now, the old Helena showed him what decay is.

From her youthful love affair with Victor, to her husband's discovery of a world-shaking mineral deposit, to the accidental involvement of a pen that led to her becoming a hairpin shopper, and finally achieving revenge, numerous coincidences have composed this turbulent melody.

Yue Lai once again truly touched upon the word "fate".

Helena never looked up; she uttered her last words:

"Goodbye, Brother Yue Lai, I'm so sorry..."

Hong Ji jumped up from his chair with a "whoosh": "No, Ms. Casti, you need to calm down!"

He could watch a hardened criminal die before his eyes, and even a hundred mouths couldn't clear his name afterwards! But how could he stop the self-destruction of a powerful figure of the same level?

A black storm rose abruptly from the ground, yet remained firmly confined within the cell, utterly unharmed by Yue Lai in the next room. A black rose appeared at Helena's temple, its petals peeling away and drifting into the raging torrent, like drops of ink falling into a deep pool. With each petal that dissolved, the storm's color deepened, until it became an absolute, inky black.

The storm's terrifying, compressed power made Hong Ji hesitate. If he were to take out his relics and fight desperately, he wouldn't be completely useless, but... should he really stop her?

Who is behind Helena that would make her commit suicide to erase all traces? Can a prison warden really bear the weight of the truth?

Was it unintentional or deliberate to place the two women who wore hairpins in the poorly equipped No. 14 prison?

Besides, death was already this poor woman's last wish...

For various reasons, he ultimately remained silent.

Just when he thought this was the limit of "accidents", an even bigger commotion came from Yue Lai's cell next door. More and more Yue Lais appeared in the prison. The small space seemed infinite and boundless. Yue Lais from different time periods gathered together and walked towards the real body in the middle at the same time, eventually merging into one.

Hong Ji slowly opened his mouth wide, but froze at that moment. The starlight that was originally barely perceptible in the air stopped floating. It was as if some will in the dark was preventing the world from seeing Yue Lai's advancement.

Yes, after the death of Hou Fan, another player, Yue Lai's promotion to the rank of Ba Shi Lang was completed. However, what he didn't tell Yue Hao and the others was that he followed the oldest promotion ceremony in the Hunzi Mendao (a type of chess player), the advantage of which was that it didn't require a secret tablet, but the disadvantage was—

The promotion ceremony is a two-stage ritual!

His memory of the other ritual was surprisingly poor, containing only two words: "[witness]".

From the moment Helena chose to commit suicide, Yue Lai suddenly understood what his past self was making his present self witness.

It is life, life, a complete life.

It's laughable that he's been awake for over two hundred years, and all the people he knows are either immortals or extraordinary individuals with long lifespans. This is the first time he's witnessed the entire life of an ordinary person.

The heartache he felt when Li cried, the excitement he felt when Xia Du ambushed him, and the heartache Helena brought him all converged into a key that unlocked the door to the mysteries of the Chess Star.

Gradually, the figures in the boundless space began to decrease. They continuously merged into the present, seeking in the present, without dwelling on the past or looking towards the future.

The prophecy of the Northern Priest, which states, "When there is a past body, it is only a past body; there is no future or present. When there is a future body, it is only a future body; there is no past or present. When there is a present body, it is only a present body; there is no past or future body," perfectly encapsulates Yue Lai's current state.

Promotion is just the beginning. The accumulation of more than two hundred years of "wandering through time" bursts forth in one day. The skill of "Black and White Killing Game" is improving at an astonishing speed. No, that's not all. The fourth path of the chess star has also grown naturally and has been filled in a short period of time.

Four gates, [confusing black and white].

Even the four secrets of the spies were mastered in an instant, and the ability to see clearly and discern the truth was finally bestowed upon them.

Finally, he stood up, and the frozen time and space of Prison No. 14 reconnected with reality, and Hong Ji returned to his previous state.

"Strange...why should I open my mouth?"

But the scene before him left him no time to think. The black storm gradually subsided, the woman who had completed her revenge was nowhere to be seen, the prison was covered with thick black rose petals, and even the walls were covered with thorns. In addition, there was a book left behind.

The book title is very eye-catching:

Helena's Detective Stories

"Officer, could you please do me a favor?"

Hong Ji frowned. The conditions and effects of this relic were completely unknown. According to regulations, if a prisoner dies unexpectedly in prison and any relic is found, the relic containment department must be notified immediately. Before that, let alone moving it without authorization, even the living people around it must be evacuated.

Moreover, this is a third-grade relic.

"I'm sorry..."

"Give it to him."

A cold male voice came from the starry veil in front of them, and only then did the three of them realize its existence.

Xingsha, University Town... she's the deputy director!

Hong Ji was immediately jolted awake. He forced himself not to think about why this person didn't stop Helena from committing suicide, and quickly opened the cell door, handing the book to Yue Lai.

Yue Lai turned to the title page, where a sentence stood out prominently—

"A gift for my friends at the firm."