Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"At least this shows that we're heading the right way. Why else would the murderer desperately kill off his partner? Following Qiu Ling's death, the murderer will have to hunt by himself. This is our chance," uttered Xu Lan.

"Hmph, Lao Xu has a point. Let's send the deceased's corpse for an autopsy and check on the surveillance footages including those taken by Xiao Xu to see if we can find anything," Hu Cheng said with certainty.

In the police station, everyone was occupied with their own task. They yearned to arrest the murderer as soon as possible.

Wu Wendi trailed after Xu Lan without saying a word, as though she was a spirit. It was a disturbing sight.

"Miss Wu, how can I help you?" Xu Lan leaned against the wall and lit up the hand-rolled cigarettes he got from Hu Cheng earlier.

Wu Wendi remained silent and stood next to Xu Lan. Even though she promised to never bring this up again, she was bothered by the lack of leads following Qiu Ling's death.

"Wendi, I believed that Sun Fei has spoken to you about this. The power of an individual is too insignificant. We're unsure where will the murderer strike again, which is why your proposal is not practicable."

Xu Lan stubbed his cigarette and elaborated himself. The chances of running into the murderer were slim, and the effort would most likely end up to be futile. It might turn out to be like the previous case where he ended up with no money for food.

Working day and night had taken a toll on Xu Lan. On top of his working schedule, he had to care for Bai Wu. His tired appearance coupled with his stubble made him seem like a wilted middle-aged man. Though, his words were unforgiving and straight to the point.

"I can at least get us some information, making us more proactive and less reactive. Didn't we just lose all of our leads?" Wu Wendi retorted.

As they needed Wu Wendi's cooperation to report the news accordingly, they did not purposefully conceal information from her. The case was at a dead-end; every single lead they had would somehow fall through, stopping them from seeing the complete picture.

"Lao Xu, I got a call from the province earlier, checking up on Li Xiu's current status," Hu Cheng walked over from the conference room with the tobacco pipe between his lips.

Xu Lan looked up at Hu Cheng; his gaze used to be sharp as an eagle, but it was dulled down ever since the incident took place. It was a worrying situation indeed. He waved at Wu Wendi, signaling for her to enter first. However, Hu Cheng stopped her in her track.

"Xiao Wu, I've thought long and hard about this..."

"Lao Hu!" Xu Lan raised his voice, drawing the duo's attention. "Let's go check up on Li Xiu this afternoon. This would be an appropriate response to the higher-ups as well.

He knew why Hu Cheng chose to compromise when he was put under pressure. After all, he was a man with a family and had his concerns to account for.

"Sometimes, an unlikely option may prove to be feasible." Sun Fei seemed to have been around the door for quite some time. He stepped forward after noticing the awkward atmosphere.

"It's such a shame that I lent Xiao Li to you. Why do you seem so free lately?" Xu Lan teased him and chuckled. The section chief of forensics was meddling in the affairs of the Investigation Department.

"Haha! Xiao Li is very capable and I believe that the credit goes to Sergeant Xu. I don't even have to worry about the tasks that he's handling," Xun Fei chuckled as he walked over and put his arms around Xu Lan's shoulder.

"Sergeant Xu, I've spoken to Director General and the rest," Wu Wendi stood in between of the trios, trying hard to ignore the tension in the air.

"Hmm? Why?" Xu Lan's gaze darted between Hu Cheng and Sun Fei.

"Cough cough, so the thing is, we've decided to enlist Wendi's help," as Hu Cheng coughed and the scent of tobacco rushed out from his throat, chaining Xu Lan down.

"So it has come down to this huh?" Xu Lan asked with a frown.

"Our leads are gone..." Hu Cheng's addiction kicked in and he toyed around with his empty tobacco pipe. Everyone kept their heads down and remained silent.

"Can we discuss this further?" Xu Lan was uncomfortable with the idea of Wu Wendi handling a psychopathic murderer on her own. Can they guarantee her safety? Is her plan workable?

"..." Hu Cheng remained silent and so did everyone else.

"Sergeant Xu, you should trust me because I trust all of you too!" A convincing reply echoed throughout the corridor.

"Ah! Since everyone agreed on this, we should see what the Director-General feels about this," Xu Lan uttered and gave his head a hard slap.

Xu Lan loosened up his collar as the dense atmosphere felt suffocating to him. He was in awed of Wu Wendi's fearless attitude and her determination to bring the murderer to justice. She did so out of respect for the dead victims. Besides resigning from her job at the press, she did not bail out on everyone at the police station when things got hard. Moreover, she was the one who volunteered for such a dangerous mission.

However...

"Let's make a move tonight. I've prepared fake IDs and Lao Xu should test the waters with Xiao Wu. You're right in the sense that there's no way that Xiao Wu could pull this off alone. Given that there are ten over thousands of people over there, the chances of a mess-up is high," Hu Cheng said as he fitted tobacco into the pipe.

"Please prioritize your safety. Where necessary, you may ditch the plan," Hu Cheng patted Wu Wendi on her shoulder as he spoke with gratitude.

"Director-General, I'm mentally prepared to handle anything that comes my way. However, would it be appropriate for Sergeant Xu who has been on the news to follow me?" Wu Wendi spoke animatedly.

"Hmm... I've overlooked this. Who do you think would be a better candidate?" Hu Cheng asked.

"What about comrade Li Fei?" Wu Wendi lowered her head and blushed as she asked cheerfully.

"Yes, that would do. You shall form a team of two with Xiao Li while Xu Lan and Sun Fei wait nearby with the rest of the team. This would be a better arrangement!" Hu Cheng took two deep puffs of the cigarette and agreed to her suggestion.

"Alright." Before walking out, Wu Wendi nodded to show that she understood.

"I feel like this plan is somewhat lacking. It's impossible to gain the murderer's trust in such a short period of time. Moreover, we're short-staffed," Xu Lan said to Hu Cheng who was shrouded in smoke.

"I know, guess we'll have to settle for this in the absence of a breakthrough," Hu Cheng took a deep breath and exhaled a long puff of white smoke.

Sun Fei shook his head, hinting for Xu Lan to stop talking. Out of everyone, Hu Cheng was the most anxious person.

"Let's put Li Xiu on hold till tomorrow. We should plan tonight out first," Hu Cheng said with a heavy heart as he tapped against the tobacco pipe.