Black Silk Female Police Detective Exorcist

"Shift change? Did you check the warehouse when you changed shifts before?"

Qin Huanyu frowned and asked.

"No."

The armed police shook their heads like rattles:

“The last time we changed shifts was around 10 p.m. At that time, there were still people from the archaeological team studying the artifacts in the warehouse, so we didn’t go in to check.”

"The archaeological team? Who are they?"

Qin Huanyu's brows furrowed even more:

"Didn't I send them all back to the hotel before dinner? How come they're still here at 10 pm?"

“They did go back to the hotel then, but they came back around 8 o’clock. Professor Zhang led the group himself, and his students were all there. Ms. Yi and her secretary also came.”

The armed police captain, who was being questioned, swallowed hard and nervously replied:

"Professor Zhang said he couldn't sleep after dinner, his mind was full of things about the ancient tomb, and he insisted on coming here to take another look. We wanted to inform you, sir, but Miss Yi said that you have been working overtime these past few days and that your task has been completed, so you should get some rest."

"That's it..."

Qin Huanyu's furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

These words are flawless. After the danger of the extraordinary power within the ancient tomb was eliminated, Qin Huanyu's mission was indeed over. The Investigation Bureau had already completed the case closure and filing process, and she could completely ignore the subsequent archaeological work.

The loss of supernatural power burial items can now be considered a completely new case.

"About how long have Professor Zhang Ji and Youyou stayed here?"

After pondering for a moment, Qin Huanyu asked again.

"Hmm...it's not even 12 o'clock yet."

The armed police captain thought for a moment:

"Before they left, I remember one of Professor Zhang's students muttering something like, 'There's a midnight show that's about to start, so hurry back and you can still catch it.'"

"Did they leave together? Did you not check the warehouse again afterward? And did no suspicious person approach this place?"

Qin Huanyu asked again.

"Yes, they left together in two cars, the secretary and the male student each in one car."

The armed police captain quickly answered the first question, then took a deep breath:

“From then until just now when we were about to change shifts, we didn’t go into the warehouse again, and we didn’t see any suspicious people approaching… Not to mention suspicious people, there weren’t even any animals! We chased away a few stray cats and crows that tried to get close!”

"I see... Alright, I'll go check the warehouse first."

After clarifying the matter, Qin Huanyu stopped getting angry and waved for the armed police officers to disperse and continue their guard duty.

These armed police officers are all elites. Qin Huanyu didn't think they would lie or make any basic mistakes, but the items were still lost, so there were only two possibilities.

One possibility is that the thief possesses some kind of supernatural power, enabling them to steal things undetected even under the watchful eyes of nearly 50 elite armed police officers.

Secondly, the thief was among the archaeological team. Someone from the team took advantage of the moment when they left at night and stole two items without anyone noticing.

At first, Qin Huanyu thought the two possibilities were about 50/50, but after a preliminary examination of the crime scene and verification of the lost items, she felt that the second possibility was more likely.

Because the two lost burial items were small, a palm-sized bronze mirror and a fist-sized brass wine cup, they could easily be hidden on one's person and taken away.

Both of these extraordinary items have low spiritual energy content and their abilities are quite useless; they are both items that should be added to the Divine Capital Museum.

That brass wine glass is a miniature water dispenser with a built-in quick-cooling and quick-heating function, allowing the owner to drink hot wine in winter and ice wine in summer. It is a magical tool to improve daily life.

The bronze mirror was even more useless; it wasn't even a mirror, but rather an ancient media player that could only play fixed videos.

Simply pour the traditionally brewed grain liquor onto the surface of a bronze mirror, and within 20 seconds, a moving erotic image will appear in the mirror—in a very classical style, not at all erotic.

This is also why Qin Huanyu felt that the first possibility was really unlikely.

If the thief was truly a powerful thief with superhuman abilities, why would he only steal these two almost useless items? There's a secret treasure in the warehouse that could be stored in the royal treasury! It seems obvious he would steal that, right?

Moreover, the case happened far too quickly. The burial goods were unearthed during the day and stolen that very night. Even the most extraordinary thieves shouldn't have such terrifying intelligence capabilities.

After all, Redwood Town is currently under martial law, much like a military restricted area, so very few people know about the archaeological team's discoveries during the day.

The possibility of an inside job is very high.

Qin Huanyu had even identified a suspect and was already fantasizing about how to bring her back to the station for separate interrogation!

However, after carefully examining the crime scene again and scanning the spiritual residue with her mobile phone, Qin Huanyu was no longer so sure about her previous speculation.

Chapter 84 Temporary Storage

The thief was even more arrogant than Qin Huanyu had anticipated.

That guy not only stole two items on the very day the burial goods were unearthed, but he also deliberately left a mark at the crime scene, just like those famous phantom thieves in legendary stories.

This mark was likely specifically reserved for Qin Huanyu, or perhaps for the Investigation Bureau.

The markings, composed of pure spiritual elements, were printed on the wall like a painting, invisible to the naked eye. Qin Huanyu only discovered them when she used her mobile phone to detect the spiritual elements at the scene.

It was a small bird with white feathers and blue eyes, very cute, and its size was a bit like a sparrow.

Qin Huanyu checked some information and learned that this bird was called a skylark, and a very rare pure white skylark.

...Is there any famous thief who is marked by a white lark?

Qin Huanyu carefully recalled the rumors she had heard from Cheng Hai and Bai Ling during her training in Nanhu City some time ago, but found no clues.

Could it be some unknown petty thief, or a newly debuted master thief?

With her mind making a guess, Qin Huanyu carefully wrote down the white lark pattern, intending to go back and ask the Investigation Bureau for instructions.

The nature of the case has changed.

If it were just two extraordinary items that were lost, it would likely be a simple theft, only the lost items were a bit unusual, and an investigator would be needed to cooperate with the local police in handling the case.

The fact that the thief left behind special markings that only superhumans could see indicates that the thief knew of Qin Huanyu's existence and was deliberately provoking Qin Huanyu and even the Investigation Bureau!

At this moment, more chaotic footsteps could be heard, along with Professor Zhang Ji's loud voice:

"What? Something's missing? How is that possible? There are so many people guarding it..."

Clearly, Qin Huanyu wasn't the only one who was surprised to find herself in a dream after the burial goods were stolen; the archaeological team had also arrived.

Even Yi Youyou arrived at the scene with sleepy eyes, but her secretary didn't come.

Upon seeing Qin Huanyu, Yi Youyou's listless eyes immediately brightened, and she asked in a tone that sounded like concern but was actually a little gloating:

"Are you alright, Ayu? I heard that two of the burial objects that were just unearthed yesterday are missing? Your mission should be over by now, right? Will this affect your performance?"

'I strongly suspect you stole it!'

Qin Huanyu inwardly cursed, but outwardly she simply shrugged helplessly:

"Who knows... Even if the missions that have already ended won't be affected, I definitely won't be able to avoid the new missions of tracking down lost items and thieves."

"Whether we catch the thief or not is irrelevant, but we must get our lost items back!"

Professor Zhang Ji also joined the dialogue, and his attitude was very firm:

“Each of these artifacts is a treasure of history and culture! I can accept them being taken away by your investigation bureau or the royal treasury, but I absolutely cannot tolerate them being sold as commodities! The only place they belong is in a museum!”

"...Yes, yes, I know, I will do my best."

Qin Huanyu could only agree.

Actually, her views were the exact opposite of Professor Zhang Ji's. She felt that it didn't really matter whether the two rather useless magical artifacts could be recovered, but the thief was too arrogant and had to be caught and interrogated properly! But there was no need to argue with a stubborn old man over such a thing.

After expressing their indignation at the thief, Qin Huanyu quickly began discussing with Professor Zhang Ji what to do next.

The unearthed burial objects will be sent to three different departments, and preparations need to be made for the long-distance transportation of these extraordinary items.

The transport team from Shendu will arrive in two days. We must find a way to keep a close watch on the remaining nine burial items during these two days, and absolutely not lose them again.

"...Why don't we store them all at the Ling Su Research Institute for now?"

After hesitating for a moment, Qin Huanyu gritted her teeth and unleashed her ultimate move:

"The Lingsu Research Institute has a complete defense system against superhumans, as well as various security measures on par with military fortresses. I don't believe that thief has the ability to steal into the research institute! I will personally be stationed at the research institute to oversee things. If they dare to come, I will turn them into test subjects!"

"The Ling Su Research Institute..."

Professor Zhang Ji frowned.

He actually had a lot of opinions about this institution, because the research institute had consumed a lot of extraordinary items in order to study spiritual elements, which Professor Zhang Ji considered to be valuable cultural relics!

Scientists believe these are necessary sacrifices for technological development, but Professor Zhang Ji clearly belongs to the camp that thinks cultural treasures are more important than modern technology.

However, Professor Zhang Ji must also admit that the Ling Su Research Institute has a very high level of security, almost second only to the most secret places in the capital.

Compared to the destruction of cultural relics as research material, Professor Zhang Ji still finds it more intolerable for cultural relics to be treated as commodities and enter the market. Moreover, the Lingsu Institute will not be studying those burial objects this time; they will only be temporarily stored for two days.

"Alright, then I'll leave the arrangements to you, Officer Qin."

Professor Zhang Ji could find no reason to object, so he agreed.

Yi Youyou stood to the side, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent. She merely hummed a few times in a rather strange manner and glared at Qin Huanyu.

Qin Huanyu ignored Yi Youyou. The main person in charge of this archaeological project was still Professor Zhang Ji. As long as they could persuade the old man to agree, that would be fine.

The matter with the Ling Su Research Institute was also very simple; Qin Huanyu just made a phone call to her father and it was all taken care of.

As dawn broke, a large truck with a futuristic appearance drove into Redwood Town and took the remaining nine burial items with extraordinary powers to the Spirit Element Research Institute.

These specially designed trucks are designed for transporting important supplies and have strong defensive capabilities that can withstand anti-tank mines. A special operations team from a research institute is also on board.

This special operations team consists of elites from the military, each capable of taking on several armed police officers single-handedly. They are also equipped with some prototypes of the latest weapons, so they are not afraid even if they encounter superhumans.

Qin Huanyu personally escorted the thief on a motorcycle, and also arranged snipers on standby at several high points along the transport route, so she was absolutely not afraid of the thief.

The ones who should be afraid are the thieves themselves.

Perhaps they were satisfied with just getting the two burial items, but it's more likely that Qin Huanyu's careful arrangements deterred the thieves from making any further moves, and the transportation went very smoothly.

Qin Huanyu finally breathed a sigh of relief after watching the burial items being temporarily stored in the research institute's vault.

She was very confident in the institute's security measures. If the burial items could still be stolen under such circumstances, it meant the case was beyond her capabilities and there was nothing she could do.

Even for thieves, there's no need to blatantly challenge the security measures of the Ling Su Research Institute. After all, those burial items are only temporarily placed here and will be transported to the capital in two days. It will be much easier to find a way to steal them on the way.

However, that has nothing to do with Qin Huanyu.

Chapter 85 The Investigation Bureau's Strange Attitude

The Lingsu Research Institute has strict multi-layered protection, and the vault itself is equipped with strong electromagnetic protection measures. Even superhumans cannot sneak in undetected, unless they are at the level of the four strongest freaks.

Qin Huanyu was quite reassured about this, so after temporarily placing all the burial objects unearthed from the ancient tomb into the vault of the Lingsu Research Institute, she went to investigate the white lark mark.

The most convenient way to investigate is, of course, to use the Bureau of Investigation's database, and the loss of supernatural items must also be reported.

Somewhat unwilling, Qin Huanyu was prepared to be criticized and wrote a report detailing the events surrounding the loss of the two extraordinary items, which she then sent to the headquarters of the Investigation Bureau.

The investigation bureau responded a few hours late, but there was no criticism as expected.

Rather, the Investigation Bureau's attitude was quite strange. Not only did they not hold Qin Huanyu accountable for the loss of the extraordinary items due to her negligence, they did not even order her to investigate the lost items and the thief. They only told Qin Huanyu to keep an eye on the remaining items and hand them over to the people from Shen Du in two days, without mentioning anything else.

This made it hard for Qin Huanyu not to overthink things.

Whether it's the various rumors I've heard since childhood or the information Zero provided before, it all demonstrates that the Investigation Bureau and its predecessor, the photo studio, are very powerful organizations.

Possessing formidable and extraordinary martial prowess, they are only responsible to the royal family. In the past, many Demon-Slaying Guards of the third rank and above did not even give face to the Prime Minister.

The Bureau of Investigation is certainly not as arrogant as it used to be, but surely it wouldn't tolerate being provoked by an unknown petty thief and just swallowing its anger? Why doesn't it even bother with a pretense of investigation and pursuit?

'Could it be that my negotiation skills were lacking, and I didn't get enough of the extraordinary burial goods from Professor Zhang Ji, so the Investigation Bureau was dissatisfied and sent someone to steal them?'

Qin Huanyu even had this thought, but quickly shook her head and dismissed it.

Even if the Bureau of Investigation really wanted to take two more extraordinary items unearthed from the ancient tomb, there was no need to steal those two useless things.

That brass wine glass is alright; it can quickly cool or heat the liquid inside, making it usable in daily life. It's also very cool to use for showing off, but that's about it.

As for the bronze mirror, it's utterly useless. The video playback function was a magical technique back 1900 years ago, but now even the cheapest media player costing a few dozen yuan is better. Besides, that thing can only loop ancient erotic images that aren't even remotely explicit.

I never imagined the investigation bureau would want these two items.

But if the thief wasn't from the Bureau of Investigation, why is the Bureau's attitude so strange?

It is the Investigation Bureau’s consistent practice to consult with teammates first when encountering difficulties, so Qin Huanyu contacted Bai Ling and Cheng Hai in turn to discuss the matter.

Bai Ling couldn't figure out the inside story either, and advised Qin Huanyu not to overthink it, saying that workers should just obediently follow orders, and that thinking too much can sometimes make things worse.

Qin Huanyu understood this principle, but she couldn't help being curious.