We asked you to solve cases, and here you are sharing your criminal experiences?

In the captain's office.

The main lights weren't on; only a desk lamp on the desk emitted a warm, yellow light.

Gu Tingchen leaned back in his leather swivel chair.

Long, slender fingers held an unlit cigarette between their fingers.

He rarely smokes, only taking out his cigarettes to smell them when he encounters the most difficult cases and needs to stay calm.

The whiteboard in front of him.

A complex web of relationships between characters was drawn with a black marker.

In the very center, at the very core, are written three words: Song Qianxia.

Gu Tingchen stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up a red pen, and drew a few lines next to Song Qianxia's name.

The first line points to "bomb disposal on a cruise ship".

He recalled that harrowing afternoon. A police academy student who couldn't even pass the physical fitness test, faced with a complex multi-barreled explosive device, didn't even flinch.

Not only did it identify the fuse structure, it also precisely cut the correct wire.

The second line points to "blind spot check-in and stun grenade".

Today at the mall, she saw through the mercenary's testing logic at a glance.

In the afternoon at the chemical plant.

She scaled the exterior wall of the sixth floor with her bare hands, her tactical movements so precise that even the SWAT team was ashamed. The timing of the stun grenade throw was also accurate to the millisecond.

The third line points to "dark web code".

Those green characters that just flashed on her computer screen.

Others might not understand, but Gu Tingchen did.

During his advanced studies at the provincial department, he learned from top cybersecurity experts.

That's a low-level decompilation language that Cyrillic hackers love to use.

Gu Tingchen looked at the name on the whiteboard.

He slammed the red pen heavily onto the whiteboard.

This is definitely not a skill that a recent graduate intern should possess.

She underwent the most rigorous military training and was proficient in all kinds of underworld slang and trading rules. Her sense of danger was sharper than that of a trained police dog.

Who is she?

Which secret agency did he retire from?

Or is it a spy planted in the police force by some large criminal organization?

Logically speaking...

As the head of the criminal investigation team of Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau, he discovered such a significant security risk among his subordinates. His first reaction should have been to immediately report it to the provincial authorities.

Take her into custody and conduct the most rigorous background check.

Once you're put on the lie detector and interrogation chair...

He refused to believe he couldn't get the girl to talk.

but.

Gu Tingchen looked at the photo next to Song Qianxia's name.

That was her ID photo taken by the personnel department when she first reported to the task force.

The girl in the photo has a bright smile and clear eyes like a spring, exuding a naive and clever charm.

Gu Tingchen put down the red pen in his hand.

It flashed through my mind.

It was her figure, who bravely climbed onto the sixth-floor balcony to save Lin Wan.

It was the way she squatted down and twirled a lollipop to get the frightened little girl to talk.

She was holding a full-sugar milk tea, eating instant noodles with three braised eggs, looking completely satisfied with her money-grubbing behavior.

There are countless inexplicable mysteries surrounding her.

But there was no murderous intent, no malice.

She never harmed any innocent person; on the contrary, she pulled the task force back from the brink of disaster time and time again.

Gu Tingchen is a person who values ​​procedures and principles very much.

But he trusted his own eyes more.

"No matter what secrets you're hiding."

Gu Tingchen muttered to himself in a low, steady voice.

"As long as you stand in the light, I will never push you back into the darkness."

He decided to keep this suspicion to himself.

It was not reported.

But he wanted to find out for himself what kind of past this girl named Song Qianxia was carrying.

at the same time.

One hundred kilometers away from the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau, in a highly secluded private upscale club.

The air in the private room was filled with the aroma of top-grade agarwood.

A man dressed in an exquisite bespoke suit sat in front of a rosewood tea table.

The man was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

He has a gentle and refined demeanor, and looks like a university professor or sociologist who frequently appears on television.

His name is Cheng Yan.

Visiting professor at Jiangcheng University, renowned expert in social governance.

But in this private room, he had another name: the Night Watchman.

He is the highest-ranking person in charge of Night Owl's network in Jiangcheng.

Cheng Yan was slowly and methodically washing and brewing the tea.

The movements were extremely graceful.

The door to the private room was pushed open.

A burly man walked in and knelt on one knee in front of the tea table.

This is the suspect who managed to escape from the chemical plant this afternoon.

"Boss, I've failed in my duties."

The man lowered his head, his voice trembling. "We got the goods from the mall, but the police foiled our scheme at the chemical plant. Chen Hu was arrested, and my partner didn't escape either."

Cheng Yan picked up a small cup of Da Hong Pao tea.

I held it to my nose and smelled it.

Instead of getting angry, he smiled gently.

"I told you long ago. Jiangcheng is not one of those chaotic no-man's-land areas."

Cheng Yan took a sip of tea.

"The police here are quite capable. Especially that captain named Gu Tingchen."

He put down his teacup.

"However, Chen Hu doesn't know much. He can't come up with anything useful."

The subordinate swallowed hard and quickly pulled a document from his pocket.

"Boss, this is the list of the task force members who participated in today's operation. We got it from an informant within the city bureau."

Cheng Yan took the few thin sheets of A4 paper.

His gaze casually swept over the names of Gu Tingchen, Zhao Ming, Zhou Zheng, and others.

All of this was within his expectations.

But when he turned to the last page...

His gaze suddenly stopped.

My fingers gently stroked a photograph on the paper.

"Who is this?"