A middle-aged man walked at the very front, his steps hurried, followed by several people in police uniforms and formal wear.
An Chen recognized one person as the Public Security Bureau Chief from the epaulets on his police uniform. An Chen was glad he had read many useful and useless miscellaneous books, which allowed him to easily determine people's identities.
The other people, at a glance, clearly held high positions; that kind of demeanor could not be hidden.
However, it was obvious that the most important person among them was the middle-aged man walking at the front.
The middle-aged man was dressed rather casually, not in formal wear, a brown jacket paired with jeans, making him seem a bit out of place. Even stranger, he wore an ill-fitting crew-neck T-shirt under his jacket and sneakers on his feet.
His style looked strange...
His steps were very fast; the others had to walk briskly to keep up, but the middle-aged man appeared very composed.
An Chen scrutinized the middle-aged man.
From the middle-aged man's gait, he judged that the middle-aged man had been a soldier, and for a considerable time.
Some things cannot be changed and are evident at a glance, such as walking posture and arm swing method.
His left arm swung significantly wider than his right, which only moved slightly near the outside of his thigh, a posture for quickly drawing a weapon.
The policewoman pulled An Chen aside, allowing the middle-aged man and his entourage to pass first, but just then, the middle-aged man suddenly turned his head, his gaze meeting An Chen's.
An Chen's "body trembled," and he instinctively withdrew his gaze, looking straight ahead.
"Who was that person at the very front?"
After the group had passed, An Chen suddenly asked the policewoman.
"That person? I don't know either..."
The policewoman smiled awkwardly.
"The others are leaders from our Bureau and city leaders. Someone walking in front of them surely wouldn't have a lower rank, perhaps he was sent from above."
Suddenly realizing she had said too much, the policewoman stopped talking and led An Chen out the door.
As they got into their car, three commercial SUVs were steadily exiting the parking lot gate, one after another.
In the last SUV, a gaze watched An Chen, who had just walked into the parking lot.
"Is something wrong?"
Hearing the question, Yuan Lihuan withdrew his gaze and gently shook his head.
"Nothing."
But the Public Security Bureau Chief sitting next to him clearly didn't believe it.
"You were looking at that child? What a coincidence, he is the eyewitness to this incident; the target entered the internet cafe where he was working before engaging in a firefight with us."
"So young, and already working as an internet cafe attendant?"
Yuan Lihuan's focus seemed a bit different.
"He's 17, not child labor. Some families... are indeed quite difficult."
"Hmm."
Yuan Lihuan nodded, but his expression remained completely unchanged, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
"So, why are you interested in him? Did you know him before?"
"No, that glance just now was the first time I've seen him."
Yuan Lihuan shook his head and closed his eyes.
"Then why..."
Before the Public Security Bureau Chief could finish his question, Yuan Lihuan suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.
"He was scrutinizing me."
"Ah?"
Yuan Lihuan did not repeat himself, but leaned back against the seat, slowly closing his eyes again.
Having reached the position of Public Security Bureau Chief, even a fool would become an expert. He could tell that Yuan Lihuan had no intention of continuing the conversation, so he closed his mouth and said nothing.
While saying more might leave an impression on a superior, saying too much is not always a good thing.
Impressions can be good or bad.
Yuan Lihuan, however, paid no mind to the Chief's little thoughts. To him, it was completely unimportant, and he couldn't be bothered to consider human relations.
In his mind, the young man's sharp, eagle-like eyes flashed again.
"We've arrived."
After a long while, the commercial SUV stopped steadily, and the driver engaged the handbrake, turning back to say softly.
Before the driver could get out and open the door, Yuan Lihuan had already exited the car, closed the door, and walked directly towards the cordon.
Recognizing where the car came from, the police officer on duty at the cordon lifted the line, allowing Yuan Lihuan to bend down and pass through.
"This is the internet cafe the target entered. That's the target's body. We tried our best to preserve the scene, waiting for you to come and see it."
"Hmm."
Yuan Lihuan responded softly, glanced at the internet cafe, and then walked directly to the body covered with a white sheet.
"Uncover it."
The Martial Police guarding the body immediately pulled back the white sheet, revealing the riddled corpse beneath. The blood had long congealed, forming large clots, and the gruesome scars would make even veteran detectives frown.
Yuan Lihuan's expression remained unchanged. He examined it carefully, reached out to feel the body twice, and took out two small bottles and several plants. The small bottles had a faint herbal scent but were empty, while the plants looked unusual, emitting a subtle fragrance.
"Qi Refinement Stage, probably at the ninth to eleventh level. His Spiritual Root is very poor."
Yuan Lihuan's eyes lost interest, and he stood up.
"There's almost nothing useful. His Realm is just slightly higher in this large-scale Transmigration event. If possible, try to capture them alive next time."
Yuan Lihuan scanned the surrounding environment again, carefully looking at the damaged street and the remains of police cars that had not been cleared away.
"What about casualties? Were there any innocent people injured?"
"Two special police officers were sacrificed, and three were seriously injured and have been sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. There were no casualties among nearby residents, but the battle caused a water pipe to burst. It's currently being repaired, and residents might have some issues with water supply before noon tomorrow."
Yuan Lihuan's expression barely changed, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.
"Hurry up with the repairs to minimize the impact. Follow up well on the aftermath of the casualties."
Then, he turned around and walked quickly towards the internet cafe.
The group behind him quickly followed.
"This is..."
"Where are the surveillance cameras?"
Before the Public Security Bureau Chief could introduce, Yuan Lihuan raised his hand to interrupt him.
"We've talked to the store manager; it's on this computer."
The internet cafe's true owner came over, his face full of smiles, and immediately led them behind the service desk, starting to operate the computer to retrieve the surveillance footage.
After An Chen left in the police car, he, as the owner, was also called over.
"Fast forward to when that villain first came in; I want to see it."
Yuan Lihuan pointed to the display screen and then looked at the owner.
"Okay!"
The owner had just nodded, but then suddenly remembered something, his hand paused, and his smile froze on his face. He laughed awkwardly twice.
"Well... the surveillance camera behind our service desk was smashed by the villain in a fit of rage. Police comrades already came to me to retrieve footage before you arrived, but there's nothing..."
Yuan Lihuan's eyebrow twitched.
"Show me the surveillance footage from this camera before the villain came in, and also footage from other cameras."