Director Yan Qiming received the call at nearly four o'clock in the morning.

Although he had reached a rank where he truly didn't need to handle everything personally, he had spent his entire life on the front lines. It was far too late for him to start adopting the bureaucratic habits of those who occupied positions without doing the actual work.

People's sleep naturally becomes lighter after the age of forty. For someone like Director Yan, who had been a criminal investigator his whole life, this was especially true.

Therefore, the dedicated phone used exclusively for single-line mission contacts—which was kept on twenty-four hours a day—only rang once before he was already awake.

Years of experience told him that a call at this hour usually didn't bring good news.

He cleared his throat. As he pressed the answer button, he felt a tense premonition that something had gone terribly wrong.

Surprisingly, however, the person on the other end merely gave a routine report regarding operational arrangements, mentioning only news that the mission was proceeding smoothly.

"Song Ci was apprehended the moment he entered the country. For the domestic transfer, I boarded the plane using his identity. I even caused a scene on the flight, so quite a few people should remember me. Later, I was taken to the police station right after landing. Song Shi's secretary, Lin Huo, personally came to bail me out. He didn't suspect a thing."

The youthful voice on the other end paused before continuing, "Oh, right, I also visited Song Shi. Just like the investigation results stated, he is indeed in a deep coma. The doctor said there's a very high probability of brain death in the future. Also, I think we should look into who pulled strings for Lin Huo. With the scene I caused, according to regulations, I shouldn't have been able to escape at least fifteen days in detention. Yet he resolved it with a single phone call. It sure is nice to have money."

Director Yan picked up his glasses from the nightstand and reached up to massage his temples, which throbbed with a dull ache from lack of sleep.

He gave full affirmation to the young man's work results: "Your instructor certainly didn't recommend the wrong person. Go ahead and act boldly without worry; the organization will provide you with all possible assistance."

Hearing this, the young man on the phone didn't agree readily. Instead, he hesitated.
What followed was several long seconds of silence.

Yan Qiming, who had managed to secure the position of Director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau at the Ministry of Public Security, was absolutely not a dense man.

From this unusual silence, Director Yan detected the other's wavering. His hand stopped massaging his temples as he asked, "Shen Ting? If you've run into difficulties, just say it. You didn't call me at this hour just to report this, did you?"

Thousands of kilometers away from Director Yan, Shen Ting was standing next to the car Lin Huo had given him.

The engine was off, and it was parked in the emergency lane of what was normally the busiest elevated highway in downtown Jianghu City.

Shen Ting had been nauseated by the overpowering scent of the custom blackberry lily perfume inside Royal Tiandihui. Standing by the road and letting the night breeze blow over him had only just helped him recover a little.

His immediate superior urged him again over the phone, but he still hadn't figured out how to begin.

The "difficulty" he was currently facing was trivial compared to the extreme hardships of his past missions.

Before the mission started, he hadn't even considered that something like this could ever be called a "difficulty."
In theory, this was absolutely something Shen Ting could overcome and digest on his own.

Yet it was this very insignificant difficulty that was genuinely putting him in a tough spot right now.

Faced with his superior's repeated questioning, the usually decisive Shen Ting felt a conflicted inability to find the right words.

After a few seconds of silence, Shen Ting decided to report truthfully to his leader. But the words that reached his lips suddenly changed: "Director Yan, I want to ask... aside from relying on my face, does our police force really have no other way?"

"Are you backing out?!" Director Yan asked in disbelief over the phone.

"No, I just don't want to participate in this manner." Just by imagining it, he could picture Director Yan peering over his glasses to scrutinize him.

Shen Ting pursed his lips helplessly and suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I admit, Song Ci and I look incredibly alike. Even I find it unbelievable that such a disgusting hooligan actually looks exactly like me. But he is just too much of a rogue, too repulsive. I'm afraid I won't be able to play the part well and will end up compromising the mission."

"Shen Ting! You are making excuses, planning to desert at the eleventh hour!"

Desert at the eleventh hour? Shen Ting almost subconsciously shook his head. His dictionary only contained the phrase "rise to the challenge"; there was no such thing as "desertion."

But before he could retort, Director Yan's raised voice buzzed through the receiver. "Born into a family of police officers, with both your grandfather and father serving in the force. Majored in criminal investigation at the police academy with straight A's for four years, served as an operations team leader six times, and received four commendations... And now you're telling me you can't do it well and are afraid of compromising the mission?"

"Director Yan, that's not what I mean. I'm saying that aside from this face, I have many other specialties: crime scene investigation, criminal reconnaissance, hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship... I believe I have the ability to provide support for this mission in many other aspects."

"Cut the crap!"
The veteran leader, who had worked with him many times, snorted coldly. "This isn't a technical issue for you; it's a matter of combat willpower. Tomorrow, go report to the local supervisory director in Jianghu City who is coordinating your work!"

"Wait!" Before Director Yan could hang up, Shen Ting skillfully bargained with him. "Then I request psychological counseling. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to complete this mission... He's simply too disgusting."

After ending the call with Director Yan, Shen Ting—currently acting as Song Ci—got back into the car.

He closed his eyes, and every action he had taken over the past dozen or so hours surfaced in his mind.

Were there any serious flaws?
He asked himself internally.

No.

Aside from acting a bit unnaturally at Xu Kai's welcome party, he hadn't given himself away at all.

Shen Ting was an absolutely outstanding police officer. Not only was he exceptionally talented, but he also never spared any effort or time to ensure a mission's success and solve a case.

In this assignment, he needed to review his actions daily to guarantee nothing went wrong.

After confirming that there were no major mistakes in his performance that day, he plugged the disconnected dashcam back in. Then, he removed the SIM card from the phone he had just used and tucked it into a hidden compartment in his wallet.

The night scenery of Jianghu City was truly beautiful.

Such a deep and luxurious night could conceal countless secrets.

Shen Ting, while executing his mission, could take advantage of the time when everyone was fast asleep to make a debriefing call to his direct superior far away in the capital.

And just a few days ago, deep within an untraceable corner of the dark web, someone else could naturally also use the cover of night to press the start button on a bloody and bizarre case.

—Relying solely on an email with just a few words, a screenshot of a money transfer, and two ID photos.

In the darkness, the faintly glowing laptop screen was the only source of light.

At this moment, the peacefully sleeping citizens of Jianghu City had no idea that this email was about to shatter the city's false sense of peace and stability.

Someone was willing to use bloody and tragic methods, all just to bring a truth that was fifteen years late to the public eye.

"What? You want me to help you find a psychologist?"

Woken up bright and early by Shen Ting's phone call, Xu Kai seriously suspected he was still dreaming. "You haven't even been back in the country for twenty-four hours, and you've already got your eyes on a shrink? Holy shit! Badass. Who is it?"

Xu Kai, who was used to thinking with his lower half, clearly lacked the thought process of a normal human being. Aside from "wanting to try doctor roleplay," his brain couldn't fathom any other reason why Song Ci would ever need a psychologist.

"No, I want you to help me find a professional and reliable one."

Over the phone, Song Ci heavily emphasized the word "professional," but he immediately realized he was asking the wrong person. "Actually, maybe I should just get Lin Huo to arrange it."

Suddenly, as if realizing something else, he changed his mind again. "Never mind, I'll just find one myself."

Only then did Xu Kai barely snap out of his "doctor crawling into my bed tonight" fantasy scenario, though he still suspected he'd misheard.

"No way, if nothing's wrong, why would you see a psychologist?"

"Because something is wrong! Damn it!" On this end of the phone, Song Ci—who had barely slept all night—sighed sickly. "I'm only telling you about this. If you dare laugh after hearing it, I'll cripple you! You hear me?"

Even through the phone, Xu Kai could smell the scent of breaking news. He instantly perked up. "Tell me! I promise I won't laugh!"

"I think I'm experiencing some dysfunction."

Afraid for his life, Xu Kai indeed didn't dare laugh to his face. But while Song Ci had forbidden him from laughing, he had forgotten to forbid him from telling others.

Half an hour later, almost everyone who knew Song Ci or had ever heard of him knew the explosive news:

That two-legged male poodle, that endlessly energetic Walking Dick, Song Ci! He couldn't get it up anymore!

"He told me himself! Said he slept with some wild filly a few months ago. When she found out he was also seeing a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth side chick, she actually took a kettle of boiling water to scald his beep while he was sleeping—hahaha!"

"Hey, let me tell you, Song Ci is really done for this time. Seriously, the kind where it just won't stand up. He admitted it himself! I heard that one time he was chased around the room by that wild filly wielding a knife. In the end, he had to sit on the toilet, clutching his crotch with both hands just to barely save his beep—"

"But guess what? She stabbed him right in the thigh! Man, oh man, blood all over the floor, had to call an ambulance right away! Ever since then, he hasn't been able to get it up! That's why he asked me to find him a psychologist! Hahahaha!"

Making a round of highly embellished phone calls wasn't enough to satisfy Xu Kai. Seeing that it was time for afternoon tea, he invited a bunch of friends—who had just received the news and wanted more details—to gather for some gambling and, concurrently, to spread the rumors even further.

Facts proved that spreading rumors face-to-face was ten thousand times more potent than doing so over the phone.

By nightfall, the news that "Song Ci is suffering from erectile dysfunction" had escalated into "Song Ci was chased all the way to Jianghu City by a jealous ex who chopped off his beep—he is currently in the hospital undergoing emergency rescue, and the survival of both the man and his beep remain unknown."

Cracking sunflower seeds, the Blonde Lion King sighed with immense sympathy. "Sigh, no wonder Song Ci wasn't in good form last night. The Song family really is having a streak of terrible luck. First Song Shi went down, and now Song Ci is broken too. To think of the 'Great Wall that never falls' that accompanied us brothers in battles from east to west back in the day... now it's completely out of commission!"

Delicious fresh meat was flying everywhere, but Song Ci couldn't even lift his gun anymore.

This piece of gossip, which should have triggered at least a month of intense discussion within Song Ci's social circle, was quickly overshadowed by much bigger news.

On February 5, 2020, at the very beginning of the new year, a news report concerning a homicide case triggered a massive public uproar in Jianghu City, and even across the entire nation.

Updated! See you in the comments, my little angels. The next chapter officially starts the investigation/case!

Tomorrow's update will still be at 9:00 AM. Really hope it doesn't get stuck in 'review' for too long.