The Professional Rankings, in twelve volumes, each bearing the name of my lord.

Another day has passed.

Much more information has emerged regarding the Song hexagram.

There are newspaper clippings, printed online materials, records of interviews with passersby, and some photos taken by Monkey Brother's team after on-site investigations.

After reading all this information, Song Gua began a brainstorming session on his own.

The clones chattered and argued endlessly, their minds blazing with ideas and their thoughts soaring.

The Song hexagram meticulously analyzes and dissects the matter.

Finally, he got a glimpse of the truth.

"Three months ago, the Chen family in Xichuan City was wiped out. Apart from the head of the Chen family and the family members who were away at the time, no one survived. The whereabouts of the head of the Chen family are unknown afterward."

"Before the Chen family was wiped out, a horrific tragedy occurred: a mother and daughter were raped and murdered in their home by a group of thugs at midnight. The photos of the scene were too gruesome to look at; the victims were covered in wounds, and the daughter had just turned sixteen."

"The murdered mother and daughter were Qin Zheng's wife and daughter, one of the captains of the law enforcement department of the Xichuan City Professionals Association."

"Based on the traces left at the scene of the Chen family crime and the fact that Qin Zheng had previously arrested the son of the Chen family patriarch, the law enforcement department concluded that the perpetrator of the massacre was Qin Zheng. They speculated that the group that raped and murdered Qin Zheng's wife and daughters were members of the Chen family, or were appointed by the Chen family."

"Qin Zheng has been formally wanted."

"After the Chen family was wiped out, a series of other massacres occurred in Xichuan City. Like the Chen family, corpses littered the ground overnight. People said that Qin Zhengqian was the one who was grieving too much and went mad. He was so bloodthirsty that he mistook all the family power in Xichuan City for the Chen family."

Qin Zheng gradually came to be known as the "Madman of Xichuan".

This is the surface of a series of events.

Based on the files discovered by Monkey King, Song Gua deduced an underlying truth.

Apart from the Chen family at the beginning.

All the families that were subsequently wiped out had some connection with the councilors marked with an "X" in the files.

Either this family is the family from which this senator came from, or the family through marriage.

Either this family is the one that funded the congressman's career.

Either this family supports the senator's political views.

In the era of professionals, there was no such thing as pure civil and political affairs; behind everything, there was the shadow of force.

Therefore, officials who want to climb higher in rank definitely need the help of certain powerful forces.

Powerful factions support high-ranking officials, while smaller factions support low-ranking officials.

If the forces behind them disappear, it will be difficult for officials to realize their political views.

There was another coincidence.

All the councilors marked with an "X" are those who did not vote for Shih-yang in the city council regarding their stance on the mayoral election.

Based on the information above, it is not difficult to see that the so-called "Crazy Xichuan Incident" was nothing more than a political maneuver.

The initial incident of the Chen family harming Qin Zheng and her daughter was merely part of a scheme.

Qin Zheng became a victim of political struggle, taking the blame for Shi Yang's elimination of political opponents.

Da Congming raised an objection.

"That's not right. Although Shi Yang can easily wipe out small and medium-sized families by using the experts of the Shi family, killing those who don't support him is clearly telling the whole world that he was the one who did it, isn't it?"

Song Gua pointed to the list printed on the wall and said.

"Look, this is where Shi Yang is smarter than you. He didn't kill these councilors at all, and he even spared the lives of their closest relatives within three generations."

He's just destroying the supporters behind those people.

When these lawmakers lose support, they have to find new supporters.

At this point, the Shi family only needs to extend an olive branch.

Furthermore, he did not eliminate all dissidents. Of the more than one hundred councilors, he only took down eighteen. Among the remaining people, there were many who opposed Shi Yang.

This was something he had planned out; as long as eighteen people defected and voted for him, the balance of power would shift, and he would win.

Moreover, as you can see from the citizens' votes, Shi Yang is only 3 percentage points ahead of his opponent.

What a narrow victory! How could there possibly be a conspiracy behind it?

Furthermore, I noticed that the Shi family has recently been recruiting, seeking out professionals from outside the family.

Why?

Their businesses and territories have expanded, and they urgently need manpower to manage them.

Where is it?

Those families that suffered devastating blows lost control of their industries, resources, and territories, and were all swallowed up by the Shi family.

This whole mess is probably orchestrated not by Shi Yang, but by the Shi family's upper echelons. Ensuring Shi Yang becomes mayor is just one of the purposes of this bloody massacre.

The Shi family is the second most powerful family in Xichuan City, and becoming the first is their motivation for doing these things.

With a mayor of a top-tier city in the family, their influence in politics is considerable.

Da Congming nodded repeatedly.

"So, what Qin Zheng said to Captain Wang last time was true."

"It's highly likely to be true. Moreover, he said he was looking for the head of the Chen family, so it's pretty obvious where this head of the Chen family is."

"In the Shi family! As long as the Shi family hides the person Qin Zheng hates most in Xichuan City, Qin Zheng will stay in Xichuan City to search for him. Qin Zheng's presence in Xichuan City only confirms his identity as the 'Xichuan Madman'!"

The clones gritted their teeth in anger.

"What a vicious political struggle!"

"According to Qin Zheng's previous records, he was the most decorated squadron leader in the enforcement team, and also the most opposed to corrupt officials becoming mayor!"

"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down; if Shi Yang doesn't take him down, who else will he target?"

"Street interviews revealed that citizens greatly admired the former Qin Zheng, saying he was full of a sense of justice and compassionate towards the weak, just like us bandits—charismatic!"

"How could someone like this be harmed like this, his family destroyed, and still bear such a stigma! It's despicable!"

"His wife and daughter died such a horrible death, subjected to such humiliation by so many thugs before they died... Bastards!"

"Damn it! Kill him! You son of a bitch!"

"Damn it! Crush them! Aren't I passionate!"

"Slay the corrupt officials! Kill the tycoons!"

The clones got carried away.

The Song hexagram remains relatively calm.

He knew that in this world, corrupt officials and tycoons had many dirty tricks up their sleeves.

All of this happened just by chance, and they discovered it.

When you see a cockroach under the light, it means that the dark area is already teeming with cockroaches.

"Oh~ my clone, I know you're all excited, but don't get excited yet."

Whether or not to deal with Shi Yang or the Shi family can only be decided after meeting Qin Zheng.

They might want to kill their enemy themselves. If we do it for them, they might get upset and refuse to tell me the information I need, which would be bad news.

Monkey King from Xichuan City was quite helpless.

"No, this Qin Zheng refuses to meet with us no matter what, and even scolding him doesn't work."

"Things are different now. We know the real culprit behind the murder of his wife and daughters, and Qin Zheng himself may not even know it."

"Yes, I know what to do!"

Da Congming looked at the documents covering the table.

"If we go after Shi Yang, won't we offend the Shi family? That's not a good idea. They're the second most powerful family in Xichuan City. Even if they can't beat the three major clans, they're still very strong."

Song Gua raised an eyebrow.

"The bandits offended the Shi family? You're wrong. You should pray that the Shi family doesn't offend the bandits."

With two dark artifacts in hand and over a thousand S-class professionals, why would Song Gua fear a family like this?

No matter how powerful he is, he is still a local family.