Translator: AnubisTL
The fire on the yacht was quickly extinguished.
A team of investigators from the Law Enforcement Bureau, wearing white gloves and gas masks, disembarked from their magnetic levitation police cars and boarded the yacht to collect evidence and conduct autopsies.
The Law Enforcement Bureau moved swiftly.
Within two minutes of Hu Biao and his men jumping into the river, the once-empty waterway was completely sealed off.
The bureau was taking this case extremely seriously.
Such a heinous crime would have demanded immediate attention regardless, but its connection to the Jiang Cheng Company made it even more critical.
Not only must the case be solved, but it must be solved decisively, thoroughly, and swiftly.
Repeated manipulation by the Jiang Cheng Company would erode the federal government's credibility.
Within minutes, preparations were complete.
Ten helicopters and a dozen speedboats, working in tandem, dragged massive corpse-retrieval nets across the river. The criminals had barely any time to escape the scene, and their attempts to flee by swimming couldn't have carried them far.
Simultaneously, the helicopters activated their high-powered sonar and infrared thermal imaging systems. These tools could rapidly locate individuals, especially in sparsely populated areas with no buildings to obstruct the search.
A large crowd of onlookers, drawn by news reports, gathered to watch the spectacle. Those with money parked their magnetic levitation cars in mid-air, while those without parked their cars on the riverbank. All stood behind the police cordon, craning their necks for a glimpse of the action, even though they couldn't see much—they were just there for the excitement.
Soon, seven or eight news reporters from private television stations arrived like flies drawn to carrion, cameras slung over their shoulders, eager to cover the story.
A police cordon stretching tens of thousands of meters was quickly erected along the riverbank, clearing the area and illuminating the shore with powerful searchlights to prevent the criminal gang from landing.
The speed with which the Ash City Enforcement Bureau established such an extensive cordon demonstrated both the seriousness with which they were treating the incident and the sheer power of the federal government.
Yet, after more than ten minutes had passed, the criminals who had jumped into the river seemed to have vanished without a trace.
As the reporters continued their broadcasts, the crowd lining the riverbanks began to jeer and boo. This was a free planet, after all; the authorities couldn't arrest people simply for heckling.
The frontline officers of the Law Enforcement Bureau found themselves caught in a vise: pressured by their superiors, mocked by the public, and enduring the wrath of the wealthy businessmen who funded the bureau.
In this situation, the Law Enforcement Bureau intensified its search efforts to an unprecedented level, as if they were determined to drain the entire river if necessary to find their quarry.
Meanwhile, Hu Biao and his crew, wearing goggles and breathing through oxygen-supplying mouthpieces, clung tightly to the underside of the yacht's hull.
After diving into the river, they hadn't attempted to swim to the opposite bank.
There simply wasn't time.
The river stretched several kilometers wide. Even if they had the stamina to reach the other side, how long would it take?
And once they landed, they would inevitably leave traces.
Before the operation began, Hu Biao had asked their contact at the Jiang Cheng Company—the company sponsoring them—how to perfectly erase all traces during a crime.
The man had given him a single, cryptic answer:
"The best way to perfectly erase traces is to leave none at all."
Since they couldn't completely eliminate the traces they would leave upon landing, they decided to simply not land. If they never set foot ashore, there would be no traces to erase.
Hu Biao understood the Jiang Cheng Company's message.
He had always admired the company's power. After pulling off several major heists, they remained untouchable, operating with impunity as if nothing had happened.
And as expected—
The Law Enforcement Bureau had deployed every resource to search the entire river, yet they overlooked the one place where the fugitives were hiding: directly beneath the yacht!
They were in the perfect blind spot, hidden in plain sight.
If the remaining steps went according to plan, they could emerge openly, in full view of everyone, and escape to Ash City.
Before launching the operation, Hu Biao had meticulously prepared for every contingency.
For instance, when the Forensic Pathologist began examining the bodies, a simple comparison of the number of dead attendants with the yacht's manifest would immediately reveal missing corpses, quickly narrowing the investigation to their group.
Or the Law Enforcement Bureau's arsenal of specialized equipment for apprehending suspects.
Or...
To address these challenges, they had spent three days and three nights preparing!
During this time, they scoured the galactic forum for strategies from seasoned criminals and even consulted Jiang Cheng Company's liaison several times, though they dared not ask too many questions, fearing it might arouse suspicion.
Finally, everything was proceeding smoothly!
At least, everything had gone smoothly so far.
Hu Biao pressed himself tightly against the yacht's hull, the intense spotlights from the helicopters piercing the water's surface. Even in his peripheral vision, he could catch the blinding white glare.
For some reason, he could feel his adrenaline surging rapidly.
His body trembled violently, the tremors so rapid they felt like convulsions. He knew this wasn't fear, but rather his body's instinctive reaction to overwhelming emotional excitement.
Suddenly, he sensed Hu Biao's true presence.
For the first half of his life, he had never truly felt Hu Biao's existence. He had only perceived a diligent man barely making ends meet, a near-forty-year-old failure who couldn't afford a wife or a home.
But now, Hu Biao suddenly stood before him, vividly present.
This is him. This is who he was meant to be.
He was born for this line of work.
When people's attention is entirely focused on one point, they inevitably overlook everything else.
This is called the spotlight effect.
Now, it was time for the magician to take the stage.
"Just a moment, just a moment! We're from the television station."
A woman in professional attire, microphone in hand, pushed through the crowd with a cameraman in tow. She approached the group of neatly dressed men.
"Hello, may I ask why you didn't jump into the river to retrieve the jewelry? Are you all wealthy?"
Just moments ago, numerous empty bottles had suddenly floated to the surface of the river, each containing precious jewels.
The sight had triggered a frenzy among the crowd, who eagerly leaped into the water to snatch the treasures. Now, the riverbank was lined with drenched citizens being herded ashore by Law Enforcement Bureau officers.
While nearly everyone had plunged into the river to grab the jewels, four men stood dryly on the bank, watching the scene as if the treasures were of no consequence.
Naturally, this drew the attention of the television crew.
Though the reporters had originally come to cover the yacht, they couldn't resist reporting on this spectacle—it might boost their ratings, after all.
"I wanted to join in too," the middle-aged man being interviewed said, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "But I was at the back of the crowd. By the time I could push forward, all the jewels were gone. I didn't stand a chance."
"Ah, I see. I thought you might be one of those people who considers money as mere dirt."
The reporter licked his lips with a bored expression before walking away.
The middle-aged man remained standing, his hands in his pockets. His calves, visible beneath his loose pants, trembled slightly. He gazed at the yacht in the river's center, now extinguished and billowing smoke, and a faint smile curved his lips.
This man was Hu Biao.
His plan was simple.
He had stripped the wealthy young women of their jewelry, stuffed it into empty bottles, and tied the bottles to stones with silk thread, sinking them to the river's deepest point to evade corpse-retrieval nets. The silk thread was woven from a cheese-like material that would dissolve after a few minutes underwater, allowing the bottles to float to the surface.
Driven by greed, the crowd on the shore needed only one person to shout "Grab it! Jump in!" before the rest followed suit.
Humans are herd animals. Once a leader emerged, no one cared that an investigation was still underway nearby. The principle of "法不责众" (the law does not punish the masses) applied everywhere, and Hu Biao had naturally arranged for this leader to appear.
The rest was easy to predict.
He emerged smoothly onto the riverbank, standing there openly to give interviews while glancing back at the Law Enforcement Bureau officers still fishing in the river.
"Let's go," Hu Biao said, turning to leave with his three younger brothers.
Inside a room, Hu Biao meticulously shaved off his full beard with a manual razor. After finishing, he straightened up and looked at himself in the mirror, suddenly realizing he wasn't as old as he thought.
He then put on the tailcoat he'd bought on the way, twirling around in satisfaction. He topped it off with a tall black hat, looked at himself in the mirror, and grinned.
The grin widened into an excited, unrestrained laugh.
He suddenly felt like he'd grasped something profound.
He understood how to more skillfully divert people's attention, how to manipulate their focus like a magician!
This was his first attempt, and in hindsight, many aspects felt crude and unrefined.
It lacked any artistic flair.
But he was confident that his next vote would be like the performance of an elegant magician, completely controlling the audience's gaze and ensuring they saw only what he wanted them to see.
Countless ideas were already bubbling in his mind like boiling water, constantly rising and bursting forth!
He had never realized he possessed such genius-level insights!
This first vote had given him immense confidence.
He suddenly realized he wasn't just a middle-aged man living a mediocre, unfulfilled life. He was meant to be a magician standing beneath the spotlight, commanding the stage!
"So this is it..."
His eyes, filled with feverish excitement, drifted to his raised palm as he slowly clenched his fingers into a fist. "...This is the true meaning of my existence."
"I have a strong feeling that the world has suddenly become like a new continent, waiting for us to freely explore, enjoy, and harvest. It's as if shackles have been removed, and freedom is finally within reach."
"Hmm..."
Standing behind him, Thorn Monkey hadn't quite heard what Brother Biao was saying. Instead, he sat frozen in place, a stiff smile plastered on his face, muttering to himself, "So much money... how should we spend it all?"
"Can we even spend this much in a lifetime?"
"If we put it in the bank, the interest alone would be nearly a million a year! Brother Biao, should we just save it?"
"..."
Hu Biao shot Thorn Monkey a disdainful glance but remained silent. He picked up a bow tie and fastened it around his neck, gazing at his impeccably dressed reflection in the mirror. After a moment of calm contemplation, he suddenly chuckled softly.
"After a lifetime of silence, it's time to let the world hear your voice again."
"Save the money? No, no, no. We're going to use this to pull off something even bigger."
"Contact Jiang Cheng Company and tell them about our plan."
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang was still sitting beneath the world tree, waiting for the global event to conclude.
"Brother Jiang?"
Chen Jiang, who was idly scrolling through the galactic forum on his tablet, suddenly stopped, his eyes fixed on a newly posted thread. "Orange Red Star, Ash City," he read aloud, his tone puzzled. "Twenty-four children of business tycoons and nine children of government officials were kidnapped during a yacht party. After receiving the ransom, the kidnappers executed the hostages and fled the scene. The Ash City Enforcement Bureau is currently pursuing them."
"And above the crime scene, the criminal gang left a message."
"The Jiang Cheng Company fully sponsored this operation!"
"The Jiang Cheng Company is suspected of being the mastermind behind this case."
"The suspects have not yet been apprehended. According to information leaked from the Ash City Enforcement Bureau, the pursuit is ongoing, but the exact time of their capture remains uncertain."
"Well, well, well..." Scar Dog clicked his tongue in mild surprise. "Wasn't that yacht party in Ash City the target of those Wasteland Roses? Wait, is that even their group's name? I'm a bit fuzzy on the details."
"Looks like they succeeded?"
Just then, a new notification popped up on the tablet.
"Ho, looks like they really did succeed." Scar Dog casually handed the tablet to Brother Jiang. "Here, take a look. But why are they coming after us? Making us look like the hidden hand behind all this! Heaven help us, we haven't done a thing!"
"Don't go blaming us!"
"Oh?" Chen Jiang's eyes flickered with curiosity as he took the tablet, a smile spreading across his face. "Let's see what kind of mischief these little rascals have cooked up."
(End of the Chapter)
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🔓 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦 — 13 Series (7 Ongoing) | 14+ New Chapters Daily | 6,100+ FREE