CH 86

Zhong Yi didn’t report the incident because if he told an ordinary police officer, he wouldn’t even know how to explain it properly.

But Chu Ge could.

He directly picked up the phone and dialed Lin Wuyang’s number, “Wuyang, there’s a case involving ability users here. Is it appropriate to report it to you?”

Lin Wuyang took it seriously, “What’s the situation?”

“The Black Room… You actually know about it, but you just didn’t trust it without any contact?”

Lin Wuyang fell silent for a moment, “Hmm.”

Damn, you know a lot.

“Last time, when you solved the case of the Wang family’s nightclub, it was reported by the Black Room. Now their people are being retaliated against. They’re in the hospital. Do you want to come and take their statement?”

Lin Wuyang’s voice became louder, “They’re being retaliated against too?”

“Too?”

“Early this morning, Zhang Xiaoren… Oh, that’s Zhang Qiren’s brother. He’s not in charge of underground business now, but a legitimate real estate company. That real estate company was reported last night for tax evasion, issuing false VAT invoices. The evidence, complete and intact, was sent to the tax inspection. The amount is large enough to be considered economic crime. Today morning, the tax inspection and economic investigation have already started a joint investigation and have entered his company.”

Chu Ge remembered that last time Zhang Qiren had used that skinny monkey-like man to shift blame onto his brother. In the eyes of the Wang family, it was Zhang Xiaoren who had targeted him originally.

So Zhang Xiaoren is also being retaliated against, everything adds up.

Lin Wuyang added, “The ability used by the intruder who broke into Zhang Xiaoren’s company’s finance office seems to be writing on the face.”

“So it can be basically confirmed that it’s the Wang family’s doing?”

Lin Wuyang replied, “Yes. Wait for me, I’ll come to the hospital.”

After a while, Lin Wuyang entered with several subordinates to take statements from Wan Zijun and Panda. He nodded in acknowledgement towards Zhong Yi, indicating friendliness, and then he pulled Chu Ge outside the door. “Let’s take a walk.”

Chu Ge followed him outside the hospital building, and the two of them strolled along the side of the road.

“As for who is behind this matter, from our perspective, it doesn’t matter much. Just like the last time, whether it was Zhang Xiaoren who reported it or someone else, I don’t care,” Lin Wuyang calmly said to Chu Ge. “They are reporting each other, but ultimately, they are exposing illegal activities, and we will only support that.”

Chu Ge said, “But Zijun and Panda were beaten and stabbed. This can result in death. The cause was also retaliation for exposing illegal activities. Will the police take action?”

“Of course, we will take action on that,” Lin Wuyang said. “In fact, the situation on your side is a match to what we have here. I already know who the other party is.”

“Who?”

“A wanted criminal named Rong Fu.”

“Murong Fu?” *

“Surname Rong, given name Fu,” Lin Wuyang chuckled. “His ability is quite similar to Murong Fu’s, but he can only replicate the abilities of others and maintain them at a fixed level higher. As far as we know, at any given time, he can only possess one person’s ability and cannot have multiple abilities. Whether there have been any breakthroughs since then, we don’t know.”

Chu Ge raised an eyebrow. “So you mean he can determine the abilities of others first?”

In his mind, he thought that if someone had such capabilities, perhaps in the future he could find a way to have him determine the specifics of his own abilities.

But Lin Wuyang shook his head. “It’s probably not possible. He can only learn about the abilities after he replicates them, so in general, he would investigate first and confirm the other person’s abilities before taking action.”

“How did he become a wanted criminal?”

“What would you do if you had his ability?”

Chu Ge thought for a moment. “Most likely, I would seek out other ability users to spar and test with. This ability has strong interactivity, and it’s impossible to enjoy it alone.”

“That’s right… but when you realize that you’ve dominated and defeated everyone, would you become a bit arrogant or develop some psychological distortion? For example… the one in front of you who you’ve dominated and left motionless, she’s quite good-looking, with disheveled hair and a defiant look in her eyes.”

Chu Ge said, “…When Chief Lin left the literary world back then, I strongly opposed it.”

“Did you start feeling something when I said that?” Lin Wuyang said. “I told you, I can write your little stories too…”

“Okay, okay, Chief Lin, it’s indeed a loss for the literary world that you became a police officer.” Chu Ge sighed. “I understand. In any case, this person has killed or humiliated many ability users, so he became a wanted criminal. Did Zijun and Panda survive because he showed mercy?”

“Yes,” Lin Wuyang said. “I don’t know if it was mercy on his part or if the person who hired him set certain conditions and didn’t want things to escalate… In fact, stabbing Wan Zijun was already a manifestation of his brutality. Normally, a warning or lesson would just require a beating, right?”

Chu Ge nodded.

That one knife changed the nature of the situation. If it had just been a beating, everyone seeking revenge would have considered giving a beating in return. They wouldn’t have thought of involving the police. But once a knife was used, Chu Ge’s immediate reaction was to find the police and have him locked up.

Wan Zijun lived alone in the outskirts without anyone to take care of him. If it weren’t for his good health from working in the fields year-round, that knife could have caused him to bleed to death on the ground, unable to save himself.

Setting aside the relationship with the Black Room, these two were Chu Ge’s readers. In the group chat filled with silly banter like “Qiu Qiu~ My Qiu,” Wan Zijun and Panda were the most active participants. When someone criticized this book from the outside, they both were the ones at the forefront of arguing with them.

In Chu Ge’s eyes, the two of them were even closer than Zhong Yi, who helped him with his identity. Wan Zijun and Panda themselves couldn’t imagine that the Third Brother had such a special affection for them.

Lin Wuyang said to Chu Ge, “Don’t worry, we’ll take this matter seriously. I’ll report it to the bureau and arrange for the capture of this Rong Fu.”

Chu Ge paused for a moment and suddenly understood why the ability users within the City Bureau, under the jurisdiction of Lin Wuyang, were so weak. After all, the Provincial Bureau was right next door, so the capable individuals were probably more concentrated there.

He hesitated for a moment and asked, “Can I help with this matter? Will you accept cooperation from an enthusiastic citizen?”

Lin Wuyang glanced at him for a while and finally sighed. “So, you joined the Black Room, right?”

“Yes, I just joined recently. I’m an outsider, a masked participant.”

“If it’s this organization, I won’t say much. After all, Director Gu from the capital city recommended this group to me… I wasn’t sure before, so I observed from a distance without direct contact. This incident can be considered as our first cooperation and contact, getting to know each other from now on.”

“Director Gu… which organization?”

“The Supernatural Information Compilation and Editing Society,” Lin Wuyang smiled. “When she came to Nanjiang last time, she was compiling and editing some information. The first issue of their publication has come out, which is a good reference for us.”

“Can I take a look?”

“No, it’s an internal publication, but you can look at this page.” Lin Wuyang took out a booklet and turned to a specific page.

“Directory of People With Special Abilties (Internal Trial Issue):”

Name: Rong Fu.

Status: Fugitive serial killer (high risk).

Ability: Stillness and Mimicry – Replicate ability with slightly higher level.

Development Level: Currently able to replicate only one ability at a time, unknown evolution level.

Nature: Multifunctional.

Potential: A-.

“What does this ‘potential’ mean?” Chu Ge asked curiously. “With such an impressive ability, being able to replicate an ability to a higher level, it’s only rated as an A? And a minus sign? I feel like it should be SSS.”

Lin Wuyang shook his head. “This assessment was done by an expert group above, and it’s subjective judgment at best, so there may be mistakes, which can be corrected later. Secondly, this potential doesn’t represent the current abilities; it refers to the development prospects. Once his potential is fully exploited, the most he can do is replicate a few more abilities simultaneously. Overall, there are still limitations. For now, he is only suitable for ambushing individuals. What will he do when faced with multiple people? What will he do if a group of us opens fire on him…”

“Emmmm…”

“Besides, this evaluation takes multiple factors into account. It’s not just about assessing combat power. That’s why there’s another column called ‘Nature’ above, right? My ability is not suited for combat, but my potential is rated as a B. It seems to be related to psychic abilities and has a promising future for exploration.” Lin Wuyang patted Chu Ge’s shoulder. “Your ability seems to be invulnerability? It’s really strange. How did a writer like you end up with this kind of ability? Did you prepare it in advance for dealing with your future wife?”

Lin Wuyang looked him up and down. “I personally think your potential should also be rated as a B. You were assessed at some point, I don’t know when.”

((*TL Note: Murong Fu is a fictional character from the Chinese wuxia novel “The Deer and the Cauldron” written by Jin Yong. He is skilled in many forms of martial arts but specialises in none. His fighting style is described as “returning you with your own way” because he likes to use his opponents’ signature moves against them.))