Ark Chess Player.

"Don't think that you, a mere superintendent, can clear the sky and quell all the wrongful convictions in the world. Not to mention you, even ten or eight superintendents couldn't make this murky world clear and bright! If you weren't the apple of the eye of the Taikoo Group, not a rich heiress, but just a hothead with no backing, and you stubbornly insisted on investigating this matter to the end, you would have been stabbed dozens of times in the back and thrown into the high walls of Longmen long ago."

Even so, Swire never gave up.

It was precisely because of her connections that she was able to continue her investigation.

If even she takes the Guard Bureau's hidden dealings for granted and accepts it all without a second thought.

Then this world is truly beyond saving.

This is why Swire wanted to take over the Guard Bureau.

Chapter 269 Don't Look Back

"..."

While Swire's attention was focused on the investigation site.

Charlotte quietly retreated, his expression cold, his gun aimed at Swire, lost in thought.

In the main hall of the office, members of the Lungmen Special Forces' Submarine Team quietly searched the scene. They first rummaged through the desk drawers, but glanced at the important documents and tossed them aside. They weren't assisting Swire's team in finding clues to the intruders' crimes; they were confirming whether what they had matched the mission objectives in the intelligence. They wouldn't touch anything else, not even if it were worth millions of Lungmen Dollars.

"This is……"

One of the members of Swire's team touched the wall and muttered to himself.

This action instantly attracted the attention of the entire Qianlong Squad. Everyone looked at him and secretly placed their hands on their weapons.

"Ok?"

People have an instinctive reaction when they notice someone looking at them, which makes them subconsciously turn around to look, only to find that everyone is doing their own thing.

"Strange, could it be because I saw too many unclean things today?" He shook his head thoughtfully, and removed the mural covering the wall with both hands, completely unaware of how many people were staring at his back and how many weapons were pointed at him during the process.

Whether it was lucky or unlucky, the hollowed-out inner wall contained only a landline communication device.

The young man shrugged and noted the hidden communication device in the manual.

The members of the Hidden Dragon Squad exchanged glances and began to scrutinize the walls, trying to find hidden mechanisms.

After a thorough search, someone quickly discovered that something was wrong with one of the walls.

Although the gaps at the edges are quite tight and look perfectly natural at first glance, you can still feel the difference in height when you run your finger across the wall.

The members of the Hidden Dragon Squad made a cover gesture; their real mission this time was to retrieve a special item. Ideally, they would remain undetected, but if the intelligence was accurate, being discovered wouldn't matter; they could simply eliminate all the witnesses.

In the past, they would have simply disposed of unrelated individuals to facilitate the subsequent work. However, this time was different; these people were Swire's subordinates, and Swire's formidable reputation was known to everyone in the Guard Bureau.

As the daughter of a wealthy family in the prestigious Swire Group, she is admired by some and hated by others.

Because of her uncompromising style of doing things, she always stands on the opposite side of certain people.

If it weren't for her special status, she would have perished in the power struggle long ago.

Pete of the Hidden Dragon Squad carefully pried open a concealed opening embedded in the wall. Although he tried to keep his movements as discreet as possible, he still attracted the attention of the others. The members of Swire's direct squad looked over, but their gazes were deliberately blocked by other members of the Hidden Dragon Squad, causing them to frown.

Could it be... embezzlement of private property?

The members of Swire's direct team subconsciously thought of it.

After all, some seasoned police officers do engage in petty theft, and quite a few of them do. What's truly unexpected is that the elite of the Lungmen Guard Bureau's special forces, the elite of the elite, would actually commit such a despicable act!

Others might have followed the Dark Dragon Squad in their corrupt practices, but they wouldn't, because their superior was Swire.

Although Ms. Swire wasn't as decisive as Ms. Chen, her focus and reliability made her a good boss. After a hard day's work, Ms. Swire would often treat everyone out of her own pocket, not for any other reason than that she felt everyone's efforts deserved recognition and reward.

Although Miss Swire comes from a wealthy family and has some of the typical spoiled temperament, she is actually very stingy and would never waste money.

If it's a necessary expense, Ms. Swire fills out the bill without batting an eye. But if it involves even the slightly extravagant amount, Ms. Swire will raise her eyebrows with suspicion, scrutinize each item, and circle all the expenses she questions with a pen.

Swire's meticulousness, her serious work ethic, and her every move shone like a beacon.

“She is truly working alongside you and everyone else,” said a Lungmen police officer who declined to be named.

This is why Swire's direct officers have become one of the most incorruptible squads in the Guard. They are not blinded by immediate gains, nor are they easily swayed. They do not want to be tainted; if they become the very people they despise, they will no longer be qualified to protect Miss Swire.

They sincerely hope that one day they can follow in Missy's footsteps and witness the Guard Bureau turn a new page.

"Not okay yet?"

"A member of the Hidden Dragon Squad said softly, his hand on his weapon, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment."

If what Pete discovered is indeed the mission objective, then it doesn't matter if he has to kill people to cover it up.

"It's almost here, wait a minute."

Pete naturally noticed the actions of the others, but he could only concentrate on the task at hand.

After all, you have to be wary of traps around you. What if it turns out to be a trigger-activated Originium bomb? You'd be dead for sure at such close range. Even if there's a one in ten thousand chance of surviving, you'd definitely get Oripathy.

"It's done!"

Pete carefully opened the box and immediately began searching inside. Hidden so well, it must be the mission objective, right? However, when he peered inside, he found only a half-dissolved safe, completely empty. Could it be that the mission item had already been taken?

Just as Pete was feeling annoyed, he noticed something was wrong with the safe; there was a note inside.

He subconsciously reached out and picked up the note. It was written in Yan script, and the ink exuded a chilling aura.

"Don't look back."

Upon seeing the news, Pete felt as if something had exploded in his head; even the words on the note before him blurred, like a deadly curse. An indescribable panic gripped him. The tragedies witnessed during this mission had cast a shadow over everyone's hearts; no one was an exception.

Pete could even picture himself becoming one of the dead, standing in a grotesque pose at the doorway.

Pete clenched the note tightly in his hand, glancing at the others in the room out of the corner of his eye, but no one else showed any unusual behavior.

"Ah, haha... What? I'm just scaring myself."

Pete shook his head helplessly, and unintentionally turned his head to look, only to find the black muzzle of a gun in front of him.

The gunman was shrouded in shadow, and deep within his black helmet, a cobalt blue ghost lamp emitted a chilling flame.

"I told you, don't look back."

Chapter 270 So, there's only one answer! (5K)

"I told you, don't look back."

Without hesitation, Lin Lu pulled the trigger of his pistol. The lever action released the hammer, which struck the firing pin, which in turn struck the primer of the tranquilizer bullet. The gas generated by this combustion propelled the bullet along the rifling, and the gas pressure pushed the slide, sending the brass cartridge case flying out and hitting the ground with a loud thud.

The silenced tranquilizer gun, improved by the Army Without Borders, can suppress the sound of gunfire, but it cannot block the sound of spent cartridge cases hitting the ground.

Pete's eyes widened. The instant he turned his head, his heart rate spiked to the limit, his limbs stiffened, and his hands and feet went numb. His brain was still in a state of explosive terror, utterly powerless to resist. Even though he had undergone countless disarmament training sessions in the past, making it easy for him to disarm a gun with his bare hands, he still couldn't muster the slightest thought of resistance.

"Pfft."

A dark purple circle appeared between Pete's eyebrows; the smooth, pneumatic tranquilizer dart had struck him directly in the head. Due to the close proximity, the wound burst open, spilling blood. Pete took a step back, his entire body jerking violently as if he had suddenly eaten something sour. His cerebral cortex went into hibernation mode, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.

Almost instantly, everyone in the office turned their attention to the figure, raising their weapons and aiming them at the human form shrouded in shadow.

Even Swire, who was inspecting the elevator, couldn't help but look up as she heard a commotion coming from the office lobby.

Swire frowned as she saw Charlotte's gun pointed at her.

“Charlotte, what do you mean by this?” Swire questioned, her left hand reaching behind her back where her chain hammer hung.

"boom!"

Swire reflexively closed her eyes, but she quickly realized how foolish it was to close her eyes when facing an enemy, and hurriedly opened them.

Before Swire, Charlotte, the captain of the Hidden Dragon Squad, held up a silver-white pistol with both hands, the muzzle emitting a faint wisp of gunpowder smoke.

Swire paused, feeling a burning pain in her cheek.

Reaching out to touch it, warm, moist liquid slid down from the wound, and bright red blood gradually soaked my shoulder.

"you……"

Swire slowly turned his gaze to the right and discovered a crater in the elevator, which even penetrated the elevator's control panel.

Swire's eyes widened. Charlotte had never been inside an elevator before, how could she have hit the control panel so precisely?! You see, the control panel of this elevator was only the size of a palm because it only had one button, and it was placed very high up.

Is this a coincidence?

Swire subconsciously considered the possibility of an exaggerated interpretation: Could it be... that Charlotte knew about this place from the very beginning?!

"It seems you guessed it all."

Charlotte's lips curled into a smile, and he couldn't help but laugh, "I've long heard that Superintendent Swire's criminal investigation skills are top-notch, solving countless mysteries in just two years of service. I used to think that those people were just praising you to the skies to be your sycophants, but it turns out it's true. Unfortunately, sometimes being too smart isn't a good thing."

"...What is your purpose in doing this?"

Swire dared not make any rash moves, as the other party cut off her escape route with a single shot, giving her no chance to flee.

However, even if the elevator is working properly, Swire won't just back down like that.

Her subordinates are still here; how could she just leave like this!

“Superintendent Swire, aren’t you very capable?” Charlotte brandished his gun, the muzzle moving back and forth, but always aiming at Swire’s torso, as if toying with her. He smiled coldly, “Why don’t you try to guess?”

"...Are you really sent by Wei Yanwu?"

Swire asked, her gaze fixed on Charlotte's face, observing his expression.

Charlotte paused for a moment, then smiled slightly and readily admitted, "Of course, besides him, who else in the Guard Bureau has the authority to directly mobilize our Hidden Dragon Squad?"

“That’s true. Under normal circumstances, only Governor Wei can dispatch special forces in a short time. Unless Wei Yanwu is out of contact or unable to command, special forces can only be deployed with the vote of the police superintendent or the four inspectors.” Swire agreed, and at the same time she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness, it seems that the person who wants me dead is not Wei Yanwu.”

Charlotte frowned and said unhappily, "I didn't lie."

“Yes, you’re right, but… this world isn’t just A or B.” Swire shifted her stance slightly, calmly looking at Charlotte, and said in a deep voice, “What you said is true, but you didn’t finish your sentence. Wei Yanwu did send you here, but that doesn’t mean he sent you to kill me.”

Swire said seriously, "Weren't the inspectors from Alexander's faction the ones who actually sent you here?"

"...I didn't expect that I still underestimated you."

Charlotte couldn't help but want to applaud Swire. He sighed softly, "A woman like you must be very painful for her husband if he wants to have an affair after marriage, right?"

"hehe."

"What an ungrateful and boring woman, she can't even take a joke."

Meeting Swire's murderous gaze, Charlotte chuckled and said, "Can you explain where you got these baseless speculations from?"

Swire slowly straightened her back and said coldly, "Ever since we were nearly burned to death in the fire while defending the Executive Hall, I've been wondering why Wei Yanwu didn't send special forces to support the Reunion Movement when they launched their attack a few days ago. If it weren't for the officers of the Guard Bureau risking their lives, the outer ring of Lungmen might have fallen that night. Even if the people in downtown Lungmen and the wealthy areas were safe, the people in the slums would have suffered heavy casualties!"

"What do you think is the reason I asked Wei Yanwu for permission to provide special forces support today?"

"I never even wanted Wei Yanwu to send you here in the first place!!"

Swire moved. She had somehow untied her weights and rushed toward Charlotte with incredible speed.

Charlotte fired without hesitation. The bullet, powered by Originium Arts, not only generated powerful kinetic energy but also created a wide-area sharpness.

Swire's facial wound was caused by the sharp metal energy. It was lucky that this irregular and uncontrollable bullet didn't take away her right eye on the spot.

"--hiss!"

No matter how fast Swire ran, she couldn't outrun a bullet. Even though she did her best to dodge it, the invisible sharpness of the bullet's trajectory still grazed her. Her standard police uniform was custom-made, with bulletproof and high-strength cushioning. It could even withstand some damage from a knife strike, but it couldn't stop the aftershock of this bullet.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Charlotte fired continuously with both hands, each shot anticipating Swire's next move.

Swire narrowly avoided the bullets time and again, but the sharp metallic energy generated by the bullet trajectories kept exploding, confining her within the blast radius. Swire's coat was torn in many places, revealing her fair, jade-like skin, with faint red lines blooming on her skin.

"Woo..."

Swire swayed and trembled, then uncontrollably knelt on the ground, stubbornly raising her head.

Although none of the wounds were deep, the feeling of being cut all over in an instant must have been extremely unpleasant. In addition, she had been exercising vigorously while covered in wounds, resulting in excessive blood loss. She felt soaked, and her coat became heavy because it was covered in blood.

"Etched bullets! Could it be that everyone in this building was killed by you—" Swire asked angrily.

"Heh, you're even more interesting than I imagined, Superintendent Swire. I'd like to admit it, but unfortunately, we're not quite at the level to spend so much money to save mercenaries' lives. If we really wanted to slaughter these people, we have better and more convenient solutions."

Charlotte brandished the gun in her hand; there was still one etched bullet left in it, but she wasn't in a hurry to change the magazine.

With his marksmanship, one bullet would actually be enough.

After playing for so long, there are only two main objectives: to disable Swire's mobility and to suppress her momentum in order to conduct negotiations later.

"Really, it's such a shame that someone as interesting as you would die like this."

Despite saying this, Charlotte kept her gun carefully aimed at Swire's head.